Disassembling a TP-Link WR1043ND v2 router

[Goi]

Hi,

I'm trying to disassemble a WR1043ND v2 router to put some heatsinks on the chips as I suspect I have an overheating problem.

I've unscrewed the 4 screws from the base of the device but the cover still seems very snug. From this picture below via Google images, it doesn't seem like there are any other screws. Am I supposed to just use brute force to unclip the cover?

 

[sdifox]

Use smart phone pry tools. Little platic pry bars. Or an old credit card.

 

[razel]

Yes, you can see the 7 clips that teeth from the cover bite into. 2 on each side, 3 up front.

 

[Goi]

Cool. Got it. I started with the middle one at the antenna and worked my way out.

 

[Rifter]

just remember, that getting the heat from the chip into the air via a heatsink will just delay it overheating unless you are able to remove that hot air from the enclosure, either via large vent holes or a small fan.

 

[Elixer]

just remember, that getting the heat from the chip into the air via a heatsink will just delay it overheating unless you are able to remove that hot air from the enclosure, either via large vent holes or a small fan.

Well, maybe.
I have seen lots of routers with just heatsinks, and the normal air vents, and they work better than units without the heatsinks. Just depends on specific conditions where it is setup at.

 

[Rifter]

Well, maybe.
I have seen lots of routers with just heatsinks, and the normal air vents, and they work better than units without the heatsinks. Just depends on specific conditions where it is setup at.

If it has vents sure, but not all that are not equipped with heatsinks from the factory do, thats why i mentioned it. you just need to make sure the hot air has a way out.

 

[JackMDS]

AFAIK there is No general problem of over heating with the TPLink TL WR740N.

Thus, given that it is an N level $40 Router it is time to for an "Elegant stopper with Antenna", and getting a new Modern Wireless Router.

 

[Goi]

I was pretty happy with the TL-WR1043ND v2's performance. It has great WAN to LAN performance (measured in a review to be close to GbE line speed), which is what I need from a main router. Wireless performance isn't important in that leg of the network, it's just a bonus.

 

[mxnerd]

Like all electronics products, router's components degrade over time. It's no surprise if one day router begins to function erratically.

A heatsink might just solve the problem, who knows. Good luck.

 

[Goi]

So this is what I did with the unit. Seems to work pretty well.

 

[sdifox]

Personally I think a fan blowing across the board is better, the chips are not the only things that heat up.

 

[Goi]

Yeah, well there were no power sockets on board for fans, and I didn't wanna have to solder anything. Besides, most of the other components are passives that don't get very hot. Only 2 of the chips got pretty hot. The heatsinks are doing their jobs now