Linksys by Cisco WRT400N Dual-Band Wireless-N Router

Other products by Linksys

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 9.7 x 2.6 inches ; 1.6 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001SEL36M
• Item model number: WRT400N
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank

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  #15 in	Electronics > Computers & Accessories > Networking Products > Routers
  #35 in	Electronics > Accessories & Supplies > Microphones > Unwired

• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 11, 2009

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Get ready for the power of simultaneous dual-band Wireless-N technology with the Linksys by Cisco WRT400N Dual-Band Wireless-N Router that provides blazing-quick transfer speeds, air-tight security features, greater coverage, and support for wireless and wired devices. Dual Wireless-N radio bands work separately, yet simultaneously, to ensure less interference from other wireless networks and increase speed, while four integrated Ethernet ports provides support for a variety of wired devices at blazing-fast speeds ideal for streaming videos, gaming, and ultra-quick file transfers.

Dual-Band Wireless-N Technology for Superior Performance
Wireless-N is the latest technology built for faster transfer speeds with less interference and greater range. The WRT400N features two Wireless-N radio bands, at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, for unsurpassed speed and crystal-clear signal with less static and interference from other wireless networks in the area. Plus it's versatile – the WRT400N Router will work great with any of your existing Wireless-G, B, or A devices, so you don't have to go out and purchase all new equipment.

The power of Wireless-N makes it an ideal choice for heavy gaming, streaming video, and large file transfers. With the WRT400N, you get Multiple in, Multiple Out MIMO technology, which utilizes signal reflections that work to boost range and reduce dead spots. This means greater coverage, less interference, and reduced dropped signals.

Four 10/100 Ethernet Ports for Wired Devices
The WRT320 Dual-Band Wireless-N Router enables you to not only have an ultra-fast wireless network, but also to connect all of your Ethernet-enabled wired devices - such as storage drives, computers, and printers – at the same blazing-fast speeds as your wireless devices. All four of the 10/100 Ethernet ports support auto-crossover (MDI/MDI-X), so there's no need to purchase crossover cables. The versatile WRT400N is the only router you'll ever need for your home network.

Air-Tight Security Features
The WRT400N protects your wireless network from security breaches and malicious attacks from hackers with its two powerful, built-in security features. This router features both 128-Bit encryption and SPI Firewall for air-tight security that will keep your network safe and secure from Internet attacks.

Minimum System Requirements
Internet Explorer 6.0, Safari 3.1 or Firefox 1.0 or higher for browser-based configuration; CD-ROM drive; Wired or wireless network adapter with TCP/IP protocol; EasyLink Advisor Software and setup wizard require up-to-date Windows XP, Vista, or Vista 64-Bit Edition; Setup wizard also runs under Mac OS X 10.4 or higher; For optimum performance, we recommend Linksys Dual-Band Wireless-N Adapters

Compatible with Windows and Macintosh, the Linksys WRT400N Dual-Band Wireless-N Router measures 8.07 x 1.38 x 6.3 inches and weighs 1.01 pounds. It is backed by a 1-year limited warranty.

What's in the Box
Simultaneous Dual-Band Wireless-N Router, setup CD-ROM, User Guide CD-ROM, Quick Installation Guide, Ethernet network cable, and power adapter.

Product Description

The sleek Simultaneous Dual-Band Wireless-N Router works in two radio bands at the same time, delivering twice the bandwidth for smooth high-definition video, lag free gaming, and uninterrupted music in one band, while browsing the Internet, sharing files, sending e-mail, and printing in the other. Wireless-N gives you incredible speed and range in both bands, while the 4 built-in Fast Ethernet ports connect your wired devices.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent product very pleased after tons of research, July 17, 2009

By	J. Parks - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Like many of you, I find it very difficult to get clear information on networking products on-line. Unlike other electronic devices, it seems that there are a ton of bozos out there all weighing in on how horrid their router is, when either they don't know what they're doing or they have physicial challenges that aren't the hardware's fault.

Suffice it to say that I did a ton of research before buying this product. As it turned out, Amazon has the best price (inclusive of shipping, of course) - but I checked out the reviews on CNET, NewEgg, and anywhere else I could find information.

The best resouce I found was here - at SmallNetBuilder.com.
[...]

This guy really puts the devices through their paces and seems to be relatively unbiased in his approach. I tip my hat to him.

This product is fast and relatively easy to set up. Most importantly it has TWO radios. What this means to you is that you will see TWO different versions of the router when it is on-line. If you'd like you can dedicate one of the channels for N and one for B/G. This is all laid out very clearly on the Linksys product website, should you wish to check that out.

You'll see many products that say "Dual Band" (it can operate in both frequencies) but be careful because unless the product says "Simultaneous transmission" it will not do so at the same time. So if you have, like we do in my house, N users and G users, and you want different security or other settings on the various channels Simultaneous Transmission is the way to go. There may be other reasons to go this route including Media streaming or gaming on the 5 ghz band - this is particularly true if you simply want to eliminate wires and aren't trying to stream your N/5 GHz signal very far.

If you have realistic expectations of what this product will do - and especially if you don't need a Gigabit ethernet connection on your network (I have a Gigabit switch for my wired boxes, which means that transfers to those machines get 'slowed down' to 100 GHz when they are interfacing with the wireless world, but from a practical perspective I haven't noticed any slowing!) this is, by far, the wireless router to get.

I'm not going to argue with the folks who say that they don't see a speed improvement, but I can tell you that we see speed improvements on both the N spectrum and the G spectrum relative to our old Belkin pre-N router.

Finally, the design looks funky in pictures and in the videos that I saw. In the home it's pretty swank looking and certainly less noticable relative to something with exterior antenae. So another tip of the cap to the designers.

Overall I'm very impressed with this device and pleased to give it 5 stars!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not For Long Range, June 27, 2009

By	Gadget Man "Gadget Man" (California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

I was looking to get longer range than my trusty Linksys WRT54G, so I go this WRT400N. The setup was very smooth -- no issues there except for one. Before I set up the WRT400N by computer took 2 minutes to re-boot. Afterwards it took 3.5 minutes. I'm not sure why, except that I think Linksys installed a Microsoft .Net Framework version that slowed the system.

If you can set up the router without the software, you're better off. Here's other notable issues:

1. The 5 Ghz is pretty worthless. It's range is far shorter than the 2.4 Ghz. So unless you're planning to use the 5 Ghz band in the same room as the router, or maybe the room immediately very immediately)next door, it is useless.

2. The 2.4 Ghz works well enough. It doesn't drop the connection or any problems like that. What I found was that operating in G mode only actually had a longer range than the N mode only -- go figure.

In my setup my router is in the main house, and the family room is in another building over the garage (small catwalk between the two). So I need a router to send a signal out of one building and into another, total distance is perhaps 50 feet. In G mode only the WRT400N does give a slightly stronger signal than the WRT54G. But in N mode, the strength of the signal drops enough that it is about the same as the WRT54G, and slightly less than the 400N's own G signal.

Adapter Experience
==================
I decided to get the Linksys wireless-N USB dual bank adapter for the family room, thinking it would match up best with the WRT400N router. Guess again...it didn't. The adapter was less effective than the old Linksys USB G adapter. The 5 GHz band at first detected nothing even though the WRT400N was broadcasting in N mode on that bank from about 50 feet away. After fidling with the position of the router and the adapter, I finally picked up the 5GHz signal -- but it was weak, and eventually dropped in use. I finally tried a cheaper SMC adapter and it received the signals from the WRT400N significantly better than the twice as expensive Linksys adapter.

Bottom line -- the router is a good router in 2.4 GHz band, and not much use in the 5GHz band. The range is decent, but not significantly better than the old reliable WRT54G (which is a great router).

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy set-up, reliable, thank god, June 28, 2009

By	R. Hart "educated vagabond" (CHICAGO, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After spending a ton of time looking over router reviews, I finally took the plunge with the Linksys Dual-Band Wireless-N Router. Since almost every router had extreme reviews - either they're great or disasters - I had a tough time making a decision. Anyway, I have had the Wireless N up for a couple days now. So far I can say 2 things about it: 1) set-up was a total breeze. I was up on 2 laptops wirelessly within 15 minutes. 2) reliable - have not been kicked off once in 2 days. I have not messed around yet with the advanced features but the 2 most important things for me were being able to get it to work and having it be reliable.