TP-LinkAC1900 Touch Screen Wi-Fi Gigabit Router

I recently bought a home which is much larger than the previous 2 BR 2 BA dwellings I had lived in previously. Because of this, my old wireless router just wasn't cutting it anymore. Besides, it was 4 years old and I was due for an upgrade.I was a little apprehensive about buying this product because it's a brand I'm not familiar with and I wasn't sure if it was one of those brands that worked great for a month and then developed a small annoying problem you learn to live with because it was working great all the time and now it's just working great most of the time. Fast forward a year and you're back to using up your cell phone data because your home internet cuts in and out more than an aggressive driver during L.A. rush hour.It has now been six months since I first booted this thing up and it's still working just as great as it did on day one.Pros:It looks fantastic. Usually, I try hiding my router, modem and cables. Now, I just have to hide my modem and cables. I actually want to mount this to the wall in the hallway because it looks that good.I was a little leery of the touch screen as I know sometimes they can be awkward/frustrating to use. This is neither. It actually has a nice, simple, easy to use GUI. And it's intuitive to boot! Things actually are where you think they should be, there's no hunting around to find a particular setting or googling "how to's". It just is, and it's great!Being able to have a dedicated guest access point is one word: "genius." Whenever someone comes over, they inevitably ask "what's your WiFi password?" and you there sit and think through all the passwords you were using around the time you set up your router and maybe you get it right on the first try, maybe the fifth. Either way, you're broadcasting your own personal passwords to everyone else also in the room. With this router, you just direct them over to the router and touch the screen and boom! A randomly generated guest password is there waiting on the locked screen. And this password can be regenerated at a set interval as well.Of course, the signal strength has to be on point as well if you're reviewing a WiFi router and simply put: it is. There are 2 different bands this operates on. For simplicity, one fast band (operating on 5GHz) and two slow(er) bands (operating on 2.4 GHz). The fast one is great for gaming, streaming Planet Earth in HD and downloading games and movies in seconds (well it could be seconds if your home bandwidth and the servers bandwidth could support it). The slow bands are good for everything else: internet browsing, streaming TV in which you're fine watching in standard def, updating the multitude of devices and apps that not only drain your devices battery but also your bandwidth. I gave a couple devices access to my "fast band" like my smart TV and console and everything else (including the guest password) has access to the slower band and I've never had any issue or complaint for that matter.Cons:I can't think of any. If I were pressed for one shortfall it would be that some comparable models have dual fast bands leaving this slightly under-powered. It's not really an issue for me and my uses but if you lived in say a house with where everyone is streaming their own TV or a house with a few teenager boys who simultaneously play COD online on their own consoles, dual 5GHz bands might be what you want to look in to.

I purchased this router because my old one was just terrible (it was a MediaLink that the company took down the support page for because it's so bad and outdated). To go from one that sucked to one that is totally awesome is miraculous. I used to work in I.T. So I do have more knowledge than the average person when it comes to networking. That being said, emphasis on "I USED to work in I.T.". I don't anymore. And I don't want to. So the touch screen on this is not only cool looking, it makes setting it up so quick and easy it's a cakewalk. Navigating the features and configuration is quite simple. It does have a web interface, so you don't have to actually use the touch screen; but I like it and it's easy so I do.Literally everything about my home network (mostly hard wired) is running far better and more efficiently, especially online gaming. My old sucky router rebelled when I played XBox online. The AC1900 simply says "bring it on".This is a wonderful home router that will be easier for a novice user to set up than some of the other ones, especially with the touch screen. The quick setup is intuitive and easy. Buy without hesitation.

It's obvious that TP-Link is not only staffing technical engineers, user interface designers, but also aesthetic designers... this device looks hot. Let the photo session begin. I was surprised to see such detail put to a device that usually is a dust gatherer.I spent less than 5 minutes using the touch interface to configure the wireless SSID and connect the router to by Arris 6190 SurfBoard modem. It intuitive and if you're one of the 5% of people out there that have never used a touchscreen... then why are you the person responsible for buying technology in your household?? To prove a point, I factory reset the device and asked my 6 year old son to configure it, giving him free reign on SSID and password. He did a great job... a little slower than the old man but he resulted in a working wireless router. He of course chose to name it 'Turtle" and used his name as the password... but to his defense, it does look like little turtle shell patterns and I've changed them to our standard test WiFi settings easily. So, if you're still intimidated... go to the local Apple store. I'm not sure why, since I am an Android guy, but all my friends who are less techy and Apple oriented seem to derive comfort in that interaction. I digress.So.. we're off to.. the router is smoking hot lookin, and its easy to setup. Adding an Epson Small-in-one 430 printer using WPS pins was fast. Even though the Epson is single band 802.11N, it connected fast and traverses the width of the house through two walls.. not bad. The real test is the Samsung 4K TV with 802.11AC. It connected just as quickly as the printer. Loading up NetFlix and some UltraHD(4K) contect from the interweb... no stutter or lag when compared to a direct gigE connection. Any buffering would be coming from my 300Mbps WAN downlink.. and that is not even a 2 second queue for 4K content.Into the configurations... I really liked the TP-Link tether app for managing and status... I've gotten into that groove with the TPlink Google-On wireless router... which... now that I mentioned a brother of this guy... I compared the signal waves from the TPlink GoogleOn and the TPlink AC1900 and the winner was..... TPlink! Both are great signal blooms on my Samsung S6 running Wifi Analyzer, but the TP Link GoogleOn router seemed to do better between floors and better at maximum distance when directly in front of the GoogleOn's main internal signal blaster. Both hit the entire house well, but the Touch P5 was a little less strength. This may have to do with it only having 3 antennae to the GoogleON 13 antennae.So, If I want to keep both... TP Link has the answer. The AC1900 can also be setup in Wireless AP and Wireless Repeater mode. Since my GoogleOn router is positioned to best service the main areas of the ~4000sqft house, my office and its wonderful 4K TV is really at the edge of this signal. Replacing the older Linksys EA6900 that was acting as a Wifi AP/switch in the office with the TPLink AC1900 just makes sense, and lets not kid ourselves... it looks fantastic in the office and removes the need for me to pull GigE wires through the stained wood wainscoted walls.Verdict: It's not the most powerful wireless router at a distance. There are other TPlink options for that.. including the insane Talon AD7200 that may also keep your coffee warm if its too close. But as a sexy touch router that deserves to be seen on my desk... It's got a new home here until the next generation is developed.