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Review on πŸ•ΉοΈ TP-Link Archer C9 AC1900: High-Speed Dual Band Gigabit Wireless Router with Beamforming, Ideal for Gaming and Extended Range by Raffy Baer

Revainrating 1 out of 5

5 GHz dropout after 2 weeks of operation

I bought this sucker because I'm a big fan of TP Link. I have been using their products for many years. When I received this router I really liked it. Easy to install, advanced features were nice. I use OOMA for my phone, I have dedicated servers set up, I use static MAC address routing etc. So I'm a bit savvy with networking. We have a few gaming consoles, several computers, tablets, phones, a few smart TVs, etc. I also have an OOMA for my home phone, as mentioned. So I have multiple devices. When I bought this router, I made the decision to use True Wireless at home. I used to connect all my computers to the LAN, but I was just tired of having to troubleshoot (rarely) and wanted to avoid installing more cables (in the future). Also, I'm still using CAT5e, so the WiFi is actually faster than my LAN at the moment. So I decided to just buy some PCI-e (aka tp-link) wireless adapters for all my desktops and just upgrade to full wireless. But I knew I needed a modern/faster router that could handle higher speeds and multiple clients. So I buy a TP-Link Archer AC1900 Smart WiFi Router (Archer C9). This router worked great for 2 weeks. Now when I say it worked for 2 weeks, I mean the 5GHz "chip" worked for 2 weeks before it died. I mean it just stopped. To work. He stopped beeping. My computer is about 1.50 m away from them in the open air. No interference, no external problems. 5GHz just doesn't work anymore. I spent about 16 hours debugging, checking all variables and researching internet forums. Just trying to find the problem. I updated the firmware to the latest version (before the problems started. Worked fine for a while), factory reset etc. Nothing helped. Do you know why it didn't work? BECAUSE 5GHz IS COMING OUT AND DEAD. No user error folks. It just died due to traffic use. After these problems I sent it in for exchange. I received a replacement, updated the firmware, entered ALL my data and settings. BAMM! Works again at 5 GHz. However, this time I switched most of my devices to 2GHz, hoping to avoid "melting" the 5GHz "chip". 12 days later the same problem. I woke up this morning only to find the same damn problem. 5GHz is dying. In short, this device has flaws. This is a design flaw in the 5GHz hardware. I believe it's overheated due to a lot of communication and just can't dissipate the heat until it fails. No substitute will help in this matter. So I went with another brand hoping their product is better designed. Small note: the rest of the router works fine except for 5GHz. 2GHz I couldn't be happier. The installation, setup, features, etc. of this router are great. However, I need 5 GHz to work. I didn't pay $100 for a 2GHz router. I paid for a 5GHz router and I want it to work and last a long time.

Pros
  • Long range coverage with 3 external antennas; FCC less than 30dBm
Cons
  • Sad hardware