The cheapest Wi-Fi 7 router is this $99 TP-Link

TP-Link has debuted the Archer BE3600, a $99 Wi-Fi 7 router that is the cheapest one we’ve seen released in the US so far since the first routers supporting the new standard started arriving last year.

It doesn’t have the new 6GHz band like its pricier cousins or even many of the Wi-Fi 6E routers already on the market, though. As a result, for many people, TP-Link’s new router probably won’t get you your downloads a lot faster — if at all — than would a much older router.

The new tricks can mean a little throughput boost or a more stable connection than routers built to older specs in congested areas, though, thanks to the way Wi-Fi 7 handles its data streams. But without the one-two 6GHz punch of wider data channels and much more unoccupied space, you simply won’t see many of the multi-gigabit benefits hyped in Wi-Fi 7 marketing, and if you have a multi-gig internet connection, you should probably connect it to something a little more upmarket.

There are things to like here, though. Two of its five ethernet ports offer 2.5Gbps connections, which is rare at this price. It also supports Multi-Link Operation, which won’t be so much a throughput benefit (again: no 6GHz band) but could mean a more stable connection for a Wi-Fi 7-capable phone or VR headset — if one band fails or is too busy, your future device can fall back onto the other one. And it supports the Wi-Fi Alliance’s EasyMesh standard, meaning it can make mesh networks with routers from other brands that also support the standard.

The most significant thing about this router seems to be that it offers Wi-Fi 7 for less than $100. That’s a first, and by a fair amount — the low end right now is otherwise generally around $300 (see TP-Link’s Deco BE63 or Archer BE550).