thomasterrible
This is a great basic router well worth the $20. The 5 star rating is based upon the value for price and accuracy of advertised performance.
I think it is also worthy of noting that this is a new router and not refurbished. Reading reviews on various refurbished routers being sold here and elsewhere gives evidence it is much better to buy a new router.
I bought this because recently my Linksys E4200 dual band router I purchased two years ago stop working properly. Since it was out of warranty Linksys would not even help me with attempting a firmware update or check the settings unless I paid them $30 for a one time assistance or $40 for six months worth of support. I was not going to do that and subsequently figured out a physical part of the router is damaged. I decided instead to invest a minimal amount in a new router instead and am very happy I made that decision, especially as I subsequently figured out defective hardware was the cause of the old router malfunction.
Since I needed to have my WiFi up and running while deciding what new high end router to purchase and at a sale price I decided to buy this router to see if it would fill the gap. So far it has done so extremely well.
RANGE: The two omni-directional external 5dB gain antennas do a great job getting the signal at full strength to anywhere in my 3 level over 3,000 square foot house.
SPEED: I have Comcast cable broadband with "blaster" service which is supposed to provide me with internet speeds of up to 50Mbps.
When I measure the speed through the LAN port connected to my desktop downstairs, not using the WiFi signal but going through the router to the computer via ethernet connection I get a download speed of 72Mbps. When I measure the speed of the WiFi signal on my laptop with is on the top floor of the house it fluctuates between 50-60Mbps plus. These are the highest speeds I have measured with my service to date. Considering this is the least expensive router I have used and a 2.4 Ghz router I am quite impressed by this.
I have Panasonic Blu Ray players which have WiFi apps and I have connected and watched some streaming HD video such as Netflix with this router and had no issues such as buffering. This was with the Blu Ray plus two laptops with internet being used for browsing.
FEATURES: This is a basic router. It does have what is necessary for a secure and functional network however. For security it has a built in firewall, SSID broadcast control, MAC address access control, WEP encryption, WPA/WPA2, and WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK authentication.
The IP QoS is good to have to help ensure no one user/device degrades other users service by hogging bandwidth.
It also has WPS which doubles as a reset button depending upon how long you hold it down. To add devices to the WiFi network one needs only to push the WPS button on the router and then connect each device, the easiest way to add devices. Having the ON/OFF button allows one to easily turn the router on and off without having to disconnect the power cable which while simple is not a given for a router. There is also a web based interface for setting parental controls to applying firmware updates.
SETUP: The router comes with a mini DVD set up disk. It is very simple and easy for anyone to set up the router in just a few minutes.
WARRANTY: This router has a two year warranty with 24 hour support. I have not yet had the need to test the quality of the support however for a router that costs this little it is very encouraging.
So far there are only a couple very minor design issues that I think could be improved. First the row of LED lights on the top front of the router that show status etc. could be brighter. With room or desk lighting they are noticeably more dim than other routers and modems and thus are more difficult to read. Secondly the power supply cord that plugs in to the router would be better if a bit longer and the "wall wart" type plug is small and rectangular but the prongs are oriented in such a way that if being plugged in to a power strip it either needs to be plugged in to a spot on the end or it will take up two outlet spaces.
Overall I think this is a great router for the price and manages to do what I need it to do right now.
Although it lacks most of the bells and whistles found on higher end routers they only become important if you actually use them.
A dual band router would give both the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz frequencies which would allow for potentially faster speeds with the 5Ghz as well as allowing for more users and more bandwidth intensive usage such as gaming/gaming consoles and HD media streaming with multiple users and devices using the network at the same time. It also does not have the ability to plug in storage cards to share data and/or media. It is also not compatible with the newest "ac" standard. It does not support Gigbit ethernet.
However as a simple and inexpensive router it is providing a strong signal and fast speeds for what I am using it for. This is my first TP-Link router and I am hoping it will be reliable long term as well as having better customer service than I have experienced by NetGear and Linksys which have both been dismal. As long as this router continues to perform as it is now I will consider it a great bargain and well worth the $20 paid (with free shipping) and since it was sold by Amazon and not a third party I am confident if an issue were to arise that Amazon would be helpful in resolving the problem as needed which is another plus in my book.
| Wireless Type | 802.11bgn |
|---|---|
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 1 |
BRS