TP-Link Archer C7 V2, V3, V4, V5?

[mike 2874]

I've owned an Archer C7 v2 for three years without a glitch and great coverage so extremely happy with it. My mother needed a new router so I ordered her a new C7 from Amazon which I just got today. I was hoping for either V2 or V5 but you never really know what you're getting.

Is V3 fine or should I send it back? Don't really know the differences between V2, V3, V4, or V5 just bits and pieces of stuff online.

 

[Internet Man]

I'm surprised that you would receive V3 from Amazon still. Did you buy from a third-party seller?

The components used in all five revisions are very similar. Starting with V4, the CPU got a slight upgrade from the QCA9958 to the QCA9563. See this hardware comparison on WikiDevi.

The biggest difference between versions is probably the level of support provided via firmware update. Here is a list of the date of the most recent firmware update released in the US for each revision:
V1: 12/4/2014
V2: 5/8/2018
V3: 5/8/2015
V4: 4/28/2018
V5: 5/18/2018

 

[mike 2874]

Yes I had no choice but to buy from third-party sellers definitely not my preferred option. I probably should have messaged each but in my experience they don't always respond very quickly. Wonder why there is 2018 support for V2 but 2015 support for newer V3? You think I should return the V3 and try to get a V2 or V5?

 

[Internet Man]

Yes I had no choice but to buy from third-party sellers definitely not my preferred option. I probably should have messaged each but in my experience they don't always respond very quickly. Wonder why there is 2018 support for V2 but 2015 support for newer V3? You think I should return the V3 and try to get a V2 or V5?

The WikiDevi device page for the V3 says that it shares firmware with the V2 model so you might be able to use the newer firmware that was posted for the V2.

 

[mike 2874]

Well I just requested a return so just got to find one of the better versions.

 

[mike 2874]

Ok found a guy on eBay selling new V2’s so that’ll work thanks for the help!

 

[System Error Message]

since this is tplink, the version you get matters. Some are better with openwrt, some worse. Make sure to check the differences and ask the seller before buying

 

[lucluke]

The components used in all five revisions are very similar. Starting with V4, the CPU got a slight upgrade from the QCA9958 to the QCA9563. See this hardware comparison on WikiDevi.

The biggest difference between versions is probably the level of support provided via firmware update. Here is a list of the date of the most recent firmware update released in the US for each revision:
V1: 12/4/2014
V2: 5/8/2018
V3: 5/8/2015
V4: 4/28/2018
V5: 5/18/2018

V5 was updated to 2019-08-16 with OneMesh support.

Is it possible to use V5 firmware (2019-08-16) on V3/V2?
https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/download/archer-c7/v5/#Firmware
https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/download/archer-c7/v3/#Firmware

V2 firmware (2018-05-14) works well on V3 hardware.