TP-Link AX6000 Wi-Fi 6 Router (Archer AX80) – Dual Band, 2.5 Gbps WAN/LAN Port, 8K Streaming,Wireless Internet Router with OneMesh and AP Mode, Long Range Coverage, WPA3, Beamforming

Solid Signal, Incredible Range
This is the best Wi-Fi router/AP I have ever owned. I am using it in AP mode, so I can’t comment on the advance features, but here’s why I like this Archer AX80: I have a lot of devices throughout my home, between family member devices, IoT Smart home devices and security cameras. Previously I had to use 3 separate APs to get full coverage, and I found the signals were not stable, and dropped frequently. I was very close to going for an expensive mesh system, when I read all the positive reviews on this one and decided to give it a try. This thing is incredible. It can easily handle the entire house full of devices with just this one router. Coverage and range are amazing. Signal is strong and stable in both 2.4 and 5ghz bands. There are a few devices out in my garage that always had problems with weak signals, and now they are working flawlessly and have a very strong signal. Noticeable speed difference on the 5ghz band for all my streaming devices. Videos load extremely fast. Like all TP-Link products, it was an easy and intuitive setup.

Has features & specifications normally found on higher-end routers
This router replaces my Netgear Nighthawk XR500, which was a WiFi 5 router. As expected, I’ve noticed increased speeds to my WiFi 6 devices and surprisingly increased range to all my devices, including WiFi 4/5 devices. This router has features normally found on high-end routers such as 4×4 MIMO (both 2.4 & 5 GHz bands), DFS channels, 160 MHz channels, and multi-gigabit ethernet. The web interface is nothing special but includes all the standard settings one expects, is easy to navigate, and upgrading firmware is a snap. In my home I have >30 devices connected and have encountered no hipcups, unlike my previous Nighthawak which started to need frequent reboots. My wife likes the fact the LED light can be programmed to turn off at night. Compared to other routers with similar features (e.g. Asus RT-AX88U Pro), this one is reasonably priced.

Powerful, feature rich router
This router was delivered in a very large carton with heavy padding inside to protect the large but not so hefty device. This is the third TP-Link router I have purchased in the last seven years, so I am used to their quality and performance, which is first rate. It replaces an Archer30 box, so setting it up to take over the already expansive network of devices in my home was a breeze. I used the web interface on my PC because I am used to it, and the user interface is pretty straightforward and expansive. Having a speed test button on the Network App tab is an especially nice touch too. The first task I had to execute after getting it in place was to upgrade the firmware, which was easy and quick due to the very resourceful (pun intended) TP-Link support page.I decided on the replacement because the connected device count in my home has been steadily growing recently, and I felt I needed more capacity and future proofing. The ability to create a separate IoT network is one of the things that helped me decide to upgrade to this level. I initially tried setting device priority using the QoS feature, but that seemed to cause a few dropouts, so I turned it off and haven’t gotten any since.When I first checked the speed on my main PC which is in the same room as the router, the download speed jumped to the 390 – 330 range (on my 300 Mbps Spectrum internet) and settled down to a final read of 355Mbps. The upload speed peaked at 12 Mbps. Speeds generated on devices farthest away from the device stayed in the 270+ Mbps/9+ Mbps (download/upload) range, which is very good.One of the main duties I have expected from my routers over the years is to be able to serve USB connected drives on the local network so I can access them from other network devices. This router recognized my four USB SSD drives connected through a Sabrent DC powered hub plugged into the router’s USB port nicely – once I realized the hub needed DC power to the hub to handle the load.I have used other routers over the years and have found TP-Link routers to be the most reliable and feature rich ones. Highly recommendedUPDATE:I feel the need to mention this because it may save someone some frustration. Speaking about those four external USB drives attached to the router, I recently replaced one of the older drives with a larger one, thinking that I could just hot swap the drives with no problem. Actually, it was only after I rebooted the router by unplugging it and plugging it back in that it would recognize any of them again. Once that was done, the drives reappeared in the list of USB drives attached, and the network drives were available to be shared. A word to the wise: select a suitable time to add or replace a drive so you can perform the reboot without inconveniencing your network users.

I bought this in Australia, and what arrived does not match the product in the pictures. I did some searching online and from everything I can find, it’s the same router on the inside. I think the seller should put an image of the version they are selling though to avoid confusion.With that out of the way, I got this to replace my telstra router to help handle all my connected devices better, and to get wifi signal out to the back of our property for cctv. I found i could use them both by connecting the telstra router directly to the main NBN box and switching the wifi off, then using this router connected via a data cable to service the back of our property with wifi. I watched YouTube to work out how to connect them together – I didn’t need to in the end as it automatically sets itself up as a secondary router, so it doesn’t clash with the main one. I’ve been running my internet with this set up for a few weeks now, and I haven’t had any issues