Routers don’t last forever. Their performance seems to degrade over time, crashes become increasingly common, and outdated speeds really start to hold back modern smartphones, tablets, and laptops.
A while back I upgraded to the TP-Link Archer AX72 Pro, and my network has been solid as a rock ever since. Now it’s at its at a great price.
My Old Router Was Holding Me Back
TP-Link Archer AX72 Pro
TP-Link’s Archer AX72 Pro is an AX5400 Wi-Fi 6 router with multi gigabit wireless connection, a single 2.5 Gbps WAN port, dual band 5GHz and 2.4GHz wireless, support for VPNs, a guest network, MU-MIMO for efficient traffic handling, a USB 3.0 port for sharing a volume, WPA3 security, and is compatible with Amazon Alexa.
I don’t upgrade my router very often, I tend to hold out, believing that whatever I’m using is good enough for my two-person household. Most of the time, there are fewer than 10 connected devices, with only three or four of those actively using the internet to do anything.
After moving interstate, I finally had the chance to get decently fast 1Gbps internet. At my previous address, speeds were capped at 100Mbps. My old Netgear router was capable of wireless speeds of “up to 300Mbps” on the 5GHz band, so I never ran into speed issues. I’m sure you can see where this is going.
By the time my new connection was ready to go, I realized that I was barely getting a quarter of the speed I was paying for and the culprit was my router. So I reluctantly went searching for a new router and stumbled across theTP-Link Archer AX 72 Pro, also known as the AX5400 on account of its speed rating.
Since my home is relatively small at around 1,200 sq. ft (110 sq. m), I don’t really need a mesh router system to cover every nook and cranny. When it’s finally time to start working on my laptop in the back garden, I’ll probably justrepurpose the old router as a basic repeater.
Easy to Use, Reliable, and Fast Enough
Performance was all I was looking for from a new router, and the TP-Link Archer AX 72 Pro hasn’t disappointed me. With a theoretical speed of 4804 Mbps on the 5GHz band and 574 Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, I no longer have a hardware bottleneck holding back the speed of my downloads since Wi-Fi 6 is fast enough for my needs.
Ironically, the speed of the router has revealed just how slow the wireless chips in some of my most-used devices are. The Xbox Series X, even connected to 5GHz, caps out at around the 150Mbps mark. The Nintendo Switch is even worse. At least my MacBook Pro gets a respectable 600 to 800 Mbps from my usual working position.
On the back of the router are two WAN/LAN ports for connecting a modem, one at 1Gbps and the other at 2.5Gbps. That’ll come in handy if I decide to upgrade in a few months when 2Gbps plans arrive on Australia’s residential market. Three more LAN ports offer 1Gbps Ethernet wired connections (if I need more, I can use that old Netgear router as a switch).
I can’t say I’ve noticed any issues with the router since I upgraded. I don’t have to routinely restart it, the admin panel is easy to navigate, and all the advanced settings you might want access to—dynamic DNS, NAT settings, MAC address binding, port forwarding, and so on—are all tucked away in a separate menu.
you’re able to even connect the router directly to a VPN service, which means you cantunnel directly from the routerso that every device on your network is secured. This is a great way to use a VPN on devices that don’t explicitly support it (like an Apple TV or a console like the Nintendo Switch).
Get This Router at a Discount (I Did)
While the AX 72 Pro normally retails for $200, for Prime Day 2025 you may pick one up for just $150. This is exactly what I did when I bought mine during a Black Friday deal.
I wouldn’t have been disappointed with the router if I’d paid full price, but that discounted rate certainly sweetens the deal.
This is a Wi-Fi 6 router, which means it won’t do thefaster Wi-Fi 7 speedsseen in the latest smartphones (iPhone 17, Pixel 9, and so on). If you want the absolute fastest wireless performance you might want to consider going for something faster (though be prepared to pay for it).
Just remember that Wi-Fi 7 is limited to new devices and may very well exceed the speed of your home internet connection.
