Overheating issue isn't caused by the design. It's caused by the Intel CPU.

Even though AX50 is faster, I recently bought AX20 and am very satisfied with the product. Yes, it's maximum speed is 1200 Mb/s over 5 GHz, but honestly, I don't need more. Plus, there is WPA3 which AX50 doesn't have, but could come handy one day.

AX20 has the same design as AX50, but it doesn't overheat. It is warm to touch (like any other router), but it isn't hot. And I have 11 devices connected to it (PC via ethernet and rest are phones, TV and laptops). I would even say that the router ISP gave me heats more than AX20.

So, no, it's not design issue. It's poor choice of hardware.

@VA3TWT 

I can confirm my new order of AX50 also has the same overheating issue (lastest model upgraded to the latest firmware). I've tested it streaming a local 4K HD video between two laptops and in about 30-40 minutes the device would get very hot and the streaming would stop.

Placing a big fan next to it would help immediately alleviate the issue. At first I thought it's an isolated faulty unit then I returned and bought another one from a different vendor, but the problem persists. 

After checking this post I've tried changing the "power transmit" to low as instructed but it didn't help. 

Eventually I've replaced it with a different router from a different brand and the issue is gone. So my suspicion is that this compact slim design might not be able to handle high intensity usage.

DFS channels are slower anyway. And it's worth to keep in mind that 5 GHz signals don't go that far. Because of that, interference might not be the issue anymore.

I also wanted to get router with DFS, but when I read about the downsides, I figured out paying extra for DFS is not worth it. 

AX20 was on sale (which lasted one day lol) so I got it for around 50€. AX50, on the other hand, was around 95€.

mine25 wrote

@user30 I had no issues up to now with speed on DFS channels and I think using these channels can save your 5GHz network in crowded areas, where everyone is on a channel between 36 and 48 (the standard ones). I am constantly getting ~700Mbps from my AX50 on channel 100 (80MHz) and am very happy with that.

Luckily, I don't have an issue. While I do live in a crowded area, I'm in a flat on last floor of the building. There are some Wi-Fi networks on 5 GHz, but only one is reaching my place and it's constantly on DFS channel. Signal of that network is very weak as well, so I think I'm good with those four non-DFS channels.

mine25 wrote

The only downside I found is that the router is constantly scanning for radar signals and it might jump at any time from the configured DFS channel, if a radar signal is detected. But it only happened once in my case, so I'm still monitoring that.

That's exactly why I don't like DFS channels. Every time router detects radar signal, all transmission will be stopped which means Wi-Fi will be "restarted" on new channel. It would be annoying if that happens in the middle of the download or streaming video.

mine25 wrote

Anyway, you've got the AX20 at a very good price, so enjoy it, it's a great router!

I was planning to buy a new router for a very long time because the one ISP gave me couldn't give more than 40 Mb/s via Wi-Fi and I have 100/100 FTTH. I was following the price of AX20 and AX50 for a few months and I was just surprised to see the price so low. It was cheaper than ever so I obviously had to buy it. It was only on sale for 24h, but other routers that were on a sale continued to be for another week or so. So far, very satisfied with the product.

🙂

Hi,

Only solution i knew to decrease heat is turn off 2.4 or 5 wifi. At least my test after turn off 2.4 wifi (only use 5) router will not so hot to touch.

If both run same time, AX50 will overheat and auto restart.

Hope can help.

@VA3TWT Have been using this router since Feb 21 and it is again like all the other reports, extremely hot to the touch.  I put my old router back and will see if I can play around with settings on the AX50. If nothing works, then I wasted $175.  Really disappointed in this product.

@xilinx 

what hack solution i did under 7$~500₹ To keep this beast of a router cool from 50c to 30c

3 normal cpu cabinet fans 0.20A

3m tape stuck on the screw holes of the fan

2 outward and 1 inward facing fan

and a 12v Adapter.

Its effective in reducing the temperature which is all we want.

Glad that I bought AX20 for my house. Broadcom (AX20) vs Intel (AX50), of course I pick Broadcom. Some reviewer said that AX50 have slower upload speed than AX50. Bought 4 AX20 and only use the 5.0GHz channels. But planning to buy AX50 for my university since it 'guarantee' 256 connected clients. Guess I have to look at Asus due to the heat issue. 

@Razuan this router is a real pain, it doesn't work reliably without external fans running all day. I had to buy an Asus RT-AX3000 and all problems are gone. This is a terrible design flaw by TP-Link. I lost 170+ bucks.

Hello, i got some problem with my inthernet quality. 

Could this overheating problem call "PACKED LOSS" or "speed fluctuation" for LAN connection?

Problem is that if i trying to watch any stream or youtube with better quality, i getting packed loss :(

https://youtu.be/VkIMOTMbfJg

https://youtu.be/JFhxKk88ok8