Tenda W1801R AC1750 router

[staticfree]

Anyone know anything about this router: Tenda W1801R AC1750 ?
I can't seem to find any reviews for it. I just ordered one on sale for $59.99 and figured it would make a good Acesss Point unit. I've seen reviews for the older Tenda model W1800R AC1750 router which some said it is the same as an Asus AC-66U router. Is that true and what is the difference between this newer model Tenda W1801R vs the W1800R model? Anyone know about these units?

 

[stevech]

There are some user reviews of the prouduct you reference, and other Tenda products, on newegg.com

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...r=BESTMATCH&Description=tenda&N=-1&isNodeId=1

Here's one reviewer's comment... It says there's no explicit AP mode; you have to fake it:

Cons: The firmware does not have an option to simply select this unit to be an access point so you have to configure it manually, which if you're familiar with how to do this, is no problem. If you need an "access point" option, this firmware doesn't have it.

I've never heard of that brand before now.
I downloaded the router's user manual - read for a few minutes. I grade it c- for comprehendable English grammar and D- for organized technical content. But, it can work.

 

[staticfree]

There are some user reviews of the prouduct you reference, and other Tenda products, on newegg.com

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...r=BESTMATCH&Description=tenda&N=-1&isNodeId=1

Here's one reviewer's comment... It says there's no explicit AP mode; you have to fake it:


I've never heard of that brand before now.
I downloaded the router's user manual - read for a few minutes. I grade it c- for comprehendable English grammar and D- for organized technical content. But, it can work.

I've since found out that this W1801R model is the same as the W1800R router electrically and hardware wise. Tenda just submitted to the FCC to request a new FCC ID and model name change for marketing purposes.
I guess so that they can sell it cheaper under a new model number.
I've configured it to be used as an Access Point no problem using the stock firmware (which is real bare bones). I've also tried loading Shibby's TomatoUSB release 124 W1800R Mega-VPN firmware version and it works with that too. But I decided to reload the original Tenda stock firmware since I don't need all the features and I think I saw that the stock firmware allowed it to put out a slightly stronger RF signal. Not sure about that though. But either firmware runs stable and fine.

 

[DIY_guy]

I've since found out that this W1801R model is the same as the W1800R router electrically and hardware wise. Tenda just submitted to the FCC to request a new FCC ID and model name change for marketing purposes.
I guess so that they can sell it cheaper under a new model number.
I've configured it to be used as an Access Point no problem using the stock firmware (which is real bare bones). I've also tried loading Shibby's TomatoUSB release 124 W1800R Mega-VPN firmware version and it works with that too. But I decided to reload the original Tenda stock firmware since I don't need all the features and I think I saw that the stock firmware allowed it to put out a slightly stronger RF signal. Not sure about that though. But either firmware runs stable and fine.

Thanks @ staticfree for the helpful info.

Background - I had the W1800R running smoothly on stock fw, and later tried Shibby and Victek RAF Tomato fw's on it and was very impressed with the wifi Mbps speed, stability, and consistent performance. Long story short - during the ice storm related brown-outs here, in Atlanta this winter, the W1800R got fried. <foolishly, the router was the ONLY thing in my office not on an APC UPS>. Lesson learned.......Never Again!

My question for you now is regarding the W1801R that I just bought as a replacement, since I don't see the W1801R model listed for tomato fw, just for the previous W1800R.
#1 - Will the new W1801R accept the same fw builds written for the W1800R? Any tricks or traps?
#2 - How did you RELOAD the factory Tenda fw after flashing the Tomato fw? (I've heard of telnet and tftp, but don't have experience with them, but am always glad to pick up new tricks).
#3 - On my old W1800R post-brown out, when it's powered up, it appears to go through all the motions with the front panel LED's lighting in sequence as if it's broadcasting, but I can't access it on the IP I assigned or the default IP. Pinging gave Host Unreachable, and since no IP was recognized, I never got close to any login screen. As a last resort I did a 30-30-30 reset, and the behavior was unchanged. No IP access, same ping message, etc. Any other thoughts on whether it might be reachable, or do y'all also go with my Fried / Bricked assessment above?

Thanks again - LB

 

[datruck]

#1 - Will the new W1801R accept the same fw builds written for the W1800R? Any tricks or traps?
#2 - How did you RELOAD the factory Tenda fw after flashing the Tomato fw? (I've heard of telnet and tftp, but don't have experience with them, but am always glad to pick up new tricks).

Can't answer your first question as I only have an w1800r.

As far as reloading Tenda fw goes, I have flashed using the gui in Shibby Tomato back to Tenda fw on my w1800r without any issues. Actually did it this morning as I have been having some issues with Tomato and wanted to see if the factory firmware had the same issues.

 

[staticfree]

Thanks @ staticfree for the helpful info.

Background - I had the W1800R running smoothly on stock fw, and later tried Shibby and Victek RAF Tomato fw's on it and was very impressed with the wifi Mbps speed, stability, and consistent performance. Long story short - during the ice storm related brown-outs here, in Atlanta this winter, the W1800R got fried. <foolishly, the router was the ONLY thing in my office not on an APC UPS>. Lesson learned.......Never Again!

My question for you now is regarding the W1801R that I just bought as a replacement, since I don't see the W1801R model listed for tomato fw, just for the previous W1800R.
#1 - Will the new W1801R accept the same fw builds written for the W1800R? Any tricks or traps?
#2 - How did you RELOAD the factory Tenda fw after flashing the Tomato fw? (I've heard of telnet and tftp, but don't have experience with them, but am always glad to pick up new tricks).
#3 - On my old W1800R post-brown out, when it's powered up, it appears to go through all the motions with the front panel LED's lighting in sequence as if it's broadcasting, but I can't access it on the IP I assigned or the default IP. Pinging gave Host Unreachable, and since no IP was recognized, I never got close to any login screen. As a last resort I did a 30-30-30 reset, and the behavior was unchanged. No IP access, same ping message, etc. Any other thoughts on whether it might be reachable, or do y'all also go with my Fried / Bricked assessment above?

Thanks again - LB

Hi DIY_guy, sorry I just saw your questions post from March 2015 and I have not been on here since I last posted.
Yes, I loaded the Tomato fw which is labeled for W1800R on my W1801R and it worked just fine. Like I had posted earlier, they are the same router electrically.
It's been a while since I messed with the router but I believe I used the Tomato gui to flash back to Tenda firmware option.
I had to get the proper correct USA English firmware from Tenda support which they emailed to me since the firmware on their download site back at that time was not the correct firmware version for the USA models. I don't know if they've since corrected or added the correct USA firmware version on their download site currently. So if you have a USA bought W1801R, check with Tenda about USA version of their firmware.
As for your old W1800R not getting any IP address or connectivity activity, have you tried plugging into all of the Ethernet LAN ports?
The thunderstorm strike could have fried your LAN ports. You should try another port to see if maybe only one or two ports got fried and hopefully another port still works. If not, then most likely your LAN ports interface got fried. Have you tried to see if you could connect to it wirelessly? It should come up with default wi-fi SSID I believe... and maybe you can get in and configure it that way at least for wireless connections. Anyway, good luck.

 

[Woody1]

I have ordered 2 of these routers to set up for friends and I plan to install some version of Tomato on them. Looks like either the Shibby or Victek will work. Can anybody tell me whether one is better to use than the other? Any particular issues with either firmware?