6.5.2020

Got this router yesterday so I figured I should share my experience with it so far.Design: nice looking piece of kit that looks sturdy and well made. I personally much prefer the tp link design to the competion's. most of them look like the offspring of optimus prime and a giant spider with their antennas and weird shapes. this tp link is unassuming in looks but a real powerhouse inside. the led lights are nice soft white ones that are static (if everything is in order) and don't blink. you can disable them alltogether with a push of a button. love it!setup: So all in all it's really easy. I had some issues first as I'm with vodafone and when you set up your router the first time vodafone is not on the ISP list that you can just select and set up the router in one click.Fret not, it's not hard! all you have to do is call voda and get your PPPoE user name and password which is unique to everyone so you won't be able to guess it. Also ignore the stupid advices on different forums that tell you the password is Vodafone and password etc. So once you got your credentials you have to select BT!!! and use your voda credentials and it will work. If you select 'other isp' from the list and try to use your password it won't work. at least it didn't for me at the time of writing this review. It would be better if vodafone was added to the list of ISP such as bt, talktalk etc so the set up would be even more straightforward. But I'm sure this can be added with a future firmware update so it's not a big deal.Features: once set up, everything is straightforward and easy. I recommend using a laptop or desktop computer for setting up your router as you can tweak a lot more of the settings than using the app. It's all laid out in a very logical order. the app let's you change a few of the key settings so for casual users that could be enough too. you can quickly take away the internet from certain devices so you can terrorize your teenage kids if you feel so inclined :)Connectivity: you get 2x usb3 port (other products in this price range usually offer only 1x usb3 and 1x usb2) so that's nice. you get 4 detacheable antennas that can be aimed in all directions. wps button, wifi disable button, are present too. our speed got a little bit faster, but not massively. the range however improved drastically so that's really good. usb sharing is a bliss, if you have a hard drive you want to share, it's pretty much plug and play (it did need some tinkering on windows). our samsung smart tv picked up the hard drive on the network and was able to stream from it instantly. same is true for xbox one (but you want to install kodi or something for a better experience) and smartphones can see the storage as well once you install kodi or a similar app. my only gripe in this department is that there is no dedicated WAN port, it's shared with LAN4. it's okay now but if I decide to go with virgin in the future I will need to use the LAN4/WAN port for their modem - essentially loosing one of my ethernet ports. I have 4 devices connected by wire at the moment so I will have to give one up. But it's not the end of the world. But for this price you can get routers from different makers who will give you dedicated WAN port or just more LAN ports to begin with. I still chose the tp link as those were inferior in other ways so I guess it depends on what's important to you.So far I'm very happy with this router and it really is a big step up from the one you get from vodafone. I can't say anything about reliability so far as I only had it for a day so I will update this review in a few months time. I would be suprised if it wasn't reliable however as I've been using another tp link router (different model) for my business for almost 2 years now without any problems. If you found out something new from this review please don't forget to rate it as helpful. Thanks!

11.2.2019

This router, described by Amazon as aTP-Link AC900 but more accurately a TP-Link Archer VR900, is an item that has met or exceeded all my expectations.SETUPOut of the box the router had the latest firmware, see my photo #1.Connecting to BT VDSL was perfect simplicity. After selecting BT_VDSL from a dropdown list the router knew the correct parameters, I just had to enter the username [email protected] and left both password fields blank, see my photo #2.The VDSL connection has been solid and the figures are good, see my photo #3.Download and upload speeds, see my photo #4, are much as I was obtaining with my previous router. Your mileage may vary!WiFiThe 1900Mbps theoretical maximum WiFi link speed of the router is just that,theoretical and probably not attainable in real world circumstances. It is most definitely fast though, and with my Macbook Pro I get a link speed of 1.3Gbit/sec (1300Mbps) as shown in my photo #5, that is the best WiFi speed I've yet seen. My 2014 Lenovo laptop on the other hand reports a WiFi link speed of 57Mbpps; it takes two to tango and the Lenovo's wretched WiFi chipset isn't up to more.MEDIA SERVERThe Archer VR900's facility to act as a media server was one of its selling points for me. It is not a DLNA certified device but is compliant with DLNA/UPnP clients in the manner of numerous media server packages, and it enables the user to store media files on an attached USB device, I use an SSD but a USB drive (preferably USB3) will be fine, and serve them via the network to (in my case) TVs. Implementing the media server is not too tough but I offer the following:* Under the Advanced tab of the router menu select USB Sharing/USB Storage Device, see my photo #6. The user chooses a server name, I chose RouterUSB.* The check boxes for Media Server and Network Neighborhood in the Sharing Settings section must be selected.* In the Folder Sharing section if Share All is set to Off you can then select the individual folders, or if your files (videos in my case) are in the root directory then Share All is best set to On.* If you're a Windows 10 user and the the router USB device does not appear under Network in Windows Explorer then it's highly likely that the SMB Client has been disabled, Windows updates do things like that. The remedy is to open Windows Features (just type Windows Features into the taskbar search box), scroll down to find SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support, expand it, check the SMB 1.0/CIFS Client box as per my photo #7, and restart the computer for the change to take effect. You will believe it took me hours to track that one down.* With a Mac - I have only tried this with MacOS10 Mojave but have no reason to think Sierra/High Sierra would be different - the router USB device shows in Finder/Network OK, there is no need to change any settings on the Mac.* Beware of having Enable Authentication set in the Folder Sharing section of the router USB settings page.CONCLUSIONI'm very pleased with the Archer VR900 and recommend it unreservedly.

2.3.2019

Having spent the past 6 months or more rebooting, changing settings, on hold to BT Support and hours on web chat to BT, I was eventually sent a replacement BT HomeHub to 'fix' repeated WiFi & BB service drop outs. The replacement HH was much the same as the first, although admittedly the WiFi dropped out far less often (5 or 6 times a day versus 2/3 times per hour). Begrudgingly, I bought the AC1900 for £119 , primarily to stop the kids moaning and to be honest, didn't expect it to be much better than the HH. I was wrong and now wish I'd just bought this 6 months ago and saved myself a lot of hassle and time!!I only installed the AC1900a few hours ago this morning,so I will amend the review if my experience changes but my first impressions are that it is first class & a huge improvement. The following points would have helped me in making my decision earlier:1. It is VERY easy to set up and configure. I'm no techie but have a very basic understanding of how these things work and anyone with a basic level of IT knowledge should not be worried about setting this up (with a BT BB service at least)2. The set up has a pre-configured drop down list with the main UK BB service providers. I was only looking for BT, but noticed that PlusNet was on the list so would imagine it has been set up to cover the usual suspects. The fact that it will most likely be suited to changes in BB provider do make the cost a little more palatable. Not sure if SKY was listed (and should have checked) as I'll almost certainly scrap BT when my contract is up!3. Setting up a Guest Network was incredibly easy. Never considered doing this before, but as it was so easy thought I may as well. It took longer to think of a decent password than it took to set it up!4. When the BB service was up using the BT HomeHub, I thought it was actually pretty quick and would regularly get download speed of 60Mb. This has jumped to 73Mb with the AC1900 and more importantly, it is stable and consistent (so far at least). Furthermore, the difference is very noticeable. Websites and apps on laptop and mobile phones load and respond tangibly faster. Facebook was a regular annoyance on an iPhone as it would take seconds to load images and update, which I thought was a phone or app issue. It appears I was wrong about that too as it is FAR quicker with the AC19004. I use powerline adaptors to connect a Humax YouView box to the router. It took less than 10 seconds to reconnect to the router. No need to change any passwords, just selected autodetect and it was up and running5. I used a TP LINK WiFi extender to strengthen signal upstairs (modestly 4 bed modern house) as the BT HH was problematic. I've not need to set this up for the AC1900 as the signal is much improved6. 2 kids playing Xbox games at the same time over a wireless connection used to cause buffering and unhappy kids! So far, both are running with out any issue so that's a huge plus for the AC1900 over BT HHIn short, so far so good and the BT HH is already in the bin!

11.9.2017

I switched to Talktalk’s VDSL (Fibre to the cabinet) several months ago and have been using their supplied Huawei HG633 Super Router – about which, I hasten to add, there is nothing super at all. Over the last few weeks I’ve had red lights coming on (which required a reset), slow web page loading, frequent dropping of web pages and failure of pages to format properly. I thought I may have a had a virus or too much unwanted stuff running in the background. Anyway, a little research suggested that the problem may well lie with Talktalk’s supplied router.I’d been using another TP-Link router before I switched to VDSL,so I looked for another and this one – the Archer VR900 v2 – seemed to have favourable reviews so I took the plunge.It comes with straightforward setup instructions, but it didn’t work straight out of the box. It had a worrying red light showing for Internet after it was powered up. Once connected I had to enter 192.168.1.1 into my browser address bar, enter a password (a made up one, not the one printed on the bottom of the router), and choose my provider from a drop down ISP list. After that it was plain sailing, the red light turned green and it has been performing perfectly since.All my web browser problems disappeared immediately. Pages loaded quickly and completely. No more connection drops. My broadband speed went from 23Mbps to 37 Mbs.Of course with more and more wireless stuff around the house then comes the process of changing the wifi password (printed on the bottom of the unit) on everything that uses it. There is a handy WPS button on the back that makes connecting compatible devices, like my photo printer, a piece of cake, though. The WPS on the Talktalk router seemed to be completely ineffective.This unit also has two USB ports, four Ethernet ports, a reset hole (requires a paperclip to use), a power on/off, and a wifi on/off in case you want to switch off the wifi while still being able to use anything connected directly by cable.The only thing I dislike is a super bright white LED whose only purpose seems to be to draw attention to the silver bar which, when pressed, turns off all the little illuminated icons just behind it. I find these icons comforting when lit, so I don’t want them off, but I would like to be free of the bright white light. A minor thing since it sits in the hall and I only see it when I walk past.The black box itself is about 6.5” x 8.5” and the aerials stick out a minimum of an inch and a half if you have them vertical, but they can be angled backwards. It actually looks very neat and well made.I’m very happy with it and it is a very clear improvement on the performance of the ‘free’ router supplied by Talktalk.

2.9.2019

I've had a TP link VDSL router for over 5 years now and it gave up the ghost recently. After some incredibly helpful webchat support from TP Link it was decided it was not savable.This new model comes in at a good price with some really solid modern network features.Setup:Setup was a breeze. The quickstart guide is simple and using the TP Tether app helps speed it all up. It also lets you monitor and manage the Router remotely which is a bonus as my most regular phone call from my other half when I'm at work starts "the internet is broke". It isn't usually!Wifi:5GhZ and 2.4Ghz speed were a significant boost on my previous model, giving much better range also.I have a range extender in our old 1930's house to get to the loft extension but have no need for it anymore. With our fibre connection capped to 40Mbps I can comfortably get 30-38Mbps on 5Ghz anywhere in the house, including on the top floor.The Router user interface is also smartened up compared to my 5 year old model. It's slick and easy to understand, breaking out key functions.USB Storage:This is where it falls over a little. This router uses a protocol for transferring data on a shared network called SMB V1. Microsoft abandoned native support for this in Windows 10 in favour of SMB V2. It's a simple google search to enable it again, but you will need to do this before files sharing is nice and simple. After doing this the 64G USB thumb drive plugged into the side was right there in the windows explorer.Another nice feature is the button on the router that enables lights out. The Router is already better in that all lights are soft glow and static (as opposed to flashing). Pressing the button means the router has no visible lights on it. great if you want to put it in a room with people sleeping.Apart from that, it was boringly simple to setup and get going, and now we have super slick and much quicker access to our fibre. The Wifi channel hopping seems a little cleverer too, avoiding the neighbours wifi with ease.The router features a 2.4 and 5GHz guest network if you need it. I use ours for the kids so you can easily set a time window for access. You can also set access time for certain devices so that kids can't access the internet after a certain time.A few minor niggles. It only comes with a 1m phone line connection BT45 socket cable, and a 1m RJ45 LAN cable. 2m should be the bare minimum if you actually want to sit the router somewhere sensible.So far so good, and really happy with my choice. If I get another 5 years out of this one I'll be happy. The bonus is that TP link provide a 3 year warranty so if taking a gamble on a new device, this makes it an easier choice.

14.7.2020

Purchased to replace an ISP supplied BT Home Hub 5 which was having WiFi connection issues after having been fine for a number of years (many more devices now being connected regularly). Reviews for the TP-Link Gateway (Modem/Router/WiFi AP) seemed good and the Price not too bad, so I went for it. Initial installation was fairly easy using default settings so basic WiFi and Internet access was set up quite quickly. However I then started having issues... With the default setup, the 2.4 and 5GHz ranges were set to use same SSID, so devices could connect to whichever they liked. This caused my main PC (with TP-Link Archer T3u usb wifi dongle)

31.5.2019

I had a similar model to this (the TP-Link WDR3600) that I bought about 5.5 years ago which worked without issue for 4 years, and then started to deteriorate as time went on - connectivity to the router would just stop (wired and wireless) and the device itself would become completely unresponsive. It finally got to the point where it needed rebooting 2 or 3 times in succession every week or so and simply wasn't reliable (and nobody wants the Mrs and kids complaining that the WiFi is broken on a regular basis).Anyway - I bought this router as a replacement and (touch wood) I no longer have annoying random outages.PROS - works (I'm using BT's Infinty). Decent WiFi if you take the time to mess with the settings.

5.6.2021

Ever since upgrading to Sky Q we've had issues with our broadband. Drop outs, buffering when watching prime video, even the WIFI signal on my PC was terrible, resulting in poor latency and slow download speeds. I tried power line adapters, which work fine with my wife's work PC, but mine is on the other side of the house so the signal crosses over the main power junction box, so the connection is pants (although even my laptop was rubbish, even when sat 2 foot from the router) I'd had enough, so did a bit of research. I had read a few things about modems needing certain settings/features to work with Sky, so I was a bit apprehensive about committing to something that might not work.

10.5.2019

I don't normally bother to write detailed reviews but there is some info here that might help other people with this product so here goes I brought this to replace my BThomehub3 specifically because I wanted a modem/router with ARP table binding, Even as a tech savvy user my first attempt to set the router led to quite a bit of frustration with limited success as the router would constantly drop the DNS servers and loose internet access (see first picture).Despite much digging around and internet searching and changing many settings I could not get it to work and hold a stable connection. The next day still no success so went for a complete system reset to try again but not hopeful of success but...this time1)

26.2.2018

I needed to replace my old router, which had become temperamental and needed regular re-starting. I twinned this new router with the TP-Link AC1750 dual band extender, as the router is located in a loft conversion, two floors up and as far away as it is possible to get from the Fire TV receiver. It's also an old house with solid walls. The previous wifi set-up (Netgear DGN2200 router and a Netgear N300 extender) struggled to provide a consistent and adequate signal on the ground floor, so TV programmes would often freeze and glitch (especially on BBC iPlayer), and web access on phones and tablets would often be frustratingly slow.The router takes up a fair bit of room: it is 26x23cm and sits flat on the desk.

28.7.2017

If you're after a reasonably priced, stable and fast VDSL2 (FTTC) router like me, this is perfect. It has all the latest standards like G.INP (be sure to get the V2 model for these, as V1 does not support them) and is a breeze to set up, taking me less than 10 minutes. I'm using mine with BT Infinity 2 and it works perfectly connecting at the same speed as my BT Smart Hub - which had to go, as after EVERY firmware update it crapped out and had to be reset to factory, set back up, etc.; I was done being a beta tester for BT! My old BT OpenReach modem acted as a backup for a short while, however it is too old to last much longer, doesn't support the latest standards and I can't get line stats...I use the modem in 'bridge'

5.12.2018

Bought this about a year ago to replace my then old and basic Orange ADSL2 modem. But try as I might it still outperformed the TP-Link on that particular ~4MB connection, so I consigned it to a cupboard in case I ever needed a backup.A few months ago the line was upgraded so I put the TP-Link back into service, in order to capitalize on the newly available ADSL2+ support. However, I have been plagued with ongoing, unexplained connection dropouts, despite getting BT out to check the line.Even more recently I've started to get random inability to maintain the wireless connection, and to be honest, I'm getting fed up with the ongoing unreliability and repeated attempts at reconfiguring,

6.3.2019

Having put up with my Sky Q router for the past year or so, I finally got sick of it and decided to switch the router. I was suffering from signal drops in nearly all my devices that connected via 5g. The signal would cut out for around 2-3 seconds and then reconnect. Streaming to my chromecast etc became unreliable but the main issue was wifi calling. We get poor signal in our house and so WiFi calling was a big plus for us. Due to the signal drops though, we found our calls were cutting out which was really frustrating.It used to be that Sky forbid customers from using non-Sky equipment with their Internet service but that changed last year. You are now able to use any router you want,

9.6.2018

This review is for the VR-600 type 2 (aka AC1600 II). I should also say that I got this quite cheap from a third party sale, £60 plus £1.92 postage, for an opened box. When I tried to set it up, it demanded a password, but first time it should have prompted me for one of my choosing. It had clearly been used, and I had to press the "reset" button, and after that I was able to set it up.I have to say it's fairly solid in operation. One feature I couldn't use is the "5G" wireless, the internal walls in our flat totally defeated the 5G signal. However, the 2.4G signal was much better, and we can now get a reasonable signal in our bedroom, we couldn't with our previous router. It an old brick-built maisonette,

17.8.2020

I have been using this router for about a year without issues. My BT router emitted an annoying constant high pitch noise (coil whine) so I needed a silent replacement.My requirements were the following:- Silent: passive-only cooling on electronics, no noisy fans, no electrical noises (coil whine)- Fast- Good signal- Can handle my devices out of the box (IPv4): phone, tablet, mac, PCThe user interface is quite good. You can check its demo on the tp-link website before purchasing.I would remove half star for the following reasons:- There is a VERY BRIGHT rectangular led on the top of the router that almost functions as a night lamp. That bright led happens to be a button that turns off all led lights (including the indicator icons).

TP-Link TD-W9960 - Reviews

Info

Analysis

Detail