Top positive review
150 people found this helpful
Excellent Choice
By David on Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2011
***UPDATE February 7, 2013: Still working and no issues have come up to date. ***UPDATE June 27, 2011: Nothing has changed thus far...the router is still working perfectly fine.*** Let me begin by pointing out that I just purchased this yesterday, so I can't comment on the long-term reliability of this router. That being said, I had to post a review given that I'm very satisfied with the process thus far. I'll update this as time progresses. This router was a replacement for my old WRT54G that served me well for about four years, but was acting up (dropping signal, slow connections, low range, etc). So I decided to purchase this model (E2500 as a replacement). The whole time before this new router arrived I was dreading the prospect of setting it up given my experience with my old WRT54G router. As soon as it arrived, I followed the instructions in the packaging and then put the CD into my macbook to launch the installer. The installer itself simply involved pressing a few buttons and then it did the rest! My network was up and running in about five minutes- with the installer doing all the work for me. What I did notice was that the installer created a guest account that wasn't protected like the main one. This concerned me, so I logged-in to the advanced settings using the router's IP address at 192.168.1.1 using my browser (you should preferably use the computer you used to setup the network because it's already connected to the network). I think the default is to leave the login name blank and to use your default network password as your login password. Once I was inside, I disabled the guest account, but it turned out that there was a password in place- it's just that it's browser-based apparently (your guests will be able to login to the network itself, but will only be able to access the internet by typing in the password in the browser). So if you want to leave the guest access available, simply write down the default password that shows up on-screen or setup a new one. I also changed the default password used to login to my router in here as well (under the "administration tab"). So, to clarify, the 192.168.1.1 address brings up a menu where you can modify your router's default settings to your liking. I think this was a criticism of the "easy" setup- that it doesn't let you customize your router. I actually see this process in reverse- the "easy" setup configures your router to work properly given your circumstances. Once it's setup, you can modify whatever parts of the setup that you want to. In my case, I only modified the router password, guest access, and my network key. Once it was setup to my specifications, I proceeded to update all of my computers with the new network key. I also connected all my other devices to the back of the router (there are four slots). In regards to performance- my macbook that wasn't getting a signal with my old router works perfectly now. That being said, it's a new macbook, so it's able to utilize the "n" band. My sister has a 2006 white macbook next door that only utilizes G though- she's having no problems either. Overall, I'm happy i made this purchase and highly recommend it to others. I don't own any other n-routers, so I can't comment on how much "better" this is relative to others. I can only say that I'm happy I made the right choice with this one. I'll make sure to update this review should issues with reliability surface. EDIT: You actually don't have to login to the router's IP address to access the features I mentioned above. You can simply use the "Cisco Connect" software that came with it. The only issue I can think of is that if you use this software, you can only run it through the computer you setup the router with. The IP method above will work from any computer connected to the network (after logging in with password). The con of the IP method is that it's not as "user friendly" as the "Cisco Connect" method. Ultimately, you should weigh the pros and cons yourself and decide which is best for managing your router. I'll be choosing the "Cisco Connect" method in the meantime just because it's easier to use, but I'll go back to the IP method should anything happen to my computer (where the Cisco software is installed).
Top critical review
2 people found this helpful
Horrible experience with this device...
By C. Ries on Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2014
Not much of a review writer. Can't even recall the last product I reviewed. But this fine piece of engineering deserved my attention. I bought this router to supplement my cable modem, which is located on the first floor at one end of my house. The wireless signal from that device leaves much to be desired, but that is a different story. I wanted a clear wireless signal at the other end of the house on the 2nd story. I read some negative reviews, but I always figure more people take the time to write bad reviews, like I am doing, than for the products which work as expected. There were many positive reviews as well, so I thought this router would work great. I ran a network cable through the house to connect this router directly to the modem. I made sure I had the latest firmware and configured the router to duplicate the SSID and let the main router handle DHCP. Easy to do, lots of info out there on troubleshooting that aspect of the setup. So it was up and running, seemed everything was working, for a day. Then our devices would show connected to the network with no internet connection. After many frustrating attempts to troubleshoot the problem with all of the various network points in the house, including the wireless bridge I had for the entertainment center, I discovered that the Linksys router was the problem point. At first, I replaced the wireless bridge, thinking it was the problem point as the computer, Playstation, and internet connected TV plugged directly into it were not working at times. I replaced the bridge with a wired TP-Link TL-WR841N. I figured, now I have wireless signal strength to spare! Each broadcasting the same SSID on different channels, letting the cable modem handle DHCP, what could go wrong. Well, the same cutting out problems, that's what... Apparently this Linksys has a stronger wireless signal than the cable modem/router or the TP-Link TL-WR841N, so most wireless devices connected to it rather than the cable modem signal, or the TP-Link TL-WR841N. Now, I don't know exactly what the problem was, but the Linksys would not maintain its link with the cable modem. Static or dynamic IP, it would work for a day, then not get any internet signal despite showing as connected to the network. So I thought I could fix the problem with a timer on the power outlet, just have it shut down for 10 minutes twice a day to re-establish its link. This actually worked ok, unless it lost connection before you actually needed it and hadn't reached the reset point. Now, I got this on sale at the end of 2013 for about 45 bucks. It regularly, and currently sells for about 70. I still paid 45 too much for it. Certain things should just work. This device did not. I finally got fed up with having to go upstairs and reboot the router just so our devices could connect. The TP-Link TL-WR841N was working like a champ in terms of the hard wired components in my entertainment center, and when I unplugged the Linksys for extended periods, provided a wonderful wireless signal that was faultless weeks at a time. In fact, I NEVER had to reset it in all the time it was up without the Linksys running. All that to say, i just bought a second TP-Link TL-WR841N to replace this overpriced "desktop switch". Since plugging it in about 2 weeks ago, and setting it up the exact same way, I have had no loss of wireless connectivity on any of our multiple devices. Kindles, Ipads, Iphones, family Android devices and Idevices, friends that come over, not once! Needless to say, I no longer believe the higher priced, "established" name brand is the right way to go. Gonna look long and hard before I make this mistake again. 8 months wasted trying to make it work, no chance of a refund. I am sure this device may work fine for some, but I doubt I will ever buy a Linksys product again.
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