TP Archer C7 AC1750 Router

Coat22 · 21-01-2015 03:47PM #1

Hi All,

I am using UPC broadband 120mps but only getting speeds of 25-30mps on any of the devices I'm using (laptop, tablet or iphone)

Someone recommended to me to change the modem I'm using (the original Thompson one that came from UPC) and to get my hands on a TP Archer C7 AC1750 Router.

Here's where my limited techy skills run out:

If the TP Archer a router rather than a modem? Do I need to keep the Thompson kit plugged in or does the TP Archer replace it?

Do I then need to change settings on all my devices to optimise the TP Archer performance?

Thanks

advertsfox · 21-01-2015 03:54PM

You need both. It's an AC router that can support 120Mbps over WiFi where the stock UPC router can't (up to 54Mbps but you never really get that). You connect this to your current router (with it's WiFi disabled) and use this as an access point (meaning it's essentially a wireless "LAN" cable) and then reconnect all wireless devices to this instead. Once done, you can obtain up to 120Mbps over the WiFi.

Dave..M · 21-01-2015 04:00PM

Coat22 wrote: »

Hi All,

I am using UPC broadband 120mps but only getting speeds of 25-30mps on any of the devices I'm using (laptop, tablet or iphone)

Someone recommended to me to change the modem I'm using (the original Thompson one that came from UPC) and to get my hands on a TP Archer C7 AC1750 Router.

Here's where my limited techy skills run out:

If the TP Archer a router rather than a modem? Do I need to keep the Thompson kit plugged in or does the TP Archer replace it?

Do I then need to change settings on all my devices to optimise the TP Archer performance?

Thanks

You keep the Thomson. Follow the info in the below thread to bridge the Thomson, plug the C7 into the Ethernet port, confirm you have a public IP and away you go, dual band loveliness. Same set up I've had working fault free for a year (except when my power adapter went on the Thomson but I found a replacement)

Enjoy

http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057106714/1

Coat22 · 21-01-2015 04:16PM

advertsfox wrote: »

You need both. It's an AC router that can support 120Mbps over WiFi where the stock UPC router can't (up to 54Mbps but you never really get that). You connect this to your current router (with it's WiFi disabled) and use this as an access point (meaning it's essentially a wireless "LAN" cable) and then reconnect all wireless devices to this instead. Once done, you can obtain up to 120Mbps over the WiFi.

Hmmmm wife's not going to be happy about me adding another clunky piece of plastic to the hall table

Dave..M · 21-01-2015 04:21PM

Coat22 wrote: »

Hmmmm wife's not going to be happy about me adding another clunky piece of plastic to the hall table

They never are but at least the C7 is very shiney (fingerprint & dust catcher!) one advantage of bridging is that the UPC router can be put out of sight as you will also disable the wifi in it (it effectively becomes a dumb modem with the C7 doing all of the heavy lifting). Just make sure there is a bit of airflow around the Thomson to make sure it doesn't over heat.

guil · 21-01-2015 04:21PM

Coat22 wrote: »

Hmmmm wife's not going to be happy about me adding another clunky piece of plastic to the hall table

Haha I had the same problem when I got another TP link router to add to my Vodafone modem.

Dave..M · 21-01-2015 04:23PM

Btw with a couple of screws you can fit the C7 to the underside of the table, assuming it's not an heirloom, or so decent Velcro pads if it is, the antennas flatten out, potentially not optimal for the wifi but should be fine and may solve all problems....

ED E · 21-01-2015 05:51PM

Nb its worth noting that not all devices will necessarily hit 120mb even with the archer. Smartphones (excluding cheapo ones) bought within the last 18mo, most new laptops will. Newer ipads too. Older devices will run slower, but its usually irrelevant on them.

The_Chap · 21-01-2015 05:54PM

I've the 120mb service with UPC - have the Thompson modem and changed setting from 2.4Ghz to 5Ghz - now get wifi speeds on laptop of around 90Mbps where was only 50 before

bk · 21-01-2015 06:25PM

The_Chap wrote: »

I've the 120mb service with UPC - have the Thompson modem and changed setting from 2.4Ghz to 5Ghz - now get wifi speeds on laptop of around 90Mbps where was only 50 before

True, but the downside is that the UPC modems can only do either 2.4GHz or 5GHz, it can't do them simultaneously like other high end routers.

The downside of this is many older devices only support 2.4GHz. In fact some new devices too, for instance PS4 only supports 2.4GHz!

If every device you have supports 5GHz then great, but doing this isn't suitable for everyone.

Coat22 · 22-01-2015 09:56AM

Thanks for all the replies - I ordered and cancelled the Archer about 3 times yesterday not knowing whether I really wanted/needed one or not but think I'm going to take the plunge today.

Expect constant nagging to start in about a weeks time about "that thing in the hall" while ignoring the fact that "the internet is not working" :-)

Coat22 · 22-01-2015 10:27AM

Anybody used one of these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/D-Link-Wireless-AC1750-Dual-Band-Gigabit/dp/B00D9QFTKS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1421918745&sr=8-2&keywords=ac1750+router

They certainly look nicer (might keep the wife happy). Same price as the Archer on Amazon and I can probably pick one up locally cheaper than the C7.

Any thoughts?

bk · 22-01-2015 10:46AM

Coat22 wrote: »

Anybody used one of these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/D-Link-Wireless-AC1750-Dual-Band-Gigabit/dp/B00D9QFTKS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1421918745&sr=8-2&keywords=ac1750+router

They certainly look nicer (might keep the wife happy). Same price as the Archer on Amazon and I can probably pick one up locally cheaper than the C7.

Any thoughts?

Doesn't have any external antennas, so will definitely have worse performance, possibly much worse.

Big antennas are there for a reason, they massively increase the range of the reception.

I'm sure it will have better performance then the UPC routers, but not anywhere as good as the Archer C7.

Don't forget routers don't have to be left out on the table, they can be hidden away behind the TV or sofa or even mounted with screws under a table, etc.

ED E · 22-01-2015 10:49AM

Review Date: 7 June 2013 Updated on: 11 November 2013
The Good The easy-to-use D-Link DIR-868L offers fast data speeds, solid Wi-Fi coverage, and cloud-enabled features with mobile apps.
The Bad The router can't work as a media bridge or a standalone access point, and its mobile apps are limited both in features and functionality.
The Bottom Line The D-Link DIR-868L delivers as an advanced 802.11ac-enabled home router despite its underwhelming mobile apps and usage inflexibility.

http://www.cnet.com/uk/products/d-link-dir-868l-wireless-router-802-11-a-b-g-n-ac-draft-2-0-desktop-dir868l/

Seems decent. CNET would be reasonably reliable.

bk · 22-01-2015 11:48AM

ED E wrote: »

http://www.cnet.com/uk/products/d-link-dir-868l-wireless-router-802-11-a-b-g-n-ac-draft-2-0-desktop-dir868l/

Seems decent. CNET would be reasonably reliable.

Actually I stand corrected, it is very well reviewed and ranked:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/tools/rankers/router/ranking/AC1750?rank=6
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/32110-d-link-dir-868l-wireless-ac1750-dual-band-gigabit-cloud-router-reviewed

However ED E, I wouldn't normally out much fate in CNet reviews, smallnetbuilder above is the be all and end all of network gear reviews.

Dave..M · 22-01-2015 12:08PM

bk wrote: »

Actually I stand corrected, it is very well reviewed and ranked:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/tools/rankers/router/ranking/AC1750?rank=6
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/32110-d-link-dir-868l-wireless-ac1750-dual-band-gigabit-cloud-router-reviewed

However ED E, I wouldn't normally out much fate in CNet reviews, smallnetbuilder above is the be all and end all of network gear reviews.

The C7 has 3 internal 2.4ghz antennae, the externals are just for 5 (V1 & 2 anyway) there is a V3 now though with dual band external antennae, quite when that'll ship though I don't know but useful if you wanted to swap them out for higher gain antennae (tut tut) or add on extensions to better locate the antennae and leave the router where it is etc. It'll also have the higher rated power levels on the lower 5 channels from the FCC changes (although of course no one would select US as country in Ireland, that would be very bold!)

ED E · 22-01-2015 12:39PM

bk wrote: »

Actually I stand corrected, it is very well reviewed and ranked:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/tools/rankers/router/ranking/AC1750?rank=6
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/32110-d-link-dir-868l-wireless-ac1750-dual-band-gigabit-cloud-router-reviewed

However ED E, I wouldn't normally out much fate in CNet reviews, smallnetbuilder above is the be all and end all of network gear reviews.

I really didnt dig into it, before I personally purchase stuff I tend to read every review under the sun, but that was just a skim on my phone

bk · 22-01-2015 01:10PM

Dave..M wrote: »

The C7 has 3 internal 2.4ghz antennae, the externals are just for 5 (V1 & 2 anyway) there is a V3 now though with dual band external antennae, quite when that'll ship though I don't know but useful if you wanted to swap them out for higher gain antennae (tut tut) or add on extensions to better locate the antennae and leave the router where it is etc. It'll also have the higher rated power levels on the lower 5 channels from the FCC changes (although of course no one would select US as country in Ireland, that would be very bold!)

Yes, that is correct.

I see that the new Archer C8 is also dual band on the three external antennas. However reading reviews of it on smallnetbuilder, it seems to perform about the same as the C7. Slightly faster in some areas, but slightly slower in others. ON average the same. So I'm not sure it is worth it for the extra €30.

For me, I've most of my devices on 5GHz, just a few old devices on 2.4Ghz that don't support 5GHz * I generally don't care about bandwidth for those devices anyway. So on the whole I'm not worried about it's lesser (but still much better then UPC routers) 2.4GHz performance.

I don't see any reason to upgrade from the C7, I think I'll hold onto it for a few years until MU-MIMO becomes standard, stable and affordable.

Actually, given that my apartment is weird for gigabit ethernet, what I think I might do is wait for the C7 to come further down in price as newer "silly" models come out and then pick a second one up cheap and put it in my bedroom. That should give me minimum 200mb/s through out my apartment then

I think this will give me far better performance, for the same money as expensive wasteful high end models.

* Scan from my macbook, I can see that my router is the only 5GHz one in range, there are about 6 to 8 2.4GHz AP's all on 20MHz only and many on the same channels, the poor feckers.

bk · 22-01-2015 01:12PM

ED E wrote: »

I really didnt dig into it, before I personally purchase stuff I tend to read every review under the sun, but that was just a skim on my phone

Yup, same here when I initially dished it. I saw it had no external antennas and assumed it was bad. Digging deeper and reading the reviews, it performs roughly the same as the C7. Though I'd still prefer the removable/upgradeable external antenneas of the C7.

Dave..M · 22-01-2015 02:23PM

bk wrote: »

Yes, that is correct.

I see that the new Archer C8 is also dual band on the three external antennas. However reading reviews of it on smallnetbuilder, it seems to perform about the same as the C7. Slightly faster in some areas, but slightly slower in others. ON average the same. So I'm not sure it is worth it for the extra €30.

For me, I've most of my devices on 5GHz, just a few old devices on 2.4Ghz that don't support 5GHz * I generally don't care about bandwidth for those devices anyway. So on the whole I'm not worried about it's lesser (but still much better then UPC routers) 2.4GHz performance.

I don't see any reason to upgrade from the C7, I think I'll hold onto it for a few years until MU-MIMO becomes standard, stable and affordable.

Actually, given that my apartment is weird for gigabit ethernet, what I think I might do is wait for the C7 to come further down in price as newer "silly" models come out and then pick a second one up cheap and put it in my bedroom. That should give me minimum 200mb/s through out my apartment then

I think this will give me far better performance, for the same money as expensive wasteful high end models.

* Scan from my macbook, I can see that my router is the only 5GHz one in range, there are about 6 to 8 2.4GHz AP's all on 20MHz only and many on the same channels, the poor feckers.

Yeah I can't fault the C7, certainly it does everything I need it to right now and I'd have a fair few wired & wireless devices pinging it and streaming at crunch times and for a lot less than some of the big name devices and in over a year I've thankfully had no real issues. I have the v1 but dont have a Mac book so wasn't impacted by the early AC compatibility issues but I believe that has been resolved through FW updates (and I believe the v2 earlier in 2014 sorted it), indeed TP have been very proactive with their FW even after releasing the v2 with the updated chipset and the 2.4 reception can be improved as the FCC allows has higher power levels on 2.4, assuming you live in the US of course (ahem ahem). I'd definitely consider another as an AP but right now I don't have any blind spots (5 is obviously limited by design) and my TP homeplug with wifi gives me 2.4 down the end of the garden assuming the weather permits lounging!

bk · 22-01-2015 03:15PM

Dave..M wrote: »

the 2.4 reception can be improved as the FCC allows has higher power levels on 2.4, assuming you live in the US of course (ahem ahem).

Dave..M wrote: »

I'd definitely consider another as an AP but right now I don't have any blind spots (5 is obviously limited by design) and my TP homeplug with wifi gives me 2.4 down the end of the garden assuming the weather permits lounging!

Me neither, just would be nice to get the full 200mb/s in the bedroom, rather then "just" 100mb/s, no real need other then a geek wanting to get most out of his network!

Any sign of the v3 hitting the UK yet?

I see from camelcamel that the C7 hit as low as €85 at one stage, at that price I definitely pull the trigger on a second one.

TP Link while a relatively unknown brand in Europe and US, they are the number one networking company in China and are making big head way into the US and Europe now.

Unfortunately it seems to have gone to their head a little and their newer models the C8 and C9 aren't as keenly priced and are closer to the other premium brands

Having said that these new routers have a lovely new and very snazzy web interface, but I don't think they are worth the price premium, specially not the C9 at €50 more! Not unless you have very specific needs for wireless bridging between two high end AC routers.

Dave..M · 22-01-2015 04:04PM

Agreed, I like to get the full hit too but I guess it's relative to usage at the extreme ends of wireless range, it works fine in my upstairs for streaming at HD quality but the fact you have the wiring means you can, so why not! Wall plugs for me for the mo tho!

I seem to recall the C7 was originally 150+ bucks online when it first came out mid 2013 and came right down so perhaps the others will follow suit eventually although the C7 probably has some production efficiencies given it shares the standard housing design of their other dual band routers.

Not sure on the v3, it's been on their web site a while now but as to what version you get from Amazon, who knows. I'd defo wait for the snb review, I think I saw TH mention on his forums that he would do a review when he gets a unit, in the end it may have external antennae but the current C7's do have 6 antennae albeit 3 internal (and TH did have a thread on his forums previously saying that he didn't see externals having a massive performance improvement, although there was a lot of back and forth to the contrary, certainly more limitinh) so it'll be interesting to see the comparison.

bk · 22-01-2015 04:20PM

Dave..M wrote: »

(and TH did have a thread on his forums previously saying that he didn't see externals having a massive performance improvement, although there was a lot of back and forth to the contrary, certainly more limitinh) so it'll be interesting to see the comparison.

Yes, that seems to be born out by the reviews of the C8 giving the same results as the C7, despite the C8 external antenna being dual band, while the C7 2.4GHz are internal. Also the review of the D-Link mentioned earlier which is all internal antennas is pretty much the same as the C7.

However the big advantage of the external antennas is that they are replaceable with larger, higher gain antennas, which can certainly improve long distance 5GHz performance. You can also do wacky stuff like put the antennas outside your house, pointing at a distant building (e.g. a home office in a shed), running back via a cable to the router inside your house.

I'm sure most people won't do this, but maybe handy for some.

Dave..M · 22-01-2015 04:30PM

The potential for wacky stuff is always handy, that's why I never bin my old kit much to my wife's annoyance

Doodah7 · 23-01-2015 07:56PM

If it is of any interest, Amazon are currently selling C9 on a lifhtning deal for £96 for the next half hour...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00PK0JLCI/ref=gb1h_tit_c-2_8707_d28d497f?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_t=701&pf_rd_s=center-new-2&pf_rd_r=1AC2SQZK3JB3B149J1Q9&pf_rd_i=20&pf_rd_p=577138707

bk · 23-01-2015 08:12PM

tallpaul wrote: »

If it is of any interest, Amazon are currently selling C9 on a lifhtning deal for £96 for the next half hour...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00PK0JLCI/ref=gb1h_tit_c-2_8707_d28d497f?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_t=701&pf_rd_s=center-new-2&pf_rd_r=1AC2SQZK3JB3B149J1Q9&pf_rd_i=20&pf_rd_p=577138707

Arghhh..... most resist

The_Chap · 23-01-2015 08:13PM

Amazon's current exchange rate is brutal 1.37!

Thor · 23-01-2015 08:25PM

Not sure about the c9 but I had the c7 and it wasn't the best. The wireless speed was very unstable and the firmware wasn't being updated to fix any of the issues.

This was over a year ago at least and a week after i got it i just swapped it out for the more expensive but well wroth it asus au66u. One of the best routers I have ever had and the firmware is amazing.

bk · 23-01-2015 09:10PM

Thor wrote: »

Not sure about the c9 but I had the c7 and it wasn't the best. The wireless speed was very unstable and the firmware wasn't being updated to fix any of the issues.

I'm guessing you had the C7v1, the one sold on amazon is the C7v2

The C7v2 is an amazing router, rock solid performance and TP Link have updated the firmware a good few times now.

I work from home all day, using VPN and connected to a Unix terminal, so I would notice any unstability immediately as the VPN connection would drop. But nope, rock solid.

So I wouldn't worry about buying the C7 now, just when it arrives, make sure it is the v2 model or even better the v3 model (no indication of this being available in Europe yet).

If you do get the v1 model, you can return it to amazon for free, but I think all the v1 models are well gone by now. Just be careful if buying second hand.

cruhoortwunk · 24-01-2015 07:19PM

bk wrote: »

I'm guessing you had the C7v1, the one sold on amazon is the C7v2

The C7v2 is an amazing router, rock solid performance and TP Link have updated the firmware a good few times now.

I work from home all day, using VPN and connected to a Unix terminal, so I would notice any unstability immediately as the VPN connection would drop. But nope, rock solid.

So I wouldn't worry about buying the C7 now, just when it arrives, make sure it is the v2 model or even better the v3 model (no indication of this being available in Europe yet).

If you do get the v1 model, you can return it to amazon for free, but I think all the v1 models are well gone by now. Just be careful if buying second hand.

I got a v1, balls! Ordered form amazon a week ago.

degsie · 24-01-2015 07:33PM

cruhoortwunk wrote: »

I got a v1, balls! Ordered form amazon a week ago.

Maybe return it! Amazon are usually great about returns.

TP Archer C7 AC1750 Router

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