I have always wanted to buy a WiFi 6 router to see if it's as magical as they say. I have been eyeing the Xiaomi AX6 and TL-XDR5430, but the former is already discontinued. So I decided to purchase the TL-XDR5430 from X Store and use it as a pure AP. Here are my personal thoughts and experiences for those who are interested.

Price

I bought it from X Store for 349 yuan after using various coupons. You can find the purchase link here.

Appearance

The packaging box is very large and it is not sealed with labels on both sides, making it convenient for second-hand buyers.

The router has a black plastic shell, which looks stable and atmospheric, but to put it simply, it is big and ugly.

TL-XDR5430 VS Redmi AC2100

This is not a professional comparison, just a simple test. I have compiled the data into a table, which can only serve as a reference.

The bandwidth at home is 50Mbps for upload and 300Mbps for download. The routers were placed in the same position in the living room, and I used a desktop computer in the bedroom (with an AX200 wireless network card) to test the speed. iKuai was used as a software router, and RM AC2100 and TL-XDR5430 were tested as APs. The bandwidth could be fully utilized and the difference was not significant.

Then, I tested the signal strength and speed with a Xiaomi 10s connected to the 5G WiFi in different locations (the larger the value, the better). From the table below, it can be seen that TL-XDR5430 indeed has stronger signal strength and faster speed compared to Redmi AC2100.

User Experience

TL-XDR5430 has two versions: v1 (Broadcom version) and v2 (Qualcomm version). Currently, the v1 version has been discontinued, and the ones available in the market through legitimate channels are all v2 versions, including the one I have. According to the comparison on acwifi, the v1 version has better signal strength, lower power consumption, and lower heat generation, while the v2 version has better small packet forwarding performance.

In addition, TL-XDR5430 has a relatively large size and an unattractive appearance. The v2 version generates more heat compared to the other routers I have used (although I haven't used many routers), and I'm not sure if such high heat generation will cause instability. I will provide additional updates after using it for a while.

The firmware of TL-XDR5430 is extremely simple and cannot be flashed, so it is not suitable for tinkering or being used as the main router. However, it works fine as a pure AP.

TL-XDR5430 purchase link: https://u.jd.com/gKz4FTq