TP-LINK TD-W8960N 300 Mbps Wireless N ADSL2+ Modem Router for BT Connections

You will spend ages looking at all the various component bits (I did) and features you need for your home network (maybe also small business). You will probably buy a few bits only later to realise they are wrong. This is the one you want to buy. It's got all the features and it's the cheapest. AND it seems to work for me. 1. It's 2011 so you need 300MBPS wireless N - this unit has it. this is the fastest furthest reaching signal. 2. You might have a fast ADSL2 broadband connections - this baby can handle that. 3. Has the holes you need for a wired network the old technology is wireless B and G. That's slower and does not go as far. If any of your PCs still have these components then your connection will not be improved in terms of speed or distance probably. That is why some reviewers do not notice an improvement. So if you buy this then also buy wireless N adapters for your PCs. If you have a mostly wired network like me) then you might wonder why I say you should buy this as it only does a WIRED network at 10/100 speed ie NOT gigabit. Well when you have to reboot your modem all your open files will be lost...that is the problem with relying on a bit such as this as the central 'hub' of your network So you want to buy this unit AND a gigabit switch. Link all your wired connections into the switch and the switch into this modem router. The speed of your broadband connection is less than the 10/100 speed so that is why you only need 10/100 speed to go from this unit to your switch. If you really want only one network hub device (all-in-one) AND you have wired gigabit connections then you DO NOT want this device. Go for the next one up with faster gigabit lan ports. This unit easily connects my blackberries and my sons WII and the kid's XP and my windows 7 computers. They all work. -ve points other than above none. The configuration software is easy enough. The only thing i couldn't configure was the MRU the maximum recieve packet size...not a key feature!! don't worry. The config software seemed tolose my previous config if ever i tried to redo any of it so i had to re-enter all the info...a bit annoying. Have updated to the latest firmware but not yet tested if that makes any difference. UPDATE: July 2011 All is mostly good. Works for weeks without needing restarting. On the downside I did have to re-enter all the settings (ie effectively re-install it) as the wifi connection to my son's zen touch 2 would just not work. Rebuilding/re-starting did work. This time i remembered to save the configuration settings afterwards to make it easier next time i might have to do this. I do have some issues with "internet pausing" thos this could be my pc or the ISP or this unit....I don't know and will probably never find out! Never last for more than a minute or so though. A negative point i have just discovered. I had this great super secure home network for my kids. Controlling their internet access via microsoft family safety (which is free and nice). However as soon as you let them access the net from their Wii or their ipad or their zen touch or whatever you lose all that control and they have free access to everything!!! THE ONLY SOLUTION to that will rely on a router (ie the unit in this review) having control features. Now this unit does have features you COULD use but it would be impractical to do so in reality. All you can sensibly do is stop internet access for a certain device at a certain time and that involves using MAC addresses and I have to say is not straightforward and I'm technical. However I would not place this as a bad point against this product as Iwould imagine all the competitors are the same!

I was dreading installing another modem router (m/r). Had to get an engineer to install my last Netgear 834GT. Lately it's been losing connection frequently. Rather than get the updated version of this m/r, the TP Link TD8961N, I opted for the TD8960N as it's been established longer, promised easy installation, and had better reviews. I've had it for over a week now. However, the installation is not Mac-user friendly.The installation disc is of the mini-disc variety and thus not acceptable to slot-loading computers like Macs. Happily, the instruction manual offers an alternative method of installation by way of browser which I had to use. Secondly, updating the latest firmware on my Mac has proved difficult. Again, it is more suited to Windows. I contacted TP-Link which was a waste of time. Their e-mail resembled a translation-into-English page from Google translate and did not address my issues at all. So, I haven't bothered updating. Having said all that, I successfully set up this m/r in 25 minutes. Joy! I also like its appearance in comparison to my old plain white Netgear. Next day, though, it suffered from a couple of reception`drop-outs'. I had used the existing Netgear ethernet cable during installation, so I changed it for the one that came with the TP-Link m/r and also changed the bandwidth setting to 20/40 MHz. So far, no problems at all with no further dropouts. Speeds are way up from my old m/r. There is an on/off switch so I can switch it off at night or when we go on holiday. I even tempted fate and flirted with Advanced Settings, but soon discovered most were irrelevant to everyday home use. In conclusion, my fears of setting up a new m/r have proved unfounded. Whatever teething problems I encountered were nothing compared to the impossibility of setting up my old Netgear m/r. I would have happily rated this 5 stars, such was my relief at a successful set-up. However, if reviews are to be fair and mean anything, I have to award 4 stars because this is not a user-friendly installation for Mac owners. That in itself wouldn't have necessarily meant automatically deducting a star. But TP-Link's poor response to my issues which, had they been more serious , may well have left me in the lurch. This has resulted in a final rating of 4 stars. Surprisingly, my old Netgear router is still being sold at the original price I bought it 7 years ago which is nearly 3 times the cost of this one. NB: UPDATE 20/2/13- However, after quite a few month's use, I have to say dropouts have become more common with the TP-Link and I have not really had much luck in upgrading the firmware. The two could be related. Because of this and the issues I mentioned above, I have downgraded the rating for this item from 4 to 3 stars.

I have bought this ADSL modem router to replace my old D-Link that started to drop connection through WiFi. I spent few days looking at modern routers, wanting to buy something that will last me for another few years. I started with Belkin (serious problems with quality control), Netgear (too expensive) and Linksys (just right for my needs). I was just about to buy WAG120N (really good router) when I found out about TP-Link. Relatively new company with great products that are getting more and more popular in EU in Asia. TD-W8960N is one of the most advanced models produced by TP-Link. It offers everything I was looking for: fast N standard, compatibility with G standard up to 300Mbps MIMO 4 x LAN newest security protocols for WIFI It comes with everything you need for setting up your network. The admin interface is really easy. You have pre-sets that you can use for most of the UK broadband providers. All you need it login and password that you have received from your provider. You can also use Easy Start-up CD. From admin side - there is plenty of settings that you can tweak and change to make your network fast and secure. Pro users will be happy with advanced statistics (SRN etc) - I didn't get it with my old router. I had it connected for 2 days now. It works with 2 Asus laptops (1 x N, 1 x G), 2 HTC phones and Playstation 3. I had no problems setting it up and it worked flawlessly from the moment I connected it to the internet. For less than £40, you will get a really decent router. Not a toy with useless apps (Belkin) or new Christmas tree lights (Netgear). Save yourself some money and go for it - it's worth it! UPDATE: I am living in quite spacious 1 bedroom and I am getting good coverage on just 20% transmitting power. Impressive! Still no problems with connections. My Rapidshare download speeds went up from 800kbps to 1.3Mbps!

Not all ADSL routers are the same and in the efforts to drive down consumer price there have I fear been too many cut corners by the leading brand names so that although features have been added the quality and useful life has often been reduced. Having previously purchased low cost Wireless N PCI network cards from T-Link I decided to go to them to replace my router when my D-Link apparently failed to power up. The TP-Link router was easy to set up although I did have to recourse to contacting TP-Link help line to ask about the correct MTU setting and how to change it directly to optomise the web browsing as my IPS (TalkTalk) specifify a different setting to both the router default and Windows 7. Getting the MTU value miss-matched can have a very detremental effect on the ADSL speed cutting the effective speed by as much as 50%. Once the MTU was tuned (note this is long winded because you can't apparently set it alone and have to go through the full set up wizards each time unlike Netgear, D-Link Belkin etc) the ADSL speed was acceptible and as good my D-Link had been although latency on PING to bbc.co.uk or ms.com were typicall slower i.e. to BBC.co.uk on D-Link and Belkin before it would be 20ms to 22ms and with TL-Link 28ms to 35ms. TP-Link support could offer no explaination. So why di I keep it? Well:- 1, The upgrade from Wireless G to Wireless N increased connection speed from 54MB to 130 MB to my PC in same room and increased speed from 36MB to 130MB and signal strength from 1 to 3 bars to my daughters PC in an ajoining room 2, The signal at the extreme corner of the house is a useable 64MB on a low signal where there was no signal with D-Link 3, The reliability of the ADSL connection is excellent with only one dropped line in 2 months and that during a time of a noisy line fault So taken together a worth while purchase. A warning to all On a post script I discovered on the Forums(as per my original point on cut corners) that D-Link routers often suffer from this no Power Up problem. Strangely when returned to D-Link they test OK, but those who have sent router and power supply back to D-Link have often had the powerpack replaced. Someone suggested that using an old style heavy transformer type power pack is better. Sure enough I retrived the D-Link from the bin and powered it with an old transformer type power pack at same 12v and 1A and the thing powered up perfectly and is now my back up suold I need it. It is probably true that light wieght transformerless switched power supplies are slightly more efficient and cheaper to produce, but I wonder how many modern appiences have found their way into land fill because of the underperforming PSU?

I received this item on the 4th April 2012. A few gripes: 1. Out of the box, I was a bit surprised to see one of those old-school mini CD ROMS for installation. I have a Macbook Pro i.e. no CD tray, and as the manual strongly recommends using the CD over installing it through Ethernet, I had to use the home desktop PC as it's the only machine that has a CD tray. So, for anyone without a CD tray you'll have to use Ethernet (against TP-Link's recommendation of using the CD, but an option). 2. In the box I was provided with no less than 5 (roughly) sets of documents, two of them were manuals that look identical except one appeared to be for a different model of router - then what use is that to me? - nothing, but another inconvenience. 3. To configure the TP-Link router I had to get some details from my ISP, Virgin; Virgin provided me with: VPI VCI Connection Type Authentication Type MTU Username and Password. Note: when you purchase your router from an external source, ISP's will only provide you with the information necessary to configure the router to their network, there is no extra support for setting up the router itself, which is logical I guess. But, for someone not used to setting up a router, this stuff might seem quite intimidating to do on their own. 4. After following the instructions on the installation CD, I noticed that the Ethernet was working, but the Wi-Fi was not. I contacted TP-Link technical support (more on them later), and after running some diagnostics they concluded that I had a faulty router. They advised me to return the device, so I unplugged the Ethernet cable from the back of my PC, and for some strange reason all the computers in the house detected the TP-Link wireless network. Great. I assumed that TP-Link technical support may have overlooked something in their diagnostic check, and as everything was working fine I decided NOT to return the router - who wouldn't? 5. Bad idea. Roughly about four days ago after a month of use, the Wi-Fi stopped working all of a sudden. Back to the same problem with only the Ethernet working. I contacted TP-Link technical support, and after another round of diagnostic checks, they concluded that it was a faulty device. So basically, what I got from this, is that the model I have is a faulty device that works most of the time, then shuts down on you. Generally, when something works for a good month, I assume it's not faulty. My mistake. 6. On to TP-Link technical support - it's awful. Unfortunately, I don't think it's down to their technical know-how - it's the accent. Just before I started the call, my brother said to me that call centres were being moved back to the UK because of the problems with us understanding people over the other end of the line, but I quickly dismissed it as I've never had any issues with that. Well, that was with the Indian accent, but TP-Link use what I think are Chinese people in their call centres and in all honesty, I couldn't understand 75% of what they were saying. I had to constantly repeat my questions, and had to constantly ask them to repeat their answers. It took SO MUCH time. Add to that the volume on their line is AWFUL (I tested it with different phones to make sure it wasn't mine that was the problem). Horrible experience. Now I can sympathise with the lady on the other side of the phone, after all it's clearly not her first language and I wouldn't do any better at speaking Chinese, but from a customers point of view none of that helps. When you look for the technical support number on their website, they give you a list of countries, so when the UK number is displayed I'm inclined to think that I will be speaking to someone from the UK - unfortunately that's not the case - very misleading. They need to get some good English-speaking call centre agents. However, after all of this I've decided to order the same router again. Why? Because of the simple fact that TP-Link say the device I have is faulty. AND, when the router was working, it worked like a charm. So, I'm gonna give it another go, and hopefully I'll be able to update this report with more positive things to say. So, here are my current scores: Router (when working): 4/5 Technical Support: 1/5 (The reason why I PERSONALLY don't put too much emphasis on tech support is because I'm reasonably tech savvy. )

I bought this because I wanted to add wireless to my household. I could of course have gone down the ISP provided wireless router route, but so many friends and family have had problems with ISP provided equipment that I decided to avoid these. This Modem Router replaced a Speedtouch2 USB modem. The installation was pretty easy, the only thing I had to do was call my ISP for a password reminder as my Internet had been connecting automatically for the past 4 years. Once I had this I followed the setup instructions, set the security to maximum with my chosen wireless key and we were away. On the old Speedtouch2 modem I used to get download speeds of around 650kb/s, with my main PC hardwired to this new modem I often see speeds over 1mb/s and it averages around 850-900kb/s. This is a great improvement and almost worth the money spent by itself. These speeds will of course be dependant on your connection and may be limited by your Internet package (mine's max speed available). The wireless is very good also. I have a smallish house and I have the router in the attic. That said, 2 storeys down on the ground floor and the other side of the house the signal is excellent. The download speed is less consistant than the hardwired and it can be anything from 300kb/s to 1mb/s, proabably averages about 500kb/s. It's plenty for uninterupted streaming from iPlayer or ITV player for example. It's not yet dropped the Internet connection on me although I don't leave it turned on all of the time. Had it on for 5 days in a row and all was good. When you switch it back on it takes a minute or two to start beaming out the Internet again, does it automatically. All in all this is an excellent device, speedy and reliable connection and with the facility to hardwire 4 machines and loads more wirelessly. Avoid the ISP junk and invest in this quality device!

I was a bit surprised how bad the quality of this product is. I needed a modem/router and this one had very good reviews, serves me right maybe, from now on i will go for brands instead of what other people say. The easy-setup system is terrible : it does not do what it should and it is too high level for a basic user. And of course it does not work. Even if you take your browser for a spin and try to fix what the so called easy setup might have damaged, it won't help much. Even the page has problems loading some time. If it's own software has problems communicating i would NOT want to see connection quality. This was for ADSL. Let's say i get an already existing internet connection from a non ADSL source, the result is a poor, unstable connection. And a lot of settings are supposed to help you, god protect the helped ones, if you were to be in the UK. Maybe those things do work since the product got so good reviews, since i am in neither country i cannot test that part of this horrible product. I hope this is of any help to future buyers, if you're not from the UK/US you MIGHT have BIG problems, at least with the ADSL part. Maybe this article was written written with an excess of rage but if you want an expensive switch then i would recommend this product :).

It was finally time to join the world of wireless 'N'ers and replace my ultra-reliable but ageing Speedtouch 585. Having noted the slightly mixed reviews on this product I nonetheless decided to take a punt on it given the excellent price and generally very favourable reviews. Nearly a week on from its receipt I have a very reliable wired connection. No drops and strong performance. Setting up the wired connection was very easy and I was up and running with the main desktop PC within minutes. Excellent so far. BUT, and this is a very big but for me at least, I cannot get a wireless connection to the unit. It happily broadcasts its wireless existence to the world and I. Even my neighbours know when the wireless is on. I am reasonably competent with PC's and networks, having set up a few in my time, and I am comfortable with the multiple options offered by the user interface. Whilst all the devices can see the unit, I cannot get one to connect to it. In desperation I have even asked a couple of my neighbours to try to connect to the wireless network and they cannot do so either. Faulty unit? Possibly. Some secret setting hidden away in the dark arts that are wireless networks? Possibly. Either way I still have no wireless connection and only more wrinkles and less hair to show for all my efforts after nearly a week of trying to get a wireless connection to the unit. I will continue to try various tweaks over the next week in the hope of finally getting a wireless connection after which, if there is still no joy, the unit goes back to Amazon for a refund. I give it two stars, rather than one, in recognition of the very good wired connection and the prompt delivery as usual by Amazon. Overall it has been so promising and yet, ultimately, so disappointing for this user.

Este Modem es muy eficiente y fácil de instalar. Mejora por mucho a los modem de Telmex, haciendo la señal un poco más potente y más rápida la conexión del mismo dispositivo. En mi caso solo sustituí el modem de Telmex y coloque este modem y en automático tuve la señal en mis de más dispositivos. La configuración del modem se lleva acabo siempre y cuando se quiera cambiar la contraseña del modem por una contraseña personalizada. La calidad del modem es buena, trae consigo un CD de instalación, un cable UTP y un instructivo. La velocidad de internet se vio un poco más fluida, pero es algo marginal. Se pueden conectar 5 dispositivos a la vez y no presenta problemas de alentamiento. Lo recomiendo 100%.

TP-LINK TD-W8960N Wireless N300 ADSL2+ Modem Router Good item (TP-LINK TD-W8960N) - value for money Cons: 1. Modem initially kept on disconnecting every 10 minutes. After complaining to BSNL this was fixed by them by identifying a faulty wiring at some point between my house and the junction box. This modem wont work if telephone line has heavy noise. Lots of bad reviews on this modem for bsnl may be because of this. 2. TpLink is only a medium quality company. My previous tplink modem stopped working after 4 years. Cannot be compared to an old seimens wifi modem that's still in working condition after 10 years. Pros: 1. Latest version as per tplink website (v8) 2. Setup is easy as BSNL config can be selected from a list. 3. Decent features like guest network etc available. IPTV, QoS, parental control etc (I've not used these.) 4. Wifi Range is sufficient for my medium size 2 story house. 3 mobiles, 2 laptops, 1 desktop, smart tv and a fire tv stick work seamlessly. 5. Box has all required stuff like adsl splitter, rj 11, lan cable etc 6. works well in router only mode for bsnl FTTH.

Il router, per quanto non di marca blasonata, o particolarmente costoso, e' decisamente semplice da configurare (in pratica, solo la parte riguardante le impostazioni per il model ADSL, che variano per utente/provider), ed eccezionalmente agile in condizioni di traffico misto e sostenutissimo, quando connessi via cavo: Bittorrent con impostazioni ultra-aggressive per le connessioni, browsing di facebook, quotidiani, streaming da video, tutto contemporaneamente senza alcun visibile rallentamento fino alla saturazione della banda DSL disponibile, grazie alla qualita' del sistema di QoS (automaticamente abilitato) presente nel router stesso. Anche nella parte WiFi e' un ottimo performer, quando si tratta di coprire spazii tipici di una casa Italiana (non tantissimi metri quadri, ma strutturalmente complesse per il segnale WiFi con mura in cemento armato), nel senso che a breve distanza (20 metri) c'e' poco che riesca a fermare il segnale WiFi, mentre le performance decrescono rapidamente all'allontanarsi. Splendido servizio da eWide: consegna nel mattino della giornata prevista, imbalaggio eccellente con aggiunta di imbottitura e protezioni aggiuntive. Fortemente raccomandati sia il prodotto che il venditore.

Ich habe das Gerät als Ersatz für das A1 TG585 gekauft. Hauptgründe waren 300Mb WLan un der wesentlich geringere Leistungsverbrauch. Positiv ergeben hat sich auch noch ein größere Reichweite. Die Installation über den Browser ist eine Sache für 10 Minuten ( inclusive auspacken). Österreich im 1. Menü einstellen, dann komm gleich A1 und alle Parameter stimmen. Jetzt, was am längsten dauert, Benutzername und Kennwort eingeben und schon ist man Online. Für WLan noch die SSID etc. ( vom alten Modem vorher gespeichert ) und alles erledigt. Ich habe die Installations CD nicht ein mal ausgepackt . Leichter geht es nicht. Läuft seit einer Woche ohne Verbindungsunterbrechung und Absturz.

J'ai choisi ce modem pour le fait qu'il intègre un chipset ADSL Broadcom, considéré comme un des plus performants, meilleur que la plupart des box de FAI sur des lignes très longues. La configuration est relativement classique et peut se faire via un utilitaire dédié ou via une interface web. L'interface web propose de très nombreuses options avancées: En particulier, ce modem est parmi les rares à permettre d'ajuster le SNR, ce qui permet d'augmenter légèrement son débit ADSL, ou de le réduire en cas de soucis. La connexion ADSL est effectivement très stable, le wifi offre des débits très bons, même à travers des murs épais . A ce jour aucun plantage ou déconnexion intempestive à signaler. Le modem et son alimentation chauffent trés peu et semblent trés solides En bref un très bon produit, à ce prix la il n'y a pas mieux Le seuls défauts à signaler sont: L'interface web et quasiment toute la documentation sont en anglais. Cela ne posera toutefois pas de souci insurmontable à un utilisateur confirmé. Le câble d’alimentation est vraiment très court (1,20m). A noter également que le produit reçu contenait un filtre ADSL en RJ11 et un second filtre aux normes italiennes au lieu d'une prise en T française.