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TP-Link TD-W8951ND review

TP-Link TD-W8951ND
Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £26
inc VAT

Fiddly to configure and disappointing speeds at long distances, but at this price it's hard to be critical.

Specifications

802.11n, 4x 10/100Mbit/s Ethernet ports

http://www.redstore.com

The TD-W8951ND is a wireless router with an ADSL modem and four Ethernet ports. With a single antenna and a 150Mbit/s theoretical top speed, it’s classed as an N-Lite rather than a fully certified 802.11n device. It’s remarkably cheap, though, and it still has many of the features that we’d only expect on more expensive routers.

With its utilitarian appearance, it’s not the sort of router you’ll want to position prominently in your living room. There’s a button labelled QSS, TP-Link’s name for WiFi Protected Setup (WPS), which lets you connect two WiFi devices securely just by pushing the button on each device. Renaming it simply causes confusion, as other devices’ buttons will be labelled WPS.

TP-Link TD-W8951ND

A disc in the box contains a setup utility and quick start guide. The guide is ideal for beginners, showing exactly how to wire up the router. The Easy Setup Assistant software then checks the network and helps set up ADSL and wireless connections. The software isn’t particularly intuitive, though, and it took us some time to work out how to start the setup process.

The router’s web interface has its own setup procedure, which covers the essentials such as Wi-Fi security. The interface isn’t very inviting, though, and demonstrates a poor grasp of the English language. Advanced users will be able to find their way around but others might struggle.

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Basic Specifications

Rating ****
Modem type ADSL2+
802.11b support yes
802.11g support yes
Draft 802.11n support yes
Draft 802.11n 5GHz support no
MIMO no
Stated speed 150Mbit/s

Security

128-bit WEP yes
WPA2 yes
Firewall yes
MAC address filtering yes
DMZ yes

Physical

Size 29x174x120mm
Antennas 1
Internal/external antennas external
Upgradeable antenna yes
Number of WAN ports 1
Ethernet ports 4
Ethernet connection speed 10/100Mbit/s
Other ports none
Wall mountable yes
Power consumption on 6W

Other Features

Dynamic DNS yes
Universal Plug and Play support yes
DHCP server yes
MAC spoofing yes
Port forwarding yes
WDS Support yes
USB device support no
QoS yes

Buying Information

Price £26
Warranty three years RTB
Supplier http://www.redstore.com
Details www.tplink.com