Header banner
Revain logoHome Page
Ognjen Cao photo
Israel, Jerusalem
1 Level
724 Review
28 Karma

Review on πŸ“Ά TRENDnet Wireless N300 Access Point with Detachable Antennas - 2.4GHz 300Mbps, 802.11b/g/n, AP/WDS/Client/Bridge - TEW-638APB Black by Ognjen Cao

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Great functionality!

I originally bought TrendNet's high power 7dBi antennas (P/N TEW-AI77OB) only to find out that my current wireless routers don't have detachable antennas. The reason I bought this product is because it has detachable antennas and I could use high gain antennas with it. In short: it works like clockwork! A few things to keep in mind if, like me, you're used to using cheap wireless routers as access points in your home or small business: 1. This field can be either an access point or an access point client. As a hotspot, it provides a WLAN network for connection. As a hotspot client, it can connect to another Wi-Fi network and share it over Ethernet. Without going into too much detail, it's pretty cool. Most Wi-Fi routers cannot act as access point clients.2. If you want to enable maximum speed (Protocol N), you must select WPA2/AES security. My networks used to be WPA/TKIP so I had to change other access points accordingly. You may have already done this migration, but if not, know that you need it (or settle for the slower B or G protocols).3. Unlike WiFi routers that have a DHCP server enabled by default, this box has a static IP address of 192.168.10.100 by default. It took me a while to find this IP address in the documentation - it's almost entirely hidden in the troubleshooting section. I suspect they want you to run their configuration utility from their CD, which "recognizes" their products. In any case, I'd like to see the default network settings put on a label outside of the device so I don't have to go through them every time. The device has no wall screw mounting! That was a big surprise for me. In the last 5 years I've bought about 10-15 different cheap wireless routers from TrendNet alone and they all had wall mounting holes on the back. Even non-TrendNet items I bought had it. It doesn't - and to be honest I was stunned by that. I bought 3/4" brackets at the hardware store and mounted the box on top of that (the side opposite the antenna connectors has some clearance above the board if you use short enough screws). I'm sure that drilling holes in the outer plastic case voids the warranty but at least I could install a bug!Overall I'm very happy with this unit.It works great and connects to my high gain antennas so a box can reach anywhere in my 50,000 square feet .

Pros
  • Very good value
Cons
  • Unbelievable price