Unable to find any firmware downloads for the device/router - Archer C5
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I bought a Archer C5 V4 on Amazon India from a seller. Now this IS NOT the Archer C50. It is Archer C5 (ISP Managed router) and I was able to get my hands on one. Though, I understand that this router is for usage in specific scenarios such as ISP config management, etc., and that these are deployed by the ISP on the end-user premises, I was able to get my hands on a retail pack.
I went with this model as it offered, 4 antenna dual band WiFi, Gigabit WAN/LAN ports and USB for file sharing and network failsafe 3G/4G handover features.
Now, the problem is that I don't see any firmware downloads whatsoever for this router model.
I did a little bit of digging and found out that TP-Link pushes back people to the ISP who wants router specific support for these models. But, in my case, the router isn't supplied by the ISP. I bought it retail.
The router initially performed over and above my expectations. When I thought everything was going fine, I started facing issues with the 5GHz band(s). I have tried tweaking all the settings that there are, to try and fix this issue. But, I ran out of all options with no luck.
I have a 100Mbps connection coming into my home/WAN of the router. when I do a "ookla" or "fast.com" speedtest, I get close to 80-90 Mbps speed on 2.4GHz band. But, when I do the same thing on 5GHz band, I get about 40-50 or sometimes 60Mbps if I am lucky. PS: I am about 5-6 feet away from the router in all the tests that I do.
I have tried all settings: mode, channel, channel width, transmit power, etc. But, I couldn't get it to work at the "advertised" speeds.
The 5GHz 802.11ac connection/link on this router boasts 867Mbps speeds. But, I couldn't not even get it to 300Mbps (I run a NAS via RaspberryPi through the Gigabit link/interface. So, Router-RaspberryPi interface speeds shouldn't be any cause for bottleneck issues here)
I did couple of iperf tests on the LAN interface to confirm if Raspberry negotiated 1000BaseT Full duplex and is working on the same speeds. I got Gigabit Speeds over LAN.
When I tried over WLAN, I couldn't get speeds over 200Mbps. The speed of the connection is reported as 866Mbps capable under WiFi Properties > Status.
Also, the wireless device/card that I am using is Killer AX1650x (Intel AX200) WiFi 6. So, there's no question of bottleneck here. Also, it isn't driver fault as the router pretty much provides identical speeds on all devices such as Raspberry-Pi, Mobile phones, Laptops, etc. (all tests carried out 5-6 feet away from router without any obstructions).
I though a firmmware update may fix this problem... But, alas! This router does not have any firmware update files available on the TP-Link download repositories.
I did not get in touch with the TP-Link support... But, I am sure that they will push me back stating some or the other reasons.
Any ideas on what's happening or what I should be doing now?
I can attach all the screenshots of the iperf tests, TaskManager WiFi throughoutput graphs, Ookla, fast.com speed tests. But, I am away from my laptop now and all of the test research is on my Predator laptop. Will update when I get time.
Any help is apprecciated!
Thank you!
You're running the same version of FW that I've sent via link - it's the latest available. So no need to update the FW.
The other thing you could do if you already haven't, is to set your wireless security settings like this:
and make sure the ethernet port speeds are negotiated correctly:
Finally make sure you're using the latest network adapter drivers on your computer.
Hi @terziyski
Thank you so much for replying! & I am really sorry for the late reply...
I always thought that getting your thread looked at, and to be replied is a cumbersome hassle. But, you proved me wrong here. Your replies are always lightning fast, and I usually take days to reply due to work, etc.
But, thank you so much for being a persistent helper!
Now, let's get to the topic at hand:
I did go to Wireless settings on the router, and found that all of the security, version, encryption mode, channel and channel width were already set to the values suggested in the screenshot above...
Now lets keep that aside for a moment and lets discuss about the question that I have on firmware updates.
Now as mentioned earlier, the firmware that I have is: 3.16.0 0.9.1 v6015.0 Build 190627 Rel.41124n
But I recently checked the firmware version of the same router - Archer C5 that's used by a relative of mine. The only difference is that their router was provided by the ISP and mine is a retail buy, as I mentioned above.
I had to remote into their system and check the router gateway/login page...due to obvious reasons - Covid.. duh!
I have attached the screenshot of the FW version that their router is running on. And my, oh' my... They were getting ISP promised speeds on wireless devices at about 10-15 meters distance and to my surprise, the router was placed on the ground floor and the speeds I saw were tested while on the first floor!
Now lets talk about tp-link abandoning their customers,, and making them feel stranded:
When I hear the term "Contact your ISP for FW upgrade" it gets my head scratching... I know these are ISP managed routers... But, what can a ISP actually modify in the FW file of a device?
Somethings that I can think of - Hard coding the IP addresses, gateways, DNS server addresses, bandwidth limit, TR-069 configuration, locking out features like NAT, Virtual servers, administration menus, diagnostics, etc.
Including or removing any/all of these features are basically tweaking the configuration of the FW file and can be changed with flags in the firmware. This can be done by anyone who has the low level manual/help documentation of the device, and who can JTAG into the EPROM chip(may void warranty though). But, This DOESN'T involve writing FW code. Because they simply don't know the architecture/design of the router device.
Also, to prove my point: look at the top right corner of the screenshot. It is a BETA firmware which is written by tp-link and holds it as their intellectual property. ISP has nothing to do with this firmware...
My question is why would they hold back something that can benefit a lot of people in the community? Why do they(tp-link) want to release the firmware only to ISPs?
This also means that there were a number of FW releases prior to this BETA that never saw day light.
It's not like Apple or Samsung will ask you to go to T-Mobile for updates or fixes if you bought the device from T-Mobile...!! Because T-Mobile neither have the capacity to write updates or fixes by themselves nor they have any idea on the architecture/design of the device. The most that T-Mobile can do is to push network configuration provisioning profiles OTA. Or maybe lock certain device features. Again, this is tweaking the FW configuration and not writing it.
I feel like I am complaining a lot. But, using a router that does not perform what was advertised on its product page/specifications is really frustrating! On top of that tp-link's pathetic service, and this pandemic is a cherry on the top!
Hope you or someone seeing this can shed some light on this!
Thanks!! - muralixprud
