I'm going to write a very detailed review and include some technical insights as well, since I have an engineering background, so as to help future buyers as well as current users understand the ADSL routers out there and the ADSL service providers. Please note that I ended up returning this product for reasons I'm going to describe below.
First off, the back story is that I have a D-Link DSL2750u ADSL2+ router of 3 years. One fine day (exactly a month after 3 years: the warranty expiration period), the router began to hang (all LEDs lit; WiFi lost). Also note that I had modified the router to install an internal CPU blower-type cooling fan (the router gets real hot) and two (RP-SMA) connectors to install a pair of removable 8dBi TP-Link antennae. I took it to the D-Link service center where technicians said they would hold the router for (min) 3-4 days to debug the (never seen before) issue. I couldn't give them the router, leaving no internet at home. This is when I bought the TP-Link W8968 as a backup/possible future replacement.
Let's start with the good things about the TP-Link W8968. I received the latest version 4.0 and the packaging was excellent. The build quality of this router is very good, and the device is packed with features like USB printer & storage sharing. With a proprietary TP-Link USB Printer Controller Utility software, the router can even share your All-In-One (AIO) printer with the Print & Scan features accessible over the wireless connection; a feature not available on the D-Link DSL 2750u. The wireless range is pretty decent for a 1000 square footage of concrete walls, as it has a pair of 5dBi (fixed) antennae.
Now about the not so good things. The router periodically drops the ADSL internet connection. To verify this, I setup a continuous "ping" from my PC connected on this router's network to an internet website. I noticed that in periodic intervals, you get a block of "Request timed out.' The period can vary. Now, what does this mean in "English?" This means that if you download a large file (say, 50MB+), unless you have a "resume" option or you get lucky to have a stable internet connection, you will never be able to download the file completely. On a Skype call, your call will keep disconnecting every few minutes. My smartphone failed updating apps all the time; the app updates always got stuck midway and kept restarting every time after the router's ADSL internet connection was restored. Also, the router heats up, but a little less than the D-Link DSL2750u. I will tell you in detail why the disconnection happens. There are primarily 2 reasons:
1. Poor quality ADSL router.
2. Poor phone line connection.
Since, this is a product review, I'll attack the 1st reason. Typically, there are 2 major processor chips on an ADSL wireless router: one is the CPU (that also does ADSL phone line processing) and the other is the WiFi. These chips get hot and heat the router, because the router manufacturers cut cost and do not install heat sinks (found on laptops/desktop CPUs/GPUs) on the chips to cool them. They also put fixed antennae on the router that are soldered via a cable to the inside motherboard, because installing removable antennae requires additional connectors, which again increases material costs. Now, the chips used in TP-Link are either Trendchip/Ralink make. These come cheap and don't perform well, dropping the internet connection from time-to-time. Broadcom literally makes the best ADSL and WiFi chips in the world, hence they're expensive. The D-Link DSL2750u has 3 hardware versions so far: C1, U1, and V1. The C1 has Broadcom CPU and WiFi chips, U1 and V1 use Realtek chips. I have the C1. The only problem with the C1 was that it had smaller (2dBi) antennae (and so did the U1), thereby reducing the wireless range (which is why I modified mine to upgrade it to support 8dBi removable antennae). Only, the V1 has 5dBi antennae.
Now, let's attack the 2nd reason, which will explain the numerous problems people face on an ADSL internet connection in India. I personally have an MTNL (Mumbai) ADSL internet phone line connection at home for 3+ years now. Yes, the normal reaction is that it's a government-owned company, so obviously the service is going to suck. Let me tell you that I download roughly 300GB every month on a 2Mbps MTNL connection, and in 3 years I have downloaded several Terabytes of data. Any wired telephone line company, MTNL or Airtel or Tata, runs high-speed fiber optic cables from the servers (many of which are world-class Ericsson-based) located at the city's central data exchange (in my case it's in Prabhadevi in Mumbai) to your nearest local telephone exchange, which is technically required to be within 3.5 km from your phone connection. The connectivity prior to the city's central data exchange i.e. to the global internet hub is via underground sea cables running across continents is also all optical fiber. The problem arises after your local telephone exchange, which transmits over "jelly-filled" cable that carries a bundle of several copper pairs to your home/office. Before it arrives to your home/office, this cable carrying 'your pair' of copper wire gets abused/ruptured at several points by municipal/electric/gas companies which dig roads and disturb overhead telephone poles from time to time. This is when you face phone outages, which the phone company fixes by rejoining the broken copper wires. More the number of joints, the lower the internet speed as joints pickup interference (cross-talk) from other phone line copper wires running through the cable. You can verify the signal "quality" of your DSL connection in the browser interface of your ADSL router under xDSL Statistics. The parameters to look for are: SNR Margin, Attenuation, and Output Power. Based on these, the maximum Attainable Rate (Kbps) is displayed for both Download & Upload.
It took me 3+ years of experience (despite being from an engineering background) to figure all this out. As I said, I ended up returning the TP-Link router. The Amazon online returns had a glitch for 3-4 days after I requested a return as no one was showing up for pickup. Finally, I called Amazon and escalated, which is when things got moving so fast that the router was picked up on a Sunday night!
You might be wondering what did I do with my D-Link DSL2750u C1 which was hanging up, right? Well, I figured its problem out myself after a week's experimentation. Turned out that I had put some thermal compound around the CPU chip (to cool it off) that spread out and shorted some pins together on the chip when it heated up, causing the router to hang. After I let it cool for hours, it used to come back up and then hang after an hour or so. The thermal compound melts and spreads on heating (that's its job as it dissipates heat by contact-spreading on the chip surface) and then solidifies on cooling. After I washed the router board with alcohol to clean the compound, the router has been working 'non-stop' like a charm! I bet the D-Link service center probably would have never figured this out, mainly because the technicians at the factory wouldn't know the back story.
To summarize, the best router in India was the 1st D-Link DSL2750u with HW version C1, which is no more available, unfortunately. If you can get your hands on it, great. There is, however, a specific Tenda router model on Amazon that is publicized having a Broadcom chip, but I don't know how good it is. The only best ADSL router I have heard is a Billion, an Australian brand. It is expensive and not available in India. If you really are after connection quality, then that's the best thing out there! Or, simply wait until the next technology, optical fiber broadband to your home (aka FTTH - Fiber To The Home), becomes commonplace.
HTH
Books
10 Days Returnable
You can return if you receive a damaged, defective or incorrect product.
Used Books
10 Days, Refund
Returnable if you’ve received the product in a condition that is damaged, defective or different from its description on the product detail page on Amazon.in.
Refunds will be issued only if it is determined that the item was not damaged while in your possession, or is not different from what was shipped to you.
