The TP-Link Archer BE550 is a tri-band Wi-Fi 7 router with 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands. All five of its wired networking ports support 2.5Gbps speeds, and it has a USB 3.0 port for connecting a storage device. It's compatible with EasyMesh technology, so you can add another compatible router or range extender to create a mesh network. You can set it up and manage it with TP-Link's Tether app or through a web interface.
Our Verdict
The TP-Link Archer BE550 is an excellent router for apartments, condos, and single-story homes. It has excellent coverage and speeds across a single floor suitable for high-bandwidth uses like downloading large files quickly and handling multiple users streaming 4k video, especially if your devices are Wi-Fi 7 capable. Its network ports are all rated for 2.5Gbps speeds so that you can take advantage of a multi-gigabit internet connection and devices. While the router is somewhat large, it has a clean design with internal antennas.
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Ample multi-gigabit networking ports.
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Wi-Fi 7 support.
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Excellent top speeds.
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Large and bulky.
The TP-Link Archer BE550 is a great router if you live in a multi-level house with a backyard. It delivers excellent top speeds and very good range performance, making it suitable for downloading large files quickly throughout a multi-level home. Since it's a standalone router and not a mesh system, its speeds will drop the further you are from it, but it likely won't be an issue unless your home is substantial. All of its network ports are capable of 2.5Gbps speeds so that you can take advantage of your multi-gigabit internet connection and devices.
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Ample multi-gigabit networking ports.
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Very good range performance.
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Wi-Fi 7 support.
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Excellent top speeds.
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Large and bulky.
The TP-Link Archer BE550 delivers excellent speeds suitable for a multi-gigabit internet connection. It also supports DFS (Dynamic Frequency Selection), so it can use less congested DFS-only channels to give you better speeds in noisy wireless environments.
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Wi-Fi 7 support.
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Excellent top speeds.
The TP-Link Archer BE550 has very good range. It's also compatible with other TP-Link EasyMesh routers and range extenders to increase the range even further.
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Very good range performance.
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Wi-Fi 7 support.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
While the TP-Link Archer BE550 has five 2.5Gbps networking ports, there's a variant called the TP-Link Archer BE9300, which has a 2.5Gbps WAN port, one 2.5Gbps LAN port, and three 1Gbps LAN ports. That said, there have been reports online that the BE9300's networking ports are also all 2.5Gbps compatible despite TP-Link's marketing. Let us know in the forums if you have a variant of this router that we haven't discussed.
Here's a link to our unit's label.
Compared To Other Routers
The TP-Link Archer BE550 is a tri-band Wi-Fi 7 router that sits in the entry-level category for Wi-Fi 7 routers. This router supports EasyMesh technology, so you can create a mesh network with any other EasyMesh-certified router or extender.
This router provides fast speeds, especially when you're close to it on the same floor. However, its maximum speeds are slightly slower than those of more expensive Wi-Fi 7 routers or dedicated mesh solutions like the ASUS RT-BE96U or the eero Max 7 because it only has a 2.5 Gbps WAN port.
Test Results
There's a variant of this router called the TP-Link Archer BE9300 that has a 2.5Gbps WAN port, one 2.5Gbps LAN port, and three 1Gbps LAN ports.
This is a standalone router without mesh capabilities, so the mesh satellite position line on this graph isn't applicable.
This is a standalone router without mesh capabilities, so the mesh satellite position line on this graph isn't applicable.
Wi-Fi 7 has faster speeds, lower latency, and supports more simultaneous connections than previous generations of Wi-Fi. However, you'll need devices supporting Wi-Fi 7 to benefit from these features.
