Is There An App For Screen Tether

TP-Link's free Tether app has a bit of a misleading name. It's not for tethering your mobile device's cellular connection so you can connect your other devices to the Internet. Instead, it's an Android app (iOS is available, too) for accessing and managing supported TP-Link routers and for streaming multimedia files from USB drives connected to those routers. TP-Link's app allows for simple configuration and management. Tether is not for wireless network troubleshooting, nor does it allow you to manage your router and network remotely. It is free, however, and it does work as advertised—you can access multimedia files easily from a connected USB drive, and you can perform simple management.

Availability and Support
I reviewed the Android version which supports Android 2.3.3 and later. Currently, the app only supports a limited number of TP-Link routers. These router include the company's latest 802.11ac router, the Archer C7($44.99 at Amazon UK); the WDR4900; the WDR4300; the WDR3600; and the WDR3500. TP-Link has a blurb on its site that additional TP-Link routers will be supported in the future.

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I downloaded the app from Google Play and quickly installed it on a Droid Razr M($44.99 at Amazon UK) running Android 4.1.2 connected to the wireless network of TP-Link's Archer C7 router.

Login and Blocking Devices
The app opens with a login screen. I guessed (correctly) that I could use the admin account credentials of the Archer router. After login, the app opens up to a network map, which shows my router and all the devices connected to my network—both wired and wireless.

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The map is quite clear and well-designed. It's also useful because tapping on any device listed gives more information about that device, including hostname, IP address, and MAC address. There's also an option to block a device from the network. To test, I tapped to block a laptop that I had wired to the Archer. Sure enough, in seconds, the laptop was prevented from accessing any resources on the network and from the Internet connection.

A plus sign symbol at the bottom of the home screen opens a sub menu with a listing of denied clients. I saw my laptop that I had blocked listed there. Pressing on the laptop's name for a few seconds brought up options to re-enable a blocked device or multiple blocked clients. I tapped again to re-enable my laptop, and, in a matter of seconds, my laptop was reconnected to the network.

Of course, this feature would be more impressive if you could block devices remotely. However, it does work well on a local network. This is not an app like Cisco Connect Cloud which Cisco introduced as a way to remotely manage your router and network.

Parental Controls
Tether provides very lightweight parental controls. You can designate which devices are administrator devices and which are managed devices. Managed devices can be configured to access the Internet and network on a set schedule. Parents can also create a whitelist of approved sites that managed devices can access. Creating such a list could be rather laborious. Ideally, the app should have some pre-configured blacklists that will block the usual junk parents don't want their kids viewing on the Internet. But, this is a free app we are talking about. If there's a particular problem site you know your kids are accessing, at least you can block that one.

File Sharing and Streaming
Another icon in the app is File Sharing. The icon name is somewhat of a misnomer, because it's not for file sharing; it's for streaming multimedia. If you have a USB drive connected to a supported TP-Link router's USB port and Media Server is enabled on the router, Tether will connect to the drive and allow you to stream movies, music, and photos. I streamed all three types of files to my phone with no issues.

Router Management
You can also perform some router-management tasks with Tether. These include editing the admin password, viewing WAN settings, and editing wireless settings, such as the security encryption level, SSID, and SSID passphrase. You can't do more robust management, such as change the wireless mode or channel. Nor is it for wireless-network troubleshooting. For that capability, you'll want an app that provides details on signal strength, signal-to-noise ratio, and other information needed to troubleshoot connection issues. Examples of such apps include both Netgear WiFi Analytics and inSSIDer, an Editors' Choice for networking software.

Management Made Mobile, Local, and Light
If anything, Tether actually untethers you from firing up a browser and logging into the management interface of a TP-Link router to perform common, lightweight tasks. I can see its value for someone at home who may want to change the SSID passphrase by using the Tether app from whatever iOS or Android device is within arm's reach. No, it isn't a powerful network-management tool; it would more valuable if it could provide remote management. However, it does work as advertised, and the network mapping is well done. Tether app (for Android) gets a three-and-a-half out of five stars.

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