I bought Archer A10 to use in WDS mode with an archer c80.

However, if I use WDS option on archer a10 adn c80 as main router, networks peed and latency are very very poor.Even getting IP adress for connected devices does not work sometimes. Erratic software response. I dont have interference in my house from other wifi networks as it is located in a large compound.

So, I reversed the routers and observed that C80 does WDS reliably well with archer a10as main router.

This has nothing to do with range as both routers sit within full range of each other.I tried WDS on 2.4and 5ghz bands. No luck if WDS is used on ARCHER A10.

Also, the range on archer a10 is said to be longer with 800mbps support on 2.4 but truth of matter is that for the same range, archer c80 delivers better speeds when used as a single router. Archer A10 will give better range on 2.4 than c80 but throughput is poor compared to a lower signal from archer c80.

Further I have observed that this device has never received a software update after its initial software version. WDS is very poor on archer A10. I hope TP Link will look into this router and issue updates to make it perform at par with c80 on software side(this should make it perform better than a c80)

Another thing I observed is how archer a10 behaves erratically when reset using hte reset pinhole. Once, I got an error that router could not boot up after a reset. I reset it again and everything worked well but router had random issues with wifi range,speed and internet connection. So I downloaded original firmware and relashed it, reset it again and then it started performing well. These things point to poor software implementation that is inconsistent.

If Archer A10 gets internet through WDS connection, you cannot sync time on the device, nor can it connect to check for firmware updates. Websites will still load in this situation. These functions work only if archer A10 gets internet through wan port and has its own dhcp server.(My WDS setup is correct with dhcp disabled and correct LAN IP for each device)

I hope TP Link team will look into this router and give it atleast one proper software update with consistent software performance. onemesh,easymesh features beings absent is an even lesser issue.This device needs a better stable firmware.

Side note: TP Link C80 has a reboot schedule bug where settings a reboot schedule will cause both wifi bands to turn on even if you have set it on only one band. I have seen this issue reported on this forum but a very recent 1.21.1 update on C80 did not include this fix(DHCP server settings changing on reboot was present as a bug on 1.20 but has been fixed now on 1.21.1 firmware) Please issue a fix for this bug as well.

I went with this device instead of going for mesh wifi or wifi 6 products as my house does not have any wifi congestion or interference and I need long ranges to cover whole house which would take a mesh system of 4 devices and over 16 bands of wifi signals.(I believe each mesh module will have its hidden encrypted mesh network on 2.4and 5ghz band+ the 2.4and 5ghz broadcasts for device connectivity) I am currently managing this happily with 2 2.4 Ghz wifi signals.The aim was t reduce unnecessary wifi broadcasts. Not to mention cost would be astronomically higher -like 4-5 times my current setup cost.