We live in an expensive time. Everything. Is. Expensive. With more of us spending more time in the house our Wifi setup is important. There are a lot of options and a lot of ways to get the best out of your internet service but again, this could be costly and we’re trying to minimize that and I am an advocate for affordable tech. So as it pertains to home internet/WiFi, one of my favorite pieces of tech so far has been the TP-Link BE9700 Tri-Band WiFi 7 router. I’ve been using this router for about three weeks now and I think this gives me a good and practical assessment of everyday use with this router. Here’s a hint: I like it.
YOU NEED A GOOD ROUTER AT HOME NOWADAYS
The internet is everything at home and you need to good router that doesn’t take up too much space all while providing good coverage to allow your devices to have steady and solid access to the internet. This router does this well and I didn’t feel the need to add an extender or mesh network but I live in an apartment in NYC which isn’t very big so that works for me. It may not be ideal for you so take that with a grain of salt.
SPECS
The TPLINK BE9700 is a Tri-band router which in a technology sense is a big deal because it gives your network flexibility for your devices. The specs on this router are simple as this is a barebones router in a certain sense. Take a look below and check out if you’re interested in buying this router.
WiFi Standard: WiFi 7
WiFi Bands: 2.4 Ghz, 5 Ghz, 6 Ghz
Ports: 1 x 10 Gbps for WAN, 4 x 2.5 Gbps for LAN, 1 x USB 3.0
TP-LINK TETHER APP and ONLINE SETUP
The best part in my opinion in the setup and overall maintenance of this router and your home network is the TP-Link TETHER app. I’ve used it with multiple routers throughout my own household and it makes managing your network easy, relatively of course, but for the most part with a little bit of trial and error you should be able to see everything your network is doing, get notifications when someone logs into your network or even attempts to. The Deco app is basically the same thing with some slight differences bor websitr
If the Tether app isn’t for you then you can use the TPLINK website (http://tplinkwifi.net/) to manage your router settings across the board. The website is far more detailed from a complete router management point of view but there is still ease of use with the website that isn’t overwhelming to the casual user.
TRI-BAND GIVES YOU OPTIONS
Having a Tri-band router like this does give the ability to separate and segregate your devices by way of a standard 2.4 GHz network a 5GHz network and a 6GHz network. It’s good to have options but the problem you may experience is your devices being mostly legacy devices which I found was the case in my home. More devices than not could not take advantage of the Tri-Band tech but that’s my house. You can also take advantage of Smart Connect which combines all three bands but it does not mean that the speed will be combined, you’re just unifying the bands to one network name.
GAMING
Gaming. I am a heavy gamer. Not the average casual gamer. I game everyday up until the weekend and the internet is the backbone of playing our favorite games for the past 15 years. This ain’t NES gaming anymore. Internet speed is everything.
While the BE9700 is NOT a gaming router per se, you can game with it. The Tri-Band router does give way to allocating a band for just gaming with the PS5 and XBOX Series X both supporting 5GHz Wifi Band. If you’re playing on PC it’s a little different if you aren’t hard connected (Same with Console too) so make sure you have a motherboard or Wireless network card that can support Tri-Band Wifi tech or get a good adapter whcih coincidentally TP-Link also sells so go hit up their website.
Speeds were decent with this router in my personal experience at my home with my PS5 averaging about 335 – 400Mbps and my XBOX series X averaging similar numbers. This is without extenders or a mesh network and there was fluctuation. Overall there were no hiccups really, I had one drop on my PS5 but that was my initial setup and testing. Solid performance nothing more.
BENCHMARKS. Generally, I don’t always deal in benchmarks because as a tech reviewer I’ve always found that when I’m asked about certain devices, routers in particular, I’m always asked about cost relative to performance and how they actually work in terms of where to put them in said persons’ home. Rarely if ever, do I ever have to answer a question about benchmarks about certain types of routers that aren’t exclusively gaming related and even with that, everything is used based on the household. I deal with tech devices in the most practical sense and this is what you’re getting.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The theme of this review overall is affordability while being an effective tool. The TP-LINK BE9700 manages to have both attributes. Yes, it’s priced at $200 which isn’t “cheap” per se but for the technology available in this router, $200 ain’t bad. You get decent range and pretty good speed and for me, the time that I used it, I was satisfied.
Routers are one of those devices that require other variables to be worth it. Good location and pretty good internet service are what you need to really get the best out of any router but you do get what you pay for. With the BE9700 you won’t feel cheated. It’s a perfect size. It’s easy to mount although I wish the power adapter cable was longer so I could mount this router higher but still easy. The Tether and DECO apps are unsung heroes in that it makes management of this router and network relatively easy.
All things considered. The TP-Link BE9700 is a very good router for the basic tasks and productivity needs for a functioning household that wants to stream and be online. Gaming is where this router may have a weakness but that’s subjective as well because it really depends on what you’re playing. it’s competitively priced and I can’t say that I have any real complaints. The technology in the TP-Link BE9700 is solid although you won’t totally get the blow your mind speeds that we always think a new router will give us but what it does do is give you consistent and solid performance in your household on the cheap and this is a good thing.
