TPLink AC3150 and Installation Process for UNIFI

Recently I've been having connectivity issues with Telekom Malaysia (TM) UNIFI and getting guidance from their call center to resolve the issue is like talking to a 5 year old kid and expecting them to know what to do with my router issue. I know it's the router cause I've done test and identified the problematic area. All they do is repeating a standard SOP of "Please turn off your router and modem and turn them back on again after 2 minutes and see if it i running smoothly again or not". No matter how many times I call to ask, that's the standard answer given. No change of scripts at all.


Anyway, I'm not here to complain about TM and their customer service. Can't really blame the Call Center as I doubt they get an updated SOP list to assist users with new devices and so forth. As usual, I voiced my problem on Facebook and a friend of mine contacted me to tell me that he can get hold of an early set of the TP-Link AC3150 Wireless MU-MIMO Gigabit Router (Archer C3150). Yes quite a mouthful and reading through some sites, find that it's pretty new and seems to be fast too. Can't really rely on reviews these days cause more often than not, they will sing praise of a product especially when it is free. Personally, I admit if I get such opportunities to get freebies from brands, I might do the same too. I've to admit that this router is on the pricier side (won't share how much damage it made) but then I'm sure when TP-Link eventually launch it in the market, the price will drop. I'll see if I can get TP-Link Malaysia to share with me regarding the price.


Before I spew out more mental vomits, let us look at the AC3150. Size wise, it's slightly wider than the UNIFI router I had, but it's not as big as some of the other brands out there. Setting up was a breeze but as a new device, there is a few more steps to go through before the router works perfectly with our UNIFI Modem. I decide to do the step by step below since I'm setting mine up anyway. Hope it helps you.


Quick review of the device in terms of performance: Installation is a breeze (checked). Speed wise, it's pretty good and stable (But then I just installed it so not sure if the speed will deteriorate over time). The TP-Link AC3150 Wireless MU-MIMO Gigabit Router Archer C3150 is a well-equipped dual-band router that delivers speedy file transfers and gives you a wide assortment of management settings. I play mobile games a lot and I must say that certain data intensive games I'm on, it loads up and runs faster than what I used to experience on the UNIFI which left me cursing half the time.

My 10Mb/s account never see this kind of speed before with the new router even though I upgraded the UNIFI package a few months back. It might not be fast for some people but to me, it's fantastic!

I'm not a tech writer so I won't waste your time with all the jargons and numbers that you usually read on tech reviews. I'm writing this based on my layman knowledge which is simple, easy to install? Yup, speed is good? Yup, range is acceptable? Yup, I walked down the block about 2 houses away and I could still see my wifi even though it dropped to a bar. I could now play Pokemon Go (There's a spot a few houses away where some weedles tend to spawn regularly) around my area using my WIFI instead of using up my mobile data! Previously, my UNIFI router disconnects from my phones and tablets after I stepped out of the door.



I'm told that the device is also Multi-User Multiple Input, Multiple Out (MU-MIMO) ready but I've yet to test that. I think we need to upgrade the firmware to enable that, I'll have to get an advice from the tech experts on it before I do anything foolish. For now, what I'm doing in terms of test since the set-up a few hours ago is to do file transfers between computers and running graphic and data intensive games on my devices to see if there's any lag or slow down as per how I used to experience with the older router. I'll update this bit when I get more concentrate test done. At least with some stats that some friends like to read.

Now, for those of you who wants to do installation at home. Here's a simple guide to help you through the process.

Connecting AC3150 to UNIFI Modem.

Step 1: Hook up the LAN cable to your computer and go to tplinkwifi.net (make sure your wifi connection is off). Username/Password is the default admin. Once you're in, you will be required to change both and re-login again to start the installation process. You can also do the set-up using wifi if you don't want to have any wiring running across your desk. The wifi SSID and password is at the bottom the router.


Step 2: Select the Timezone (+8 hours) and click next, select PPPoE and click next. The following steps would require you to key in your unifi account and password. If you are not sure, call the TM hotline and ask. Handy tip, make sure you got a piece of paper and pen or a notepad on your computer cause your password can be a handful and you can't change it.


Step 3: Once you keyed in your unifi account and password, click next and you'd come to your WIFI set-up page. Do take note that if you are setting up the router through wifi, you will need to select the new SSID on your connection once you click next or you won't get to the following steps.


Basically just click next, save and you don't have to run any test as your connection won't be active yet. There's a few more things to do before you can use the router.

Step 4: Once you have done all the above QUICK SETUP steps, you will need to select Advanced to do the next step of the installation. Don't panic if you don't see any connections yet.


Step 5: In Advanced, select Network and select IPTV. You will see an IPTV Settings page.


Step 6: Enable IPTV and in mode, select Malaysia-Unifi. To double check, the ICMP Proxy should indicate V3. Once these steps are done, click save. Go back to status and you should see the Internet column be populated with numbers indicating to you that you can get online again.


There you have it, some simple steps to follow. I believe this would work with any other new model routers in the market and not only just on TP-LINK's devices. Hope these steps can guide you back to the World Wide Web after you discard of the older slower routers. (Don't throw the old unifi router away cause they might want the router and modem back after you unsubscribe from their service)

Michael Yip

Phasellus facilisis convallis metus, ut imperdiet augue auctor nec. Duis at velit id augue lobortis porta. Sed varius, enim accumsan aliquam tincidunt, tortor urna vulputate quam, eget finibus urna est in augue.

6 comments:

  1. Hi Mikeyip

    Do you mind sharing how to set the router up? I just bought and cannot connect to Unifi.

    mizlnick@yahoo.com
    0139310010

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've already listed down the steps as per the post. If you don't understand the posting and screenshots then I wouldn't know how to explain to you how to connect the router. The step by step is already listed.

      Also, make sure you know your Unifi password, which you can get from TMnet.

      Delete
  2. should i upgrade to new firmware? my model is v1

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup, always good to make sure you have the latest firmware to keep the machine running smoothly.

      Delete
  3. thank you very much..managed to configure my TP-Link 3150

    ReplyDelete