TP-Link Archer A6 5 GHz router review, is it worth it?

The TP-Link Archer A6 (A6) router released in 2018. It is powered by Qualcomm Atheros QCA9563 @ 750 MHz chipset, 128 MB of RAM and 8 MB of flash. The AC1200 router is compatible with IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac standards, and the maximum speed that you can get with Archer A6 is 300 + 867 Mbps. The router has 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps WAN and 4 x 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN ports.

The Archer A6 is a versatile router that offers more than just basic functionality. With its advanced features and capabilities, it provides a reliable and high-performance networking solution for both home and office environments. TP-Link has a history of introducing innovative features and technologies into their products.

Table of contents:

• TP-Link Archer A6 specifications
• TP-Link Archer A6 pictures

TP-Link Archer A6 (A6) specifications

Body

If you have limited space available for your router, such as in a small apartment or office, the dimensions can determine whether it can fit in the designated area or not. It's important to consider the physical size of the router, including its height, width, and depth, to ensure it can be accommodated in your space. If you plan to mount your router on a wall or ceiling, the weight can influence the mounting process and the type of mounting hardware required. Heavier routers might require more robust mounting solutions to ensure stability and prevent damage or accidents.

System

The Qualcomm Atheros QCA9563 @ 750 MHz CPU, combined with other factors such as RAM capacity and firmware optimization, determines the overall performance and responsiveness of the router. The 128 MB of RAM enables the router to handle multiple tasks and processes concurrently. It allows for the efficient switching and allocation of resources among different processes running on the router, facilitating multitasking and ensuring smooth operation.

The flash memory in a TP-Link router is different from the volatile memory (RAM) that is used for temporary storage of data while the router is powered on. Flash memory of the Archer A6 retains its data even when the router is powered off, allowing the router to maintain its firmware and configuration settings across reboots. To upgrade the firmware of the Archer A6 router, you typically need to visit the manufacturer's website, locate the specific model of your router, and download the latest firmware version provided. The firmware upgrade process may vary depending on the router model, but it often involves accessing the router's web-based administration interface and uploading the downloaded firmware file. The TP-Link provides the appropriate power supply (12 V / 1 A) that matches the voltage requirements of the router. The power supply unit is designed to deliver the correct voltage to the router, ensuring its proper operation.

Network

Like many modern routers, the TP-Link Archer A6 supports a variety of features and technologies to enhance your network connectivity and security. The majority of networking equipment, including routers, switches, and other network devices, is designed to support IPv4. The Archer A6 router is also compatible with IPv6. IPv6 provides a significantly larger address space and offers various enhancements and improvements over IPv4.

The Archer A6 has 4 x 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN and 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps WAN ports. The LAN ports of Archer A6 router are numbered and are used to establish wired connections between the router and devices such as computers, gaming consoles, smart TVs, network-attached storage (NAS) devices, and other network-enabled devices. Gigabit Ethernet ports support data transfer rates of up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps), which is significantly faster than the maximum speed of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) supported by standard Ethernet ports.

WAN ports are used to connect the router to your internet service provider (ISP). They typically use Ethernet cables or fiber optic connections to establish a high-speed link between your local network and the wider internet. The Archer A6 router supports Gigabit WAN. Having a Gigabit WAN port is beneficial when your internet service plan supports high-speed connectivity, as it ensures that your router's WAN connection can handle the maximum speed provided by your ISP.

The Archer A6 comes with built-in OpenVPN client. OpenVPN is available for various operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. It can be deployed on a wide range of devices, making it accessible and compatible with different platforms. PPTP creates a virtual private network (VPN) tunnel between two endpoints, allowing secure communication over an insecure network such as the internet. It encapsulates the data packets within PPTP packets for transmission.

Wireless

This router has 4 x 5 dBi, fixed antennas. Many modern routers feature multiple antennas and use Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology. This technology enables simultaneous transmission and reception of multiple data streams, increasing overall throughput and improving the Wi-Fi performance. The Archer A6 is compatible with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. Many IoT (Internet of Things) devices, smart home devices, and older Wi-Fi-enabled devices primarily operate on the 2.4 GHz band.

The Archer A6 supports 5 GHz signals. To optimize your Wi-Fi experience, it's often recommended to use a combination of both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, taking advantage of their respective strengths based on your specific needs and the devices you have. The Archer A6 Wi-Fi router offers fast data transfer speeds, suitable for demanding applications like streaming HD or 4K video, online gaming, and large file transfers.

The AC1200 is a performance indicator that represents the router's theoretical maximum speed. The theoretical maximum speed (300 + 867 Mbps) represents the highest data transfer rate that the router is capable of achieving under ideal conditions. The maximum TX power of Archer A6 router is 28 dBm. Adjusting the TX power of a router can be useful in situations where you want to optimize the Wi-Fi signal strength and coverage.

The Archer A6 router offers several security protocols: WEP, WPA, WPA2, WPS. The WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) was the first security protocol for Wi-Fi networks but is now considered weak and easily compromised. It uses a static encryption key and has known vulnerabilities, so it is no longer recommended for securing Wi-Fi networks. The WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) was introduced as an improvement over WEP and provides stronger security. If WPA3 is not available, WPA2-Personal with AES encryption is still considered secure.

The Archer A6 router offers WPS. The WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) provides a simplified and convenient method for connecting devices to a Wi-Fi network. Instead of manually entering the Wi-Fi network name (SSID) and password, users can use the WPS feature to establish a connection with the push of a button or by entering a PIN. Once the guest network is set up on your TP-Link Archer A6 router, your guests can connect to it using the specified SSID and password. They will have internet access, while being separated from your private network.

Connectivity

The Archer A6 router doesn't have file-server or print-server functionality.

Administration

The TP-Link router setup panel is accessed through a web browser. Connect your computer to the Archer A6 router via Wi-Fi or Ethernet cable. In the address bar of the web browser, type in the 192.168.0.1 IP address. Regularly changing the password is a good security practice to protect your network and devices from unauthorized access. It is also recommended to use strong, unique passwords for other devices and online accounts connected to your network for enhanced security. By changing the default password, you improve the security of your router and reduce the risk of unauthorized individuals gaining control over your network. It helps prevent unauthorized access to your router's settings, network configurations, and sensitive information.

The specifications above are based on the official data published by the manufacturer, but we also take user reviews into consideration. If you found an error or something lacking in the specifications above for the TP-Link Archer A6, then don’t hesite and signal the problem to us.

TP-Link Archer A6 (A6) pictures

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