TP-Link N150 Wireless 3G/4G Portable Router with Access Point/WISP/Router Modes (TL-MR3020)

I bought this on the recommendation of a friend just before an overseas trip. My expectations were low: I have had disappointing experiences with various "travel" devices in the past. Also, my collection of prepaid mobile-data dongles all behave badly enough when plugged into my laptop -- the software you install on your laptop to control them is always doing nasty things. So to add a third-party device into the mix seemed to me like a recipe for disaster. However, having configured the TP-LINK before my trip, on arrival at my destination I topped up the prepaid carrier account for my dongle, plugged it into the TP-LINK, connected to the TP-LINK management screen via a browser from my laptop, and started up the mobile-data connection: I was up and running in 2 minutes. The TP-LINK performed flawlessly for my whole stay. Not only was the dongle better behaved when plugged into the TP-LINK than when plugged into my laptop, but also we were able to use the Internet connection concurrently from my wife's laptop, my iPad, and my iPod Touch. The wifi signal was strong enough to penetrate the wall into the bedroom, so I got a good signal from my iPad in there (even in the bathroom off the bedroom). Another benefit: I was able to put the TP-LINK close to the window to get the best signal, while I used my laptop was anywhere I wanted to use it. In summary, it was just like using my wifi at home (although obviously not quite as fast). I also like how this device looks (as though it was designed by Apple).

Have an Ipad from work with 4G Verizon cellular service. Rarely used it so i was wondering what I could do with the SIM card with other devices. I put the SIM in an old Samsung Galaxy S5 and turned it into a data only VOIP phone. Then wondered about a 4G wifi router. Came across the MR3020. Bought a few to play around with cheap price etc, I actually didnt do my research before I purchased. I want to be able to just insert the SIM card into the router but that cant be done. You need to purchase a compatible USB cellular modem to plug into the MR3020. I got a few used Verizon VL600s off Ebay for $13. First thing was to update the MR3020 firmware. Then download and install VZ Access Manager. So I plugged in the VL600 into the laptop and the VZ Access Manager updated the VL 600 firmware. Now at first I thought this was not working so I opened the VL600 and saw that SIM card I put in was a micro but the VL600 used an older full size so I had to position the mico just right to get the contacts lined up. Once that was done I had Internet access on the laptop. I plugged the VL600 ino the USB port on the MR3020. Connected to the MR3020 internal WEB configuration - set the 3G/4G settings to Verizon and had Internet access, So I see this as a better setup over the router I originally wanted that used a SIM card. This way I can supply net access to whomever needs it via the MR3020 or used it in the VL600 in my laptop and can always pop the SIM back into the Galaxy S5 data VOIP. All bases covered! So yes this MR3020 does work as expected with the VL600 with ZERO issues - cant beat the cost of these devices for multiple net connections. So if you have a spare SIM card in a tablet now you can use it a phone/USB modem/ 3G/4G router - \o/

Where to start with this one. Let's start with the basics. Unlike other portable devices used to connect at hotels, etc. this one is actually two pieces. The device itself, and a rather beefy power supply. That was my first unpleasant surprise. If you're looking for a self-contained unit, look elsewhere. Now, let's talk about the functionality. The 4G disconnects randomly. (I should note that the dongle works fine when connected to a computer--so it's not the 4G dongle or coverage.) Troubleshooting this isn't something that is easily done. It is necessary to connect to the "router" (I'll tell you why that is in quotes in a moment.) and pull up a status page. The light doesn't work correctly. The software on the device is the worst that I've used in a LONG time. Almost EVERY change requires a reboot of the device, which sucks 1 - 2 minutes you'll never see again. That doesn't seem like a lot. But, death by a thousand cuts, as they say. You start making 5 changes (SSID change, password change, administrative name change, network address range change, etc.), that 1-2 minutes adds up pretty quickly. The AP mode is absolutely useless in situations where you want all devices NATing behind one address. It doesn't support it--at all. Even if you enable the DHCP on the device, it doesn't NAT. In fact, enabling DHCP only prevents you from going out of the network at all. (I suppose I could have tried to reverse-engineer the hotel's gateway address to see if that would help. Other routers that support this functionality just work. Plug them in, they work. This one...not so much. I cannot emphasize enough that this functionality just does not work. The WISP mode works...sometimes. I was at a hotel the other day at which the device wouldn't latch on to an IP address. My devices could--the MR3020 could not. And did not. So, my advice: Move on and find another device from another manufacturer. This one doesn't deserve the money you spend, nor the amount of time you spend trying to make it do things it just can't do.

For my purposes, use aboard my boat, I wanted a device which could be powered directly from a DC power source. This device fits the bill and offers a lot of functionality with its many operating modes, but has negatives in two areas. One, the documentation is very redundant and has some errors. Common set-up instructions are repeated for each operating mode making much longer than necessary and less convenient to navigate. It could be made dramatically more concise by eliminating the large amounts of repetative material. Also, the documemtation for setting up in repeater mode is incorrect. Correct instructions for repeater mode set-up can be found under the FAQs on the manufacturer site at the link below. http://www.tp-link.us/article/?faqid=659 Error recovery. I'm often in areas with poor internet service coverage. When this device looses connection it does not recover well. It will often revert to "identifying modem" state and often will get stuck in this state and require rebooting to recover. Obviously it does not cache the modem type and needlessly goes back thru its identification routine which is slow and error prone. I also own a router by Cradle Point which has much better error recovery with configurable behavior. As a result of the above issue, Ive discovered that this router runs the same software as other routers sold under different brand names. I have another full sized router of a different brand that has obviously the same software (just the brand banner is different) which has the same issues. Ive also had issues with the client side wifi connection dropping frequently in WISP mode. It recovers quickly, but still annoying.

This is a nifty little gadget. When I moved to the midwest, I wanted internet access without adding an additional bill every month. So I started looking for devices that let me effectively use my cellphone's hotspot as a router. This here did the trick. And better yet, it is super cheap. The setup is simple. I logged into the device, configured it to use my hotspot as its WAN connection, and connected a CAT5 to my wireless router. Instant home network! This enabled me to use my hardwired blu-ray player for Netflix, AND let me print wirelessly from my laptop. The only issue is my phone has to be within range with the hotspot on, so I couldn't start a large download before I leave for work and have it done when I get home, but that's not the product's fault.

I was looking for a router replacement for my 3+ year old Cradlepoint PHS-264 that would have an ethernet port and increased WiFi range. I had long ago worn out the Cradlepoint battery and found that I rarely needed it, so the lack of a battery was not a critical need. This router met all my requirements, and was very much less expensive than the PHS-264. Although I did not measure it, the range seems significantly greater in that I can now connect in rooms I never had a connection from before. I use the ethernet port to connect various electronic devices that don't support WiFi, like an old laptop with an unsupported wireless adapter and a Beaglebone Linux computer board. So far I'm very happy with this purchase. I did have to download a new firmware drop to make the unit recognize my old USB760 Modem. There is a catch-22 in the process in that I first had to download the update file using a computer with another internet connection, then update the router from this computer. So you can't get a wifi connection using the router unless you already have a connection. Not a show-stopper, but a wrinkle anyway. For people who say their router does not support the Verizon 760 modem, my router, which does support it, with the new firmware says the configuration is now: Firmware Version: 3.17.1 Build 130929 Rel.36745n Hardware Version: MR3020 v1 00000000 I believe that corresponds to the download named TL-MR3020_V1_130929 on the tp website, but could not be absolutely sure without repeating the process.

I live in US but I bought this item to use in India where we have a data card (USB Data modem). The CD it comes with only has instructions which can also be found on the website. It was very easy to setup as I know how to configure routers and modems. Even if you are newbie, instructions are very clear and anyone can do it. Once it's setup you just have to plug it in a power outlet and plug the USB data card in and it will start. It does take like 5 minutes to get internet connection but once it is connected it works flawlessly. I did check on the product website to see if it compatible with the Internet carrier I have in India. The model number of the USB data card was listed on the website so I bought it and it worked. it is very small and portable. it can be powered on by wall plug or computer so that is n added advantage. It also has an Ethernet port of you want connect a device which doesn't have wireless capability. I would recommend this to anyone who has a USB modem for Internet and wants to share with multiple devices.

While this device seems to work as I would expect in Access Point mode, my primary need was for it's WISP function to set up a LAN hosting an android tablet and Chromecast while providing WAN access through hotel wireless. I was successful in establishing connections to less than half the wireless acesss points that I tried while running the latest TP-LINK firmware version. Curious as to whether I had bad hardware, I flashed in OpenWRT. This did allow me to succeed at connections that I couldn't make with the TP-LINK firmware, but I could only get the router configured from a wired connection. Not being familiar or proficient with OpenWRT, I found the process cumbersome and definitely want to be able to travel with only my tablet that doesn't support wired connections. This is probably a fine device if you are comfortable running OpenWRT, but I found the TP-Link firmware a bust. FWIW - I have since purchased a D-Link DIR 510L which I have found reliable and extremely easy to configure.