The TL-WR3002X AX3000 travel router is one of the fastest and most powerful models TP-Link currently offers, and it's an easy device to recommend. If your living space is small, this, frankly, could even be the only router you need.
Price and Availability
The TL-WR3002X has a sticker price of $99.99, though it's regularly available for less. It comes in black and is available from Amazon.
You Need to Supply Your Own Power
This is a travel router, so you would be forgiven for expecting me to tell you about this device's battery life. I can't, since it doesn't have one. That can come as a surprise if, like me, you're accustomed to carrying around a cellular hotspot. This travel router is lightweight and pocketable, but it's up to you to figure out how to deliver power via the USB-C port.
Fortunately, the device doesn't need much. I was able to power it on for the first time by plugging into the USB-A port in my car. Any public wall outlet you find will suffice. Though for true portability, you will want a small portable power bank instead. That's my preferred approach, since I tend to travel with multiple batteries on hand. At 58% capacity, my 10,000mAh Insignia battery says it can power the router for over four hours.
Bertel King / How-To Geek
That number wasn't impacted much by what I was doing, whether that was streaming a YouTube video or not actively using the internet at all. This may have something to do with the reality that, on this library's internet connection, I'm not putting any strain on the router, which is capable of Wi-Fi 6 speeds. I think this is a good real-world test, however, as I don't generally associate public Wi-Fi with a blazing fast connection.
Pick Your Own Setup Process
There are two ways to set up the router. For starters, there's the traditional method, which doesn't involve creating an account. You turn on the router, connect to the default network using the name and password on the bottom of the device, and then navigate to the provided URL. Here, you will encounter a wizard that guides you through the process of selecting your time zone, setting up a network name with a more secure password, and connecting the router to a network.
The connection test says it may take up to several seconds, but I find it took me multiple minutes before ultimately failing. During the multiple times when the connection failed, it wasn't clear what went wrong. In general, the router doesn't do a good job explaining why it hasn't established a connection. The process took a bit more trial and error than I expected.
Once connected via the browser, you can dive into all the advanced settings you might expect from a modern router. Most of the same features available on a TP-Link home router are also present here.
Alternatively, you can manage the router using TP-Link's Tether app, available for both Android and iOS . If you have a TP-Link Deco router, you can sign in using the same account information you use to sign in to the Deco app.
While the Tether and Deco apps are separate, they look strikingly similar. The Tether app may have the downside of requiring an account, but it does a much better job of presenting information in an accessible way than the browser-based web interface.
More Than Enough Speed
As a Wi-Fi 6 router, the TL-WR3002X can manage data transfer speeds of up to 574 Mbps on a 2.4GHz connection. To max out performance, you'll want to connect to a 5GHz network, where you can see speeds of up to 2402 Mbps. Alternatively, you can connect via Ethernet. On the back of the device, there's a 2.5 Gigabit WAN port and a 1 Gigabit LAN port.
That said, while I have a fast and stable Wi-Fi network at home, the TL-WR3002X supports speeds faster than any I've ever reached. 500Mbps down is plenty for me. Since I live in a rural area with ample distance between my house and the neighbors, whether I connect via 2.4GHz or 5GHz doesn't matter all that much. But this isn't a device intended to be used at home, and you may find 5Ghz to be less bogged down in congested public areas.
I was surprised to see that I received faster speeds when connected to the public Wi-Fi at my local library via the router than when connected directly to the library's Wi-Fi. A direct connection to the library's internet showed me Speedtest.net speeds of around 25Mbps, whereas using the portable router bumped that number up to over 80Mbps. That means if you regularly depend on public internet access, the purchase can be worthwhile for the performance enhancements alone. After all, there is a good chance this router has better antennas than your phone or laptop.
The router supports up to 80 devices connected simultaneously. That's the kind of number you reach if you're trying to build a smart home and need to connect several dozen connected light switches and power outlets. It's more than enough for all the phones, tablets, and gaming handhelds your family might bring along on a vacation.
A Private, Wi-Fi Extending, Home Media Hub
A portable router creates a private network connection out of a public one. A system administrator can see that your router is connected to their network, but they can't see all the devices that are connected to it. They cannot access those devices the way someone can when they're part of the same local network. They can, however, still see your web traffic unless you use a VPN. This model supports several VPN protocols like OpenVPN, WireGuard, PPTP, and L2TP.
As beneficial as portable routers are on public Wi-Fi, you don't have to use the device outside the home to find value here. The router can serve as a Wi-Fi extender, helping to stretch your connection to other parts of the home. Since the device isn't running off a battery, keeping it running 24/7 isn't an issue. It's portable because it's tiny, not because it's intended to be used in spurts.
The router can also convert cellular data into a Wi-Fi connection, whether that's by plugging a cellular modem directly into the router, plugging the router into your phone, or by connecting to your phone's hotspot to reduce how many devices attempt to strain your phone.
The USB port and microSD card slot allow you to share files across devices connected to the router. The files can be accessed via SAMBA or FTP. If you're connecting via a phone or tablet, there's a file manager built directly into the Tether app.
Should You Buy the AX3000 Wi-Fi 6 Travel Router?
Bertel King / How-To Geek
With support for 3Gbps Wi-Fi 6 speeds, the TL-WR3002X AX3000 travel router can handle faster speeds than the home routers many of us own. That means most of us can use this router as intended without putting a strain on the hardware. It's a slim, silent device that fits easily into a bag and possibly adds less weight than the optional portable power bank used to power it.
The setup process is easy enough for people familiar with routers, but it could still use some work for those who aren't. That isn't enough to withhold a recommendation, however. This is a type of product that's handy to have around, and the TL-WR3002X in particular is a great one to get.
