Need to decide between TP-Link Archer C6 & Tenda AC10

[xd003]

I need to buy a dual band gigabit router under 3k and i have been researching for the same since past 2 days
All around the internet & even in this forum , Archer C6 seems to the one recommended most/defacto king . It seemed like a easy blind buy to me until one of my friend recommended Tenda AC10 as a better alternative , then i saw bunch of direct speedtest comparison between these 2 on YouTube & was quite shocked with the results . On paper both are having exactly same spec but actual tests told a very different story

1)Tenda AC10 vs Archer C6 v2

Source

Result - Archer C6 v2 is outperformed by Tenda AC10 by a very good margin . I didn't expected so much difference , archer seemed like a joke in front Tenda here

2) Tenda AC10 vs Archer C6 v2 vs Archer C6 v3 vs Few others

Source

Result - Here also Tenda AC10 outperformed both Archer C6 v2 & v3 by comfortable margins
( Archer C6 v3 has improved over v2 apparently still nowhere near Tenda AC10'S numbers )

Except just the one the speedtest comparison at first which was done like way too close to the router in which both routers perfomed equally good , Tenda AC10 performed way better be it 2.4ghz or 5 ghz band across all tests . There are bunch of other vidoes too on YouTube claiming Tenda AC10 having lot better coverage & speed than Archer C6 but lets leave them , the ones i gave are good enough tests to put forward my point . If the Tenda AC10 is so much better than Archer C6 , then why isn't it even half as much know or acclaimed like the Archer C6's are ? Why doesn't anyone talk about Tenda AC10 if they are really so good , something doesn't feel right to me . Possibly someone having used both these routers will be able to clear this up properly

What do all of you guys have to say about this ? Do all the tests in the video look reliable enough to base a purchase decision over it ? I am really stuck at this point . Its safe to say that way too many people use Archer C6 here it being so popular , don't you guys get speed drops like shown in the video ?

On another note , I am definitely open to suggestions for different options apart from these 2 within my budget

 

[nishantt6969]

TENDA AC10 AC1200 Gigabit 1200 Mbps Wireless Router - TENDA : Flipkart.com

Buy TENDA AC10 AC1200 Gigabit 1200 Mbps Wireless Router only for Rs. 5100 from Flipkart.com. Only Genuine Products. 30 Day Replacement Guarantee. Free Shipping. Cash On Delivery!

www.flipkart.com

 

[xd003]

@nishantt6969
Gotcha its the v2 that you have , as in v3 VPN support was removed , i beleive its not available in india . On a ending note , does Tenda AC10 have any equivalent of Smart connect from TP-Link . What it does - "automatically assign connected devices to the Wi-Fi band that provides the fastest speed'

 

[nishantt6969]

I dont think so, Well Im mostly in a single room where router is placed so always connected to 5ghz band, that doesnt bother me a bit.

 

[nishantt6969]

you can ask more questions regarding the router, Im here to tell.

 

[Mayankp7]

I dont think so, Well Im mostly in a single room where router is placed so always connected to 5ghz band, that doesnt bother me a bit.

I think the AC10v2 has a physical power on/off button while the v3 lacks the same. Can you please check and confirm?
Also i'm pretty sure AC10's available on flipkart here TENDA AC10 AC1200 Gigabit 1167 Mbps Router - TENDA : Flipkart.com are v3 as mentioned by the seller.
Moreover, VPN can be configured on v3 too as mentioned in the product datasheet.

 

[Mayankp7]

BTW i'm in the same boat as well. I just can't decide which one to go for but i'm leaning towards the c6 v3.20 since it has oneMesh support, openWRT support in the works, and a superior mobile app. Also i think the range can't be as bad as my ISP router.

 

---

[nishantt6969]

I think the AC10v2 has a physical power on/off button while the v3 lacks the same.

Yeah, my router is having the button.

 

[Mayankp7]

@nishantt6969
Gotcha its the v2 that you have , as in v3 VPN support was removed , i beleive its not available in india . On a ending note , does Tenda AC10 have any equivalent of Smart connect from TP-Link . What it does - "automatically assign connected devices to the Wi-Fi band that provides the fastest speed'

Tenda AC10 v3 does support smartConnect or whatever it's called allowing a single SSID for both the bands and the router decides which band to allocate to a device based on the distance etc. It can be turned off ofcourse. Also, v3 has 6dbi antennas compared to 5dbi antennas on v2 and archer c6v3.2. Makes me wonder if it'll further improve the already awesome wifi range as reported by nishantt6969.

 

[nishantt6969]

One thing I want to add, speed on wifi never went above 450mbps. On Huawei ont given by airtel, it goes to 480mbps. Wifi range is good, very good.

 

[xd003]

@nishantt6969 so out of the theoritical max 867Mbps limit on 5 ghz range , afaik usually 60% is what routers get practically ( Correct me i am wrong ) . So its safe to say Tenda AC10's maximium limit is 50-80 Mbps lesser than what it could/should have been . But then again for someone needing 500+ Mbps speeds , i think they are better off with a higher end router than our 2-3k range gigabit routers like Tenda or Archer C6 . For all the other use case below 400 mbps , i think this Tenda AC10 is unbeatable

 

[xd003]

BTW i'm in the same boat as well. I just can't decide which one to go for but i'm leaning towards the c6 v3.20 since it has oneMesh support, openWRT support in the works, and a superior mobile app. Also i think the range can't be as bad as my ISP router.

As far as openWRT on Archer C6 v3.2 is concerned . its not that sure thing , last time i checked there were too many bugs it being a mediatek chipset . Yes regarding the oneMesh & superior mobile app with archer i definitely agree but the range/coverage is quite better on Tenda AC10 when compared to Archer C6 . Ugh i wish we could have best of both worlds , but sadly that's too good to be true . Personally i think i will have to give more priority to range/coverage than oneMesh & Better mobile app

 

[xd003]

Tenda AC10 v3 does support smartConnect or whatever it's called allowing a single SSID for both the bands and the router decides which band to allocate to a device based on the distance etc. It can be turned off ofcourse. Also, v3 has 6dbi antennas compared to 5dbi antennas on v2 and archer c6v3.2. Makes me wonder if it'll further improve the already awesome wifi range as reported by nishantt6969.

i already contacted the flipkart customer care to ask which variant of Tenda AC10 is the one being sold but the customer executive told that they cannot contact the seller to confirm that , like ssly wtf ! Going through the comments , it seems they have sold both v1 and v3

 

[nishantt6969]

Yeah nothing beats this router in the price range mentioned. Also, I have seen lots of routers including TP-Link routers to become choppy after continuous usage for like 7-10 days, but Tenda has out performed great with 3 months of power up and continuous usage of 8-10 devices.

 

[Mayankp7]

I think I’ll be getting the AC10 too. Just learned that the ONEMesh won’t work over Ethernet back haul and the routers broadcast a hidden ssid for the purpose that can’t be turned off plus it just works with a repeater or extender. Also, AC10 at 2000 is a steal IMHO.

 

[Mayankp7]

i already contacted the flipkart customer care to ask which variant of Tenda AC10 is the one being sold but the customer executive told that they cannot contact the seller to confirm that , like ssly wtf ! Going through the comments , it seems they have sold both v1 and v3

I’m almost certain we’ll be getting the v3 since all the recent reviews seem to have gotten the same. Also reviewers that bought it (even the one you shared the video of) got the v3.
That being said, it’s indeed confusing af as they just don’t mention anything over at the product page. It’s just ridiculous.