Tenda MW3 Mesh Wi-Fi System 2pk $57.95 (Sold out), Tenda SP3 Smart Wi-Fi Plug $7.95 + Shipping @ Shopping Square
600
nocure on 09/07/2020 - 13:00 shoppingsquare.com.au (1319 clicks)
Last edited 11/07/2020 - 21:17 by 2 other users
Last edited 11/07/2020 - 21:17 by 2 other users
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And 3% off discount gift card from Suncorp.
and you'll get them this year
I got the 3 pack from them a week after I ordered. Thought it’d be longer
Same, shipping was super fast.
Yep, got mine in 2 days, was very pleasantly surprised.
Thanks worth a shot
Down to $66.98 now.
If anyone ordered at $69.19 you can cancel the order if it hasn't shipped then order again.
anyone comment on whether they are worth it or not?
Yes I'd like to know as well
Yeah worth it if you don't mind 100 Mbps WAN & LAN.
Can they work with asus Ai mesh? Even after merlin?
@Twix: Are you saying it works with asus with Ethernet backhaul and show only 1 ssid, that is the one from asus?
That's great given asus routers are rather expensive for just a node.
@[Deactivated]: Nope you won't have a proper mesh that way & that will show 1 SSID for ASUS & 1 SSID for MW3.
ASUS can be expensive but you get many customization choices.
MW3 as an access point with features disabled(
Those disabled features not really important if you already have another router.
@[Deactivated]: No it won't work with asus ai mesh. Only if you connect via ethernet in bridge mode - but it doesn't work as an aimesh node.
Ah Twix, can always count on you to be helfup in these posts. Appreciate it!
100 Mbps WAN & LAN? No sale.
100 Mbps WAN & LAN? No sale.
If you only use the WiFi and your Internet connect <100Mbps it is fine.
Yeap worth it for extra range and constant speed.
I was originally on the Tenda bandwagon, but have unfortunately found them to very temperamental.
When they work it is great but we have issues with nodes dropping connection with other nodes and not reestablishing a connection.
I have a fairly large house and while we could always connect via our old router due to our house layout some spots were fairly average, this has fixed that…when they are all up and running.
(I have the MW6, so more feedback on Tenda overall)
I also am on the verge of sending back the mw6 (3pack). I have tried everything to change over my google devices to tenda, but although they will originally connect, within an hour google home/cast devices have lost their mind. they know something is connected but can't negotiate correctly and it talks about a glitch try again soon. but they never work
Try it in bridge mode. I have the Kogan Mesh units (which are rebadged Tenda's the same as this) and putting into bridge mode fixed my temperamental connection issues.
@royale: Yes agreed,
I have 1 mw6 and 2 mw3 on my mesh, works well on bridge mode.
To switch to bridge mode:
On the app go to
Settings - > Internet settings - > select Bridge in the drop down list.
@hayythere: Bridge mode has been good so far, tweaked so many other settings but never tried different mode. Thanks!
Did you have the "smart assistant" on or off in the tenda app during the initial setup for Google devices? If on, this will force the setup to be on 2.4ghz band, maybe that's causing the issue? Switching between bands then life connection? Alternatively try to setup using a different phone. I have Google mini and chromecast ultra on MW3, no issues. FYI, they both connected via 5 ghz bands.
I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one having issues with these Tenda units. I've bought the MW3 3-pack twice.
First one is installed in my gf's house, drops out a few times a week, haven't tried bridge mode yet though as suggested. Speed on 50/20 HFC is as expected, around 48/18.
Second one was installed in dad's place 3 months ago and a complete failure, my upload speeds were <0.05 Mbps but download speeds consistent at 48.5Mbps on a 50/20 HFC connection. I RMA-ed this set back to Shopping Express (bought on eBay), the process took about 4 weeks before I got my money back, and I paid for return shipping. I only got refunded about 75% for some reason, but I was too lazy to chase up the rest. This set was replaced by a TP-Link Deco M5 set, works straight out of the box, no upload download issues at all. Also emailed the Tenda contact in Australia for troubleshooting tips during the process, but never got a response.
So from my experience, it's a little hit and miss. I think since the Wi-Fi is so crucial in my house, I would give this a pass and get the next best option. Maybe TP-Link?
more likely that theres some interference that is causing the intermittent issues
maybe you are using bluetooth, or have some other wifi device causing an issue, etc etc
A record low price for MW3 2pk!
Amazon had the 3 pack for 99.98 + 5% cashback and additional $5 off from CW yesterday ;)
Does at least one of these mesh units have to be connected by ethernet cable to your router/modem, full-time?
One has to be connected to your modem or NBN connection device at all times.
yes
how's this compare to Google WiFi - apart from the obvious Google Assistant built in?
MW3 = 100 Mbps WAN & LAN.
Google WiFi = 1000 Mbps WAN & LAN.
Can you elaborate on the WAN and LAN speeds?
The shop listing mentions 867 Mbps @ 5Ghz and 300 Mbps @ 2.4GHz, therefore isn't LAN faster than 100 Mbps, as you mention?
Then in regards to WAN, are you saying that the fastest WAN bandwidth it can ever receive is 100 Mbps? Therefore a 1Gbps broadband plan (ABB for example) would bottleneck at the router?
WAN speed is your maximum connection to NBN.
LAN speed is your internal connection between computers, TVs & so on.
If you don't transfer files between your devices over the network it doesn't matter.
867 & 300 Mbps is the maximum theoretical wifi speed of the MW3.
Yeah the maximum MW3 WAN speed is 100 Mbps & the bottleneck is the MW3 WAN port if you tried to use it on 1 Gbps.
@Twix: I'm really confused. If the maximum theoretical speed is 300Mbps why would the maximum WAN speed be 100Mbps? Wouldn't it be 300 Mbps? I can't see 100Mbps mentioned anywhere on that shop link?
@themadman: WAN and LAN (wide and local area network) refer to wired Ethernet.
867 and 300mbps are the wireless speeds (802.11ac and n), sometimes called WLAN (wireless local area network) but usually called WiFi.
@themadman: 300 Mbps is the maximum theoretical 2.4Ghz wifi speed of the MW3 & has a 100 Mbps WAN port to cut down cost.
Yeah I don't know why 100 Mbps WAN was left out on that link.
@Twix: Oh gotcha! So WAN isn't wireless aha. I assumed it was the same thing as WLAN. That makes more sense. What a weird speed to limit it to.
WAN port if you tried to use it on 1 Gbps.
Yeah if you don't have gigabit Internet doesn't matter, like me FTTN max 96.62 Mbps
Make sure you connect your LAN to a Gigabit ethernet switches.
@superforever: The wired connection between the router and the gigabit switch would still be limited to 100Mb/s though.
The wired connection between the router and the gigabit switch would still be limited to 100Mb/s though.
If you have all your wired PCs on the gigabit switch it will be 1Gbps between PCs.
Only when PCs connect to Internet will limited to 100Mb/s it may affect overall performance if all the PCs want full speed Internet
For the price (MW3) it's pretty good but obviously google's mesh is much better and costlier.
I would suggest to buy either Tenda nova MW6 or TP link deco M5 at least to get better features.What features?
The Deco M5 comes with a beefier CPU & more RAM to handle more connected devices at one time & has more powerful wifi radios.
Deco M5
1000 Mbps WAN & LAN.
Quad-core processor @ 638MHz & 256MB of RAM.
Dual band AC1300 with 4 antennas on each node.
VLAN 802.1q support.Nova MW6
1000 Mbps WAN & LAN.
Single-core processor @ 1Ghz & 128MB of RAM.
Dual band AC1200 with 2 antennas on each node.
No VLAN 802.1q support.Nova MW3
100 Mbps WAN & LAN.
Single-core processor @ 600MHz & 64MB of RAM.
Dual band AC1200 with 2 antennas on each node.
No VLAN 802.1q support.
how's this compare to Google WiFi
"Hey Tenda, set a timer for 10 minutes" doesn't do anything…
I think that's because the Tenda won't accept commands in italics.
that's racist on their part
One tracks everything you do on it, the other does not.
Is this a good option to extend the wifi range for home security cameras and just general wifi around the house? 1 of my cameras are right on the edge of my wifi range and it struggles to pick up the feed sometimes.
Yeah worth it if you don't mind 100 Mbps WAN & LAN.
Yeah only FTTN anyway so won't be getting gigabit here also my PC is via ethernet anyway so don't really need the fastest connection over wifi.
my PC is via ethernet anyway
Just connect the Mesh LAN port to a gigabit switches.
@superforever: Do you suggest this so that you can still keep a 1gb line to the PC whilst connecting the MW to a 100mb LAN? Do you benefit from better speeds by having the 'slave' MW plugged into ethernet? Or is it a requirement?
@chriise: I think the idea of connecting the mw3 to a gigabit switch is just to make sure that any hardwired transfers (e.g. from pc to pc) will be at gigabit speeds, bypassing the slow 100mbps interface on the MW3. It'll have no effect on speeding up MW3. It'll still connect to your LAN and/or WAN (internet) at 100 mbps. Any device connected to MW3 wirelessly, will connect to the internet and/or devices hardwired on the gigabit switch, at 100 mbps. Any devices that is connected wirelessly via MW3 to each other will be connected at whichever wifi speeds the device support or allowed by the signal quality.
Do you suggest this so that you can still keep a 1gb line to the PC whilst connecting the MW to a 100mb LAN?
If you don't need high speed between PCs (like copy large files) doesn't matter. The 100MB WAN will limit your Internet speed, if you don't have NBN faster than 100Mbps doesn't matter. So very depends on what you have and what you want.
In my case I already have Gigabit wired connection, if I going to buy Mesh I will only want to improve wireless devices and if possible better roaming.
@superforever: Sorry it would have been more helpful if I'd explained my own situation and reason for asking.
I have 100/40 at the moment, but exploring the 250 or even 1gb FTTP AussieB plan. I have a wired connection to my study and I use that line into my PC. But WiFi in my study is awful, so I ordered these MW3 3-pack.
Do I need to use the ethernet line in my study to connect the MW3 or can the MW3 just pick up and amplify any WiFi signal without plugging into ethernet? (this is what I meant by the 'slave' question). And if I do need to use ethernet for MW3, then I would need to run another line out of the MW3 to my PC, however that line would now be limited to 100mb as it is coming through the MW3.
So I'm guessing this is where I would benefit from a gigabit switch. Plug the line into a gigabit switch, with one line out to my PC and another out to the MW3.
@chriise: MW3 is not capable of delivering 250 Mbps or 1 Gbps WAN throughput. The slave MW3 plug into power & nope you don't have to use an ethernet cable.
Purchase a router with a 1G WAN port, more CPU power & RAM.
but exploring the 250 or even 1gb FTTP AussieB plan
MW3 will limit the connection to <100
But WiFi in my study is awful
can the MW3 just pick up and amplify any WiFi signal without plugging into ethernet?If your current signal is weak it may have problem pick up the signal to amplify it. With Mesh or WiFi extender you will need reasonable signal to amplify it. But you may have to test it because the MW3 may have stronger signal than your current WiFi Router. Another option don't put the MW3 in your study may be outside somewhere like the hallway with better signal to amplify it?
run another line out of the MW3 to my PC, however that line would now be limited to 100mb as it is coming through the MW3.
Correct
Plug the line into a gigabit switch, with one line out to my PC and another out to the MW3.
Correct but do you have another PC you need to transfer data across? The gigabit switch will only help if you need to connect to another PC or device like NAS, etc. since your current Internet is 100/40.
MW3 will limit the connection to <100
I'm only interested in 1gb speed for my PC (wired). I wouldn't mind too much the wifi being limited through MW3. So I just need to make sure the PC has a direct line straight to the router without passing through the MW3.
The wifi signal is very poor because the NBN box is in cupboard in one of the back bedrooms. Really poor placement. But the cupboard also has the ethernet ports leading to each room, which i'm hoping I will be able to use to connect the primary MW3 in the living room.
Thanks for your help!
@chriise: MW3 is not going to do 250 Mbps or 1 Gbps even wired to your PC & I suggest you purchase something else.
On FTTP a new router gets plugged into the NBN connection box. You don't run two routers.
100Mbps cap is personally too slow for me. I'll keep an eye out for a MW6 deal
100Mbps cap is personally too slow for me. I
You have faster Internet than 100Mbps?
wifi is also used for transferring data between devices and computers. 100mbs is 1/10th the speed of the slowest ethernet cable and 1/100th the speed of gigabit lan.
100mbs is 1/10th the speed of the slowest ethernet cable and 1/100th the speed of gigabit lan.
This device only have 1 LAN port, just connect it to a Gigabit switches, so that the limitation is only the WAN (Internet speed). If you only have FTTN, doesn't really matter.
@assailantsky: So one to the modem and one to gigabit switch. You have to connect the WAN port to the modem anyway so basically only one LAN port to use
@superforever: Yes, on the primary node. On the secondary node I use the two ports as LAN for my non-wifi enabled PCs. Works fine for internet access.
@superforever: Yes, there's no physical difference between the mw3 units. Which one is acting as secondary or primary is purely software and where the WAN is connected.
WiFi to wifi speeds will be faster than 100 mbps. The speed is only limited to 100 mbps anytime data goes thru the WAN and/or LAN interface, which in an "average" household will be for internet via their modem.
Not currently but will be moving to the 1Gbps option once more providers offer it.
The Wi-Fi is also used for streaming off my NAS which regularly requires > 100Mbps for smooth playback of video.
If you have 1Gbps of course wait for MW6 or even wifi 6
I’d fork out the extra and not buy a Chinese router. Tenda have previously been known to host backdoors in their routers: http://www.devttys0.com/2013/10/from-china-with-love/. I think it’d be stupid to trust all of your internet traffic running through these folks.
Well given these don't even run VPN, I would assume no matter what shitty router you get, you are trusting your ISP/Google/Facebook/etc with it all anyway right?
I would personally not prefer these Chinese tech that compromises on security
https://goughlui.com/2020/01/12/review-tenda-beli-sp3-smart-…
Will the smart plug do energy monitoring as well?
Doesn't look like it. Just basic on/off usage according to the description.
just bought the 3 pack from SS, 2 weeks ago. Had it for one week, does as its advertised and is a significant upgrade on my previous range extender. If you have an extender and are considering a mesh network system i would definitely make the switch. Running it directly attached to my modem, with its wifi swtich off (not the nbn connection box) due to still needing the landline connection from optus and works well.
how hard is this set up? thinking of giving this to someone at work
Setup is fairly straightforward.
This will be a great deal if it has free delivery
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Amazon has stock for MW3 2 pack $69.19 free shipping, don't forget cashback.