Tp-link WR810N

Lower-speed Wi-fi around your home

This is one of the cheapest Wi-fi routers around, and it’s exceptionally compact, taking the form of a tobacco tin-sized box with a mains plug sticking out of one corner. That makes it ideal for carrying to places where the available internet connection might not suit what you need to connect to it, such as in a hotel or someone else’s home or office.

And it’s pretty versatile: you can use it as a standalone router, connected to a broadband modem or wired Ethernet network socket; or as a Wi-fi extender, sitting halfway between an existing router and somewhere its signal won’t quite reach; or in ‘client mode’ to connect a device with only a wired Ethernethernet port, such as a desktop PC or games console,nsole, to oa wireless network.rk. Ratherer than having to goo into thehe setup web page every time, a switchtch lets you choose the mode.

There are two Ethernet sockets built in, catering for a variety of configurations, and a USB port to attach and share a storage drive or charge your phone. The WR810N’S biggest limitation is that, as the ‘N’ implies, it only covers the 802.11n 2.4GHZ band, so newer 802.11ac devices won’t be able to use 5GHZ for the best speeds. That’s not ideal, especially for the adadveadvertised purpose of conconnecting a Tvtv-strstreaming stick, andd we found both rangee anand speed were limited.d. It also sticks out of the mmains socket quite awkwardlawkwardly.dly. Bbut it does work, andd coulduld prove vevery handy.

VERDICT: Even for occasional use we’d be happier with something faster, but as a cheap way to solve Wi-fi access problems it’s worth considering

★★★☆☆

ALTERNATIVE: Coredy E300 £23 This serves similar purposes and has aerials you can movemove,ve, although that didn’t helpelp it work any faster in our testestsests

Range and speed are limited, but it could prove very handy