Archer (TP-Link) AX-4400

[TPerry]

Anybody got one? Thoughts on it?
I'm currently using an old NetGear WNDR 3700 (circa 2009) for my WiFi at the house (state of the art at the time) and am looking at upgrading to a WiFi 6 capable router. I used to prefer the NightHawk stuff, but have heard they aren't the cat's meow any longer and that Archer/TP-Link makes a good product. I can get it for $129 locally and really don't want to spend over $150 if I can keep from it. Only thing it's used for is streaming to 2 TV's (one 4K), Apple TV, and 2 computers (one Windows 10 and one Mac) and then having 1 Echo and 2 Echo Dots hooked up to it along with 3 cell phones (Google Pixel 6, iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 11 Pro), an iPad, a Surface Book, a Surface Pro 2, the xBox One (very little online play), PS/5 (moderate online play by son who will be out of house in a few months), a Kindle, the garage door opener, a couple of security cameras and the Nest smoke alarms.

 

[briansol]

i have the archer A7 and the tplink onemesh setup at my place.

this is a few years old now and has worked well with the addition of the 2 mesh extenders (my house is pretty spread out and i want wifi outside as well).

the new mesh product they are advertising sounds even better.

 

[Wildcat Media]

I tend to prefer anything from Ubiquiti but, they cost considerably more. My home network uses an EdgeRouterX, several switches throughout the house (I do as much with wired Ethernet as I can), and an access point mounted in a central location in the house. All I know is, coming from the more consumer oriented products out there, this one access point has outperformed my earlier system in every way. There are very few low-signal spots in the house for WiFi (usually some dark, unused corner of the basement or attic), unlike my earlier system with three access points that still left a lot of dead areas. Yeah, it looks like a white flying saucer stuck to the wall or ceiling, but it does work well. The WAP probably costs $120-$150 depending on model, the EdgeRouterX close to $100, and any switches beyond that are low cost.

Ubiquiti's newer mesh WiFi 6 system (called AmpliFi, I believe) seems to be a good setup as well. I used one of Ubiquiti's mesh systems at a brand new La Quinta hotel in S. Jordan, UT, and its WiFi was both fast and stable, something I'm not used to in my travels.

All of my switches are TP-Link (two 8-port, three or four 4-port--I use those to break out a single Ethernet connection in a room), and I also have several of their WiFi outlets and multicolor LED bulbs, and they all perform with no issues whatsoever. I'd have no problem using another TP-Link product if I had the opportunity to do so.

 

[TPerry]

Ubiquiti's newer mesh WiFi 6 system (called AmpliFi, I believe) seems to be a good setup as well. I used one of Ubiquiti's mesh systems at a brand new La Quinta hotel in S. Jordan, UT, and its WiFi was both fast and stable, something I'm not used to in my travels.

For my clients that have networking cabling infrastructure in place the Ubiquiti UniFi (usually U6 LR inside or U6 Pro) is all I'll use. I don't want to have to run a few runs of cable through the house though for that and then a separate POE switch. My cable modem is centrally located and even the ISP modem/router gave a decent signal throughout the house and out onto the back patio.

 

[Mendalla]

My cable modem is centrally located and even the ISP modem/router gave a decent signal throughout the house and out onto the back patio.

Mine is at at one side of the house but the patio is right under the room it is in, so works well. It's the rec room where my Chromecast and alleged Smart TV (if it was really smart, I wouldn't have bought the Chromecast) are located that has issues.

Ubiquiti is an excellent product. We've been running Unifi at work for a while now (Head Office + 25 or so branch offices, so lots of networks) with great success. Never seen them used in a home environment though so can't speak to their products in that space.

 

[duderuud]

In my new house I installed TP-link Omada, the cheap Ubiquiti alternative.

Fantastic products. Very reliable, fast and customizable. Router, 10 port PoE switch, 4 AP's and a controller for less than $500.

 

[TPerry]

Never seen them used in a home environment though so can't speak to their products in that space.

I installed 9 U6 LR's in my Dr's office house and garage apartment (whole house is wired for ethernet) after upgrading them from the older version. They have a 3 story house Victorian era house. Actually works out really well and anywhere on the lot you can get a great WiFi signal. He liked it so well I've also installed it in a few other of his fellow physicians houses.

 

[Mendalla]

I installed 9 U6 LR's in my Dr's office house and garage apartment (whole house is wired for ethernet) after upgrading them from the older version. They have a 3 story house Victorian era house. Actually works out really well and anywhere on the lot you can get a great WiFi signal. He liked it so well I've also installed it in a few other of his fellow physicians houses.

Cool. My place isn't wired so I don't have the option of doing it that way (my boss was smarter in that regard, he's got like eight drops around the house). I'd probably only need two anyhow (one per floor). We've got a modern two-storey with a fairly fairly compact layout.

 

[TPerry]

Cool. My place isn't wired so I don't have the option of doing it that way (my boss was smarter in that regard, he's got like eight drops around the house). I'd probably only need two anyhow (one per floor). We've got a modern two-storey with a fairly fairly compact layout.

I ended up grabbing the AX4400 and so far am liking it. One thing I do like is it also supports the TP-Link Mesh units.... so if I need to expand using their Mesh products I can.
I'm getting a strong signal in areas that I normally was at 1-2 bars with my old setup. One thing I did find was that you have to enable the VOIP function on it if you want to use WiFi calling on your iPhone for some reason.

 

[Wildcat Media]

I ended up grabbing the AX4400 and so far am liking it. One thing I do like is it also supports the TP-Link Mesh units.... so if I need to expand using their Mesh products I can.

This is good to know--I sometimes get asked for recommendations on networking equipment, and knowing it works well for others does help.