[videobruce]

I see, at least the v2 of thw C7 model is popular here.

There are six known versions of this model, thou the latest (v5) is questionable that it will show. Not sure why so close on the heels ov the current v4 they would announce another version.

The original v1 & v1.1 were replaced with the still available v2. All three have the split antenna setup which was a turn off for me. External ports are 5.6GHz only and internal antennas (if you can call them that) are 2.4GHz.

Bad design that was changed in the what I call a 'oddball' v3 which apparently wasn't popular or much of a seller. At least not here in the US. Other than going with dual band antennas, there were major PCB design changes, not just chipsets.

But, apparently the 'Radios' were still a problem, so a v4 was introduced with more major changes. From what I see, for the better. Simplifying the layout and reducing complexity, again with different chipsets. Also, with what appears to be reduced power consumption making theses the greenest of most of the Routers out there. As low as 3 watts operating (w/ 1 Radio).

Compare that with the Asus RT-N66U (& probably the RT-AC66U) at around 11 watts with the much higher temperatures even with their massive heat sinks that accounts for the number.

Performance AFAIK isn't a whole lot different between this & the N66U which I wished I didn't buy.

[videobruce]

I also see plenty of Wi-Fi issues reported here, what appears to be more than usual. Correct me if I'm wrong.

One of the biggest issues seems to be the 5.6GHz Radio LED does not light when it is in use. Well, I don't use the 5 gig Radio and when I disable the function, the 4 gig LED stays lit continuously.

I don't know about v2, but with v4 the only time the 2 gig Radio LED is lit is when there is activity. It's dark otherwise which is not like the predecessor WDR-3600/4300 where the Radio LED was lit if enabled and would flash with activity.
The LAN & Modem LED's only stay lit continuously when connected, they don't show activity, again unlike the 3600/4300 which I find a disadvantage.

I'm running v r35034 (02/17/1 of dd-wrt which I just upgraded from r34760 which I had issues with the 2 gig Radio getting disabled even thou it was set to enable. I disabled it, then re=enabled it, re-booted, power cycled, the reset & re-booted, but ti never returned.

I believe it may of been due to accessing the Router from my wireless Laptop (which I rarely use) and issuing a re-boot from the laptop via wireless which I never did before (for another un-related reason).

I have left the Router with the settings for a day, and unlike before, the 5 gig LED is still lit even thou the Radio is disabled. I have ti laugh since this is the opposite of most of the complaints.

[Malachi]

You don't specify which tp-link router, there are a million of them.
Since you only use the 2.4ghz band you aren't even taking advantage of AC, assuming it is an archer c7.
Btw, I'd take an rt-n66u over this any day.

[videobruce]

Amazing how a single letter & a number makes a difference.
OP corrected.

I only use 2.4 because that is what my devices use. There are plenty of older devices out there and not everyone wants/needs/likes to keep up with planned obsolescence.

Since you mentioned it why do you prefer the N66U?

[Malachi]

Stronger wifi signal in my house. Near unbrickabilty. The choice between asus, rmerlin and johns fork and dd-wrt.
Bigger flash, more options for those that need it.

[ian5142]

I use two Archer C7 v2 for wifi (WDS AP and WDS Station).
My Main router is the N66U with wireless disabled, it handles NAT, DHCP, QoS. I got out of memory rebooting when I had QoS running on the Archer C7. The 256MB of RAM on the N66U is amazing. They are both great routers I just use them for different things. I plan on replacing the Asus N66U with a dual-core x64 PC this year. Then put dd-wrt on that and see how it goes.

Asus routers are really easy to recover. I have recovered my N66U at least two times, without fail. You can do it without opening the case but I like to see what the router is up to so I connect a serial cable.

The Archer C7 and most newer TP-Links have a built-in TFTP client (not server like most routers, Asus N66U) looking for an approriately named file served by 192.168.0.66. I have recovered it several times as well. It can be really picky about timing and always requires me to open the case and hook up a serial cable.

[videobruce]

[videobruce]

Update; the 'flaky' 5.6GHz indicator finally decided to not to light continuously, since I do have this disabled (not used). The 2.4GHz flashes only with activity, normally it's dark unlike previous versions.

I'm still running the same F/W version(r35034).