TP-Link TL-WR720N WiFi router: Pros and Cons

TP-Link TL-WR720N (TL-WR720N) pictures

The specifications below are based on the official data published by the manufacturer, but we also take user reviews into consideration. If you found an error or something lacking in the specifications above for the TP-Link TL-WR720N, then don’t hesite and signal the problem to us.

TP-Link TL-WR720N (TL-WR720N) specifications

Body

If you have limited space available for your router, such as in a small apartment or office, the dimensions can determine whether it can fit in the designated area or not. It's important to consider the physical size of the router, including its height, width, and depth, to ensure it can be accommodated in your space. If you purchase a router online or have it shipped, the weight may affect the overall cost. Heavier routers can result in higher shipping charges, especially for international deliveries.

System

The Atheros AR9331 @ 400 MHz CPU, combined with other factors such as RAM capacity and firmware optimization, determines the overall performance and responsiveness of the router. The TL-WR720N has 16 MB of RAM. Some advanced router features and software functionalities require a certain amount of RAM to operate properly. For example, routers with more RAM can support advanced security features, VPN services, or QoS (Quality of Service) prioritization more effectively.

The TL-WR720N has 2 MB of flash memory. A larger flash memory allows for more storage space to accommodate future firmware upgrades. The process of upgrading the firmware on routers has become relatively simple and user-friendly over the years. The TP-Link provides easy-to-use interfaces and instructions to guide users through the firmware upgrade process. Depending on your router model and hardware specifications, using an alternative OS may result in improved stability and performance.

This router is OpenWRT compatible. OpenWrt provides extensive customization options, allowing users to modify and tailor their router's functionality to suit their specific needs. The TP-Link provides the appropriate power supply (5 V / 0.6 A) that matches the voltage requirements of the router. The power supply unit is designed to deliver the correct voltage to the router, ensuring its proper operation.

Network

The TL-WR720N router offers built-in security features to protect your network and connected devices. The majority of networking equipment, including routers, switches, and other network devices, is designed to support IPv4. The TL-WR720N has 2 x 10/100 Mbps LAN and 1 x 10/100 Mbps WAN ports. The LAN ports of TL-WR720N router are numbered and are used to establish wired connections between the router and devices such as computers, gaming consoles, smart TVs, network-attached storage (NAS) devices, and other network-enabled devices.

WAN ports often require specific configuration settings based on the type of internet connection provided by your ISP. If you have a high-speed internet plan with speeds exceeding 100 Mbps, you may experience a bottleneck in wired connections due to the limitation of the Fast Ethernet ports on the TL-WR720N router.

Wireless

This router has 1 x 5 dBi, fixed antennas. Many modern routers feature multiple antennas and use Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology. This technology enables simultaneous transmission and reception of multiple data streams, increasing overall throughput and improving the Wi-Fi performance. This router is 2.4 GHz compatible. The 2.4 GHz band is widely supported by a wide range of devices, including older devices that may not be compatible with the 5 GHz band.

The TL-WR720N is a Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) router. N routers may have a more limited range compared to newer Wi-Fi standards, making them less suitable for larger homes or offices where Wi-Fi coverage is a concern. The N150 refers to the maximum combined data transfer rate supported by the router across all Wi-Fi bands. The TL-WR720N is capable of a maximum throughput speed of 150 Mbps. The real-world speed of a TL-WR720N router is typically lower than its theoretical maximum speed.

The maximum TX power of TL-WR720N router is 20 dBm. Adjusting the TX power of a router can be useful in situations where you want to optimize the Wi-Fi signal strength and coverage. The TL-WR720N router offers several security protocols: WEP, WPA, WPA2. The WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) was the first security protocol for Wi-Fi networks but is now considered weak and easily compromised. It uses a static encryption key and has known vulnerabilities, so it is no longer recommended for securing Wi-Fi networks. The WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) was introduced as an improvement over WEP and provides stronger security. If WPA3 is not available, WPA2-Personal with AES encryption is still considered secure.

Connectivity

The TL-WR720N router doesn't have file-server or print-server functionality.

Administration

The TP-Link router setup panel is accessed through a web browser. Connect your computer to the TL-WR720N router via Wi-Fi or Ethernet cable. In the address bar of the web browser, type in the 192.168.1.1 IP address. If you are unable to log in to the setup panel of your TP-Link router, performing a reset can be a helpful troubleshooting step. It is highly recommended to change the default password of your TL-WR720N router after the initial setup. If you forget the new password in the future, you may need to perform a factory reset on the router to revert to the default settings.

TP-Link TL-WR720N (TL-WR720N) comparisons

According to our statistics, the TP-Link TL-WR720N router was most often compared on our site with the following routers.

TP-Link Archer C5400 TP-Link TL-WR1043ND v2 TP-Link Archer C4000 TP-Link Archer AX6000 TP-Link Archer A8 TP-Link Archer C3150 v2 TP-Link Archer C7 TP-Link Archer C2600

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