With the rapid expansion of mobile network’s 5G coverage, ultra-fast Internet connectivity has become more accessible and affordable to the mass market. The TP-Link X50-5G router is one of the latest routers that supports both fibre and 5G broadband. But is this router good enough for everyday home usage?
Pros and Cons of using 5G network as Home Broadband
Pros
- Lower upfront and subscription costs compared to fibre broadband
- No contract. Fibre broadband usually comes with 12 or 24 months contract
- More coverage and availability as wireless base stations are easier and cheaper to deploy. Fibre broadband require physical infrastructure which may not be available in some areas
Cons
- Connection speed not as fast as fibre but 5G speed is adequate for most households usage
- Higher latency compared to fibre broadband therefore not suitable for gaming or high resolution video conferencing
- Unstable network due to signal interference or weather conditions
- Network congestion when many people connected to the same base station
TP-Link X50-5G Router Specifications
TP-Link Deco X50-5G is a 5G-enabled mesh WiFi 6 router designed to provide high-speed internet connectivity and seamless coverage whether you are using fibre broadband or 5G network or both.
5G Connectivity
- Uses Qualcomm Snapdragon X62 5G modem
- Supports sub 6 GHz 5G and backwards compatibility with 4G network
- Maximum theoretical 5G download speeds up to 3.5 Gbps (dependent on network)
- Supports external 4G/5G antennas via RP-SMA-F ports for improved reception
- Supports 4G/5G band lock and cell lock
WiFi 6 Features
- AX3000 dual-band WiFi 6:- 5 GHz band up to 2402 Mbps and 2.4 GHz band up to 574 Mbps
- Supported security protocol – WPA, WPA2, WPA3-Personal
- Supports WPS passwordless connection
- Supports additional Guest network
Other Features
- LED indicator
- 1x 2.5 Gbps Ethernet port for high-speed wired connection
- 2x Gigabit Ethernet ports
- Mesh compatibility with other Deco routers
- QoS (Quality of Service) can be configured for high priority devices.
- Active cooling fan, quiet operation
- Management and control settings via Deco app
- SMS support via the app, useful for receiving OTP code
- Supports DDNS for dynamic IP address management via TP-Link or DynDNS servers
- Does NOT support client/server VPN although the X50 version (without 5G) does
TP-Link X50-5G Router Review
Installation
Installation of the TP-Link is simple – plug in the Ethernet cable from your modem (ONT) if you’re using fibre broadband or insert your nano SIM card if you’re using 5G network or both (the router supports fallback to 5G network if your fibre broadband is down). Download the DECO app from the app store and setup the router using the app. Also remember to update the router’s firmware after the setup.
Configuration
WiFi setup is straightforward and the app will guide you through. By default, the setup will enable both the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz bands using the same SSID but you can change this in the app if you want to select the 5 GHz band only. Similarly, the default WiFi security protocol is WPA2 but you can also change this in the app to your preference. You can also run the network optimization feature which scans nearby WiFi signals and automatically selects the channel that has the least interference.
For 5G network configuration, you can select the preferred network mode – either 5G or 4G. Optionally you can also manually select the network band or leave it to auto to select the band with the strongest signal.
Speed Test
With the TP-Link X50-5G router, I’m able to get signal strength about -83 dBm (RSRP). In comparison, my mobile phone (5G) is able to achieve only -101 dBm (RSRP). If the external antenna is plugged in, I’m sure the signal will be stronger. Running speed test on fast.com I can achieve 68 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload although the speed is not consistent. The latency is quite high as expected about 200 ms. Bear in mind that this is on a 5G non-standalone (NSA) network which is essentially rely on 4G LTE infrastructure. With these results, it is sufficient for moderate household usage like streaming Full HD YouTube videos.
Miscellaneous Features
DDNS configuration is also supported. This is useful when you want to access your home network from the Internet without knowing the IP address. Many households now has home CCTV camera or a private NAS server so DDNS server with a domain name will be beneficial.
The router supports SMS function so you can receive SMS OTP when needed or if you need to send SMS messages occasionally. If you’re using a prepaid plan without unlimited data, there is also a data usage monitor which you can configure to limit/stop the data usage when the quota is exceeded.
Summary
Overall the TP-Link X50-5G WiFi router is the best value for money for home broadband. It offers the best of both worlds whether you choose to connect with fibre broadband or 5G network. The performance of this router is sufficient for most households usage, it has a 2.5 Gbps Ethernet port for your fibre broadband and if you’re on the 5G network, the combine WiFi speed of 3000 Mbps is more than enough with the current 5G NSA network. TP-Link X50-5G is scalable as it is mesh compatible with other DECO routers which can extend the WiFi coverage to a larger area as needed.