TP-Link AC750 TL-WR902AC

Let's see if this router can redeem itself – I wish I could say it was a breeze to set up. But when the Mac address written on the unit, and the perceived Mac address on its setup page, doesn't match the Mac address at the router, it can be hard to get working. The LAN Mac and the 2.4ghz Mac were both identical. At both ends But the 5ghz Mac was 1 character out. Most people would never know or care but I was trying to connect to a whitelisted network and due to the Mac address being reported different at either end, the unit couldn't get internet access. Took abit of trouble shooting before was able to connect to a seperate 5ghz network and determine the true Mac address. If your having trouble connecting, this could be why. Also the LAN is 100mb not gigabit.

(Updated review) It's not even the end of the first week and more bad news.

Ive set the unit up in client mode to share internet to a second switch with attached devices. However if I change modes using the toggle and than put it back, it forgets my preference and goes back to AP mode meaning all devices on my network loose internet and access to the larger network, I than have to log back in and reconfigure it, every time I use it for something else.

So add unable to save preferences to its list of cons

Great As a Buffer If You Use Public WiFi – I've owned one of these for about 18 months now to replace another brand that failed after only 10 months. I've always liked TP-Links gear and never had an issue with any of their gear failing. They're also generally all easy to set up and just work. I regularly stay in motels for work and always felt a bit vulnerable using their free WiFi without a travel router. After looking up a few units, this little guy stood out. Not only is it cheap but it's also compact. It has dual bands (2.4GHz & 5GHz), Ethernet and used in a few different modes (as I'll explain). Did I mention it's cheap?

To get this little guy up and running, simply select how you want to use it. It has three modes: - Shared Ethernet / Shared Hotspot / Range extender client. So if you have an Ethernet port you want to share and turn the unit into a wifi Hotspot simply connect the Ethernet cable and select the switch to that position. - Share the unit as a Hotspot, set switch to middle position and then login to the interface. - Or set as a range extender or client and either login to the interface or to use as an extender or plug in your 3G/4G USB device and again, login the interface. Then either plug the USB into your USB computer port or use an AC adapter to power it.

Once the unit has booted and all of the lights are stable, log into the unit using it's access address (on the back of the unit). For a username and password the default is admin & admin, but you can change that to whatever you like once you're into the interface. While in the interface you can change what name is displayed for your connections (i.e. instead of the default 2.4GHz: TP_Link_7883 you can name it whatever you like).

Connection setup is pretty simple and they have a wizard that guides you through the setup process. Basically select which Wifi connection you want (if it's a shared WiFi), enter their password and the unit will blink and flash and "hopefully" connect. Sometimes this is not always the case and you'll have to repeat. Sometimes (depending on motel's WiFi) it won't connect at all. Sometimes it reboots itself so you can't access the interface until it reboots. However once the info is in there, any time you want to connect to that connection again, simply power the unit on and it connects. Although, because you can't save profiles you can only save that one connection if you want to change connection to a different network, you'll have to login and go through the connection process again. Which seems a little weird considering it's marketed as a travel router.

How does it perform? Well considering Australia's internet is slower than any third countries (yeah don't get me started), the unit works well. The motels internet download speed is anywhere between 2MB/s and 2.5MB/s. And that's generally what I would see coming though the TP_Link. Any computer WiFi adapter's speed is usually in the 10-12MB/s (for 2.4GHz and 30-40MB/s for %GHz so there's really no lag. Using the Ethernet port and the speed is closer to 3.5MB/s, which again doesn't phase the unit.

Positives: - 2.4GHz and 5GHz connection modes depending on your device (connect computer, phones, TV etc) - Good throughput speed - Ethernet or WiFi Hotspot - Can plug in a USB 3G/4G dongle to share a mobile connection

Negative Stuff: - The address and technical information is written in extremely small lettering on the unit. You have to look real close to see it - Doesn't always connect to free WiFi (some motels it just doesn't connect to THEIR WiFi. Other motels are fine - Included USB power lead is way to small (Micro USB and 30cm long - would be better with 1m) - Interface software is a little clunky - Can't setup up profiles for different connections

For piece of mind, it can't be beat on price. There's other units out there with more bells and whistle but you pay for it. This little guy will stay with me until it dies or the Aussie Government finally get the Telco's to put in a decent network and have throughput of 10MB/s or more - I can't see that coming any time soon.