Difference between A20 and C4000 wireless routers ?
I am in the market for a new router and narrowed down by features, I am considering either the A20 or the C4000. They look exactly alike. Comparing the info I can find on tp-link's site:
https://www.tp-link.com/us/home-networking/wifi-router/archer-c4000/#specifications
https://www.tp-link.com/us/home-networking/wifi-router/archer-a20/#specifications
The specs for the C4000 says it has 4x 10/100/1000 LAN ports. The A20 says it has 4x GE LAN ports. Isn't this the same thing?
The specs for the C4000 says it support printer sharing for printers plugged into a USB port on the router. The A20 specs do not list printer sharing.
A look at the table of contents for the two routers' user guides also show that the C4000 supports printer sharing while the A20 does not.
Another difference in the user guides: the A20 has a section about Alexa and IFTTT. That section is not in the C4000 user guide. But the C4000 Overview page ( https://www.tp-link.com/us/home-networking/wifi-router/archer-c4000/#overview ) says it works with Alexa and IFTTT (way down on the bottom).
So the only difference I can find is printer sharing. It's odd to think that they would make a new model whose only difference is that a feature for printer sharing is dropped. There's gotta be something else. Anyone from TP-Link who can answer?
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Thanks for the reply. Never thought to check the 'Applies to', but I know the GUI has option for Alexa.
" Archer A20( V1 V3 )"? I've got a V1, what is V3? Next level of f/w which is also V1 now or some unannounced h/w version?
As for 'additions', well, not knowing what on the list the A20 can do, but some like Speedtest I might like? Also some features that might be hard to implement on the standard Echo, but the Echo Show like I have (as well as an standard Echo) the Client List would be a nice thing to see, as well as the ability to block some by name.
Also the data used would be nice to have, both visually and by device.
In actuality though, unlike Tether, the Echo's would be on the same network, so a device probably on the network would be nearby where all this could be done easily. However with Echo Show's visual data like the connected device, traffic Monitor, and even the HomeCare History would be nice to look at quickly via the Echo Show.
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Because the FAQs can cover all regions that may indicate either an upcomming hardware version or one that is available in another region For the US I do not have any infromation of a V3 coming to our region, at least not yet.
For the commands, the same commands listed in the 1st group: QoS, Speedtest®, Guest Network, LED, WPS, Night Mode would be the commands avialable.
For the requests I will forward those to the PM and see what we can possibly do.
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I know this is older, but the main difference is that the C4000 v3 doesnt use a quad core cpu. It uses a dual core of the same A53 cortex family. BCM4906 vs BCM4908.
From what I understand, the A20 and C4000 switched CPUs for some reason. The A20 V1 used to have the 4906 while the C4000 v1 used to have the 4908. Now the A20 v3 has the 4908 and the C4000 v3 uses the 4906... No clue why they switched these out.
The marketing for both these are cleverly swapped per version on thier respected pages. FCC photos confirm that the C4000 V3 uses the 4906 dual core CPU, but they don't makret it as a dual core presumably to avoid people from acknowledging the difference between previous versions. It's a little misleading if i'm being honest.
Scroll down to last post, I was wrong. They're the same Device, but the V3 version of both uses a dual core CPU instead of the quadcore which was present on the v2. TPLINK marketing material was never updated.
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What about V2 of the C4000? Which CPU is in that one? I have V2 and after the latest firmware update the thing reboots on it's own about every other day. I am thinking I have the weaker CPU in this one. Although the router was stable when I first got it before "updating" to the latest firmware. I would like to go back to the previous firmware to see if the reboots stop. But when I try I get an error message saying it isn't allowed. So two thing. Do you know what CPU the V2 has? And is there a way to flash a previous firmware on V2? I have had this router replaced once at Microcenter. They won't replace it a second time.
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I can't find FCC photos but the V2 is apperantly a quad core BCM4908 like the v1. The marketing material from TP-link also suggest this per C4000 v.2 data sheet. "1.8GHz Quad-Core CPU"
C4000 v.3 simply states "1.8 GHz CPU and three co-processors" Which can be read and assumed to be a quad core, but it's clearly now a dual core with 3 attenna modules marketed to be "co processors" I dont fault them for marketing them as co processors as the attenna modules technically do the processing for wireless, but.. the wording and marketing material is quite sketchy. Especially when everyone thinks the A20 and C4000 are the same design.
The original A20 v.1 claims "Ultra-Fast Processing--An 1.8 GHz 64-bit dual-core CPU handles all your processing needs" so yeah.. quite bizzare.
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Update on this.... A20 v3 apperantly got its marketing material switched over to a copy paste of the C4000 page a couple months back. Which means both are dual core processors. (BCM4906 1.8ghz 64 bit A53) with 3 (3x3) radios that have internal co-processors (800mhz) A20 uses the C4000 FCC ID anyway.. I didnt know.
The V2 used a BCM4908 Quad core to clear any misunderstanding.
I still think it's VERY misleading to state "1.8ghz 64 bit processor" Instead of 1.8ghz dual core 64 bit proccessor, but I guess they want to benefit off all the previous reviews with quad core marketing jargon.
Honestly speaking, I wouldn't be making so much of a fuss over this if the older material material didnt blatantly state "QUADCORE CPU" everywhere and anywhere they could write it. If youre going to downgrade your hardware, cut your loses. Stop misleading people lol
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@D-L I am about to buy this router. I found on amazon website:
" Protect your network and connected devices with a free lifetime subscription to TP-Link HomeCare featuring next-level antivirus, robust parental controls, and QoS."
I cannot find similar statement on Costo website.
First of all Is it true and could this be the only difference, or both of them in fact come with lifetime subscription?
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I bought an A20 from Amazon, didn't see any thing like that I recall.
I think, the A20 at least is 'free' for 3 years. No price available after that?
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@IrvSp If you look at 6th bullet at:
https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-AC4000-Smart-WiFi-Router/dp/B084HLB7LJ/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=tp+link+a4000&qid=1604022906&sr=8-2
it says lifetime subscription.
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