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When it comes to a Wi-Fi router's antennas, my standard recommendation, for the most part, is to leave them alone. I even wrote a long post about this topic.
Now, TP-Link's new Archer AXE200 makes me think twice. No, you still should leave those little poles alone, but that's because they will adjust themselves for you this time around.
You read that right. This one is the first router on the market to handle its antennas' positions in real-time to deliver the best coverage. That's the idea, anyway.
Details of the Archer AXE200 are still sketchy—it's not finalized yet—but from what I've been shown, it can be the coolest Wi-Fi (6E) router you'll find.
Dong's note: I first published this post on November 11, 2021, and updated it on January 4, 2022, with additional information provided by TP-Link as it announced more Wi-Fi 6 routers.
TP-Link Archer AXE200 Omni: A Wi-Fi 6E router of a few firsts
In introducing the new router, TP-Link says the new design removes "the need for manual antenna adjustment, automatically optimizing to deliver best Wi-Fi connections to all devices."
And I had doubts. Initially, I thought the feature seemed a bit like a gimmick.
After all, in my experience, the antennas' positions have little to do with a home router's coverage or performance. That's not to mention TP-Link has made flagship routers of which the antennas can't be adjusted at all, like the Archer GX90 or Archer AX11000.
On top of that, the new router's name, "Omni," which rhymes with "omnidirectional," seems a bit counterintuitive to the idea of antenna adjustment.
“It’s like a drone!”
However, when the company showed a little video of the machine where the antennas change their positions, it occurred to me that the feature could be a real thing.
Specifically, the router can do more than rasing and collapsing the antennas. Instead, it could rotate each of its four antennas' position at various degrees and angles—somewhat like a drone handling its propellers.
Watching the demo video, I actually uttered, "It's like a drone! Can it fly?" (No, it can't!)
And that, when coupled with a well-programmed FEM could translate into a totally new realm of dynamic signal coverage.
That's my guess anyway. Again, there're still a lot of unknowns about the new router. We still don't know the mechanism for the adjustment or the conditions that would automatically trigger the change of antennas' positions. So on and so forth.
So, at the end of the day, this antenna-adjustment thing could still end up a gimmick. But now, at least it'll be a fun gimmick.
A powerful router with two Multi-Gig ports
Other than the antennas, there are a few things that you can count on this router.
First, this is another Wi-Fi 6E machine, and it features dual Multi-Gig ports, including one 10Gbps LAN port and one 2.5Gbps WAN/LAN port.
These ports alone are enough to make those looking to go beyond Gigabit happy. So far, this is the first announced Wi-Fi 6E router that has two Multi-Gig ports.
In terms of Wi-Fi, this is an AXE11000 router with the same bandwidth as the Asus GT-AXE11000 or the Netgear RAXE500 via its three 4x4 bands (2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz).
TP-Link says the router sports a 2.0 GHz Quad-Core CPU and plenty of system memory and flash storage.
On top of that, you can expect the new router to have a similar web interface, mobile, and networking settings/features as existing routers in TP-Link's Archer family.
Finally, the new Archer AXE200 Omni will also support OneMesh right out of the box and also comes with HomeShield for online protection—especially for vulnerable IoT devices—and Parental Controls.
Availability and pricing
TP-Link says it will be showcasing the new Archer AXE200 Omni at CES 2022 as an Innovation Awards Honoree and ship it "in 2022" for a suggested retail cost of $499.99.
Considering the other TP-Link Wi-Fi 6E hardware that hasn't materialized, I wouldn't hold my breath for this new router, but do check back next year for more. I'm happy to be proven wrong.
I bought three Archer AX11000 routers on a sale thinking I’d be able to use them in a mesh system. My hopes with these new announcements would be that they’d also release a firmware update to allow their OneMesh feature to work with all routers — similar to Asus AiMesh. They’re currently setup as wired access points. Do you know if TP-link has any plans to update OneMesh to be used with all routers, and not just their extenders? Or am I better off taking these Archers back and going with Asus AiMesh products?
Nope, Arian. I don’t think you’ll be able to use OneMesh the way you do AiMesh in terms of hardware flexibility. There might be OneMesh access points — so you can use wired backhauls — in the future, though. More in this post.
Thanks for the reply, Dong! I’m basically looking for the “powerhouse” setup. Cost isn’t too much of an issue. The TP-Link Archers perform well for my use case, but I don’t get the flexibility of a mesh setup when I move level to level or room to room. The extenders TP-Link offers just doesn’t match the performance of the Archer AX11000 that I am looking for.
I’ve spent hours reading your articles and Asus seems to be the better product line where I could buy three or more beefy, top-of-the-line gaming routers and use them in a wired back haul mesh system.
I just wished TP-Link would allow the same features in their OneMesh system so I could use these Archers in a similar fashion as AiMesh — only because I got such a good deal on them haha.
Then go with one of these Multi-Gig backhaul setups, Arian. I’ve used used a few of them at different locations. 🙂
Gotta say im disappointed…
Seems that all the routers annouced are all above 450$..
I was holding back buying the AX86U, hoping for an announcement for a sub 300$ 6E device…
The new Archer AXE75 will likely be lower than $300.
Hey Richard thanks for the info. Glad to know I wasn’t going crazy. I guess I will wait for the ax204. I am very curious to see how it runs. I never had a tp link router but right now I’ve been having tp link 10 gig switches everywhere in my house with cat6a wiringnin the walls which worked amazingly beautiful with the two ax89x getting 10 gig wired backhaul. I ended up returning them to Amazon. Figured i might as well furure proof for 6e if i am upgrading 🙂.
No prob Sev. 🙂 Think we’re on the same page as I’m also waiting for a Wifi 6E router with 10Gbe ports LAN/WAN ports. I bought the RT-AX89X as it was one of the more ‘reasonably affordable’ all-in-one routers in the market with a 10Gbe SFP+ port particularly with the price drop on Amazon a month ago. Am going down the optical fiber cabling route for the home network. I was tempted to get another unit to try out 10G wired backhaul but decided to hold off as more multi gig Wifi 6E routers come to market in 2022. Really interested to see what TP-Link’s upcoming AX206 and/or hopefully a Wifi 6E version of the RT-AX89X can bring to the table in terms of 10Gbe networking.
What I am waiting for is the archer ax206. That at least on paper looks promising with the dual 10 gig ports and wifi 6e which is exactly what I am looking for to use with my tp link 10 gig switches. Hopefully we won’t have to wait another year.
I tried the ax89x but my galaxy s21 ultra always kept connecting at super low speeds anytime I used 160 mhz which that router just didn’t work well with and kept connecting at 216mbps. Went back to my trusty gt-ax11000 and back to 160mhz channels at 2.4gbps with no issues. Really think i got two bad ax89x units from amazon which I returned.
Pretty strange no matter what setting i tried it just didn’t like my phone. My home is wired everywhere for 10 gig speeds so I hope I can take advantage of it. Do also think the gt-ax11000 seems to be more stable than the ax89x which got me a few dropped calls on wifi calling on latest firmware and resetting it back to factory defaults still didnt solve my slow connected rate. Not sure I want to have another just wifi 6 router again.
Really want that wifi6e without dfs channels to avoid nearby weather towers and fire station interference + future proof. We’ll see if tp link will deliver.
I’ve the same issue with my S21 Ultra connecting at 216 Mbps to the RT-AX89X. Have 10Gbps fiber broadband in the home as well. However, it may just be a detection error as I’m seeing 1.2Gbps-1.4Gbps wireless download speeds on the Ookla App for the phone as well as my Windows PC (Wifi 6). Agree that there are still some wifi stability issues with the RT-AX89X and that’s why I’ve stuck to my two GT-AXE11000s in Ai Mesh mode to provide home wifi coverage on a separate broadband network. Where the RT-AX89X performs really well IMHO is in multigig/10Gbe wired networking, which is what I’m currently using it for.
TP-Link released a Wifi 6E router for its home market, mainland China for pre-order at end-October. The TL-XTR10890 (AX11000) has a 10G SFP+ port and 10G Base-T RJ45 port as well as four 1G ports. It also has Mesh support and what looks like the same Qualcomm chipset as the RT-AX89X but strangely no firewall function (Google-translated). Maybe it’s one of those market specific restrictions. And of course, it’s now out of stock…
After getting burnt with ax3000 which they initially said was on the list for onemesh, however later backtracking… Never again tp link for me
I hear you. 🙂
ship it “in 2020” … actually expected to ship in 2022? I am a big fan of TP-Link routers and am very curious to see the final specs on this!
Typo. Fixed. I’ll up date the post when I learn more.