Product Introduction
The TL-WDR4300 measures 243mm x 161mm x 33mm in size, which makes it one of the slimmest Wireless Router in the market. The Standard Retail Price for the TL-WDR4300 in Malaysia is RM229.00. This router is compatible with TM UniFi and Maxis Home Fibre as it has default configuration from both ISP pre-configured. You just need your UniFi/Maxis Home Fibre username and password only.
Content of the package includes :-
• TL-WDR4300 unit
• 3 x Antenna (RP-SMA connector, 2-3 dBi)
• 1 x RJ45 Cable
• Power Adaptor (3-pin, 1.5A)
• Resource CD
• Quick Start Guide

TP-Link TL-WDR4300 Features:
• Simultaneous 2.4GHz 300Mbps and 5GHz 450Mbps connections for 750Mbps of total available bandwidth
• 2 x USB 2.0 port convenient for network-connected users to share files through the device’s FTP server, charge your smartphone
• Built-in media server allows users to share music, video and photos with Windows Media Player, PS3 or X-BOX 360
• The device’s built-in print server supports wireless printing from different computers by connecting a USB printer to the router
• Full gigabit ports ensure ultimate transfer speeds
• Achieves blazing WAN to LAN throughput of over 800Mbps with hardware NAT
• Simple wireless security encryption at a push of the WPS button
• WDS wireless bridge provides seamless bridging to expand the wireless network
• IP-based bandwidth control allows administrators to determine how much bandwidth is allotted to each PC
• Live Parental Controls allow parents or administrators to establish restricted access policies for children or staff
• External detachable antennas allow for better alignment and stronger antenna upgrades

Personal Review
This review will be based on Maxis Home Fibre setup only. I trust the UniFi setup is just as simple. This router supports IEEE 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz and IEEE 802.11a/n 5GHz.

2.4GHz vs 5GHz - Which to choose
• 5GHz has a shorter range than 2.4GHz
• 5GHz has less interference than 2.4GHz (eg. microwaves and cordless phones)
• 5GHz has more non-overlapping channels
• Speed of between router and your devices is the same for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz
• Newer devices will support both 2.4GHz and 5GHz

Installation
Installing the TL-WDR4300 is very straight-forward. Just install the 3 antennas and plug in the AC adaptor provided. Plug the RJ45 cable from your TM BTU modem to the WAN Gigabit port (blue).
Launch Wi-Fi on your laptop and search for SSID [eg. TP-LINK_2.4GHz_xxxxxx or TP-LINK_2.4GHz_xxxxxx]. The default wireless password is printed on the bottom of the unit.


Once you have connected, you can browse to http://192.168.0.1 or http://tplinklogin.net from any browsers (Internet Explorer, FireFox, Chrome, Safari).


After you have logon, you will be presented Status page which shows info such as Firmware version, Local Area Network (LAN) details, Wi-Fi. WAN details.
On the right hand side of the portal, you can read explanation of each setting, which I find to be very useful for new users.
To configure Maxis Home Fibre connection, I used the Quick Setup option (2nd menu on the right).


You can select 4 “working” mode : Normal / Unifi / Maxis / Other. For most of us, we would go for either Unifi/Maxis. For Streamyx users, please select Normal mode. On the next screen is the VLAN id setting. Do not change this and leave to the default values.
In the next screen, you can select to use Dual Band (2.4GHz & 5GHz) or Single Band (2.4GHz) or Single Band (5GHz). I recommend setting on Dual Band (2.4GHz & 5GHz) to cater to connect any devices, old and new alike.


Next important setting would be configuring the Wireless Security for your WiFi network. You would not want anyone to piggy-back on your 30Mbps link. You can configure different security setups for 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Remember to set the “Region” setting to the country you are using this router. For me, I set to Malaysia. In this screen you type in the Pre Shared Key (PSK) password (i.e. password to access your Wi-Fi network)



The next screen is where you would enter your Unifi/Maxis Home Fibre username and password. One cosmetic issue I found was the password typed is not masked with ****


After this screen, you will be required to reboot the TL-WDR4300 router complete the setup. Upon reboot, you would be connected to Unifi/Maxis Home Fibre


TP-LINK really made it very simple step-by-step to configure their TL-WDR4300 router. Kudos to their team.
You may download the complete TL-WDR4300 User Guide.

Performance Testing
With the TL-WDR4300, the time to connect to Internet is shorter compared to the Thomson Router provided by Maxis.
I am able to achieve Torrent and Direct Download of approximately 1.2MB per second from my Maxis Home Fibre 10Mbps package. YouTube streaming (HD) is very smooth
On my iPhone, I used an app called “Wi-Fi Sweetspots” to gather the bandwidth between the iPhone and the TL-WDR4300. iPhone is placed approximately 1m from the router. My result is 80-90Mbps (5GHz) and 50-60Mbps (2.4GHz)
Using TamoSoft Throughput Test the average result is 100-110Mbps. This is pretty decent speed as we can never achieve the theoretical 300/450Mbps.

 

This post has been edited by ronnie: Feb 17 2015, 02:19 PM

Actual Product Images















This post has been edited by ronnie: Feb 17 2015, 02:29 PM

no offence,but this is more towards how-to/manual not a user review.

I'm so sorry as I'm a newbie at this
I review I how I configure the router

This post has been edited by ronnie: Feb 17 2015, 02:23 PM

my concern is longivity usage. it often fail for tp link cheap product.

That's something no one can "guarantee"... but there's a 2-year warranty from TP-LINK though.

yea, it comes with 2 years warranty service, so far I don't have any problem with my "3 years old" TP-Link router..and as you said it's cheap..go and get a new & better one

i would just say affordable,but this 4300 is quite stable coz i am using one.so far can go up to 1 month without any reset.

too bad it doesn't support ipv6 daric1991

this one is like a clone of Asus Dark Knight Series. only lacking in RAM.

oklaaa TPLink,better than DLink or Aztech.LEL

Good about TLink and ASUS,they more updated to our local internet industry.

Archer C7 seem interesting.

This post has been edited by Xefron: Feb 27 2015, 11:33 AM

http://www.tp-link.com/lk/support/download...ersion=V1#tbl_j

I can't get it running with the latest firmware.
Tell me how you can make it run.

You are using the wrong firmware. Sri Lanka ....

Try this.
http://www.tp-link.com/en/support/download...4300&version=V1

this is the correct one for Malaysia.

That is the older firmware on Malaysia download site.

Published Date 1/12/2015


u really make me confuse.suit yourself using version of other country firmware in Malaysia.

I downloaded both and flashed it.

The one posted on TP link international website is a newer firmware.
Reading from the firmware in the router. Not just the date on the website.

The international firmware doesn't always suit Malaysia, because to run Unifi or Maxis, they have make a different firmware to support it.

Do not buy this router if you need the "Guest Network' feature. The Malaysia firmware do not have this feature...even though it's advertised on the box.

Only the international version of the firmware have this Guest Network feature. But I didn't know how to setup to connect to Unifi. Any kind soul can help ?

I don't know about this AP but only few numbers of APs that can be configured the way current Unifi AP is configured. You can Google this. I think I read somewhere that by changing standard Unifi configuration (i.e. to make the Huawei fiber termination box as DHCP server) then you can use any normal AP.

I bought different TPLINK and for unifi setup - Follow this guide.

http://stanleytiang.blogspot.com.au/2011/0...using-your.html

Works for me

Let me know if you have problem.

Bro, you refer to this kind soul! its work for me too!


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thanks for the advice!