In my previous home, I used a TP Link network adapter to connect to the Internet as it was the only viable way to connect at the time. Over the course of that year, I bought and sold many more TP Link adpaters to my own and others' satisfaction. When I moved into the new home the router was positioned in my work area, but the connection was not the main telephone line. The internet connection was slow in my work space and so I tried to put the router into the main telephone socket in the living room. Again the connection was slower than my ISP had advertised, and eventually I found out there was a problem with the faceplate knocking my connection down from 4MB to just over 1MB. The temporary solution at the moment is to connect the DSL filter into the test socket beneath the faceplate to get a true reading of my speed, which of course reveals the connections within, something that will have to be dealt with over this week.
But the quandary meant that I was now back to wireless to get my main PC and clients PC's to get connected to the Internet. So with my Belkin F6D4630 router in place I needed a wireless device to get connected again. In a rush, it was a visit to PC World where normally I only go if I am desperate as traditionally it has not been a happy place for myself or my clients, and bought the only viable option on display which was a Belkin F7D4101 v1.
BELKIN F7D4101 - Price £44.99 PC World
From startup there were initial problems. The adapter would not connect straight away, and needed alterations from the router. Switching from dual band-width to single and also changing the wireless mode from anything n, the device connected for five or so minutes, before again disconnecting. A full reset of router settings and some days of configuring later, it seems that with my current PC setup, the device is only ever happy with wireless g turned on, on only a few select channels.
The device also seems to upset the networking balance with the router and isn't happy when other laptops connect to the network. Also, after a reasonable duration of say more than thirty minutes, the device seems to get very hot indeed, which may be a contributory factor as to why the connections are so fragile.
Succinctly then, the device has caused nothing short of carnage. I even had to revert back to my Sky Wireless G router and set everything to it's bare minimum (TKIP, a certain channel) etc. Also the device, when working, displayed huge fluctuations in speed and when the signal strength ever reached excellent, the connection would drop. Sometimes the speed would be 125.00 Mbps, and then fall dramatically to around 30 Mbps. So between constant connection drops, issues with other connections on the networks, heat problems and it only working with a specific set of basic settings and staying clear from n connection, the device has been nothing short of horrific. Which prompted me to change to TP-Link.
TP-Link TL-WN821N - Price £11.22 Amazon.co.uk
With the absolute pain that the Belkin was, I jumped straight into the deep end and there was no messing about. I want a device that works and works well, as occasionally when I work I stream things like live sport or media on a 37" LCD alongside my work's computer via dual screen. The TP Link therefore had no settling in period, and was given the chance to shine against router settings that included wireless n mode, dual bandwidth together with any channel I wished. The device was plugged in and Windows 7 didn't install any drivers which is common, so it was an install off the disc, or rather the specific drivers selected from Device Manager's Update Driver option.
Immediately I was greeted with a connection speed of 150Mbps and a four bar signal strength which was a constant very good. The speed also didn't fluctuate one bit. Running other devices over the network didn't make the router go insane and the device runs at a temperature that I would class as reasonable. After a number of days of testing there was not one drop in connection and speeds and signal strength were a constant. The bottom line is that I shall never stray from TP Link again, together with the lesson learnt that Belkin's USB adapters have a LOT to live up to. One further note which everyone will have noticed, is the price differential. To get the best signal and connectivity I actually paid over £40 for something that doesn't even work with a router of the same make, whereby the TP Link was less than £12! Sometimes, you don't get what you pay for it seems.
OVERALL (performance, quality, value for money etc)
TP-Link TL-WN821N -
Belkin F7D4101 -
OVERALL (performance, quality, value for money etc)
TP-Link TL-WN821N -
Belkin F7D4101 -
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