( 90 reviews )
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Posted: Aug 5 2009
I've had this router/switch for a couple of months and it does the job. Very easy setup for Mac (although I had to call tech support, as the manual only addresses PCs). The device serves my computer, Netflix Roku player and Xbox console. One time the signal stopped and I had to unplug/plug in the device to reset it. Then I found out there's a reset button in the back of the router. A friend said it's not unusual to do an occasional reset. But that was the only one so far.
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Posted: Jul 31 2009
I picked up this wired router a awhile back and after about 6 months of putting up with its crap I ditched it for a Netgear, which has preformed flawlessly under the same conditions for the last 6 months. The Good: The hardware itself preformed admirably under MOST conditions; throughput was good and reliable, internet speeds remained high even with large amounts of traffic over the LAN, setup was very easy and the kit came with everything you would need to connect it to a computer (no skimping out on the Cat-5 cable like some companies do). The Bad: The firmware is garbage, as a result this modem can not handle bittorrent traffic, multi-party video chat or any other kind of traffic that requires sending/receiving data from many different outside connections. It goes into a reboot cycle every time. I asked all over the Linksys web site and talked to forum users and costumer service people alike, the final answer I got was that its related to the router firmware and until Linksys fixes it its gonna stay broke. I did all the standard hoodoo garbage they recommend, tinkering with countless settings inside the firmware, holding the reset button and cycling power, cycling power multiple times after updating the firmware, rolling back to older revisions, etc. I did everything short of building a shrine and sacrificing a chicken. So unless Linksys has fixed the firmware since I washed my hands of this dog I wouldn't risk your money on it. The Ugly: While not a real "problem" the case of this router is overly large, flimsy, and ugly looking. It has a slightly domed top with 4 insets near the corners so you can stack multiple routers on top of each other using their stubbly little legs, something most people would probably consider useless. The case itself is also very pliable, if you squeeze the top and bottom a bit the case starts to pop off. Plus there are little nooks and crannies all over to catch and show off dust. Coupled with its patented "doesn't match anything" two tone blue and black color scheme and cheese grader vent holes covering large areas of both its top and bottom it is not a fun piece of hardware to look at. To summarize its faults: Its ugly, a pain to clean, larger than it needs to be, flimsy, poorly supported and doesn't work for half the stuff I need it to do. The only reason it gets 2 stars is because it was cheap and the hardware itself is solid. I've used Linksys products in the past and they used to be good quality for the money, now they are crippled by poor software. Clean that up and get a styling team that didn't flunk out of design school and they could easily be making 4 star products again.
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Posted: May 14 2009
First of all, this router works great. I now have all my computers connected to my DSL connection. I no longer have to disconnect one cable to install it into a different computer for Internet access. It was easy to wire my computers to this router. I have not noticed any decrease in speed on my Internet connection. The problem was setting up the router's firmware. My best guess is that Linksys expects you to connect this router to a cable company modem instead of a DSL modem. In order to connect to a DSL modem, you must change the router's address from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.2.1. Be sure your DSL modem is not connected to the router when you do this. I could not find this information on the CD that came with the router. I had to go to the Linksys website for this information. Overall, I do recommend this router.
