REVIEW: TP-Link Archer AX12 Router is the gateway to Wi-Fi 6 576k56

The constant increase in the number of devices connected to the Internet in a home network demands routers capable of managing a greater number of simultaneous connections, without losing signal quality. In this scenario, the Wi-Fi 6 becomes a fundamental piece in domestic wireless networks, as it allows for more stability and performance in internet delivery to all equipment. 6d4i5b

Although Wi-Fi 6 is not present in most connected equipment, we already have a number of everyday devices that have this functionality: high-end smartphones such as iPhone 11 onwards, Galaxy S10 onwards and even mid-range ones. current ones like the Galaxy A54 and Redmi Note 12 Pro are compatible with the standard. And the TP-Link aims to be the gateway to Wi-Fi 6 with the Archer AX12, the company's new gateway router, which showmetech tested at the invitation of the company. See our review below.

Design 145g70

O Archer AX12 it's a standard-sized router made of black plastic with four external antennas on the back. Its dimensions of 215 × 117 × 32 mm allow it to be installed in different positions, however the 14cm antennas need additional space above and to the sides — depending on how they are positioned.

At the top, the router has a texture of small pyramids arranged linearly along the surface. This finish is pleasing to the eye, however the grooves formed between the texture points end up accumulating dust, and cleaning requires the use of a brush with finer bristles to remove particles.

On the front of the Archer AX12, we have 4 LEDs:

• Power: On / Off / Blinking (system starting or system upgrade) firmware)
• 2.4GHz Network: On / Off
• 5GHz Network: On / Off
• Internet: Connected (green light) / WAN connected, no internet (orange light) / WAN disconnected (light off)

At the rear, the Archer AX12 features:

• four antennas
• 1 Gigabit Ethernet WAN port
• 3 Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports
• 12V power port
• Single button for reset/WPS

The connectivity options may seem few, but we are talking about an entry-level router. A point for discussion is the permanence of WPS for fast connection, as it offers a vulnerability for malicious people to access your network.

At the bottom, we have the holes to attach the equipment to the wall and the label with the device's factory information (SSID of Wi-Fi networks, MAC address), which will be used for the settings.

Configuration and Interface 4a5y32

A TP-Link offers the possibility of configuring your routers either through the traditional method (via browser) or through its own Tether application, available for iPhone / iPad e Android. For the initial configuration, the application was used, with a simple process to establish the main parameters of the wireless network.

To configure the AX12, we had an initial difficulty, as it did not display the networks according to the factory settings — possibly it had already been used by another press vehicle for testing. Once done the reset for its settings, it was possible to carry out the whole process quickly: the Tether app reads the QR-Code on the router label and makes the connection, completing the initial configuration in a few steps:

The application offers the main settings for the common . On the home page, it shows the network status, number of connected devices and network information on both frequencies. You can also view information for guest networks, if they have been set up.

Among the main functions that can be configured by the app, the following stand out:

• OneMesh: add compatible TP-Link routers to form a mesh network;
• QoS: for networks with many devices, you can determine which ones will always have priority when connecting to the router;
• : limits the use of certain devices on the network according to predetermined schedules, and blocks or allows access to certain websites;
• Guest network: allows guests to connect to Wi-Fi without having access to other local devices;
• LED control: you can enable and disable the router's LEDs, indefinitely or as scheduled.

In the web configuration interface, which can be accessed by the browser on the computer, it has complete information about the operation and configuration of the Archer AX12. In it, it is even possible to visualize the load of the processor and memory of the equipment, to assess whether the network demand is not consuming too many router resources.

In addition to the features that can be customized through the app, the web interface allows for additional configurations:

• OFDMA: acronym for orthogonal frequency-division multiple access, a technology present in Wi-Fi 6 that optimizes data traffic on compatible devices, allowing simultaneous access from several connected devices
• TWT: the Target Wake Time is another unique feature of Wi-Fi 6, which determines how and when devices will be connected or suspended, in order to save energy for those that depend on battery and leave more bandwidth available for those that are transferring data;
• Smart connect: the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands use the same SSID, and the router determines which one will be used by the devices, in order to balance the network demand;
• DH server;
• port forwarding;
• Security features (firewall, access control);
• VPN server;
• Smart Life Assistant: Enables control of some router features using the Alexa voice assistant;
• EasyMesh: allows you to configure a mesh network in this proprietary TP-Link standard

Archer AX12 performance 3q3454

During our tests, the Archer AX12 used a 200 Mbps connection to the internet, interconnected by cable with the operator's router — which had Wi-Fi turned off so that there was no signal interference. With the exception of network names and s, all of the router's settings TP-Link remained at factory defaults to reflect typical residential consumer usage.

In the first test, we checked the signal strength map for each of the bands, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, on the same floor where the router was installed. At this point, the signal had better intensity, indicated by the blue coloration. In green, a good signal strength, which allows you to obtain good speeds for everyday activities. In the yellow areas, the signal gets weaker but you still get a stable connection. And, in orange and red, the connection speed is very low, preventing more data-intensive activities, such as video streaming services.

As expected, the coverage of the 5GHz network of the Archer AX12 it is slightly lower than in the 2.4 GHz network. However, the difference was felt at points that were really farther away, where normally it would be interesting to have a signal repeater, either of the common type or mesh.

But how is this reflected in of results? The router is classified as AX1500, that is, it has WiFi 6 (AX) with speed 1500 Mbps in the two summed bands, which have their own characteristics:

• 2.4 GHz: 300 Mbps, with Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n)
• 5 GHz: 1201 Mbps, with Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)

In this way, even if the 2.4GHz network has greater coverage, the 5GHz network manages to deliver better results in the entire area that, within the maps above, goes from blue to yellow. In the orange dots the speed is equivalent, and in the red dots the 2.4 delivers better speed — but still low.

In the table below, we demonstrate the speed tests carried out at certain points, comparing the difference in speed (in Mbps) between the Archer AX12 and the operator's router:

It is worth noting that, at point 3, the operator's router had already switched to the 2.4GHz network, while the Archer AX12 stayed at 5 GHz. And to test the TP-Link router's ability to handle multiple access demands, a load test was performed with the following data demand simultaneously:

• 1 PC with 8K video streaming
• 2 smart TVs with 4K video streaming
• 1 smart TV with Full HD video streaming
• 2 smartphones with 4K video streaming

Even with the high data demand of the multiple connections, there was no stuttering in the transmissions, and a speed test was performed, demonstrating that there was still room to handle more load:

Completion and availability 4z442k

O TP Link Archer AX12 is a good option for those who want to start in the world of Wi-Fi 6 networks. Although the range of devices compatible with this technology is limited, the router is also very competent with equipment compatible with Wi-Fi 5 and previous wireless network protocols , showing an improvement in signal coverage in homes with two to three bedrooms. And for larger places, it is possible to create a mesh network with other TP-Link routers compatible with the OneMesh protocol.

O Archer AX12 will be launched in Brazil, according to TP-Link's advisory, at an approximate cost of R$ 350 on Amazon. However, there is still no forecast date for its entry into the market.

Technical Specifications 4n1h3u

Brand	TP-Link
Córdoba	Archer AX12 (AX1500)
Wi-Fi Standards	Wi-Fi 6 IEEE 802.11ax/ac/n/a (5GHz) IEEE 802.11n/b/g (2.4GHz)
Speed	AX1500 5GHz: 1201Mbps (802.11ax) 2.4GHz: 300Mbps (802.11n)
WiFi features	4 × Fixed high-performance antennas Multiple antennas form a signal booster array to cover more directions and large areas. Beamforming Focuses signal strength towards devices to expand Wi-Fi range. High performance dual band Allocate devices on different bands for optimized performance OFDMA Communicates with multiple Wi-Fi 6 clients simultaneously Airtime Fairness Improves network efficiency by limiting overcrowding 4 streams Connects your devices to more bandwidth
Operating Modes	Router Mode access point mode
Ethernet ports	1× Gigabit WAN port 3× Gigabit LAN port
Buttons	WPS/WiFi button Reset button
Food	12V ⎓ 1A
WiFi Encryption	WPA2-PSK WPA2-PSK/WPA-PSK WPA3-Personal WPA3-Personal/WPA2-PSK
Network Security	SPI Firewall Access control IP & MAC Binding Application Layer Gateway
Guest Network	1× 5GHz Guest Network 1× 2.4GHz Guest Network
VPN server	openvpn PPTP
Protocols	IPv4 IPv6
	URL Filtering Time Controls
WAN types	Dynamic IP Static IP PPPoE/PPTP(Dual Access)/L2TP(Dual Access)
Quality of Service (QoS)	QoS per device
cloud services	Auto Firmware Upgrade OTA Firmware Upgrade TP-Link ID DDNS
NAT Forwarding	port forwarding Harbor Triggering DMZ UPnP
IPTV	IGMP Proxy IGMP snooping Bridge VLAN tag
DH	Address Reservation DH Client List employee
DDNS	TP-Link NO-IP DynDNS
Management	tether app Webpage
Certificates	FCC, CE, RoHS
Ambiente	Operating Temperature: 0°C to 40°C (32°F to 104°F) Storage Temperature: -40°C to 60°C (-40°F to 140°F) Operating humidity: 10% to 90% non-condensing Storage humidity: 5% to 90% non-condensing
WiFi Transmission Power	CE: <20dBm (2.4GHz) <23dBm (5.15GHz~5.25GHz) FCC: <30dBm (2.4GHz & 5.15GHz~5.825GHz)
WiFi Receive Sensitivity	5 GHz: 11a 6Mbps: -95dBm, 11a 54Mbps: -79dBm 11ac VHT20_MCS0: -96dBm, 11ac VHT20_MCS8: -66dBm 11ac VHT40_MCS0: -94dBm, 11ac VHT40_MCS9: -63dBm 11ac VHT80_MCS0: -91dBm, 11ac VHT80_MCS9: -60dBm 11ax HE20_MCS0: -95dBm, 11ax HE20_MCS11: -66dBm 11ax HE40_MCS0: -92dBm, 11ax HE40_MCS11: -65dBm 11ax HE80_MCS0: -89dBm, 11ax HE80_MCS11: -62dBm 2.4 GHz: 11g 6Mbps: -96 54Mbps: -80 HT20-MCS0: -97 MCS7: -78 HT40-MCS0: -94 MCS7: -75
Dimensions (W×D×H)	8.5 × 4.6 × 1.3 in (215×117×32mm)
Package Contents	Archer AX6 WiFi 12 Router Energy Adapter RJ45 Ethernet cable quick install guide
Price	BRL 350 (estimated)
Availability	No forecast

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Text proofread by: Pedro Bomfim (02 / 08 / 23)