Many of the latest smartphones and notebook PCs claim to be compatible with the latest Wi-Fi standard "Wi-Fi 6".
Wi-Fi 6 has a faster communication speed than before, you can enjoy video distribution services and online games comfortably, and you can connect to Wi-Fi such as IoT home appliances to provide stable communication even if the number of simultaneous connections increases. There is an advantage that the line is less likely to be congested even if the number of devices increases.
TP-Link's latest Wi-Fi router "Archer AX90" compatible with this Wi-Fi 6 was released in Japan on February 25th. In addition to being compatible with the latest Wi-Fi 6, this product is also compatible with the tri-band that can emit two radio waves in the 5 GHz band, so it is important to be able to distribute connected devices and communicate comfortably. It's a feature.
This time, TP-Link provided a sample of "Archer AX90" and tried to actually build a Wi-Fi environment, so I will tell you the details such as communication speed. If you have a Wi-Fi 6 compatible device and want to upgrade your home Wi-Fi environment, please refer to it.
table of contents- Design size
- Product Specifications
- Build a Wi-Fi environment with the app
- I measured the actual communication speed
- summary
▶ ︎ Purchase "TP-Link Archer AX90" from the following stores ・ Rakuten Ichiba ・ PayPay Mall
Design size
First of all, about the design of "Archer AX90". The higher the performance of a Wi-Fi 6 compatible router, the bigger and more flashy it looks, but this product looks exactly like that image.
The main body size is width 311 x depth 207 x height 174 mm. The width is wide and eight thick antennas are arranged around it, so a little larger space is required to arrange it.
The feature is that the design is such that the lines radiate from the center, and the size of the main body makes it a little stronger. If you've never used a flashy router like a gaming router, you might find it a bit more assertive.
There are three buttons at the bottom of the front, from left to right: Wi-Fi on / off button, LED light on / off button, and WPS on / off button.
The above is a picture of the ports on the back, the blue port is the WAN / LAN port, the yellow port is the LAN port, and the leftmost is the USB 2.0 port to which HDD etc. can be connected.
The blue port is 2.5 Gbps on the left side and 1 Gbps on the right side, and the 2.5 Gbps port functions as a WAN port at the time of initial setting. In this case, the right side can be used as a LAN port, so virtually four devices can be connected to a wired LAN.
There is also a USB port on the right side of the main unit, which is compatible with USB 3.0. You can connect an HDD etc. with the same USB 2.0 port on the back, but if you are using an HDD etc. that supports USB 3.0, it is more convenient to connect to this because the transfer speed is faster.
Product Specifications
The "Archer AX90" is compatible with the latest Wi-Fi 6 standards and provides high-speed, low-latency communication to the latest smartphones and laptops.
While the market for Wi-Fi 6 compatible routers is growing, this product is characterized by supporting tri-band instead of dual-band. It is designed to skip two 5GHz band radio waves and one 2.4GHz band radio wave, and the Wi-Fi speed of each frequency band is 4804Mbps for the first 5GHz band and 1201Mbps for the second 5GHz band. , 2.4GHz band is 574Mbps.
The fact that these three radio waves are flying has the advantage of reducing congestion and stabilizing the communication of each device even if the number of devices connected to Wi-Fi increases. It is safe even if many devices such as IoT home appliances require Wi-Fi connection. The total number of devices that can be connected is up to 100, and the number of devices that can communicate at the same time is up to 8.
The direction of the antenna can be moved freely
The eight antennas, which are also a feature of the Archer AX90, have the role of amplifying the Wi-Fi signal and covering a wide range, and the officially released specifications say that it can cover 4LDK. In addition, this product also supports beamforming, concentrating Wi-Fi radio waves on each device and realizing high-speed and stable communication.
Build a Wi-Fi environment with the app
To build a Wi-Fi environment with Archer AX90, use the smartphone application "TP-Link Tether (iOS / Android)". You can easily complete the setup by following the steps displayed in the app.
The procedure is easy to understand even for beginners, and even those who are not familiar with router settings should be able to complete the settings smoothly.
If the LED light on the main unit lights up in blue, it is a proof that the setup is complete and you can connect to Wi-Fi. If it's in another color or the LED light is blinking, there may be something wrong, so check what your router is doing. The LED light color / blinking status and the corresponding router status are as follows.
| Lamp condition | Router status |
|---|---|
| Lit orange | Wi-Fi off |
| Flashing orange | System booting |
| Lit red | No internet connection |
| Flashing red | Wi-Fi off and not connected to Wi-Fi |
| Lights blue | The router is working properly |
| Flashing blue | Firmware upgrade, WPS connection establishment, or router reset |
In addition to the setup, the app allows you to check the devices connected to Wi-Fi and the communication speed of each device. Devices can be checked for each frequency band, so it is easy to see which device is connected to which frequency band.
In addition, the "HomeShield" function of the app allows parental control and communication priority settings for each device. If necessary, use this as well.
I measured the actual communication speed
After completing the setup using the app, I tried to verify the communication speed of Archer AX90.
The author's home is a two-story building, but this time I installed the Archer AX90 in the living room on the first floor and tried to verify how much communication speed would come out.
It is true that the communication speed was faster and the communication was comfortable near the living room, but what surprised me was that I was able to communicate comfortably even in a place far from the router.
The Wi-Fi router I used in the past often had unstable communication in the 5GHz band in a room far from the living room, and could only connect in the 2.4GHz band. Therefore, currently, the communication range is covered by installing mesh Wi-Fi routers on the 1st and 2nd floors, but the Archer AX90 can be stably installed in the 5GHz band even in a distant room by installing only one in the living room. It was available.
As for the communication speed, it tends to be slower as you move away from the router, so if you want to communicate at the fastest speed anywhere in the house, it is better to build a mesh Wi-Fi environment using multiple mesh Wi-Fi compatible routers. It can be said that it is comfortable, but if you live in a condominium with a small number of rooms, you may be able to use comfortable communication in all rooms just by installing one Archer AX90.
I also tried a wired LAN connection using the Archer AX90's LAN port. Since all the LAN ports installed in this product are gigabit ports, I was able to play online games comfortably. If the device you want to wire communication with is near the router, please take advantage of the wired LAN connection.
By the way, Archer AX90 is compatible with TP-Link's original mesh Wi-Fi technology "OneMesh", and if you have other products that are compatible with "One Mesh", build a mesh Wi-Fi environment. can.
I couldn't verify this time because there is no compatible product, but if you have a OneMesh compatible repeater, you can build a mesh Wi-Fi environment in combination with Archer AX90. Please use it.
summary
"Archer AX90" is a Wi-Fi router that supports the latest Wi-Fi 6, and due to the tri-band specifications, communication is less likely to be congested even if there are many connected devices, and comfortable and stable Wi-Fi communication can be used. Is a big feature.
Thanks to the eight antennas, it can cover a wide range and provide stable Wi-Fi communication to every corner of the house. If you have problems such as unstable communication in a room away from the router, you may be able to communicate comfortably by installing this product.
The only thing I'm worried about is that the size of the main body is large and it looks like it has a strong presence. If you have limited space or don't want to use a prominent router, we recommend purchasing a small mesh Wi-Fi router sold by TP-Link. We also publish a review of the mesh Wi-Fi router "TP-Link Deco X20" on this site, so please refer to it as well.
"Archer AX90" can be purchased at Amazon, Rakuten Ichiba, PayPay Mall, etc. for about 24,800 yen (tax included). Purchase from the following.
▶ ︎ Purchase "TP-Link Archer AX90" from the following stores ・ Rakuten Ichiba ・ PayPay Mall
