"The Italian connections are not the best"We have been repeating this for a long time now and we know how many different areas of Italy are still sailing through the now obsolete 7 Mega ADSL, or even worse. Over the years, the most disparate solutions have been sought to solve the problems of coverage of the most remote areas, but a stable solution has hardly been found, however, a recent TIM report shows that 99% of the Italian population lives in an area covered by the LTE network (4G and 4G Plus). Despite the clear problems in terms of latency, which do not allow to perform some operations such as gaming at best, the cellular network is a consolidated reality in our country and in many areas it can guarantee much higher speeds than the traditional cable connection.
In short, in some cases a router with support for 4G + SIM cards becomes indispensable. For this reason, TP-Link created Archer MR600, currently sold on Amazon at a price of around 119 euros (4G + / Wi-Fi AC1200 model).
Sales pack, design and connections
The design of the TP-Link Archer MR600 is what is expected of a common router. Body in black color, two removable antennas, all the appropriate ports in the rear and status LEDs clearly visible in the front (the three bars above the various icons show the signal level of the LTE). The only "touch of class" is the presence of the silver-colored support, which allows you to position the router in no time both vertically and horizontally. In the lower part of the device there are air intakes made with an original "checkered" design. The dimensions of the device are equal to 229 x 160 x 37 mm.
Inside the sales package we find, in addition to the router, an RJ45 Ethernet cable, the power supply, thenanoSIM to microSIM adapter and various manuals. Speaking of the ports present, on the back of the TP-Link Archer MR600 a 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN / WAN, three 10/100/1000 Mbps LANs and a slot for a microSIM peep out. The choice of TP-Link to include support for this type of SIM, which is still widespread, and to insert a nanoSIM to microSIM adapter in the package is quite apt, since it allows you to use the router with essentially all the SIMs on the market .
Staying on the back of the router we also find the buttons for reset, for switching on / off, for WPS and to activate / deactivate Wi-Fi. In short, we are talking about a router with a design in the norm, very similar to that of the myriad of products of this type on the market.
However, it is clear that we are talking about a device that must not "be seen", but fulfill its tasks properly and here the peculiar characteristic is the presence of the SIM slot.
As for the configuration, the router has a complete multilingual manual (Italian included) and the classic e quick installation wizard, which allowed us to start using the TP-Link Archer MR600 in a very short time. Just insert the SIM, turn on the router and connect with a device to the network.
From there the classic browser procedure will begin to give the names to the networks and set everything up. The configuration is also very similar for the operating mode that uses the product as a wired router: just connect the Arch MR600 to the modem via the Ethernet cable included in the package and complete the classic guided installation. If used as a 3G / 4G router, the device will "appropriate" the default IP address 192.168.1.1, while using it as a wireless router the IP will be 192.168.0.1. Alternatively, the tplinkmodem.net URL can be used.
Technical features
TP-Link Archer MR600 supports a maximum speed of 300 Mbps for download and 50 Mbps upload in 4G + Cat6. These are rather good values, able to make the most of the data connection offered by the major Italian operators. As for Wi-Fi, the wireless connection works simultaneously on the classic 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies, with the first offering a maximum of 300 Mbps and the second 867 Mbps. Excellent numbers for the context in which it must be used the router, which we remember can be taken anywhere and could also be ideal for holiday homes, temporary stores and remote areas, as suggested by the TP-Link itself on the back of the sales package.
Full support at OneMesh networks, which allow you to expand the signal through the use of multiple routers or mesh extenders. In this case, mobile terminals automatically switch to the nearest device, ensuring greater network stability. There is also the guest network, Parental Control features, support for TP-Link Cloud products, NAT forwarding, dynamic QoS (able to optimize the network by giving priority to packets based on the type and their end use) and all settings related to firewalls, IPTV and VPN.
All in all, the technical features of the TP-Link Archer MR600 offer everything you need. TP-Link declares that it is possible to connect up to a maximum of 64 devices simultaneously via wireless.
Software and user experience
Many of you may have already guessed it, but it is always better to specify it: we are talking about a router therefore it is not possible to use this product alone as a modem to configure your home wired network (you must connect it to a modem via an Ethernet cable). On the other hand, TP-Link Archer MR600 can be used without other devices when inserting the SIM.
As for theconfiguration interfaceit is quite clean and well made. The main screen welcomes the user showing which wireless / wired clients and Mesh devices are connected to the network, which allows you to monitor the use of the connection. There is also the icon that allows you to quickly start a Speed Test and all the details of the case on the type of connection, on the gateway and on the IP and MAC addresses of the individual clients.
On the left are all the other options that allow access to the tabs relating to the various features offered by the Arch MR600, from the mesh network to the Parental Control.
For the advanced tools, such as VPN and QoS, for quick configuration, to search for a feature or to restart the router / log out, just select the appropriate options at the top.
The system created by TP-Link is really simple to use even for an inexperienced person and the Chinese company has done a great job in terms of documentation. In fact, each card has a "?" which includes detailed information on the functionality involved. We found the directions really well done.
Also excellentTP-Link Tether application, available both on the Play Store and on the App Store. The latter is very simple to use and allows you to manage all the features of the router on the move and with a few taps. The available options are essentially all those we have listed for the interface accessible from the browser, from the guest network to Parental Control up to the possibility of updating the firmware and performing a speed test. In short, the software sector is certainly complete with every feature that a user who points to this type of product needs.
However, we must say that we have encountered a small inconvenience with the last one firmware available: using the router in wireless operating mode, the latter "emits" a hidden network for no apparent reason. The problem seems to be widespread on several models, as reported by users on the official forum and on Amazon Italy. In any case, the hidden network does not create particular problems with the connection and it seems that not all users have encountered this problem.
As for performance, during our test the router held up excellently in every situation, even in the presence of many connected devices. We have tested TP-Link Archer MR600 even with a very slow connection and it is precisely in these cases that the benefits brought by technologies such as QoS are most noticeable.
Excellent coverage of the signal, with the 2.4 GHz band that can also connect places covered by structural obstacles without problems. We have never had any problems regarding the use of the 3G / 4G operating mode, which has always proved to be stable and reliable.
