TP-Link Archer C6 5 GHz router review, is it worth it?

The TP-Link Archer C6 (C6) 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 C6 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 C6 is a good choice for users seeking a reliable and feature-rich router that supports the latest Wi-Fi 6 technology. TP-Link incorporates energy-efficient features in their products, promoting sustainability and reducing power consumption.

Table of contents:

• TP-Link Archer C6 specifications
• TP-Link Archer C6 pictures

TP-Link Archer C6 (C6) 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 purchase a router online or have it shipped, the weight may affect the overall cost. Heavier routers can result in higher shipping charges, especially for international deliveries.

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 Archer C6 has 128 MB of RAM. Some advanced router features and software functionalities require a certain amount of RAM to operate properly. For example, routers with more RAM can support advanced security features, VPN services, or QoS (Quality of Service) prioritization more effectively.

The Archer C6 has 8 MB of flash memory. A larger flash memory allows for more storage space to accommodate future firmware upgrades. The process of upgrading the firmware on routers has become relatively simple and user-friendly over the years. The TP-Link provides easy-to-use interfaces and instructions to guide users through the firmware upgrade process. 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

The Archer C6 router offers built-in security features to protect your network and connected devices. The majority of networking equipment, including routers, switches, and other network devices, is designed to support IPv4. The Archer C6 router is also compatible with IPv6. IPv6 provides a significantly larger address space and offers various enhancements and improvements over IPv4. The Archer C6 has 4 x 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN and 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps WAN ports. The LAN ports of Archer C6 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. If you have a high-speed internet plan that offers speeds of 1 Gbps or higher, gigabit Ethernet ports are essential to fully utilize the available bandwidth. WAN ports often require specific configuration settings based on the type of internet connection provided by your ISP. The Archer C6 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 C6 comes with built-in OpenVPN client. OpenVPN employs a certificate-based authentication system, which enhances security and provides a more robust method of identity verification compared to traditional username/password authentication. PPTP uses the Password Authentication Protocol (PAP) or Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) for user authentication. However, the authentication process itself does not provide strong security guarantees.

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 C6 is compatible with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi networks. 2.4 GHz is the most widely used frequency and in some cases may be overcrowded.

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 C6 AC Wi-Fi router is backward compatible with older Wi-Fi devices that support 802.11a/b/g/n standards. The AC1200 refers to the maximum combined data transfer rate supported by the router across all Wi-Fi bands. The Archer C6 is capable of a maximum throughput speed of 300 + 867 Mbps. The real-world speed of a Archer C6 router is typically lower than its theoretical maximum speed.

The maximum TX power of Archer C6 router is 23 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 C6 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 C6 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 C6 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 C6 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 C6 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 C6 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 C6, then don’t hesite and signal the problem to us.

TP-Link Archer C6 (C6) pictures

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