TP-Link Archer A20

amazon TP-Link Archer A20 reviews

TP-Link Archer A20 is a tri-band router that combines solid throughput performance with powerful parental controls and three years of free network security offered by Trend Micro. It’s easy to install and manage using the web console or mobile app, and it delivers outstanding file transfer performance, making it a great choice for downloading and moving big data. That said, you should get faster overall throughput performance.

The Archer A20 doesn’t offer anything new in terms of design. It looks identical to the Archer C3200 Router we reviewed. The black textured enclosure measures 1.5 x 7.9 x 7.9 inches (HWD) and uses six. The non-movable external antenna can be folded out from the top of the Router. There are nine small LED indicators on the front edge for power, Ethernet, internet, three radio bands, two USB ports, and WPS activity. Also, along the front edge are the Wi-Fi (on/off), WPS, and LED (on/off) buttons. The rear panel houses four gigabit LAN ports, two of which support link aggregation, one WAN port, one USB 3.0 port, one USB 2.0 port, reset button, power button, and power jack.

Archer A20 is equipped with a Broadcom 1.8GHz quad-core processor and 512MB of RAM. It is an AC4000 Router that can reach a maximum signal speed of 750Mbps on the 2.4GHz radio band and 1,625Mbps on each of the two 5GHz radio bands. It uses Wave 2 802.11ac technology that supports simultaneous MU-MIMO data transmission, direct-to-client beamforming, and SmartConnect (automatic band control).

Like the TP-Link Archer C5400X Gaming Router, the Archer A20 can be installed and managed from a PC using the web console or a mobile device using the TP-Link Tether app for iOS or Android. The web console opens to a network map showing the number of wired and wireless clients connected, Speedtest results, and the Router’s IP address.

At the top are the Quick Setup (the same setup used when you first set up the Router), Basic (basic settings), and Advanced (advanced settings) tabs, and on the left are the menu details for basic and advanced settings. Basic tabs include Internet, Wireless, USB Sharing, Home Care, Guest Network, TP-Link Cloud, Advanced tabs add Network, Operation Mode (Router or AP), Parental Control parent, QoS, Security, NAT Forwarding, IPv6, VPN Server, and System Tools (Diagnostics, LED control, firmware update, Syslog, and traffic monitoring). There’s also a tab for Smart Life Assistant, which lets you configure the Router to work with Alexa voice commands and interact with other smart devices that support IFTTT (If This Then That) apps.

Archer A20 comes with a free three-year subscription to TP-Link’s HomeCare platform, which offers strong Trend Micro network security, Quality of Service (QoS), and filtered parental controls age. For comparison, D-Link’s DIR-2680 gives you five years of McAfee-powered security and parental controls.

HomeCare uses Trend Micro’s Malicious Content Filters and Intrusion Prevention System to keep your network and connected clients safe from viruses and other malware, and it isolates infected devices. QoS settings allow you to prioritize networks for clients and applications using Standard, Game, Surf, Stream, Chat, and Custom presets. Parental controls provide Presets for Children, Teens, and Adults will prevent access to websites that offer gambling, pornography, and other adult content. You can also use these controls to block access to social media sites, games, pay to surf and share files, and monitor web activity, and pause internet access for any client device.

Fast file transfer performance

Install Archer A20 in a snap. I started by connecting the Router to my modem using the included LAN cable and powering it up. Using a PC with a wired connection to the Router, I typed http://tplinkwifi.net into my browser’s address bar, which launched the Quick Setup wizard. I created the admin password, selected the time zone, then selected the internet connection type (DHCP, Static, PPPoE, L2TP, PPTP). Next, I named the wireless SSIDs and created a Wi-Fi password. I saved my settings, and it’s done.

The Archer A20 scored well in most of our throughput performance tests. The 2.4GHz proximity test (same room) clocked 101Mbps, within the 3Mbps range of the Asus RT-AC86U and 34Mbps of the JetStream AC3000. The D-Link DIR-2680 achieved an extremely fast score of 163Mbps. At 30 feet away, the Archer A20 hit 75Mbps, beating the JetStream AC3000 but not the Asus RT-AC86U or the D-Link DIR-2680.

The Archer A20’s 465Mbps score on the 5GHz proximity test is good but inferior to other routers. Asus RT-AC86U leads the way with a score of 550Mbps. The Archer A20 managed only 191Mbps on the 30-foot test, outperforming the JetStream AC3000, but not the D-Link DIR-2680 or the Asus RT-AC86U.

The Archer A20 performed excellently in our file transfer tests, in which we moved a 1.5GB folder containing photo, video, music, and document files back and forth between a connected USB 3.0 drive Connect to Router and desktop PC to test speed. Its 80MBps score on the written test is higher than the D-Link DIR-2680 (32MBps), JetStream AC3000 (33MBps), and Asus RT-AC86U (30MBps). Its 90MBps read score is even more impressive, beating the D-Link DIR-2680 (26MBps), JetStream AC3000 (36MBps), and Asus RT-AC86U (38MBps).

Special features in price and features

TP-Link Archer A20 gives you many features at a reasonable price. HomeCare network security and parental controls protect your network from malware and other harmful content and let you control what types of websites and social media platforms your kids can access and when they can access them. Ease of installation and management coupled with excellent file transfer performance make it a smart choice for users who need to move large files and folders. While the A20’s throughput performance is most impressive, its long-range 5GHz performance is average.

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TP-Link AC4000 Tri-Band WiFi Router (Archer A20) -MU-MIMO, VPN Server, 1.8GHz CPU, Gigabit Ports, Beamforming, Link Aggregation: Buy it now

TP-Link AC4000 Smart WiFi Router – Tri Band Router , MU-MIMO, VPN Server, Antivirus/Parental Control, 1.8GHz CPU, Gigabit, Beamforming, Link Aggregation, Rangeboost, Works with Alexa(Archer A20),Black: Buy it now