TP-Link Wireless N Nano Router review

TP-Link’s claim that the Nano is the smallest wireless router may be wide of the mark (Edimax’s BR-6258n is very slightly smaller), but there’s no disputing its portability. It’s small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, a mere 18mm thick, and weighs next to nothing.

The Nano can function as an AP, a router, a bridge, a repeater or as a wireless client. Its micro-USB socket means it can be powered from a laptop, or you can use the mains adapter.

After setup, WPA2 security is already configured with the default key printed on the Nano’s base, and it also offers SSID masking and MAC address filtering. Wireless isolation stops all wireless clients from seeing each other.

We tested in AP mode, but router mode flips the network port to WAN mode and makes a basic SPI firewall available. You can add port forwarding rules and enable domain, IP or MAC address filtering. With QoS profiles you can define the bandwidth available to IP address ranges. The Nano supports 802.11n, but its low power means it can manage only speeds of 150Mbits/sec. Nevertheless, our close-range tests went well: copying a video clip between a LAN system and an Acer D255E netbook returned a decent average of 8.5MB/sec.

Increasing the distance saw throughput drop substantially. Running the same file copy with the netbook in the next room and a brick wall in the way, average speeds fell to 2.7MB/sec.

Long-range speeds aside, there’s little to criticise the miniscule Nano for. It’s an ideal companion for mobile workers in hotels, and it costs a paltry £17. What’s not to like?

Author: Dave Mitchell