Budget routers are always very popular. This is understandable, since for a small price you can get a simple router, which in most cases will cope with daily tasks without problems. Until recently, TP-Link's top three most affordable devices were TL-WR840N, TL-WR740N and TL-WR841N. These are good, inexpensive and very popular routers that have already been tested by time. But probably due to the fact that many cheaper routers from other companies have appeared on the market recently, TP-Link has developed a TP-Link TL-WR820N router, which we will now review.
TL-WR820N (N300) is the most affordable router from TP-Link at the moment. Its price is about 399 UAH. ($ 14, or 950 rubles). For this price, we get a router from one of the best manufacturers of network equipment. Among the competitors for this model are devices from less well-known, recently appeared on the market and frankly Chinese manufacturers. I am sure that this budget model will sell very well in our market.
If you need a simple router for a small house or apartment, the task of which is to provide an Internet connection for several computers, phones, tablets and other devices, and most importantly, there is a task to save money when buying, then the TL-WR820N will definitely suit you. This router provides an Internet connection over a Wi-Fi network at speeds up to 300 Mbps. In addition, quite powerful antennas are installed on it, there is support for MIMO 2x2 technology, IPTV, IPv6 and many other functions that will actually work and will most likely be useful to you.
Let's take a closer look at the characteristics of TP-Link TL-WR820N in more detail:
- The wireless connection speed is 300 Mbps. Support for 802.11b / g / n standards.
- Two 5 dBi antennas are responsible for a strong and stable Wi-Fi signal. Antenna is not removable.
- 1 WAN port and 2 LAN ports. Port speed is standard for devices of this class - up to 100 Mbps.
- There is support for IPTV (bridge mode, VLAN tag, IGMP Proxy / Snooping).
- IPv6 support.
- TL-WR820N can run a separate Wi-Fi network for your guests and friends (with special settings).
- Parental control, access control, the ability to quickly block Wi-Fi clients in the web-based interface of the router.
You can talk for a long time about the technical characteristics and functions, but I believe that the appearance of the device itself and the control panel (web interface) are of great importance. We will now take a closer look at the appearance of the TL-WR820N. I would like to add just a few words about the web interface (control panel, router settings page - whatever you like). This model has a new control panel. As I understand it, it was designed specifically for simple, budget routers. Very simple, intuitive and modern control panel. I will attach some screenshots at the end of the review.
TP-Link TL-WR820N Review
This router comes in a small package, which is already made in a new style. The package itself contains information about some of the technical characteristics and features of this model.
Inside, I found the router itself, a 0.6A power adapter, a network cable and instructions.
Let's go back directly to the router itself. Brand new design. Before that, TP-Link did not have devices even in a similar design. Top quality matte white plastic. The lower part and antennas are made of gray plastic. The white part is diluted with the digging logo and a gray stripe on which there are three indicators (LAN, WAN and Wi-Fi). There are also cooling holes on top (on the sides).
Indicators are not bright. Lights up green. The WAN indicator may turn orange (or red) if there are problems with the Internet connection.
At the bottom there are also holes for ventilation, small feet (though not rubber), a sticker with factory information and holes for attaching the router to the wall.
As for the ports and buttons, everything is very modest here. On the back there are 1 WAN and 2 LAN ports. Combined WPS / Reset button and power connector. That's all.
The router itself is of medium size. Do not forget that this is a budget model.
I liked the look of this router. It definitely looks better than most of its competitors (or even more expensive models). This applies to both the build quality and the plastic itself.
Control Panel
I already wrote that TP-Link TL-WR820N works on a new firmware, with a new control panel. It looks like this:
There is a simple quick setup wizard. The web interface itself consists of 4 sections:
- The main Device page, which displays the devices connected to the router. It is possible to quickly block the desired device.
- The "Network" tab, where you can change the Internet connection settings.
- "Wireless mode" - here you can change the name of the Wi-Fi network, password, or disable the Wi-Fi network.
- Well, the last section is "Additional settings". All settings for this router are located there.
You can change the language of the control panel. Russian and Ukrainian languages were available on my router.
TL-WR820N: Wi-Fi speed and coverage
In my reviews, I rarely test the connection speed and write about the coverage of the Wi-Fi network (since in this regard, much depends not only on the router), but the TL-WR820N decided to test it all the same, since the router is budgetary, and when choosing, many are afraid. that such devices cut the speed a lot and give very weak wireless coverage.
I have a normal internet connection at 100 Mbps. Connection type: Dynamic IP (DHCP). It so happens that I will be comparing TL-WR820N with ASUS RT-N18U router. Which I have installed now, and which is 5 times more expensive than TP-Link TL-WR820N!
I just turned off RT-N18U and connected a TP-Link router in its place. I did not change any settings on the TL-WR820N, only set the password for the Wi-Fi network.
The first thing that surprised me was that the budget 820 turned out to be more powerful in terms of Wi-Fi coverage. On a computer (with a TP-Link Archer T2UH AC600 adapter), where ASUS always had 3 divisions coverage, when connected to TP-Link, the network level was maximum - 4 divisions.
On the iPhone, the network level was also one division higher than usual (when connected to ASUS). All the same, 5 dBi antennas do their job. On ASUS antennas with a power of 2 dBi. True, there are 3 of them. But we know that the number of antennas does not affect the radius of the wireless network coverage.
As for the speed, here I was even more surprised. Through TP-Link TL-WR820N, the connection speed was almost 2 times higher compared to my Asus. I did about 5 measurements. On my computer, my speed is always about 35 - 50 Mbps. The router is installed about 10 meters away and across two walls. And for the 2.4 GHz band, this is basically a normal speed. But TL-WR820N showed an average download speed of 70 - 80 Mbit / s, and the upload speed is generally almost 100 Mbit / s (maximum!). Average ping 2 - 4 ms.
Here are some more measurements from the iPhone X:
It is also about 10 meters from the TP-Link router (which was installed instead of Asus) and through 2 walls (not concrete). Near the computer. The third screenshot (where the speed is noticeably higher), these are measurements directly near the router itself.
To be honest, I don't know why these results are. According to the idea, through my ASUS RT-N18U, in which I was a little disappointed, the speed should be higher. And the Wi-Fi coverage is better. The router itself is more powerful and much more expensive. But TP-Link TL-WR820N has overtaken it in all respects. Of course, due to the more powerful hardware, RT-N18U can be more resistant to loads. But this is very difficult to test. Maybe Acus is already a little tired (it has been working for several years already), or it was necessary to experiment with the settings (channel, width, operating mode). But the fact remains - even a budget router can show excellent results in terms of connection speed and wireless range.
This is by no means a comparison of the two routers. I just wanted to show you what the TL-WR820N is capable of under normal conditions.
Conclusions
Nice budget router. On the Internet, you can already find reviews about TP-Link TL-WR820N, and they are mostly positive (with the exception of various quibbles, such as rubber feet, only two LAN ports, etc.). The only thing that upset me a little about this router is the lack of a wireless bridge mode (WDS). He would definitely not be in the way here. I hope they will be able to add it in the next firmware versions. Or at least in the new hardware version. Of course, I was very pleased with the speed of the Wi-Fi connection and the strong signal of the wireless network.
Be sure to leave your opinion and feedback on the TL-WR820N in the comments.
