So far, so good (though just day 2), BUT...
A few things I have to point out to potential buyers, that I didn't think about before purchase. I was a bit rushed to replace a Netgear WDNR 4000 that just... died.
I went with this mainly due to it already having the open-source DD-WRT software installed (nice!). BUT as someone else pointed out, it errors out when checking for firmware updates (what?). This and the rather attractive price, which in retrospect is now understood.
Before starting this review, I just noticed my cable modem input light was blinking orange instead of blue. Sure enough: this router is NOT gigabit, but just 100MB. Shame on me for thinking a brand-name modern 4-port 802.11n router would NOT have 1GB Ethernet, but here I am. The real test (as yet untried) will be if my Roku is affected by this. If so, double-shame on me. Nor is this noted in Amazon's header description (it really should, as a fundamental feature of a router).
If all your clients are set to use DHCP, this probably won't matter, BUT for some reason, Buffalo opted for the third IP (octet?) number to be .11, NOT .1 like the rest of the consumer networking world, which required me to re-path various connection strings that failed on my fixed IP address server box. There might be a way through the web interface to change this back to the more normal 192.168.1.x addresses, but I forgot to look first. There's a LOT about this router I forgot to look at first.
I was a bit shocked by the small size of this router (with the word 'overheat' leaping to mind first). It is small and light enough, that the stiffness and weight of Ethernet cables will pull it off a surface if not accounted for (yay). And no mounting bracket included nor holes anywhere on it to help in wall or ceiling mounting it, though so far the signal strength has been very good without needing to.
BUT on a related note, no 5MHz band just 2.4, so if you're in a crowded environment this might also be an issue.
Additionally, thus far my Chromecast nor YouTube browser plug-in can see this new network to allow me to add it back.
It will probably by fine unless there is an actual bottleneck due to NO 1GB ETHERNET (still: WOW), but knowing what I do now, I don't think I would buy the N300 again (though very possibly the N600).
PS. I think it rather silly that Amazon put both the N300 and the N600 on the same page with little option buttons to switch between them. This is not like a shirt color choice, FFS; they're fundamentally different items, feature-wise.
| Wireless Type | 802.11bgn |
|---|
