TP-Link Tether Reviews

by Daddy (Main)

When I am on my home network, I use my iPad for all of my networking activities. I, like many iPad users, have a keyboard/touchpad case that allows my iPad to be used like a laptop with the iPad positioned in a landscape (widescreen) position. Since iOS 13, the iPad allowed the use of Bluetooth mice and keyboards in an effort to allow users the option to use as a laptop. I find it truly shocking that TP-Link, a company that presents themselves and their products as being for the home networking user, has failed to integrate their flagship app to be used on iPads with keyboard/touchpad cases without having to awkwardly turn sideways with the keyboard positioned vertically to use! What a disappointment! After all the work done to build TPLinkTether, why would they not put in the minimal additional effort to allow that functionality that would benefit so many of their users?

by Biker Judge

I bought a specific TP-Link router times 3 to have control over my children’s screen time at the touch of my phone. Everything worked great for a couple months until last update when parental controls went kaput. I have spend nearly $600 to have this control and be a responsible parent. I have turned the bug in multiple times and was not helped once. The answer from the tech support is find a phone that didn’t update and use it until we can release a bug fix. Well no dice. On iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone XR, iPhone 7 Plus, and iPhone 6S the same bug exists. You can hit the up address directly and access parental controls that way but that is cumbersome, time consuming, and not at the touch of an app. If on Apple devices and wanting to use parental controls, don’t bother with TPLinkTether.

by SoccyR

I’d like to see a way to add a bulk list of blocked websites to the parental control profiles (instead of one by one) and to be able to add new devices to those profiles after they have been initially created.

I created a profile in parental controls w/2 devices. When I tried to add more devices to that profile, I was not able to. All the devices were selected, not allowing me to unselect any of them. I figured I’d add them all, then remove the devices not intended for that profile. But when I tapped done, NONE of the devices were added to the profile, even though they were all selected.

Having 4 children, constantly online due to school, homework and socializing, it’s very important to be able to block many unsuitable sites on their devices and those of friends who come by. It’s not useful to have to create a new profile for each new devices. Especially when that profile includes over 20 blocked websites. Please fix this problem. Thanks.

by K3vinmartin

Homeshield can only be setup through TPLinkTether , but it’s very buggy. Constantly crashes when attempting to view reports. Device monitoring is limited and shows inaccurate data, doesn’t actually show top visited sites or accurate online time for most days. Usage time is usually off as a result so good luck limiting network access for kids or whatever.

Almost no functionality for configuring Wi-Fi settings from TPLinkTether , requires you to setup most features via a desktop web interface.

Device names are often missing or inaccurate making it difficult to identify connected devices, there should be an option to label devices or rename device names associated with MAC addresses. This is also a problem in the desktop web ui too.

Setting up the router was actually very time consuming via TPLinkTether with a lot of false starts.

Also no dark mode, so be prepared for your eyes to be blinded at night.

I probably wouldn’t bother with TPLinkTether , just use the desktop local web ui to setup and manage the router.

TPLink Router seems good though. Wish TPLinkTether was modernized and more feature rich.

by Dpat007

TPLinkTether is helpful for people who do not come from a tech background. Tether makes it extremely easy for the mass to manage their router setup and network access management via a decent UI. The diagnostic feature helps identify whether the ISP is the problem or the particles device is having problems accessing internet.

What I particularly was looking for is in-depth diagnostics which would tell how much of network bandwidth is being used by each client. This is particularly useful in situations where you struggle to identify which device out of 10 connected is hogging the bandwidth.

Overall worth of this in my opinion is 2/5 stars. That does not mean it is not useful. For most folks it will be a pleasant way of managing the router and access. But I anticipate much more features to be exposed through this.

by Cdustybk

First, I really enjoy the router and the initial setup with TPLinkTether. The setup was very easy—set up an account, network name, & password. For most things beyond that (including any “advanced” network setup), TPLinkTether isn’t so great. For example, if you want to change the DNS settings or port-forwarding, that’s only through the web interface. TPLinkTether is limited to seeing what’s connected, sharing your password, and rebooting the router. It’s good at doing that; I just wish the marketing about what TPLinkTether is for was more clear.

There are also some other minor issues that keep TPLinkTether from functioning as intended. It only connected to my router locally the first time. Now it always connects to it as a “cloud device” and takes several seconds and network requests to load anything. It also hardly ever keeps my session, so I have to log in basically every time. Finally, sometimes it loses my session when I’m in the middle of rebooting the router so I need to wait on the router, login to TPLinkTether , then connect to the router again. It’s not terrible but is basically always smoother to do through the web interface.

by Jaqcfpmia

As a parent of a 13-year-old, tech savvy teenager, I find TPLinkTether to be useful with parental controls, however with technology changing constantly it needs to catch up. Devices are now coming with a standard setting which changes the MAC address for that device whenever connecting to a specific network. There isn’t a feature on this router to automatically detect a device of the same name, and merge it with a child profile which has downtime and limited time settings. There also isn’t a way to delete old devices that have been identified in the past, which causes there to be many devices of the same name showing as devices to add or delete from a child’s profile. This is quite confusing. There should also be a way to go into a specific device client connected, and see reports on TPLinkTether of time spent online and browsing history.

by Tb2112

I like TPLinkTether. I wish it duplicated the web console ‘advanced’ features much more comprehensively. But it’s designed for inexperienced consumers, so I get it.

The biggest issue I have, and the reason why I don’t expect to be using it unfortunately, is that compared to often-laggy web admin console, the lag in TPLinkTether is actually significantly worse. I had really hoped for the opposite: that by removing the overhead of the web server processing on the router, TPLinkTether would offer a more direct path to update settings in the router. But sadly no.

In particular, every time I save a settings update, it displays a ‘waiting/loading’ popup spinner, which freezes-up and spins forever. The workaround is to close the Tether app from TPLinkTether switcher, after each settings ‘save’, and then restart TPLinkTether to continue changing other settings etc. But it’s a really, really, really annoying workaround!!..

by Jose Del Pescador

This device works great. During Quarantine, my family of 6 has put a lot of pressure on the home network, sometimes running 5 Zoom meetings at a time on Comcast 300 Mb/s cable connection. The router has performed well. Setup was a breeze. Everything just works.

I’m subtracting one star for a feature that this system really ought to have: better data on bandwidth data by device and cumulatively. I’m not a systems engineer, but in the past I’ve had to sleuth around the house trying to figure out which device is causing overall system bandwidth to lag. Why can’t this device more clearly report the instantaneous and time history of bandwidth use by each device. I note also that the readout of instantaneous bandwidth usage is not accurate; while on a Zoom call, the display often showed my use speed was 0 for my computer.

by MattyLB

Just got my CR1900 and self-activation through my cable company (Mediacom) was #brilliantly simple and automatic - which made discovery and setup in TPLinkTether very fluid and nearly painless!

The only headaches I ran into were the constant log-outs and ins after making WiFi changes that didn't affect the SSID I was on to config them with. Maybe it's not possible to stay connected when a guest SSID is changed, but it's the perception of seeing the login routine over and over again that gets old.

My suggestion is to have TPLinkTether reconnect us transparently, as soon as the network is back up, and allow us to navigate TPLinkTether and make locally-cached changes to other settings while it's logging us in behind the scenes.

Also, I'm not seeing very many advanced options like speed testing, HomeCare or the ability to define a channel, width, or other advanced options many of us use to fine tune our signals. Maybe I've overlooked a setting like Parental Control, which I don't plan to use, but if these options ARE hidden there, that's more confusing than beneficial.

Either way - GREAT JOB ON TPLinkTether ! It's amazing easier than the junk ARRIS forces on their Surfboard owners, and I can see that your developers care enough to listen and release regular updates to improve it.

by WT MD

Tether is easy to set up and use. In general design is good that I can specify which device will or will not be allowed accessing wifi in specific hours.
The downside is that the max “time limits” is 8 hours. My kids are teenagers. They have virtual learning during the day, then they need to do homework and play game after virtual learning. 8 hours max does not work. So I just set up internet allowed time. However there are multiple times my kids continue to play their games after the “internet allowed time”, and once I turn on “time limit” their game stop — I can tell bcz kids coming out of their room soon after allowed time is used. As such, I suggest to increase “time limits” from 8 to 16 or 24 hours so that users can choose from a wider limits.

by Vital_clutch

I haven't had a single technical issue with TPLinkTether so far. It does everything it's supposed to do without giving me any problems. Maybe I have a newer version than the people who already posted a review for TPLinkTether ? However, like everyone says, it doesn't have a whole lot of features. But I think that's how it was intentionally designed. They clearly advertise what TPLinkTether can do... So they are aware of its capabilities. I think it was intended to be a simple app with some basic features and a user friendly interface. Not necessarily a replacement for the router's built in settings page that you get to from a browser.

by Sean Dot Com

TPLinkTether makes using the internet much easier and raises the quality standard for all wifi users. Depending on the location, different bands are needed to optimize your home devices and gadgets. A lot of cams/plugs/sensors, still run better or only off 2.4 so High Speed mode in correct setting is best for the area that hits most kf these. You can also have another RE220 for about $20 plugged in next to the 2.4 set one and have it in High Speed set to 5. Now for $40 approx, you have not only gained wifi where you/I never had it before such as my garage but its fast and efficient. Im amazed by the convenience and all the tools such as LED control since my wife cant stand any light in the bedroom. These guys thought of everything. Thanks TP-Link with Tether. I will stick with you guaranteed. I have 2 isp's at my home and Tether makes connecting everything super simple.

by Leet Haxor Man

Didn’t realize how much I’d love TPLinkTether and router until i went through a breakup. My ex girlfriend claimed all my stuff in the house was hers thru “shared ownership” and decided to keep my thousands of dollars of electronics i bought us though the years while she blew her money on concerts and weed. Once i realized i could control the router remotely via TPLinkTether, i can now lock out every device on the network from anywhere i please including the 3000 dollar gaming pc i built shes using, and the 500 dollar tv. God i love technology. 10/10 thank you tp link would recommend. Keep this installed and enable remote access if your relationship is on thin ice!

by Snicker2marie

So I sent my son to the store to buy a new WiFi router. He came home with this monstrosity of a thing. Said look mom you can set it up from an app on your phone. As I have no actual plugged in computer in my home anymore. I was very skeptical but plugged it all in and downloaded TPLinkTether . Super easy! I had it up and running in five minutes. You can see every device connected to your internet. Love that I can turn off the WiFi to my kids individual devices, I do it just for fun now ;) wish I had this when they were younger and grounded from using the internet... ohhh and my WiFi now works all the way down my street, my man child son may have over done it in man fashion but we are up and running again!

by Mero4ever

I have always used D-Link for extenders and Huawei for routers. I never considered TP link before my RE650, and when I did buy it, it stepped up to my challenge.

It provided dual channels (2.4 & 5Ghz) with ease. I put it under-load as I shifted more and more device to it to stress test it. In total I used 23 devices all connected at the same time and it went through them with no hiccups. I touched the device to see if it started to heat and it was normal temperature.

I like how TPLinkTether made it easy to set up and connect both dual channels like it was a game of candy crash.

TPLinkTether also always me to monitor all devices connected to RE650 and also my Host router through the discover function.

I can rename devices so I know which is which in TPLinkTether and I can disable or block devices connection with a button press.

It shows me connections separate for 2.4 and 5Ghz which is nice. I also can configure the LED on its face to on, off or on & off as per a time of the day schedule.

All in all I loved the device and TPLinkTether and now I am a fan of TP-Link. Highly recommend their devices and app.

by T. Schnee

My expensive big router failed after it was shocked by a few rapid on off power failures. The rest of the system was working after some careful analysis. Located a C-7 at my local Home Depot picked it up and went home to install it. Downloaded TPLinkTether onto my phone. Went through the setup procedure and bingo I was on my new WiFi network. There were a few small glitches, but easy to understand and move forward. In the end got all my devices working really well. Used both 2.4 and 5.0 channels with out a problem. The C-7 cost one third the router it replaced. Works very well maybe better than before. It is a modern design with up to date features that are uncomplicated and straight forward. Very good product.

by Brlrjc2b

When my old router died, I Purchased a TP Link product, and have really enjoyed the ability to set up the router independently. I am totally blind, and use voice over, The screen reader for Apple products. The TP link router packaging included a card with temporary access ID and password, which I was able to place on my scanner and read with Kurzweil 1000. The set up through the Tether app was both very accessible and straightforward. I cannot seem to find a way to make smart connect work. Thank you so very much for including accessibility and your products from the ground up, it was a very pleasant surprise, and while I had some technical folks answer a few questions, it was a really wonderful experience to accomplish this task on my own.

by Neuroproff

Having left “Windows World“ a long time ago and having lived in “Mack world“ since then, anytime I have to cross back into non-Apple territory makes me anxious. I have been redoing and expanding my home network recently. For that purpose I bought the TP Link ArcherC2300, and although all the reviews that covered setting it up seemed to indicate a straightforward process, I was not really looking forward to it.

However, this was truly a breeze. The TP Link app guides you through the process step-by-step, and the device actually does exactly what TPLinkTether says it will do. So, I was up and running within two or three minutes of plug-in the devise into a power outlet, and this included the time it took to bind my phone to the router via Internet, which required creating a new login with their website. Great job TP Link!

by Aperfectool

TPLinkTether, with auto-login, makes it incredibly easy to access every setting of your router as if you were on your hard-wired PC. TP-Link got it so right on both TPLinkTether and the router. The Archer A7 is the first router I’d seen with “Mesh” technology. If you’re not familiar with this, it simply means that your 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands (signals) are “meshed” together and the router leaves it up to the client to decide which band it not only the fastest, but also for which band it is compatible. Meaning no more having to manually choose 2.4GHz for a device that requires that band. And TPLinkTether lets you see which clients are connected to the 2.4 or 5GHz bands, plus gives you control to set up instantly disconnect a device that should not be connected or you no longer want connected, such as the “Guest” network, which also uses Mesh technology. Obviously, highly recommend the Archer A7 and this companion app.

by WrightOne86

Like some have said, my Archer C9 router will be working perfectly fine. The issue is that it seems like every few days (or every week or so), connectivity to TPLinkTether, and the local website for that matter, will not work. You will still have internet at your place, you just can't manage it. The only way to remedy this is to reboot the router (short network outage) to regain access. I have made sure I was on the latest firmware and the issue still persists.

Again, I love the router and everything about it, but something like this happening constantly is a turn off when thinking of when I want to upgrade routers in the future if it doesn't get fixed.

by Sixshooterz

I have the TL-WR802N and the setup of the device is very convenient using TPLinkTether . The problem is that I need to use Hotspot Router mode and TPLinkTether doesn’t seem to support this! I did a reset and TPLinkTether found the device without problem but when I tried to set the operational mode to Hotspot Router, it was unavailable. I switched to the web interface and configured the mode, thinking I could switch back to TPLinkTether to do the rest of the configuration and it says “unknown device” now and directs me to the webpage. If you’re going to link to TPLinkTether from the admin page, make sure TPLinkTether supports all of the BASIC functions of the router!

by TeekayMode

This was a great way to help improve and control the WiFi in the house. Overall I’m very happy with the ease of accessibility and range of coverage. I would like to see the time schedule options available on TPLinkTether . I’m downloading the new update and I’ll see if this helps with the IP mismatch that happens sometimes when a blocked user try’s to rejoin the network and then you unblock them the IP is not configured correctly. Overall I’m happy with this product and would definitely recommended and easy way to extend range of WiFi coverage for a great price and user support options.

by BikeFolder

At first, I was extremely frustrated because TPLinkTether wouldn't connect but after a firmware upgrade to the AC3200, I have no problems. A complete turnaround and now use TPLinkTether to determine who's on, what band they are using, and most importantly, to block my sons XBox when things start getting out of control. I would suggest two improvements. TPLinkTether should provide information to upgrade router so it's not a research project to figure out what's wrong and the devices listed should use the descriptions entered into the static IP reservations instead of making us retype that information.

by Eli Shane74

Okey the reason why I gave this four instead five it’s because there’s a feature that can be useful that I hope you add it in that feature is TPLinkTether tells you if there is any new device or connected device connect to the router I have with someone he’s my relative and living with me he knows the WiFi password and to all of his friends without telling me and I had such a net for a while until I noticed there’s devices that are connected to my WiFi please add this feature I’m not asking much thank you

by Dave.Holmes

I installed version 2.11.1 just 9 hours after the most recent update was available and it worked great! Setup for my new Archer C1200 was really fast and simple (for me). Sharing the password with family members automatically (with approval) worked nicely.

I only have one suggestion for a future update, and it's really a minor thing. It would be great if you could register for the cloud services through TPLinkTether instead of needing to open a browser and do it via the website. But that's not a big deal - I'm very satisfied and glad I used TPLinkTether to setup my new wireless router.

by GimmeHotCoffe

My how far we've come. I've been putting off getting a new router because I hate faffing about setting them up. I've been a techy person my whole life and as it turns out, with this TP Link router and the Tether App, I've never had an easier time setting up a new networking device. Absolutely brilliant. Instead of spending upwards of an hour setting it up and then getting all the devices amon line, I think with the help and ease of TPLinkTether, it took me literally 5 min to get the router set up and maybe another 10 to get all the devices back online.

by GoodMusicPlease?

I’ve used TP-Link switches and hubs for more years than I can remember. 100% uptime! My modems have always been Motorola or Arris with no problems. But, The Mother Of All Routers is the Archer AX6000. The Beast Incarnate! Every specification it destroys with ease. The future is so close you might as well buy it because ax is Wi-Fi 6! And just like 5G, there ain’t no way of stopping it.

TPLinkTether . Written by someone with a complete brain. The Archer AX6000 is a joy to navigate. Logically laid out and just the right amount of techy tabs to control EVERYTHING! It just works! Whether on computer or on your phone, it scales just right for full control and easy access.

Size. Yes it’s a little bit bit, but you have to dissipate heat somehow, somewhere. Too small and plane flat with no vents, overheat and dead electronics. The price we have to pay for performance. It really isn’t that big.

Enjoy the future, the future is NOW!

by Jj.b.jj

I would like to have the same access to all of the configuration options that are available via the web UI. Regardless, TPLinkTether is good enough for the type of users it’s designed for and the types of tasks it’s meant to facilitate. It’s most definitely a step up from the Airport Utility and Netgear Genie apps I’ve used with past routers.

I can tell that TP-Link put a lot of thought into TPLinkTether’s LAF, stability and performance. It’s easy to share the complex password for my guest network with friends. The quick setup and basic configuration management seem like exactly what non-advanced users would need.

This is a great basic app for the simple management of TP-Link’s fantastic routers.

If TPLinkTether ’s dev team reads this review: Please do consider exposing in TPLinkTether some or all of the advanced configuration options in one way or another. And, please consider building out functionality for IFTTT.

by Andruha C

Awesome product! Love it! Works like a charm! I only have one suggestion: add a feature where you can set a bandwidth for every individual MAC id of all devices you have connected. And also a easier way to prioritize them. I think there is a way to do it but its for all the devices at once, or maybe not but you could make it much simpler to simply pick the mac id you need, give it a limit for bandwidth and put it in a list of what priority you want the router to treat it in. All from TPLinkTether , would be great!!!
Thanks!!