TP-Link AC1200 Archer A6 v3.0 or 2.0

drshreenivaas

drshreenivaas

Messages
58
Location
Kolhapur
ISP
BSNL
Hi friends, I a getting BSNL FTTH connection tomorrow and I am in market for a decent router. Till now I had ADSL connection and don't have any prior experience with FTTH. I am getting UTSTARCOM ONT 4842W-I modem with installation and have had shortlisted TP-Link AC1200 Archer C6 and A6 routers by skimming through this forum.
Right now, I am getting TP-Link A6 v2.0 for Rs. 2040 on Flipkart and A6 v3.0 for Rs. 2249 on Amazon. I have placed order for both as I don't know which will be better.
As per info available on net, v2.0 has a internal antenna which v3.0 lacks resulting in little bit drop in range.
v3.0 comes with dual core Mediatek processor, whereas v2.0 comes with single core QUALCOMM processor. Also v3.0 comes with DDR3 RAM instead of DDR2. This results in faster boot, better memory management, less heating and less reboots.
v3.0 also comes with Airtime Fairness feature which according to TP-Link website, Improves network efficiency by limiting excessive occupation.
I want to know if anybody has used both routers in real life and if possible, has compared them?
Plz help me as my both orders will be delivered in three days and I have to cancel one of them, but I don't know which one.
Thanks in advance.
 
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@pranjal53, go for Mercusys blindly. I was sorely disappointed with TP-Link AC1200 A6 and my Mi Router 3 gives better coverage than it. I also ordered TP-Link mesh router during Diwali sale at tempting price and then returned it due to poor coverage and purchased two of these models, one for each floor. I have area of 4400 sq. feet and I have found range adequate for at least half of the above area. I have placed it in large corridor to have minimal interference of walls. With trial and error, you can also find a sweet spot where you can install it to have maximum coverage. I purchased them at Rs. 2550 each.
5ghz range will be always poor, a single wall will block it at ease. For this purpose, I use smart connect feature in these routers. But speed of 2.5ghz is also adequate for my use.
 
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thats really interesting if the mercusys is that fast at booting.is it under 30 secs??
How much time does a6 take from your experience??
The app isnt a concern for me tbh,i find them cumbersome anyway. But is the web interface feature filled?? or is it missing anything??

Also i have just messaged mercusys to find out more about the cpu/ram config of this router. I ll bet that they have done some mods if the boot time is that quick. Will get back with the info on the forum.
 
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i guess that price is after applying 10% discount offer if cart value is more than 5k.
 
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@rapzor, that price was available on Flipkart, just after Diwali.
Boot up time is between 30 secs and 1 min, I haven't measured it precisely. A6 took one and half min to boot.
Web interface is damn good. I am not a tech savvy person and some other factors must be weighing in this but what I found is that web interface gets auto-adjusted when zoomed in in Mercusys whereas it's not so in case of TP-Link and I had to use app.
 
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@rapzor, I haven't faced a single hang ups or reboot. My usage on first floor is two TV's for streaming, two desktops and 4 mobiles at any given time. One on ground floor is always connected to two desktops and two mobiles.
 
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@drshreenivaas thanks for the help.
i got the router and have been using it for a few days now.
The 2.4 g range is pretty good ,even with 1 tower it gives impressive speeds.
However i have been really disappointed with 5g range which doesnt even reach the area exactly above the router,a floor above,unlike what this guy says in this review. @ 4:05

Source


either he is lying or my unit is bad ,cause i get no 5g range floor ,above.

what has been your experience with 5 g range ,does it reach the floor above?
 
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No, 5G range doesn't cross a floor. That's why, I got another router for a ground floor interconnected with LAN cable. 2G coverage is great and speed is also good for me. I use 60 MBPS BSNL Fibre connection.
 
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