TP-Link Festa FS310GP Network Switch Review UK 2026

Network switches aren’t exactly the most thrilling tech you’ll buy this year, but get it wrong and you’ll know about it. Dropped connections, bottlenecked speeds, or worse, a switch that can’t power the devices you need. The TP-Link Festa FS310GP sits in that tricky spot where you’re after something more capable than basic unmanaged switches but don’t want to drop serious cash on enterprise gear. I’ve been running this through its paces for several weeks, testing everything from PoE delivery to throughput under load, because frankly, spec sheets only tell half the story. Here’s what actually matters when you’re deciding if this switch deserves a spot in your network cabinet.

The 63W total budget is where you need to pay attention. That’s not 30W per port if you’re using all four PoE ports simultaneously. If you’re planning to max out a UniFi 6 Long Range (which pulls about 16W) and three cameras at 8W each, you’re sitting at 40W, comfortable. But try running four power-hungry devices and you’ll hit the ceiling fast. It’s proper PoE+ (IEEE 802.3at) though, so compatibility isn’t an issue.

What I do appreciate is the PoE priority system. When you’re pushing the power budget, ports 1-4 maintain power in order of priority. So if you’ve got critical devices (your main access point, say), plug them into port 1 and they’ll stay up even if you accidentally exceed the total budget. It’s a simple feature but genuinely useful.

The fanless design deserves mention too. I’ve had this running in a home office for weeks and you genuinely forget it’s there. No fan noise, no high-pitched whine, just silent operation. The metal housing does get warm under load (especially when you’re pulling full PoE power), but nothing concerning. TP-Link rates it for 0-40°C operation and I’ve had zero thermal issues.

Performance is where this switch earns its keep. I ran continuous iperf3 tests between devices connected to different ports and consistently hit 940+ Mbps, basically full gigabit once you account for protocol overhead. More importantly, I left this running for days with simultaneous file transfers, video streaming, and general network traffic without seeing any degradation or packet loss.

The PoE performance is equally solid. I connected a UniFi 6 Long Range access point (pulling around 16W), two Reolink PoE cameras (about 8W each), and an old Cisco VoIP phone. Total draw was around 40W, well within the 63W budget, and everything stayed powered consistently. The AP maintained full performance, cameras recorded without dropouts, and the phone worked flawlessly.

I did deliberately try to exceed the power budget by connecting four high-draw devices. As expected, the priority system kicked in, port 4 lost power first, then port 3, keeping ports 1 and 2 operational. It’s not elegant (there’s no warning, the port just stops delivering power), but it works as designed.

The front panel is plastic with LED indicators for each port, green for link/activity, orange for PoE delivery. They’re bright enough to see clearly but not obnoxiously so. There’s also a PoE Max indicator that lights up when you’re approaching the power budget limit, which is actually useful for troubleshooting.

Mounting options are decent. The rubber feet keep it stable on a desk, and TP-Link includes wall-mount brackets in the box. What’s missing are rack ears, if you’re planning to mount this in a standard 19-inch rack, you’ll need to buy a shelf or third-party mounting kit. For a switch at this price point, that’s not unusual, but worth knowing upfront.

The power supply is external (a chunky 63W brick) which some people hate. Personally, I’d rather have the heat generation outside the switch housing, especially in a fanless design. The cable is about 1.5 metres, which is adequate for most installations.

For daily use, it’s equally straightforward. The LED indicators tell you what you need to know, link status, activity, PoE delivery. If a light’s on, that port is working. If it’s not, something’s wrong with your cable or device. The PoE Max LED gives you a heads-up if you’re pushing the power budget.

The lack of management features is the defining characteristic here. There’s no web interface to log into, no software to install, no firmware to update. For some deployments, that’s perfect, you want a switch that just works without maintenance overhead. For others, it’s a dealbreaker. You can’t create VLANs, can’t monitor traffic, can’t set up port mirroring for diagnostics. It’s a trade-off you need to understand before buying.

The Netgear GS308P is the most direct competitor. It’s about £15 more expensive but comes with Netgear’s slightly better build quality and lifetime warranty (versus TP-Link’s limited lifetime warranty). The catch? Only 55W PoE budget compared to the FS310GP’s 63W. If you’re running power-hungry devices, those extra 8W matter. The Netgear also has a slightly more premium feel, but functionally they’re nearly identical.

TRENDnet’s TPE-TG44g is the budget option at around £75. It actually offers 65W PoE budget (2W more than the TP-Link), which sounds great until you realise it’s fan-cooled. That fan is audible, not loud, but definitely noticeable in a quiet office. If you’re mounting this in a server room, fine. For a home office or small workspace, the noise gets old fast.

What the TP-Link gets right is the balance. Decent PoE budget, fanless operation, reliable performance, and a price that doesn’t feel like you’re overpaying for the TP-Link name. It’s not the cheapest, not the most feature-rich, but it hits a sweet spot for most small office or home lab deployments.

What’s interesting is the lack of complaints about performance or reliability. You don’t see people reporting failed ports, random reboots, or PoE delivery issues. For network gear, that absence of problems is actually high praise. When switches go wrong, they tend to go wrong spectacularly, and the FS310GP seems to avoid those failure modes.

Value is where this switch makes its strongest case. You’re getting a reliable 8-port gigabit switch with 63W PoE+ budget for lower mid-range money. That’s enough to run a small office network or a decent home lab without compromising on performance.

Compare this to buying separate PoE injectors. Four quality PoE+ injectors will cost you £40-50, plus you still need a basic 8-port gigabit switch (another £25-30). You’re looking at £70-80 minimum, and you end up with a rats nest of power adapters and extra cabling. The FS310GP consolidates all of that into a single unit for essentially the same money.

The alternative is stepping up to a managed switch with PoE, which immediately pushes you into the £150+ range. If you need VLANs or advanced features, that’s money well spent. But if you just need reliable switching and PoE delivery, you’re paying for capabilities you won’t use.