

I run the entire process detailed above (a front-to-back round of speed tests, followed by a back-to-front round) three separate times: once during morning hours, again in the early afternoon, and once again during evening hours. Your distance from the router when you first connect will make a difference in how the router handles your connection, so running a split of front-to-back and back-to-front tests helps to keep my averages rooted in real-world results. Once I've run tests in all five rooms, I repeat the entire process, but this time, I start with a fresh connection in the room farthest from the router.
SETTING UP TP LINK ROUTER FULL
I start in the same room as the router, I run multiple speed tests on a Lenovo ThinkPad laptop with full support for Wi-Fi 6, I log the results in a spreadsheet, then I move to the next room and repeat. My operating procedure is largely unchanged - I start by setting each router up in a fixed location in our lab, and once it's up and running, I run a multitude of speed tests from five different rooms nearby. Last year, in 2022, I relocated my home test setup back to our product testing facility in Louisville, Kentucky. Like a lot of people, I spent the majority of 20 working from home, and that included my router tests. Some manufacturers like TP-Link are jumping the gun with Wi-Fi 7 router releases in 2023, but buying in now seems premature given that the standard isn't fully ratified yet and there isn't a Wi-Fi 7 device certification process yet.
SETTING UP TP LINK ROUTER UPDATE
That said, at this point, the smarter play for future-focused shoppers might be to hold out until 2024, when we expect to see the full ratification of Wi-Fi 7, the next big generational update for Wi-Fi. On top of that, there's a growing number of mesh router options that are well worth considering, too, particularly since many of them are far less expensive than the router combo systems that came before them. Over the past few years, the new and improved version of the Wi-Fi standard called 802.11ax - or Wi-Fi 6 - has grown more ubiquitous, boasting faster, more efficient home network performance. Routers have come a long way in the past few years, with a number of today's best Wi-Fi router options boasting impressive speeds and features worth investing in.
SETTING UP TP LINK ROUTER UPGRADE
It's a particularly good time to upgrade your internet equipment. We've tested dozens of the latest models to help find plenty of picks for every situation. But the best fit for your network depends on a few factors, from the size and layout of your home to the content you stream. For most homes, the TP-Link Archer AX21 is the best router choice based on our testing - and it's a Wi-Fi 6 model that costs less than $100.

But that doesn't mean you need to spend a fortune to get the speeds you're paying for. Your internet connection is only as fast as the router it's going through.

Price alerts on for Netgear Orbi (tri-band, AX6000)
