Friday 17 February 2017

TP Link TD-W9970

Ah yes, the time to change my life, Adding Fibre and with me finally ordering it from a supplier that actually uses a firm I would never expect it to happen to use which my old self will kick me in the face for but he lost his love and I still miss her, anyways, this is the TP Link which to be 100% honest with you, looks like the same one I bought in 2014, the W8968. The Features however, are somewhat the same but extra ones are around. Some of which are related to the VDSL functions and some are pretty expert end which most users don't even need to touch, let alone me.

When I ordered origin, I decided to save issues in the long term by buying my own router. So I went for the W9970 for £30 off amazon before the price goes up. This review is on the setting up and speed tests, For the menus for all the features, its easier to go to TP Links Site for that .

The Packaging. 


This is exactly like 2014, with the same logo, same blue design and apart from more logos to show off features with some slight differentiation, there is not much difference in the 9970. Except the back has much less text and small print than before along with the router back on the left side rather than the right and the comparison table is at the bottom rather than on the right. 

The front of the box

The features on the right

The setup on the left

The back with the differences

The top of the box with the stickers for warranty and also for VDSL Setup

The bottom of the box for the small print and barcodes

Inside the Box. 


Lets be honest here. This is actually the same layout as the W8968 which the same cables so i'm not really seeing a difference. The router is the same, minus a bright colour for the Ethernet ports. But the continuity is pretty spot on from them really to make the ease of setup useful for many customers. The quick start guide has been shaped more as a fold out which is like other products, there is documents on the GPL and warranty as well which might bore most people but they need to cover themselves for some or even many reason because some people will try to get money from legal cases.  But the insides are as follows: 
  • 1 Ethernet Cable 
  • 1 RJ11 DSL Cable
  • 1 ADSL Filter
  • 1 12V Power Cable
  • 1 Warranty Card
  • 1 Warranty booklet
  • 1 GPL Booklet
  • 1 quickstart guide
  • 1 Router
A look at the contents

The cables underneath the router

The Filter and Power Cable
The router itself is the same design, except with more of a stronger orange vibe in the yellow compared to what the 8968 was. But it makes it feel easy to setup and the curves are lovely as per usual. 

Inside the Packet

The back of the router

The same lights as per usual. 


Setting up. 


This was, for me very easy. Plug in the cables needed and turn it on. With that it was going to the IP address (192.168.1.1) and following the quickstart guide on screen when using admin twice to get in. 
Once that was in, the only tricky part was for the VDSL settings to use, which for me was using the VDSL_BT ones, then applying wifi settings and a reboot and I was online. 
Connecting all the cables (The USB was for charging phones, like a charging station, saves issues)


The usual admin page

Enter the quick setup

Put in the timezone

Now you can use this as Auto but if you set it manual, it makes it quicker for you

The VSDL_BT is what most providers for fibre would use, but if your in the list, then click it

Enter the details the ISP gives you, Origin i had to chat online to get mine

Enter wifi settings like the name and password (SSID and the WPA/WPA2 Shared Key)

It sets it for you

Boom your connected

The reboot screen after changing the default IP. 

The Testing.

Okay, I know the wifi test results were done not as proper as others but this is a quick review, As well as internet tests in general. 

Ethernet:

This felt really fast, pages loaded fine and uploading images was super quick, the stream rate on twtich was over 9000+ and games like a 5GB copy of Epic mickey 2 was just under half an hour. Ookla did mention vodafone but the speeds were really good at 9mbps up and 37 mbps down. 

The ookla results


A download from steam was up to 4.6 but 3mbs is still fast.


That twitch results were lovely 


Wireless. 


Now this is a 2.4GHz only router since most devices i have only are 2.4GHz and I tried this outside of my house, in a garden late at night. The signal was only 2 bars which means its not really strong, then again the router is next to a wall which will block signal so its not ideal location but thats not a major issue. Oookla didn't want to work on my paris but another app did and got 1mbps down and another got 3mbps down.  I'm impressed. 
 
In a garden but with only a solar light and phone with me

A showing of the networks and which is strongest

The speed test outside in the garden

The Conclusion

This is pretty much a VDSL version of a simple router which for me has worked brilliantly, the wifi is more reliable from the extra vdsl speed if you in a close distance and the setup is also accommodating the ADSL for people that are unsure if they want to upgrade. I can't excuse the connection for streaming now with the playthrough of KH 2.8 and other games later on. With all this in mind.

omracer's Rating: 8/10

The Good Points: 

  • Nice design as before
  • Very good value for a VDSL Router
  • Speeds are genuinely decent with the right package
  • ADSL for people that can't get VDSL yet. 
  • Simple setup once you are connected up with Ethernet, 
  • USB Features like before. 

The Bad Points: 

  • The wifi is slightly weaker than other routers you can buy for £60  but thats what you pay for
  • It doesn't support the TP Link Tether app.
  • Lights can't be turned off if you don't like lights at night
And now the struggle is over, I can now get content up quicker and easier than before, more videos and reviews soon I hope. 


omracer










Monday 13 February 2017

Tile Original (4 Pack)

Well, this was an idea due to the story of the stolen bike which gave an idea to buy a tracker for it, with luck I remembered Tile. Which is a small price to possibly save a bigger price etc. So this 4 pack for £65 from what Tile sell it at. I got it for £49.99 from Carphonewarehouse. Amazon have sold them for £60 ish. But the video is below and here we can dive in and make see if this fits nicely.



The Packaging.


The box is compact, but the design is very modern yet simple and casual language, with writing that makes it sound like a friendly neghbourhood robot but also the terms are not over complex which means less hassle to understand what tile does. The green and white is a nice touch as well as showing the actual size of the tile on the front.  This is pretty good as a design technique.

The top of the box

The front of the tile box

the bottom of the tile box

The icons for the uses of tile on the left and right of this box

The back of the box with more detail

A dive inside.

Now we open the box and the neatness of the packaging is very classy, with a pull tab out for first time which is at the top, to introduce you to the main use for this item. Which underneath that is the manual, warranty and also the 3 other tiles in the pack. Which then you lead on to the tile itself, a tiny keying looking square which makes the charm of tiny trackers very modernized but less of a standout look. The width was of my 2 fingers but its length was the same as its width which was 3.7cm. 

The thing you see when you open the box up, a tile on top

the size of the tile is actually tiny

the back of the tile

its not that thick either


The quick-start guide

The set of other tiles

A peek at the other languages in the instruction manual. 

The fitting and pairing - Wallet. 


This was the start of it, once the app is installed and a usual account created, we then can pair the tiles up to the phone just in case we see it and find it. The process is simple by going on the app, tapping + and then select the tile you want to pair and once bluetooth is on, it will search for it after you press the button on the tile, the letter E is a button. Once you ave done that, you can see it appear just like mine did. 

The wallet showing up in the app. 

Once this is done, you can fine it placed in a wallet like mine was, in a small hidden slot and that makes it harder for pickpockets at the worse scenario. But the speaker can be heard though my wallet which is pretty good right ? 

how it looks in the wallet. 



The fitting and pairing - The Bike.

Now this was trickier since i didn't have the kit that tile recommended to keep it secure, I hope. So I improvised by hoking it onto a screw that might help keep it firmly in place. I originally tried the brakes first but they were going to be a struggle, but i noticed a screw at the bottom for the gears and that one worked, minus having to cause issues a few moments later down the line when the seat is too high o the chain protection touching the Tyre or the chain which causes big problems to get evening going to pedal. But luckily I managed to get it not to that problem and it was firmly on the bike and pairing was difficult but I got it activated. 

The new bike with the tile attached

Another look to the bike from the side

The paring was trickier but I managed it in the end, sometimes you need goo wifi as well as bluetooth for tile to get going properly, which tile in the house isn't that strong without a range extender. But it played the tune from the shed. 


The bike and the wallet connected

The modes the tile shows to see if its connected or not. 


Conclusion:

This tile has potential and I mean that, this can help with those memory blackouts to doing a better research of a stolen bike in theory, Tile have proved it can work for that, but since there is No GPS then personally I worry it will was nicked and there wasn't tile members around the place. But its a worry to find out later on really. With all this in mind. 

omracer's Rating: 7/10

The Good Points: 

  • Reasonable value if bought in a 4 pack
  • Bluetooth tracking for it and also the phone. 
  • Lovely simple commands of the app
  • The keying allots it to fit with screws and drills inside, 
  • The speaker is loud on the tile. 

The Bad Points: 

  • There is no GPS so if your phone has no decent GPS and mobile data or wifi, you can be in major problems with this. 
  • This version is no longer made and replaced by the tile mate which is overpriced, same with the slim. 

And that goes a review for Feburary, there might be more reviews soon like a router and also some drink or food as well, stay peeking..


omracer