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You can bet that TP-Link is betting big on the new Wi-Fi 6E standard. Today, the networking vendor announced at CES 2021 four new Wi-Fi 6E solutions, including two mesh systems and two standalone routers. It sounds almost too good to be true.
Deco X96 and Deco X76: First Wi-Fi 6E mesh systems
Taking a similar design as the TP-Link Deco X5700, the Deco X96 comes with three different bands (2.4GHz + 5GHz + 6GHz) with a total bandwidth of 6600Mbps.
Details are still sketchy, but it seems the 6GHz band is a dual-stream (2×2) that caps at 2.4Gbps. The two front-haul bands are 4×4 (4.8Gbps) 2×2 (576Mbps), respectively. On top of that, the X96 has four Gigabit network ports (1 WAN and three LANs) and a 2.5Gbps LAN/WAN port.
The Deco X76 has comparatively more subdued hardware, with just three autosensing Gigabit network ports. It’s a 2×2 system with a total bandwidth of 5400Mbps. But it comes incorporated with Zigbee for home automation.
Both systems use the new 6GHz band as the dedicated backhaul. This approach is a risk pet since this band likely has a shorter range compared with the 5GHz. We’ll have to wait and see how these new mesh systems pan out.
Hardware specifications: Deco X96 vs. Deco X76
| Name | AX6600 Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System | AX5400 Smart Home Mesh Wi-Fi 6E System |
| Model | Deco X96 | Deco X76 Plus |
| Mesh Availability | Single unit, 2-Pack | Single unit, 2-pack, 3-pack |
| Wi-Fi Technology | AX6600 | AX5400 |
| First Band | 2.4GHz 2×2 Wi-Fi 6: 574Mbps | 2.4GHz 2×2 Wi-Fi 6: 574Mbps |
| Second Band | 5GHz 4×4 Wi-Fi 6: Up to 4804Mbps | 5GHz 2×2 Wi-FI 6: 2402Mbps |
| Third Band | 6GHz 2×2 Wi-Fi 6E: 2402Mbps | 6GHz 2×2 Wi-Fi 6E: 2402Mbps |
| Backward Compatibility | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac |
| 160MHz Channel Support | Yes | Yes |
| Number of 160MHz Channels | 7x on 6GHz band + 2x on 5GHz band | 7x on 6GHz band + 2x on 5GHz band |
| Network ports | 1× 2.5Gbps LAN/WAN, 1× Gigabit LAN/WAN | 3× Gigabit Autosensing Ports |
| USB | None | 1× USB 3.0 Port, 1× USB 2.0 Port |
| Processing Power | 1.5 GHz Quad-Core CPU | 1.5 GHz Quad-Core CPU |
| Dimensions | 8.3 × 5.1 × 4.8 in (110 × 110 × 114 mm) | 8.3 × 5.1 × 4.8 in (110 × 110 × 114 mm) |
Archer AX96 and Archer AX206: Covering all Wi-Fi bases
The new Archer AX96 is a somewhat traditional router. It shares a similar design as the Archer AX90 but now with a 6GHz band.
Support Wi-Fi 6E, it has a total bandwidth of 7.8Gbps. For wired clients, the router has four Gigabit ports (1 WAN and three LANs) and a 2.5Gbps LAN/WAN port.
What’s most exciting, however, is the Archer AX206. It shares the same design as the Archer AX11000 but now comes with two 10Gbps LAN/WAN ports (1x SFP+ and 1x BaseT), one 2.5Gbps LAN/WAN port, and four Gigabit LAN ports.
On the Wi-Fi front, the Archer AX206 is a full 4×4 Wi-Fi 6E machine with 10Gbps total bandwidth.
Hardware specifications: Archer AX206 vs, Archer AX96
| Model | Archer AX206 | Archer AX96 |
| Wi-Fi Technology | AX11000 | AX7800 |
| First Band | 2.4GHz 4×4 Wi-Fi 6: Up to 1148Mbps | 2.4GHz 2×2 Wi-Fi 6: 576Mbps |
| Second Band | 5GHz 4×4 Wi-Fi 6: Up to 4804Mbps | 5GHz 4×4 Wi-Fi 6: Up to 4804Mbps |
| Third Band | 6GHz 4×4 Wi-Fi 6E: Up to 4804Mbps | 6GHz 2×4 Wi-Fi 6: Up to 2402Mbps |
| Backward Compatibility | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac |
| AP Mode | Yes | Yes |
| Mesh-ready | OneMesh | OneMesh |
| 160MHz Channel Support | Yes | Yes |
| Number of 160MHz Channels | 7x on 6GHz band 2x on 5GHz band | 7x on 6GHz band 2x on 5GHz band |
| Gigabit Network Port | 4x LAN | 1× WAN/LAN, 3× LAN |
| Multi-Gig Port | 1x 2.5Gbps/1Gbps LAN/WAN, 1× 10 Gbps SFP+ WAN/LAN, 1× 10 Gbps WAN/LAN | 1× 2.5Gbps WAN/LAN |
| USB | 1× USB-C 3.0 Port, 1× USB-A 3.0 Port | 1× USB 3.0 Port, 1× USB 2.0 Port |
| Processing Power | 2 GHz 64 Bit Quad-Core CPU | 1.7 GHz Quad-Core CPU |
| Dimensions | 11.3 × 11.3 × 7.2 in (288 × 288 × 184 mm) | 12.2 × 8.1 × 6.8 in (311 × 207 × 174 mm) |
Availability and pricing
Unlike the Wi-Fi 6E offerings from Asus and Netgear, which are imminent, TP-link doesn’t have specific release dates for its new Wi-Fi 6E solutions.
The company says these new routers and mesh systems will be available later in 2021, with the pricing being announced then. There’s no guarantee that will be the case, however. We’ll have to wait and see.
It has been more than a while, any news yet?
Here, Scott.
Any new news on the Archer AX206? I have a 10G NAS, 10G switch, 10G ethernet adaptor, and 2G internet connection with a 2.5G port. I’m in the market for a new Wifi 6e laptop…as far as I can tell, this is the only router with multiple mulit-gig ports AND Wifi 6e?
No news yet, Andrew. It might take a while.