I have been using the AR150 almost daily for the last month and thought I would offer some discussion on the GUI. Most of my use has been in a hotel with a mere 2MB/1MB service.
Most of the time it’s a plain old router and works fine. It does need to go through a splash page to connect to the hotel. I am using Mozilla and get a little notification that tells me there may be another page to check. I assume it’s the browser telling me and not the router.
Not keen on the GLI password requirement for 8 characters.
The first thing I need to do is connect. I would like to have the Internet Settings open right away when I open the GUI if there is no existing connection. If there is a connection then it should not open.
I think the second tab, “Repeater” is poorly named. I think WWAN or Wireless WAN is a better term. The device does not have a repeater mode in it’s delivered configuration.
I would like the ability to save and recall a connection. This gets my highest “WANT RATING”. I really find it annoying to have to retype passwords for connections I visit regularly. I still want the device to boot with no connection, and scan as it does. If one of the networks it finds is saved, I should be able to select it and then just hit submit. SSID Keys should not be in clear text by default, but an option to view would be good.
I have not tested the ability to find hidden SSIDs.
I have not tested 3g.
I have not tested Tethering, but hope to try my iPhone at some point. I think I need to load some packages.
Unclear if I can use both cable and wireless at the same time.
I would like to see a menu configuration for the DDNS service. It should have an On\Off switch and offer the ability to configure alternate DDNS services. I also would prefer not to have the DDNS information show at the bottom of the page. It should be secret and available on a tab under DDNS.
The Wireless Settings tab (LAN) the Main tab opens with no password set, even though there is a password. It should show as hidden, with an option to reveal.
Unclear as to why or what to use the port forwarding tab for.
Firmware - Does Revert to factory default mean back to the delivered software or back to the uploaded image file with no packages? There should be a way to backup and restore the configuration (like std).
App Repo - seem to work fine, used it to upload 2.13 over 2.12. Not loaded any packages.
Video - Worked fine with my 720P camera at most resolutions. Some jitter at higher resolutions. Limited testing. Does anyone know what the VLC stream string should be?
Cloud - Can not figure it out. Need instructions. I could find files on the USB, but not make links.
Share - LAN Share works. Did not try WAN. Not sure how to access it. Not really tried.
UPNP service - It’s on. Not sure why I need it.
Performance at home with 50/10 using wireless on WWAN and WLAN gets me about 12.5\9.8. The laptop at the same spot does 22.8\9.8. I consider that respectable considering the distance to my router (25 feet and some walls) and pushing the radio into double duty.
Competitive routers come with an option to use the device as a router or AP\Bridge. Generally this is done with a switch, like the one on the side of the device. This would essentially turn the WAN\WWAN into WLAN\LAN. Probably require some additional GUI pages. Not a feature I have a need for, but others might.
The link to the manual does not go to a valid manual for the device