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TP-Link Archer C7 (hardware version v2) is the most unstable-working router I ever had. It randomly stopped working at least once in two days.
Sometimes I had to restart it three times a day but Internet was constantly dropping (even when connected via Ethernet) and Wi-Fi kept disconnecting all the time. Now and then 5 GHz network dropped until I power cycled the device.
In summer 2017 I tried to upgrade its firmware to the latest version but nothing helped and I continued to reset the router on freeze.
But here is a solution that finally helped me stop all those hangings and unstable work of Archer
C7. Besides, we’ve got a workaround to fix such unreliable work of your router if the solution doesn’t suit you for some reason.
How The Unreliable Work Of Archer C7 Looks Like
The issue with this TP-Link router looks like the following. Windows PCs connected via Ethernet show “No Internet“.
Android devices may see Archer’s Wi-Fi network but won’t connect, telling that your wireless network is “Disabled”:
It goes without question that there is no Internet and LAN at all.
The Solution (Worked In Our Case)
Update the firmware to the latest US version. If you are not from US, you may not have one for your country. So you have nothing to do except flash US firmware. Your router will warn you about incorrect region but don’t be afraid to flash it.
- Go to the Archer C7 web page on TP-Link support website for United States. https://www.tp-link.com/us/download/Archer-C7_V2.html#Firmware
- Download the firmware Archer C7(US)_V2_170525 with published date: 2017-07-24.
- Log in to your router’s config (192.168.0.1 by default if you haven’t changed its IP-address).
- Head to System Tools > Firmware Upgrade.
- Click Choose file:
- Browse the firmware file and click Open:
- Click Upgrade:
- Wait until device reboots.
Once we installed the US firmware our Archer C7 stopped dropping 5 GHz Wi-Fi and losing the Internet connection. Now it is working like a charm during 2 months without reset.
The Workaround: Disable Hardware NAT to Fix Archer C7 Hangings
- Log in to the web interface.
- Go to NAT.
- Disable Current Hardware NAT Status.
- Click Save:
Please, let us know if this helped you stop your TP-Link Archer router hanging.
Thus, we must admit that Archer C7 is nevertheless a great router (again) with stable Wi-Fi and gigabit LAN and WAN ports. We hope that TP-Link won’t make such lapses with firmware in future. We’d like to remember you that this story was about Archer C7 with hardware version V2.
nice one.
tried it, i can confirm it’s working thus far.
archer c7 has been dropping lately, and today it was completely disconnecting, while lan was fine
some forums said it was due to not being able to switch to n mode only, i just wonder why it happened now, after 2 years
Consumer routers as a whole generally last a couple years or so and then begin the degrade process of flaking out periodically. Or they simply stop working and I think its mainly because many of them except for possibly really high end models do not install heat sinks on critical chips. They simply really on natural heat dissipation through case vents. This problem is amplified when the router is put to task with many devices accessing at the same time. Its almost as if these routers have a planned obsolescence where they start to become unreliable so you just buy a new one.
Never had such experience. All routers I ever owned either worked perfectly from the beginning till the end (when I just switched to a more modern model) or had issues out-of-the-box. I had bad experience with:
– D-Link DI-624 back in 2006 – its Wi-Fi network worked for about 10 hours and disappeared, I had to power cycle the router and everything recurred after a few hours.
– D-Link DIR-300 N. Its web interface work fine for a few days and that became laggy as hell. I had to wait for several second for the settings to respond after each click.
But after this router, I owned TP-Link TL-WR841ND router. It worked for months without any lags and was never seen cutting the speed, so that I could literally forget about where it is located.
Then, I purchased TP-Link Archer C7. It had problems with Wi-Fi 5 GHz hotspot but everything was fixed with the next firmware update. Now it works perfectly for almost 3 years with 10 to 15 devices connected to Wi-Fi.
Having the exact same problem with the TPLINK C50, I have no NAT option on the C50, so cant try your fix,any other suggestions i’m happy to try.
I have upgraded the firmware it’s still as bad as ever, Tp link customer technical support are worse than useless blaming everything on either the provider or being out of range even though some laptops/PC’s are hardwired, and my main laptop on wireless is 3 feet away from said router. its just over a year old the cynical side of me says its now out of warranty ,why am I not surprised, the only solution is as stated is to power cycle the router , even though all lights show as connected. Im seriously looking at getting another make of router,this will be my first and last TP LINK