Customer Reviews

Medialink - Wireless N Router - 802.11n - 150 Mbps - 2.4 Ghz - NEW Design w/ Internal Antenna

5 star:		(1,619)
4 star:		(210)
3 star:		(72)
2 star:		(62)
1 star:		(120)

 

 

Well, now having the need for a wireless N network I did a bit of research into which router I should buy. After reading so many positive reviews, I kept teetering on whether or not I should try this one out... especially since I hadn't heard of the company and the price point was so low. Eventually I figured "what could it hurt" and ordered it. I immediately got an email from the company thanking me for the order which included the support information if needed. That was a nice touch.

The bottom line is that I'm VERY glad I ordered this. Set up was a breeze if you follow the very simple instructions to the letter. I was up and running in minutes.

My other concern was how well it would sing with my Cisco Wireless N Bridge(The Cisco-Linksys WET610N Dual-Band Wireless-N Gaming and Video Adapter)in my living room which is notoriously finicky with non-Cisco product integration. I'm very pleased to report that it immediately started communicating once set up, and has been rock solid for 3 days streaming Hi Def 720p and 1080p video. The signal strength is fantastic and has out performed other routers I have owned in the past. Time will tell how it holds up over the long run. I will update this post if anything goes awry.

Finally as icing on the cake, the router just looks cool. Thats always a happy bonus!

The only negative I could find is that the tech support line isn't 24 hours. Seeing as how I didn't need it, I suppose that really isn't a negative in the truest sense.

I'm a heavy Amazon user who doesn't even write reviews yet felt compelled to for this gem. A Great product, at a great price, and easy set up. Who could ask for more?

*** EDIT 06/14/11 Wow, there are a ton of comments on my review and I thought it would be a good idea to chime in again. Here we are about 8 months after my purchase and the router is still going strong. I have noticed that there was some signal degradation about 3 months in, but I changed the broadcast channel and it cleared up. Whether that was a fix or coincidence I don't know. As far as I can remember it only dropped once and I had to reset it. Not sure what people are expecting, but I thought (and still think) I got fantastic bang for the buck. And to answer some of the people implying I somehow work for the company that makes or markets it: I absolutely do not! I just was pleasantly surprised and wanted to share.

I have to admit I was nervous about buying something that doesn't have a huge name behind it. I've dealt with plenty of routers in my time and some of them are so confusing to configure, and caused so many headaches. When I opened the box I was greeted by a small, light-weight, sleek looking box...I have to say that I was really excited about the internal antenna, those old parallel antenna were the worst thing to look at. Being the typical computer guy I am I didn't really read through the directions, I just grabbed it and plugged it in. I reset the modem, then reset the router (by power cycling, not the reset button on the back) and.......it worked. I logged into the web interface and set up the Wifi security, grabbed my laptop to connect to it and.....it worked.

The wireless N is a thing of beauty for someone that has been stuck with G for so long, it's fast and has great coverage, I was able to get a stronger signal outside than before.

The web interface is very nicely laid out and there are a ton of features

Pros:
Quick setup
very nice looking
lights are not too bright, even though there are a lot of them
internal antenna
affordable


Cons:
no Gig ports
included cat5 cable could be a little longer.

things to note:
I didn't use the included setup disc
I have cable internet and use an older Linksys cable modem.

I was a little hesitant to order this router since there was no other review, but the price was lower than other wireless G routers, so I thought I would give this N router a try. So far, I am glad I did. I am writing this review from my laptop using the wireless connection right now.

PROS:
-Price (paid $[...] on 10/2/2010)
-Easy setup. The wired connection was instant, all I had to do was plug the cables. The wireless connection was also a breeze and took two minutes with the included CD wizard.
-Speed! My local network connection is 100Mbps, so I selected this router which is slightly faster (150Mbps wireless / 100Mbps wired) in order to avoid bottlenecks. I am getting download speeds ~0.9 MBytes / second wired and ~ 1.1MBbytes / second wireless with this router, i.e. as fast as I was getting when plugged directly to the network.
-Streams movies without problems.

CONS:
No problems so far. If you like solving problems you may be disappointed.

I have had this router for less than a day, which is not long enough to know if it is stable, but so far so good. I have not tried VOIP yet, but I will update if any problems arise.

UPDATE: VOIP works without problems too. I have had the router for 5 days and still no problems. It performs so well, I have almost forgotten it is there.

UPDATE (12/11/2011): I've had this for about a year now, and I have still never had a problem with it. I've left it on/plugged almost the entire time, but when I've had to unplug it (e.g., to move a computer desk), it has reconnected almost instantly when I plugged it back in. I also added a second laptop to the house a few months ago, and the router is still performing flawlessly. If Amazon allowed it, I'd give this thing another star.

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ORIGINAL REVIEW:
I took a chance on this a few months ago, when it was relatively new and had fewer reviews. The company emailed me a few days after ordering to thank me and inform me how I could receive assistance if I needed it.

Well, I haven't needed it. In fact, this router is about as "plug-and-play" as a USB drive or mouse. I didn't even follow the Quick Start instructions...I just plugged it in and it worked right away! I previously had a Linksys B router which would drop the connection about once or twice a night. However, the MediaLink router has worked perfectly for months...I haven't lost the connection once! This router will seriously compete with the big boys, and for the price, it is an incredible value.

Pros:
+ Very, very easy to set up
+ Perfect signal anywhere in my apartment
+ Has worked continuously with NO LOST CONNECTIONS in two months
+ Looks very sleek
+ Fantastic price
+ Friendly customer service, although with how well the router works, I may not ever have to contact them again...

Cons:
- This is a STRETCH, but the blue lights on the router are a bit bright...it may distract you in a dark environment. However, I am never in the same room as the router, so I do not care at all.

Note: I use a Toshiba Windows 7 laptop, which is the only device that utilizes the router. I haven't tested it with multiple machines or with my Wii or anything.

(Also, I've noticed some people responding to other 5 star reviews with accusations that the reviewers work for the makers of the router. Not sure what their agenda is (Linksys employees/fanboys?), but for the record, I do not work for Mediabridge Products, LLC, nor do I know anyone who works for them. I am not receiving any compensation or other such benefits for writing this review, either. I am really impressed with this product, and I rely on reviews before making any online purchase, so I thought I'd contribute.)

As a networking/server techy geek type I thought that the over emphasis on following directions was a little much and I felt a little like there might be something new that I would miss if I treated this like any other router but fortunately that was a misconception.

This sucker is almost as sexy as it looks in the pics. It works exactly as you'd expect. It performs better than one might hope.

If you're using a cable modem definitely don't forget to reboot it disconnected & give it a chance to get fully "booted" and running before plugging in & starting up the router but...

Though the web based interface isn't too overly fancy: this is a great router that just plain works and has all the features a geek wants with the ease of use of a router anyone can use while being exactly what it should be, set it & forget it.

It's sad that these days the over priced, less reliable routers are so popular. Even as a geek I don't want to reinstall my own OS on these things. I want all of my equipment online. I don't want a router I can install linux on, I want one with a "louder" signal in my apartment than all of my neighbors poorly configured, channel hogging routers.

My two iPhones, iPad, desktop, server, friend's smartphones, laptop, xBox, printer and everything else can FINALLY all play nice on the same network without having to mess with wifi settings or reset the router.

I've only had it for a week but if it lasts longer performing like this than any of these more expensive & less reliable name-brand junk routers I'll stick with this brand.

Side-note: A bandwidth test from my iPhone while on this router performed over 1Mbit/s faster than previously and almost as much faster than my high-end commercial hardware based wifi network at the office.

To recap: I hope this has a long MTBF because I'm happy, regaining my sanity and saved critical dollars at the perfect price of about $40.

At first I was impressed with this wireless router but I soon changed my mind. First concern, the router internal date was not settable. No matter which time zone you selected, it always defaulted back to "Arizona". I'm guessing a firmware issue. Not a show stopper though. What WAS a show stopper was that somehow and at some unknown time, the router reset back to it's defaults. All my security settings were gone. I have no idea how long this was occurring. The SSID was reset. The MAC address filtering was reset and gone. The WPA-TKIP encryption was gone. The router became an open access point to anybody and everybody in the area. This is not acceptable for ANY wireless router at ANY time. Although the price point for this device is attractive, I would strongly avoid this unit until it matures to the point it can reliably hold onto it's security settings.

I ordered this router after a couple of months of researching and reading reviews on various routers. It seemed very difficult to make a decision because of all the complaints. Then I found this Media Link router that seemed to have few complaints. Not being one of the major brands I was hesitant. However, because I have ordered many of Medialink's hdmi cables from Amazon and have read many reviews which boasted customer service with this company, I ordered the router knowing that if we had problems, they would be there to help us or replace the unit. Actually I had given one of their cables a poor rating, and received a note from them telling me to call and they would troubleshoot or replace. Turns out it wasn't the cable. I removed my poor review.

I hope I've painted a picture of how great the customer service is with this company.
Great customer service is something we don't run across every day.

By the way I have my home theater hooked up with their hdmi cables and all are working beautifully. They are quality cables that do the trick at a great price.

Setup:
Because my husband and I are boomers who missed the tech boat, we decided to call Media Link and allow them to help us get through the set-up. I had received an email prior inviting us to do so. Jarrod Coburn of Medialink was available immediately and helped us through every step, which was basically simple. For folks like us whom have never wrapped our brains around this tech stuff, it was reassuring to know we had someone who was willing to spend the time to guide us through the process. We explained to him that we were "stupid" and he did a fantastic job of getting everything up and running in no time.

A few hours later we called him back again because we were having problems getting our Blue Ray and Roku hooked up to the wireless connection. He was not available but called us back in 15 minutes. It was no time that the problem was solved.

It has been a long time since we have experienced this kind of service. Usually we are on hold for 15 minutes and can't understand what the person is saying because of the accent.
How refreshing to know that service still exists in America from America.

As for the router itself, I checked my internet speed and it has improved greatly over our Belkin G router. We wanted to upgrade our three story house. (router in basement with connection problems especially on 3rd floor) Plus new home theater with issues of Netflix dropping lead me to N router. This router solved the problem completely. We now have a stable connection on all floors.

Bottom line: the price is right, the router is great, and the service is fantastic. The router is small and it looks sleek but understated and uncluttered.

Special thanks to Jarrod. :) I hope your boss knows how fantastic you are. It's people like you that keep people coming back....

I recently ordered this router to replace an older Belkin 802.11a/b/g router I had that kept dropping the signal or getting into a state that needed a reset. This router goes up to 802.11n speeds, which is awesome, and is backwards compatible, which is a must.

First thing, installation was a joke in the sense that it was super easy and simple as long as you are a person who follows instructions exactly.

Second, it's sleek and sexy. Basically, it's got more curb appeal than pretty much any other wireless router I've seen.

To touch further on what I discussed first...it's fast. Even for my iPhone, connected at 802.11g speeds, it is consistently faster (measured using a speed meter app). When connected at 802.11n (from my laptop), it is simply blazing!

Finally, the price is agreeable ($39.99 at time of review). I imagine that once it catches on, they'll bump it up to a more standard price...so get it while you can.

Finally a piece of electronic gear that was easy to install for the average user. I went through the easy setup procedure and I couldn't get on the internet. I called tech support and talked to Jarrod who walked me through the settup again. He determined there was a problem with my type modem. I was initially dissapointed, but he called back an hour later with a fix, once again he walked me through the settup and helped me set up all of my WiFi devices. Everything is working great. I am highly pleased with the product and especially the tech support.

I found this little router exceptionally easy to set up, even with a number of complications on my end - port forwarding, MAC address restrictions, static LAN addresses, etc.

Customer support was also very easy to reach. What a change from LinkSys!

******

Two months on: I ended up abandoning this router because of continual problems with computers and printers being dropped from the wireless network. Customer support sent me two free replacements, trying to help me solve the problem, and I really can't fault their efforts. But the bottom line was than none of the three machines worked correctly. In fact, one of them did not work at all. And as kind as customer support was, in the end they weren't able solve my problems, nor to deal with other issues in the router's firmware, such as the fact that the time zone didn't set correctly.

I suspect the office I spoke to in the US is distributing a foreign-made machine that they are not actually actively developing, themselves.