Linksys WRT350N Wireless-N Gigabit Router with Storage Link by Linksys
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Our Price: $279.00 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 Linksys WRT350N Wireless-N Gigabit Router with Storage Link
Digital camera Review: Don't buy a WRT350N Wireless Router!!!
Summary: 1 Stars
I will make this short and to the point.
I have used a WRT54G wireless router for a number of years. It worked fine and I had faith in Linksys products. No more. Lured by the hype of Linksys advertising of drastically increased range and speed, I purchased a 350N. The router also had a USB port for a controller that was supposed to allow me to use a network drive. THe results: after one week of disappointing calls to linksys and several hours of work by my technician we were never able to get the Iomega drive to work properly. It was painfully slow (taking 6 hours to back up a file I backed up on a connected drive in 15 minustes) and the security functions of the router seemed to restrict access by my backup programs no matter what we did to fix the problem.
But the real kicker was the fact that the wireless N network was actually noticablely slower than the wireless G with a G Range Expander. After discussing the problem and reconfiguring everything with the 5th Linksys technician I learned from her that I am not the only one complaining that I spent $300 for a router and N-USB receiver for my laptop which resulted in less speed. Also, be warned that the Linksys technicians at the first level are not trained on this unit for the USB attachment. First they tell you they are equipped to deal with the issues, then as soon as you mention the storage link, they pass the call to a higher level. This resulted in dropped telephone calls, unrealized promises to call me back within a half hour etc.
Prior to the purchase I had purchased a Linksys Controller for my network drive. This unit connected into one of ports ont he back of the WRT54G. It never worked which was why I opted to go for the N model which included the port as a built in unit. Bad decision on my part!
Save yourself a lot of money and even more valuable time and don't believe what this company is telling you about this product. It is a lie.
Digital camera Review: Many features, few work reliably
Summary: 2 Stars
First: I am a Linksys LOVER. I have used their wireless stuff since their original wireless router and while they haven't always been the fastest, they have always been SOLID.
I have had this device since a month after it came out and all I can say is that they needed another year or more to work on it before they released it. My issues:
Save and restore configurations doesn't work reliably. (big issue because of the following other problems...)
Putting anything more than a few files on the Storage Link and the router will lock up regularly.
If the router locks up/stops working (like you can see the internet but you can't access it), then you will likely have to reset to FACTORY config and then re-add all your settings to get it working again.
Using the QoS feature seems to lock up the router.
If I move or otherwise disturb the router at all once I *do* get it working it will often lock up.
I have been waiting for a version of the firmware that works for over 6 months, to no avail. I am going to find something I can RELY on. All the features in the world don't matter if the router won't ROUTE.
Digital camera Review: Not ready for prime time.
Summary: 1 Stars
As a simple G router it works fine but as something that promises more, it is a failure.
First, the wireless range is no better than a G router.
Second, the USB attachment for a network shared disk drive works poorly when it works at all, which isn't often.
Third, Linksys was unable to help me get my network printer working at all which had previously been working just fine on a G router.
So, all in all, I would recommend that you avoid this product.
Digital camera Review: Seamless Network Configuration and Seamless Storage Feature
Summary: 5 Stars
I know some people found it easy to configure the unit and some has found it to be very touchy... In my case, the network configuration was straightforward. In a few minutes, the wizard made everything and I was browsing the Internet. My wife's notebook easily connected too.
The storage link is working as expected with my external 120 GB Iomega disk. By "expected" I mean I was not looking for anything fancy. I needed only the basic features it offers: ability to create/delete users (read/read-write priviledges), ability to configure separate folders for different users etc. Basically, my customers over the Internet use FTP to reach the files I make available.
It was pretty much easy to configure DDNS. It started working in the next minute.
I have also configured some port port forwarding rules. I appreciated that it's now possible to map external ports to internal ports, which allows all my web servers to run on the standard port 80 internally - while externally they are seem as 8010, 8020, 8030 etc. This was also very easy and quick to configure and use.
I'm also managing the router through the Internet without problems.
No problems, no need for reboots etc. It's simply working perfectly.
That's my experience after one week of use.
Digital camera Review: Would like to give it 5 stars but...
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this router for the Intel Viiv feature. It is not listed as a feature, on the Linksys website, because it was just recently certified for Viiv-enabled devices by Intel. But anyways, the Viiv feature works flawlessly with my PC and wireless media player, both of which are Viiv-enabled. I also bought this router for the Storage Link function. I had already own the WRTSL54GS router that had the Storage Link function (but no Gigabit ethernet) and it worked very well. Initally, trying to get Storage Link function to work under Vista was a serious pain, but eventually found out to make it work you MUST map a drive letter. I have not had a chance to use the Wireless-N, but the Wireless-G is not very stable with my notebook's Intel 2945ABG wireless network card. It regualarly drops the connection and within 20 seconds or so it will reconnect. Hopefully, Linksys will not put this router on the backburner and forget about. It appears to be a great router and another firmware update that is based on real world usage and not just in-house lab test scenarios may do the trick to fixing some of the querkiness.