Tenda 4G09 LTE router
Tenda’s 4G router is outstanding value if you’re after the basics.
We reviewed our first Tenda Wi-Fi device a few months ago. It was mesh system most notable for the fact it was available from Officeworks and, subsequently, could be purchased on a whim (or in an emergency) when shoppingaround wasn’t an option. Now here’s another Tenda device and this one will be available primarily via amazon.com.au. It’s a dual-band, AC1200 router that uses 4G as the primary internet source.
It resembles a kind of robot rabbit, replete with bunny-ear antenna. We slotted a full-sized SIM-card into the bottom, powered it on and it worked. Even in a world where Wi-Fi set-up has become a ‘few-click’ process – thanks to well-designed apps – Tenda wins the simplest set-up award for basically having no set-up. It just works. There’s not even a password on the default Wi-Fi network. For those desperate for internet access at a remote office or event, this will appeal when you have more important things to do than mess around with Wi-Fi set-ups.
If you want to set a password, you navigate to www.tendawifi. com where you’re presented with a set-up page that allows you to password-protect both the network and device’s administrator log-in. Once done, you can access the router’s settings using a basic, browser window. This allows you to disable mobile data, enable overseas roaming and adjust performance tweaks like beamforming, signal strength and anti-interference. The performance tweaks don’t come with detailed descriptions but they can be turned on and off when troubleshooting.
You can also send and receive text messages, schedule overall internet access and guest network access (plus bandwidth). Parental controls allow you to schedule access for different devices and assign whitelisted or blacklisted websites. There are point-to-point VPN tunnelling options, TR069 remote device management, monitoring tools, alongside the usual router features. They’re not as well labelled or explained as with phone apps but are all easily accessible for those who need them. All in all, there’s a full complement of mobile office settings for both casual and more-serious users.
4G performance will depend almost entirely on the local 4G network you’re attached to and is limited to 300Mbps down and 50Mbps up. There are also two Gigabit Ethernet ports which allow it to be used as a regular router too. We used these to test the performance of the Wi-Fi network using our standard tests of downloading videos from a Synology DS1019+ NAS to a Wi-Fi 6-equipped Dell XPS 15 OLED.
Up close it managed an excellent 392Mbps, one floor up this dropped to 30Mbps while two floors up it dropped to 23Mbps. These are impressive figures for a small AC router and the best we’ve seen from a 4G router – D-Link’s 4G was similar up close and one-floor up, but couldn’t maintain a connection two floors up.
Up to now we preferred TP-Link’s MR600 but at $350, despite offering better manageability through a cleaner interface, it comes across as very expensive in the face of Tenda’s $199 price tag. So, if you need a decent 4G-capable router, right now our recommendation is to buy the 4G09.
NICK ROSS Quick and simple to get up and running, powerful features plus a low price tag make it a winner..