TP-Link AC4000 WiFi Router - Tri Band, MU-MIMO, VPN Server, Security by Homecare, Beamforming, Link Aggregation (Archer A20) $119.99 AP @ Newegg

[VirtualLarry]

TP-Link AC4000 Smart WiFi Router - Tri Band Router, MU-MIMO, VPN Server, Advanced Security by Homecare, Beamforming, Link Aggregation, Rangeboost, Works with Alexa(Archer A20)
+ $40 off w/ promo code TPCA28NG45, limited offer

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

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TP-LINK Archer AC4000 MU-MIMO Tri-Band 4 Port WiFi Router AC4000 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for TP-LINK Archer AC4000 MU-MIMO Tri-Band 4 Port WiFi Router AC4000 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

$71.99 if buying 4+.

DOWNSIDE:Last firmware update was from 2019. TP-Link releases great hardware and routers, then ends support for them and abandons them. Surely, these must be exploitable.

(I don't see any mention of a fix for the "Krack" vuln.)

NO "Mesh" support, no WISP mode, but they do appear to support WDS, look at the very bottom-most option under "Advanced" mode, called "System Parameters". No, they couldn't have put these under Wireless, call it Advanced or WDS Settings, no, they had to make it obscure, and hard-to-find.

Edit: According to this support tech, the "VPN Server" feature does NOT encrypt internet traffic?

setting up a free vpn using archer c4000 - Home Network Community

Is it possible to set up this modem with a free vpn? Can anyone help me? Never done this.

community.tp-link.com

Edit 2021-07-18: Dead? Listing now shows $95.99 before qty. discount?

 

[SamirD]

Great access points!

 

[UsandThem]

DOWNSIDE:Last firmware update was from 2019. TP-Link releases great hardware and routers, then ends support for them and abandons them. Surely, these must be exploitable.

That assessment is 1000% spot-on.

Owners would be very lucky if they release maybe 1-2 firmware updates, and then they pretty much abandon the hardware altogether. With my last router, they released two updates in the first 12 months, and that was it for it being supported.

I've seen some really solid pricing on their routers, but after buying a high-end router from them only to have to replace it because it never got one firmware/security update in over 4 years has pretty much eliminated me from considering any more of their routers.

 

[13Gigatons]

TP-LINK Archer AC4000 MU-MIMO Tri-Band 4 Port WiFi Router AC4000 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for TP-LINK Archer AC4000 MU-MIMO Tri-Band 4 Port WiFi Router AC4000 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Edit: According to this support tech, the "VPN Server" feature does NOT encrypt internet traffic?

setting up a free vpn using archer c4000 - Home Network Community

Is it possible to set up this modem with a free vpn? Can anyone help me? Never done this.

community.tp-link.com

The VPN server feature does not encrypt the traffic from the router to the internet. Only the traffic from your device to the Archer C4000 is encrypted.

To be clear most don't encrypt from router to the internet...that requires a paid VPN service like Nord etc.

 

[Brainonska511]

That assessment is 1000% spot-on.

Owners would be very lucky if they release maybe 1-2 firmware updates, and then they pretty much abandon the hardware altogether. With my last router, they released two updates in the first 12 months, and that was it for it being supported.

I've seen some really solid pricing on their routers, but after buying a high-end router from them only to have to replace it because it never got one firmware/security update in over 4 years has pretty much eliminated me from considering any more of their routers.

Pretty much why I didn't look at TP-Link when I replaced my router late last year. The Asus one I picked up has been doing a great job, and they seem to actually support their hardware.

 

[VirtualLarry]

The Asus one I picked up has been doing a great job, and they seem to actually support their hardware.

Thanks, in-part, to a 10-year consent decree with the FTC to provide updated security for their routers. But whichever way it happened, it certainly seems like a drawing-point for customers.

Maybe the feds need to sue TP-Link for their lack of "reasonable" support, given the actual lifespan of these products.

 

[UsandThem]

Pretty much why I didn't look at TP-Link when I replaced my router late last year. The Asus one I picked up has been doing a great job, and they seem to actually support their hardware.

I replaced my TP Link router in January 2021 with an Asus one, and despite only owning it for 7 months, it has already had more firmware updates than my TP Link unit had in over 5 years.

 

[13Gigatons]

Recently bought a TP-Link AX Router and while the points made here are valid I don't plan to keep it forever. They are outdated so fast now and need to be replaced every few years for security and new features.

Wifi 6e will be mainstream in 2022 or 2023....just wait for those to flood the market.

 

[mikeford]

I have a AC1750 Archer C7, I think, whatever no new firmware, known issue over time with DNS. Wifi users all started getting connected, no internet messages (no DNS). Got sick of it and picked up an ancient Linksys Cisco WRT160N for $7 at Goodwill, hit max download speed hard, like 50%, but works flawless for all users.

Friday nights are my realistically only time for doing major network messing around, and I keep skipping it, but plan is flash the Archer with DD-WRT and see if that fixes it, otherwise time for a new router.