TP-Link AC1900 Archer C9

Stable with Good wifi range – Easy to set up, good wifi range and speed (covers my entire house easily), plenty of ports, nice web interface at a reasonable price point. 4 stars not 5 because it is only a router and needs to be used with a separate modem with FTTN NBN. Show details

Amazing considering its the first router ive ever bought – Ive been with Foxtel for 4 years previously to moving and changing internet providers so always had a Foxtel made modem/router. Considering this is the first one I have bought it is actually amazing. Its easy to use and work with. The signal has died a little in the last week or so but other then that it is actually so good. It easily runs more devices then it should be able to and there isn't any lag or lack of quality. Show details

Works well – I've had this running for 3 years now on our FTTP NBN connection without any issues. In that three years, I've only once had to reboot the router to restore connetion. Wifi range is good, we use it with 2.4 and 5GHz, plus sometimes guest network. Easy setup, advanced options available if you need them, and there's also an Android app that will… Read more

acces the modem to control a few basic functions (eg turn 2.4/5/Guest networks on/off, see active devices, allow/ban devices).

A Great Router – After my Netgear D7000 died, I decided on trying the C9. This is by far the easiest router to set up. Took only moments to set up, using the very user friendly UI. Range and speed are as good if not better then the D700. In a big house I struggle to see a massive drop in speeds.  Show details

Warranty Replacement is a JOKE – Product worked for several months than WAN port died. Customer support appeared to be helpful on first call but needed to verify a ton of things to make sure I was telling the truth. But, its been two weeks since they said they would replace it. I have had to call them several times. This time I am still on hold waiting and its been over an hour… Read more

already. The tech support number, which is the only one you can access for info about the replacement is on the other side of the world and only communicates with the RMA department VIA EMAIL. So we are waiting for a response VIA EMAIL while on the phone. The reason for the call is that tracking number they mailed me is not even formatted corrected as a UPS tracking number. The last time I called I was promised expedited shipping and an email and a call back to verify it was on the way. Of course none of those things happen so I am waiting until the phone until I get a verifiable tracking number.

Very impressive router for its price – It has very good range and is suitable for even a large house. I have mine setup in the garage (fiber optics), and it still reaches upstairs bedrooms and downstairs. The design is also very clean, so it will look good in any shelf or office room. I can highly recommend this router. Only 4 stars because I received a faulty router (it was not… Read more

able to receive power) and had to take it back to replace it. But the shop I purchased at replaced it instantly so no complaints there.

Great Router works well – Well designed works well easy interface Good signal on the wifi complex enough that works well with other routers on the network and smartphones Game consoles great for the NBN FTTP Dual Core CPU so handles video streaming pretty well Netflix Stan Youtube and online gaming as well only had to reset it a few times off hand its been pretty good.  Show details

great product – borrowed from a friend and using it for couple of months now. has a good range coverage in both 2.4 and 5G. connection is stable and fast. USB ports are good for storage sharing but only accepts FAT storage and not NTFS or any other formats which is a shame because it limits the storage size and performance and that's where it loses one star.  Show details

Good speed, great wifi coverage – I needed to extend my wifi coverage downstairs (TP-Link adsl modem wifi upstairs). I have lan cables throughout the house. Did a bit of research and found this wifi router. Great thing was the familiarity as it was the same brand as my adsl modem. It was simple to setup using the same SSID as my original network. It has better wifi coverage… Read more

than my wifi modem. Can't complain really as I now have good wifi reception on both floors & even outside the house.

Doesn't work with Mobile internet – I don't have land-line access where I live and rely solely on Mobile Internet connection. Unfortunately, I did not realize that the Archer C9 only works with a land-line connection. It turned out to be a very expensive Printer Controller for my old USB printer. So, please don't purchase this if you rely on mobile internet.  Show details

Great router for NBN – Bought one of these routers after struggling with the cheap router that was supplied from my NBN provider. The old router always struggled with wifi speed and range and was quite unreliable. A quick process to change over to the AC1900, and all that changed. Maximum speed wifi from my NBN service, better range and totally reliable. Very impressed and would recommend to NBN users.  Show details

Fast to config, blazing speed and great performance – got this unit for a large house over 1000m2, unit was running in less than 20min for set up. speed was amazing . this unit has being very popular as it runs DD-WRT. works with NBN with a bit of tweaking... its not as cheap as other models but worth the extra $. picked it up at $185  Show details

Good Router, great speed – I connected my Macbook pro (2011), iPhone, wireless printer, PC and S5 to the router. All working really well. MacBook connecting with 450 MBps. The only draw back is USB's are not support for Mac disks formats and Mac back up drive cannot be connected to USB. That's the reason I gave only 4 stars.

A good-value upgrade for Optus cable wifi – I'm writing this review partly to share the good results I've had with the Archer C9, but also to help other customers of Optus cable who may be frustrated with their wifi performance. Note also the TP-Link Archer C9 was "part 1" of my solution ... "part 2" was a wifi repeater, the TP-Link RE580D, which I'll review shortly in a separate entry… Read more

on productreview.

**THE PROBLEM***

For years we've had patchy wifi performance, due to our Optus cable modem connection being at the front of our house (an older house with solid internal walls), and most of our daily usage (including internet TV) being towards the back of the house, some 15-20 metres away. The "powerline" extenders I used extended the reception but kept disconnecting for no obvious reason and the speed wasn't good even when it was working.

I was sharing this frustration with a techy friend, also on Optus, who told me the Netgear modem/wifi routers Optus supplied had poor wifi performance (this is nothing against Netgear by the way, I suspect they're just using one of their cheapest models). He had bought a better wifi router and had enjoyed good wifi ever since.

I did some more research ... this is what I discovered and the steps I took:

1) With cable you still have to use the Optus-supplied Netgear modem/wifi router - but you *can* use most of these devices in "bridging mode", where they act as a modem only. You can then connect them to a better wifi router to do that part of the job.

2) Being a long-term Optus customer, I had an older modem/wifi router (I think the Netgear CVG-824). I couldn't see a bridging mode for it, so I called Optus and flagged my long-term loyalty - they supplied a newer Netgear CG3000 for a delivery fee of $20 and no other charge.

3) I tried out the newer Netgear CG3000 product just in case - like the old one, it worked fine as a modem but the wifi signal at the back of the house was weak.

4) I bought the TP-link Archer C9 1900, switched the Netgear CG3000 to bridging mode, and compared results.

***THE RESULTS***

1. At the back of the house, I noticed the Archer provided better reception on devices than either of the Netgears supplied by Optus. The reception improved by about one bar around the house (eg, from 2-3 out of 5, to 3-4 out of 5 at the back). It's a really rough measure but it has made the difference between a stable connection and an unstable one.

2. Using an online speedtest (http://www.speedtest.net/) a few times, I got the following results

- Netgear CG3000 Ping about 14ms. Download speed 6-8Mbs Upload speed 0.6Mbs

- Archer C9 Ping 9-10ms (50% better). Download speed 18-30Mbs Upload speed 1.6Mbs

In a nutshell, these are not earth-shattering speeds - but it does allow our family to use multiple devices and watch catch-up TV or Netflix smoothly and without issue.

*** VERDICT ON THE ARCHER C9***

The reason I haven't given this 5-stars is simply because there *is* room for improvement - and I also know every household has different wifi environments. But it has largely solved my wifi problems, especially in conjunction with a higher-end (TP-link) repeater.

My friend had great results with an Asus wifi router. I chose the Archer C9 instead because:

- Several reviews on the Internet put it in the same class as more expensive rivals

- It was white, which fitted in much better with our furniture than the others available and didn't look like a spider!

- The interface looked reasonably easy to use (and this proved to be so).

- It offers the dual band 2.4GHz and 5GHz, each with their own benefits

- The AC1900 speed seems to be the current "sweet spot" between price and performance.

The possible improvements:

- TP-link FAQs can be poorly worded - I suspect they are written with English as a second language.

- The 5GHz band isn't much faster than the 2.4GHz in many cases

- The technical support I called wasn't much help on the one occasion I called (to ensure the C9 was the right device for me) - that might have been a one-off.

Overall, it was a solid improvement for me and made wifi "workable" through the home.

A great affordable Wireless AC1900 Router for the SOHO market – Another great product from TP-Link, the Archer C9 is the follow-up to the C7 and smaller sibling to the D9. For the price it's a great affordable wireless router providing AC1900 performance. I've published a mini review: http://geeklingo.net/tp-link-archer-c9-ac1900-wireless-dual-band-gigabit-router-review/

TP-LINK Archer C9 AC1900 Gigabit Router, – Playing around with the C9 in many different mode (router, AP, Repeater) for two weeks now, with an uptime of one week, after playing. Very stable, and good, consistent, performance on its 2.4GHz(speedtest.net: RX between 300 and 400 Mbps, TX between 200 and 300 Mbps, with 2-antenna mobile devices). At certain difficult 5Ghz-range spots, this… Read more

one still rocks, similar to R7000. What I like is the low latency, internet just feels more snappy compared to ac87u and r7000 both stock. Ping tests result in 6ms, compared to 12ms for the other 2 routers. Still not sure why, but I am pleased.

BTW This router keeps cool on-the-touch; probably being energy-efficient.

Some cons: no dfs (eu) channels, and loosing the wan port in AP-mode. Defining a dummy static wan to reduce constant dhcp lookups.

Also looking forward to a professional review of this product.