Tenda – MBReviews https://www.mbreviews.com High quality reviews for tech products Sun, 21 Jun 2020 17:32:54 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://www.mbreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/cropped-siteicon3-32x32.png Tenda – MBReviews https://www.mbreviews.com 32 32 Tenda Nova MW3 WiFi System Review https://www.mbreviews.com/tenda-nova-mw3-wifi-system-review/ https://www.mbreviews.com/tenda-nova-mw3-wifi-system-review/#respond Wed, 29 Jan 2020 17:48:01 +0000 https://www.mbreviews.com/?p=12026 Read more]]> The novelty of the WiFi mesh systems is slowly fading away and the market now offers a far larger variety of devices to choose from, but, while a Netgear Orbi or an Eero system may be the first options that a tech savvy person will take into account, the regular user may still be a bit reluctant spending more than 100 bucks on a router replacement.

Tenda Nova MW3
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And this is where the Tenda Nova MW3 WiFi system comes into play, promising to cover a large area with WiFi by using a proprietary adaptation of the mesh technology, as well as an easy to use setup and configuration process, all that (and more) at a far inferior cost than its main competitors (also, even if we started to get WiFi6 systems, the Tenda Nova uses the WiFi5 standard). Considering that we’re dealing with a dual-band system, its competitors should be the Google WiFi (and the newest Nest WiFi), the Deco M5 and the newest Eero, all built on the Qualcomm platform.

tenda-nova-mw3

There’s also Asus’s bold approach to allow its users to interconnect older routers with newer ones and create a custom mesh WiFi system (AiMesh). But, the Nova MW3 can’t really compete with any of these systems and it’s not the fact that it’s built on the Realtek platform, it’s the highly uninspired decision to go with a couple of Fast Ethernet ports instead of Gigabit. I know that there are people with a sub-100Mbps Internet plan that will prefer this inexpensive WiFi system over its competitors, but future-proofing is out of discussion at this point. That being said, let’s have a closer look at its design, the wireless performance and the software user experience.

Design
Some may say that there is no more room for originality in the mesh WiFi systems market, but when AmpliFi proudly pushes a front display along with a bottom facing LED, it’s clear that the users still appreciate any creative design element that makes the device stand out of the crowd. The Tenda Nova MW3 preferred the unobtrusive, yet elegant look of the Google WiFi, but liked the cubic AmpliFi HD, so, we’re dealing with one, two or three identical rectangular units covered by a white matte finish and each Nova cube is slightly bit taller than the Orbi RBK13 units (which also have the textured top in common, so Netgear did take some inspiration from the Nova system). Despite being cubic, there are no sharp angles and the plastic wraps around forming soft rounded corners; there are also no external antennas and, if it wasn’t for the ports on the rear side of each unit, you wouldn’t guess that were actually dealing with networking devices.

tenda-nova-mw3

This just shows the influence that Apple had (and still has) on this department even after leaving behind the Airport series (which was the first to challenge the traditional design of the router). But, even if the mesh systems adopted a minimalist look, due to the lack of ventilation cut-outs, some manufacturers had to make their units huge (the case of the tri-band Orbi and Velop), but the dual-band (and some tri-band) systems have managed to keep the devices incredibly small. The Tenda Nova is clearly not the smallest, but, at its 3.54 x 3.54 x 3.54 inches, it’s definitely compact enough to find its place on a shelf or on the desk, especially because of its cubic shape. But, the disadvantage of most, if not all WiFi systems is that they can’t be mounted on the wall or ceiling, a feature lost from the traditional router which, despite being larger and having huge antennas, it was a lot more flexible. The Tenda Nova MW3 is quite unique in this regard since it has added a couple of mounting holes on the bottom of the case (next to the into label).

One thing that I also noticed is just how incredibly lightweight each of the Tenda Nova MW3 are (each device weighs about 0.22 lb) and this does take away a bit from the expected premium feel. Furthermore, there are not bottom feet to keep a Nova unit in place and, if I added multiple cables, the device will move around on the desk. As I mentioned before, there are no ventilation holes anywhere on the case and since Tenda relies on passive cooling, the units can get hot while functioning: while I was running some tests, I did notice that the Nova units started getting only a bit warm around the case, but the devices never showed any signs that they may overheat.

tenda-nova-mw3

Besides the simple and minimalist exterior, one other characteristic of the mesh WiFi systems is the single LED that has the role of showing the status of the device and the connection. Each Tenda Nova MW3 unit has a small LED immediately underneath the logo which will become solid green when the main unit is working properly (on the secondary units, it means that there is a good connection between them and the main Nova – a solid yellow LED on the secondary nodes indicates a fair connection and solid red LED means that the units are disconnected from the main Nova); when the main unit is connected to the Internet, the LED will flash slow (to indicate activity) and, if it blinks fast, then the device is returning to the default factory settings.

It’s not a secret that I do prefer the array of LEDs, each with its own icon to display the status of the network and the device more accurately, but the WiFi systems don’t seem to want to move past the single LED approach, so we’re going to have to settle for a less intuitive system (the exception seems to be AmpliFi HD / HD GE with its small display).

tenda-nova-mw3

On the rear side of each Nova MW3 unit, there are four cut-outs for the Reset button (it’s recessed, so you’ll need a pin to access it – press and hold it for 7 seconds to return the device to its factory settings), the two Ethernet ports (one for the connection to the modem for the first unit and the other for connecting a wired client – on the secondary units, both ports can be used for wired clients) and a Power connector (I noticed a small misalignment on the power connector, but the cable still enters without problems). The two Ethernet ports are not Gigabit, instead, the manufacturer decided to go with Fast Ethernet, so the wired clients are crippled to a sub-100Mbps throughput – I know that this was a cost-cutting decision and that there is a public for a Fast Ethernet WiFi system, but it still feels unacceptable for any device released in the last couple of years.

Hardware
After I opened the case of one Tenda Nova MW3 unit (they’re all identical), I noticed that the board sits at the bottom and the two (10036382 V1.1) antennas sit upwards, next to the tall plastic case – the rest is empty to help keep the temperature at a decent level.

tenda-nova-mw3

As I said in the intro, the Nova MW3 relies on the RealTek platform, so it’s equipped with a Realtek RTL8197FNT (H5H39P1 GH22E4) chipset clocked at 600MHz, 64MB of RAM (from Realtek), 8MB of storage (SPI 25Q64CS16) and a CND-tek TF-208DG RJ45 transformer. Furthermore, the WiFi system uses a Realtek RTL8812BRH (I4E57P1 GI16N) 2×2:2 802.11ac chip for the 5GHz band and the Realtek RTL8197FNT 2×2:2 802.11b/g/n chip for the 2.4GHz band.

tenda-nova-mw3
Tenda advertises each unit of the Nova MW3 WiFi system as an AC1200-class router, so, the maximum theoretical data transfer rate on the 2.4GHz band is 300 Mbps, while the maximum theoretical data transfer rate on the 5GHz band is 867 Mbps, but, the Fast Ethernet ports will keep the Internet connection no higher than 100Mbps.

Features and Performance
The first Google WiFi is now more than three years old and the first Eero is five years old, which means that Tenda did took its time before releasing its own version of a WiFi systems, but, despite being newer than its competitors, it still uses the same technology to inter-connect more than one unit, forming a mesh network. The premise is very similar to the main unit + extender setup, but there are some adjustments to make sure the bandwidth doesn’t suffer that much from the backhaul traffic and that the user can seamlessly move from one node to the other without experiencing any disconnections. First of all, it does abide to the mesh properties, which means that there are optimized paths for the data to pass from node to node, minimizing the interference and avoiding any node congestion; there’s also the self-healing ability which makes sure that the data arrives to the destination using any other node in case one Nova unit fails and, lastly, if the user decides to add a new node to the network, it will immediately become a functional part of the mesh network.

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Tenda AC18 Wireless-AC1900 Dual Band Gigabit Router Review https://www.mbreviews.com/tenda-ac18-router-review/ https://www.mbreviews.com/tenda-ac18-router-review/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2017 20:41:49 +0000 http://www.mbreviews.com/?p=3683 Read more]]>
The Tenda AC18 AC1900 is one of the latest wireless routers released by the Taiwanese manufacturer and it is the second AC1900 router provided by Tenda. The first attempt was with the Tenda AC15, a modest (entry-level from the performance-point-of-view) device that came with a surprisingly low price and was specifically aimed at people that didn’t want to spend their money on expensive routers, but still wanted to test out some of the more recent networking technologies.

Tenda AC18 AC1900
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The Tenda AC18 is definitely an improvement over the AC15 (better chipset, more RAM and flash memory, one more Ethernet LAN port and VPN support), but it was surprising to see that Tenda didn’t decide to go for better maximum theoretical speeds (like AC2600 or AC3200). While it was clearly done to maintain lower costs, it’s not necessarily a bad thing because the usual home user may even think of the AC1900 as overkill. In the meantime, even the more popular routers have become more affordable and the AC18 has to do a lot more than having a cheap price tag to become relevant in the competitive networking market. So, let’s see which are the Tenda AC18’s strong and weak points and how does it perform.

tenda-ac18

Design
I must admit that I wasn’t really a fan of the design of the Tenda AC15 and I deeply disliked the bubble-wrap-like pattern which definitely made the device unique, but it also killed any aesthetic value it could have had otherwise. It seems that even Tenda agreed that it was an uninspired design and the new AC18 is a better looking device in every respect. One of the factors which made the Netgear Nighthawk R7000 so popular (besides its stellar performance) was its design, which was inspired by the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk stealth bomber plane and now, it seems that Tenda chose to follow this trend and took inspiration from another stealth bomber, the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, when it designed the AC18.

tenda-ac18

So, the plastic case is angular, with interesting sharp cuts and with a black matte finish covering the whole device (doesn’t retain fingerprints). I can clearly see some similarities with the D-Link DIR-890L, especially with the elevated triangular top and I appreciate the large cut-out towards the back to make space for some rather large vent holes. Unlike the AC15, which could only be positioned vertically (and wall-mounted), the AC18 can be positioned flat on the surface, just like many other routers from the market. Fortunately, the footprint of the AC18 is not that large (it measures 10.2 x 6.6 x 2.5 inches), so it won’t take up much space from your desk (but, if space is important, then you can always mount the device on the wall). Furthermore, the device is reasonably stable thanks to the four feet from the bottom and because of its weight (1.4 pounds), so even if you use all the ports, the router won’t budge.

tenda-ac18

From the front, the AC18 looks like a crab, with claws and everything and, a bit towards the top, there is a series of LED lights which show the status of the Power, WAN (if the LED is blinking, then the port is either transmitting or receiving data), LAN, WPS (if the LED blinks, then the WPS pairing process is active), 2.4G, 5G, USB 3.0 and System (if the LED blinks, then the system is working properly). Also on the front, but a bit lower than the LED lights, there is a small removable cover which, once removed, reveals a USB 3.0 port. This is a nice addition, but, as I said before, it is better to put all the ports on the back side, simply because no one wants to have cables sprouting from all around the case.

tenda-ac18

On the back side of the AC18 you can find a DC-IN power port, a Power button, a WiFi On/Off button (useful if you don’t wish to use the wireless networks), WPS button, a small recessed button (used to restore the device to factory default settings), a 10/100/1000Mbps Gigabit WAN Internet port, three 10/100/1000Mbps Gigabit LAN ports and a last, fourth Gigabit LAN port which also functions as an IPTV port for connecting to a smart TV or STB (also on the rear side, there are three 3dbi antennas that cannot be removed or upgraded). On the bottom side of the router, there are the four rectangular feet with rubber pads, lots of vent holes (it’s nice to see that Tenda took seriously the importance of proper ventilation), two holes for wall-mounting and a label which contains information about the device (the default access address, the MAC address, the Serial Number, the default SSID and password and the Pin Number).

Note: Usually, manufacturers find a winning design formula and stick with it as much as they can, making minor changes with every iteration and, since this is a nice design choice for Tenda, I hope they will use it with any future routers.

Hardware
On the inside, the Tenda AC18 is equipped with a Broadcom BCM4708A0KFEBG chipset (as advertised, it has a Dual Broadcom ARM Cortex-A9 CPU), 256MB of RAM NANYA1615 NT5CB128M16FP (DDR3 1600MHz), 128MB of flash memory (Winbond Electronics) and both the 2.4GHz and the 5GHz chipsets are based on the Broadcom technology (BCM4360 KMLG).
The Tenda AC18 features a maximum theoretical speed of 1,300Mbps (over the 5GHz frequency and the 802.11ac standard) and 600Mbps, using the 2.4GHz frequency (thanks to the Broadcom Turbo-QAM technology).

tenda-ac18

Now that I had a look at the internal hardware, it became clear that it is almost identical with the ASUS RT-AC68U and, based on the compatibility of the Tenda AC15 with Asuswrt-Merlin, it’s obvious that the manufacturer went for the same type of compatibility, this time with the RT-AC68U’ Merlin firmware.
It’s not something uncommon for router manufacturers to share the same parts, but, if Tenda wants to be taken as seriously as ASUS, Linksys, Netgear and even TP-Link, I think that it would be better to make their own characteristics which would eventually put them into the deserved spot.

Performance and Connectivity
When compared to the AC15, the Tenda AC18 has pretty much the same features for enhancing the wireless performance and maintaining a stable network. There is the (now) usual Beamforming+ technology, which has the role to detect all the connected clients and focus the signal towards them (thus greatly improving the throughput), instead of spreading the signal everywhere. Also, the three dual-band antennas should help with covering a larger area (because the antennas cannot be removed, you are stuck with the 3x3dbi setup).

tenda-ac18

As expected, Tenda steered clear of implementing some more advanced features, like MU-MIMO, technologies that are usually better suited for more expensive routers. This is true for the most part (Asus made a bold move with its RT-ACRH13) and, considering the price, the AC13 is perfect for less demanding users (the MU-MIMO technology requires powerful hardware and compatible WiFi adapters, so if you don’t need this feature, it doesn’t really make sense to purchase an expensive device and not use its full power). Sure enough, the Tenda AC18 uses the more common round-robin technique, where a client is being served at a time (while the MU-MIMO serves multiple clients at the same time).

In order to test the wireless performance of the AC18, I used a 3×3 laptop and a desktop PC (with a compatible wireless adapter) – as a small note, don’t forget that the performance of your router will be dependant on interferences, but also on the wireless adapter installed into your connected devices. So, using the 5GHz radio band (802.11ac standard), while keeping the clients close to each other (about 5 feet), I measured an average speed of 424Mbps (sure, it’s lower than that of the RT-AC68U, but it’s definitely a good performance). Next, I increased the distance to 15 feet and I measured an average of 366Mbps. Lastly, at 100 feet, the router managed to deliver around 170Mbps.

tenda-ac18

After I switched to the 2.4GHz radio band (and implicitly, to the 802.11n standard), I measured an average of 125Mbps at a shorter range (5 feet) and after the wireless client was moved at 15 feet, the AC18 managed an average of 108Mbps. To conclude the wireless testing, I increased the distance to 100 feet and measured around 78Mbps. Since the router has a USB 3.0 port, it’s time to test the storage performance. To do so, I took a 2.0GB folder, which contains miscellaneous files (videos, photos, music) and I measured the read/write speed: while reading the folder, I measured an average of 51.4MBps and while writing the folder, the speed decreased to 33.7MBps (a better storage performance than the Asus RT-AC68U and a lot of other higher-priced routers on the market).

Setup
The setup process is, as always, simple and straight-forward and you won’t need more than a couple of minutes to have a wireless network running. First, connect the router to a computer, then open a web browser and type tendawifi.com or 192.168.0.1 to start the configuration process. The Quick Setup Wizard (if done manually) will ask you to choose the Connection Type (can be PPPoE, Dynamic or Static IP), enter the ISP user name and password. Next, you’ll be asked to enter the SSID name and password and, that’s about it. From here, you can access the web interface which allows you to make a more in-depth configuration of the router.

tenda-ac18

The layout of the interface is very simple and minimalist, having the option to change the language or exit on the top side and the main menu lays vertically on the left, containing the following options: Internet Status, Internet Settings, Wireless Settings, Guest Network, Sleeping Mode, USB/Application, VPN, Advanced Settings and System Settings. As the name suggests the Internet Status displays the status of your Internet connection, as well as any connected devices, including USB (with the number of blacklisted clients) and it allows you to change some basic info.

tenda-ac18

The Internet Settings takes you through the initial configuration (if you need to change anything with the Internet connection) and the Wireless Settings allows you to configure the WiFi Name and Password, the WiFi Schedule (enable or disable the WiFi during specified periods of time), the Wireless Repeating (can be used either in WISP or Client & AP mode), Channel & Bandwidth, Transmit Power (you can change the signal strength of the 2.4 or 5 GHz radio frequencies), WPS and Beamforming (enable or disable this function). The Guest Network allows you to create separate networks for your guests, so they won’t access your private data, but still have access to the Internet. The Sleeping Mode helps you reduce the power consumption and, if you enable the ‘start time will delay when the data is still transmitted’, then, if there’s no data traffic, the router will enter the Sleep Mode (if data is being transmitted at a lower rate than 3KBps, then the router will enter the Sleep Mode after 30 minutes). The VPN section has two options, the PPTP server or PPTP/L2TP client.

tenda-ac18

The Advanced Settings has the following options: Parental Controls (allows you to filter the Internet availability and content accessibility by using the device name, the IP address or the MAC address and you can also create schedules), Bandwidth Control (set the upload and download limit of every connected device), Tenda App (if you enable this function, you will be able to remotely manage your router, by using the Tenda App – for simplicity, you can scan the QR code using your smartphone or tablet), LED Control (turn the LEDs On, Off or create a schedule), DDNS, Virtual Server, DMZ (allows you to communicate with the Internet without any limits for a better throughput), Remote Management, IPTV (supports multicast and STB functions), Firewall (ICMP, TCP and UDP Flood Attack Defence and Ignore PING from WAN port protection), Static Routing (allows you to create a simple, reliable, manually configured routes between your source and destination address) and UPnP (allows you to map ports for a better online gaming experience).

tenda-ac18

The System Settings allows you to configure the LAN IP Settings, DHCP Reservation, WAN Settings, Time Settings, Login Password, perform Reboot, Firmware Upgrade, Backup/Restore, check the System Status, System Log, performs Auto Maintenance and Reset the system.
One of the major weaknesses of the AC15 was its interface but the AC18 has definitely made some improvements and it has an overall better interface, but, similarly to the AC15, people will always prefer the custom ASUSWRT Merlin firmware over the default one, simply because it offers a lot more features and a better customization.

Conclusion
Overall, the Tenda AC18 is a better looking device than the AC15, has a good wireless performance (especially using the 5GHz frequency), capable internal hardware (almost the same as the RT-AC68U) and a very good price. It’s true that this would have been a perfect device for the 2013 and may feel outdated in 2016, but, since there are a lot of people which are not willing to pay a lot for the more expensive networking equipment, this new AC1900 router will remain a good choice.

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TENDA AC15 AC1900 Router Review: The most inexpensive AC1900 router https://www.mbreviews.com/tenda-ac15-ac1900-router-review/ https://www.mbreviews.com/tenda-ac15-ac1900-router-review/#respond Sun, 08 Nov 2015 16:39:30 +0000 http://www.mbreviews.com/?p=1604 Read more]]>
TENDA AC15 AC1900
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If three years ago, the 802.11ac was something exotic, expensive and not many devices were supporting it, now it’s equally widespread to the older 802.11n and is a necessary feature to consider when acquiring a new router.
But, the 80.211ac technology has evolved to unimaginable levels and now, we have ultra routers which feature AC3200 speeds, tri-bands, MU-MIMO technology and more. But they are quite expensive and right now, because no device can really use that much power, the best suggestion would be to stick with AC1900 or below routers.

So, here is where the likes of NETGEAR Nighthawk, ASUS RT-68U or WRT1900ACS shine. But, if you’re on a tight budget and still want to satisfy the craving for new technology and better speed, there’s a relatively new AC1900 router, named TENDA AC15 AC1900, that promises good speed and coverage and a ton of features, all for a cheap price.
It is really uncommon for a router that features the AC1900 technology to have such a low price, so let’s see if the Chinese Company cut some important corners in the making of the A15 and if it’s a viable competitor to the other more popular AC1900 routers on the market.

tenda-ac15

Design
Right now, there is an increasing trend for routers to have a clean, minimalistic design, with less flashy features, but it seems that the AC15 is an exception.
So, yes, the TENDA AC15 AC1900 doesn’t have the most aesthetically pleasing design, it features a black case with a glossy finish and a soft bubble-wrap-like pattern that doesn’t retain fingerprints. Overall, it’s not discrete in any way.
The case is well ventilated, it has three external, 3dBi dual-band antennas (which are kind of flimsy) that cannot be removed and consequently non upgradeable. The router is designed to stand vertically and comes with a detachable stand (it has rubbery pads which help the router to stay in one place). But fortunately, the router can be mounted on the wall, being VESA compatible.

tenda-ac15

Because it measures 8.90×7.07×3.02 inches and weighs 2.2 pounds means the router is not particularly big and because it stands vertically, finding a place for it is easy, but don’t expect it to blend in with the furniture, because it won’t.
On the front of the AC15 there are ten blue status LEDs for Power On/Off, LAN and Internet ports, the 2.4GHz band, the 5GHz band, WPS, USB 3.0 and System.
On the back of the router can be found a Power port, an USB 3.0,  one WAN port and three wired GIGABIT Ethernet ports (whereas, normally, you get four). On top rests the WPS button, a WiFi button and the RST button (press and hold it with a paperclip for about 8 seconds to reset the router to default settings).
Overall, the design of the router is not really impressive, but it is expected considering the price tag. Still, it has a well placed USB 3.0 and everything any other router can offer.

tenda-ac15

Hardware
Hardware-wise, the TENDA AC15 AC1900 features dual-core Broadcom BCM4708A CPU, backed by 256MB DDR3 RAM and 16MB flash memory storage. The router can deliver a data transfer rate of up to 600 Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and a maximum of 1300 Mbps on the 5Ghz band, using 802.11ac technology.
Attach an exterior HDD to the AC15 using the USB 3.0 port and you get a reasonable NAS server.
Note: TENDA AC15 uses BCM4360 radios for both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, just like ASUS AC-RT68U, NETGEAR R7000, TP-LINK Archer C9 and LINKSYS WRT1900ACS.

Performance and Connectivity
TENDA AC15 has three antennas that, unfortunately, cannot be upgraded, but still help a lot to reach a better coverage. And that’s not all, the AC15 features the Beamforming+ technology. This means that the router detects all connected devices and focuses the signal directly to them in order to deliver the best WiFi experience. It also reduces interferences from other devices.

Besides the three external antennas and the Beamforming+ technology, there are high powered amplifiers that ensures a great WiFi range and stability.
In order to test the router we connected another AC15 in bridge mode and we got the following results. Using the 5GHz band and 802.11ac technology, we measured 298 Mbps at close proximity (around 10 feet). At a longer distance (approx 35 feet), the router managed a maximum of 120Mbps. Surprisingly, at close range, this inexpensive router managed to deliver speeds close to the TP-Link Archer C9.
Afterwards, we used the 2.4GHz band and we measured 75 Mbps, in the same room at around 10 feet and 46Mbps at around 35 feet.

Next, we paired the router to an external HDD through the USB 3.0 port and we measured its NAS capabilities. So, we measured a maximum of 37MBps for writing and up to 48MBps for reading.
Yes, the 2.4GHz band speed is a bit on the low side and could have been better. Still, if you consider the price and the really good 5Ghz band performance, you realize that the AC15 is a actually a really capable router.

tenda-ac15

Setup
To setup the Tenda router, you can either use the PC or an app for Android phones or iPhones. On the PC you simply have enter the Tenda router ip address, 192.168.0.1, and afterwards, just follow the wizard, which helps you configure your username and password, as well as PPoE, IP address or DHCP.
Using the phone app is equally simple, you connect the headset to the WiFi connection and simply setup your router in a few short steps.
The Landing Page features a menu on the left: Internet Status, Internet Settings, Wireless Settings, Guest Networks, Smart Power, USB Application, VPN, Advanced Settings and System Settings.

The Internet Status shows if you’re connected to the internet and all connected devices. Here you can also blacklist any unwanted device. The Internet Settings allows you to setup the connection type, which can be DHCP, Static IP or PPOE.
Wireless Settings provides a number of choices, including WiFi Name and Password, WiFi Schedule, Wireless Repeating, Channel & Bandwidth, Signal Conditioning (high, medium or low transmit power) and WPS (which is quite basic, you can enable or disable it).
Guest Network allows you to enable or disable it, setup the 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi name and the Guest Network Password (one for both bands). Unfortunately, we found no wireless client isolation settings.

tenda-ac15

Smart Power is quite an interesting feature. What it does is to create a schedule (the default being from midnight to 7:00 am), so the routers remains active only if there is data transmission of more than 3KB/s (also the default). This, obviously, helps save on the power bill.
The USB Application has three tabs, one for File Share (you can access data using FTP, SMB or LAN), one for DLNA and the last one for Printer Service. Next, the VPN has two tabs, the PPTP Server and the PPTP/L2TP Client (for both, there are only two options, enable or disable)
The Advanced Settings features Parental Controls (scheduled Internet access and whitelist options), Bandwidth Control, Smart LED, TENDA Cloud (remotely manage your router using TendaCloud), Remote WEB, DDNS (your options for service provider are dyndns, 3322.org and no-ip.com), Virtual Server (features minimal Port Forwarding), UPnP and IPTV.

System Settings is home to the System Status, Login Password, LAN IP Settings, WAN Settings, Reboot, Firmware Upgrade, Backup/Restore, Reset, System Log, Auto Maintenance and Time Setup.
Overall, it’s clear that the UI is designed with ease of use in mind. Settings are clear and easy to find, but as with most routers released lately, the design is minimal and some features are left behind. So, yes, the UI lacks some features, but most users won’t really feel the need for more.
Still, if you like to fully configure the router, TENDA AC15 is compatible with Tomato.

tenda-ac15

Conclusion
It’s obvious that TENDA cut some corners on the AC15 AC1900, the design may not the prettiest, there is no USB 2.0 and the 2.4GHz band is not the strongest, but it has a solid 5GHz performance, it features an USB 3.0, an UI with a lot of features and let’s not forget, this is an AC1900 router featuring a price tag below what the competition has to offer.
So, if you want a reliable, good performing AC1900 router, without breaking the bank, then TENDA AC15 is the best choice.

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