Cisco-Linksys WRT600N Linksys Ultra RangePlus Dual-Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router with Storage Link by Linksys
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List Price: Our Price: $109.99 You Save: $90.00 (45%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Cisco-Linksys WRT600N Linksys Ultra RangePlus Dual-Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router with Storage Link
Digital camera Review: Excellent - range, speed, secure and easy
Summary: 5 Stars
We want a router that covers the whole house, that is fast, and secure since my wife and I both access business information from home. I used to use 2 802.11b AP but still not satisfied and added power-line Ethernet
for the 6 computers we have. Selected WRT600N based on the reviews for range and 5.8GHz 802.11n.
I am very happy with the router that offers long range, good bandwidth and security. It is easy to set up after the initial confusion. Tech Support was helpful but could be better.
The 5.8GHz 802.11a radio is fast and cover the whole house (good size) with at least 2 bars. The 2.4GHz 802.11b/g radio covers the whole house with 5 bars. Both delivers good bandwidth to all 3 floors. On-line gaming is good :-)
My router came configured so EasyLink Advisor could not find it. I consider this a bug. Tech Support told me to connect the router to PC via wire and go to 192.168.1.1 with a browser, login (user name and password are on page 5 of the user guide) then it is easy from there. Here is a quick guide for wireless.
Tech Support wanted me to use WEP for security, I had to tell him I want WPA2 twice since WEP is unacceptable. He did warm me about bandwidth drop, but I only have a 3Mbps fiber connection at home so it is not a concern.
I could not get Tech Support to give me the user manual, it is available here http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_CASupport_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1175237935014&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper&lid=3501429063B390&displaypage=nodata#versiondetail
The box came with EasyLink Advisor version 1.0. I was concerned with all the not-so-positive reviews about version 1.0 with WRT3xx. Downloaded version 1.6 but I did not need it.
Linksys might consider using screen shots with higher resolution for the user guide.
Your Tags: wireless router
Digital camera Review: Excellent Hardware Addition
Summary: 5 Stars
The Good: The combination of 4 wired port with the wireless capability was a major selling point. It filled the need in my office very well. Having the dual band wireless capability is a very nice feature. Now my old and my new equipment can all network together and backup to, or store common files on a new high-speed network drive. The gigbit backup speed is much improved over the older USB external drives.
The Network Wizard software is very helpful not only in setting up this router, but also with setting up or monitoring other computers, printers,etc on the network.
The suprisingly not so good: The patch cable provided was Cat 5e but was not certified for gigabit transmissions. I could only get that desired speed by replacing the included cable. Seems kind of foolish to get a gigabit router & have its speed limited by the patch cable!
One confusing (to me) issue is that the 10/100 transmission speed is indicated by green lights and the gigabit transmission speed is indicated by yellow/orange light -- that yellow/orange color on most other network equipment signals a problem. I had to switch several cables trying to solve the "problem" before I finally read that part of the manual.
Digital camera Review: Excellent N Router
Summary: 5 Stars
Had the WRT300N and replaced it with the WRT600N. Much, much faster when paired with the Linksys dual-band card and finally wireless rivals wired speeds!Digital camera Review: Excellent Router
Summary: 4 Stars
I have had this router for about a month now and it is honestly one of the best routers I have ever owned. My previous router was a WRVS4400N. While I loved this router the WRT600N has exceed it in performance in almost every way and beats the WRVS4400N in almost every way except two, and those are minor.
Setup: Having set up routers before in the past and for a living, I wanted to try something new. I had a family member who could barely turn on the computer to open the box and set up the router by just following the directions before I got home. Sure enough, they were up and online in about 15 minutes. When I came home, I tore down the system and reset it back to factory settings. I then set it up myself and had it completely configured the way I wanted it and all of the mac addressing in about 30 minutes without a single hitch. In a month's time I have not had a single issue or have had to reset.
Connectivity: 0 issues. Everything from game systems to specialized devices can see and connect. I also have managed to keep a constant broadcast strength even at the furthest parts of my house. The dual band allows for multiple setups so older devices actually have an easier time than newer devices in terms of wireless security. Before I use to have to do a WPA/TKIP setup now I can run WPA2 and a WPA/TKIP. Also the Dual Band allows for a great fail over due to interference. I use to have issues with using my laptop in the kitchen if I was cooking food in the microwave. I no longer have that issue.
Security: This laptop does do it all (WPA/WPA2/etc.) However I do have one gripe. The VPN is possible with this laptop, but not as easy to set up compared to the WRVS4400N. The only other gripe that I have, but this only a personal gripe is that the log on account can not be renamed, Only the password.
Digital camera Review: Excellent Speed/Options, could use better set up and NAS
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased the WRT600N based on a review in a popular PC magazine comparison. I have been using the router for about a month now and use the wired connections (PC and Roku M1001 digital audio receiver), wireless connections (laptop), and USB port (hard drive attached).
Pros: Excellent Speed (wired and wireless), ability to attach a USB drive, quick set up for basic functions
Cons: Quirky set up for WPA2 security and USB drive
Out of the box it was easy to set up the router for a wired and wireless network (WPA security) using the included software. I was replacing a Netgear wired router and the software helped me through that with no problem. The software also walks you through connecting wirelessly to the network through an executable file you download from the Linksys site (very helpful if you are not familiar with networks). The software included shows a status of your network, internet connection and other PCs, laptops, devices attached to the network.
However, to take full advantage of the router requires a more advanced understanding of networks and hence the reason for dropping the rating from 5 to 4 stars. Using the included Linksys software you cannot enable WPA2 security on the wireless network. Also, while you might think of the attached USB drive as a "device" the Linksys software does not recognize it as a device on the network like one might expect.
However, not to fail, by using the router's web interface it is not difficult to enable WPA2 security, see that the USB drive is connected, disable broadcast of your address, and enable only certain MAC/IP addresses to connect to the router thus increasing the wireless security to about as high a level as you can. The web interface is a little quirky in its usability though.
The only real issue I had with the router is connecting the USB drive. I had to use web chat to contact Linksys support twice. The first time I tried to connect the USB drive I could not see it on the network. Turns out the light on the router identifying a USB drive is connected was not lit. Unfortunately support had me reset the router but it didn't fix the problem. I found on the Internet that by attaching the USB drive and turning it on before powering up the router will take care of the issue and after doing that the USB light on the router was lit. Back to the PC and I still could not see the USB drive using the Linksys software so back to the support web chat. The person walked me to the web interface which showed that the USB drive was recognized by the router. Not sure why the included software would not show it but oh well, it is working.
Overall, I am very pleased with the purchase and would recommend this router to others. My experience level is advanced with respect to PCs and intermediate with respect to networks.