Wireless Reviews

Introduction

Update 3/30/2012: Changes from TP-LINK feedback

At a glance
Product	TP-LINK 150Mbps Wireless N Mini Pocket Router (TL-WR700N)   [Website]
Summary	Pocket-sized budget-friendly single-stream 2.4 GHz 802.11bgn AP, router, bridge, client, repeater
Pros	• Lots of modes • Wall-wart format • Decent documentation • Very inexpensive
Cons	• No WPS • Can't use as wired router • Lower range than full-sized APs/routers

Typical Price: $25  Buy From Amazon

I'm not sure of the market for wireless travel routers, given the wide availability of wireless access in hotels these days. But given the marketing push that TP-LINK is giving its TL-WR700N 150Mbps Wireless N Mini Pocket Router, at least they think there is one. However, the company is hedging its bet by also endowing its tiny wonder with wireless AP, bridge, repeater and client modes.

The 700N is about the size of the palm of your hand. Into this compact package, TP-LINK has crammed a reset switch, AC power supply, one 10/100 Mbps Ethernet port and a wireless indicator light. And, oh yeah, circuitry for the single-stream (150 Mbps maximum link rate) 802.11bgn functions, too.

Figure 1: TP-LINK TL-WR700N connectors and ports

Inside

The heart of the 700N is an Atheros AR9331 SoC, which also includes the single-stream N 2.4 GHz radio. The photo in Figure 2 reveals 16 MB of RAM, but we couldn't find the flash chip. As you can see, there isn't much to it.

Figure 2: TP-LINK TL-WR700N internals

Features

Logging into the admin screen for the first time brings up the Quick Setup wizard (Figure 3) with five different options for setting up the TL-WR700N. These include AP (Access Point), Router, Repeater, Bridge, and Client modes. Each mode has its own set of configuration parameters, such as QoS that can be set only in Router mode. Note that you aren't forced to change the admin password as part of setup.

Figure 3: TP-LINK TL-WR700N modes

The different configuration options and its small size make the TL-WR700N a handy and inexpensive device for things like extending wireless coverage and connecting an Ethernet-only device to a wireless network.

It's been mentioned many times here that repeating probably isn't the best way to extend your wireless range. Repeating uses a single radio to receive and retransmit, so maximum possible bandwidth to a repeater-connected client is cut in half. For best throughput, the TL-WR700N should be connected to your LAN via Ethernet and configured as an AP. But when Ethernet isn't available, a slow, repeated connection is better than none!

Curiously missing is WPS (Wireless Protected Setup). For such a wide variety of features packed into such a tiny shell, I was a little surprised that WPS was not supported. The lack of WPS is an indication that the 700N is not Wi-Fi Certified, since WPS support is a Certification requirement.

Despite its small package and lack of WPS support, the TP-LINK TL-WR700N has a nice set of features in an admin interface that is nicely laid out and user-friendly. While going through the TL-WR700N's various admin screens, I really forgot that this was a sub-$30 router that could fit in the plam of my hand.

The features were everything you would expect in a router costing much more. Here's a quick feature summary:

Introduction, Inside, Features Features-more, In Use, Performance, Closing Thoughts

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