TP-Link Archer AX23 Review

Quick Summary

The Archer AX23 is TP-Link's mid-range answer for family homes that want faster Wi-Fi 6 without moving into expensive territory. It is an AX1800 dual-band router with four Gigabit LAN ports, a dual-core CPU and four fixed antennas, and it supports both OneMesh and EasyMesh for later expansion. At around ₹5,447, it sits above the entry-level models and below the premium ones. Its main compromise is a coverage rating of two to three bedrooms and the lack of a USB port.

Design & Build Quality

The AX23 is a black router with four fixed external antennas, designed to sit on a shelf or desk. It looks restrained rather than showy, and the controls are kept practical: a WPS/Wi-Fi button, a power on/off button and a reset button. Having a physical power switch is a nice touch that many budget routers skip.

Power comes from a 12 V adapter rated at 1.5 A, so the unit is not demanding on a household socket. The fixed antennas cannot be folded, but they give the router better reach than hidden ones usually would at this price.

Wi-Fi Performance

This is an AX1800 router, with 1201 Mbps on 5 GHz and 574 Mbps on 2.4 GHz. The 2.4 GHz figure stands out, because it uses 802.11ax rather than the older 802.11n found on cheaper models. That makes the slower band much more useful for smart-home devices and for phones that are far from the router. OFDMA helps the router serve several devices efficiently, and beamforming focuses the signal on devices that are further away.

TP-Link rates the router for two-to-three bedroom homes, and that is a fair description of the range you should expect. Four spatial streams and High capacity on dual-band give it enough headroom for a typical family streaming, calling and browsing together. If your home is bigger than that, the OneMesh and EasyMesh support is useful, because it allows a compatible extender to join the network rather than forcing a complete replacement.

Ports & Hardware

You get one Gigabit WAN port and four Gigabit LAN ports. A 1 Gbps fibre plan can be used in full over a wired connection, and four LAN ports are enough for a TV, a game console, a desktop and a printer or NAS. A dual-core CPU handles the routing work, and OTA firmware updates keep the software current.

There is no USB port, so you cannot share a drive or printer directly from the router. That is a common omission at this level, but it is worth knowing before you buy.

Features Assessment

For its price, the feature set is strong. Guest networks are available on both bands, parental controls cover URL filtering and time controls, and WPA3 is supported along with older security modes. QoS by device lets you prioritise important devices, and IPv6 is supported. Router and Access Point modes are available, along with a wide range of WAN types such as PPPoE, PPTP and L2TP, plus IPTV support through IGMP and VLAN tagging.

The VPN features are a highlight. The router can act as a VPN server with OpenVPN or PPTP, and it can also connect out as a client using OpenVPN, PPTP or WireGuard. For anyone who wants to protect all home traffic through a VPN service or reach the home network remotely, that is a genuinely useful addition.

Ease of Use

Setup is handled through the Tether app or the web page, and either takes only a few minutes. The app lets you manage network settings from a phone, and you can see connected devices, set parental limits or change the password without digging through menus. Over-the-air firmware updates make long-term maintenance light.

Value for Money

At around ₹5,447, the AX23 costs more than the entry-level Wi-Fi 6 routers, but it gives you a faster 2.4 GHz band, an extra LAN port, a dual-core CPU, a WireGuard VPN client and mesh expandability. For a family home, those are meaningful gains rather than cosmetic ones. It is not the cheapest way into Wi-Fi 6, but it is a sensible place to spend if you want a router that will not feel limiting within a year or two.

Who Should Buy It?

The AX23 is a good fit for a family home or a three-bedroom flat that wants dependable Wi-Fi 6 and has a fibre plan to use it on. It suits households with several phones, TVs and laptops, remote workers who want a VPN client or server on the router, and anyone who wants to start with one router and add an extender later.

Who Should Consider Alternatives?

Larger homes, multi-storey houses and households with very heavy usage should consider a faster router or a full mesh system. Buyers who want a USB port for storage, MU-MIMO or the advanced security services found on higher-tier models will find those elsewhere in the range.