Check out the TP-Link Archer AXE75 ($199.99) if you’ve been considering upgrading to 6GHz Wi-Fi but don’t want to shell out a fortune for a Wi-Fi 6E router. For less than $200, you can get a tri-band router that offers the most recent Wi-Fi 6E capabilities, great throughput performance, and extensive signal coverage. It is simple to install and administer, and it comes with powerful parental controls and fundamental network security measures. Although this router lacks high-speed networking ports and requires a HomeShield Pro subscription to access advanced features, its reasonable pricing and reliable performance make it the Editors’ Choice for mainstream Wi-Fi 6E routers.
FOR JUST TWO BENJAMINS, WI-FI 6E The 1.9 by 5.8 by 10.7 inch (HWD) black enclosure used by the Archer AX75 is also used by the Archer AXE75. The Wi-Fi 6E badge on the AXE75 is the only distinguishing feature between the two. The router has a textured top, six fixed antennae that cannot be removed, and seven tiny LED indicators along the front edge. Power, 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz radio band activity, internet activity, Ethernet activity, and USB activity are all indicated via the indicators.
Our reviews are reliable. (Source: TP-Link) Unlike more expensive Wi-Fi 6E models like the Linksys Hydra Pro 6E and the Netgear RAXE500, the AXE75 lacks multi-gig connections. However, it does offer four 1GbE LAN ports and one 1GbE WAN port, both of which are found on the back panel. Although the manufacturer claims this cutting-edge capability, which allows speeds more than 1Gbps utilizing two Ethernet cables, will appear in a future firmware update, none of these ports presently support link aggregation. The Reset button, LED, WPS, and Wi-Fi On/Off buttons, a power jack, and a power button are all located on the rear panel. On the left side of the router, there is a single embedded USB 3.0 port.
The AXE75 is OneMesh compatible, making it possible to couple it with other OneMesh gadgets to build a seamless whole-home mesh network, just like many of TP-existing Link’s routers.
COMPARED PRODUCTS ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 from ASUS (Source: TP-Link) The AXE75 has a 1.7GHz quad-core CPU and 512MB of RAM, similar to the AX75. However, this router also has Wi-Fi 6E circuitry, enabling it to work on the 6GHz radio band in addition to the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. It can theoretically attain data rates of up to 574 Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, 2,402 Mbps on the 5GHz band, and 2,402 Mbps on the 6GHz band because this router is an AXE5400. Additionally, it supports Wi-Fi 6 features like Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS), OFDMA (orthogonal frequency-division multiple access) broadcasts, direct-to-client beamforming, MU-MIMO simultaneous data streaming, 160MHz channel bandwidth, and WPA3 encryption.
Strong parental controls and entry-level network security measures are included with the free HomeShield Basic package that comes with the AXE75. You can impose age-based filtering, ban internet access for specific users, and determine how long a user has been online using the parental controls that are included. You must purchase the HomeShield Pro plan, which costs $5.99 per month or $54.99 per year, if you want the flexibility to set time limits and establish Time Rewards that grant your children extra internet time for good behavior. Enhanced security capabilities like malicious-content filters, Denial of Service defense, and network security reports are also added by the Pro plan.
The TP-Link Tether mobile app and the web console both make it simple to manage the AXE75, but there are a few differences between them. The Tether app is required to access the HomeShield QoS, parental control, and network security settings, while the online console is required to access advanced settings like NAT forwarding and DHCP server settings.
(Source: PCMag) The Tether app opens to the Home page, which features a network map panel with the name of the router, its connectivity status, and the number of clients that are now connected. The firmware version, IP address, and router model number may all be seen when you tap the Router icon. To find out which devices are currently logged into the router, tap the Clients icon. You may view which radio band a client is connected to, how much traffic it is generating overall, and decide whether to give the client device bandwidth priority when you tap a client name.
The regular network SSIDs and guest network SSIDs, together with the radio bands they belong to, are listed below the map panel. To edit the SSID and Wi-Fi password and to share your Wi-Fi login information with other users, tap any band. If you wish to utilize a single SSID for all three bands, you may also enable Smart Connect from this location.
(Source: PCMag) The buttons for Home, Clients, Security, Family, and Tools are located along the bottom of the Home screen. From any screen in the app, tap the Home button to return to this one. The Clients button brings up a screen with a list of all of your connected devices when you tap it. You can view details such as the client’s IP and MAC addresses by tapping the name of the client. Additionally, you can activate parental restrictions, prohibit that client’s access to the internet, and activate QoS settings that give the client device priority access to bandwidth.
If your Wi-Fi passwords are too weak or if there are any fundamental router security problems that need to be fixed, use the Security button to do a network scan and display scan data. If you have the Pro subscription, you can disable Intrusion Prevention to spot potential threats, prevent access to harmful websites, and secure your smart home (IoT) devices from hackers.
Tap the Family button to get to the Parental Controls page. You can define bedtime restrictions, assign age-based filters, create profiles, and ban websites here. Online time restrictions and personalized Offtime regimens that block Internet access are available to Pro plan members.
You may set up Wi-Fi settings, examine channel selection, create a guest network, and set up internet connection settings on the screen that appears when you hit the Tools icon. You may upgrade firmware, setup device notifications, share Wi-Fi credentials, and create a OneMesh network using other settings.
The Archer Axe75 performed admirably in our tests. To install the AXE75, I used the online console, but if you’d rather, you may use the Tether app. In either case, setting up and installing this router is fairly simple. I connected the AXE75 to my modem using the supplied LAN cable after turning off my modem, and I then turned on both the modem and the router. On my desktop computer, which was attached to the router, I launched a web browser and entered 192.168.0.1 in the address bar to access the TP-Link web interface. I chose my time zone, generated an administrator password, and chose a connection type by following the on-screen prompts (options are Dynamic, Static, PPPoE , L2TP , or PPTP ). I made distinct SSIDs for each radio band using the default MAC address and turned off Smart Connect. The installation was then completed by setting up a Wi-Fi password, letting the software do a brief internet connection test, and updating the firmware.
The AXE75 tested well but didn’t achieve class-leading throughput, which is reflective of its low pricing. It performed better than the Linksys Hydra Pro 6E (106Mbps) but just a little bit worse than the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 (128Mbps) and the Netgear RAXE500 (121Mbps) (127Mbps). The AXE75 managed 63Mbps, surpassing the Linksys Hydra Pro 6E’s 33Mbps, but not the Asus ROG Rapture GT-75Mbps AXE16000’s or the Netgear RAXE500’s 500Mbps. The results were comparable on the 30-foot test (71Mbps).
The AXE75 achieved 918Mbps on the 5GHz close-proximity test. The Linksys Hydra Pro 6E (750Mbps) was faster, but the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 (938Mbps) and the Netgear RAXE500 were both faster (936Mbps). The AXE75 outperformed the Linksys Hydra Pro 6E (303Mbps) on the 30-foot test, but it performed much worse than the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 (521Mbps) and the Netgear RAXE500 (530Mbps).
The AXE75’s throughput performance at 6GHz was essentially identical to that at 5GHz. In the close-proximity test, it achieved 921Mbps whereas the Linksys Hydra Pro 6E achieved 927Mbps. The AXE75 achieved 397Mbps over a distance of 30 feet, outperforming the Linksys Hydra Pro 6E (379Mbps), but falling short of the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 (401Mbps) and the Netgear RAXE500 (427Mbps).
We move a 1.5GB folder comprising images, videos, music, and office document files back and forth between a USB 3.0 drive and a desktop PC, both of which are connected to the router, to assess the effectiveness of file transfers.
The Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 (48MBps) and Linksys Hydra Pro 6E (11MBps) both had write speeds that were faster than the AXE75, which was only somewhat slower (55MBps). With 70MBps, the Netgear RAXE500 outperformed them all. On the read test, the Linksys Hydra Pro 6E (57MBps) and the Netgear RAXE500 were faster than the AXE75 (46MBps), which edged out the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 (45MBps) (68MBps).
The Ekahau Sidekick Wi-Fi diagnostic tool and Ekahau’s Survey mobile app are used to assess wireless signal strength, and they produce heat maps that show the router’s 2.4GHz and 5GHz signal strength across our test home. 6GHz signal measurements are not presently supported by our Sidekick. (Note: Ziff Davis, the proprietor of PCMag.com, owns Ekahau.) The router’s position is indicated by the circle on the map, and signal strength is indicated by the colors. Lighter yellow spots denote a weaker signal, and dark green areas denote the strongest signal. Areas that are gray have no detectable signal reception.
The 5GHz signal strength of the TP-Link Archer AXE75 (Credit: PCMag) Signal strength of the TP-Link Archer AXE75 at 2.4GHz (Credit: PCMag) The heat maps demonstrate that the Archer AXE75 was able to deliver a 2.4GHz signal that was rather strong across our test home, however the signal weakened in some areas of the garage. Although it displayed significantly improved range, the router’s 5GHz band likewise degraded in the garage.
FINAL VERDICT: GREAT PERFORMANCE TOMORROW, SAVINGS TODAY For those searching for a mainstream Wi-Fi router that is future-proof, the TP-Link Archer AXE75 is a wise choice due to its quick performance, simplicity of use, and 6GHz Wi-Fi. Although it lacks link aggregation and multi-gig networking interfaces, these features are normally available on more expensive routers. Strong parental controls, a user-friendly mobile app, and the AXE75’s outstanding throughput and signal range are enough to earn it an Editors’ Choice award in the new area of inexpensive Wi-Fi 6E routers.
While there are now a number of Wi-Fi 6E routers with more throughput power and all the bells and whistles, they are significantly more expensive, which makes the Archer AXE75 an even better option. Take the Editors’ Choice-winning Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 as an example: Although this beast costs $700, it offers excellent performance, a ton of gamer-friendly options, and numerous multi-gigabit networking connectors. Similar to the Archer AXE75, there are routers at the bottom of the pricing range that cost around half as much but don’t support 6GHz. Because of this, the Archer AXE75 is the best choice for long-term, dependable Wi-Fi that won’t break the bank right now.
Pros of TP-Link Archer AXE75 Simple to install inexpensive 6GHz transmissions dependable throughput performance includes the program HomeShield mesh capable See More Negatives mediocre file transfer efficiency Lack of multi-gig ports Certain functions need a membership. the conclusion An innovative, cost-effective tri-band Wi-Fi 6E router, the TP-Link Archer AXE75, allows you to connect to the unoccupied 6GHz radio band. It works well and is perfect for inexpensive network future-proofing.
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