TP-Link - Archer BE9500

I bought 2 through the Costco sale. It was relatively easy to setup up the mesh once I understood what you needed to do. I ended up plugging the 2nd one into the first, and then I think you're supposed to go to the 1st one's portal, and look for the add satellite node. It should auto pick it up and sync the wifi settings. Then you can just unplug it and move it elsewhere in the home.

Single access point (**BE9500 Wi-Fi 7 Smart Router)** a little spendy but has ALL the crazy features and functions you are being told you need. Or you just turn it on... let it connect to your modem, give it a secure password and off you go! All of your devices will be fast, secure and connected. No need for mesh in a small space (2000sq' does not need mesh)! If you want to twiddle the bits on your network, this router will give you all that and more. Keep it simple!

Typically external antennas would be better for sure. The BE9500 can do MLO on all 3 bands whilst the BE550 can only do MLO on 5GHz and 6GHz.

Both could be problematic. A single WiFi device may not be enough to cover both floors in a home. If a single device were enough, the BE9500 would be better because it's tri-band WiFi 7; the AX3000 is dual-band WiFi 6. The AX3000 gives you two mesh nodes but you're trying to get them to receive WiFi between floors. It appears that they can do wired backbone so if you can run an Ethernet cable between floors, the AX3000 is going to be a better solution than the BE9500. Full WiFi 6 coverage will beat partial WiFi 7 coverage.

I have the BE9500 from previously netgear orbi 971 after it started boot looping, but I’m happier with the TP-Link.

Has TP Link fixed the issue where you could not use a local DNS server? Evidently I had a model which did not allow you to use a local address for DNS, and since I was using a PiHole I had to replace it with another brand of modem. This one got my interest but have been avoiding TP Link because of buggy software, as I never dreamed anyone would make a router where you could not use a local address for your DNS server. I realize when you make the low bid item you have to make cuts that is one that made absolutely no sense and caused me to do a lot of needless troubleshooting. Have to believe they do other dumb things that will cause other issues. Have to say this is an insanely good price but am afraid it might be a get what you pay for kind of thing but hope I am wrong. Hope some people will chime in on their experiences with this device.

They're also much better than this thing. TP Link hardware (I have one of their switches) is reasonably reliable but lots of complaints about firmware bugs and wireless range all over. But then its TP Link and that is common for them. If you actually care about peak performance, and if you've got 2Gb fiber you should, you should not get this thing. Something like a ASUS RT-BE88U would be muuuuuuuch better. Yes it'll cost more but it'll also be solid for years.

That hardware isn't bad (has range issues though, lots of complaints about that for this router) but the firmware support on pretty much anything from TP Link tends to be bad. Even when they fix stuff they typically break other stuff. If you only care about wifi6 just look at wifi6 or wifi6e routers. There are tons that are excellent and better than this thing.

I returned this as it had worse range that my older router

I dumped Google's Nest Pro for the TPlink BE95 and been great! Real wired backhaul, and wireless if you want. I think that you probably want a wired backend. Do you have coax cable in your home? You can link everything up with Docsis 2.5 GBps using those runs without having to run new wire. Alternately, you could look Ethernet over power. I think they have 2.5 Gbps for that too.

Hi. I have a TP-Link BE95 (2 pack). I have smaller house (1,400 sq. ft). I know it is probably overkill for my house, but the range is exceptional going all the way through my backyard. I set up a 10gb network with a Qnap switch and NAS upgrading all (including wired backhaul)with fiber optic cables. I have had no problem at all. A little pricey, but I feel it is worth it.