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about the lack of regular firmware updates and some pretty serious security and performance issues that can come with out of date firmware.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...
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about the lack of regular firmware updates and some pretty serious security and performance issues that can come with out of date firmware.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...