Wireless network performance

TP-LINK M7300 is a mobile wireless router which means that it is built to be used in small spaces like an office, a room, while commuting or travelling somewhere. Its coverage area is only a few meters long so we did not evaluate how big the coverage is, how the signal evolves depending on the distance and so on.

In our travels, we connected only smartphones, tablets and laptops to the wireless network that is broadcast by TP-LINK M7300. We used this router only to give internet access to our mobile devices and share the same 4G mobile connection between them. Most probably you will do the same too.

To give a perspective on how fast the TP-LINK M7300 mobile router is, we ran SpeedTest.net on a Surface Pro 3 device and then on a Microsoft Lumia 950 smartphone.

In the screenshot below you can see the maximum speed we had on the Surface Pro 3: 24.99 Mbps for download and 20.79 Mbps for upload, which is very close to the maximum speed that was offered by our mobile provider - Vodafone Romania.

On our Microsoft Lumia 950 smartphone, the average download speed was slightly lower than on the Surface Pro 3 (21.57 Mbps), while the average upload speed was a lot lower, at only 5.76 Mbps. We noticed t his trend on all the smartphones that we used.

The maximum download and upload speed that is offered by the TP-LINK M7300 mobile router is close to what you get from your mobile operator. If you experience any slowness, it is likely that it is caused by the quality of your mobile connection, not by the connection offered by the router.

Extra features

TP-LINK M7300 is a mobile wireless router which is focused on simplicity and battery life. Therefore, don't expect many advanced features like on the wireless router that you have at home. However, the TP-LINK M7300 does have some features that you can consider as useful extras:

• Black List - add devices that you want to be blocked from using the internet connection that is offered by the router.
• Data Usage Settings - allows you to set limits for the data that is used by your internet connection and to enable monthly usage statistics.
• Storage Sharing - you can share the content of the MicroSD card that you plug into your wireless router with other devices on the network.
• Power Saving - allows you to set the range in which the wireless network is broadcast. For maximum battery savings, set it to small. You can also set a time after which the Wi-Fi broadcast disables itself automatically, if no clients are connected to it.

Pros and cons

Here are the pros we identified for TP-LINK M7300:

• Good performance
• It's light and easy to carry
• It offers all the features you need while on the go
• It can be manag ed using both mobile apps and web browsers
• It works with normal SIM cards, microSIMs and nanoSIMs

There are also some downsides to it:

• The LEDs indicating the status of this router's operation are not visible in direct sunlight
• You must configure it while at home before being able to use it on the go, without issues
• No multilingual support - the user interface is available only in E nglish

Verdict

If you are traveling a lot and you carry lots of gadgets with you that need an internet connection, then purchasing a mobile wireless router is a great idea. TP-LINK M7300 is a good performer, that's easy to use once you go through the pains of its initial configuration. This router is very mobile, it offers good battery life, as well as speeds that are very close to what your mobile operator has to offer in terms of internet connections. It's a great idea for a holiday gift and for those who need a mobile wireless network o n their travels.