Cisco-Linksys WRT310N Refurb Wireless-N Gigabit Router

by Cisco

Product Details

• Item Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001FBOGSU
• Item model number: WRT310N-RM
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #418 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
  • #35 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > Networking Products > Routers
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 5, 2008

Product Description

The Wireless-N Gigabit Router is really three devices in one box. First, there's the Wireless Access Point, which lets you connect to the network without wires. There's also a built-in 4-port full-duplex Gigabit Switch to connect your wired-Ethernet devices together. Finally, the Router function ties it all together and lets your whole network share a high-speed cable or DSL Internet connection.

The Access Point built into the Router uses the very latest wireless networking technology, Wireless-N (draft 802.11n). By overlaying the signals of multiple radios, Wireless-N's "Multiple In, Multiple Out" (MIMO) technology multiplies the effective data rate. Unlike ordinary wireless networking technologies that are confused by signal reflections, MIMO actually uses these reflections to increase the range and reduce "dead spots" in the wireless coverage area. The robust signal travels farther, maintaining wireless connections much farther than standard Wireless-G.

With Wireless-N, the farther away you are, the more speed advantage you get. It works great with standard Wireless-G and -B equipment, but when both ends of the wireless link are Wireless-N, the router can increase the throughput even more by using twice as much radio band, yielding speeds far faster than standard Wireless-G. But unlike other speed-enhanced technologies, Wireless-N can dynamically enable this double-speed mode for Wireless-N devices, while still connecting to other wireless devices at their respective fastest speeds. In congested areas, the "good neighbor" mode ensures that the Router checks for other wireless devices in the area before gobbling up the radio band.

To help protect your data and privacy, the Router can encode all wireless transmissions with industrial-strength 256-bit encryption. It can serve as your network's DHCP Server, has a powerful SPI firewall to protect your PCs against intruders and most known Internet attacks, and supports VPN pass

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Deal Around, December 14, 2009

By 

Steven Houck - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cisco-Linksys WRT310N Refurb Wireless-N Gigabit Router (Personal Computers)

I ordered two of these routers to set up as repeaters in my house. Both routers came very quickly and both routers were in really good condition when I received them. Neither router came with any documentation except for a piece of paper explaining the limited warranty, however, both routers still looked brand new. They do come with a set-up CD, however, the CD is not required if you are familiar with wireless LAN's.

I've flashed both routers with DD-WRT which was very simple to do, and they are both working flawlessly. I didn't even bother using them with the native firmware. DD-WRT all the way!

They do run HOT. I've stuck a pencil under the back end of the router on my desk to see if that helps the air circulate under it a bit better.

I highly recommend this router, especially flashed with DD-WRT firmware.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and underrated little router, December 18, 2010

By 

P. Killion (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cisco-Linksys WRT310N Refurb Wireless-N Gigabit Router (Personal Computers)

I had a dilemma, much like many of you may have faced or are currently facing: my current router had died. It was a fantastic router, a Netgear wireless N with gigabit ports, and I purchased it refurbished. It had lasted fine for about a year, when finally it just refused to work, only the power light would light up, but the rest was toast. So, I borrowed a Belkin wireless G router from my parents, and that worked fine for a while, but it had severe limitations, and quite frankly my stress levels were through the roof while playing online games on the PS3 because of the lag, so for sanity's sake I decided to find a better replacement.

After much debate, I took a chance with the Linksys WRT310N Wireless Router after finding it on-sale. I have to say, I'm pretty impressed!

The Features

So for starters, the features on this router are precisely what I was looking for. Wireless N is becoming more and more of necessity in many homes, and while I was an early adopter, its great to see many consumer devices making the switch. Because of the technology used for Wireless N (I won't go into details here), the speeds are significantly increased over wireless G, as well as the distance.

The wireless function on this router works fantastic! I have a wireless N adaptor on my media PC about 30ft away, with two walls blocking, and with the Belkin G router, I would get about 70% signal strength; the Linksys N router I get a full 100% signal strength! The PS3 in the same distance also has significantly increased speeds as well. Sharing video from a PC next to the router to the media center, I average 6 megabytes per second (actual speed), which is pretty decent, meaning a 700MB movie takes about 2-3 minutes to transfer.

The gigabit switch can make a significant difference when PCs are connected via ethernet, and have gigabit ethernet adaptors. Transfers are pretty much real time, with transfers taking approximately the amount of time it takes to write to the HDD (OK, a tiny bit longer, but really not much).

So, for the average consumer, you may be wondering if you need any of the garbage I just talked about, and my response is yes and no. This technology is really no longer "the future" and is really becoming the "now", and the price you pay for a decent router (this is not considered a high-end router, nor is it priced like one), can save you significant heartache over time. If you have more than one computer, and you don't want to be kicking yourself in a year, spend the extra $20 or so and get a router such as this.

The Hook-up

The hookup for this linksys rotuer was a breeze, assuming you know how to setup a router. I have not ever attempted to install the software (read below), but it was functional right out of the box. I connected the cable modem via ethernet, two more computers via ethernet, a network printer via ethernet, and have a media-center PC connected via Wireless N and PS3 connected via wireless G. I have read that others installed DD-WRT (a type of firmware), but I didn't find it necessary, the stock firmware on my build worked great, and had many features (layout was a little odd though).

I apologize if I derail here, but I feel I should share a little tip with as many as I can here and now (and maybe save tech support a lot of trouble). As a recovering tech, and as someone whom has worked with network engineers and setup several networks himself, I'm going to pass along a little bit of knowledge. Essentially no router you buy by any of the main brands I've ever encountered will ever need software installed. Its just 100% not necessary, and many times what people think is a defective router is really just bad or incompatible software.

Stay with me folks, I promise I won't be too confusing, and yes you will have to learn a few very minor "tech" items, but if you do, you will be able to setup any router that comes along your way.

For starters, connect a PC via ethernet (don't use USB, some routers have that functionality, but you don't need it). You will then log into the router. You can do this by putting in the IP address of your router. You can always find this (and this is very useful) by opening up command prompt (start-run-cmd, or just type cmd with the startmenu open in Vista/7). With the command prompt open, type "ipconfig" without the quotes, hit enter, and viola, your router IP will be shown under "default gateway".

Now, with IP in hand, open up your browser, and type that ip into the address bar and go, and viola you have just logged into the "firmware" of the router. This is where you can "name" your wireless signal (SSID), and setup protection, which should always be the highest possible (keep adaptors in mind, they have to be compatible with that encryption).

This process is the same with all routers, and is the exact process I used for this router, although the firmware can be slightly different amongst routers. Also, I recommend never performing firmware updates until you have tested the router. Updating the firmware can result in a "bricked" (paperweight) router if an error occurs, so don't update unless you have an issue.

In Action

Much of this was covered under the "Features" section, but I will reiterate that the speeds really fly with this baby; you may have slightly better results with a "gaming" router, but I can say from personal experience that lag is no longer an issue; if I can't shoot somebody in MW2, its because I have terrible aim, not because of the router!

This router runs hot, but the majority of modern routers I've worked with run hot; I think its only a matter of time before they start having fans in routers (routers are essentially mini computers at this point). This hasn't been of any concern for me, I've had it set on my desktop for about a month and it hasn't overheated, but some have said it runs cooler if you prop it up (much of the air vents are on the bottom of the unit; maybe get felt feeties to prop it up?).

Also, your opinion of the look will depend on your taste, I think it looks pretty nice, a little UFO-ish, but because it lies flat it uses more desk space than an upright. The lights are nice, not too bright like my previous Netgear router at night, but are certainly visible during the day.

The Bottom Line

This router is seriously under-rated, and I unfortunately think a lot of it has to do with people not understanding how routers work, and how to properly set them up. For me, it was a great deal when I found it on sale, and I'm so glad to have moved back up to Wireless N and gigabit speeds. Also, seeing as to how there are many refurbished versions of this router, there may be some defective products out there, but then again I see many routers that have refurbished versions out there (you may want to pick one up yourself, they can be a great value). All in all, I think I got a great value, now its just up to how long this baby lasts!

*Note: I also posted review was also posted on epinions, but since I did in fact buy it right here on Amazon, I figured I should post it here. As an aside, Amazon Prime has been amazing, if you aren't a member, I seriously urge you to consider it, a very worthwhile purchase!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refurb with a 1 year warranty (purchased seperatly)...hard to beat, February 10, 2009

By 

D. Repenhoff - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cisco-Linksys WRT310N Refurb Wireless-N Gigabit Router (Personal Computers)

I picked up 3 of these to use for my home network, due to the lack of being wired that is. Setup them up with dd-wrt & using them as wireless access points for my dvr's, ps3, nas, slingbox, etc... Yes I'm a nut... The price has increased since I purchased, wireless N access points are hard to deny, still cheaper then gaming adapter (that is after you learn how to use dd-wrt). I'm still skeptical about the dual band N routers, the 5GHz band does not penetrate walls as well as the 2.4GHz band, though the 2.4GHz is much more crowded. Anyways, they've (yes all 3 I purchased) have been working great for over a month now.