TP-Link Archer 8 Ultra Wi-Fi 8 router is out — but it's seriously pricey

You can now order the first Wi-Fi 8 router TP-Link's Archer 8 Ultra is available to buy in the UK and Australia, along with some other countries In the UK it's priced at £899.99 (around AU$1,700), but you can get the router for £669.99 (around AU$1,200) currently if you pre-order TP-Link is now sell

<![CDATA[ <article> <ul><li><strong>You can now order the first Wi-Fi 8 router</strong></li><li><strong>TP-Link's Archer 8 Ultra is available to buy in the UK and Australia, along with some other countries</strong></li><li><strong>In the UK it's priced at £899.99 (around AU$1,700), but you can get the router for £669.99 (around AU$1,200) currently if you pre-order</strong></li></ul><p>TP-Link is now selling the first Wi-Fi 8 <a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/networking/routers-storage/best-router-9-top-wireless-routers-on-test-1090523">router</a> to come onto the market, although the very latest wireless tech won't come cheap as you might expect.</p><p>The TP-Link Archer 8 Ultra is available to buy in the UK and Australia, as well as Germany and some other countries (not yet specified by the router manufacturer).</p><p>Pricing will naturally vary by region, but the cost in the UK is £669.99 (around AU$1,200) if you place a pre-order now, although that price tag will be bumped up to £899.99 (around AU$1,700) later on.</p><p>With the Archer 8 Ultra you get <a href="https://www.techradar.com/computing/wi-fi-broadband/wi-fi-8-explained-tp-link-launches-first-routers-but-heres-why-most-wi-fi-6-and-7-owners-should-probably-wait">Wi-Fi 8</a> coverage of up to 3,600 square feet (or 3,000 square feet in Europe). In case you weren't aware, this new wireless standard is about <a href="https://www.techradar.com/pro/wi-fi-8-wont-be-faster-but-will-be-better-more-details-about-next-wi-fi-emerges-just-hours-after-wi-fi-7-protocols-are-officially-ratified">improving performance in different ways other than raw speed</a>.</p><p>The key advantages for Wi-Fi 8 over <a href="https://www.techradar.com/computing/internet/wi-fi-7">Wi-Fi 7</a> are that it deals more capably with interference in crowded signal-dense environments, and it's more reliable with a greater number of client devices connected. Wi-Fi 8 also ensures that there's a better signal at the extremities of the network.</p><p>TP-Link has told us a bit more about what its Wi-Fi 8 StabilityEngine tech achieves in the Archer 8 Ultra, noting the presence of features such as UEQM, MCS, and 2×LDPC. These are designed to "hold throughput steady in a noisy home, delivering up to 33% more consistent throughput at mid-to-long ranges and up to 24% more consistent throughput than Wi-Fi 7 under interference."</p><p>You don't really need to know the ins-and-outs of the various acronyms involved, save to say that they help the Wi-Fi signal drop off less sharply as you move further away from the router, and they cut down on dropped network packets (helping to keep a more stable connection).</p><p>TP-Link also boasts about its Multi-Floor Mode feature, which reshapes the Wi-Fi signal to take into account where devices are actually present. The firm says that this directs coverage to multiple floors when devices are spread over different levels, but it flattens to a "wide single-floor pattern" when they're not.</p><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:1920px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.25%;"><img id="L2FfA7TZyrenKstXofBjfJ" name="TP-Link Archer 8 Ultra" alt="TP-Link Archer 8 Ultra showing logo and buttons" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/L2FfA7TZyrenKstXofBjfJ-1920-80.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="1920" height="1080" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: TP-Link)</span></figcaption></figure><p>TP-Link further observes that as the Wi-Fi 8 standard matures – it's still in its draft form right now – firmware updates will be applied to the Archer 8 Ultra to keep it up to speed.</p><p>The Archer 8 Ultra also comes with the Aireal AI Assistant which allows less technically inclined users to employ natural language queries to understand and tweak their Wi-Fi coverage. This AI also keeps a constant eye on how the router is performing and continuously optimizes and prioritizes wireless traffic, with other benefits such as an Eco mode to bring power usage right down at night when everyone's asleep.</p><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:1920px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.25%;"><img id="Czq4YwBNu5aqFsHv4RSHcJ" name="TP-Link Archer 8 Ultra" alt="TP-Link Archer 8 Ultra showing company logo" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Czq4YwBNu5aqFsHv4RSHcJ-1920-80.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="1920" height="1080" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: TP-Link)</span></figcaption></figure><p>On the security front, this router has an integrated <a href="https://www.techradar.com/vpn/best-vpn">VPN</a> at the hardware level encrypting the traffic of selected devices (it works with third-party VPNs too, if you already have one). Smart gadgets (Internet of Things devices), with their greater levels of potential security risks, are kept on their own network away from the main network (and the guest network is separate too, as you'd imagine). </p><p>There's also an optional TP-Link HomeShield service which offers real-time protection for your devices as well as parental controls.</p><h2 id="analysis-is-it-worth-getting-on-board-with-the-future-of-wi-fi-today">Analysis: is it worth getting on board with the future of Wi-Fi today?</h2><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:1080px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.30%;"><img id="7FnS6g7cLAZ8UH89JUoUaJ" name="TP-Link Archer 8 Ultra" alt="TP-Link Archer 8 Ultra close up of lit mid-section of the router" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7FnS6g7cLAZ8UH89JUoUaJ-1920-80.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="1080" height="608" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: TP-Link)</span></figcaption></figure><p>With the Archer 8 Ultra now on pre-order, it's likely that the <a href="https://www.techradar.com/computing/wi-fi-broadband/tp-link-reveals-worlds-first-wi-fi-8-lineup-at-ifa-2026-with-archer-9-ultra-router-and-deco-8-ultra-mesh-wi-fi-system">mesh Wi-Fi system TP-Link also revealed at IFA 2026</a> – the Deco 8 Ultra – won't be that far behind.</p><p>The price tag is predictably high with the Archer 8 Ultra, though, albeit pre-ordering does get you a pretty chunky discount. (The same will doubtless be true of the Deco 8 Ultra when it pitches up – the price of that will also depend on how many units you need based on the size of your home).</p><p>At any rate, now the Archer 8 Ultra can be yours, should you rush to pre-order to benefit from all the mentioned Wi-Fi 8 goodies? Well, no, because there isn't any consumer hardware (phones, tablets, <a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/laptops/best-laptops-1304361">laptops</a>) that supports Wi-Fi 8 yet, and you need those client devices as well as the actual router. They won't arrive until next year, and they'll be thin on the ground even then.</p><p>So buying this TP-Link router right now is more about being future-proofed than anything else (though you will get some slight benefits from the Archer 8 Ultra with current Wi-Fi 7 or earlier devices). The thing is that if you're prepared to wait, the hefty early adopter premium on the Archer 8 Ultra (or other Wi-Fi 8 routers) will lessen, and really, that's your best bet as <a href="https://www.techradar.com/computing/wi-fi-broadband/wi-fi-8-explained-tp-link-launches-first-routers-but-heres-why-most-wi-fi-6-and-7-owners-should-probably-wait">I've previously discussed at length</a>.</p><p>If you do fancy grabbing the Archer 8 Ultra, though, definitely make sure you get that cheaper pre-order price.</p> </article> ]]>