Almost there... Firmware/Security concerns...

[LeeTaisho]

Ok, I am really liking almost everything I have read about the TP-Link Archer C5. It was near the top of my list before I found this awesome page. Reading more on here, my opinion is mostly confirmed. Multiple different sources have given it high marks and it has great bench test numbers for the price point. The site reviews here rank it #1 in AC1200 class. The categories it scores highest in are the exact categories I have concerns about with our layout. It has guest network, Gigabit ethernet, simultaneous dual band and some control features I'm sure I will play with and want to tweak as I learn more and become less intimidated by this whole network thing.

The only reason I haven't pulled the trigger, I have seen concerns from educated users about the lack of regular firmware updates and some pretty serious security and performance issues that can come with out of date firmware. I'm reading about great 3rd party firmware, but from what I am understanding, that is not an option on any TP-Link router.

Is this a big deal, or are there a few alarmists giving me false concerns? Is it that big a help to be able to use 3rd party firmware? I am a newbie and while there are features I'm sure I will use and I am trying to educate myself, I am nowhere near competent or confident enough to probably ever want to mess with a lot of the features. and settings. I'm fine with not having the newest, fastest updates or firmware/performance upgrades as long as I have a secure and stable network.

In short, I like the router a lot, it has the features & price I want, but is it going to have proper firmware support to keep everything safe and running well? I'm upgrading from N class, so this is a boost no matter what. My feeling is I won't miss what I don't have or intend to use with this guy and I can get a nice couple years out of it. As long as it is running smooth and safely...

 

[L&LD]

What I know about third party firmware other than RMerlin's and the forks thereof (john9527's and hggomes) is that they may provide new features, but that is almost certainly with a price. Possibility of bricking the router and very high possibility of having inferior performance vs. stock (at least for Asus routers). Inferior performance is from the inability to use stock drivers. Bricking is a high possibility because the very, very base code is required to be tinkered with (to give the extra features).

TP-Link's issues with out of date modules used in it's code is highly unfortunate (that it is still continuing today). Having a router that protects your 'digital front door' with such low benchmarks for safety is not something I would bet on just to save a few dollars.

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/ra...e-routers-cripple-security.29893/#post-232348

Unless you are naming RMerlin as a member of the 'alarmist' group, I don't see it as a good buy, regardless of the savings.

Is it going to have proper firmware support and keep everything safe? You already know that answer too (no, right out of the box).

Did you see the last link in my reply to your other thread? Third party firmware (hggomes, in this case), effectively saved my customer the purchase of a new router and greatly decreased his direct employee costs on his RT-AC56U. While you think you don't need any extra features today, that is not necessarily true tomorrow. Particularly when the extra 'feature' is a free performance boost.

The great test bench test numbers are at least partly due to the fact it is running obsolete code. Absolute performance on it's own is not a good metric to base a buying decision on for such an important piece in your network puzzle.

 

[pete y testing]

I'm reading about great 3rd party firmware, but from what I am understanding, that is not an option on any TP-Link router.

certainly not the case as gargoyle supports the c5 and c7 ,

or are there a few alarmists giving me false concerns?

suggest that this is the case

My feeling is I won't miss what I don't have or intend to use with this guy and I can get a nice couple years out of it.

should be fine

As long as it is running smooth and safely...

to be honest we cant guarantee ether of those on any modem or router , but what you need to understand is your not some international corporation with mission critical data that needs securing , your just some bloke t home with his home wlan / lan and a few comps with prob nothing on them that would need the security and if you have it prob should be backed up and saved somewhere else anyway

the tp link stuff is cheap and cheerful and does the job fine for the standard home setup

 

[L&LD]

certainly not the case as gargoyle supports the c5 and c7 ,



suggest that this is the case


should be fine


to be honest we cant guarantee ether of those on any modem or router , but what you need to understand is your not some international corporation with mission critical data that needs securing , your just some bloke t home with his home wlan / lan and a few comps with prob nothing on them that would need the security and if you have it prob should be backed up and saved somewhere else anyway

the tp link stuff is cheap and cheerful and does the job fine for the standard home setup

Good to know about gargoyle.

Also good to see an almost exact opposite viewpoint for the OP to consider.

 

[pete y testing]

Absolute performance on it's own is not a good metric to base a buying decision on for such an important piece in your network puzzle.

but nether is absolute paranoia over so called security issues esp in a standard home environment , the balance here is cost v performance and feature set , if the c5 is all he can or wants to spend then it will be fine as there are prob millions using tp link products that have no issue when it comes to security because they dont have anything to worry about

we need to have a balance here when recommending products as not everyone needs or wants an asus

 

[LeeTaisho]

I understand there are no guarantees and I will be buying from someone with a decent return/exchange policy and testing it straight away, should it be a bad fit I have a couple back ups in mind that the retailer also carries. And at this point, identity theft might actually improve my credit rating, so what the hell?

 

[L&LD]

but nether is absolute paranoia over so called security issues esp in a standard home environment , the balance here is cost v performance and feature set , if the c5 is all he can or wants to spend then it will be fine as there are prob millions using tp link products that have no issue when it comes to security because they dont have anything to worry about

we need to have a balance here when recommending products as not everyone needs or wants an asus

I can only recommend what I use, right?

Would like to know the price difference between the TP-Link being considered and the RT-AC56U I'm suggesting. I cannot see any possible scenario where saving even half the cost of the approx. $100 'AC56U is worth risking for the next 3 to 5 years of use?

 

[LeeTaisho]

I can only recommend what I use, right?

Would like to know the price difference between the TP-Link being considered and the RT-AC56U I'm suggesting. I cannot see any possible scenario where saving even half the cost of the approx. $100 'AC56U is worth risking for the next 3 to 5 years of use?

The extra $25 isn't at issue. My concern is range and throughput at the 2.4ghz level. From everything I see, that is a definite strength of the C5 and many reviews have been not as positive about the AC56U in that specific area. In fact several say its the only real weakness, but for me that is a HUGE weakness. I'm just trying to go by the mountains of information I've been chipping away at...

 

[L&LD]

The extra $25 isn't at issue. My concern is range and throughput at the 2.4ghz level. From everything I see, that is a definite strength of the C5 and many reviews have been not as positive about the AC56U in that specific area. In fact several say its the only real weakness, but for me that is a HUGE weakness. I'm just trying to go by the mountains of information I've been chipping away at...

Great point.

Would be awesome if you could buy both to compare how valid those differences are.

 

[LeeTaisho]

Great point.

Would be awesome if you could buy both to compare how valid those differences are.

It would but my budget doesn't allow that right now. The AC56U is definitely one of the 2 I would theoretically exchange this for if it ends up not working well in our layout.

 

[L&LD]

It would but my budget doesn't allow that right now. The AC56U is definitely one of the 2 I would theoretically exchange this for if it ends up not working well in our layout.

Hope it works well for you (but couldn't you just return the one that was worse?).

 

[LeeTaisho]

Hope it works well for you (but couldn't you just return the one that was worse?).

Only have enough for the one in my tax-refund/mad money account, which is where the $ are exclusively coming from. That was the deal with the missus.

 

[System Error Message]

cheep and cheerful dont go together. If you use tp-link it is best to use a 3rd party firmware like tomato or openwrt.

If you want a router that is secure, mikrotik offers that but you must configure it in order for it to be secure (for home use i would deny all inputs and outputs except dns and ntp from WAN ports) if you are looking at the lower price range. They have routers that are the same price as tp-links that offer wireless AC and more but they are normally classified as indoor APs.

 

[LeeTaisho]

NewEgg had the C5 at a nice price and I got a free 3 months of their Premier service to boot. I do fully intend to load 3rd party firmware. So far Gargoyle and OpenWRT are the only compatible options I've found. Guess that is my next question post...

 

[pete y testing]

cheep and cheerful dont go together. If you use tp-link it is best to use a 3rd party firmware like tomato or openwrt.

and then its cheap and cheerful , esp with gargoyle

 

[System Error Message]

not cheerful when you have to install another firmware, things can go wrong and its not as user friendly with another firmware.

 

[pete y testing]

not cheerful when you have to install another firmware, things can go wrong and its not as user friendly with another firmware.

have you used the gargoyle firmware ?

the op has said he is fine with 3rd party

thus he gets a cheap modem that is cheerful and easy to use with new fw like gargoyle

 

[System Error Message]

For those with the skill and knowledge, it is a cheap and cheerful solution. I actually did like using openWRT and its customisability when i last used tp-link. That same router still works well today.

 

[LeeTaisho]

For those with the skill and knowledge, it is a cheap and cheerful solution. I actually did like using openWRT and its customisability when i last used tp-link. That same router still works well today.

Well I'm coming to you guys for the knowledge so I should be golden, right? ;-)