Replacing My Tp-link Archer C7 Ac1750 Router

I live in a 2-story house with a finished basement (i.e. 3 stories).

In 2016 I bought a TP-LINK Archer C7 AC1750 router. It has been working reliably with only a few problems with the wireless portion ever since. The wired part works without problems.

For the last year it periodically loses its 2.4GHz wireless operation while maintaining its 5.0 GHz operation. Sometimes it recovers by itself, but over the last two months I've had to reset the router by removing and reconnecting its power connector. I don't know if this is caused by external sources or if the router has some kind of intermittent problem.

What is to be gained by replacing this router with the latest model?

 

Try changing your 'channel width' in settings on the router from 'Auto', to a set width of 40Mhz.

 

It looks like that router came out about 7 years ago so even if still working perfectly, a new router should probably be on the agenda.

You don't say where this router is located. Typically centrally located is best - going high instead of low is normally better too. So in the middle of the middle, or middle of the top floor would likely be best.

But you also need to look at what has changed in the last year (assuming it worked fine throughout the house before that). Did the location of the router change? Did you add more 2.4GHz devices? Are people streaming more? Did a new cell tower get erected nearby? Did you get a new electronic device (big screen TV for example) and place it near the router? Big metal object (refrigerator or metal file cabinet) get moved?

Hopefully better security, better performance, and USB 3.

 

@ Replicator...
I don't recall seeing that parameter on my router, but I'll take a look and if I find it, I'll give it a try. Thank you for the tip!

@Digerati...
The router is a foot away from and in the middle of a room on one end of the top floor ( i.e. two floors up from the street) and it's always been there. Since 2016, I only had a laptop connected to the 2.4 GHz connection, and the laptop is in the basement. The laptop is around 6 years old at that time and it would not connect at the faster wireless connection (5 GHz). I didn't think much about it and I left it connected to the slower connection.

Then in May of 2023 I bought a cellphone and connected it to the 5GHz wireless connection. In September of 2023 a friend came to stay with us and she brought her cellphone. I connected it to the 2.4 GHz wireless connection. A week or so later I bought two Alexa speakers, one for the basement and one for outside, and I connected them to the 2.4 GHz wireless connection. All devices were working fine.

About two weeks after all of that, I experienced my first 2.4 GHz outage, and then once more a week or so later. In late September of 2023 the friend left and everything was fine.

In October of 2023 I connected a new Samsung 55-inch SmartTV to the 2.4 GHz wireless connection, and several months later the problem returned.

It's odd that the SmartTV, located around 10 feet from the router, will only connect at 2.4 GHz.

The ice boxes have not been moved since 1995 when I moved in No new cell towers have been installed nearby, but I've noticed that quite a few additional users have popped up. I don't know if they are all on 2.4 GHz but if they are, then maybe that has something to do with it. I don't know how many connections my router can handle all at once.

I appreciate your questions, and I hope I can get along with the older router. Thank you for your help!

 

No surprise there. While 5GHz may offer significantly faster connections, because of its much shorter wavelength of that higher frequency, it also has a much shorter effective range (just another Law of Physics). This means the 5GHz band is good for connections in the same room, or maybe one room away (depending on the number and construction of the barriers - walls, floors, ceilings - in between). Distances further out tend to be better supported by the 2.4GHz band. Again, the nature of the Laws of Physics and the characteristics of radio waves by frequency.

Not necessarily. Many smart devices only support 2.4GHz as that is, by far, the most comment.

It definitely sounds like you have, in effect, overloaded your 2.4GHz band. You can try disabling/disconnecting those devices you don't use regularly. Of, if you have any device that are located close to the router, and if they also support 5GHz, set them to the 5GHz band to free up some bandwidth on the 2.4GHz band. But for sure, a newer, more capable router needs to be in your budget - or at least on your wish list for Santa or The Great Pumpkin.

 

It does appear that perhaps a new router is in order.

Being "Old School", I usually look for technical specs when buying electronic products. Do you know where I can find more information on receiver sensitivity and transmitter output power for both my current product and for new products?

 

I hope that is not being "old school". To me, that is just being wise and something even newbies should be doing. That is not suggesting newbies become network and network security experts - but they should be doing some research by looking at the latest professional reviews to see what technologies are current and what the must-haves are.

LOL

Well, as it were, my professional career started out and involved many years as an air traffic control radio communications equipment technician. So, transmitter power and receiver sensitivity in radio devices has always been something I have taken a keen interest in.

Sadly, it is rare to find that information published - except for very expensive, professional grade equipment used in large corporate/enterprise level networks. I suspect this lack of technical information in SOHO devices is because (1) most users don't know what it means or what to do with that information. But also, (2) manufacturers don't want us to know that because it might be used incorrectly or be misinterpreted - in part because there are many variables that affect how efficient that power or sensitivity affects performance.

As a reminder, we are talking about the WAP (wireless access point) - a discrete network device that (these days) is typically integrated with a "wireless router" or "residential gateway" device.

Fortunately, industry standard Ethernet (wired) protocols are relatively low-tech (in a good way!), and compliance to those standards is common and, with very few exceptions (typically due to uncommon physical damage or a manufacturing defect), a given.

But for wifi, variables (most being beyond the control of the WAP manufacturer), impacting performance include,

Type and orientation of the WAP's antenna (or antennas),
Internal or external antenna(s),
Location of the antenna(s) in the facilities,
Number of barriers (walls, floors, ceilings) between distant ends,
Composition of those barriers (brick walls, wallboard, wood studs, metal studs, etc.),
Contents of those barriers (electrical wires, metal water and drain pipes),
External sources of EMI/RFI (microwave ovens, MW and cell towers, AC units, things with large motors, and other nearby electronic devices, etc.),
RF reflective/blocking surfaces (nearby refrigerators or large metal file cabinets).​

And that's just on the WAP end of the communications link.

On the distant end, the performance of the NIC (network interface card) of the wireless device is affected by several variables totally out of the control of the WAP maker. These include,

Location of the NIC (often located at the bottom of a PC case, which may be sitting on the floor),
Type and orientation of the NIC's antenna(s), including if internal or external,
Protocols supported by that NIC,
Distance to WAP.​

So instead of publishing power and sensitivity specs, they tend to publish generic "range" ratings. But IMO, those are nearly useless too because there is no industry standard environment scenario in which to establish "range" values. Maker A may use direct "line of sight", Maker B may use their own office building, and Maker C may use the lead designer's own house. Who knows? The best the consumer can do there, in terms of comparing manufacturing specs, is to compare different offerings from the same maker and assume they used the same test environment. Not very helpful IMO.

That leaves us with professional review sites.

Use your friend Bing DDG Google and enter search parameters similar to this: best home router under $200 2024. Substitute your own budget as appropriate. Then try to find one that meets your needs that hopefully appears at or near the top of each review.

I will say this, any wireless router I buy must have multiple, and moveable external antennas. A device with internal antennas is not even a consideration as the only way to orient the antennas for the best propagation is to rotate the entire device. That is impractical, and perhaps aesthetically unpleasing, if that matters.

I note some WAP antennas are even removable and, with appropriate extension cables, can be mounted high up a wall, for example, to [hopefully] extend the range of the wifi connections.

***

Side note: a router has just one “wired” input and one “wired” output and is used to connect (or isolate) two networks. In this case, the ISP's network and your local network. Technically speaking, there is no such thing as a "wireless router". That is simply a "marketing" term for a "3-way" "integrated" device consisting of a router, a Ethernet switch (typically 4-port), and a WAP (wireless access point). These are three discrete network devices that just happen to share the same case and chassis, same PCB (printed circuit board), and same power supply. They typically also share a common admin menu system. Note the 4-port switch connects internally to the router's one input. And the WAP actually connects internally to a 5th, internal Ethernet port of the switch.

In recent years manufacturers have also been integrating a modem with "wireless routers" for a 4-way integrated device. Four discrete devices in one box. These are "marketed" under different terms like "residential gateway" devices, "wireless modems" or " wireless modem/routers". This is typically the type device you get if your ISP provides or leases your device to you.

In some cases, they even have 5-way devices that integrate Internet phone (voice over IP or VoIP) too. Five discrete devices, in one box.

 

Your reply took an awful lot of time and thought. Thank you for posting it - it was an excellent read!
Long story short, I think I'll just live with my current situation. It's a lot cheaper to reset the router every couple of months than to plop down $200 for a new one and hope for the best.

 

Yeah, I was on a roll! LOL

Sound like a plan.

Should you down the road start thinking about upgrading your network again, you might look into mesh systems. They are very effective, easy to manage and setup and the prices have become much more affordable too.