If you care about home decor, I highly recommend the TP-Link Archer Air R5 package. You won’t find a more ideal looking mesh Wi-Fi solution, and it’s just as fast and functional as most mesh packages in its price range. If you need wired network ports, look elsewhere.
TP-Link Archer Air R5 Router Pros and Cons
TP-Link Archer Air R5 Design
As a router blogger, we will review the TP-Link Archer Air R5 today. First, let’s take a look at its exterior design. The TP-Link Archer Air R5 is packed in a box, the majority of the space of which is taken up by air and cardboard partitions. Inside we find a power provide with a USB Type C plug, a flat LAN cable and a set of fasteners. The manufacturer has offered two installation methods, so right out of the box, the owner of TP-LINK Archer Air R5 can fix it on the wall with dowels (the basic method) or stick it with adhesive tape (as an option).
To ensure that everything is precise, the kit includes a tiny water level that will help you hang the device perfectly flat on the wall. Besides, you can attach the router with Velcro directly to the table, under the table, on a cabinet, shelf, or smooth wall. Hiding TP-LINK Archer Air R5 won’t be difficult, as long as the cable from the modem reaches the router.
The paper clip in the box hints that there should be a SIM card slot hidden somewhere, but there isn’t. It’s used to reset the device’s settings using the hardware method. In total, the case has two RJ-45 connectors in a slim design and one USB Type C. There is only one key on the front panel with an LED indicator, which can be shut off entirely.
The case is made of white plastic, the thickness is like a modern smartphone, and its dimensions resemble a 7-8 inch tablet. TP-LINK Archer Air R5 looks like something fresh and fundamentally new after classic routers. There are many options for its installation because you can attach this “white chocolate bar” almost anywhere.
TP-Link Archer Air R5 Router Feature
- One-Time Configuration for Whole Home Mesh WiFi: Just configure once as other Air units auto-sync themselves. Setup gets incredibly easy and seamless.
- Faster Dual-Band AX3000 WiFi: Up to 3.0 Gbps (2402 Mbps + 574 Mbps) WiFi for faster browsing, streaming, and downloading, all together.
- Ultra-Thin and Minimalist Design: Has a compact size of 210 × 148 × 8 mm even thinner than a wall outlet. Better integrated with modern home interiors.
- Multiple Wall-Mounting Options: Designed to easily mount onto walls, coming with its own installation accessories. No need to buy additional expensive mounts.
- Smart Antennas: Use intelligent algorithms and different antenna arrays to make sure all-round stable signals even in duplex houses.
- Smart Roaming: Easily create an EasyMesh network for whole home WiFi coverage.
- Easy Setup and Use: Set up and manage your Wi-Fi through the TP-Link Tether app from your phone.
TP-Link Archer Air R5 Router Performance Test
As a router blogger, we will review the TP-Link Archer Air R5 today. Now let’s test its Wi-Fi Performance. The performance of the TP-Link Archer Air R5 is actually pretty friendly when used as a wireless router. I can get near 800Mbps when I’m inside the same room as the router on the 5GHz Wi-Fi network. That’s really amazing from a router that’s just 1cm thick.
I also tested the wall penetration capability in this wireless router and see what’s the speed of the 5GHz Wi-Fi on another bedroom. Surprisingly, it’s pretty decent as well, handling 369Mbps download speed after two reinforced concrete wall when testing it on my laptop with the Intel AX200 wireless card.
That’s really surprising from a device with a small form factor. I’m surprised to see that it’s even faster than the TP-Link Archer AX55. I guess the smart antenna and better placement of Archer R5 is a secret for the slightly better performance. It’s still good to note that there isn’t any compromise on the performance.
The Archer Air R5 does get warm to the touch after using it for a few days. The surface temperature is around 42 ° c (107 ° F) but TP-Link told me that it’s safe. The router includes temperature sensor and that will prevent it from getting to dangerously warm temperature.
I also tested the performance of the TP-Link Archer Air R5 when used as the EasyMesh node of the Archer AX55. That’s probably the best way of using this product. It has EasyMesh feature right out of the box and it works seamlessly as the EasyMesh node of the Archer AX55.
The pairing process is very simple if your router already supported the EasyMesh feature. Just press the WPS button on the Archer Air R5 and press the same button on your router. They will be linked after 3-5 minutes once the initial setup process is completed.
When used as the wireless mesh node after a 2 walls distance to the Archer AX55, I can get near to 300Mbps when connected to the 5GHz network of the Archer Air R5. That’s pretty decent and it’s actually on par with the Archer AX55 wireless router from TP-Link despite being much smaller.
Setting it up as the EasyMesh node is really simple mainly if you are linking it to TP-Link’s other EasyMesh router. That’s due to everything can be managed on the TP-Link Tether app so that’s a plus point to stick to a single brand when configuring an EasyMesh system.
TP-Link Archer Air R5 Router Verdict
TP-Link AX3000 WiFi 6 Router – 802.11ax Wireless Router, Gigabit, Dual Band Internet Router, VPN Router, OneMesh Compatible (Archer AX55)
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