Which router Both are TP-Link. AX1800 (Archer AX21) $100 or AC2600 (Archer A10) $110

[DonnyB]

I am moving our router to the center of our building and am going to upgrade the router. Which one of these two will work best?

Both are TP-Link.
AX1800 (Archer AX21) $100
or
AC2600 (Archer A10) $110

 

[L&LD]

Welcome to the forums @DonnyB.

Work best for what?

Describe and detail how your network is set up and how it is used normally. The SqFt of the building and the client devices connecting are also important to know. As is the ISP speeds the new router will be supporting.

Going by the specs I can find, the RT-AX1800 (AX20, I can't find the AX21) seems like the better hardware initially.

 

[DonnyB]

Sorry, I was not very descriptive in my original post. Our building has a simple layout. It is 30 feet wide by 100 feet long. There is an office at one end that is probably 10 feet by 6 feet. This is where our current old router is located. The wifi signal must reach the far end of the whole building. The problem is that the wall between the office and the large building is insulated cinder block. The signal is spotty, so I want to upgrade the router. After thinking about this, I decided it would be better if I could run a cat6 cable from the office into the main room and mount the new router there instead of the office. I still want to upgrade the router, so that is my original question. I think it probably doesn't matter which one of the two I get, either will work better than current.

 

[HWDan]

The A10 is an older MediaTek chipset based router, while the AX21 is basically an AX20v2 with a Broadcom chipset, and just a new board in a newer case than the AX20(aka V1). The MediaTek in the A10 is generally used in low cost equipment.

Considering that the firmware support life of TPLink stuff is short, I'd go for the newer model, plus you get AX support if you have or will have AX devices in use.

Expanding what you said about wiring the office with CAT6 (best), you might want to consider locating the router in a central location to get better wireless coverage from both ends of your building.

 

[L&LD]

Consider too that you will have two routers when you buy the new one.

This opens up many possibilities to optimize the network exactly as you need it, and probably much better than you imagined it could be with a simple (new router) addition.

Barring any further info you may provide, these are my ‘best practices’ for a business setup.

• Place each router at 1/6th to 1/5th of the length of the building.
  • In our example; about 15’ to 20’ from each end.
  • And if one is placed on the right-hand wall, the other should be on the left-hand wall, ideally.
  • And to be 100% clear; at least 3’ from the side walls, 6’ from the ceiling and minimum 10’ above ground level (the actual ground outside, not just from the floor of the building).
• The old router can be reused for ’shop/warehouse’ use only. You can use it in Router mode (like it is now) or in AP mode, depending how you need the users isolated (router mode) or not (AP mode).
• The new router will be the main router. And one of the LAN ports will be plugged into the WAN port of the old router.
• I would recommend running at least 3 Ethernet cables or more to the new router (and also have it secured if it is outside of the office). This will allow future expansion as needed.
• One will be the WAN cable.
• One will be a LAN cable to provide wired connections to the office devices as needed.
• The rest will be used as spares, or for LAGG connections (I.e. to a NAS, dual WAN, etc.).
• Also consider running at least 2 Ethernet cables to the AP too.
• It is so much easier to run many cable runs at once and not use them than to have to redo things later.

With the above suggestions, you should have solid and interference free wireless coverage in your building.

I would not recommend any TP-Link router for business use, even though those prices look tempting to me too.

For the most flexibility, two RMerlin supported routers are highly recommended. Particularly if Guest networks (on both routers) are required. And remember that you can always add a supported router in the future too.

You didn’t mention your ISP speeds or the ‘normal’ network use. But I would be looking at a minimum of the RT-AC86U or the RT-AX58U in either case for maximum year of service.

Or, a single RT-AX86U today to cover the entire ‘open’ area easily (with the old router remaining in the office for now).

 

[DonnyB]

I bought the AX21 and set it up today. I know it's not the newest tech, but it seems to work really well for what we need. Thanks for all the help guys.

 

[Piggie]

I am moving our router to the center of our building and am going to upgrade the router. Which one of these two will work best?

Both are TP-Link.
AX1800 (Archer AX21) $100
or
AC2600 (Archer A10) $110

FYI - Target was clearing out the TP Link AC2300 for $42. You may want to check your local target. They were clearing out a bunch of networking equipment. If that goes into your equation - it's a hard price to beat. They had around 3 at my Target - but you have to be careful, the AC 1750 was the same price.