I have to admit I'm about at my wit's end with this router.  I purchased it through Amazon thinking that it was going to be a cakewalk to set up, but nothing has been further from the truth.

I'm currently running an aging D-Link 868-L router and it's been a workhorse for the past 6 years.  However, now that D-Link has decided it's too old, they discontinued support, and I was in need of a new router.  Too, over the past month or so it has been dropping speed, and disconnecting Wi-Fi more often, and again I've been looking for a newer model to replace it.  Having done a good amount of comparing and searching, I opted for the TP-Link Archer A8 (AC1900) router.  

I received it yesterday and attempted to set it up.  Disconnected my fiber modem, and reconnected it using the Ethernet cables I already had.  Once done, I used first the TP-Link Tether app on my phone, but couldn't get the Internet to connect.  So, I tried the web portal.  Same result, no Internet.  At this point, I've already powered down the modem and the router multiple times, used my phone to search the web for possible solutions and getting nowhere.  When I go to the Status page under Advanced, it just says that it's 'Connecting', but it never does.  On my modem, the WAN light is steady, telling me that it sees the router, but the router apparently cannot see the modem, or just can't connect to it.  I've tried multiple solutions offered on different sites, as well as here on the Forum, even going so far as changing the DNS Primary to 8.8.8.8 and Secondary to 8.8.4.4 but that's not working either.  I've changed the default web address of the router to 192.168.2.1, that didn't work either.  

My last-ditch solution was to upgrade the firmware, thinking that perhaps there was something blocking my effort through the original firmware that was onboard the router.  I had hoped this would work, but the result was the same when I connected the modem.  No Internet.  It just keeps saying that it's 'Connecting' but never does.  At least when I had the Ethernet cable disconnected from the WAN port, it did accurately recognize that, but once I connected it, no dice.  I've tried the cable that came with the router, along with several other cables I have here, CAT5, even CAT6 hoping that it might make a difference.  Sadly, it hasn't.  Every time that I connect the modem to the router, I don't get Internet.  I've even cloned my PC's MAC address to the router, but that hasn't worked either.  I'm stumped.  I've been working with computers for more than 30 years, and this is the worst predicament I've ever had getting hardware to communicate.  

I'm hoping someone has something to offer, because I'm about to the point of sending it back to Amazon and trying another manufacturer.  This shouldn't be this hard!