TP-Link TL-WR841HP Review

In addition to being well recognized for their networking accessories, TP-LINK branded routers are among the most commonly used in the world and are also well-known for the advanced capabilities that they incorporate. After recently reviewing the company’s outstanding TP-LINK AC3200 Wireless Router, it’s time for yours truly to have a look at some of the more cheap options that are expected to be on the shopping list of the ordinary customer in the future.

TP-Link TL-WR841HP 300Mbps High Power Wireless N Router

Amazon.com

Design

The TP-LINK TL-WR841HP 300Mbps High Power Wireless N Router, also known as the TP-LINK TL-WR841HP Router, uses a chassis design that leaves a lot to be desired, much like most other TP-LINK products, or just about any networking peripheral to-date recently; however, this generic looking black box will not look out of place in any office setting.

Personally, I think the glossy black top adds a lot of flair to the vehicle. On the rear of the device, there are two 5dBi antennas that are built to be rather lengthy and are intended to give improved network transmission performance (more on this later).

You may place this on a wall to save room because there are two mounting screw slots at the bottom of the unit. The rear of the router is dominated by a row of Gigabit Ethernet ports, which should be plenty for most families, however, given the router’s wireless capabilities, it’s unlikely that all four of the available LAN ports will be used at the same time.

The TP-LINK TL-WR841HP is packaged in the manner that one would expect from a well-established networking manufacturer like TP-LINK. The gadget is presented in the normal green corporate colors, with a huge splash image of the device on the front, while the internals is rather straightforward, with a couple of manuals, the warranty papers, and a basic assortment of power and network connections included. It goes without saying that everything is packaged inside a correctly divided cardboard carton tray.

Performance

When it comes to the extremely long antennae, does this router perform well enough to warrant the use of two 5 dBi antennas? The answer is a resounding yes for smaller to medium-sized homes; using a TM UniFi connection with a speed of 30Mb/s, I was able to get an average throughput of 29.8 Mb/s at short distances (5m or less from the router), with consistent throughput and no lost connections at all.

Even after moving to every nook and cranny of a typical two-story terrace house, I was still able to obtain a solid connection, which means that there are virtually no dead zones at all.

Still, one thing to keep in mind is that this is a router targeted at house owners, and as such, it is not intended to manage network congestion. As a result, if there will be more than 10 concurrent users at the same time with continuous network consumption, take notice and unplug the router.

This will almost certainly result in a reduction in the long-range and smooth throughput that this TP-LINK router is particularly built to provide.

Although this router is capable of exceeding its theoretical capabilities and including the superior security features for which TP-LINK is famous, there is no reason to put it through unnecessary stress.

If anything, it’s preferable to prepare it for usage at home or in a micro-office environment with no more than 10 wireless connections at any given time, rather than in a larger office space.

Since it offers excellent wireless capabilities, I felt it was only fair to provide a thorough description of the full experience I had while using the TP-LINK TL-WR841HP Router.

Getting around the house is straightforward, as is moving between rooms and up and down the double-storey building where I reside. At no point did the wifi connection fail or become unreliable. It turned out that the connection remained stable, and I had no problems streaming YouTube or Twitch content via the Wi-Fi network.

Specifications