TP-Link TL-WR941D review

TP-Link's TL-WR941D cable internet wireless router is the cheapest Draft-N wireless router that we've reviewed by a long way.

It's so new that it wasn't even on sale as we went to press, but we've been told that it will cost just £38 including VAT, which makes it a bargain.

As you might expect, the low price means there's not the same polished install routine that you get with big-brand routers. Instead, you have to use the web-based configuration page. There's a setup wizard that takes you through configuring your internet connection and setting up basic wireless settings, but it's a shame that it doesn't address wireless security.

Instead, you'll have to turn security on manually. This is easy enough, and there's a choice of WPA, WPA2 or WEP. However, we noticed a slight anomaly: the wireless settings page had our country selected as Vietnam, even though we'd changed this to UK in the setup wizard.

Once you've finished setting up the wireless connection, you'll need to go into the security settings section and turn on the firewall, which is off by default. This is a strange decision, and we'd have preferred the security of it being on. In these advanced pages, you'll also find the usual range of settings for port forwarding, UPnP and dynamic DNS. There's no QoS, but at this price we weren't expecting it.

A wireless router's performance, including stability at range, is really important, and we were pleased that the TL-WR941D performed well. With our Centrino laptop, the results were impressive and the 5.4Mbit/s at 25m was really good. This shows that the router delivers a strong signal and should provide enough coverage for most homes.

Switching to TP-Link's TL-WN821N USB adaptor, we got the fastest results at 1m that we've ever seen from a Draft-N wireless router. However, at distance we noticed a sharp drop in speeds, although 13Mbit/s at 25m is still good. If you want to increase range and performance, you can upgrade the router's three antennas to high-gain models. This is a rare feature on such a cheap router where fixed antennas are normal.

The USB adaptor supports TP-Link's Quick Secure Setup (QSS) technology, where you can join a client to the wireless network by typing in the router's PIN. QSS is also compatible with WPS, so you can use any WPS-compatible client, too. While QSS works, it's more hassle than using Windows' wireless client and simply typing in your WPA password.

The TL-WR941D might not have the polished installation and management features of big-brand routers, but at this price we can forgive that. If you want a Draft-N router but don't have much money to spend, this is a reliable choice and a good performer.

Author: David Ludlow