Archer A7/AX21 2.4G speed for iPhone 11 from 300M Verizon Fios 5* review for successfully resolved my low 2.4G speed problem, excellent support from TP Link and fast 5G speed that exceeds Verizon Fios max speed of 300Mbps. The purpose of this review is to compare the 2.4G and 5G speeds of the TP Link Archer A7(AC1700) WiFi 5 router and AX21(AX1800) WiFi 6 router using an iPhone 11 which supports WiFi 6. The highest speed I can test is 300Mbps limited by my Verizon Internet plan. Measurement results using show that using the WiFi 5 router, the 2.4G speed is 60M/80M (UL/DL) and the 5G speed is 307M/330M, whereas using the WiFi 6 router, the 2.4G speed is 110M/120M and the 5G speed is about same. Newer routers’ real life 5G speed is very high and normally is not a problem, but real life 2.4G speed could be slow. It is not entirely sure which part of the wireless link is limiting the 2.4G speed. Below examines the speed limit of the WiFi standards involved, the router and iPhone 11. The routers are TP Link’s Archer A7(AC1700) and AX21(AX1800). Measured speeds at 2.4G and 5G will also be given. Router (TP Link) Specs and Supported WiFi Standards 1) Archer A7(AC1700) has has 3 antennas is a WiFi 5 router 2.4G : 450Mbps 5G: 1300M bps Supported Standards: AX21(AX1800) : 802.11ac(Wi-Fi 5), 802.11b, 802.11ax(Wi-Fi 6), 802.11n(Wi-Fi 4), 802.11g 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax are also called Wi-Fi 4, WiFi 5 and WiFi 6 respectively. 2) AX21(AX1800) has 4 antennas is a WiFi 6 router 2.4G: 574M bps 5G: 1200M bps. Supported Standards: AX7 (AC1700) 802.11b, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11ac A7 (AX1800) is a low cost ($60) popular (listed as “Amazon Choice”) WiFi 5 router which supports 802.11 ac whereas AX 21 is a low cost ($90) WiFi 6 router which supports 802.11 ax. WiFi 6 (max speed 9.6G) not only has higher speed than WiFi 5 (max speed 3.5G) but also can support more devices using orthogonal frequency division multiple access. The main differences are given in picture 1. (Picture 1 from : https://www.mwrf.com/technologies/systems/article/21849959/whats-the-difference-between-wifi-5-and-wifi-6) Comparing the specs of these two routers, one has a higher 2.4G speed while the other has a higher 5G speed. But in real life, according to my measurements, at 2.4G, the WiFi 6 router has almost twice the speed than the WiFi 5 router. I don’t have a high enough wireless speed plan to test the 5G speed. In my house both routers have the same speed of 310M, limited by the max speed allowed by Verizon Fios 300M. Speeds specified by the WiFi standards are speeds the router manufacturers trying to meet and they are not the limit, but speeds advertised by the router are the speeds that customers want the router to be able to reach. They become upset if they are unable to get the speeds advertised by the router. Routers often do not specified under what link conditions these seemingly advertised high speeds could be realized. For example what is the required bandwidth, the number of antennas (the so called MIMO) and how pure the signal has to be (the signal to noise ratio). Is the bandwidth 20, 40, 80 or 160M? Is the signal to noise ratio has to be greater than 10dB? In real life, link speed depends on how far from the router (the signal strength) and radio interference which falls in band (the signal to noise ratio). The former can be solved by doing the speed test right next to the router, where the transmit signal from the router is at maximum. But for the latter, unless one has a so called Faraday Cage, there is no way to block in-band interference especially at 2.4G, which are used by microwave ovens, Bluetooth and many household devices. Interference is hard to quantify without using a spectrum analyzer and could become an excuse if one calls the router support line complaining low speed. Another limit is the device itself, and in this case iPhone 11. It’s specs are given below. Wi-Fi specifications for iPhone 11 802.11 standard, name, frequency Maximum PHY data rate Maximum channel bandwidth Maximum MCS index Maximum spatial streams ax@5 GHz 1200 Mbps 80 MHz 11 (HE) 2/MIMO ac@5 GHz 866 Mbps 80 MHz 9 (VHT) 2/MIMO a/n@5 GHz 300 Mbps 40 MHz 7 (HT) 2/MIMO [email protected] GHz 195 Mbps 20 MHz 9 (HE) 2/MIMO b/g/[email protected] GHz 144 Mbps 20 MHz 7 (HT) 2/MIMO (From: https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment/iphone-wi-fi-specification-details-dep268652e6c/web) https://mcsindex.com gives more details about how the speed on each band is affected by modulation scheme, number of antennas, bandwidth and WiFi standards used, not only for iPhones but for routers as well. From the iPhone 11 specs, only “n” and “ax” support 2.4GHz if we ignore the older standards “b” and “g”. At 2.4G, The maximum speeds for “n” is 144M whereas for “ax” is 195M. The max bandwidth for both is 20MHz which needs to be set in the router. Setting the bandwidth to 40MHz could lower the speed as the noise power will be doubled. However, at 5GHz the speed for ac (WiFi 5) is 866M with 80M max bandwidth whereas for ax (WiFi 6) is 1200M also with 80M max bandwidth. These bandwidths should also be specified in the router. Setting the bandwidth too high or too low could lower the speed. From the iPhone 11 max speeds, it is clear that the wireless link’s speed is not limited by both the A7 and AX21 routers and the standards, but by the iPhone 11 at 2.4G and by Verizon Fios at 5G. I have Verizon Fios 300M download and upload. Initially, I used an A7, thinking that at 2.4GHz, the router speed is 450M which is higher than iPhone’s 144M(“n”) and 195M(“ax), surely shouldn’t be a problem. But speed test showed that I got only 60M download and 80M upload from the best channel and 20M bandwidth (I tested all the channels and bandwidth combinations). 60M is too slow for me because I have several devices (such as security cameras) using 2.4G. So I called TP Link support line to see what I had done wrong. Most customer supports didn’t know what the problem was the and finally I was connected to a high level support. She said that in real life, I had to multiply the speed by 30-50% and guided me through the various specs of the wireless link. I don’t know where the 30-50% comes from, perhaps it was her empirical experience. If I use the average of 40% and assume that applies to the lower speed of the router and the iPhone, which is 144MHz. 40%x144M is 57M. This was about what I got at 2.4G using the A7 router. But she also said something about WiFi 6 router and got me thinking perhaps a WiFi 6 router could improve the speed. (I must say that I got excellent support from TP Link, I had gotten calls twice from the specialist unsolicited and many followup emails. All trying to help me solve the low speed problem.) I then change the A7(AC1700) to an AX21(AX1800), which does support WiFi 6 “ax”. The main advantage of using AX21 is that it raised the iPhone 11 max speed at 2.4G from 144M to 195M, a gain of 51M. And as a result, in real life, the 2.4G link speed seemed to have increased by about the same amount. Speed test showed that at 2.4G, I now got ~90-110M(download, previously 60M when using A7) and 100-120M(upload) with the channel and bandwidth set on auto. Though the download speed is still less than 195M, the link speed has increased by changing to a router that supports ax and has 4 antennas. Have no idea if a more expensive router will further increase the 2.4G speed. However, at 5GHz, both routers give 307M download and 330M upload, limited by Verizon Fios max speed of 300M. When doing speed test, I shut off all 2.4G emitters. I live in a rural area and I suspect there is little interference. A7 has 3 antennas whereas AX21 has four. Is the speed improvement at 2.4G due to the additional antenna or the support of WiFi 6 or both?

As A Spectrum Internet Customer I had a Spectrum Advanced WiFi router that does 2G and 5G on the same WiFi network. There is not a way to split the networks in two. If you have a cell phone that is compatible with device steering and you use to connect your 2G devices to, you can call or chat with their Internet Repair support team to set up a feature on your cell phone that may allow the 2G devices to connect but it can be a hit or a miss and it's too much of a hassle to keep calling/chatting to set this up with as the feature is enabled for only sixty minutes. If the 2G device is connected before the hour is over, it will remain connected but if it's not, you'll need to reach back out to try again and you'll also need to reach back out for other new 2G devices only that don't automatically connect to the 2G network. This is a major flaw for an "Advanced" WiFi router. Customers paying a monthly $5 fee to lease their routers should be able to either split the networks in two or leave them as a single network for band steering. Outside of this, the Spectrum routers are fine. However, it's just better to get your own router. It would be great if they offered more advanced routers with more features such as VPN's, hiding network SSID, splitting the 2G and 5G networks, guest network and more. I'd pay $5 more a month on top of the already $5 charge for this. This way customers can select which router they need for their home and still get customer support for it. As A New Customer For Echo Dot's This is the reason why I purchased my own router. I purchased four Echo Dot's, 5th generation, '22 release. All of them connected to the Spectrum WiFi router without issue and individually they operated great. However, the Echo Dot's have a "multi-room audio" feature where you can play music all throughout your home. This was my entire reason for getting these in the first place. This feature was a hit or miss. Sometimes it would work but most of the time only one or two would work and trying to get them all re-paired so I could say, "Alexa, play Discover Weekly from Spotify everywhere," was a huge inconvenience and took too much time. After going online and reviewing forums such as Quora and Reddit, I could see what the issue was. The Spectrum WiFi router would switch them between 2G and 5G based off of interference and signal strength throughout the day and if even just one Echo Dot was on a different network than the others, it would throw off the multi-room audio so that it wouldn't work. So the hunt for a dual band router began. TP-Link AX1800 WiFi 6 Router (Archer AX21) Review The TP-Link AX1800 Router has been amazing so far. It arrived on the same day that I ordered (Thank you Amazon and of course, most of all, the delivery drivers). When it first came in, the first thing I noticed was how ridiculously light it was which kind of made me nervous about the purchase. The router itself came very nicely packaged, nothing was damaged. I followed the instructions to the letter but the router was not showing any lights on there after plugging it in once the Internet modem came back online. I re-read the steps again and re-checked the power connections and tried unplugging from both ends but not luck. I honestly thought I got a dud. I looked on the back of the router and saw a button and pressed it in; all the lights began to show and I could begin the setup process. I use an iPhone and when I pulled up the TP-Link App to set up the router I couldn't help but notice its low star rating so I opted not to download the app and instead login using the IP address (the instructions provide you with this information and how-to as well). This is my first time ever logging into a WiFi router without the use of a mobile app and I have to say, it is significantly better and heavily preferred. I was able to turn off TP-Link Smart Connect so that I could have two separate SSID's for the 2G and 5G network. I could also see there was a whole new host of features that I did not have prior such as hiding your WiFi networks from neighbors and having a guest network. I also did a speed test and they all came back higher than normal and my computer noticeably moves faster when browsing the Internet and streaming video despite being roughly around the same speeds (before it was around 310mbps download/9mbps upload; now it is at around 360mbps/13mbps upload). Maybe the 50mbps DL and 4mbps UL makes a huge difference. I'm not entirely sure. I believe the difference really comes from the router provider a more stable/stronger connection than the Spectrum router. The signals itself are just healthier now. I also like that the TP-Link router has antennas, four of them to be exact, that you can see. The Spectrum routers don't have these and if they do, they're within the router itself. I believe routers with antennas that you can visibly see operate better and send stronger signals. Did This Resolve My Issue With The Echo Dot's? It absolutely did. I re-connected all four Echo Dot's to the 2G network, which was kind of a pain as well to do (but well worth the time and effort; it would've been significantly easier to do if I originally connected them to a dual band router in the first place) and ever since then I have had no issues with multi-room audio. Anytime I want to play music from all four Echo Dot's at the same time, they all play without issue. Which is great because I plan on purchasing more for a more surround system environment. Final Notes If you need a dual band WiFi router that is able to split the networks in two so that you can sign into them separately, this is it. And honestly, if you have a Spectrum router, this is a major upgrade for a fraction of the cost. Just make sure you keep it clean of dust, and keep it in a well-ventilated and cool area of the home and this will easily last you 2+ years. It saves you money and it works better. It's honestly a no-brainer. There is also a common misconception with spotty/slow Internet speeds. The majority of signal issues do not come from cable lines (confirm with your ISP provider first though that the signal levels look healthy coming into and from your Internet modem) but come from the equipment itself (modem and/or router) or from the devices you are using (assuming it is only occurring on one or two devices). Which is why upgrading your WiFi router and/or Internet modem can resolve the issues. I honestly don't have any issues with the Spectrum Internet modems. I think they're fine. They all come pre-built, meaning, you can't change any settings on them. Not a deal breaker for me. However, honestly, if I didn't have a Landline service with them, I would've purchased my own modem as well and long-term wise I will definitely consider it. The Spectrum Internet equipment are fine for the majority of homes. However, there is no one size fits all and if you're having issues with your equipment whether due to the lack of features available or signal issues (and confirmed with their Internet Repair team that there are no signal issues coming from the lines), this TP-Link router is an exceptional purchase.