TP-Link Archer AX90 AX6600 tri-band WiFi 6 router review – what is the speed?

What is the read and write speed in TP-Link Archer AX90 AX6600 tri-band WiFi 6 router? It works with all internet service providers, such as AT&T, Verizon, Xfinity, Spectrum, RCN, Cox, CenturyLink, Frontier, etc. TP-Link’s premium security services keep your home network safe with cutting-edge features for network and IoT protection, including free features – Network Security Scan, Parental Controls: basic features are free, QoS, Weekly or Monthly Reports and IoT Device Identification. Get details in TP-Link Archer AX90 AX6600 tri-band WiFi 6 router review.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Incredible tri-band Wi-Fi 6 speeds
• Dual USB 3.0 ports
• Tether app is great
• Tri-band, 160MHz, and a 2.5Gbps Multi-Gig port
• Wall-mountable
• Quick installation

Cons

• Some features need a subscription
• Slow 5GHz-1 band.
• Relatively slow NAS performance
• Middling file transfer performance

Specs

• Wireless Specification 802.11ax
• Wireless Parental Controls Yes
• Link Aggregation No
• AC Speed AX6600
• MU-MIMO Yes
• IPv6 Compatible Yes
• Quality of Service Yes
• Number of Wired LAN Ports (Excluding WAN Port) 4
• Number of USB ports 2
• Number of Antennas 8
• Number of Bands 3
• Wireless Networking Security WPA2, WPA3
• VPN Client Pre-Installed Yes
• Supports DD-WRT No
• Anti-Malware Tools Yes
• Beamforming Yes
• Guest Networking Yes

Price

You can pick up the TP-Link Archer AX90 (AX6600) router from Amazon for £329.99 £249.99, AU$423. It’s definitely a more premium option, but there are sometimes some good deals on it so it’s worth keeping an eye out for those. 

If you’re willing to spend a bit more, there are some powerful premium options to consider. Among the fastest Wi-Fi 6 routers we’ve tested are the Asus RT-AX88U, which can be had online for £275, and the Netgear Nighthawk AX8, which costs £239. These are both dual-band models, however.

Compare TP-Link Archer AX90 AX6600 tri-band WiFi 6 router

TP-Link Archer AX90 AX6600 tri-band WiFi 6 router review

Design

The TP-Link Archer AX90 (AX6600) measures 311× 207× 174mm. With its eight antennas sticking up around the case. The top-of-the-collection Archer GX90 is really a tri-band design. At the front of the router are buttons to toggle Wi-Fi and the router’s lights, plus a WPS button for quickly joining supported devices to your home network.

Ports

You’ll find a nice selection of I/O ports, including the aforementioned 2.5Gbps port, a gigabit WAN/LAN port, three additional gigabit LAN-only ports, and a USB 2.0 port. There’s also a reset button, a power jack, and a power switch. Meanwhile, you’ll find a second USB port on the right side of the router; it supports 3.0 speeds.

Hardware

Powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, the AX90 is an eight-stream AX6600 tri-band router that can reach maximum data rates of 574Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, 1,201Mbps on one of the 5GHz bands, and 4,804Mbps on the secondary 5GHz band. It’s a Wi-Fi 6 device that supports the latest 802.11ax technologies, including 160MHz channel bandwidth.

Storage

if you’ve plugged in a USB storage device, here’s where you can enable sharing: the AX90 can present the disk’s contents as an SMB network share, serve them up over FTP or make media files available for streaming over DLNA. Mac users can also use attached storage as a Time Machine backup destination. Neither USB port supports printer sharing, though, nor can you use a USB mobile broadband adapter as a failover service in case your main internet connection goes down.

Setup

You can install and manage the AX90 using a web console, or you can use the TP-Link Tether app for iOS and Android mobile devices. You’ll need the web console to access advanced IPv6, NAT, and DHCP settings, but the mobile app is more user-friendly and is required to configure and enable HomeShield features.

Parental lock

It comes with a free HomeShield Basic plan for strong parental controls and basic network security scans. You can use HomeShield to set age-based website filters; monitor how long a user has been online and what sites they’ve been visiting; and block access to specific sites.

Apps in TP-Link Archer AX90 AX6600 tri-band WiFi 6 router

Setup is a breeze. Slot the antennas into place, plug into power, connect your modem to the 2.5-Gbps port, and install the Tether app on your phone (can also be set up in a browser). I was up and running in less than five minutes, making this one of the most painless router installations I have experienced.

The Tether app is easy to use. The main screen shows connected clients at a glance, and you can choose to turn on the antivirus protection powered by Trend Micro, which offers a malicious-content filter, intrusion prevention, and infected-device quarantine. There is a Game Accelerator option, giving you access to the quality-of-service (QoS) controls. You can prioritize online activity by Gaming, Streaming, Surfing, or Chatting, or set up a custom rule. The fast lane doesn’t have to be reserved for gamers.

Subscription

Upgrade to HomeShield Pro (£5.99 a month or £53.99 a year) and you can set multiple Bedtimes, time limits for each person and you get more advanced security. The compares well to the basic service you get on products such as the Netgear Orbi RBK862, where you get basic filtering built-in but have to pay separately for security and more advanced parental controls.

TP-Link Archer AX90 AX6600 tri-band WiFi 6 router Performance review

We test file transfer performance by moving a 1.5GB folder containing a mix of music, video, photo, and document files between a USB drive and a wired desktop PC (both are directly connected to the router) and time its read and write speeds. The AX90 turned in middling scores on both tests. Its write speed of 54MBps trailed the Linksys MR9600 (73MBps), the Archer AX11000 (68MBps), and the Netgear XR1000 (73MBps).

The AX90’s 2.4GHz throughput performance was good but not great. Its score of 109Mbps on the close proximity test was a bit slower than the Linksys MR9600 (111Mbps) while the Archer AX11000 led with a score of 133Mbps. The Netgear XR1000 came in second with a score of 122Mbps. On the 30-foot test, the AX90’s score of 39Mbps was a hair faster than the Linksys MR9600 and the Netgear XR1000 (both scored 38Mbps), but it couldn’t touch the Archer AX11000 (67Mbps).

TP-Link Archer AX90 AX6600 tri-band WiFi 6 router customer review

Solved all my speed problems

I’ve been dealing with speed and connection problems for over 2 weeks. I’ve had Comcast to my house changing wires and fittings. I’ve replaced my modem with Modem/Router combo. I didn’t cheap out I paid 300 for this set up. I was getting 30-60 mbps with this set up. I read somewhere that you should have a seperate modem and router, so I went back to Bestbuy and spent another 470 on a modem and a router. I bought an Arris Modem and a netgear router.

The router had wi-fi 6. With this setup I was getting 60-100 mpbs over wi-fi. If I ran the speed test within a few feet of the router I would get between 130 and 200 mbps. I know these speeds aren’t bad, but Im paying for 800. When I ran speed test from the netgear app, I was getting over 900 mbps. I realized the app was measuring the wired speed even though I was running the test from a wireless device. I felt the Netgear app is misleading and most of the reviews that I read with speed results were also misleading.

I purchased this router and set it up last night. When I ran my first speed test I was getting 745 mbps. This was wireless and from an independent testing site. I ran test all over my house and I get speeds 550-800 throughout my house. Problem solved.

By Brian at Best Buy

Alternate of TP-Link Archer AX90 AX6600 tri-band WiFi 6 router

Netgear Orbi WiFi 6E (RBKE963)

SPECIFICATIONS

Wi-Fi spec: Wi-Fi 6e/Quad-bandNumber of antennas/removable: 12/NoPorts: 1 WAN/4 LAN (base unit), 4 LAN (satellites)Measured peak throughput: 1.009 GbpsSize: 11.1 x 7.5 x 3.0 inches

Pros

+Excellent mesh performance +Easy to set up and configure+Optional security software, parental controls

Cons

-Expensive-Just 90 days of free tech support

Netgear’s Orbi WiFi 6E is easily one of the fastest mesh routers on the planet — and also the most expensive. But if you have a fat wallet, a very fast broadband connection and a very big house, then this is probably the mesh system for you. 

Each unit has 12 antennas and four Ethernet ports (one rated at 2.5 Gbps), and the system creates channels on the 2.5, 5 and 6-Ghz bands, plus a fourth 5-Ghz one for backhaul between units.

The Orbi WiFi 6E, model number RBKE963, can cover up to 9,000 square feet. Add a third satellite and you can go to 12,000 square feet. At a distance of 15 feet, the router’s 6-Ghz channel delivered throughput of more than a gigabit, the first mesh router to do so in our tests. 

Netgear offers trial subscriptions to its Armor security software, which includes Bitdefender antivirus, and parental controls. You’ll also have to pay for tech support after 90 days. 

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