TP-Link Archer AX21 5 GHz router review, is it worth it?

The TP-Link Archer AX21 (AX21) router released in 2020. It is powered by Broadcom BCM6755 @ 1.5 GHz chipset, 256 MB of RAM and 128 MB of flash. The AX1800 router is compatible with IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax standards, and the maximum speed that you can get with Archer AX21 is 574 + 1201 Mbps. The router has 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps WAN and 4 x 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN ports.

The Archer AX21 is a popular router model from TP-Link that has received positive reviews from many users. The USB connectors on the Archer AX21 router add versatility to your network by enabling file sharing, media streaming, printer sharing, and other USB-enabled functionality. TP-Link provides good customer support services through their website, which includes product documentation, FAQs, and downloads.

Table of contents:

• TP-Link Archer AX21 specifications
• TP-Link Archer AX21 pictures

TP-Link Archer AX21 (AX21) 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. The weight of a router can be a consideration in certain situations, but it is generally not as crucial as other factors such as performance, features, and compatibility.

System

The Broadcom BCM6755 @ 1.5 GHz CPU, combined with other factors such as RAM capacity and firmware optimization, determines the overall performance and responsiveness of the router. The Archer AX21 comes with 256 MB of RAM. The amount of RAM in a router can impact its performance and capacity to handle concurrent operations and traffic. Higher RAM capacity allows for better multitasking, larger routing tables, and improved overall performance.

The 128 MB flash memory in the router serves as the storage medium for the router's firmware. It is a non-volatile memory that retains its data even when power is removed from the device. The TP-Link often releases firmware updates to enhance the router's functionality, improve security, fix bugs, and add new features. Firmware updates can provide performance improvements, compatibility with new devices or protocols, and address vulnerabilities. The TP-Link provides the appropriate power supply (12 V / 1.5 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 Archer AX21 supports many network standards too. The majority of networking equipment, including routers, switches, and other network devices, is designed to support IPv4. The Archer AX21 router is also compatible with IPv6. IPv6 provides a significantly larger address space and offers various enhancements and improvements over IPv4. The Archer AX21 has 4 x 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN and 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps WAN ports. The LAN ports of Archer AX21 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.

This router has Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports, which provides data transfer speeds of up to 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps) over Ethernet connections. The WAN port on a router stands for "Wide Area Network" port. It is used to connect the router to the external network, typically provided by an internet service provider (ISP). The Archer AX21 router supports Gigabit speed on its WAN port, that can support speeds up to 1000 Mbps. This router ensures that you can fully utilize high-speed internet connections provided by your ISP.

The Archer AX21 comes with OpenVPN support. OpenVPN is a full-featured SSL VPN solution which implements OSI layer 2 or 3 secure network extension using the industry standard SSL/TLS protocol. The PPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol) is an older VPN protocol that was widely used in the past but is now considered less secure compared to newer alternatives like IPsec or OpenVPN.

Wireless

This router has 4 x 4 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 AX21 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.

This router operates on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequency bands, allowing you to connect devices to the most suitable band based on their capabilities and requirements. The Archer AX21 routers typically offer improved range and coverage compared to previous standards. They can transmit signals more effectively through obstacles, resulting in better connectivity in larger homes or offices. The AX1800 refers to the maximum combined data transfer rate supported by the router across all Wi-Fi bands.

The Archer AX21 is capable of a maximum throughput speed of 574 + 1201 Mbps. The real-world speed of a Archer AX21 router is typically lower than its theoretical maximum speed. The maximum TX power of Archer AX21 router is 30 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 AX21 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 AX21 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 AX21 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

USB ports can offer additional functionality depending on the router's capabilities. The USB 2 port has a maximum theoretical data transfer rate of 480 megabits per second (Mbps), which is equivalent to 60 megabytes per second (MB/s). The Archer AX21 router has print server functionality. With a USB print server, you can manage printer settings, monitor print queues, and control access to the printer from a centralized interface. This can simplify printer management and administration tasks. The Archer AX21 router allows you to schedule automated backups of your important data to the connected USB storage device.

Administration

The TP-Link router setup panel is accessed through a web browser. Connect your computer to the Archer AX21 router via Wi-Fi or Ethernet cable. In the address bar of the web browser, type in the 192.168.0.1 IP address. If you are unable to log in to the setup panel of your TP-Link router, performing a reset can be a helpful troubleshooting step. It is highly recommended to change the default password of your Archer AX21 router after the initial setup. If you forget the new password in the future, you may need to perform a factory reset on the router to revert to the default settings.

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 AX21, then don’t hesite and signal the problem to us.

TP-Link Archer AX21 (AX21) pictures

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