These days, technology changes at a rapid pace. If you turn away for a second, everything changes and you are left scratching your head about smart fridges, smart thermostats, or wondering when they came out with solar-powered phone chargers, and those have been out a while. Another blink-and-you-will-miss-it device is the Archer A20 from TP-Link.
What Is The Archer A20?
The Archer A20 is a tri-band router from TP-Link. A tri-band router broadcasts on three separate bands and efficiently handles multiple devices connected to a wireless network. Unless you’re still using dialup, the days of having to tell someone to get off the Internet so you can use the phone are definitely gone and in the past.
Ultra-Fast Processing
With Archer A20’s ultra-fast processing, 512 MB of RAM and three additional WiFi processors, it delivers lag-free connections to gaming, mobile devices, and streaming options at once. It has a 1.8 GHz 64-bit Quad-core CPU to handle any and all processing needs.
Compare that to a computer from 1999 with 32 MG of RAM and 333 Mhz AMD CPU. You could go to a web page and then brew a cup of coffee and come back and it would have just finished loading the page. It certainly wouldn’t have been able to handle the processing needs of today’s gaming and streaming devices.
WiFi Speed
Speaking of WiFi, the Archer A20 has 4000 Mbps Wifi Speed. Each 5G band has 1625 Mbps. There is also a 2.4G band with 750 Mbps.
No More Buffering
Because of the MU-MIMO and Tri-Band, you can connect to more devices at the same time. Even though the router can connect to more devices at once, you won’t have to wait for your games or streaming devices to buffer before you can continue watching the show or playing the game. MU-MIMO capability requires client devices that support MU-MIMO. MU-MIMO is short for multi-user (MU) multiple input and multiple output (MIMO).
Wider Range
Archer A20 is built with RangeBoost technology, which boosts the range of the WiFi signal for farther coverage and BeamForming focuses signals to connected devices. Have you ever wanted to be connected in the backyard? How about up in the bedroom or down in the basement? Now you can.
More Secure Network
Archer A20 comes with HomeCare, which lets you manage network access and protects your network from malicious attacks. TP-Link HomeCare is included for three years from the date of activation at no additional cost. Once the three years have passed, HomeCare will require an opt-in subscription in order to be able to keep HomeCare. Opting out of HomeCare will disable certain features.
Features of HomeCare include parental control functions such as setting time limits for children to restrict the amount of time spent online, filter levels to block inappropriate content, insights into what others are watching and user profiles for each user. HomeCare also comes with a built-in antivirus that protects all connected devices in your home from online threats and you can prioritize devices and applications for faster performance.
Easy To Setup
Archer A20 is easy to set up. With the intuitive Tether app, your device can be set up within minutes. Tether also lets you manage network settings from any Android or iOS devices. Such settings would include parental controls and a guest network. Now you can keep your main network secure by creating a separate network for guests and visitors and defend against security threats with advanced encryption. You also have a VPN server set up a secure connection between private networks to the Internet.
User controls also let you manage when and how connected devices can access the Internet, which means that you can disable internet access when you want unplugged family time together. Now instead of the kids being on their phone during family time, they are engaged and interaction with others in the house.
Gigabits For Speed
Archer A20 has 1 WAN and 4 LAN Gigabit ports to maximize your wired speeds while the Link Aggregation feature doubles that to 2 Gbps. Just when you think you can’t go any faster, you are proven wrong in the most delightful way. It would be like connecting to a computer from the late 1990s and expecting the page loading speeds of the computers from those times.
Hey, Alexa?
Archer A20 works with both Alexa and IFTTT. You can share the guest WiFi password with Amazon Alexa and set up trigger actions when devices are connecting, disconnecting, or being added to the network. IFTTT is short for ‘If This, Then That’. It is a free web-based service to create applets, which are very small applications that are used to perform simple functions.
Design
When the antennas are extended, the Archer A20 is reminiscent of an upside-down table. Or a bug on its back that can’t flip over. The design is somewhat distracting, but the size is just right. There are vent holes along the top and bottom for heat dissipation, so make sure not to cover it or bock the device. If needed, the Archer A20 can be mounted anywhere or hidden if it is felt that it takes up too much space on a shelf. Have you ever walked through the living room at night, guided by the lights of your home router and wished there was something you could do about it? Now there is a night mode, which turns off the status lights so you don’t have to worry about the lights.
Don’t fall victim to the blink-and-you-will-miss-it pace at which today’s technology is evolving. Just as landline telephones are the phone technology of yesteryear, regular WiFi speeds are quickly being replaced by something far more faster and secure. If you want the ability to create another network for guests and visitors so they don’t know your regular password, then you can. Easy to set up, the ability to the kids off for family time, and not having to deal with buffering? What’s not to love?
