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.
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| The front of the box |
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| The features on the right |
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| The setup on the left |
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| The back with the differences |
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| The top of the box with the stickers for warranty and also for VDSL Setup |
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| 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:
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| Inside the Packet |
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| The back of the router |
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| 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.
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| Connecting all the cables (The USB was for charging phones, like a charging station, saves issues) |
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| The usual admin page |
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| Enter the quick setup |
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| Put in the timezone |
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| Now you can use this as Auto but if you set it manual, it makes it quicker for you |
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| The VSDL_BT is what most providers for fibre would use, but if your in the list, then click it |
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| Enter the details the ISP gives you, Origin i had to chat online to get mine |
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| Enter wifi settings like the name and password (SSID and the WPA/WPA2 Shared Key) |
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| It sets it for you |
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| Boom your connected |
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| 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.
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| The ookla results |
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| A download from steam was up to 4.6 but 3mbs is still fast. |
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| 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.
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| In a garden but with only a solar light and phone with me |
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| A showing of the networks and which is strongest |
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| 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
