Cisco-Linksys WRT160N Wireless-N Broadband Router
by Linksys
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Our Price: $129.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $14.95 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Cisco-Linksys WRT160N Wireless-N Broadband Router
Customer Review: Piece of junk
Summary: 1 Stars
This router is a piece of junk.
I recently upgraded my services to a cable provider that provides 15 MBs download speed. I have a Linksys WRT54GL and I have had this for quite some time now. I thought since I was upgrading all of my components that I would try and fully utilize my N capabilities on my laptops and with my XBOX wireless connector.
I was at Best Buy to pick up some shielded CAT5 cable when I saw the deal for this router. I was able to get this for $50 after discounts. Since I have had nothing but good news with my WRT54GL, I thought I would pick this up. I should have come to Amazon, as I normally do, and look at the reviews.
Onto the Pros and Cons.
Pros:
- Setup was extremely easy via the UI
- Configuration through the web portal was the same as my WRT54GL which made it convenient and simple.
Cons:
- The v3 router is as bad as the v1 and v2 that everyone here is having problems with.
- Even with DD-WRT firmware, this thing is a POS.
- When my wife turns on our Mac, the router decides to lose all wireless connectivity. This is a sweet feature.
- When using this with P2P software, the download speeds with any other application is completely terrible. This "router" is more of a switch than a router. The P2P software has limits to 5MB download during the day. This would mean that I still have available 8-10 MBs of download speed. However, when doing a speed test, I could not get any other computer to get over 2 MBs of download and everything was EXTREMELY sluggish.
I tried every possible way to get this thing to work properly but when the last straw was the continued lost of connectivity when turning on our Mac.
Do yourself a favor and stay away from this router. If you want to hit yourself in the head and be continuously pissed off, then buy this thing. I will be returning this ASAP and continue to use my WRT54GL until it is dead. I always get burnt by the old adage of:
"If it isn't broke, don't fix it."
Customer Review: Helped my connection quite a bit...
Summary: 4 Stars
I was having terrible problems connecting to work from home over VPN. My MS communicator (IM) and Outlook just wouldn't work right over VPN. The help desk at work blamed by bandwidth and ISP (comcast). This didn't make sense since everyone nearly else at work also uses comcast and has the same bandwidth.
Many folks at work were also having issues with IM and said switching to a Linksys router fixed their isses - so I took the plunge. It did fix my IM. And, the wireless signal strength is better than before.
But, it didn't fix Outlook. Linksys and my IT help folks looked at it. I spent more time rebooting my computer in the past week than I could stand.
Outlook still would not work over my wireless but I could connect with no issues over my neighbors unsecured network. I called Comcast and they wanted to upgrade my modem's software but said the thing was soooo old it had to be replaced. A comcast guy was at my house by later in the day and replaced my modem in less than one hour - half of that on-hold waiting for the tech guy at comcast proper to pick up the phone so they could work together.
Within minutes of the modem being set up I was happily working away over VPN using Outlook and IM and everything else. It's nearly as fast as being in the office. My connection over VPN and not over VPN is clearly faster than before - it's also less prone to drop outs.
Long story short. It's a great router but don't expect it to fix everything. Make sure your modem is the most up to date both in terms of hardware and software too. Basically, any piece of anything between you and your internet could gum up the works and it's hard knowing where the issues is (router, modem, network card, etc.) I can't believe the number of well trained tech people I spoke to and not one of them questioned the modem. All of them seemed to think since I could get to the internet not over VPN that using VPN should make no difference. Clearly it did - apparently older modems don't play well with VPN.
Customer Review: Great for VoIP, media streaming, wireless devices, Macs, and PCs, with a few issues
Summary: 5 Stars
This futuristic-looking router delivers N-speed connectivity in a sleek, antenna-encasing box with four Ethernet ports. If you have a simple network, you'll probably have no problem, but steel yourself with plenty of patience if you plan to connect less common devices such as a network bridge.
The CD provided, with its LELA wizard, makes installation and connecting to the internet a breeze, as long as you know which kind of security (WPA, 64-bit or 128-bit WEP) you want. All our computers -- Macs and PCs --connected. Likewise, our iPhones and Wii picked up the wireless network without incident. However, I bought this router to improve video streaming and VoIP which required a connection with a network bridge. The WPA security wouldn't work to get my Linksys Dual-Band Wireless-N Gaming Adapter online, so we switched to WEP. This process took a lot of patience because the router had trouble identifying the adapter -- and it's made by the same company. Still, the problem may lie with the bridge, not the router.
The four extra Ethernet ports are great for those who have Ooma, gaming consoles, and other hard-wired devices in the same room as the router, and if this is your arrangement , you'll find the set-up and operation, as well as the speed, excellent. Because the range extends so far, it is imperative that users properly configure the security settings. It is completely backward compatible with wireless G and B, although obviously you won't get the N-speed on those devices. The lag time for computers to pick up the wireless network is significantly longer than it was with our Linksys WRT54G Wireless-G Router, but the internet connection is more steady.
I recommend this router for those who have N-speed internet devices or who need faster, more reliable connections.
-- Debbie Lee Wesselmann
Customer Review: Get something better if you use your connection heavily
Summary: 2 Stars
I've been a network engineer and support guy for over a decade - used many different types of wireless and network equipment from enterprise based Cisco gear on down to consumer level and home brew equipment. NOTE: this unit will NOT support advanced firmware such as the DD-WRT.
I live in a congested urban area where 2.4GHz wireless is a challenge. I've used the classic Linksys WRT54G for years - but interference from other 2.4GHz devices in my area have made it a problem. I purchased the 160n to try out the new pre-n standard with my compatible laptop. Here is what I found.
The unit was easy to set up out of the box. I was able to configure my ssid and wpa2/aes settings as well as port forwarding in minutes. The router was up and running. N provided a noticeable improvement in throughput for me.
Where the unit falls apart is when you put heavy traffic through it. My wife and I each have wireless laptops. In addition, I also have a wired network that includes a Windows workstation and three Windows servers. I also maintain a full time IPSec VPN connection to my office (using ISA server). Recently my son moved in with his Mac, which we added to the physical network.
I have found that the Linksys will suddenly die during periods of heavy traffic. It may continue to pass traffic, but DNS queries will not pass through the router. Restarting the router fixes the issue in every case - but this is a huge problem, especially if I am accessing my home network remotely.
There are no external antenna ports - while the signal is quite strong, I do miss not being able to use my external antennas to direct more of the signal to my work area and less out the window towards my dozens of urban neighbors.
I will likely return to my older router and use this as a dedicated N capable AP only (I am the only one using N in the house).
I'm looking lustfully at the D-Link dual band (simultaneous) routers at this point - but the price is beyond my budget.
Customer Review: Terrible Customer Service at Linksys these days
Summary: 1 Stars
The short story is that the product failed after a few weeks and the Customer Service was dreadful! I used to be an avid supporter of Linksys products and have owned many products, with good results. But, the experience of having to deal with Customer Service when their router failed was not a pleasant one.
The router was good for a few weeks. Then, during a firmware upgrade, it failed. After talking with a Technical Support person from Linksys, it was determined that the router was defective. A Customer Service phone number was provided but the Technical Support person could not connect me. So, that was another call. When that number brought me to the same same Technical Support area, I was somewhat fumed. I asked to have them dial Customer Support. After discussing the problem again with Customer Service, they had me send in the original packing slip via fax. A day after faxing the information, I received another call.
When the call came from this Customer Service representative, instructions were provided to go on the web and start the return process. This involved deciding whether to have the router shipped or a new one shipped to me first. It was at this time it was stated that shipping charges there and back would be my cost.
So, to get this straight, a product that was defective from the manufacturer, causing a great amount of my time to diagnose, and then go through the Technical Support and Customer Service over a few days is now requiring that more is to be paid for shipping so as to have it corrected? I think not. And, to think I have been a loyal Linksys customer all this time. Didn't this kind of service go away even before the change in the economy. Maybe it's a case of Cisco not catering to then home user anymore. Not sure. It's been quite irratating however.
So, I am returning the product for a refund. Maybe Linksys could let me know if you they change your policies and quality back to the way things used to be.