TRENDnet 300Mbps Wireless N Access Point TEW-638APB (Black)

by TRENDnet

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.5 x 4.7 x 1 inches ; 5.1 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001KUV49U
• Item model number: TEW-638APB
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #35 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > Networking Products > Wireless Access Points
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 14, 2004

Product Description

Size: 300 Mbps

From the Manufacturer

The versatile 300Mbps Wireless N Access Point is designed to create a scalable high speed wireless n network or to connect a wired device to an existing wireless network. Use multiple 300Mbps Wireless N Access Points together to extend your network using Wireless Distribution System (WDS), Wireless Bridge and AP Client Modes. Expand a wireless network without running additional cabling with Wireless Distribution Service (WDS) technology by connecting multiple access points wirelessly. Use Wireless Bridge Mode to connect devices such as game consoles, printers and digital video recorders (DVR) to your wireless network. Advanced antenna technology (MIMO) increases wireless coverage and WPA / WPA2 encryption protects your wireless network

Wi-Fi Certified Product

Energy Star Certified Technology

Wi-Fi Certified Product
The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ label from the Wi-Fi Alliance® ensures the highest level of industry-wide product interoperability, adhering to strict security protocols, and backwards compatibility with older wireless standards. Industry leading encryption testing thresholds were met, thereby maintaining the most advanced network security. Backwards compatibility with older wireless standards is also ensured through standardized testing. These protocols ensure that consumers are purchasing a tested and proven product.

Energy Star certified products are more energy efficient than non-certified products. They not only protect the environment, but also reduce your electrical bill. TRENDnet Energy Star certified products use high-efficiency external power adapters. The energy efficient adapters reduce energy consumption by an average of 30%.

Networking Installation Scenario

Product Features

• Compact high performance wireless n access point
• Wireless Bridge mode for Ethernet-to-wireless bridging function
• Works as an access point and a wireless adapter
• Compliant with IEEE 802.11n (draft 2.0), IEEE 802.11g and 802.11b standards
• compatible with 802.11b/g/n networks
• Up to a 300Mbps data rate using an 802.11n (draft 2.0) connection
• Expand a wireless network using AP client mode or Wireless Distribution System (WDS)
• Support for the 802.11e Quality of Service (QoS) standard
• Low interference and high susceptibility deliver reliable performance
• 2 removable antennas to support high speed performance and expanded coverage
• Supports Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) feature allowing you to integrate other WPS devices into your network quickly
• Indoor coverage up to 100 meters (328ft.)*
• Outdoor coverage up to 300 meters (984ft.)*
• Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) Quality of Service (QoS) supported
• Supports Windows 2000/XP/2003 server/Vista Operating System
• 3-year limited warranty

What’s in the Box
TEW-638APB,Multi-Language Quick Installation Guide,CD-ROM (Utility and User’s Guide),1x Cat. 5 Ethernet cable (0.6m / 2 ft.), Power adapter (12V DC, 1A)

Product Description

TRENDnet 300Mbps Wireless N Access Point TEW-638APB Wireless Access Points

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Took a gamble and it worked after trying two other solutions., June 12, 2009

By 

D. Smith - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: TRENDnet 300Mbps Wireless N Access Point TEW-638APB (Black) (Personal Computers)

Home networking can be a real pain especially for someone like me who knows enough to be dangerous but not enough to be a network installer. I have a wireless router burried in my basement that wasn't getting signal to my upstairs part of the house. I tried two other different products 1) two routers connected to each other and 2) a Hawking repeater. I ended up wasting a lot of time with them and they just didnt work or had compatibility issues. I took a plunge on the no brand trendnet based on this other positive review and he was 100% right. The price is 50% cheaper than the comparable Linksys N switch and does exactly as advertised. Setup took 5 minutes and I now have coverage all over my house. No issues so far.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good price, decent feature set. Beware of 2.4GHz channel bonding issues., February 5, 2010

By 

Ryan A. Jairam (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: TRENDnet 300Mbps Wireless N Access Point TEW-638APB (Black) (Personal Computers)

UPDATE 07/02/10: Firmware fixes! v1.2.7 greatly improves the stability of this unit and now it performs flawlessly.

Original review:
I have had this AP for a few months now. It was not difficult to set up at all. When it works properly, I get decent speeds. However since this is a 2.4GHz access point don't expect channel bonding to work as well as in a 5GHz or dual band unit because the 2.4GHz band is basically overloaded. Also, this access point only comes with a 100BaseTX wired ethernet interface, so even if you got more than 100Mbps on the wireless side you're limited by the wired interface.

I also have it set up with WPA2, initially with WPA2-PSK and now with WPA2 enterprise using FreeRADIUS on pfsense for better security.

It does have multiple SSIDs but what is the point of that? It's not like you can segment it into VLANs or anything so this is a pointless feature. This would have been useful because I could keep one SSID open and put it on a DMZ on my firewall so I can give guests wifi access without opening up my whole network.

That said, my access point refuses to connect every ever so often. Completely random, but usually after I've completed some large file transfers over N wireless. It almost seems as though some buffers in the device are being saturated and the device just locks up. My laptop or iPod will attempt to associate then fail with no explanation, then magically come back after I power cycle the device.

I have not seen any firmware updates for it that would fix the issue so I think I'll just attempt to get warranty service for it or just get another access point like a Cisco.

19 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Works well, configuration could be clearer, June 13, 2009

By 

Wayne (Union City, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: TRENDnet 300Mbps Wireless N Access Point TEW-638APB (Black) (Personal Computers)

Sometimes you can use a wireless adapter to get your device on your network. Sometimes your TV or Blu-ray player leaves you with no option other than a wired connection. This device allows you to put a switch or hub anywhere in a typical home or plug any network cable directly into it for a network connection.

Alternatively, two of these can tie remote areas of a network together wirelessly without having this emulate a wireless adapter. You can also use this by plugging it into your network in locations where wireless devices, such as laptops get weak signals. You could even have an individual laptop use this instead of its built in adapter if it has trouble picking up on your network from remote areas of your home.

You start off by connecting this device to a single computer so you can configure it. You can bring it up with a web browser, and bypass the need to install the configuration software on your PC. However, if its default IP address is out of the range of your subnet mask, you would have to manually assign an IP address and subnet mask to your computer, and set them back after configuration.

That method is a common way to configure similar devices. It can make things easy, or it might seem confusing enough to drive you away. If so, you merely use the software on the CD, which finds the device and walks you through the configuration without the problems above.

The way the modes of operations work could be explained better in the manuals, and there is an assumption that you already understand the related network concepts and types of wireless security. The method of configuration is not what you might be typically used to. There is some ambiguity in certain areas where it is not clear whether a field applies to the device or to the router you are connecting to.

It's pretty clear that they were not willing to hire the native English speakings consultant to maintenance of wording the screens. If you understood that last sentence, you should understand their configuration screens too.

In order to work with my network, I needed to set up a profile for the wireless network name used by my router. Once I got the security information in there, things worked like a charm. It also did a good job of finding other networks within range.

One day I found that my connection speed was not only fast, but far exceeded what my Internet provider gives me. After a little investigation, I found that at some point, this device connected to the network with the strongest signal, which was an unsecured router belonging to a neighbor. That left my network vulnerable since it had a non encrypted connection, plus security and firewalls assumed I had a secure wired connection. Their support group told me there is no way around that.

Since your devices plug into this (or a hub or switch that's plugged into this) they act as if they were any other wired devices. You do not see a WiFi icon in your system tray nor do you see a signal strength indicator. So there's no way of seeing what network you get a wireless connection to unless you look at what network this independent device got connected to. This would not be an issue if you use two of these devices to bridge wirelessly, but that should not have been necessary.

At some later point, I found that it tried to give a warning message before attempting to connect to a non-secure network, which is something their tech support group told me would not happen. I wish there were an explanation for why it connected to one on its own before without such a warning. You would never see the aforementioned warning unless you went to the device to try to figure out why you had no network connection. It would have been nice if they had something similar to what you have with a bi-directional printer where a status icon in your PC tray shows the state of the remote device.

If you have things set up, your router stays on and connected, and the device stays powered on, you can get excellent performance. If you lose the connection while you are updating your router's firmware, or for any other reason, I can't tell you what this device will do on its own in the interim. It still works well enough that I use it and it's the best practical alternative for me.

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