With the growing proliferation of fibre broadband connections, a router that may sustain, feeding the quickest doable connection to the multitude of wired and wi-fi units we maintain in our properties, like peculiar pets, is a should. TP-Hyperlink’s AX6000 gives Wi-Fi 6 speeds (however not 6E) and a mammoth eight Ethernet sockets, making it excellent for these with complicated networking wants.
It is the type of form that would not be misplaced in some shaky footage of an alien spaceship hovering over rural Iowa doing unspeakable issues to cows, and the foldy-up Wi-Fi antennas that sit on the perimeter simply add to that impression.
It is also harking back to the first-gen Xbox from 2001, the slotted high panel that enables warmth to rise from the frantically working innards diagonally damaged by a shiny, raised X with a smashing orangey shiny bit within the center. It’s kind of smaller although, that Xbox was chunky—this router is in regards to the measurement of a hardback e-book, or a pizza field for somebody who lacks digestive ambition.
I am unsure anybody buys a router for the best way it appears to be like, they’re extra more likely to be tucked away out of sight someplace with easy accessibility to Ethernet cables, however at 26cm (10-inch) sq. you are going to want to search out an space of flat floor for the Archer to take a seat on. That is if you happen to do not select to wall mount it—there are holes beneath to facilitate this, and with the stubby antennas rotated 90 levels, you may be capable of use it as a coat rack. Although we would not suggest it.
Archer AX6000 specs
Wi-fi commonplace: Wi-Fi 6
Max speeds: 4804 Mbps (5GHz), 1148 Mbps (2.4GHz)
MU-MIMO: 4x
Simultaneous streams: 8
Ethernet ports: 8
WAN: 2.5 Gbps
CPU: 1.8 GHz 64 Bit Quad-Core
USB: 1x USB 3.0 Sort-A, 1x USB 3.0 Sort-C
Dimensions: 261.2 x 261.2 x 60.2 mm
Weight: 1.59 kg
Value: $198 | £199
This additional measurement makes room for the eight gigabit Ethernet ports behind the router, making this a sensible choice if you happen to’ve bought a sophisticated wired community or an aversion to hubs. Two of them will be aggregated for a 2-gig connection too, if you happen to’ve bought one thing that may profit from that type of factor. The highest row of Ethernet ports, nevertheless, require the cables to be inserted with the discharge catch on the high, the place it comes perilously near the overhanging fringe of the router casing. This makes it onerous to insert the requisite finger to get the cable out once more if you happen to ever must.
It is in all probability not an issue that is going to return up too typically, however if you happen to instantly determine to utterly change your community topology (or transfer home) it should be annoying.
And as an alternative of a constellation of blinking LED lights on high, the Archer has just one. It begins off purple earlier than turning to blue if the whole lot’s working, and you’ll flip it off altogether, checking in on the router standing in its net interface or the TP-Hyperlink Tether cell app.
The WAN port on the Archer is able to 2.5Gbps of internets, which can outstrip most home connections. It gives a dual-band Wi-Fi community, with 5GHz and a pair of.4GHz working utilizing WI-Fi 6 however not 6E, so no frolics into the 6GHz a part of the spectrum right here.
TP-Hyperlink claims you may stand up to 1148 Mbps for the two.4GHz community, and 4804 Mbps when related to the 5GHz choice. With these figures, the phrases ‘as much as’ are sometimes doing various work, and you will have so as to add them collectively and do some rounding to get to the 6000 within the mannequin quantity.
We related the router to a 600Mbps web wire, attached a Wi-Fi 6 system on 5GHz, and bought… 600Mbps. This could come as no shock, and is actually the least we must always anticipate from Wi-Fi 6. Ping over Wi-Fi was no completely different to that of a wired connection, it coped with 4K and HD streaming to as many units as we may muster, and all of it exhibits that this router is not going to be the bottleneck in your community, even if you happen to’re sharing it—it is your broadband connection itself that can max out first until you are on some futuristic multi-gigabit line.
By which case, hiya, do you might have a flying automotive, too?
Elsewhere on the router, you get a pair of USB 3 ports: one Sort A and the opposite Sort C. That is overkill for sharing a printer however does imply you possibly can probably share a USB SSD in your community for a cut-price file server. Most typical file programs are supported (although not EXT4, Linux followers) and the router can run an FTP server, media server and Apple Time Machine, in addition to utilizing Samba for sharing.
Wi-Fi 6 options—significantly OFDMA, which permits a number of units to share provider bands—are good for wi-fi availability if you happen to’ve bought a whole lot of units in the home, whereas a quad-core CPU backed up by a pair of co-processors retains issues flowing alongside properly.
Establishing the router is simple. The antennae are stubby and completely connected, so that you simply must pivot them into their upright place slightly than having to screw them in. This implies there’s not a lot in the best way of wiggling the aerials to be carried out, looking for their optimum place. You will then want to search out someplace with sufficient house to place it and nonetheless connect the mandatory cables.
As soon as it is put in, you may must configure it utilizing the online interface or app identical to some other router. There are many choices on supply, together with a QoS setting for gaming and system prioritisation so you can also make positive your gaming PC will get first chunk of the bandwidth cherry. There’s additionally a visitors monitor that will get fairly granular, making it straightforward to identify who’s utilizing up all the information allowance late at evening.
Purchase if…
✅ You have bought a whole lot of cables: with eight Ethernet ports, this router may be capable of exchange a swap or two in your community.
✅ You might have a whole lot of customers: the Archer can assist as much as eight separate streams, then chop them up with OFDMA to slot in extra units.
Do not buy if…
❌ You really need Wi-Fi 6E: this does not have it, however boring outdated Wi-Fi 6 might be ok until you might have very particular wants.
The interface is simple to make use of, some feat in a sector that is infamous for baffling UI design, and manages to scale back the ache of router setup and tweaking.
A built-in anti-malware system from Pattern Micro gives parental controls in addition to QoS (with each broad presets equivalent to ‘gaming’ or ‘streaming’ and particular person system settings, so you possibly can prioritise your gaming PC over an iPad streaming your cleaning soap opera of alternative) and a level of antivirus too.
TP-Hyperlink’s Archer AX6000 was the corporate’s first Wi-Fi 6 router, which implies you will not get the good thing about the extra fashionable Wi-Fi 6E tech. Nonetheless, that is more likely to be of little concern to anybody however those that merely should have the most recent and biggest. Wi-Fi 6 itself is sufficient of a step ahead for gaming, the extra options equivalent to beamforming offering a robust sign.
Join this router to a quick broadband connection, and it has sufficient velocity and functionality to maintain a complete family of streamers blissful.
Nonetheless, with a pre-discount worth of £350, it is undercut by routers providing flashier specs, together with some from TP-Hyperlink itself, regardless of being cheaper than some flagship choices. It is mature sufficient now, although, that authentic worth is kind of a factor of the previous.
The flexibility to connect with so many units without delay, wired and wi-fi, is an efficient factor to have, but when only a few super-high-speed wi-fi connections to latest units are what you want, there is likely to be higher decisions on the market.