Best Cheap Wireless Wifi Internet Router
TP-LINK TL-WR841N Review - 2015
my trusty TP-LINK TL-WR841N wireless router
TP-LINK TL-WR841N wireless router
Rating:
5/5
by
Steve
Last Updated:
May 23, 2017
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Review Summary: I highly recommend the TP-LINK TL-WR841N wifi wireless router.
It works. I've had it for a year almost three years (purchased July 10, 2014), and I've
never had a problem with it. I wasn't sure what to expect when I got it
since it was so cheap (only $20!) and I was afraid I would regret it and I'd learn the lesson of "you get
what you pay for", but the truth with the WR841N is that it is an
amazing value and it works great!
Background: Last year In 2014, I decided to replace my old D-Link DI-524
router. It still
worked ok, but I wondered if a new wireless router would provide
better wifi coverage around our house for our
new Republic Wireless cell
phones. In addition, although I was never able to get the D-Link DI-524
secured network (password protected) settings to work. Whenever I tried setting up encryption
with the old DI524, it
just wouldn't work, so I left the wireless network open to the
public, but turned off the router name broadcast, so other people wouldn't see the
network name to login in (if you knew the network name, then you could enter it and
log on). I was relying on "Security Through Obscurity" which I
knew wasn't the best idea. Anyway, I needed to replace my old cable
modem (Cox wasn't supporting it anymore and and it was starting to have
problems) so I decided to get a new wireless router at the same time I got a
new DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem. I
think that I paid about $80 bucks for my old DLink router, so I expecting
to pay about that much for a new wifi router. Then I saw the TP-LINK TL-WR841N on
Amazon for about $20. I hadn't heard of TP-Link before, but I'm always
looking for a deal and I definitely like to
save money, and I do think sometimes there are amazing deals out there (like
Republic Wireless!). So after seeing that the TP-Link TL-WR841N had mostly good reviews I
decided to buy one and see how it worked. I purchased my TL-WR841N router
from Amazon on July 10, 2014.
my home office set up [TP-LINK TL-WR841N wireless router on right]
SPECIFICATIONS:
Wireless N speed up to 300Mbps
Backward compatible with 802.11b/g products
Two 5dBi antennas
IP Quality of Service (QoS) allows you to prioritize bandwidth for different
devices
WPA/WPA2 button allows easy setup for connection of other WPA devices (ie
BluRay players, wireless printers, laptops, etc)
back of the TP-LINK TL-WR841N router
SET UP:
Setting up the TP-LINK TL-WR841N wireless router was simple. Since then, I haven't really touched the router,
and I've never had a problem with it. It just works. To set up the
router, first you unpack it from the box. The box contains the router, the
power adapter, an ethernet cable, a mini-CD, and a Quick Installation Guide
(instructions). Per the easy to follow instructions, you will need to hook
up the hardware and then configure the router. To hook up the router, you
follow these steps: (1) power off your modem, (2) connect the WAN port on
the router to the your modem's LAN port with the enclosed ethernet cable,
(3) connect your computer to one of the four LAN ports with an ethernet
cable, (4) power on your modem and wait for one minute, then (5) plug the
power adapter into the router and a wall outlet and make sure the ON/OFF
switch on the back of the router is on so the router powers up. After your
router is hooked up, you the put the miniCD in your computer and run it to
configure the router. The process is quite simple, and is where you can give
your router a name (I named ours MILKWEED since we are into
Monarch
butterflies) and set up a password. Again, setting up the router is EASY.
TIP #1: Router Location - one thing I did do after a month or so, based on a comment I saw
somewhere on the internet, was to move the router. I originally set it on
the top of my desktop computer. I read that this can cause some interference
with the wireless signal. Based on that, I bought a 15ft long USB cord and moved the
router away from the computer (it's now about 5 ft away from the computer). I think
this
helped improve the signal even more, and I recommend that you locate your
router at least a few feet away from your computer.
TIP #2: Power - If you hook up your router and it doesn't seem to be
working at all, make sure the ON/OFF toggle switch on the back is pressed
and toggled in so it is ON. The power light on the front should be
illuminated if the power is on. It's easy when unplugging and plugging in
the power cord to accidentally toggle the power switch off. Make sure it is
ON.
TIP #3: Cables - If you unplug the router to move it and then plug
everything back in and the power light is ON, but the router doesn't seem to
work any more, check that you have correctly reconnected the ethernet
cables! I unplugged all the cords and cables to take a picture of the router for this
review, and when I hooked everything back up, I couldn't get the router to
connect to the internet and my kids kept asking me why our wifi was down.
After trying several things and wondering if the router had died, I realized
I had the ethernet cables mixed up and the cable for my Obi200 VOIP adapter
was hooked into the WAN port and the cable modem cable was hooked one of the
LAN ports. I swapped them, reset the modem and router, and everything worked
again!
FEATURES:
IP Quality of Service (QoS): The TL-WR841N allows you to set up Qos. Republic Wireless recommends
you use it to prioritize voip for their phones, which is why I made sure to
buy a router that supported QoS. However, since the wifi voice quality for
our Republic Wireless Moto G phone is so good with the router as is, I've
never bothered to set up QoS. For us, it's not necessary.
WPA - I used this feature to connect our new BluRay player, and it's a nice bonus
feature. If you press the WPA button on the back of the router, it allows
the other device to automatically connect to the router wifi. It's a nice
feature that speeds up connecting other devices to your wifi system.
Wifi Range / Coverage - EXCELLENT! The router is in my home office in the front of our house.
We have a 1970's Southern California "tract home". It has stucco on the
exterior walls, which consist of a mixture of concrete slathered over
chicken wire. I've read that stucco and chicken wire can cause problems with
one's wifi coverage, but we still get good coverage all over our house, as
well as the front sidewalk and the wall at the back of our property. I am
completely satisfied with the range and coverage this wireless router
provides.
Wifi VOIP Call Quality - EXCELLENT! Talking on our Republic Wireless Moto G phones
using wifi (VOIP) with this router is amazing. Whether we are in our house, or
in the front or back yard, talking on our Republic Wireless Moto G cell
phone is like talking on a land line. The wifi voip voice quality
is excellent. If you're looking for an effective wifi router to go with
your Republic Wireless phone, I highly recommend this router. Note that
the quality of your internet service is equally important. We are in Santa
Barbara, California, and have cable internet via Cox
Cable. We have the most basic Cox "Starter" internet package, which is 5Mbps
download and 1Mbps upload. They have tried to convince us we need to pay
more to get a higher speed package, but the 5/1 Mbps speed package works
just fine for us.
[results from megapath.com speedtestplus VOIP test run on our laptop over
wifi using TL-WR841N wireless router]
WHAT WE USE WIFI FOR: We use wifi (and the TP-LINK wireless
router) for streaming via our wireless BluRay player for Pandora (works),
youtube (works), and Netflix (works), as well as streaming the same via our
wireless Dell laptop (works), printing via our wireless
Brother 2270DW laser
printer (works), and talking over wifi voip on our
Republic Wireless Moto G smart
phones.
REVIEW CONCLUSION:
The TP-LINK TL-WR841N wireless home router works. It has good range and is
reliable. We've had it for a year, and it's never had a problem. For an
unbelievable $20 on Amazon, it is an amazing value. I don't see any reason
for most people to pay any more money for a more expensive wireless router.
Buy this router!
***
buy the TL-WR841N router from Amazon
***
September 18, 2015 update - My TP-Link
TL-WR841N router continues to work just fine, and it's been over a year (and
never a problem). I was just reminded yesterday how easy it is to set up (or
re-set up). I sometimes turn off the wifi portion of the router. To do this,
one holds the "wifi" button on the back down for about three seconds, and
the wifi indicator light goes out. If you hold the wifi button down again
for about three seconds, the wifi light comes back on. I wanted to turn the
wifi off and reached around to the back of the router without looking and
held the button down, waiting for the green wifi light to turn off. After
waiting longer than I should have to, all the lights flashed off and on, but
the wifi light stayed on. I realized I had held down the "reset" button
instead (and for over 8 seconds), and I had just reset the router to the
original factory settings, including wiping out my router's SSID custom name
("milkweed") and password. I found the router instructions and mini-CD and
loaded the mini-CD in my computer. It took me all of two minutes to run the
set-up program and rename the router SSID to "milkweed" and put back in my
password and set the security level to the most security (WPA2-PSL). I now
keep the instructions and mini-CD in an envelope under the router so I have
them handy if I need them, but I will be careful to hold the "wifi" button
down, and not the "reset" button. I thought this was a great opportunity to
update this review and to say the router is still working just fine after a
year, and really is incredibly easy to set up! Don't be fooled by the
seemingly too-good-to-be-true price. The TL-WR841 wifi router is both a
great deal and a great value, and most importantly, it works!
May 23, 2017 update - My TP-Link TL-WR841N
router still works fine. I've never had a problem with it, and really don't
even think about it. Our home wifi just works. I purchased the TL-WR841N in
July of 2014, so it's almost three years old now, and it has been working
fine
the entire time. Based on my experience so far, "cheap" TP Link wifi routers
are a great deal. I checked Amazon and you can still buy the WR841N router. There
is a newer version of the router now, the TP-Link
N450 (TL-WR940N) Wireless Wi-Fi Router. The retail price for the N450 is
$49.99, but Amazon has it for $29.95. My older TL-WR841N router is working
just fine, so I don't need to replace it, but if I did, because I'm
cheap, I'd probably just get another cheap TL-WR841N. However, the newer N450
router isn't that much more. The new N450 is black (instead of white) and has three
antennas (instead of two antennas) and does have even better specs (though I
doubt I'd need them), so it's worth considering as well. If nothing else, the triple antenna
on the newer N450 is cool!
***
buy the newer TP-Link N450 (TL-WR940N) router from Amazon
***
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