TP-LINK TL-WR700N Wireless N150 Portable Router, Pocket Design, Multifunction, 150Mbps TP-LINK TL-WR700N Wireless N150 Portable Router, Pocket Design, Multifunction, 150Mbps

Pros: nothing i can think of....

Cons: got it to work as a bridge with a 802.11g router...not even picking up 802.11n router...even while connected to 802.11g, not at all reliable...required a full power recycle every day....horrible horrible...

Pros: Simple easy to use. Interface allows for many configurations. Can be used as a repeater. Has been very handy in a corporate environment.

Cons: Configuration starts out as a Access Point. That just means that it will get it's IP address from a DHCP server and for most it may not be easy to figure out what that IP is to configure it.

Pros: Small. No wall wart.

Cons: Unless you have an active internet connection you won't be able to do anything at all with this router. the default AP setting will not even let you in to administer the router to change the settings. I know this is a peculiar situation, but why would I not be able to even administer the router without an internet connection?

Manufacturer Response:

Hello Twidget,

We appreciate you trying our Router and we thank you for the response. We believe the main issue you are seeing is with your IP address on your computer. These Routers come with the DHCP disabled by default, this means you must first statically assign an IP address to the computer/phone/tablet to first access the configuration page.

You may see this step under the 'Advanced Web Management' section on the Quick Installation Guide that came with your Router. You may also see the document online at: http://www.tp-link.com/Resources/document/7106503681_TL-WR700N(US)1.0_QI.pdf

After you create the static ip address on the computer; you can then access the configuration page using the address 192.168.0.254 into your address bar.

Feel free to contact us if you are having any further issues. We hope you will be able to continue to check out TP-Link products in the future.

Best Regards!

TP-LINK Support Team
support@tp-link.com
(866) 225-8139
http://www.tp-link.com/us/support
http://www.facebook.com/TPLINK

Pros: Mini size router.

Cons: By default, it doesn't turn on DHCP. So you have to know how to statically configure a 192.168.0.x ip address. For Wifi client mode, it doesn't support special character in WPA key. However, the AP I'm trying to access to has "!" character as key. So it cannot connect to it and there is no indication of that.

Manufacturer Response:

Hello Customer,

We thank you for trying out the product and posting a review. The majority of the people use this device for traveling or connecting to an existing network. This is the main reason we have the DHCP off, this way it will not take down or conflict with any other DHCP device that may already exist on the network. Once you make a static IP address and access the 700N, then you can configure it however you want.

The WPA passkey should be able to take Alpha, Numeric, and most ASCII characters. If you find that you are experiencing issues with the SSID, then you may want to change this on the AP if possible.

Thanks for checking out TP-Link, we hope you will be able to check out more of our products in the future.


Best Regards!

TP-LINK Support Team

support@tp-link.com

(866) 225-8139

http://www.tp-link.com/us/support

http://www.facebook.com/TPLINK

Pros: Nice compact unit. Doesn't draw much of any power; stays nice and cool.

Cons: Web UI is pretty poor. Really bad english all around. Range is short by home AP standards, but not bad for something pocket sized.

Other Thoughts: Using this as a repeater to get better wifi coverage on the back room of my house and deck just beyond that. Gives a noticeable range boost and it was pretty cake to configure. I don't think I would recommend it to someone who doesn't know much about configuring a router; the WebUI isn't bad, but the text explanations are pretty terrible if you don't go in knowing what you want to do.

Pros: Low price. Small size if using for travel.

Cons: Range is limited. Firmware as originally delivered dropped signal, multiple times.

Other Thoughts: Configured in client mode to use to provide input to Samsung BR player, dropped signal and had to be reset twice. Next day updated to the latest firmware and has held signal for three day now without issue. Jury is still out, but looking better.

Manufacturer Response:

Hello Customer,

We appreciate you trying out our Router and your time to send us feedback. You're right as we've designed this product for mostly travel use. The range can be due to the fact that we don't have high gain antennas on it - which is why this device is more portable. It's good to see that the Firmware has also helped your connection so far. I believe this device should keep you satisfied with your Networking needs. We also have a 24/7 Technical support to help in case any issues occur. Thanks again for checking out TP-Link.

TP-LINK Support Team
support@tp-link.com
(866) 225-8139
http://www.tp-link.com/us/support
http://www.facebook.com/TPLINK

Pros: Small
Cheap

Cons: Poor installation guidelines
Does not work as a repeater

Other Thoughts: I live in an apartment building where I have a concrete wall separting my living room from my bedroom. I purchased this product to use as a wireless repeater as I have not any wireless signal for my ipad, phone (I have and att microcell to boost my cell signal) and laptops.
The process to configure the repeater with my existing router took me more than a smile as I had to do a lot of research before I was ablw to connect them to each other. Once that was accomplished, I placed the repeater on the living room side of the concrete wall hoping that the signal would be repeated to my bedrrom. Unsucessful. Then I placed the repeater on the other side of the wall (bedroom side) and nothing happend. To this date I tried to place the repeater everywhere in my apartment and sometimes I'd be lucky and pick up a few bars here and there. I wen t back and uninstalled and reintalled the repeater with no luck. For the record my wireless router is not fancey nor did i spend $200 bucks on it. So I will give the benefit of the doubt to the repeater and consider the possibility that I need a stronger router. Given that I spend $25 bucks on it, I consider it as a try and miss exercise.

Manufacturer Response:

Hello Louie,

We are sorry to hear that you have had issues with your WR700N. The best place to locate the Repeater is in the middle between the Connecting device (iPad) and Router. You typically want a good line of sight from the iPad to the Extender, and the Router to the Extender.
The main issue you are seeing is the Concrete wall blocking the Radio Frequency because the wall is dense; denser than say wood or stucco.

A possible solution may be a TL-WPA281KIT. This will allow your router to send a signal through the circuit in your home and wirelessly emit a signal in your bedroom. The Power lines are mostly used for these types of scenarios. We really appreciate you trying out our product and hope you will check out our newer products in the future.

If you have any further questions or concerns about this, please feel free to contact our support team. One of our technicians will be happy to assist you.

Best Regards!
Howard.he@tp-link.com
TP-LINK Support Team
support@tp-link.com
(866) 225-8139
http://www.tp-link.com/us/support
http://www.facebook.com/TPLINK

Pros: Having the power supply built-in is an excellent idea!
Other electronics manufactures should take note.

It just works!
Range is decent and the speed is very close to what is advertised so you will have no disappointments there.

Cons: You will need a laptop to set this up, so if you are traveling with only an iPad make sure you have another means of connecting first.
As with any piece of gear meant for the traveler, get this thing set up, tested and working while still at home well before you hit the road.
Finally, this plug is North American only, so if you are traveling to distant lands make sure you bring along an appropriate voltage converter.

Other Thoughts: With some tweaking I was even able to use mine as a repeater, so that was a nice but unexpected bonus!

Update to latest firmware!

You will still have to pay for wireless in most hotels, but if they charge by the device, you will only pay once!

Pros: This product may be small, but it will put a smile on your face:

-Versatile, portable, and inexpensive
-Quick and easy setup
-Excellent TP-LINK online assistance (go there)
-A perfect companion for traveling computers
-Extends "n" to routers with only b/g wireless

Cons: Signal strength can drop off not too far from unit (not a con for traveler who needs good "n" signal in motel room, etc).

Other Thoughts: After setting up the unit via laptop (ethernet to ethernet), it was installed behind an AT&T Uverse residential gateway (RG) modem/router in repeater mode using a 7-foot ethernet cable to get tt a little further away from Uverse modem/router.

TP-LINK webpage (support) provides guidance for multiple setups including: Access Point (AP), Bridge, Client, Router or Repeater. Go to TP-Link home page and execute in this order: products, wireless, 150Mbps wireless n, TL-WR700N, Application ... then take your pick of which mode to try.

-Excellent User Guide and online help
-Great unit for travel use: motel room Ethernet cable
-Unit provides complete data privacy via multiple protection measures, including SSID broadcast control and wireless LAN 64/128/152-bit WEP encryption, wi fi protected Access (WPA2-PSK, WPA-PSK), and advanced Firewall protection.

How do you beat something as cool as this? Like the GPS fad, I wouldn't want to travel without this baby when working away from home or on vacation. A good product that, among typical uses, will find its home on the road.

A great idea TP-LINK...

Pros: Very small and light. Performance is adequate; a little faster throughput than a USB dongle (~18mb/s down vs. 14.5; 4.75 up vs. 4.5); only a little slower than a PCI wireless card. Similar throughput at ~25' distance from router, and 50' distance. Documentation is fairly detailed, but see Con. Remembers settings after power-off (would be a dealbreaker if it didn't!) Stays cool in operation, even following a long continuous download (GW2 game client). "Survey" worked to properly identify available wireless SSIDs (I have two, plus others nearby). Reboots quickly.

Cons: Where to start...the included cord is only 2' long; I used another. This is not a "beginner" device. The documentation is thorough, but is Engrish, and may not be entirely accurate, especially regarding DHCP. I had to manually configure my PC's IP to initially configure it to "Client" mode, which let me see I was on a network, but no farther (even though the subnet was the same) until I reset it to dynamic. After that, I was still able to connect to the TL-WR700N.
Menus and options are clear in IE9, but text sizes and alignments are off in FF.
There is no option to hide the password when connecting to a wireless router, which is a huge security hole if you wanted to use this as a bridge.
Although comparable to other wireless connection methods, it is little more than half the speed of a direct wired OR Powerline connection (18 down vs. 33 or 30), and ping was at least 3x higher (15ms vs. 5 ms when nearby, 35-45ms when distant). Gamers may not care for the high ping.

Other Thoughts: Within the month, I expect to get another device for my network, and I will add a followup specifically dealing with Repeater mode.
This device works, and might deserve four eggs, except that there's a better way. Most home routers are now wireless anyway, even the ones provided by ISPs. If you've got a wired-only router, and want to add wireless to it, this will work, but you'll undoubtedly need a longer RG45 cable. A USB dongle is a smaller, cheaper way to add wireless capability to a client device. As far as bridging is concerned, a non-hidden password really defeats the purpose, with simple commands able to determine its IP. Ping times are high, so I don't anticipate my bridge tests will be all that great.
If your purposes are limited to slower tasks like email and browsing, or if you need a temporary, stopgap solution, it could be suitable. For most things, however, there is probably a better [long term] solution.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Customer,

Thank you for your feedback and in-depth assessment of your experience with the TL-WR700N.

We are always looking to improve the functionality and performance of our devices, and we thank you for honest input.

We hope you continue to enjoy using the TL-WR700N.

Please feel free to contact our support team if you have any further questions or concerns!

Thank you for supporting TP-LINK!

Best Regards!
TP-LINK Support Team
marc.elliott@tp-link.com
(866)225-8139
http://www.tp-link.com/us/support
http://www.facebook.com/TPLINK