UL-Certified TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug with Dual Outlet Sells for $19.99 (Promo)

UL-Certified Smart Plug TP-Link Kasa

WiFi smart sockets to control home appliances have been around for a few years, and one of my favorite companies is Sonoff as they offer a variety of affordable smart plugs pre-loaded with eWelink firmware and compatible with open-source firmware like Tasmota and ESPurna. The company is also attentive to safety. communicate issues with customers, and recently wrote a post entitled “Safety is our responsibility” where they detail all steps taken to make sure their mains connected device sare safe to use. Sadly that does not include safety certifications like UL/ETL, or TUV which may have implications for your home insurance depending on where you live, and for peace of mind, it’s always good to have a third verify your design for safety. Which brings me to the main point of this point, as a UL-certified dual-outlet smart socket, namely TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug, is currently on sale for $19.99 […]

TP-Link Archer 802.11ax WiFi 6 Routers Sell for $350 and Up

TP-Link Archer AX6000 WiFi 6 Router

After NETGEAR and ASUS 802.11.ax WiFi routers introduction earlier this year, TP-Link has now launched their own WiFi 6 routers with Archer AX6000 and Archer AX11000 models. The latter will only be available at the end of January 2019, and full details have not been disclosed yet, but Archer AX6000 has already launched (pre-orders only) and specifications, pricing, and other details are known. TP-Link Archer AX6000 specifications: SoC – Broadcom BCM49408 quad core Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.8 GHz with network packet co-processor WiFi co-processors – 2x Broadcom BCM43684 802.11ax radios System Memory – 1GB RAM Storage – 128MB Flash Networking Wired 8x 1000/100/10Mbps LAN Ports 1x 2500/2000/1000/100Mbps WAN Port WiFi IEEE 802.11ax/ac/n/a 5GHz up to 4804Mbps IEEE 802.11ax/n/b/g 2.4GHz up to 1148 Mbps Wireless Functions – Enable/Disable Wireless Radio, Guest network, DFS, MU-MIMIO, OFDMA Wireless security – 64/128-bit WEP, WPA/WPA2, WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK encryptions 8x High-Performance External Antennas USB […]

The First Devices and Routers with WiFi 802.11ad Delivering Up 7Gbit/s Transfer Rates at 60 GHz Will Be Available This Year

802.11ad is the latest and fastest WiFi standard working in the 60 GHz band and delivering up to 7 Gbit per second data transmission rates. The 60 GHz  frequency band offers both advantages and disadvantages because it does not penetrate through walls nor water, meaning it can only be used within a room limiting the range, but at the same time it’s more secure since it cannot be snooped from the outside, and for people who worry about health effects it does not penetrate the human body. 802.11ad routers will also be able to switch to 2.4 and 5.0 GHz frequency bands in order to go through walls. The table above nicely summarize the key features of 802.11ad over 802.11ac and 802.11n, however the throughput row shows the theoretical maximum throughput, but in practice, using 802.11ac as example, clients are often limited to 433 or 866 Mbps, and distance and […]

Google OnHub 802.11ac WiFi Router Also Supports Bluetooth 4.0, Zigbee/Thread, and Automatic Firmware Upgrades

Google has just announced OnHub, a $200 router designed in cooperation with TP-Link which the company claims will be “fast, secure, and easy to use”.  It should indeed be fast as it’s a Class AC1900 router capable of 600 Mbps with 802.11n and 1300 Mbps with 802.11ac. Router are gateways between home networks and the Internet, but most of them aren’t updated automatically, leaving them vulnerable to attacks, while OnHub should get its firmware regularly updated over-the-air and include a Trusted Platform Module (TPM), making it more secure. Finally, Android and iOS apps are available to easily manage the router. OnHub (TGR1900) router specifications: WiSoC – Qualcomm Atheros IPQ8064 dual core Krait processor @ 1.4 GHz System Memory – 1GB DDR3L Storage – 4GB eMMC, 8MB NOR flash Connectivity 802.11 b/g/n 3×3 with smart antenna 802.11 a/n/ac 3×3 with smart antenna AUX wireless (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 1×1) – I don’t understand […]

TP-Link TL-WDR7500 (Archer C7) 802.11ac Router Review

With several new Android devices coming with the latest 802.11ac Wi-Fi, I decided I should buy a new router with AC1200 class or greater and Gigabit Ethernet support, and with a budget of $100. Xiaomi Mi Wi-Fi Mini router almost matched my requirements, but unfortunately only comes with Fast Ethernet ports. TP-Link Archer C7 selling for $96 Amazon US exactly matched my budget, and outmatched my requirements being an AC1750 router with 5x Gigabit Ethernet ports, and two USB ports. Since Amazon won’t ship to my location and shipping would have gone over budget, I expected to find it locally for a slightly higher price, but it ended up selling for over $200 here, allegedly because of a lifetime guarantee. Finally, I ended up buying TP-Link TL-WDR7500, the Chinese version of Archer C7 with 6 Wi-Fi antennas instead of 3, for $94.32 including shipping on Aliexpress. I’ll take some pictures […]

$27 TP-LINK TL-MR10U is an Hackable OpenWRT Wi-Fi Router with a Power Bank

TP-Link WR703N is a cheap 802.11 b/g/n router (you can now get it for about $20) that can easily be hacked to run openWRT and for example, act as an home automation gateway, printer server and more.  But if you need a battery powered router for your application, TP-Link TL-MR10U,  based on similar hardware as TL-703WR, should be a better match as it comes with a 2600 mAh battery, and costs just about $27 on DealExtreme. Here are the specifications of the device: CPU – Atheros AR9331 CPU @ 400Mhz System Memory – 32MB RAM Storage – 4 MB Flash Connectivity: 10/100 Mbit Ethernet port 802.11 b/g/n 150Mbps 3G support via external USB dongle USB – USB 2.0 port + micro-USB port for power Misc – Serial port access Dimensions – 91mm x 43mm x 25.85mm(L x W x H) The device comes with a microUSB cable and a user’s […]

TP-Link TPmini “Android-on-TV” Box Features 2MP Webcam

Since the beginning of the year, we’ve started to see more and more Android media player with a camera that can be apposed on top of your TV such as the Archos TV Connect. Let’s call them “Android-on-TV” boxes / media players. Several Chinese manufacturers are also selling this type of device, but none of them have brand recognition in the West. TP-Link, however, is relatively well known for its cheap routers, and the company has introduced the TPmini powered by a dual core processor with 1GB RAM, 4GB flash, and a 2.0MP camera. Here are the specs of the device: SoC – Dual core ARM Cortex-A9 processor @ 1.6 GHz + Quad core ARM Mali 400 GPU (They did not say, but it looks like Rockchip RK3066 to me) System Memory – 1GB RAM Storage – 4GB NAND Flash + microSD slot (Up to 32GB) Video Output – HDMI […]

TP-Link WR703N – $23 Hackable openWRT Wi-Fi 802.11N Router

TP-Link WR703N is a tiny 802.11N 150 Mbps Wi-Fi router smaller than a credit card (5.7 x 5.7 cm) and 1.8 cm thick based on Atheros AR7240 processor with 4 MB flash and 32 MB RAM. It costs just above $20 US and can be hacked with openWRT. It features one USB host connector that allows you to connect USB devices (USB flash drive, printer…) to it. TL-WR703N Specifications: Atheros AR7240 CPU @ 400Mhz (MIPS24k core) Atheros AR9331 Chipset (integrated wireless) 10/100 Mbit Ethernet port 802.11 b/g/n 150Mbps 3G support via external USB dongle 4 MB flash memory 32 MB RAM USB 2.0 port micro-USB port for power Dimension – 5.7 x 5.7 x 1.8 cm All you need is a USB to TLL board to access the serial console, open the box to access the serial pins (TP_IN and TP_OUT) and follow the instructions on openWRT website to convert […]

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