Cisco-Linksys WRT160N-RM Refurbished Wireless-N Router
by Linksys
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List Price: Our Price: $29.99 You Save: $70.00 (70%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $19.99 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Cisco-Linksys WRT160N-RM Refurbished Wireless-N Router
Customer Review: Version 2 does not support UPnP properly on Windows 7
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this router hoping to get either version 1 or 3 so I could run 3rd party firmware (dd-wrt). I ended up with version 2 which does not support dd-wrt. Unfortunately even with the up to date stock firmware, version 2 of this router does not support UPnP properly on Windows 7. The router icon would also disappear from my network folder in Windows 7 - so it became impossible to even check what the current UPnP port bindings were.
Save yourself some aggravation and buy a refurbished WRT160N from a seller that can guarantee that you will get version 3 of this router. The stock firmware on version 3 DOES support UPnP properly on Windows 7. Additionally you have the option of running third party firmware to get more features.
N.B. Those of you buying this router for dd-wrt should be aware that it only has 4MB of flash memory so you will not be able to run the full blown version of dd-wrt firmware (for example the IPv6 and JFFS2 features are not jointly available for this router). Heavy duty hackers might want to opt for a router with more flash memory - especially those who want to experiment with IPv6 tunneling (JFFS2 is useful for debugging)
--- Added Info after flashing a WRT160N V3 router with dd-wrt Build 14896 (dd-wrt.v24-14896_NEWD-2_K2.6_std_nokaid_small.bin)
Note that while dd-wrt on this router has many advantages, the current implementation of UPnP in dd-wrt is somewhat buggy and is inferior to that of the current stock linksys firmware for V3 of this router.
The stock linksys firmware does have bugs of it's own - it's local caching DNS service is buggy - it occasionally gives out the wrong address bindings for DNS names. A workaround for this behavior is to hard code the addresses of your ISP's DNS servers in the OS's of the computers on your local network - that way DNS requests will bypass the DNS server in the WRT160N router.
Tomato firmware is also available for version 3 of this router. I will update this review once again after I have tried that - perhaps UPnP and DNS will work properly in Tomato.
Flashing dd-wrt firmware is somewhat nerve wracking - The online documentation is incomplete and leaves much to be desired.
Customer Review: Good product and courteous service, but took five days.....
Summary: 4 Stars
I am compelled to write this review in fairness to Linksys, as well as to help someone else avoid a similar situation! My wireless connection had been gradually deteriorating. When I recently used a neighbor's network, I realized how untenable mine had become. She had a different router, and I had mine for a while, so I facilely concluded that I needed to get a new router. After reading the reviews, I selected this one, knowing that it was a good product but that some people had setup trouble. I also experienced setup trouble and assumed it was similar to what other reviewers had gone through, so I tried Linksys's Live Chat (my wired connection worked)to remedy the problem. I got disconnected, and I kept getting disconnected a few times - ending up at the back of the queue each time. I finally went to their website and saw that I could have someone take over my laptop to diagnose, so I went for that. It is very reasonable: refundable $9.95. I actually had to call them a couple of times over the course of the next couple days because they would get my connections to work, only to go down soon after they hung up. It was also maddening to see them doing the same steps again (changing channels), although they were very thorough and patient, and Linksys Support is 24/7. Finally, I decided that I was going to return this router, and in the meantime I would just use the wired connection straight out of my modem... That is when I realized that it was my modem that was breaking down. There was no way for the Support Reps to have figured that out based on what I was telling them, but they could have asked me to plug into my modem directly. I hope they add this to their staff training. So now that I am finally connected in all sorts of ways: I like this product. I love the streamlined design and reduced footprint. The speed is not any faster than what I had with my Wireless-G. For the price, I am keeping it. I can vouch for the quality of this refurbished model. But those of you reading this who are experiencing similar issues - test your modem first and systematically go up the diagnostic list. I can't help but think that I could have exasperated a lot fewer people had I been more intelligent about the whole thing.Customer Review: Works Great After Installing dd-wrt
Summary: 5 Stars
I decided to take a chance and ordered this router. I was lucky enough to get a v3. I immediately installed dd-wrt via the web interface. I was able to customize the router for my needs easily. It has been up and running wonderfully ever since. I have had no lockups and have not had to reset the router. The wireless signal is excellent on all my PCs and my Wii. The signal has consistently remained strong with no drop outs. I have 6 devices, including a DirecTV H22, hooked up to this router. Everything is connected and working great.
Update 2/16/2010
I have purchased 5 more of these since the first one. They all work great with dd-wrt installed. My parents needed one to replace their dying router. I replaced their router with one of these after installing dd-wrt. I even purchased another for them to run as a wireless bridge so they could connect their Ethernet devices in the basement. I installed dd-wrt and put it in wireless bridge mode and it works flawlessly. I order another for my sister to run as a wireless bridge and had the same luck with it. Since I had such good luck running these as a wireless bridge, that I ordered one for myself to run as a bridge for my media center PC and blu-ray player.
To sum it up. No matter what mode I run dd-wrt on with this router, it runs great. On the very rare occasion one may need to be restarted. Out of 6 of these routers, I would say 1 has to be restarted every 3 months. The range on these are incredible too. My parents wanted to be able to use the network in their Gazebo outside that is located at least 100 yards away. I thought I would have to install another in a wireless extender mode but I didn't have to. They are still able to get a signal and surf the net perfectly. I will keep ordering these for people who ask me to setup networks for them as long as these routers are available. I am sort of glad that these didn't work well with the horrible firmware that comes preloaded, this mean there are lots of nicely priced refurbished ones available that I can fix up to work amazingly solid.
Customer Review: Finally, we are an all out digital home now...
Summary: 5 Stars
I am not the most tech savvy when it comes to this stuff, though with a little research, and asking some questions, this stuff really isn't that hard to understand. My kid got one of those ipod touch things for her birthday and downloaded some apps. Well, one of those apps required (unbeknownst to me)a wi-fi connection. After looking into the cost of wi-fi, I decided on getting a 'N' type unit based on everything I read it being the newest and fastest wi-fi available with high reliability. And this refurb'd unit cost as much as, or even less than, the most popular 'G' units cost.
This is my first experience with wi-fi and I am quite pleased with the ease of installation and consequent use, the ipod synched right up and my daughter could play with her app. The beauty is, I can connect my other kids Xbox360 and the Wii in the living room to stream HD movies from Netflix.
The unit came looking brand new, so for a refurb, one would never know unless I say something. It works so well, the ipod, my VOIP phone and desktop PC are all being used at the same time with no problems. The PC is slightly slower, but it is an old PC and I am used to it being slow usually anyway, it isn't worth mentioning. I am really psyched how well this turned out and recommend it for anyone just getting into or upgrading their wi-fi. And if something faster comes along, I can afford to dump this since it only cost $35 shipped.
Finally, we are in the 21st century, hook line and sinker. We have always been a digital home as I am a semi-early adopter of new technology, but wi-fi was the last piece of the puzzle. Another beautiful feature is this is also a 10/100 4 port switch. So while my sons 360 has an adapter that costs as much as 3+ of these routers, I can run hardline for him and do the same for the Wii, as these really don't need to be wireless like the ipod does.
Time will tell the longevity of this product, but I am pretty confident that it will last till the next latest and greatest technological release.
Customer Review: A Big Hassle
Summary: 1 Stars
My neighbor has the same unit, purchased new, and I have been using his wireless across our backyards for a few weeks. I thought I should get my own, increase my reliability and range, and free up his bandwidth. I had nothing but trouble with this unit.
1. The Cisco startup disc wanted to install its own network management software which conflicted with HP's WLAN service installed on my laptop.
2. After setting up the unit on my desktop, I searched for networks with my laptop, and could not find the router. I clicked to update the list of available networks several times before it would come up. My laptop would try for minutes to connect, then it would just stop and my network disappeared from the list.
3. I read some online forums, changed some settings, reset my router a half dozen times. I was able to connect to the router 2 or 3 times for only a few minutes before dropping the connection. Any time after restarting my laptop, the network was nowhere to be found. Sometimes it would pop up with 1 bar of network strength. It was 30 feet away.
4. I called Linksys, they helped me through a firmware update. I was able to connect. He had me save and re-flash the router. No longer able to connect. He put me on hold to talk with a supervisor. When he returned, told me the unit was refurbished, that he could no longer help me and that I should return the unit to Amazon.
5. I returned the unit to Amazon within my return window, and received a "partial refund deduction" of 20%.
Refurbished usually means that it still carries a manufacturer warranty of some sort. After Linksys tech support realized it was refurbished, they couldn't hang up fast enough. As for Amazon - I'm disappointed that during the refund process (which was done entirely online) I was not prompted or informed of a refund deduction.
My next router will be bought from a Brick and Mortar retailer where I can have full mfr coverage and no-surprises return if necessary.