Customer Reviews

Cisco-Linksys WRT310N Refurb Wireless-N Gigabit Router

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

If you're looking for an unreliable wireless router, this is a good choice. The stock firmware is atrocious, but even with DD-WRT, it still runs like a chump. It has a decent chipset, and the gigabit switch was why I decided to take a chance on this router.

It appears that the refurbishing process involves adding a heat sink to the processor, which should help with the heat issues this particular router is known for, but it's still unreliable. It randomly drops the LAN connections, and after running for several hours, throughput is on-par with dialup connections. In addition, the power connection on the router is very sensitive to movement, and will power-cycle at the slightest movement.

If you have $40 burning a hole in your pocket, do yourself and your community a favor and donate it to a local charity instead of buying this product.

I have this supporting a Logitech Revue from about 30 ft away. No problem streaming HD content. Pretty typical Linksys setup.

Hello all,

I live in Mexico, and my internet company does not provide a wireless modem. So I bought this item thinking that probably bc it was Refurbish, it wouldn't work so good, but it does. You won't notice it is that way, just because the box is a regular brown one. But I just plugged the cable and the power and it worked... I haven't configure it to have a password, a task that I want to do, just haven't have the time, but if it is complicating for you in setting up this things, with this one no worries. It gives sufficient strenght of signal to my hole house and I can be accross the street and still have it. I haven't try how far, bc I am sure I don't need it, but it has a very good coverage. Not expensive so it is good.

When we bought a Blu-Ray player as our first Wireless-N device, I wanted to upgrade our old router. I saw the deal for this, and couldn't beat the price for the features.

I was a little hesitant based on some reviews of the "refurb" product, but took the plunge anyhow.

I have had absolutely no problems with this router out of the box. I was able to set up my security, attach all my devices and have been running for several months 24/7 with no heat issues.

I was even able to take our old router, and turn it into a bridge (via WRT software) that is working fantastically for the kids room.

Don't be afraid of the refurb!

- Paid refurbished price and get a brand new quality item.
- Did DD-WRT flash right after open the box and put it on a heavy load test for couple days without any issue.
- Range is good, noise toleration is lower than my expectation.
- Gigabit LAN ports.
- WAN port is 100Mbps but it's not a concern.
- 2.4Ghz wireless only. NO dual, NO 5 Ghz supported.
- I got 150Mbps on draft-N connection with a laptop within 15ft distance and without any obstacle. Another draft-N laptop in another room connected at 54-71Mbps.

Flashed with dd-wrt.
Flawless over the last few months even with torrent downloading at 1 to 2 mbit via TWC 15/2 connection.
Couldnt have found a better bargain.
I have this unit sitting on a wire stand for heat dissipation.

This is a good product which provide stable connection with high transfer speed. I would recommend it to you. But if the size will be counted you should pic others for its size is a little bigger than compact.