TP-Link TL-SG1008D, 8 Port Gigabit Ethernet Network Switch, Ethernet Splitter, Hub, Desktop and Wall-Mounting, Plastic Case, Plug and Play, Energy-Saving, Black

I recently encountered a situation whereby my router was being switched off by a terror-toddler which necessitated router relocation, and due to the placement of the Virgin Media cable this could only be to a far corner of our home.During winter this was fine as we weren't spending much time in the garden at the other end of the house, but now warmer weather has arrived things have changed and I'm finding that the WiFi is dropping out when sitting outside.This device was purchased for just over twenty Great British Pounds and is a bargain when compared to a new AX router or mesh system.I'm a gadget-lover and have never had trouble with such things, that has to be noted.From removing the product from its box, it was plugged in and the status light was flashing, a five second journey to the router and a push of the WPS button, then back again to push the same button on the device and one by one the lights for 2.4 and 5ghz also lit up and remained solid.No more than 30 seconds and two (my RT AC 3200 has one 2.4 and two 5ghz radios) extended WiFi connections appeared in the list of available networks on my phone suffixed with _EXT and simply required entry of the existing WPA2 password. It automatically extended the 2.4ghz and the first 5ghz radios.Signal is now strong in the garden, it has a Blink Mini camera, Netatmo, Blink Studio, Chromecast Ultra connected to it and its all flawless. It uses about two watts according to my IHD.As for any bad reviews, I would say as with any networking equipment, know what your requirements are and research because it's not one size fits all.If your house is mahoosive you're going to need more than one or a dedicated multi point mesh system. If your house has walls like Fort Knox, the 5ghz band from this won't pass through them any easier than the 5ghz band from your router. If you want OneMesh, you also require a OneMesh router. If you run a hotel, a small consumer device isn't what you require for your guest WiFi system.For what I need, it's perfect, it's cheap, it took 30 seconds to get up and running without any apps or setup other than plugging it in and pushing two WPS buttons. I'm on Virgin 200mb, as per the photo I get almost full speed sitting a few metres away from the device.If you have an AC band router, averaged size house and want to extend your network slightly, this is for you. If you live in Buckingham Palace and want to extend your network to the drawing room 400 metres away, probably not.

The metal cased TP-Link 8 port Gigabit TL-SG108 1000/100/10 switch works perfectly straight out of the box. No set-up is required. It auto-senses the cable connection and interfaces correctly to both T568A and T568B wiring of the cables, so there is no need for 'crossover' leads.The power supply is a small 9V plug-top unit that barely thinks about getting warm. Measured current from a 9V bench power supply was 85mA (765mW) with no ports connected, rising to 120mA (1080mW) all ports connected but no traffic, during a 7GByte 1000Mb/s backup between two long-wire ports the current peaked at roughly 230mA (~2W) but varied. Much, much better than the old 100/10 hub it replaces which always took about 350mA (~2.6W) at 7.5V 24/7 and also had an inefficient hot mains brick.The LED lights on the front edge, two adjacent to each of the eight sockets indicate activity in the normal way; solid for connected and flashing for data transfer, the green LED for 1000Mb/s and the yellow LED for 100/10Mb/s. There is also a separate green LED showing when the power is correct. I would have preferred the lights to be on the other side from all of the leads as with the version (9.0) of the TP-Link SF1005D (not shown on Az now) I bought in 2012, or on the top as with this version TP-Link SF1005D I bought in 2011, but I understand why it was done here.A couple of keyhole slots in the base of the metal box enable one to mount it on a pair of no6 countersink-head woodscrews to allow tidy routing of the cables. The four rubber feet help to prevent it from sliding off the screws. The 8 port box is 100mm x 160mm x 28mm.My house usually has no wi-fi; the CAT5E LAN is all hard-wired and this new switch living next to the big PC, a media server and the network printer, replaces a previous and out-of-date 100/10Mb/s generic unit from Maplin.The network is mixed traffic, mostly Gigabit, but still some old 100Mb/s Ethernet. The new switch handles it all at full duplex with no problems, and I have noticed a slight increase in the speed of the 100Mb/s transfers as well. I bought this after several months of positive experience with its little brother the TL-SG105 and the TD-W8970 router.As usual, I took the lid off to have a look inside (my work used to include designing high speed electronics) and it is nicely made with good quality components and proper attention to screening and track layout.Recommended.Addendum.Be aware that on this product page either Az or TP-Link has stupidly mixed up all the reviews for all the different varieties of TP Link switches, 24, 16, 8 and 5 port, Gigabit or not, metal and several versions of plastic cases, even for switches no longer available, and they have different performance and best uses. But cut to the chase, and simply go for the latest versions of the metal boxed Gigabit switches.

They were ok, we have a small house so the range was good and they are very easy to install. I can’t say they were fantastic as for my son not me but they were fine and reliable and looked nice and compact in the socket.