TP-LINK TL-WDR4300 N750 Wireless N Dual Band Gigabit Router w/ 2x USB Ports $52 after $30 rebate + Free Shipping
 

Amazon Link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/...er=&sr=8-2

Rebate Link:

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/im...69173_.pdf

Features

Simultaneous 2.4GHz 300Mbps and 5GHz 450Mbps connections for a totalof 750Mbps available bandwidth

2*USB 2.0 ports, convenient for users to share files through hard drive or FTP server

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

TP-LINK TL-WDR4300 N750 Wireless N Dual Band Gigabit Router w/ 2x USB Ports $52 after $30 rebate + Free Shipping
 

Amazon has TP-LINK TL-WDR4300 N750 Wireless N Dual Band Gigabit Router w/ 2x USB Ports for $81.78 - $30 rebate = $51.78 with free shipping. Thanks DealFinder70

Note, the product is shipping in 3-5 weeks and last day to postmark the rebate is 3/11, so keep an eye on the deadlines.

This post can and should be edited by users like you :)
 

Router is up to $85 as of 2/6/13 11:52am

Go to gargoyle-router.com, click download, and search for gargoyle_1.5.9-ar71xx-generic-tl-wdr4300-v1-squashfs-factory.bin to flash the device.

I'll give you a TU because this is a good router. However, its not front page worthy because it was $39 AR about a month ago. That being said, I think its a great price for dual band N with Gagibit ethernet ports. I've had it about a month now and the range is very good, reaching all the way from my basement to my Roku in the upstairs bedroom. Running speed tests 2 floors away shows it maxing out my cable modems bandwidth. I'm also fairly certain the ethernet ports work well as I had a LAN party of about 10 people hooked up (obviously had to use some extra switches). My main complaints are that WPS doesn't always work and the 5GHz band doesnt perform well beyond one floor. However, to my knowledge, the last issue is really more related to the physics of 5GHz vs 2.4GHz bands.

Edie: I just realized I actually bought the N600 TL-WDR3600 version. Most of my review is probably still applicable, but I would assume the 5GHz band performs better on this model.

Previous thread to install OpenWRT

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/8...-usb-ports

That FP deal was during black Friday so it gives this deal some leeway on pricing

Does anyone know the following?

If I buy this from a third party on Amazon to avoid paying the tax would I still qualify for the rebate?

Yeah, looking at the dates, looks like it was black friday pricing.

The $40 TP-link from a few weeks ago was the N600. Obviously the N750 is a bit better, but you also have to have the antennas and wireless nic card that supports multiple bands to take advantage of the extra speed.

How well does it work as a media server and a print server?

Looks like a decent deal but it only gets 3 'stars' on newegg. I try to only buy 4 star or better products.

yeah, i was gonna bite but based on reading the negative reviews on both amazon and newegg it doesn't sound worth it.

This is one of the best router out there.

I have been using it for a while. the firmware that it came with was kind of weak but support sent me new firmware and it is working like a charm. this is an excellent price for this router. Support is very responsive and one of the best that i have worked with.

it has gigabit port, print server and can be used as a media server also, however i have not used it as media server.

Most routers suck without custom firmware. From all accounts this router seems to be good once you get one of the open source firmwares on it.

I'm kind of jealous. Got the 3600 a few weeks ago and now this one is on sale. I don't even have any 5ghz devices except for my laptop but it's always good to be future proof.

BH Photo sold 4300 through 12/1 for 40 AR...didn't arrive for almost a month...set up was a breeze, looks like a giant cyclops from a 60s japanese scifi on your desk, worked well for a week then mysteriously stopped connecting/disconnecting lappy and smartphone...hours and hours of aggravation ensued...got returned (refunded for half the price)..still awaiting the rebate for other half..wouldn't really touch TP again....

AC gigabit wireless standard is just around the corner. I would wait if possible.

Wish I picked this up during BF when it was 40 bucks...

Sometimes they have already appropriated the rebate themselves. I remember seeing this once when looking for graphics cards.

read the box/ packaging description

Been around the corner for a while ....you also need new adapters to support upcoming AC standard.

Plus most cable/dsl < anyhow mine is about 30-33 Mbps even with DOCIS 3.0 so there is your choke point.

This is a good deal seems custom firmware makes it rock solid dual-band Gateway.
Also has a Gigabit switch a definite must for XBOX. Looks decent too.

Pretty good deal for a solid dual-band router for right at $50-ish (That's a good bang for buck)

Its not Black Friday but close "In the ballpark pricing"..I bit saved me a lot over my next choices.

It's a very good router.

For anyone interested, I'd suggest to use the OpenWrt based Gargoyle firmware, instead of the plain OpenWrt firmware.
It has all the features one could expect and it's much much easier than OpenWrt to get everything working.

Go to gargoyle-router.com, click download, and search for gargoyle_1.5.9-ar71xx-generic-tl-wdr4300-v1-squashfs-factory.bin to flash the device.

Using plain OpenWrt will require installing many additional pkgs and writing your own scripts. After that you better save them on your own desktop cause they will be gone next time the device is flashed or powered off for long assuming some of your scripts are saved at /tmp which is a virtual memory drive.

Any other concerns with Gargoyle or is it simply "flash and forget"?

Also...

Is the stock firmware any good?

FWIW, I bought the N600 on the last slickdeal and I've actually kept the stock firmware. Printer and scanner sharing works flawlessly (so far). Network connectivity has been fine, although I'm not doing the P2P stuff that typically stresses the router. As a media server, it's slow as dirt, and since the hardware is roughly the same on the N750 I don't imagine it's much better. Think ~8-10MB/s range. Good enough to stream a movie, not good enough to regularly back up your 2TB hard drive.

I flashed DD-WRT on it briefly, and routing was fine, but getting printer/scanner sharing going on the prerelease DD-WRT releases you need to get support for this router seemed less than ideal. Haven't tried OpenWRT yet.

Around the corner = end of 2013. That's quite a large corner :lol:

The current gargoyle release is super stable on this router

Only thing I run into is, if you have many tcp connections (e.g., 5+ devices and some requires 500+ connections), you can edit in the Firewall/connection page to increase the max connections (e.g., set it to 8192).

This is actually why the stock firmware is not stable in some cases. The stock firmware doesn't allow you to change this param.

From what i read..it's being ratified this month and the equipment will be slowly rolling out for the consumers first then enterprise later on at the end of the year. Either way, I want something with much longer range, can stand interference from home phones and microwaves, and future proof. The speed...well its nice to have but even FiOS at its best cannot approach anywhere close to Gigabit.

Thanks for pointing that out. I was looking at the openwrt for my N750 and I'll probably give this a try. Do you know if you can set this up in repeater mode using the Gargoyle firmware?

looks pretty boss.

how does this compare to the Cisco Linksys EA3500 that's also on sale?

Openwrt firmware. Mine has been rock steady since it was flashed (47 days ago), even under load.

Oddly enough, I just received my rebate today from the black friday deal.

Rebate Requests must be postmarked by March 11, 2013

Try OpenWRT not the gargoyle version cause it's limiting in features. Luci is good and a few others. I have 3 routers running in repeater bridge , I've tried DD-WRT and It runs a lot slower on wireless and not as stable as OpenWRT, and I don't like gargoyle's interface and features.

I've brought this on BF sale at newegg, installed Gargoyle and it works great. You get all the bells and whistles of the high end router, 3x150mbps at 5ghz and 2x 2x150mbps at 2.4ghz, 2 usb ports for usb drives and printers, and gigabit ports. The signal strength is very good compared to other rouiters.

One big con about this router is that it only 8mb of flash, only enough room to install the router OS. I wish I know of a way to install something like transmission for bittorrent or a .nzb client.

Amazon charges some of us tax. And paying tax on a rebate is a non-starter for me. Maybe next time...

EA3500 [amazon.com] - very comparable in regards to transmission rates (300+450) and I think they have the same number of antennas (3).

Are you using Attitude Adjustment, or did you pull from trunk? It wasn't particularly clear from the wiki which was required for the N600. It's something I'm planning on trying, but the things I need to work seamlessly are USB printer and scanner sharing. OpenWRT looks like it has the printer aspect down, but USBIP seems unmaintained and the SANE frontend seems rather barebones.

Why do need gigabit for xbox? It's only 10/100 port on the xbox 360. That being said, 100mbps is plenty to stream HD

Question for the masses: I have a Belkin router with USB support for an external hard drive but from what I've seen and read, my router doesn't support anything past 2 TB and I have a 3 TB drive I'd like to hook up. Is there a way to know for sure that this router supports larger drives? And if not, can someone suggest one that does?

Thanks for your help.

I have a 3TB drive as well. Can someone confirm or refute this?

Does my desktop have to support gigabit ethernet in order to get gigabit speeds? I am not sure what my desktop wired connection speed is.

I'm using Backfire for my N600 it seems to be the best performance from the other at the time when I flash the the bios, I've tired many until I settled on backfire. I haven't really done much to it since setting it all up. I install a few packages to get the repeater to run at full speed using dual band. I've had this setup for almost a year I think. I don't do much USB stuff for my router so I can't say much about that. You can check the Open WRT forums. I got so many info at the time when setting up my routers. Check to see if someone has a build for your desired need, they are very informative.

It clearly states on the rebate form "Valid ONLY for purchases made at Amazon"

So I would say no, you might be out of luck

Just an FYI, I did the rebate last time this was FP and the rebate came quickly with no issues.

Also flashed with the latest TPLink firmware and it has been going strong ever since.

Grabbing gargoyle in case the TPLink firmware gives me issues, but a little confused:

What is the other gargoyle file (with suffix: [...]sysUpgrade.bin) supposed to be used for?

The factory.bin files are meant to be flashed over factory stock
firmware routers - they usually have some extra "magic bytes"
i.e. a trick header - to fool the factory firmware into thinking its
reading its own factory firmware, not 3rd party firmware.


Sysupgrade.bin is for any router that is currently running either
openwrt or gargoyle and can be flashed via the GUI.

Can you point us to the version you speak of ? Is this version just as easy to flash and not brick?

Just a heads up on this router; I bought it during Black Friday and have enjoyed it for the most part.

Pros:
Dual Simultaneous Band
Two USB Ports
Stable

Cons:
5GHz wireless strength is AWFUL, I have to connect to the 2.4GHz if I am upstairs and want decent signal; overall, signal strength is poor
USB transfer is slow, very slow
Put DD-WRT on it and just about bricked itself after install

It is a great router, I simply had much higher expectations. My last wireless router had twice the signal reach in my opinion and my cheap, crappy, ATT Uverse wireless modem router is much more powerful than this one. I still use this one, and turned off the wireless on my modem, but that is only because I use it for USB storage.

Electric80
 

I never buy if rebates:shake:

Just curious is it still valid on a fufilled by amazon order?

I got one on the Black Friday deal (still waiting for rebate).

I tried to set it up using as a wireless access point using stock firmware, but had many issues. As soon as I flashed gargoyle on it, everything worked flawlessly. The flash was super-easy. I highly recommend putting gargoyle on this router.

Range and signal strength is much better than the Cisco E4300 I was using previously.

I'm happy with it and would buy it again, especially for the price. I couldn't find anything close to it in this price range.

It was My FIRST Front Page deal got Posted..!!! Great!!

Thanks twitter@Slick2Buy

Typo ??
I've never heard of an E4300.

This or the Asus N66???

I got the lower version of this router the N600 and put OpenWRT Attitude Adjustment with Luci. It has been running rock solid and I had to install a package for DDNS service. I also noticed that there was a NZB package called NZBget for this router.

I tried stock, DD-WRT and OpenWRT with the N600 version. OpenWRT wroked best for my wireless. stock and DD-wrt would lose my 5G band and my phone wouldn't connect to 2.4 N on DD-WRT. Also router would drop connetion when doing large downloads 30 -40 GB from internet.

So far OpenWRT has been the best. Both bands have been solid and no drops during large downloads.

Asus N66 heads down the best router right now

I picked this router up when it was posted for 40 after rebate. Posting my personal experience with it thus far.

Configuration-wise, there are a few interesting things about it. For starters, you can rename the admin account, along with the usual setting your own password. This is a good security point since it eliminates the admin account attack vector. The router also features dynamic DNS and NTP support but it may not work in unique networking scenarios like mine (internet to FiOS router/modem to N750).

Be aware that if you want to set a lot of options or turn things on or off, you're going to have to prepare some added time as many of the settings, including basic ones like wireless SSID, SSID broadcast, protocol mix (n-only, g-only, b-only, mix), will have you rebooting the router countless times just to have it all set up. Prepare a cup of tea before you start setting up the router.

There seems to be an issue with WDS on the initial firmware. There is a new version out at this time but I have yet to test it. The issue lies in maintaining a WDS connection as the initial setup would result in the two devices seeing each other but then dropping out after a few hours (give or take). I have reported this to their tech support staff and they are aware of the quirk. The secondary device was a Linksys WRT54G v3 hardware running Tomato. It's unknown as to where the problem lies but a power-cycle of the Linksys device did not solve the WDS connection issue. Only a reboot of the N750 rectify the problem but temporarily. Your mileage may vary if you seek to use WDS in your setup.

If upgrading the firmware, be prepared to re-set all your options and settings, along with having to access the device from its default IP, username, and password. This quirk freaked me out as it made me thought I had bricked it. But it wasn't so since basic network traffic was still going through. I later confirmed the upgrade did work but all settings reverted to default when I peeked on my phone's wireless network list and seeing the default SSID name on it.

Signal strength on the 2.4GHz band seems pretty good, as I was able to maintain a connection with the phone and Nexus 7 in my room (2nd floor) while the N750 sits in the living room (1st floor). The 5GHz band, though, has issues with passing through walls and objects. I guess that's to be expected. Should be no problem if using 5GHz while on the same floor.

Wired connection seems pretty good... and while the network cables I used for the desktop PCs are not certified for gigabit connection, it somehow worked right off the bat. I haven't tested file transfers on it yet but I doubt I'll do the test any time soon.

assuming that you're using standard four pair network cable, it should be gigabit ready.

I get gigabit connections on cat 5e leftover from a project 15 years ago (dated on the cable from 1997)

is that on stock firmware? For some reason when i flashed to gargoyle, i could not connect my xbox to the wireless no matter what i tried. Installed different firmwares, static ip, etc. Nothing worked.

3-5 weeks to ship and rebate must postmarked by 3/11...thats cutting it pretty close. Knowing me I would not send it out on time. Good luck to the rest of you.

I hope so

this info is from the dd-wrt thread on the wdr3600, but it may be the same issue/solution

"Someone sent me a suggestion to try setting the WPA to just TKIP which I had thought I had done before but apparently not.

WPA2 Personal Mixed + TKIP now lets my Xbox 360 connect and get an IP and gain access to the internet."


+


"Regarding the Xbox 360 I found a slight work around to get it working instead of making a new virtual wireless network. If you take and set it to TKIP and then connect the Xbox to the network you can take and set it back to TKIP+AES after successfully connecting. It seems the Xbox will remember to keep using TKIP after the first successful connection.
"

Router is climbing. Up to $85 today

What scripts are you talking about? I've been running Attitude adjustment without issue, no scripting necessary.

How did you get DDNS working? I installed the DDNS Luci package and it won't update my dyndns IP.

This is a known issue with the DDWRT firmware, I suggest going to OpenWRT if you have an Xbox.

What is wrong with stock firmware? Seems like many want to switch back.

It looks like Gargoyle is the best of the other choices.....

But what exactly do you gain? Does it perform better or just more settings that many won't use? I also believe it breaks hardware NAT.

I use DDWRT now but seems like its not ready for is router. Just wondering if there is a real need to go to custom firmware on this one as the stock firmware seems decent.

Any comparisons would be welcome between stock and Gargoyle fro those who have tried both...thanks.

I have a much less expensive TP-Link (TL-WR841N)... having the same issue, and it started after a couple of months. Was thinking of upgrading to this one nevertheless, because overall I like it and this was a good price... bummer to hear about the same problem on it. Guess I'll keep looking/

I have to restart my router a couple of times a week because of it (and it's not my other equipment that's the problem, it happens on both my laptop's adapters, Mac and cellphone).

i have the 4300, it replaced a very good TP-Link WDR1043 that after a couple years started to need frequent reboots. The 4300 was better range and all but after a couple months of stable use, started to need frequent reboots. I was very disappointed. I went back to the 1043. After a couple months, I noticed a new firmware and after loading that (I think it was December I loaded it), I've been running the 4300 without issue.
I had download the OpenWRT gargoyle, intending to try that but haven't installed it since the new stock was working fine

Gargoyle is for basic stuff, if you want more advanced, go to shell

N66 is like Ferrari, while this more like Altima.

Yes, Gargoyle supports bridge.

So is the price $51 vs $164.93 that's a whopping $103 more!

Really HIGHLY doubt you get anywhere near $103 worth of better router/switch/AP. In fact I would say the average user couldn't tell any difference.
They are both TOP TIER routers by their respective manufacturers.

This is a FAR FAR better deal than the Asus N66U .... which is way way overpriced and won't be dropping much in price due to #1 ranking anytime soon.
Never go top...always go second tier to save money. This is a SD.

calling this altima, would insult altima, this is a Play-Doh car (device), which works decent with third party firmware.
this is piece of junk with stock firmware, the latest firmware will drop DNS capability.

you will be able to go to websites based on ip address but not on domain names.

the previous version was to fix certain phones could not connect to web, even after that firmware none of my android devices can connect.

Um user error?

Most people don't complain about it I mean come on. Its you.

I always laugh when people RMA stuff 90%+ of the time its them and they blame it on the device.
I've never had to RMA anything and built lots of computers.

Nothing wrong with this hardware if stock doesn't work go Gargoyle or other.

yes user error, why dont you build your own routers insted, Why do you buy yours.

you buy hardware for its stock firmware and not bolthole or gargoyle.
they are used when the stock fails.

At least TP link Firmware seems decent most just assume you go third party.
Many are using stock firmware successfully with this router.

Why build when you can buy for $50

brbubba,

I installed luci-app-ddns package onto the router. Then I entered which service I am using (DynDns) and entered my username and password for that DNS service. Also my domain had to be added.

I also had to actually go to my account DynDNS webapge and have it update my IP address there and then my DNS was working. It wasn't working at first for me also until I updated the IP at then DynDNS webpage.

I went to Firewall section on OpenWRT to setup the Port Forwards.

Okay. I finally bit and bought one. I hope this works well for my media sharing, apple TV and wireless printing.

Hmmmm, mine wouldn't update for anything, then I manually updated it myself on the website, maybe it's working now. My last update says it was 10 days ago, but I'm pretty darn sure it was way before that since I last worked on it. Hopefully it's been working all along, wish DynDns had logs I could look at. Now to get OpenVPN working properly... grrr, too much to do.

The one thing I've learned after setting up over a dozen unique routers is never trust the stock firmware. With the exception of a few commercial solutions, I haven't met a firmware that's been liked or performed better than the third party firmware. You also have to realize that many third party firmwares have been developed for years, so in some cases they are just throwing in a chipset driver for a wireless radio and everything else is set to go. OpenWRT for instance was started in 2004, so that's over 8 years of development.

WDR4300 has rich feature set, but its not even a good basic router. USB sharing, Media server doesn't really work, 5GHz has a range of few feets, 2.4Ghz range is poorer than the 6 year old, D-Link 525. I would never recommend this router to anyone I have tested with both Stock and OpenWrt.


I am running with openwrt, this router still bad.

Mine just shipped be here tomorrow. Will report back after I set it up.

As for those wondering why I want GIG Ethernet for XBOX

The new one XBOX720....8GB of RAM, 50GB Blu-ray disc drive and feature Gigabit Ethernet.

Plus my Desktop also has Gigabyte Ethernet and the printer.

Just to make sure. You updated on the website at home and not at work right. That would give a different IP to DynDns.

Keep the packing materials safe.

and box intact..i was in big hurry to rush out the rebate app with the UPC cut out of the box...better off using it a week to ten so you can return it intact for full refund instead of half...as for the stock firmware-all i'm reallly capable of or willing to deal with as a proud sub-genius-it's buggy and unreliable as hell..you'll be pulling your hair out if you have any....

do logread -f on the shell, the kernel should spit why the DDNS server wont accept/register.

I use freedns(crabdance.com) and works well.

I am not questioning third party firmware's, I have been using dd-wrt from its infant days.
Only issue I see with third party firmware is they are all build the same with same power output to antennas.
For instance this router has powerful antennas and range of this is reduced when not using stock firmware, but then no one knows what the right power setting should be, it's like keep trying and find the best for yourself. Yes there are good for someone who has time to tweak them.

Whaaaaat? There's no way, how so? You are running Attitude Adjustment right? The new CoDel is working amazingly well for Skype.

Yes yes, of course. I'm not that dumb... yet! :D

Thanks for the tip, was going to check my router logs when I got home.

You could find out what the stock power output is... You could just set it at the max... You could set it somewhere in the middle... Or you could set it at default or min. Honestly though, those power output tweaks haven't ever really helped me much on any router. BTW, my WDR3600 is set to the max right now.

I ordered last night and my product shipped today with Prime and I will get it on Friday. Where did you see 3-5 weeks for shipping? Is anyone else seeing that long time frame?

Yeah I'm wondering about the 3-5 weeks? Mine said expected to be delivered between 2/11-2/15. I ordered on 2/5 and I think that is pretty reasonable delivery date for free shipping. Sold by MYeHUT Inc and Fulfilled by Amazon. I presume thats eligible as Rebate says nothing about buying from a 3rd party via amazon.

While the new Xbox will most likely come with gigabit ports you won't need them for anything. Even the 100mbps ports on the current Xbox is over 4x the bandwidth that one needs to stream HD material from a machine on the network. I do it daily with four different Xboxes and have never felt the need for gigabit on the front-end devices. Now, I've got gigabit on the PC that supplies all these files and handles TV DVR duties (6 tuners) because I'm constantly recording & streaming HD material usually at the same time. Most fast internet connections are 30-50mbps which is still WELL under half of the throughput of the current 10/100 ports. Your gaming experience won't be better. You're media experience won't be better. Why you think you need gigabit for your Xbox is beyond me.

I want GIG ports.

xbox specs haven't been released yet. In all likelihood, it will have a gigabit port on it. In all likelihood, nobody is going to use it unless MS makes it easier to drag and drop content from your PC onto your xbox.

Yeah, ok, you do that. Makes sense to those who actually understand technology.

Gig E ports are incredibly useful.

Transfering large files across my network is not possible without Gig E ports...100Mbps is capping you out around 12.5MB/s but with Gig E ports I can do around 60MB/s to my NAS.

Why would spending a little extra on a Gig E router be a bad thing??

You do a lot of massive file sharing with your Xbox?

logread -f did nothing... logread did a lot, but only displayed the same logs I can get in the interface.

Some peoples incessant whining about gigabit confuses non-savvy users. Sure, gigabit is great, but it's definitely not a necessity for many folks. Many people are not regularly transferring gigabytes of data amongst their machines.

I've read people saying you need gigabit if you're going to be streaming HD content. Well, you look at the blu-ray spec for 1080P content at max bit-rate and it's 40 mbps. So, you could run two streams on a 100 mbps switch or router and still have some left over.

If you're doing a quad-hd setup.... okay, we need to talk, but 99% of people and slickdealers are not running that kind of technology.

Hell, people have complained that 10/100 switches FAR aren't good enough to do anything useful.

you sound like you benefit from gigabit and it's worth the price or at least waiting for a deal with gig ports. For 90% of people who plan on using this router for surfing the internet, hooking up a printer, maybe hooking up an xbox or ps3 wirelessly.... makes zero difference.

Typically GiG E devices have more RAM and slightly faster processors. than 10/100 devices. So even though you are correct in most cases it won't make much differences in all cases it may make some difference. Also when you want to plug a system into Ethernet to back it up to a server the GIG E comes in handy. No one in their right mind would do that over wireless.

Pretty much if given the choice their is no reason not to get GIG ports....allows for future growth.

Everything coming out these days should be gigabit anyway. Heck, the ps3 was gigabit lan.

If you are doing an incremental backup it shouldn't be that big of a deal. That first backup would be the bitch.

I don't do incrementals I want it all in one.

deal dead

That's silliness... why would you do that?

You probably bought one sold by a different company and fulfilled by amazon. That is what I did.

The one's sold by Amazon were showing 3-5 weeks. I didn't notice as I bought from my phone. I'm trying to figure out out on chat with Amazon now

EDIT: I bought mine from myehut or something like that, shipped by amazon. It is eligible for promo and was shipped.

Speaking of future proof isnt the 802.11ac routers out already. So really buying an N router now is a bit behind.

The price of AC routers is still insanely high. Also 5ghz N is awesome, none of my neighbors have upgraded to that yet so it's clear as can be.

It's just too bad some many mobile devices still don't support it.

The phones that support 5 GHz that I know of are Samsung Galaxy S2, S3, and Nexus 4.

Right, which makes up about 0.01% of the total mobile devices in use right now... maybe. It will be nice in a few years when the majority of mobile devices being used are 5GHz but by then there will be a whole new standard again. I think that aspect of technology is going to be a tough catching up game and no real universal solution for a while.

Honestly though, does it really matter than much if your phone can support 5ghz N??? My main need for 5ghz is network file transfers.

I feel safer with long-term storage that way... less chance of any unforeseen hiccups in recovery down the road.

Its my personal stuff and I'm very particular about how I back up... less steps the better. Less to go wrong. I will spend the time to ensure all data is accessible.

I agree normally incremental is fine but I'm particular about my stuff.

Mini review....

Well I installed it at lunch break... very few issues apart from the software not fully verifying set-up. No bother just went directly to web page and set it up... needed to set time etc and turn off WPS.

These are Internet speed tests.... from SPEAKEASY.NET comparing to prior.

I have COX Premier rated at 25 Mbps and a DOCIS 3.0 Motorola

Kids rooms on 2nd story with Router.

-----


N works flawlessly... my older sons computer was getting 16 Mbps over G and directly connected through Ethernet I get 32 Mbps on my desktop. After he joined the N network his Mbps now equal mine at 32 Mbps.... awesome! 5 bars on RSSI

My other son had an old G usb adapter and was pulling only 6 Mbps with new router (16 Mbps on old).... whereas my other laptop was pulling 18-19 Mbps over G with new router (16 Mbps old router)... so I went to Frys and grabbed him a WDN-4800 adapter and he also now gets 32Mbps on N. 3 bars on RSSI

My laptop connects a good 3 Mbps faster than before on my old Linksys E3000.

All on stock firmware out of the box. So far the router delivers the goods.

Its version 1.3 that shipped

..and yes its wide and tall with antennas...probably will wall mount it.

Not sure how you're getting Gbps when the router is rated for 300Mbps at 2.4GHz and 450Mbps at 5GHz bands. Did you mean Mbps?

Typo thanks corrected.

It's not even that, you would have to buy adapters and new cards for your whole network which could easily turn it into a $400+ investment. Not to mention, not a whole lot of stuff supports N, let alone AC.... so you would still have to run legacy g on the network.

Hard wiring to a gigabit switch is still the way to go if you can in your home.

I bought this during the Black Friday sale and am VERY pleased that I did (rebate just approved as well, so I'll be getting my $40 back!) as it has been up 100% of the time since then with zero issues and amazing performance. I didn't even bother with the stock firmware as I bought it with the explicit intention of using CoDel on the newest version of OpenWRT as I was sick of overloading my old router with too many connections. The best and most comprehensive instructions I found were here, he links to everything you'll need and the instructions are step by step. Best of luck!

https://gist.github.com/petedoyle/4129668

Thanks but he says no multiple SSIDs... is that true. If so that defeats a main purpose of this.

I just received mine and set it up this evening. I was able to set up two networks with no issue (using the LuCi GUI with bootstrap theme). Additionally, i was able to test Codel and it worked great!

I think that's also referred to as irrational fear.

Hard wiring is a given, when possible. I haven't run G in years, what devices are you running that still only have G? I guess PS3 and Xbox are still G, but our PS3 is wired so not a big deal.

Very Nice! What kind of tests did you run???

Nothing is irrational when it comes to feeling completely safe with your data...less complexity the better.

Anyone know if qualification for the rebate is based on fulfillment by Amazon?

I don't know what's less complex in this situation.

Incremental backup using standard tools such as rsync has been proven effective for more than a decade. It would be akin to saying you don't trust airplanes, so you drive everywhere. It's ok to feel safe about your backups, but at least admit that doing fresh copies each time for the sake of data integrity is a little bit irrational. It should also be noted that the more copying you have to do the more likely you are to introduce a copy error, along with premature failure due to higher disk usage.

Something very similar to what Pete Doyle did.

pinged google.com (no upload/no codel)
pinged google.com (while uploading to dropbox with no codel)
pinged google.com (no upload/with codel)
pinged google.com (while uploading to dropbox with codel)

While uploading without codel, my ping with google was between 500-600ms.. when codel enabled, my ping was around 16ms. :)

This weekend I will test how the module handles VOIP traffic from the Obi i got from a recent slickdeal. I prioritized all incoming and outgoing traffic from its ip.

If I buy this now and it ships in 5 weeks, will they still honor the rebate?

Just put through an order on one of these, sounds like OpenWRT works well.

Need a new router ASAP though so hoping a deal for a ddWRT or OpenWRT router comes up before this ships.

Oh boy.. My current apple airport extreme is on its deathbed, at times only transmitting my 18Mb/sec internet down to 1-2Mb/sec. It is agonizingly slow. Is there anything I can do to hold me over until this one arrives?

If anyone is having issues flashing gargoyle onto this router using (gargoyle_1.5.9-ar71xx-generic-tl-wdr4300-v1-squashfs-factory.bin), follow the instructions below.

"There is easy version of OpenWrt I recommend it for you :-
Visit this site :- http://www.gargoyle-router.com/download.php
Look for ((gargoyle_1.5.8-ar71xx-generic-tl-wdr4300-v1-squashfs-factory.bin))
Rename it to gargoyle.bin
Open the original TP-Link configuration.
Select “System Tools” » “Firmware Upgrade”
Select
"gargoyle.bin"
file then click “upgrade”
Wait about 5 minutes then you should be able to connect to 192.168.1.1
Do not unplug the power supply during upgrade.
If after 5 minutes 192.168.1.1 is unresponsive first reboot your PC and try again. If after 20 minutes 192.168.1.1 is unresponsive you may reboot both PC and router.

That should do the job and easy to configure."

Source: https://forum.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?id=40141

woot. Originally was scheduled 3/6-11, just got an email saying I should have it by 2/16...

Lucky you. I am in NEED of mine. My wife is mad that I ordered this one which is taking forever to be delivered.

I got my tracking information. This is confusing though.

According to Amazon Tracking, the progress has been:
According to USPS tracking, the progress has been: (It is now at my post office)
They give entirely different cities as originating city.

AWESOME! Received mine today!!!

Nice! Let us know how things go using OpenWRT!

Shipped yesterday from Amazon and I got it today! Setting up OpenWRT now!

Although much uglier than DD-WRT, it seems to be working great so far. A much needed upgrade after the hell my network has been for the last week or so.

I'm having issues after flashing Gargoyle... I can't get internet access. With stock firmware, if I copied the mac address and changed the ip login to 192.168.1.1, I can connect to the internet fine. After flashing with Gargoyle and fiddling with the mac address, I just am not able to get internet access.... Can anyone help with suggestions? (I'm using Verizon Fios)

Luci isn't that bad, Gargoyle is just horribly ugly. Also I know Luci has themes you can install.

Your Modem not reset?

Why do you guys use different firmware? I do not have any advanced router needs. I was reading up briefly, but I couldnt find the advantages of going open firmware over stock firmware.

With me, I have a lot of connections (torrents and such) and I've found the 3rd party firmware can handle the traffic better than the stock firmware. Not so sure if this is valid with the current N routers since I've been using the Buffalo HP G router all this time until I finally grabbed this tp-link router...

Customization, flexibility, features, etc. Also the latest openwrt has codel, works wonders for skype. Basically reduces network latency when people are downloading so that voip and video calls continue to work.

Gargoyle has themes too, some of which look kinda sorta like tomato (which is the cleanest out there IMO).

Discussion: http://www.gargoyle-router.com/ph...f=7&t=1482
Instructions: http://www.gargoyle-router.com/wi...me_manager

Does it make it faster or more efficient for basic users?

I sent off my rebate today.

I noticed that 5GHz has lower signal strength than 2.4GHz. I get 2 bars in the next room on 5GHz than on 2.4GHz.

So far it is working well. I have configured my network printer. I was planning on using this for media server, however, I just received a POGO device that I am using for media sharing.

This is the nature of 5GHz versus the 2.4GHz spectrum. Lower frequencies penetrate barriers better. This is an often overlooked fact when people are pushing 5GHz versus 2.4GHz for wireless connectivity with electronic devices.

Just got mine today! 5GHz is definitely a lot weaker compared to 2.4GHz.

Is anyone's rebate entered as yet? I mailed my rebate 2 weeks ago, and whenever I check, all I see is another rebate which I have with the same company.

It takes a LONG time. I still haven't gotten mine from the one a month before this one. They show that they received mine, but haven't sent out the rebate yet.

Did it take a LONG time for it to show that they received it? I want to make sure that my rebate submission didnt get lost in the mail or something like that.

Yes, something like 3 weeks. This is the longest I've ever had to wait for a rebate.

Checked the status of the rebate and got this message:

We are unable to process your claim for the following reasons:
- Required product not purchased.
- Purchase date not valid for this offer.
- Product was not purchased at a qualifying store.
You will receive a letter in the mail that explains the steps required to resolve these issues.

Not sure what that's about. I sent in all the required info, purchased it from Amazon on the correct date.

Wow, that's a bummer. You need to contact them.

Mine is showing up now: "We have received your claim and it is currently being processed. Please allow up to 10 weeks from the date your claim was received."