TP-Link Archer BE900 Wi-Fi 7 Router Review

Hey, what is up? How are you doing? Welcome back. In today's video, we are taking a look at TP-Link's flagship Wi-Fi 7 router, the BE900.

This thing is a beast. It is a quad-band Wi-Fi 7 router, which means you get four bands: one 2.4 GHz band, two 5 GHz bands, and one 6 GHz band.

On the back of the router, you get two 10 gig ports, and one of them is a fiber port. You also get four 2.5 gig ports, one 1 gig LAN port, two USB ports, one USB 2.0 port, and one USB 3.0 port. The cool part is the LED touchscreen on the front. Pretty cool.

With all these features, this should be a pretty impressive router. Today, we are going to unbox it, set it up, test it, and review it. At the end of the video, I will tell you whether you should buy this router or take a hard pass.

I am Michael Scott, and not the one from The Office.

The BE900 as a 10 Gig Router

The BE900 is a true 10 gig router, which could be ideal for users with multi-gig ISP plans or people who require large file transfers. However, you will need a 10 gig switch for additional ports.

The 10 gig switch shown here is the TP-Link TL-SX105, a 5-port 10 gig unmanaged switch. When you pair these two devices together, you can build a true 10 gig network. Just remember that your wired end devices also need to be 10 gig compatible.

Unboxing the Router

All right, let's get this router unboxed.

Inside the box, we have the installation guide, the EasyMesh setup guide if you are going to use more than one router, some additional documentation, an Ethernet cable, the power brick, the power connection, and two reset pins. I am not sure why there are two reset pins, but you get two of them.

Now let's check out the router. I am really excited about this. I love the smell of a new router. It smells so good.

On the front, you can see where the LED screen and touchscreen are located. On the back, you can see all the ports. You have the four 2.5 gig ports, the 10 gig ports, the 1 gig port, and the SFP+ fiber port. You also have the USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports, the power button, the reset button, and the power connection.

The router also has plenty of ventilation on the sides and bottom. There are pads on the bottom to keep it level. Overall, I like the design a lot.

The power brick is the usual external style. I wish it were built into the router because these can sometimes be a pain to place cleanly. The included Ethernet cable is a flat style cable, which I do not really like, so I am going to use my own Ethernet cable.

Setting Up the TP-Link BE900

Now let's get it set up. We plugged in the power and turned it on, and the LED screen looks pretty cool. Next, we are going to connect it to the internet.

For this setup, I am using a Cat 8 cable because I have Cat 8, but you can also use Cat 6. We are going to plug it into one of the 10 gig ports. We currently have 2 gig fiber from our ISP, so all of today's testing will max out at 2 gigs download and 1 gig upload.

Next, we download the TP-Link Tether app, open it, and select add device. The app says to power on the router and wait for the LEDs to become stable. Then we scan the QR code on the back of the router.

After scanning the code, the app connects to the device and finds the router. Now we can begin the setup process. The Cat 8 cable is already connected to the modem through the 10 gig port.

Router Security Settings

Next, we set the admin password. When setting up your admin password, make sure it is 16 characters or longer. This is one of the best ways to help secure your router.

If you have seen recent news about routers getting hacked, one of the main reasons is that many people do not change the default admin password, or they use a password that is too short. Use 16 characters or more.

After that, we set the SSID name and Wi-Fi password. Once again, make the password very long. The router also asks us to set up the 6 GHz SSID and password. I am using the same network name, but I am adding "6 GHz" to the end so I can easily tell when I am connected to that band.

For updates, I set the update time for early in the morning, from 3:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m., and I enabled automatic updates.

One thing I want to mention is the FCC router ban. This ban applies to new routers only. This router is not banned, and neither are routers made before the ban. These routers are safe to use. Just make sure you change the admin password to a long password, change the SSID name and password, and enable automatic firmware updates.

Wired Speed Test

The first test is a wired speed test. For this test, we are using a Cat 6 cable plugged into one of the 2.5 gig ports on the back of the router. The other end is plugged into the computer.

Once the computer is online, we run the speed test using fusionconnect.speedtestcustom.com. The results look really good. The download speed is 2.166 Gbps, and the upload speed is 1.044 Gbps.

That is incredible, and it is actually faster than the speed I should be getting from my ISP.

Wireless Speed Test

Now we are going to test wireless performance using an ASUS Zenbook S16 laptop with a Wi-Fi 7 chipset.

First, we test the 2.4 GHz band from about two feet away from the router. The 2.4 GHz band reaches 244 Mbps download and about 38 Mbps upload, which is pretty typical for that band.

Next, we test the 5 GHz band. This router has two 5 GHz bands, which is great because it can help reduce congestion. On the 5 GHz band, we get 1,849 Mbps download and around 1 Gbps upload.

Then we switch to the 6 GHz band, which is the fastest band. The 6 GHz band reaches 1,838 Mbps download and 1,059 Mbps upload.

MLO Band Testing

The last close-range wireless test is the MLO band, which stands for Multi-Link Operation. This combines bands together for a more stable connection.

If you have Wi-Fi 7 devices, you should definitely enable the MLO band. By default, it is disabled on this router. You need to go into the app on your phone, enable it, and then reboot the router.

On the MLO band, we get 1,660 Mbps download and 1,047 Mbps upload. That is very fast.

50 Foot Wireless Test

Next, we test the router from about 50 feet away.

• On the 2.4 GHz band, we get 41 Mbps download and 34 Mbps upload.
• On the 5 GHz band, we get 891 Mbps download and 121 Mbps upload.
• On the 6 GHz band, we get 1,340 Mbps download and 74 Mbps upload.
• On the MLO band, we get 846 Mbps download and 278 Mbps upload.

75 to 80 Foot Wireless Test

Next, we move about 75 to 80 feet away from the router.

• On the 2.4 GHz band, we get 28 Mbps download and 7 Mbps upload.
• On the 5 GHz band, we get 797 Mbps download and 182 Mbps upload.
• On the 6 GHz band, we get 957 Mbps download and 343 Mbps upload.
• On the MLO band, we get 825 Mbps download and 141 Mbps upload.

Those are very impressive numbers from about 80 feet away with no direct line of sight to the router. That is outstanding. The strong performance is likely helped by the 12 antennas inside this router.

I have tested dozens of Wi-Fi 7 routers, and these are the best performance numbers I have seen. The wired speeds are amazing, but the wireless speeds are off the chart. The BE900 is outstanding when it comes to Wi-Fi performance.

TP-Link Tether App Features

Now let's talk about the Tether app that controls the router.

The first tab is the network tab, which shows what is happening with the router. It displays whether the router is working properly, the download rate, upload rate, status, clients, traffic, and screen display information.

The second tab is the security tab. This includes device isolation, and you can add devices there if needed.

The next tab is family, where you can set up parental controls to block adult websites or other unwanted content.

The more tab includes the rest of the settings, including Wi-Fi settings, screen display, block list, QoS, quick setup, internet connection, guest network, IoT network, EasyMesh, eco mode, network optimization, network diagnostics, operation mode, advanced settings, manager, and system.

Front Screen Display

One of the cool features is the front screen. In the Tether app, you can go to screen display and change what appears on the front of the router.

You can choose different animations and display styles. There are options that look like a camera, an ice cream cone, a bouncing animation, a hello message, and even a Pac-Man style animation. You can also add your own text, create your own animation, or choose from different slide-style display options.

Wi-Fi Settings

In the Wi-Fi settings, I turned off Smart Connect. Smart Connect combines the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands together, but I wanted to test each band individually.

The app lets you manage the 2.4 GHz band, both 5 GHz bands, the 6 GHz band, and the MLO band. Again, the MLO band is turned off by default, so I recommend turning it on if you have Wi-Fi 7 devices.

Under advanced settings, you can access features like VPN client, VPN server, static routing, and more. In the system section, you can set a reboot schedule and check for firmware updates.

Always check for firmware updates when setting up a router. When I first installed this router out of the box, it needed an update right away.

Final Review

This is the TP-Link Archer BE900 Wi-Fi 7 router. It has outstanding Wi-Fi, even from 80 feet away, and the wired connections are amazing. It includes two 10 gig ports and four 2.5 gig ports, which means it can handle ISP plans up to 10 gigs.

One 10 gig port can be used as the WAN port, and the other can be used as the LAN port. If you add a 10 gig switch, you can build a 10 gig internet connection throughout your house, assuming your devices support it.

If you have a high-speed internet connection, this router is the answer. The Wi-Fi speeds are insane, and the wired speeds are off the charts.

Thanks for watching. Make sure to like, share, subscribe, and comment. For God's sake, smash the bell icon, and I will see you later. Peace.