I think you've heard such an expression as "flagship smartphone", or some other device. So, today I will tell you about the flagship Wi-Fi router from TP-Link. Archer C5400. This is the top-end, which means the fastest, most powerful and of course expensive router model. This is the second hardware version of the Archer C5400. And I am very glad that I had the opportunity to see this router live and share my impressions and thoughts with you.
This router, like all flagship devices, contains the most top technologies and new features. Installed powerful hardware. A unique and interesting design has been developed. The software part also received the latest updates and developments from TP-Link. This is truly a top-end device. Well, the price is not small - about $ 330. But even in appearance and first impressions after unpacking, you understand that this router is worth its money.
TP-Link Archer C5400 is designed to connect a large number of "heavy" devices to the Internet. You can connect several Smart TVs, game consoles, computers, mobile devices, and a whole bunch of other things to such a router. These devices can not only be connected, but very actively use the Internet connection on them. Watch 4k videos, play heavy online games, download torrents, etc. The network will work stably. Devices will not turn off, the router will not freeze, and ping and speed will be as high as possible.
Such a router can be easily installed in a restaurant, cafe, shop, or office. In addition, there is the ability to very finely configure the guest network, and even organize authorization in the Wi-Fi network through a separate page. For example, advertising your services or products.
TP-Link Archer C5400 Features and Capabilities
The most important thing is iron. TP-Link Archer C5400 is equipped with a dual-core processor from Broadcom with a frequency of 1.4 GHz. It is a very powerful processor for a router. Moreover, for the stable operation of the Wi-Fi network in each of the three bands, three additional coprocessors are installed. Such powerful hardware allows the Archer C5400 not only to deliver high speed and stability of the wireless network, but also to work with various devices that can be connected via USB. This can be an external hard drive, printer, camera, etc.
The router is tri-band. It distributes one 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network and two 5GHz networks. And these are three different channels. And not just three Wi-Fi networks, which are created by software through one transmitter. Wi-Fi speed in the 2.4 GHz range - up to 1000 Mbps. And up to 2167 Mbps on each of the two networks in the 5 GHz band. This is speed!
WAN and LAN ports are of course gigabit. Moreover, it has a link aggregation function that allows you to aggregate ports to increase bandwidth and connection stability. I don't even want to connect to such a router the Internet with a speed limit of 100 Mbit / s. You need to look for a provider that can provide good speed.
The router has 8 antennas that fold down. But we know that the number of antennas does not affect the coverage radius. But as befits a flagship, the Archer C5400 model provides a good range of Wi-Fi coverage. It also has a Beamforming function.
And further:
- MU-MIMO - This technology can quadruple the wireless bandwidth. Regular routers transfer data to devices one by one. TP-Link Archer C5400 can communicate with 4 devices simultaneously.
- Smart Connect - Smart Connect technology automatically distributes connected devices between three communication channels. This is done for better network performance.
- Beamforming - a technology that increases the speed and reliability of the connection by directing the wireless signal towards the device. This technology is also used on other TP-Link routers. For example, in TP-Link Archer C3150.
- Airtime fairness - allows you to get the maximum speed over Wi-Fi, even if old devices are connected to the router.
- HomeCare - famous security system from TP-Link. Parental control, TrendMicro antivirus and traffic prioritization.
Of course, this is not the whole list of technologies and functions that the Archer C5400 has. More information can be found on the TP-Link website.
Appearance, ports, buttons
The box is like all top TP-Link routers.
The box itself is very heavy. Since the router itself is not lightweight, plus an even larger power supply. It is much larger and more powerful than cheaper routers. In addition to the router and power supply, the kit also contains a network cable and documentation.
The router is made of high quality black plastic. The build is very good. Odorless plastic. There are ventilation holes at the bottom and top. The processor is powerful and needs good cooling.
Wi-Fi antennas are very interesting. They are not removable. When unfolded, they look like this:
On the front there are indicators and three buttons: turn off Wi-Fi, WPS and a separate button for turning off the LED indicators. Also in the web interface, you can configure the automatic shutdown of indicators by time.
On the opposite side there are two USB ports (one is version 2.0, and the other is 3.0), 4 LAN ports, 1 WAN, a connector for a power supply, an On / Off button and a Reset button.
I forgot to say that there are special holes on the bottom that allow you to hang the TP-Link Archer C5400 on the wall.
Setting up this router is easy. Via the web interface from a computer, or using a mobile device, via the TP-LINK Tether program.
The router is very cool. But dear. True, for a flagship with such characteristics, this is a normal price. If you have a large home, apartment, or office and a lot of devices that put a heavy load on the network, then the Archer C5400 is a very good option. Everything will fly without interruptions, reboots, drops in speed, etc.
