TP-Link TL-WN723N Mini Wireless N USB Adapter Review
INTRODUCTION
Today i'm going to be reviewing the TP-Link TL-WN723N Mini Wireless N USB Adapter that i recently acquired through eBay for just 600 bucks
The reason behind this purchase was not only going wireless for my desktop connection but also to eliminate the long Ethernet cable i have been using to connect to my WiFi router because as far my setup goes my router is almost 10-12 feet away from my desktop way over in the living room
Now, you may ask why is the router all the way across the house where it could be easily placed near the desktop ?
Reason being,i needed WiFi access on my Laptop in my house upstairs and i wasn't getting any WiFi signal when i had my router placed near my desktop provided i sit in the room exactly above where my router was initially placed so had to shuffle the entire setup downstairs in order to enjoy internet connection upstairs
So in the end i shuffled the setup and had been using a long 15-20m Ethernet cable for almost the past month which became very irritating for my mother because she has to do the cleaning in the end :|
Long story short,i started searching for a cheap solution to get internet connection on my desktop and stumbled upon this little baby and decided to buy it
TECH. SPECIFICATIONS
| HARDWARE SPECIFICATIONS |
| Interface | USB 2.0 |
| Button | Quick Security Setup (QSS) Button (WPS Compatible) |
| Dimensions ( W x D x H ) | 1.4×0.7×0.3in.(36.8×17×8.4mm) |
| Antenna Type | On-Board |
| WIRELESS SPECIFICATIONS |
| Wireless Standards | IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11b |
| Frequency | 2.400-2.4835GHz |
| Signal Rate | 11n: Up to 150Mbps(dynamic) 11g: Up to 54Mbps(dynamic) 11b: Up to 11Mbps(dynamic) |
| EIRP | <20dBm(EIRP) |
| Reception Sensitivity | 130M: -68dBm@10% PER 108M: -68dBm@10% PER 54M: -68dBm@10% PER 11M: -85dBm@8% PER 6M: -88dBm@10% PER 1M: -90dBm@8% PER |
| Wireless Modes | Ad-Hoc / Infrastructure mode |
| Wireless Security | Support 64/128 bit WEP, WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK |
| Modulation Technology | DBPSK, DQPSK, CCK, OFDM, 16-QAM, 64-QAM |
| OTHERS |
| Certification | CE, FCC, RoHS |
| Package Contents | Wireless Adapter Resource CD Quick Installation Guide |
| System Requirements | Windows 7(32/64bits), Windows Vista(32/64bits), Windows XP(32/64bits) |
| Environment | Operating Temperature: 0℃~40℃ (32℉~104℉) Storage Temperature: -40℃~70℃ (-40℉~158℉) Operating Humidity: 10%~90% non-condensing Storage Humidity: 5%~90% non-condensing |
PACKAGE AND ACCESSORIES
The Packaging for the TP-Link TL-WN723N Mini Wireless N USB Adapter is nicely sealed and protected from damage in a hard plastic casing which can be a little difficult to open which your bare hands,needs scissors to cut the casing and get the device out
Along with the USB Adapter you also get a Installation disk which will help you with the driver as well as the control software installation.From a marketing perspective, it looks nice, and the clear packaging in this instance gives one a clear idea of how small this adapter really is.
I was pretty amazed by the quick and easy setup that this device offers, It hardly takes 5 mins to get this little bad boy up and running,you have internet access in under 5 mins which is impressive considering other devices which have complex setup procedures(Well,it can get complex if you don't know what you are doing)
But in this case even a retard like me could easily understand the steps
So as far as the whole package is concern,it just has 3 things
- 1 x Wireless USB Adapter
- 1 x Installation/Setup CD
- 1 x Manual
TEST SETUP/ENVIRONMENT
I have used two different machines in order to test the wireless capabilities for the TL-WN723N Mini Wireless N USB Adapter and both of them are located at different distance from my WiFi router which is DLINK DIR-600
- The first test machine was my desktop which doesn't have an in-built wireless card(Only Ethernet) and is placed at approximately 10-12feet away from my WiFi router with 2 walls in between them(Wireless signal strength is affected if there are physical obstructions)
- And the second machine was my Laptop which has an in-built Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter and is placed at a distance of approximately 30-35feet from my WiFi router which is located all the way downstairs and has at least 3-4 walls/doors between them.
So with the desktop i was getting excellent signal strength in the house downstairs without losing any WiFi signal at all,the speed test results also very accurate and similar to the hardwired connection considering the internet plan i'm currently using.
Now,it was time to test the Adapter on my laptop which was a little bit far away from my WiFi router(30-35feet)
Initially,this definitely created a lot of doubts in my mind regarding the range the TL-WN723N could offer so i decided to give it a try
In-built Wireless card in the laptop was turned off and the USB Adapter was plugged/Installed and ready to go for a test run.Well,i was just amazed with the initial checks with a couple of websites and also speed test, It was all working fine but somehow i could feel that slowness when opening TE and couple of other websites.The websites were a little slow in opening up but the torrent downloads had no problem whatsoever,gave me the exact subscribed speeds
I decided to move my laptop a little further and now it was placed at approx. 40-45feet from the main WiFi Router,signal had gone weak but the connection was still active with sluggish operation,it was sluggish with websites and it also dropped the connection on me a coupe of times(2 times to be exact) after the re-location of the laptop.I compared it with my in-built Wireless Adapter and the connection was slow(Not as slow as the TL-WN723N) at 40-45feet but it didn't drop the connection at all.
DRIVER AND S /W INSTALLATION
You will get a tiny little mini CD along with this USB Adapter which will help you with the installation of either the driver for the device or the TP-LINK Wireless config. ultility and the installation is quite painless as mentioned earlier,fast as a breeze
When you first plug the device in,on windows vista/7 it will probably try to search for the drivers by itself and could fail to configure due to no internet access, Just ignore that message
If a “Found new hardware wizard†comes up, cancel it.use the Mini CD provided with the Adapter and install the drivers as well as the Configuration ultility, Open the Autorun file (automatically or manually) and click through the normal installation screens.
FEATURES
According to TP-Link the features for the TL-WN723N Mini Wireless N USB Adapter include the following :
- Wireless N speed up to 150Mbps makes the TL-WN723N ideal for video streaming, online gaming and Internet calls
- Easy one-touch wireless security encryption with the Quick Security Setup button
- Supports 64/128 WEP, WPA /WPA2/WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK(TKIP/AES), supports IEEE 802.1X
- Supports Windows 2000, Windows XP 32/64bit, Vista 32/64bit, Windows 7 32/64bit
- Supports ad-hoc and infrastructure mode
- Supports Sony PSP X-Link for lag-free online gaming for Windows XP
- Bundled utility provides quick & hassle free installation Seamlessly compatible with 802.11b/g/n products
- Another interesting thing is found with this device is the capability of converting it into a WiFi Hotspot with the help of its feature called "SoftAP".This particular feature will convert your tiny little adapter into a live hotspot wherein you can use it as an Access Point and connect multiple devices.The TP-Link Config. Utility will help you with setting that up,Just turn on the SoftAP Mode from my utility and you will have a running hotspot connection.
- Tested it on my GNex and BB Playbook and this feature works flawlessly on them.
PROS AND CONS
Pros :
- Small Size which makes it portable
- Cheap as compared to other products
- Easy Setup and Installation
- WiFi Hotspot feature
- Quick Security Setup button
Cons :
- Slower than Internal 150Mbps Wireless Adapters
- Limited Signal Range
- Marginal/Very Less Improvements over an 802.11g Wireless Adapter
CONCLUSION
For the given price range this is absolutely the one device that you would like to consider provided you are going over the 30-40feet distance with your setup.The internal 802.11n adapter will definitely perform much better than the TP-Link TL-WN723N but for desktops this is the ideal device when you are thinking of eliminating wires in the house.
P.S : Please ignore Spelling mistakes
