TP-Link Archer AX23 AX1800 Dual Band Wi-Fi 6 wireless router

I decided that I needed a new wireless router. I have three routers in my house now. My Linksys EA8100, my Linksys E1200 and finally, my old Asus RT-N12. I decided to buy this new TP-Link Archer AX23 AX1800 that I saw advertised for a pretty fair price. I bought it a couple of days back for $85. If this router turns out to be good, I will start decommissioning all the older routers and just use this one. I had read some review online and the reviews were all positive. These are the features of this router:

• Super-Fast 1.8 Gbps Wi-Fi – Enjoy smooth 4K streaming and downloading with super-fast Wi-Fi speeds of 1.8 Gbps.^†
• Connect More Devices – Communicates with more devices using OFDMA while simultaneously reducing lag.^‡
• Broader Coverage – Improved algorithm, beamforming, and high-performance antennas enhance the Wi-Fi coverage performance.^§ 
• Next-Gen Platform – The Next-Gen High-Efficiency Chipset provides fast and stable Wi-Fi while saving power consumption.
• Parental Controls – Enjoy the most versatile yet free parental controls features among all routers, including URL blocking, profile management, pausing, and more.
• Works with Most ISPs – Compatible with most ISPs with extra L2TP/PPTP support. IPTV support works with your existing TV over the Internet contract.
• OneMesh – Use with OneMesh extenders to get whole-home coverage and enjoy smooth roaming between signals.
• Easy Setup – Set up your router in minutes with the powerful TP-Link Tether App.
• Backward Compatible – Supports all previous 802.11 standards Wi-Fi devices.

For the OneMesh, what this means is that I can connect more than a few of these routers and they will all start to act like one big mesh network. I might choose to do that later when I save up enough to get another router. So far, this router has been excellent. The coverage is good but I may need to do something about the 2.4GHz and the 5GHz sharing a common SSID. It works but there is almost no flexibility. I cannot set and choose the channel on the 2.4Ghz band for example.

But as I said, let me play with this router. Early days yet. I think it will be a router that will serve me well. Oh and for once, TP-Link are not using 9V DC adapters but fully-fledged 12V ones.

Prolink DH-5101U Wireless AC1300 USB Network Adapter

I ordered this Prolink DH-5101U Wireless AC1300 USB Network Adapter a week back and it only arrived yesterday. I got a bit sick and tired of my slow TP-Link TL-WN321G adapter as it was too slow and I am finally retiring it after 11 years of service. The old USB wifi adapter can only handle up to 54Mbps as it is a Wireless-G card. It was great when I was still using a wireless-G router but those times have changed. In any case, this Prolink DH-5101U was not too expensive. It only cost me about $14 online. Apparently, you can use it in client mode and in AP mode as well. I have not found out how to make it work in AP mode so I need to do some research. Right now, it seems to be working fine after I installed the driver software for it. That being said, thanks to the old TP-Link USB wifi adapters. They did their job and for years too!

TP-Link TBL71A2000 battery for the 4G router

I bought this small, pocket-sized TP-Link 4G router about two years ago. I am very happy with it as it provides internet in places where I cannot get free wifi. I have used this little router overseas as well and with a TPG Simba data plan, I need not fear about maxing out. However, I notice that my router battery does not last as long as the day when I first bought it. That is perfectly normal as batteries degrade as they age. So yesterday, I went and bought a backup battery for it. It cost me about $20 but it is worth it so that I will not run out of juice. I am going to use it until it is fully flat and then I am going to charge it up.

Network change by shifting TP-Link TL-SG105 switch to network closet

I did a network reshuffling yesterday, if you can call it that. There are currently 5 network points located in my home. All of them are connected to routers that have been reconfigured as Access Points or APs. All of those APs were connected to my Ubiquiti Edgerouter X. Now, my Edgerouter x was doing switching and routing duties. I decided that this TP-Link TL-SG105 5-port switch would be better off doing the switching for that router. So that is what I did…positioning the switch between the router and the APs. I am still doing some testing but I think that the load off the router will make it perform better

My home network with the Linksys E1200s

i have a few of these Linksys E1200 routers in my home acting as WAPs. While they work, I find that they can be a bit slow for use. These routers are Wireless-N routers I believe. I am thinking of upgrading to a newer router like the TP-Link AX10 that supports MU-MIMO. These E1200s do not support MU-MINO so when one person is connected to it, another person connected to it will have slow Wi-Fi speeds. I am still weighing my options about getting a new router that supports MU-MIMO. I will update if I do get one

Power supply for the Panduit printer

The Panduit printer that I use for my projects suddenly had an issue with the power supply. And this power supply was not the original one either. I had come across a box of the old compatible power supplies that a previous client was throwing away and I asked them if I could have them. They just told me to help myself. So I used one of those power supplies for the Panduit printer but as I said, that one is starting to give issues. Looks like I have to buy another one as I am currently using one of the power supplies for my TP-Link router. In case you are using this Panduit printer, the power supply is a 9V DC one.

D-Link DWR-921 4G LTE Router

These past couple of months, I have been involved in a project at a customer’s place where I have had to use my TP-Link mifi router on a daily basis when I do my work. The excellent TPG 50Gb a month broadband plan is what I am using with this mini router. Now in the same “office” with me is the main contractor. They have their own 4G WiFi too but they are using this D-Link DWR-921. The reason they use this router for all their office people is the fact that one of the LAN ports is connected to a network printer that they use for their general printing. The features of this router are listed below:

• Integrated SIM card slot
• High-speed 4G LTE/3G connections with downlink speeds up to 150 Mbps and uplink speeds up to 50 Mbps
• Wi-Fi speeds up to 300 Mbps
• Fast Ethernet WAN port and four Fast Ethernet LAN ports

I do not know what Internet Service Provider they are using for their 4G connection. But I like this router. It has its uses especially with the 4 LAN ports where you can connect various devices to it.

TP-Link TL-SG105 5-port gigabit switch

I bought this switch yesterday afternoon as I needed a 1Gb switch and this one fit the bill. I am planning on improving my network and this switch will do so by making the transition to Gigabit Ethernet. According to TP-Link, this TL-SG105 adopts a lower power consumption design. I just hope that it is not the dreaded EEE that gives an issue with Dante. I pretty much think it is because TP-Link claims that the energy-efficient technology can save up to 84% of the power consumption. I might have to do more research on this. Unfortunately, it is not a smart switch so I cannot go into the configuration page of the switch to turn the EEE off. In any case, in a nutshell, these are its features:

• 5 10/100/1000Mbps Auto-Negotiation RJ45 ports supporting Auto-MDI/MDIX.
• Green Ethernet technology saves the power up to 84%.
• IEEE 802.3x flow control provides reliable data transfer.
• Steel housing, desktop or wall-mounting design.
• Support 802.1p/DSCP QoS and IGMP Snooping function. (For V2 or later)

I love the all-metal construction. Used to be that it was only Linksys switches that had that all-metal construction but it looks like TP-Link are stepping up the ante. The only thing I do not like about it is that it has a 5V AC power adapter. I would have preferred a 12V DC powered switch but then again, this is TP-Link. They use all manner of strange voltages on their products.

So do I like it? Well, it does that job. I suppose I will only notice any change if I do my network upgrade which is coming soon.

TP-Link Archer A10

Yesterday, at a client’s place, I saw that they were using this new TP-Link AC2600 Archer A10 wireless router, hooked up to their Soundcraft mixer. They did so because they wanted to control the mixer by remote, using an Apple iPad. When I tried the iPad from a distance away, I was impressed as to how far this router was able to throw the signal. So I decided to do a little research on the router and this is what I found.

According to TP-Link, This Archer A10 delivers dual-band Wi-Fi with speeds of up to 1733 Mbps on the 5 GHz band and 800 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band. Not only that, this router is equipped with three external antennas and one internal antenna for stronger and more reliable networks, according to them. It utilises beamforming technology which apparently concentrates the Wi-Fi signal towards your connected devices, providing better Wi-Fi range and network performance. I can attest to that. Connection from this router to the iPad was superb at great distances. Also, this router is equipped with MU-MIMO technology. What is that? Well, MU-MIMO (which stands for multi-user, multiple input, multiple output) was created to support environments where multiple users are trying to access a wireless network at the same time. So with this, this Archer A10 provides four simultaneous data streams, allowing all connected devices to enjoy speeds up to 4X faster than traditional routers.

So what do I think of it? To be honest, I like it. It costs on average about $150 dollars here in Singapore. It is a shame that I just bought an ASUS router for my home or else, I would definitely buy this!

LAN party while upgrading firmware

A couple of weeks back, while installing some Poly Studio x50s and the accompanying TC8 touchpanel, we discovered that we had to update the firmware on the x50s and TC8s before Zoom Rooms would work. Since the customer’s premises totally disallowed any internet connectivity due to their security policies, my colleague and I brainstormed about just how we were going to do that. I then hit upon an idea. It might turn the premises into a LAN party but I had no other choice

The first thing I did was to break out my favourite TP-Link TL-WR702n mini router. Now this is something you absolutely NEED in your toolkit. I logged into the device and changed the function from a router to a wireless client. After that I logged into the device and did a search for my TP-Link M7200 wireless broadband 4G router. Once I discovered it via an SSID search, connected to it. After that, I connected the LAN port of the TL-WR702n to the WAN port of this D-Link router. I know I could have skipped a step by using a switch but no switch was available, only this D-Link router. Also, this router could not be configured to be a wifi client. Anyway, the four LAN ports were connected to the TC8 via a POE injector, the x50, a laptop and that is about it. The x50 required an online download of firmware that was about 2Gb in size, as did the TC8. That is the only way to update the firmware – via their website. You cannot download the firmware and store it offline like on a USB thumb-drive for example

So using this method, we were able to update three x50s and their accompanying TC8s. It took some time but thank heavens for TPG and their 50Gb plan!