A fast router for any broadband line
We’ve recommended TP-Link’s Archer C9 and D9 Wi-Fi routers as good mid-priced options for cable and ADSL broadband respectively. This is their new big sister, with the fastest Wi-Fi technology currently available, known as MU MIMO.
The web-page interface through which you manage the router is pretty average, with a Basic mode for essential settings and Advanced for more tweaking. Helpfully, though, there are setup instructions to get you started first time, with presets for all the major ISPs.
You can set up two guest networks, one on the old 2.4GHz band and one on the typically faster 5GHz for newer 802.11ac devices, so that visitors can get fast access without exposing your network. There are two USB 3.0 ports to let you share a USB stick or printer -clunkier than using a NAS or a printer with built-in Wi-Fi, but a useful bonus.
You can also plug in a 3G or 4G modem dongle with a SIM card in it to keep you online if your broadband develops a fault. The usual port forwarding, dynamic DNS and firewall facilities are provided if you need them, and parental controls let you block websites based on keywords.
In practice, MU MIMO won’t reach its full potential of up to 1,733 Mbps unless you only connect devices designed to support it, which basically don’t exist yet. But it’s nice to feel future-proofed, and even with our regular 802.11ac laptop it reached 419Mbps at close range, which is extremely fast, falling to a still speedy 256Mbps 10 metres away.
On the 2.4GHz band (the only one older devices can use), we got 66Mbps at 10m, which isn’t the fastest we’ve seen but very acceptable.
VERDICT:
There are routers with fancier features, but for very high speed at a fair price, this should suit most people
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ALTERNATIVE:
Netgear R8500 Nighthawk X8 GT
Also has MU MIMO and is very fast, with twin 5GHz networks