TP-Link Archer AXE75: Wi-Fi 6E on the Cheap

On July 20, 2022, TP-Link announced its first standalone Wi-Fi 6E router, the Archer AXE75. And like the company’s first Wi-Fi 6E mesh system, the Deco XE75, the new router errs on the side of affordability, costing just $199.

That’s the good news. The not-so-good: it’s also low hardware on the Wi-Fi 6E totem pole. As a matter of fact, the new Tri-band Wi-Fi 6E router has the same total Wi-Fi bandwidth, among its all three bands (2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz), as that of the Dual-band Archer AX73, which is 5400Mbps.

And if the whole thing about AXE75 and AX73 makes your head spin, things get more confusing. Together with the AXE75, TP-Link also announced the availability of the Archer AX75, a Tri-band Wi-Fi 6 router with the same total bandwidth.

You’ll learn about both in this preview — it’s mostly the AXE75 that’s newsworthy.

TP-Link Archer AXE75: Wi-Fi 6E on the cheap

Since Wi-Fi 6E became commercially available in early 2021, TP-Link has been the company with many announcements about this new standard.

Most recently, during CES 2022, it touted a long list of new broadcasters, including the top-tier Archer AXE200, the Quad-band  Archer AXE300, and the super-cool AXE200 Omni.

Now, in the 2nd part of 2022, we’ve seen only the entry-level Deco XE75 and now the AXE75; both are low-end and relatively mundane. In fact, the AXE75 looks just like the AX73, physically.

But, at the least, so far, TP-Link has kept some part of its promises, an improvement compared to the hardware it announced in early 2021, which all became vaporware. There’s hope that the company will ship more products before the year-end.

And while the new Archer AXE75’s hardware is entry-level, that might be all most home users would need. And the low cost can translate into more widespread Wi-Fi 6 adaption.

With that, let’s check out its specs.

Hardware specifications: TP-Link Archer AXE75 vs Archer AX73 vs Archer AX75

These three routers share the same hardware design, which looks like a typical router with the antennas sticking up from their back, where the ports are.

In terms of Wi-Fi, here’s the breakdown:

• All three share the same mid-range 2×2 Wi-Fi 6 specs on the 2.4GHz band which caps at 574Mbps.
• On the 5GHz (Wi-Fi 6):
  • Archer AX73: One top-tier (4×4) 5GHz band — 4804Mbps.
  • Archer AX75: Two mid-tier (2×2) 5GHz bands — 2402Mbps (each band).
  • Archer AXE75: One mid-tier (2×2) 5Ghz band — 2402Mbps.
• On the 6GHz (Wi-Fi 6E):
  • Archer AXE75: One mid-tier (2×2) 6GHz band – 2402Mbps.

When added all their bands together, each router has a total bandwidth of 5400Mbps. In terms of Wi-Fi speed, each can be only as fast as its fastest band since a Wi-Fi connection takes place on a single band at a time.

Since we only have 2×2 Wi-Fi 6 and 6E clients, chances are you’ll get the same real-world speed from any of them in real-world usage.

Interestingly, all three share the same suggested retail price of $199. Consequently, that makes the AXE75 the most affordable Wi-Fi 6E router yet.

Familiar features

According to TP-Link, the new Archer AXE75 (as well as the Archer AX75) share a similar feature set as the AX73.

That said, you can expect it to have a comprehensive local web user interface and a standard set of network and Wi-Fi settings, including VPN, port forwarding, and the ability to manage it remotely via Dynamic DNS.

Optionally, there’s also a mobile app and the HomeShield online protection feature available in basic and Pro tiers, with the latter offering more functionality via a subscription.

And finally, the AXE75 support OneMesh where you can add supported extenders to form a mesh system, similar, though much less comprehensive, to the case of Asus’s AiMesh.

Availability

As mentioned above, the new Archer AXE75 (as well as the AX75) is available now for $199.

I’m in the process of putting it through its paces and will update this post into an in-depth review when ready.

Check back soon if you want to see how its performance pans out. Or you can check out this list of all other Wi-Fi 6E options you can buy today.