TP-Link WN722N(C) 150Mbps Wireless USB Adapter

[+Nexus18 MVC]

I did this review a few months ago, but I am only now posting it here as well!

May be a bit of a boring review this since there isn't much to talk about really :p, but I shall post my thoughts anyway :p and I hope that this helps people who are looking for a new wireless adapter :)

Needed a new wireless adapter to replace a spare one (WG111T) that I was using, which was rubbish, was getting disconnects every so often especially when loading image intensive web pages/threads and dll.

Not only did it cut my internet out but it seemed to disconnect the wireless router completely as well (netgear Wireless-G Router WGR614 v9), meaning anything connected to the wireless router was also disconnected i.e. my android mobile and my brothers internet and the only way to get back on was to reset the router.

So I got this adapter for ?10 and I am very impressed with it considering the cost.

Mini Review of the TP-Link WN722N? 150Mbps Wireless USB Adapter

First Thoughts:

The build quality of this adapter is pretty good I have to say, on the front it is a glossy white plastic and half of it at the back is a rougher black plastic. On one side you have a QSS button (also known as wi-fi protected set-up button) and on the other side you have an adjustable and removable antenna, which boosts the signal range and strength and is a much better method as opposed to some of the other adapters that just have a metal strip on the inside.

And here is a pic to try and give you a rough idea of the size:

On the front under the white plastic you have a green LED activity indicator, which is perfectly fine, not really bright like some others were it becomes very distracting especially in a dark room.

The cradle is just a basic stand where you plug the wireless adapter into and have it sit on your desk or you can directly plug the wireless adapter into the USB port at the back of your computer or at the front if you want.

The cradle is finished with the same white glossy plastic that is used on the front of the wireless adapter. It has some type of foam padding on the underside to give it some grip.

My main complaint about this cradle/desk stand is that it isn't heavy enough so easily moves around despite the foam padding on the underside.

The USB lead with the cradle is pretty long and should be plenty for most average sized desks.

Installation:

Was very easy, the instructions are very clear and easy to understand for newbies, there is an image for each step showing what you do/click on and they keep it very brief.

I had no problems what so ever, simply;

- uninstall old netgear drivers

- remove netgear adapter

- put new adapter in

- put CD in

- choose my model and click install

- finish

And that was it, ready to connect to the internet.

Windows 7 64 bit ultimate is my OS.

However during installation, I got a pop-up saying that the "utility software" could not be installed due to my OS (W7 Ultimate 64 bit), only the drivers could be installed.

Essentially the "utility software" is just a fancy looking control panel for your adapter settings (like with the ATI and nvidia control panels), which will have a few more options for you to mess around with, but can still be done within windows anyway, maybe just not as easy to find the options.

I had a look on the website to see if there is a later version of the utility available and there may be as usually the drivers etc. that are supplied on the disc are older versions.

http://www.tp-link.c...ersion=V1#tbl_b

And a quick glimpse of what it looks like to give you an idea:

http://www.tp-link.c...article/?id=351

I personally will be leaving it for now (as everything I need the adapter to do, works perfectly fine), may try it out at some point in the future though and update my review with some info/thoughts on the utility software side of things :)

Tests:

I ran some tests with my old adapter and the new adapter pretty much within the same time period and also ran them both twice so both tests are pretty fair.

PingTest:

NetGear Adapter:

TP-Link adapter:

SpeedTest:

NetGear Adapter:

TP-Link Adapter:

The ping is high for both adapters for the speedtest as someone had utorrent on at the same time (although hardly any bandwidth was being taken up by it) for those tests.

Here is one that I did with the new adapter when utorrent was deactivated on one of the other PCs:

Ping to my Router:

I also just did another speedtest before the router ping test:

Signal Strength:

With the NetGear adapter according to the windows 7 sidebar gadget called network meter, the signal strength was usually around 20-30%, with the TP-Link adapter it is around 75-80%, both were placed in the same position and the wireless signals have to go through 2 pretty thick walls.

However the adapter (TP-Link) is beside my second monitor and the other day I moved my monitor back a wee bit, out of the way and the signal now ranges from 85%-98% all the time.

Signal at the minute:

With this TP-Link adapter I am now picking up 7 wifi spots as opposed to only 1 (which was mine :p) with the netgear adapter and with my older US robotics adapter, it only picked up about 3 iirc.

Note:

The ping and speed tests were done at the stated signal strengths above.

Conclusion:

So far very impressed with this adapter, and in all honesty I really can't state any cons for it at all apart from the cradle being too light weighted. For the price it just seems great, if it were at a higher price point above ?20 then I would expect a better signal strength, as in constant 100% and slightly better build quality.

The only thing, which I would have preferred is for all the white to be black instead and a blue LED for the activity.

If I had to buy another wireless adapter or/and someone that I knew said that they needed a new one, I would diff get this again/recommend this to them.

Hope you all liked the mini review and if anyone has any questions or would like something to be explained a bit better, just ask :)

[CPressland]

TP-Link Hardware is Fantastic. I've even started using them in the Office where Dumb-Switches and basic ADSL Modems are required.

[Crisp]

I like the little touch they add with the stand, of having a peice behind the adapater where you can put your USB lid.

[Salty Wagyu]

TP-Link make some quality hardware, got this adapter as well as a gigabit switch and can't fault them at all. Going to get some powerline adapters soon once I move. Don't know how they make them so cheap!