TP-Link AC1200 Wireless Dual Band Wi-Fi Router, Wi-Fi Speed
TP-Link AC1200 Wireless Dual Band Wi-Fi Router, Wi-Fi Speed Up to 867 Mbps/5 GHz + 300 Mbps/2.4 GHz, 4+1 Fast Ports, Single-Core CPU, Parental Control, Easy setup (Archer C50)
Fast Ethernet
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|---|---|---|---|
Guest NetworkGuest Network Access provides secure Wi-Fi access for guests sharing your home or office network. | Parental ControlManage when and how connected devices can access the internet. | IPv6 SupportedArcher C50 supports IPv6, the next generation of Internet protocol, helping you to future-proof your network. | Intuitive Mobile InterfaceTP-Link Tether App provides the easiest way to access and manage your router with your iOS and Android devices. |
 |  |  |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wireless Spec | AC1900 | AC1750 | AC1200 | AC1200 | N450 | N300 |
| Wi-Fi Type | Dual-Band | Dual-Band | Dual-Band | Dual-Band | – | – |
| Total Wi-Fi Speed (and per band) | Up to 1900Mbps | Up to 1750Mbps | Up to 1167Mbps | Up to 1167Mbps | Up to 450Mbps | Up to 300Mbps |
| Wi-Fi Range & Coverage | Better | Better | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| Processor Speed | 1GHz Dual-Core | Single-Core | Single-Core | Single-Core | Single-Core | Single-Core |
| Ethernet Ports | 4 GbE LAN ports + 1 GbE WAN port | 4 GbE LAN ports + 1 GbE WAN port | 4 GbE LAN ports + 1 GbE WAN port | 10/100Mbps (4 LAN + 1 WAN) ports | 10/100Mbps (4 LAN + 1 WAN) ports | 10/100Mbps (4 LAN + 1 WAN) ports |
| USB Ports | 1x USB 3.0 + 1x USB 2.0 | 2x USB 2.0 | 1x USB 2.0 | – | – | – |
| Quality of Service (QoS) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Guest Network & Parental Control | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | – |
| Tether App | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Weight: | 299 g |
| Dimensions: | 22.99 x 14.42 x 3.69 cm; 299.99 Grams |
| Brand: | TP-Link |
| Model: | ARCHER C50 V6 |
| Colour: | White |
| Batteries Included: | No |
| Manufacture: | TP-Link |
| Dimensions: | 22.99 x 14.42 x 3.69 cm; 299.99 Grams |
Needed a router for a closed wireless network (mostly a number of Kindle 7 devices) – Customer support were great and very helpful when I wanted to configure the router for best coverage and signal for these devices
Fast, works with fiber broadband, has loads of options that more expensive routers lack.
Even down to limiting how much my daughter can use the internet. I can set her connected devices to go offline at a set time, week days and weekends.
Plus VPN support, ect.
Great product, gone from having no coverage in some rooms to full strength after installing this product, very easy to install.
Vodafone wanted to change my subscription from 25 to 40 a month for a better router, this product can literally save you 100’s!
I am a huge fan of Tp-Link and this router doesn’t let down.
For a budget option it doesn’t stop it from being amazing and with Tp-Links beamforming you get great signal throughout the range area.
I currently use this with my portable 5g wifi to extend its wifi signal and it work’s brilliantly.
Being Tp-Link it is supported by its Tether app and it makes controlling the router that much easier.
After a little bit of hunting and research, I whittled my selection down to a few routers. The TP-Link Archer C64 obviously won the battle due to its bargain basement price and richness of features, so I snapped one up and it landed into my grubby little paws a few hours later, and I was quickly tearing through its cellophene wrapping to get a gawp at it.
>>> WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
In the box, you’ll get the router itself, a short ethernet cable, the power adapter and a couple of quick-start instruction books. Bonus green points to TP-Link for making the packaging purely out of cardboard and better for the planet.
>>> FIRST IMPRESSIONS?
The first thing that struck me about this router is just how small and light it is – it’s really tiny and weighs next to nothing. It’s also square, which is a radical departure from the routers I’ve bought in the past which resembled artfully modelled matchboxes, and is very minimalist in its design. At each corner are its massive antennas which make it look like some sort of dead robot/crab creature.
There are a row of LEDS on the front of it and, around its back, there are four ethernet ports (with a dedicated one for plugging into your hub) and a WPS/Reset button and the input for the power adapter.
>>> IS IT EASY TO SET UP?
Well, I work in IT and have set up a few routers in my time so I’ve got a fair bit of experience in such things. Saying that, I did find this router particularly simple to set up, mainly thanks to the TP-Link app which guides you through the setup process. From plugging it in, setting the Virgin Superhub to modem-only mode and getting the Archer C64 router up and running and pumping out its WiFi connection, it took less than 15 minutes, I reckon.
Less IT savvy folks might find it a little more difficult (the app isn’t great at explaining what you need to do next) so you might want to grab an IT-savvy pal to help you if you’re not too sure what to do.
>>>WHAT FEATURES DOES IT HAVE?
Despite the relatively cheap price of the Archer C64, I think it’s pretty fully featured. It’s got all of the bells and whistles such as a built-in Firewall, Dual SSIDs, DMZ, port forwarding and all sorts of things.
>>>HOW DOES IT PERFORM?
Well, coming from a Virgin Superhub 3 – a hub that’s not exactly well regarded – this thing is lightning fast and has an impressive range. The superhub failed to reach the bathroom at the very rear of my old, long, narrow house (with thick walls), but with the Archer C64 I’m getting a fantastic signal and good speeds. Running a speed test sees this router hitting and sustaining the maximum speed my contract is capable of. You can’t ask for more than that!
>>>SUMMING UP
This is an absolutely cracking router for the price and, if you’re sick of the hub that came with your broadband package you should definitely consider getting one of these!
The TP-Link AC1200 Dual-Band Gigabit Wi-Fi Router has been a fantastic upgrade for my network. Setting it up was a breeze, thanks to its user-friendly interface and easy installation process. The router’s improved range and speed surpassed my old NowTV router, eliminating dead zones and weak spots in my home. With its dual-band technology, I experienced stable and high-speed connections even with multiple devices connected. The Gigabit Ethernet ports provided fast wired connections, and the intuitive web interface allowed for customization. The router’s sleek design seamlessly fits into my home environment. If you’re looking to upgrade your router, I highly recommend the TP-Link AC1200 for its easy setup, improved range and speed, and stylish design. Say goodbye to weak signals and slow connections, and enjoy a reliable Wi-Fi experience throughout your home.
I’ve bought a few TP link devices before to overcome Virgins useless superhub3. This device works perfectly. Although I had some initial issues with the virgin media hub, not be able to talk to the TP Link router upon speaking to the most helpful support team I’ve ever encountered. My problem, was resolved very quickly. 11 out of 10 customer support.
This unit works fine, and if you have a simple need, it is probably perfectly fine. But if you have any IT or Network background, this unit will annoy you more than anything. The UI is extreemly lacking, control is very limited (and is not supported by OpenWRT, etc.). It also doesn’t seem to support VLAN ID on the the WAN connection. This makes it useless for my original need.
I managed to get it to work within my network, but barely, and not as the main network gateway. I regret this purchase.
Simply put the Superhub 3 into Modem mode on the interface (192.168.0.1 by default, will change to 192.168.100.1 once in modem mode), LED turns purple. Plug an ethernet cable from LAN port 1 on the superhub to the WAN port on the back of the router (it’s colour coded, easy to see), then access the interface. Select ‘Dynamic IP’ and you’re away! Couldn’t be simpler! Haven’t noticed any drop in download speeds, but WiFi is now stable all over my house on the 2.4Ghz Band. I only use 5Ghz for Wireless VR play, but this works fine too!
Definitely recommended if your ISPs provided hub is not up to snuff!
The instructions give the impression that it would be easy for anyone to set up, having worked in IT for a number of years I didn’t find any problem, something that I can’t say for all routers out there.
Most of all I have only had to reboot it a few times in over a year and most of the time it wasn’t an issue with the router itself but rather the ISP. Can’t comment on the IT support, but the direction is pretty good. Definitely recommend!
Used it to convert LAN to Wifi – worked like a charm. One of the very few routers to come with a setting dedicated for this. I had built a work space outside the home and got a LAN cable extended till the garage but wanted to use wifi for all my devices within the office.
Super easy to choose settings, done in less than 5 minutes.
Live in a 3 floor house with a Virgin superhub on the 1st floor.
From that, an ethernet cable runs to a simple 4 point hub on the 2nd floor, then another ethernet from that to another 4 point hub on the 3rd floor. Giving wired connections for all devices that have an rj45 port. (PC’s, TV’s. Consoles etc).
I just wanted to get good wi fi to the top floor, so swopped out the 3rd floor hub to an AC1200.
I connected to the AC1200 via a browser on one of the wired PC’s (could have used an app).
Set a password for the router and another for the wi fi access, on the advanced TAB chose Access Point instead of Router. Saved settings and rebooted and everything worked perfectly.
Strong, fast, wi fi signal to the whole floor.
Took about 10 minutes to do.
Very happy with my purchase and would recommend.
I will swop out the Virgin hub for a decent TP link router at some point and let that control everything, im sure it will improve all speeds but for now its plenty sufficient.
Operating manuals and such
Spare Ethernet cable
Power adaptor
Router.
Positives:
– The router allows full gigabit transfer through the lan and wan ports is a huge advantage. Previously a router could support these speeds on wifi, but lacked the 1000/100 switch on the router to allow me to take advantage of my gigabit speeds.
– Easy to understand interface allows quick access to important functions such as port forwarding, security and the onboard vpn server to access my home network from anywhere.
– Speeds on 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz is within the range advertised.
– Onboard button for power is quite helpful.
Negatives:
– The onboard VPN server does have a flaw. It does not allow authentication using username and password so anyone with your config can connect to your home network.
– Router antennas are comically sized.
On initial uses, the TP router is awesome.
It enabled me to use dual band and a faster connection, i have been with BT broadband for the past 4 yrs. it has always raised question on my internet speed, using check my internet speed websites to check my connection, current states half of what i’m paying for, weak wifi signal.
However after connecting the new router and disabled the iSP supplied router. My connection has been on point almost doubled the speed on wifi and a much stronger signal strength.
The web access portal for the Router is easy to use, you can set the router to act as a Access Point or normal router function.
If your on the market to find something thats not expensive but does the job, this hardware does the job effectively well, enabling full speed access. It also has gigabits transfer speed for LAN connection.
However if your after something thats future proof i high advised to purchase the triband versions.
Conclusion
5* for price
5* for ease of use
5* for speed
4* for function
Highly recommended, overall 4.7* (5*)
I only got this router today so I may revise this review in the future. First of all, let me say that I am a computer technician, so setting up and running network equipment is nothing new to me. I had to read up on some TP-Link specific terms but that was advanced stuff I needed to know about. The initial setup was very easy. I was very impressed that the 5G and 2.5G networks run on completely separate networks, each having it’s own SSID. That has not been the case on my previous routers. First of all I wrote down all the passwords SSID’s and IP addresses I was going to use. I then reset my VM hub completely by holding in the reset button for 60 seconds while it was switched on. I then put the hub in modem only mode.. After setting the router to a different LAN address and making it so that the WAN gets a DHCP address I rebooted the router and linked it to the hub. It took all of 10 minutes to get it going. I gave 5 stars to tech support because I never needed to use them. I only gave 3 stars to User interface because although the router is fully featured, the colour scheme is not contrasted enough to be easy on the eye. Hovering over links tuns them either Yellow on a white background or white on a yellow background. There is an aquamarine background too. The colour scheme seems like it was designed by a 17 year old with dreamy summer colours in mind and no idea how to make an interface colour scheme add to the usability. I preferred the colour scheme of the TP-Link r600vpn – very easy to navigate and no confusion
So far, after messing with the Archer C6 I am over-all quite impressed and may use some css styliser to overcome the colour problems
The following has been edited in.
I have had the router a few months now and it works excellently I am satisfied this is a great router for the price
The setup was painless – just feed an ethernet cable from one of the ports in the BT Hub to the blue port on the Archer, connect to it via a web browser and finish the initial setup, switch it to access point mode from the settings page and you’re good to go.
A few tips:
– By default the wireless security is set to WPA/WPA2, this should be changed to WPA2/WPA3
– In the wireless settings you can use “Smart Connect” to combine the 2.4GHz and the 5GHz channels, so you only have to worry about connecting to a single SSID
– I actually turned off the wireless signal on the BT Hub entirely, and changed the SSID and password on the Archer to what the BT Hub was broadcasting – meaning all of the wireless devices reconnected to the Archer by themselves, and there won’t be any connection dropouts if a device were to try switching between the two routers (the Archer provides more than enough coverage)
Overall, I can’t really fault it.
Previously I’ve had issues with the WiFi signal from our main router downstairs not being strong enough upstairs. I already had a powerline connector providing ethernet upstairs, so I thought I’d try connecting another WiFi router to the upstairs powerline – and it works great!
There was a small amount of configuring to do, I had to put the router into an access point mode to avoid clashing with the main router, and I had to manually set the network ID and password to match the existing network.
The signal upstairs is now considerably stronger and I don’t have issues with video calls freezing any more! The signal from the new router seems to be much stronger too, I can still connect to it from downstairs even though I couldn’t connect well the other way around
Only small thing to note about my setup is that devices don’t seem to automatically know up switch between the upstairs/downstairs access points, so e.g. if I’m downstairs and go upstairs my phone will still be connected with downstairs and I have to manually turn the WiFi off and on on the device to force it to switch. For me this is not a big issue, but if you want it to be completely seamless you might want to look into more expensive mesh solutions.
My intention was to use the C50 as an access point. The setup was Virgin SuperHub 3 with an ethernet cable running from that into my loft, then use the C50 as an access point. This proved to be painful. I could not for the life of me get the C50 to work in “access point” mode with the ethernet cable going from a LAN port of my virgin router into the WAN port of the C50. My latop could connect to the C50 but had no internet and couldn’t access the virgin router on 192.168.0.1.
How I ended up getting this to work as an access point was as follows:
Getting everything ready
===================
1. Unplug all ethernet cables from the C50 — anything in the WAN port or LAN ports, take all of them out
2. Factory reset your C50 (hold in the reset button for at least 2 seconds)
3. You will need to connect to the C50 from your computer — either use Ethernet (in which case you would connect your computer to a LAN port on the C50, or WiFi). I’ll use WiFi
4. I make sure my WiFi connection is set to obtain an IP address and DNS automatically. You can follow similar steps for your ethernet adapter if you do not plan to connect to the C50 using WiFI:
a. Go to Control Panel -> Network and Internet -> Network Connections
b. Right click on my WiFi adapter and select Properties:
c. Select “Internet Protocol Version (TCP/IPv4) and select Properties
d. Ensure you are set to obtain IP address and DNS automatically:e. Press OK then press Close on the WiFi adapter properties window
Work out out which IP address to give to the C50
======================================
We need to work out the IP address range our main router uses for DHCP. We then need to work out an IP address outside of that range that we can assign to the C50 later in the process. The instructions here will be specific to your main router. In my case, my main router is a Virgin SuperHub 3.
5. Connect to your main router via ethernet or WiFi and sign into the admin page (in the case of a Virgin SuperHub 3, I go to http://192.168.0.1)
6. Find the section for your main router’s DHCP settings to see the range of IP addresses it will assign
7. With the information on that page on my virgin super hub, and the fact I knew the ip address for the main router (i.e. the virgin one), I now know:
a. My virgin router uses 192.168.0.1 — I definitely don’t want the C50 using that
b. My virgin router will also assign IP addresses in the range 192.168.0.10 -> 192.168.0.254 via DHCP
c. I want to give the C50 something that won’t be used by the virgin router so I’ll pick anything from 192.168.0.2 -> 192.168.0.9 as those IPs won’t be used by the virgin router
8. From step 7, I’ll just pick 192.168.0.2
Setting up the C50 into your browser. In my case http://192.168.0.1
===============
I now disconnect from the main router and connect to the C50. In my case, I’m using WiFi.
9. Ensure you have connected to the C50 via WiFi (or ethernet)
10. Navigate to http://tplinkwifi.net/ in your browser to go to the C50 admin console. Note that if this link does not work, you can:
a. Open a command prompt
b. Run “ipconfig”
c. Take note of the Default Gateway value
d. Enter that http://
11. Since you have performed a factory reset, the admin page will ask you to enter a new username and password, so do that and press Start
12. Go to Operation Mode and ensure Wireless Router is selected — DO NOT select Access Point which I know seems counter intuitive. You shouldn’t have to press Save here as it will already be set to Wireless Router assuming you had followed the instructions to factory reset the C50
13. Select Network -> LAN. Enter your IP address you calculated back in step 8. In my case, I chose 192.168.0.2. The subnet mask needed for that IP is 255.255.255.0 so I enter those values and press save
14. I then need to wait for the C50 to reboot
15. Once it has rebooted, ensure I am connected to it via WiFi (or Ethernet) and browse to the admin page using the http://tplinkwifi.net link or the IP address I just set in step 13. Log in.
16. Go to DHCP -> DHCP Settings
17. Set the “DHCP Server” value to Disable:
18. Press Save. Note that this does not seem to reboot the C50 automatically. You should reboot now by selecting System Tools -> Reboot -> Reboot button
19. Once the C50 has rebooted, connect to the admin page again and login
20. To recap, we should now have:
a. Operation Mode -> Wireless Router
b. Network -> LAN -> IP Address/Subnet Mask -> Appropriate values based on step 8
c. DHCP -> DHCP Settings -> DHCP Server -> Disable
21. Now we are ready to connect the C50 to our main router. Ensure one end of the ethernet cable is a LAN port of the main router and the other end is in the LAN port of the C50 (NOT the WAN port).
22. If you now go to status, you should see a connecttion listed under the Ethernet section
23. At this point, my laptop is connected to the C50 via WiFi but Windows 10 is still showing no internet. I simply disconnected my WiFi adapter from the C50 then connected again and voila — everything is working fine. If I connect to 192.168.0.1 in a browser, I see my Virgin SuperHub settings. 192.168.0.2 connects me to the C50 settings.
I did not have to do this with the Archer A7. With that it was as simple as putting the A7 into access point mode and connecting an ethernet cable from a LAN port on my virgin hub to the WAN port of the A7.
Have tried several devices, they all reconnected, though its interesting to see that TV smart apps seem to be buffering a bit – i am unsure if this is the fault of the apps (some on the TV are cached, i know and can be flushed so i’ll try that next) or the new router. Phones and firesticks all ok so far.
Over the next few weeks I’ll see i suppose. So far ok apart from the poor startup.
EDITED 20-May – last night at midnight mysterious drop of internet for the first time 🙁 Had to reboot router and that seemed to fix things. Also looked at the log and theres loads of entries from 2020! If i bought the router from new in 2021 why are there so many entries in the log? Odd, will keep an eye on things.
Hardest thing was probably changing my Google home devises, Smart TV’s, PS3 & Humax Freesat to use the new network, …but I got there in the end.
Wifi is excellent with a good range, it also works well with my tp-link AV600 Powerline plug-ins to connect to the Cabin at the bottom of our small garden. This used to be hopelessly slow connected to my old router even though the signal was much better.
Tp-link AC1200 highly recommended!
This TP-LINK exceeded my expectations across the board. I have a high-speed fibre connection of around 70-80Mps and this router really takes full advantage of my bandwidth. I’ve had it running for about a month now and in that time I’ve had zero dropouts. My uptime is from the time I first turned it on. I have some 20-30 internet capable gadgets of various types and they’re all solid with this router. No ‘not respondings’, no ‘ can’t connect’. Absolutely first class. Watching a 4K stream on Netflix while someone else in the house is gaming and this thing doesn’t even blink.
Set up is pretty easy using the usual webpage interface, with all the handy extras you’d expect. ‘Basic’ mode hides all the confusing extra settings if you just want a ‘make it work’ option, while ‘advanced’ gives you lots of fine control for more superuser types. You can allocate IP addresses, set parental controls to block keywords or access times, and have a guest connection. The phone app is suprisingly useful too, letting you know what’s going on on your network without having to fire up a computer.
Downsides are, well, it’s pretty ugly. Routers seem to be immune from any sort of aesthetic design other than the mad future tech look, and this one is no exception. It’s also pretty big physically so it’s hard to put somewhere out of sight. The antenna are huge, but this presumably what gives us such a good connection.
This is a great router – my old one cost four times the price of this some ten years ago, and the TP-Link blows it out of the water. Great value, highly recommended.
(If this review was helpful to you, I’d love it if you let me know with a click below)
This review is for the TP-LINK Archer C50 AC1200 Dual Band Wi-Fi Cable Router (it’s too easy to read the wrong review on these multi product listings)
The Background:
My Sky Q Fibre Hub, Sky Q TV Box and Sky Mini Box all emit a consolidated boosted WiFi mesh network throughout the house. This makes the signal very strong as the boxes are located in different rooms. They play nicely together and streaming HD video content from one Sky product to another is no problem at all. The Sky Q Hub combines it’s 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks into one. This is handy and when on 5Ghz it’s very fast. However, the latest iPhones (8 onwards I think) don’t seem to like this mesh network and drop off when moving between rooms (access points). This is frustrating because It seems that Sky blame Apple and Apple blame Sky for the incompatibility. I have great new technology in a Sky Q network but I can’t use it. Sky do not allow you to swap out the router for another which would be my first-choice solution.
My Solution:
I wanted a new Access Point capable of a 5GHz signal and also capable of producing a gated Guest Network that I could attach to my Sky Q Hub via a Cat5 cable (through a TP-Link Powerline socket to be exact). I knew that this router is a Cable Router but also read that it can be set up in Access point mode.
Turning on the Archer C50 (Version 4 not 3 arrived in the post) I connected to its WiFi and set it as an Access Point. I connected the Cat5 cable from one of the ONLY TWO ethernet ports on the Sky Q HUB to the Archer C50. I renamed the SSID’s of the 2.4GHz and 5GHz separate WiFi signals and created a third separate Guest Network. When connecting with my iPhone I achieved the full speed of my internet connection (I only pay for 40Mbps).
The Tether app is nice and simple for the basic tasks otherwise use the web UI.
The Problem:
Unless I have missed something, I do not see this product listed as having REDUCED functionality when in Access Point mode. The Guest Network can not be isolated from the other devices and the parental features and bandwidth control are not listed when in this mode.
So, yes. I have a nice new WiFi signal that the iPhones play ball with and I can now achieve maximum speed. Every device on my network whether Sky WiFi, Archer WiFi or Cat5 through my Powerlines all talk to each other correctly. BUT so can any Guest that I allow onto the “Guest” network.
Bottom Line:
If you don’t need a “secure gated” Guest network (who doesn’t these days?), bandwidth control, parental controls or are going to use this with a cable router such as Virgin Media then this would have 5 stars for the price (I paid 30). I give it 4 for not stating the limitations.