TP-Link Archer C2300 User manual
REV1.0.0 1910012068
User Guide
AC2300 Wireless MU-MIMO Gigabit Router
Archer C2300 / Archer A2300
Contents
About This Guide.........................................................................................................1
Chapter 1. Get to Know About Your Router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
1. 1. Product Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1. 2. Panel Layout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1. 2. 1.The Front Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1. 2. 2.The Side Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1. 2. 3.The Back Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Chapter 2. Connect the Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
2. 1. Position Your Router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2. 2. Connect Your Router. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Chapter 3. Log In to Your Router. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Chapter 4. Set Up Internet Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4. 1. Use Quick Setup Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4. 2. Manually Set up Your Internet Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4. 3. Set Up an IPv6 Internet Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Chapter 5. Set Up the Router as an Access Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Chapter 6. TP-Link Cloud Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
6. 1. Register a TP-Link ID. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
6. 2. Change Your TP-Link ID Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
6. 3. Manage the User TP-Link IDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
6. 3. 1.Add TP-Link ID to Manage the Router. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
6. 3. 2.Remove TP-Link ID(s) from Managing the Router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
6. 4. Manage the Router via the TP-Link Tether App . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6. 4. 1.Install the Tether App on Your Smartphones or Tablets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6. 4. 2.Locally Manage Your Router Using the Tether App . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6. 4. 3.Remotely Manage Your Router Using the Tether App . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Chapter 7. Guest Network. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
7. 1. Create a Network for Guests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
7. 2. Customize Guest Network Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Chapter 8. USB Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
8. 1. Access the USB Storage Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
8. 1. 1.Access the USB Device Locally. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
8. 1. 2.Access the USB Device Remotely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
8. 1. 3.Customize the Access Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
8. 2. Media Sharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
8. 3. Printer Sharing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Chapter 9. Parental Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Chapter 10.QoS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
10. 1. Prioritize Internet Traffic with QoS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
10. 2. Update the Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Chapter 11.Network Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
11. 1. Protect the Network from Cyber Attacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
11. 2. Access Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
11. 3. IP & MAC Binding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Chapter 12.NAT Forwarding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
12. 1. Share Local Resources on the Internet by Virtual Servers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
12. 2. Open Ports Dynamically by Port Triggering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
12. 3. Make Applications Free from Port Restriction by DMZ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
12. 4. Make Xbox Online Games Run Smoothly by UPnP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Chapter 13.VPN Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
13. 1. Use OpenVPN to Access Your Home Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
13. 1. 1.Step1. Set up OpenVPN Server on Your Router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
13. 1. 2.Step 2. Configure OpenVPN Connection on Your Remote Device . . . . 67
13. 2. Use PPTP VPN to Access Your Home Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
13. 2. 1.Step 1. Set up PPTP VPN Server on Your Router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
13. 2. 2.Step 2. Configure PPTP VPN Connection on Your Remote Device. . . . 68
Chapter 14.Customize Your Network Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
14. 1. Change the LAN Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
14. 2. Set Up Link Aggregation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
14. 3. Configure to Support IPTV Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
14. 4. Specify DHCP Server Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
14. 5. Set Up a Dynamic DNS Service Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
14. 6. Create Static Routes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
14. 7. Specify Wireless Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
14. 8. Use WPS for Wireless Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
14. 8. 1.Method 1: Use the WPS Button. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
14. 8. 2.Method 2: Use the WPS Button on the Web Management Page . . . . . . 82
14. 8. 3.Method 3: Enter the Router’s PIN on Your Client Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
14. 8. 4.Method 4: Enter the Client Device’s PIN on the Router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
14. 9. Schedule Your Wireless Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Chapter 15.Manage the Router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
15. 1. Set Up System Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
15. 2. Control LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
15. 3. Test the Network Connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
15. 4. Set Up Port Mirroring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
15. 5. Upgrade the Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
15. 5. 1.Online Upgrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
15. 5. 2.Local Upgrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
15. 5. 3.Restore Interrupted Upgrade after Power Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
15. 6. Backup and Restore Configuration Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
15. 7. Set the Router to Reboot Regularly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
15. 8. Change the Administrator Account. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
15. 9. Default Password Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
15. 10. Local Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
15. 11. Remote Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
15. 12. System Log. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
15. 13. Monitor the Internet Traffic Statistics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100
FAQ ............................................................................................................................. 102
1
About This Guide
This guide is a complement of Quick Installation Guide. The Quick Installation Guide
instructs you on quick Internet setup, and this guide provides details of each function
and shows you the way to configure these functions appropriate to your needs.
When using this guide, please notice that features of the router may vary slightly
depending on the model and software version you have, and on your location, language,
and Internet service provider. All screenshots, images, parameters and descriptions
documented in this guide are used for demonstration only.
Conventions
In this guide the following conventions are used:
Convention Description
Underlined Underlined words or phrases are hyperlinks. You can click to redirect to a
website or a specific section.
Teal Contents to be emphasized and texts on the web page are in teal, including the
menus, items, buttons, etc.
>
The menu structures to show the path to load the corresponding page.
For example, Advanced > Wireless > MAC Filtering means the MAC Filtering
function page is under the Wireless menu that is located in the Advanced tab.
Note: Ignoring this type of note might result in a malfunction or damage to the device.
Tips: Indicates important information that helps you make better use of your device.
symbols on the web
page
• click to edit the corresponding entry.
• click to delete the corresponding entry.
• click to enable or disable the corresponding entry.
• click to view more information about items on the page.
More Info
The latest software, management app and utility can be found at Download Center at
http://www.tp-link.com/support.
The Quick Installation Guide can be found where you find this guide or inside the
package of the router.
Specifications can be found on the product page at http://www.tp-link.com.
A Technical Support Forum is provided for you to discuss our products at
http://forum.tp-link.com.
Our Technical Support contact information can be found at the Contact Technical
Support page at http://www.tp-link.com/support.
Chapter 1
Get to Know About Your
Router
This chapter introduces what the router can do and shows its appearance.
It contains the following sections:
• Product Overview
• Panel Layout
3
Chapter 1 Get to Know About Your Router
1. 1. Product Overview
The TP-Link router is designed to fully meet the need of Small Office/Home Office
(SOHO) networks and users demanding higher networking performance. The powerful
antennas ensure continuous Wi-Fi signal to all your devices while boosting widespread
coverage throughout your home, and the built-in Ethernet ports supply high-speed
connection to your wired devices.
Moreover, it is simple and convenient to set up and use the TP-Link router due to its
intuitive web interface and the powerful Tether app.
1. 2. Panel Layout
1. 2. 1. The Front Panel
The router’s LEDs are located on the front. You can check the router’s working status by
following the LED Explanation table.
LED Explanation
Name Status Indication
(Power)
On The system has started up successfully.
Flashing The system is starting up or the firmware is being upgraded. Do
not disconnect or power off your router.
Off Power is off.
(2.4GHz Wireless)
On The 2.4GHz wireless band is enabled.
Off The 2.4GHz wireless band is disabled.
4
Chapter 1 Get to Know About Your Router
LED Explanation
Name Status Indication
(5GHz Wireless)
On The 5GHz wireless band is enabled.
Off The 5GHz wireless band is disabled.
(Internet)
Blue On Internet service is available.
Orange On The router’s Internet port is connected, but the internet service
is not available.
Off The router’s Internet port is unplugged.
(Ethernet)
On At least one powered-on device is connected to the router’s LAN
port.
Off No powered-on device is connected to the router’s LAN port.
(WPS)
On/Off This light remains on for 5 minutes when a WPS connection is
established, then turns off.
Flashing WPS connection is in progress. This may take up to 2 minutes.
(USB)
On The inserted USB device is ready to use.
Flashing A USB device is being identified.
Off No device is plugged into the USB port.
1. 2. 2. The Side Panel
The following parts (view from left to right) are located on the side panel.
Item Description
Wi-Fi On/Off Button Press and hold the WiFi button for about 2 seconds to turn on or off the
wireless function of your router.
5
Chapter 1 Get to Know About Your Router
Item Description
Reset Button Press and hold this button for more than 5 seconds to reset the router to its
factory default settings.
WPS Button Press and hold this button for less than 5 seconds to enable the WPS
function.
USB 2.0 Port For connecting to a USB 2.0 device or a USB 2.0 printer.
USB 3.0 Port For connecting to a USB 3.0 device or a USB 3.0 printer. It is also compatible
with USB 2.0 devices.
1. 2. 3. The Back Panel
The following parts (view from left to right) are located on the back panel.
Item Description
Power Port For connecting the router to a power socket via the provided power adapter.
Power On/Off Button Press this button to power on or off the router.
Internet Port For connecting to a DSL/Cable modem, or an Ethernet jack.
LAN Ports (1/2/3/4) For connecting your PC or other Ethernet network devices to the router.
Antennas Used for wireless operation and data transmit. Upright them for the best
Wi-Fi performance.
Chapter 2
Connect the Hardware
This chapter contains the following sections:
• Position Your Router
• Connect Your Router
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