TP-Link AC1900 Smart WiFi Router - High Speed MU-MIMO Wireless Router, Dual Band Router for Wireless Internet, Gigabit, Supports Guest WiFi, Beamforming, Smart Connect(Archer A8)

Product Information

When they use computers for measuring the maximum bandwidth, networking companies use high-end PCs, with the best possible processor, RAM, and the fastest network card available. Most users don’t have the same budget to invest in similar high-end computers. Would you buy a high-end wireless network card like ASUS PCE-AC88? Most people would not. Earlier we gave an example of a tri-band router and explained that its AC3200 naming did not mean that it offers a wireless network at 3200 Mbps but three wireless networks, two of which work at a theoretical maximum of 1300 Mbps. You could assume that the top speed you get is 1300 Mbps, but that would be, again, false. This is because ALL manufacturers of networking equipment such as WiFi routers, don’t use real-life measuring environments, like people’s homes and apartments. They do their measurements in specialized labs so that they can claim the maximum possible speed. Here’s what they tend to do, to calculate the total maximum bandwidth: We have mentioned a lot the two frequency bands that AC WiFi routers operate, namely the 2.4Ghz and the 5Ghz bands. Numbers are based on testing conducted by the USB-IF and your computers are required to also support USB 3.0 The original 802.11 standard has gone through multiple iterations and improvements such as 802.11b/g, 802.11n etc with the purpose of increasing wireless speeds and transmission efficiency among other improvements.

Let’s now compare some of the different AC specs starting with two very popular ones, the AC2200 and AC3000. Connect More Devices: Simultaneously communicate more data to more devices without slowing down usingMU-MIMO technology. ‡ One key aspect of the calculation that results in an AC naming is the number of bands or frequencies on which the router emits the wireless signal. Let’s take a modern and popular router as an example: NETGEAR Nighthawk X6 AC3200. This router has three bands, each of them with its maximum theoretical bandwidth: 600 Mbps for Band 1, and 1300 Mbps for Bands 2 and 3. Nowadays, WiFi Mesh Networks have emerged as the new trend. These mesh systems consist of 2 or more wifi routing nodes creating a wireless “umbrella” (or mesh) that clients connect to it. More Reliable Coverage: Achieve the strongest, most reliable WiFi coverage with Archer C80 as it focuses signal strength to your devices using Beamforming technology and 4 antennas.As you may know already, the higher the frequency of a wireless signal the lower distance it can travel. Therefore, the characteristic of the 802.11AD wireless standard is that it supports very-high-speed transmissions but at much lower distances compared to 802.11AC. Its basically a super fast WiFi at much shorter ranges ( its effective range is approximately 30 feet). System Router up to 100 MBps Cabe modem up to 250 Mbps. System works fine other than VIZIO Smart TV has buffering at times when using Sling TV. Not as much using Netflix.

As mentioned above, WiFi AC models can be also categorized according to the number of frequency bands they support. Here are some examples below: Tri-band and emit on three frequencies: one 2.4 GHz frequency and two 5 GHz frequencies. You see three wireless networks being broadcast. The most expensive wireless routers are tri-band, and their names have AC3000 or more in their name. Some of the latest routers even have AC5300 in their name, making you believe that they emit wireless networks at 5300 Mbps, which is far from the truth.AC1750: Routers having this specification can run at combined WiFi speeds of 1750Mbps. Usually, we have max link speed of 450Mbps on the 2.4Ghz band and 1300Mbps on the 5Ghz band (450+1300=1750Mbps). However, you will see a few wireless routers supporting the ultra-high-speed 802.11AD standard. Some examples of these models with AD support include the Netgear X10 AD7200 and the TP-Link Talon AD7200. What is 802.11AD The WiFi Access Point (or WiFi Router) which all the clients connect to. This is the core component responsible to route the wireless traffic from clients towards the wired network (Internet etc). The WiFi technology has gone through multiple enhancements and updates both on the protocol standard level and on the actual devices manufactured by vendors. When looking to buy a new WiFi router (or a complete mesh system) customers are faced with some technical jargon and specs that it’s hard to understand (unless they are tech-savvy people).

They place the devices that they use for measuring the bandwidth at an optimal distance of 2 to 3 meters (6 to 10 feet). They have no interest in measuring the bandwidth in the far corner of a home or apartment. Dual-band and emit WiFi on two frequencies: 2.4 GHz (which is slower but with a larger coverage area) and 5 GHz (which is faster but with a smaller coverage area). You see two wireless networks being broadcast. The majority of modern routers are dual-band they have up to AC2900 in their name. Their pricing varies a lot, but it tends to be accessible for most people. There are several enhancements of the new AC standard (published in 2013) compared to previous ones. For example, Beamforming is a new concept which allows the WiFi router to transmit radio signals directly to client devices (instead of broadcasting the signal to the whole space), thus achieving better overall throughput and also reduced power consumption. How Fast is 802.11ac ? The number after AC shows the maximum combined theoretical wireless speed (measured in Mbps) of the router device (i.e from client to router). Do not confuse this number with the actual ISP bandwidth speed (also measured in Mbps) of your Internet connection. The latter is much lower than the wireless speed. While I find your article enlightening, I do have a question on other hardware. I was recently told that dependent on the age of the hardware connecting to the system, every other piece of equipment on the system will slow down to the speed of the oldest/slowest piece of hardware on the system. I remember from the Daisy-Chain days this would be the case but would this characteristic still occur with the newer wifi systems? Does this characteristic still apply to wired systems? Thank you.

I live in a 3000 Sq.Ft single story home. I had an ARRIS 6141 cable modem connected to a Netgear WNDR 3400 router. Here is how the “ ACxxxx” specification was born. It means basically that the wifi device supports the 802.11ac standard and its sub-variations in wireless speeds represented by the 4 numbers after the “AC” part. The AC1200 model routers also have one band at 2.4Ghz and one band at 5Ghz with combined wireless speed of around 1200Mbps. Both of the above can be used for light streaming and gaming, however if you have some heavy traffic inside your home (between home devices such as your TV and your streaming media box) we suggest you to go with AC2200 and above. What are some popular Router Brands that use AC WiFi The AC wifi standard has been embraced by almost all WiFi router manufacturers nowadays. The most popular router manufacturers/brands that implement the AC specification standard are:

Usually the modern WiFi routers supporting the AC standard work with 2 (dual-band) or 3 (Tri-band) radio bands (for example 1 band in the 2.4Ghz frequency and 2 bands in the 5Ghz frequency). Older models work with 1 band only. Different Types of AC model bands (single-band, dual-band, tri-band) This new standard will be using both 2.4GHz and 5GHz concurrently therefore creating and supporting more channels and better speed and utilization. These wireless speeds are ideal if your ISP internet speed is at least 300Mbps and above and you have some heavy traffic such as HD video streaming, online gaming etc. AC1750 vs AC1900 As for your article, it was a “great” read. I now know much more about ISP/Internet/ AC industry standards. Advanced WiFi Features: Smart Connect and Airtime Fairness ensure your devices are on the best available WiFi band while ensuring old devices don't slow you down.

Gigabit Wired Connection

Being a lower frequency, the 2.4 Ghz band can travel longer distances and can pass through walls and obstacles easier than the 5Ghz band. This will answer the question about the meaning of the numbers after the ACxxxx spec. (e.g AC1200, AC1750, AC1900 etc).