Archer VR600 V2

This TP-Link Archer VX1800v dual-band wifi Gigabit router with VDSL2 and VoIP replaces a trusty old wifi TD-W8970 which was working beautifully with an external Vigor 130 VDSL2 Modem but they lacked a VoIP socket. And BT is taking away my old copper analogue landline. This VX1800 offers that essential VoIP and VDSL2, simplifying my system. In addition it has improved security, much faster WiFi 6 and excellent internet speeds. Best of all, I still don’t need to unpack the undesirable and relatively ancient Home Hub2 from its box. On a 24/7 average it’s using the same level of power as the previous setup; the VX1800v varies between two to eight Watts, depending on LAN and WAN activity and chosen WiFi power level. Set-up is easy if you know what all the acronyms mean, but if you don't then it is possible to make mistakes. Displaying relevant downloaded VX1800v user manual pages alongside the admin pages when logged into the router helped, but keeping track between them and in context considerably slowed down configuration. With the Quick Set-up it can be connected in only a couple of minutes, mostly taken by negotiating with the ISP. But then customising it for a complicated local network might take hours. I have set Static IP addresses in all my wired network devices, checked all the firewalls were On (default is On), let the DHCP search between 2 and 254, and set new passwords for the router Admin, and also the WiFi. It also let me set up a Guest WiFi access with its own tough password. I also updated the firmware; fortunately the VX1800 kept all my settings. As a precaution I had backed them up on the PC in case a restore was needed to put them in place again. I tested the WiFi range with my laptop while setting up, to check the security and password system, and discovered I could be sitting fifty feet away in the shade of a tree in the garden, or just outside in the street in my car, and still transfer at the full speed. This wifi reach is further than before; I may reduce the power level. The VDSL2+ Broadband speed Fibre To The Cabinet is 55Mb/s and 10.5Mb/s, same as before with the old devices. It will be much better when the ONT sits next to it.

I bought this to replace my BT Openreach Ultrafast Smarthub which turned out to not be very ultrafast after all. My work laptop would regularly disconnect me from Teams calls several times a day due to the WiFi dropping out, even though the BT hub was only 2 feet away. It was quick and easy to swap over, set up was straightforward and so far it has been fast and reliable. I'm getting better WiFi performance at home from the same location and no more Teams disconnections, so it's well worth the money. The LAN ports at the back are useful for hard-wiring connections for even faster and more reliable connectivity, although if you're using fibre broadband this will use up one of the 4 ports so something to bear in mind if you don't want to add an external network switch.

Edit after 18 months The unit has developed a fault where it appears to turns itself off as it goes through the boot sequence - although it does not in reality - it goes into night LED mode where the leds turn off. Following an exchange of emails with TP link support they suggested I tried to log into router and check the LED control function. Enabling the LED control function (advanced tab | System tools) and then disabling it restored the LEDs to life; although if you reboot, then the LEDs go blank again. Looking at the LEDs, it appears that one has failed as there is no light where these should be light and I believe this failed LED is causing the problem. This is not a show stopper - yet - unless it is a failure that is the first of many. Original review This was bought to replace a Talk Talk D-Link Modem Router. The Talk Talk router is not a bad router, but it was limited, esp on the 5g wireless range, which would not cover the whole house. As others have said, it is very easy to set up and does not take long. Interesting enough, unlike most other routers which I would configure off line, it is probably best to plug it into your ADSL/VDSL line when you start configuring it. The Modem/Router will lead you through a series of screens in setting it up and at the end of this you should have an operational wireless network with internet access. Before you start, ensure you have your ISP username & password (often domestic VDSL does not have one being tied to the phone line) and I would decide on a couple of things before you start: (A) the names and passwords of the 2.4/5g wireless networks and (b) an Email address and password that you will use to log into the router after doing the basic setup. The one thing that has taken me time before in setting up a new router and home network has been printers - where I have been pressing the WPS button on the router and running to the printer to press the button there. This router has an online WPS button, so you can put your laptop by the printer, log into the router, press the online WPS button, reach over to the printer and press the WPS button and see if it connects. This saved me a lot of time, given my printers past reluctance to connect first time. Within the router screens there is potentially a lot of options with basic and advanced options. I have used some of the advanced options - the number and variations of the options reminds me of Draytek routers presented in rather more user friendly manner. If you need rock sold reliability and need to maintain VPNs between fixed ip addresses, buy a Draytek - it is what they are really good at. So far I have fixed the IP addresses of the printers from the router, and am planning to look at the parental controls module - which from a cursory look allows you to restrict the times that a specified device can access the internet, and also to operate blacklisting or white listing if you so wish. Bear in mind this is not a small router. - it is 27cm wide and 22cm deep and needs 17cm of height. You can fix it to a wall as the bottom cover has screw indentations, but all the ports and aerials are at the back, so would be at the top if set up this way. One issue you might have here is the length of the cable from the powerblock - it is only about 1m in length Operationally the router has done everything I have wanted it to, primarily extending the range of the 5g network to cover the whole house and then some. I know I could have set up a mesh wireless network to achieve the same results, but I prefer one box, not the multiple boxes that this would need - however a much bigger house, or a building with a lot of steel in it might need this solution. Overall I am pleased with this. Time will tell as to its longevity and reliability.

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. There is an array of LED indicators on top, which can be switched off when not needed. All the connections are on the back - 4 Ethernet ports and a single line-in for the phone connection. WPS button on the side. The whole thing feels solid and appears well made. Set-up was incredibly easy. The only reason it took me more than 5 minutes was that I had forgotten my ISP password (Doh!). Once I had sorted that out, it was a piece of cake. Connect it all up and attach the aerials; turn on the computer and router; reassure the anti-virus that the new network is safe; launch the browser and tap in the URL provided; follow the wizard, which includes options to name your network(s) and set your own password(s); there is a drop-down list of ISPs so you just have to select your own, put in user name and password, and you're there. Another 2 minutes to set up and position the extender and I had 5 bar wifi all over the house. The Fire TV now runs without a hitch, and web speeds have visibly improved. The great feature of this is the dual band. If you use both, you can choose which band each device connects to. That means I can use the 5GHz band exclusively for the TV and the 2.4 GHz for everything else. Now we can have good internet access and TV at the same time. It isn't the cheapest device, but it is well worth it for the quality and the ease of use (even for a total non-techie like me).

(Update 28/11/2020). Working continuously for two or so weeks. Since I re-configured (factory reset) the router via my lap top and ethernet connection, the system has been stable with about 20 devices on it. There remains an interoperability problem between the two apps that set up the S4's and separately, the Vr2100. Why two are needed I really don't know. It looks like we now have a system that is fit for the purpose I spent £300 on. But the process was too hit and miss, disgracefully time consuming and buggy. TPLINK support was and is very poor when I went through their support channels. While not giving out any meaningful advice, they kept asking for more and more granular detail - without any response when I did. Rude. Ironically, this kit and the larger Deco mesh system is likely to prove to be really very good, but one star reflects a non-resiliant set up process, crappy apps and a non-existent support function. So here is the rest of the painful history....... (Update 12/11/2020). Mesh network hung with 4 devices and light surf workload. The previously perfect login page to the router (direct connect via ethernet) flashed up the login background page but no user or password fields. Tether app didn't work (never has actually). So the utterly clumsy solution was to factory reset and plug the parameters back in. Needed three power cycles to get the modem to link with the primary (connected) S4. The apps are total crap for diagnostics and seem to be designed for one hit perfect config every time. I bought this VR 2100 to accompany three Deco S4's to create a wifi mesh system. It hasn't been plain sailing so I have had to use the "tether" android app for the modem/router and the separate "Deco" app for the mesh system. Now that an app seems the only way to set tplink kit up (certainly the S4's) these apps need to be bombproof. THEY ARE NOT. Configuring a new network can be challenging. To configure with new technology is doubly so. Configuring for a customer with little downtime available is utterly nerve racking. Here is my root problem. If I am logged in to the router I cannot log into the tether app. And vice versa. I go to the TPLINK cloud to get a new password, and it came to pass that I am now locked out the router. Repeat ad nauseum. This is a known problem from at least this summer and not a finger has been lifted. UTTERLY DISGRACEFUL & LAZY. The router was bought so that absolute compatibility was ensured between the components. So £250 down the road we have this absurd problem. (Apparently you have to factory reset the router and plug the info in again. Not all folk say this works). So this gets the 1 star. The kit so far is working fine and I really was hoping that we would have a true app-driven plug and play as TPLINK make a big deal of. Right now undertaking diagnostics or remedial actions on the network is a nightmare. In this day and age we should not be pioneers at the bleeding edge of technology. An interoperability defect in recently released kit from the same manufacturer is contemptuous. The router is, I'm sure very good but the ecosystem I'm forced into by the manufacturer is not fit for purpose

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!

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. I bit the bullet on this model (VR2100) and I'm so glad I did. The router feels great, build quality is nice, nice big antennas and the setup was easy as pie. I plugged it in, followed the instructions, selecting the Sky option, and... it just worked. I downloaded the app to my phone so now I can easily see what devices are connected to the network, I've labeled each device up in the app so I can see exactly what each one is (kids tablets, Sky box, mine and the wife's phones etc) and set up a seperate guest network for people who come over. The user interface is so easy to use, and now I can control connections, set time limits on devices, even block and kick devices from the network. I did turn the auto switching off, I found my phone was struggling switching between the two frequencies, so I have stuff that's static/in the same room as the router connected to the 5ghz band, the rest is on the 2.4Ghz. I also bought a low profile USB drive and plugged it into the USB port on the side of the router, you can barely even see it in there but now I have network attached storage, so I can easily transfer files between PC/Laptop without using the cloud, and back up photos or other things. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone. My PC download speeds are now running at full speed (we're on a 40 meg connection) and my connection when gaming is solid and ping/latencies are really low. If you have a Sky Q router, just do yourself a favour and throw it in the bin. Get one of these, you won't regret it!

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, and the signal has to pass through 2 brick-built walls and a solid concrete ceiling to get from the router to the bedroom, so that's a plus. Even though the "signal strength" seems to drop on its indicator, it still continues to work, with our previous modem it would keep dropping. Setting it up was straightforward. Later I was able to locate, amongst the "Advanced Settings" a place to allocate all our domestic stuff, including TV, phone, computer, a fixed IP address. It tends to keep connections more stable, and means that you can do more within the network. I've not been able to work out what this TP-Link Cloud is all about yet, seems that a lot of pointless nonsense, I've not been able to find a use for it at all. I was hoping that maybe I could download files from the USB drive plugged in, or use the wirelessly connected printer, but no. All in all, a good modem, does the job, but the so-called "Extras" are mostly a waste of time and effort for me. Loses a star because the signal strength isn't quite what was expected from reviews (though better than the ISP router), and the 5G connection, for me, caused more problems than it was worth, so I disabled it, and for the hype. Glad I bought it though.

Perhaps I should have paid more attention to the origin of this product, sold by Amazon.Au. It came from U.K. and had a U.K. plug on the power transformer ( for delivery to Australia? Not any advice to the customer?). However; no problem; I had an Aust. compatible unit. Plugged it in; it powered up. Plugged in the DSL cord; WiFi symbols came on; but the DSL "handshake" failed; also turning off the unit. Changed to an Aust. DSL cord; similar result. Cautionary Tale: buying International Products via Amazon.Au gives the purchaser no avenue of Warranty cover; and if you don't test the product within 1 week of Delivery: no avenue to return the item to Amazon.Au BUYERS BEWARE!

Der Router hält, was er verspricht. Schnelles, stabiles WLAN auf beiden Frequenzen .alles läuft einwandfrei. Die Einrichtung über die Tether-App ging super einfach, auch für technisch weniger Versierte. Besonders positiv: Der Verkäufer war sehr nett und hilfsbereit. So wünscht man sich das! Klare Kaufempfehlung für alle, die einen zuverlässigen Router mit starker Ausstattung suchen.

Leider nicht kompatibel obwohl es in der Beschreibung stand

I used it as an internet connection between my computer destop and the modem.

Happy with item, but the power adapter in the packet is not suitable for Australia, If I know this early, I won’t buy that product.