A low-priced router, that offers no more than the basics.
Chinese networking manufacturer Tenda has only recently begun selling its products in the UK, and doesn’t even have a dedicated UK website. At £30, the W300D ADSL 2+ modem/wireless router is one of its least expensive models. It lacks the bells and whistles of many routers, such as gigabit Ethernet, dual-band wireless or a USB port. However the essentials are all there, including 802.11n wireless, and it works surprisingly well.
An area where corners have obviously been cut is the on-board web interface, which lacks attention to detail. The images are of terrible quality, and many of the translations are inaccurate. However, most functions you’ll need are in the menus, such as QOS, a firewall and all the necessary wireless security settings. However, most of the labelling is not particularly descriptive.
The W300D only comes with two antennas, while the 802.11n specification allows for more, to allow for increased transfer speeds and range. This is one reason its wireless performance wasn’t as good as some of the other routers we tested, although not by much. While at short range, the W300D only managed 57Mbps, the long range transfer averaged 22Mbps, which was not the slowest speed we saw. Considering the router’s incredibly low price, those speeds aren’t bad.
It was also quite easy to set up, although we had to go through some trial and error to understand which options were right for our DSL line. Once we found them though, we entered all the details of our static IP connection, it connected first time, and remained stable.
Although the W300D offers nothing more than the basics, its low price makes it a worth considering for anyone who wants an upgrade from an existing 802.11g wireless router. That said, TP-Link’s W8961ND is superior in every way, and it comes with more extras including gigabit Ethernet, better transfer speeds and range. Since it’s only slightly more expensive we would choose it over the W300D.
Find our how to test your web connection speed here.
Comments
A_hawaiiman said: For those having difficulty with setup httpwwwtendacnpdtDataup Is clear and easy to understandMatt not sure which model Us may be different you are reffering to Our W300Dwas purchased locally here in Thailand
A_hawaiiman said: Per the prior comments This sells for 50 usd with free shipping in US Dont compare apples to oranges Im not a savy it guy but I do administer a network with about 30 wired and wireless clients A breeze to set up for me and utterly reliableThe reviewer is also incorrect that this is one of Tendas cheaper models It is the top of the line of their all in one adsl modemrouters
A_hawaiiman said: Hmm we have one that is 19216811 The review is incorrect about the TP-Link model referenced It is NOT 101001000 only 10100 same as the Tenda Id say the 2 star rating should be a 4 star Ours works great and I love the features Clienrts comment on increased speed