I can say thus far I’m pretty impressed and plan on a second review after I upgrade to the DD-WRT open source firmware. I want to clarify up front this is not a review on the overall performance of the router although I can also say up front I like what I’ve seen so far. At $199.00 this router is a bit more expensive than the EA6100 I’ve already reviewed although I can see right away the firmware is very similar with a few more features. It has a lot of modern features and the user interface/dashboard is easy to navigate and understand. I only have 10 devices on my network when you don’t count the router (2 desktops, 2 laptops, 4 Android devices, and 2 PS4’s). The majority of my bandwidth usage comes from video streaming and games. We have not had any problems streaming to multiple devices over the network but like I said there are not a lot of devices. Our current Internet plan provides 200 Mbps with unlimited data for reference.
According to the packaging, Linksys says this router was “Engineered for Intuitive Use and Ultimate Performance”. It is certainly a beefy looking router and it’s got 4 high-performance antennas designed for dual-band communications (2.4 GHz & 5.0 GHz) and they are adjustable so you can position them for use in a single or multi-story building. You can also remove them to accommodate antenna upgrades. Linksys sells a 4 pack of high-gain antennas that appear to be a little longer than the antennas that come with the router. I submitted a request to the Linksys support website asking for the specs on the OEM antennas since I could not find any documentation. The specs for the upgrade antennas are available on the Linksys website. There are no current listed vulnerabilities in the CVEDetails.com website which is good since this is a brand new version of their original WRT1900AC wireless router. I did not need to update the firmware as my router came with the latest hardware (V2) & firmware 2.0.0.173388. Since there are not firmware updates I cannot review it’s update feature until I load DD-WRT or OpenWRT which are both open source router firmware.
Smart Wi-Fi Tools
Network Map
The network map may not be something you would consider initially as being related to security because it is not under the heading of “security”. It’s a great feature because it gives you a quick visual picture of the devices on your network and allows you to query the devices to get their current IP and MAC address. Another feature found under the network map is the ability to change the icon and hostname of the displayed devices. Linksys has provided 69 different icons to represent many of the devices you may find in a smart home or small office environment. I found it interesting they provide about 20 icons to use with the different Linksys devices which also use the same GUI but it’s still pretty impressive. The ability to change the hostname is also an excellent feature because the default names for some of the devices are not very intuitive. This really is a great tool and it can be used to help map your network to know what you’ve actually got running/accessing your network and the Internet. The GUI also allows you to highlight individual fields such as IP address, MAC, and hostname with your mouse so you can use the copy/paste command making it easy to setup other features such as MAC filtering or DHCP reservations for each device on your network.
There is also another cool feature with this version of the firmware that allows you to see the bandwidth or Internet usage for each individual device dynamically at the same time. I was streaming music on my PS4 over iHeart Radio and it was averaging about 6.25 Mbps. I’m sure it would be a bit higher if I were streaming video. At the time I was experimenting with the bandwidth usage no one else seemed to be doing anything so their bandwidth usage was nil. I decided to start streaming audio from Amazon Prime as well to see if it registered and it did. Interestingly the PS4 bandwidth continued dropping until it was around 1.32 Mbps and the others were registering less than 1 Mbps. This can really come in handy if you were going to try and balance the maximum bandwidth for individual devices but with only 10 devices total on my network and 200 Mbps download speed I don’t think I’ll need to experiment with media prioritization.
There are also three other options on the “my network map” tab that allows you to manually add devices that are not currently showing on your network map, clear your network map and refresh your network map.
Guest Access
From a security standpoint, this is one of those cases where you’ve got to weigh your pros and cons. Being able to enable a guest account is a positive thing because it allows you to keep potential prying eyes from having access to your internal network while granting them the privilege of using your Internet access. The security professional in me wants to scream at the top of my voice at Linksys for not including the option of providing encrypted Wi-Fi (WPA2) for your guests. They did provide the option of creating a password to access the guest network but it does not use https so the password is passed in the clear when the user authenticates to your guest network. If you are a small business I would not recommend using this particular router because I believe it’s important to provide a measure of security and only allow users who you want to have access. At the same time, I personally use a VPN service whenever I use an open wireless network and would recommend it to all my guests.
Parental Controls
This is a consumer router and as such will be found in thousands of homes around the world where there are children accessing the Internet. Parental controls should not seem like an after-thought and in this case. There is almost as much documentation about parental controls on the box as there are in the manual. It’s really that bad, so here is a direct quote “With your router, you can use parental controls to do the following: Set the times that Internet access is allowed. Block websites that you specify, or based on their content.” The last part of their statement is blatantly false. You can block specific websites (up to a maximum of 10) WOW! But you cannot block based on their content unless you are using additional software or a DNS service. There are almost two pages on the subject of parental controls in the manual so it’s better than the manual for the EA6100 with only one sentence. So let’s look at what it means for users who do want to enable parental controls.
When it comes to blocking or denying access to websites through this router you would be better off if you either install Internet filter software on the computer you want to protect or begin using a DNS service such as OpenDNS or Norton Connect Safe for Home. All the feature amounts to is a manual “black list” which most kids these days can figure out how to get around by doing a search on Youtube. You literally have to enter each website URL you want to block so you can see how tedious this would be as your list grows. The manual actually tells you to cut and paste the URLs to save time. I believe a better approach would have been to allow parents to allow specific websites which amounts to a “white list” and block all others.
The scheduling is a useful feature because it allows you to define times and days of the week specific devices can access the Internet but it’s not a very significant feature. They could do so much more with only a little effort instead of adding a feature that is barely useful. If you take my advice and use a DNS service like OpenDNS then you have significantly more flexibility and can filter out things like pornography, other adult related content, drug related sites etc., define schedules for individual devices on your network and generate reports/statistics that can help you see what your users are doing on your network.
Media Prioritization & Speed Test
I cannot think of any relationship these features would have to security but it may be useful if you have multiple devices vying for bandwidth to when playing gaming or using a VoIP/Video Teleconferencing System. The optimization works for downstream bandwidth but if you read the manual it is a bit confusing because it reads “Prioritization settings are applied only to traffic that is uploaded to the Internet.” When you try and use the feature and modify the settings you are presented with the option of modifying only the downstream bandwidth. For most users I doubt you’ll need to modify the prioritization settings but if you do decide to play around with the media prioritization settings, then document the changes and experiment to see which changes give you the best performance.
External Storage
The WRT1900ACS also has a USB 2.0, USB 3.0 and eSATA port you can use to attach external storage. From a security perspective having a network attached storage (NAS) device can be an excellent way of preserving important data from multiple users. I’ve got both a USB 2.0 external drive and a USB 3.0/eSATA external drive. I decided only to test the eSATA connection because it gives you the greatest transfer speeds. It has performed flawlessly and I have the external drive mounted as a network drive. There are several options that can be configured such as setting the external drive up as an FTP server (not sure why you would want to do this), a media access server and secure file shares. The secure file share option allows you to create accounts and to assign permissions for specific folders by username and password. When the secure folder option is not enabled anyone on the network can access files on the attached external storage. From a security perspective, it is a good idea to back up data but the only security feature of the external storage is basic folder permissions. I need to investigate options for using encryption but it doesn’t seem like it would be easy to setup if at all. If the external drive were directly connected to Windows 7, 8, or 10 systems with Bitlocker or a Mac OSX system you could setup encryption easily but because the drive is accessible via the router encryption doesn’t seem to be a simple feature to enable. At any rate, external storage is a nice feature but I would prefer to see security beefed up by adding built-in network encryption. As a word of caution, ransomware is on the rise and network file shares are often targeted by this type of malware so from a security perspective you should only attach your external network drives when you actually need to backup data or not rely on the external drive as a backup medium. This would definitely be a problem if you are using your router as a media server because you need your storage always connected which puts it at risk if you fall victim to ransomware.
The external storage drive I bought is a 2TB 64MB Cache GForce3 USB 3.0/eSATA Aluminum External Hard Drive (GF3B2000EUA). It is formatted by Fantom to use NTFS which is the Microsoft Windows file system and did not come what backup software. Fortunately, Comodo Online Backup Software is a free download and works flawlessly. I backed up both my computer and more than 145 GB of picture files in no time at all. Comodo Online Backup was a lot faster than I thought it would be taking only about 30 minutes to backup my computer (78GB) and a little over an hour to backup the picture files. I was pretty impressed with how well the router handled the Fantom drive and must say the eSATA transfer rates were awesome. This is a great feature for the WRT1900ACS and believe this was a great choice for the money.
Router Settings
Connectivity
Under the “Connectivity” section there are six tabs, (Basic, Internet Settings, Local Network, Advanced Routing, VLAN, Administration). We'll look at each feature in the sections that follow.
Basic
There are a lot of options under the “Basic” tab, some good, some not so good in my opinion. Let’s start off with the “Network Name and Password” feature. You’ll find both the 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz networks listed here. You can select edit to change both the SSID and the network passwords for each network. What I found disappointing is the network password is stored in the clear on the router, unlike the router password which is masked and found in the same tab. I’m not sure why the network passwords are stored in the clear but it seems more logical they would also be masked. In reality, though you can only access the network passwords when you are logged into the router as the administrator so no harm no foul. I just find it strange that the router password is masked while the network passwords are not. I would also like to see the system generate a random network password that is at least 16 characters long. This would help ensure home users and anyone who may use this router with a small business has a good Wi-Fi password for their network. You should be required to enter both enter the old password and the new password and confirm the new password for both the networks when you change them. I’m not sure what Linksys is doing with their firmware because the firmware for the EA6100 router I reviewed previously did require those steps to change the router password; although it did not require those steps for the networks. It’s almost like they are going backwards with their security. I’m still scratching my head over why they would set it up this way. If anyone has an idea as to why they would set the router up this way, please share. I would also like to have a way of changing the router’s default username from admin to something else but you cannot. You don’t even need a username when you log in locally (Ethernet) using the router’s IP address. You only need to enter the router’s password.
Also under the “Basic” tab you are able to setup automatic firmware updates or manual updates. When I first setup my EA6100 router I had to perform two firmware updates. It was pretty easy to do but I had to restart the router manually both times because it seemed to hang. It could be I was just impatient but after 15 minutes of waiting for the system to come back online, I thought it was the best option. In both cases that was all I needed to do and the router restarted with the latest firmware installed. If you feel like you need to be in control of when your router needs firmware updated then uncheck automatic updates and have the router check for updates when you are doing administration or you can go to the Linksys website and download the firmware to your desktop and install the update from there. At any rate, it is important to update your router’s firmware just like it’s important to have automatic OS and other software updates enabled to ensure you have the latest security patches installed. This is one of the best ways you can help ensure your own network and systems are as secure as possible. I did not need to update the firmware for the WRT1900ACS so my comments about the update process were from my experience with the EA6100.
There are two other minor features you can modify on the “Basic” tab, the “Time Zone” which does not have anything to do with security except perhaps for providing the correct time-stamp on your router’s logs when you have them enabled and enable/disable the activity lights on the router. Not even sure why they would provide this option but I opt for the default which is to display the activity lights.
Internet Settings
Under the “Internet Settings” tab you only have a few settings that can be modified. The first is the type of Internet connection found on the left side of the tab along with the version of IP (IPv4 or IPv6). The type of Internet connection can be set to Automatic Configuration – DHCP, Static IP, PPPoE, PPTP, L2TP, Bridge Mode, Wireless Repeater, & Wireless Bridge. On the right side of the tab you have a few optional features you can modify such as MTU which is the maximum transfer unit for your network. I recommend you just leave the default setting of “Auto” but if you choose to modify it you should know 1500 is the most optimum and highest MTU you can set for an Ethernet network. You can also clone your MAC address which is something you would rarely need to do but if you do check out the article on DD-WRT for an explanation of when you might want to clone your MAC.
The bottom line on the Internet Settings, the default settings should work fine for these options. None of these settings really affect your security. The possibilities with IPv6 may change in the future but I have a feeling this router will be ancient history before we need to worry about configuring IPv6 settings on a consumer router.
Local Network
Under the “Local Network” on the left side of the tab you can change/edit the name of your Ethernet network and can modify the IP address of your router/subnet mask. It would probably best if you leave this alone unless you know what you are doing. I cannot think of a reason you would need to modify your IP address or subnet mask unless you just want to experiment. There is enough address space with a home or small business network with the default network as it is out of the box….but play if you want too…it probably won’t hurt anything and you’ll learn something new in the process.
On the right side of the tab you can make some configuration changes that can be directly related to your security. You can enable your router to serve as a DHCP server for your internal network and then define the start IP address for your internal network. The configuration I recommend you modify is the “Maximum number of users”. In my case, I can have between 1 and 155 users by default. If you are concerned about security then I recommend you reduce this number to the actual number of devices you have on your network. If you only have 5 devices then don’t have 155 users available. You can also modify the lease time your router will let a device hold onto an IP address. You could modify this setting if you want to but I don’t think there is any advantage from a security standpoint in doing so.
The last settings you can modify on this tab is your DNS and WINS. I’m going to say with certainty most home users and small business users will never need to put anything in the WINS section, just leave it blank. But the DNS setting is definitely one you should consider changing that can have a positive effect on your security. I have used both Norton Connect Safe for Home and OpenDNS. These services will allow you to filter/block access to pornography websites and many other websites you may not want to access personally or allow other users on your network to access such as your children. You should check out both of these services for more information and to consider which may be best for your situation. ,
Advanced Routing
There are three optional settings on the Advanced Routing tab and from a security perspective I recommend the best option for a home user is to leave the default option selected and that is “NAT”. The only reason you would need to use either of the other two options (Dynamic Routing RIP and Static Routing) is if you have multiple routers and have setup additional subnets on your network.
VLAN
There is very little documentation on the VLAN feature using the Linksys firmware. From the looks of it the VLAN feature on this router is designed for cases where ISPs have already defined VLANs for their configurations. There are several options available when you enable the VLAN feature that includes: Manual, M1 (Fibre), Maxis (Fibre special), Maxis (Fibre), SingTel (mio TV), SingTel (other), StarHub, Unifi (@ Business), & Unifi (@ Home). If you choose to setup OpenWRT there are options to enable VLANs on your internal network. This may also be available with DD-WRT which I’ll explore after I’ve completed this review of the Linksys firmware features.
Administration
The final tab under the menu option “Connectivity” has four separate options you can modify. These include Local Management Access, UPnP, and Application Layer Gateway. My recommendations for each of these is to select “https” under the Local Management Access option and not select the “Access via wireless”.
Under the UPnP which stands for universal plug and play I recommend you deselect the “enabled” option and only allow UPnP if you require it for a device on your network to get it configured. Chances are you will not need it enabled and there have been vulnerabilities identified with UPnP on other models of Linksys routers with older firmware. This particular model is not listed as vulnerable but like I said…why enable it if you do not need it. From a security perspective, this is a best practice because the idea is to limit the possible attack vectors a hacker might use to gain access to your network.
Under the Application Layer Gateway you have the option to enable SIP which is the Session Initiation Protocol used with some VoIP services. Like the UPnP option above I do not recommend you enable it unless you need it. If you are trying to use a feature on one of your devices that requires VoIP and it doesn’t work you can enable SIP and see if it clears it up. Otherwise, you’ll probably never need it.
Troubleshooting
There are three tabs available once you access the troubleshooting feature; Status, Diagnostics, & Logs. The geek in me really likes this particular feature because there are some nice things available for you to do which are executed from the router to try and identify network problems. You can also do these same steps from your desktop or router so the question I’ve got to ask though is whether or not an average user who does not have a background in computers would even attempt to troubleshoot an issue without someone helping them. Since I have not had a reason to contact customer support I don’t know if this is something Linksys would use to try and troubleshoot a router during a call or not. Anyway, let’s dig in and see what’s available.
Status
Under the status tab you have two different features that are very useful for creating some documentation for your network that I recommend in my book “Cybersecurity for Everyone Securing your home or small business network” along with a sample provided in Appendix three. You can download the sample network documentation from my website. The first feature is Devices which like it sounds generates a short table with the information your router detects for each device connected to your network and it does this for Ethernet and wireless connected devices. The table heading includes name, MAC address, IPv4 address, and connection (LAN for Ethernet or Wireless for Wi-Fi connected devices). The second feature is Report which is also very useful because it generates a report about your router and its current configuration. I’m pretty pleased with this particular report because it’s fairly comprehensive and I suspect is really more for someone who will help you troubleshoot than for the individual user but like I mentioned above it's very useful for documenting your network so you know what is actually on your network.
There are also several options on the right side of the tab related to both the devices and reports features. You can select refresh which like it sounds will refresh the list of devices or refresh the report. This is useful because you may have wireless devices coming on and off your network, if they are already configured/allowed on your network as they come into range and/or are turned on/off. You can also have both the device and reports output to a browser (easily cut/paste into a word processor or spreadsheet) or printer. The final option is to open the DHCP client table. This is useful because it contains all the devices you’ve had on your network whether they are online or not (Ethernet or Wireless). Have you had anyone on your network you didn’t give permission to? If they are not able to delete the DHCP client table on your router, then it should be a great indicator of recent network activity. Did someone steal your network credentials and is now leaching your Internet? I can think of a lot of reasons to use this feature from time to time.
Diagnostics
Under the diagnostics tab you have eight features which are: Ping IPv4, Trace route, Reboot, Router diagnostic information, Router configuration, Router Firmware, Internet Address, and Factory Reset. The first two are standard network commands you might use when troubleshooting. These are cool because they are executed from the router and not from your workstation or smart device (if using the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi App) using the Linux version of both these commands.
The Ping IPv4 feature allows you to specify a specific IP address or a hostname. It also works with URLs, so if you are having problems getting to a specific URL just type in the domain name or the full URL. The default will send 5 pings but you can also choose, 10, 15 and unlimited. I don’t recommend you start sending unlimited pings to a URL on the Internet or you may have other problems.
The Trace route tool works just like the Ping IPv4 feature in that you can use it with a specific IP address, hostname, or URL. No other options are listed and it will attempt the traceroute with 30 hops max.
The other options found on the diagnostics tab are also useful but for different reasons. You can reboot your router if you’re having problems, backup and restore your router configuration (good idea to do if you want to play around with your settings with reckless abandon just to see what will happen, restore older firmware, release and renew your router’s IP address as seen by the world and best of all do a factory reset with the click of one button. So if you didn’t backup your configuration at least you can reset your router to factory defaults and start over. The last feature I’ll mention is the router diagnostic information button. It’s not what you would think at first glance but is a way for you to voluntarily send details about your router to Linksys. I’m not sure I like this feature because it doesn’t tell you up front what information is actually shared with Linksys. So, my recommendation is to leave the sharing to others and keep your information to yourself. I found it interesting that when I clicked on the link to share with Linksys to see what would happen they provide a warning to the user “Some information about your network can present security concerns. Share only with people you trust.” I have no basis with which to trust Linksys/Belkin. You cannot cut/paste the rather large report that is generated but you can add an email address to send it to in addition to whoever it goes to at Linksys/Belkin. Just frustrated you cannot easily cut/paste the report into a word document so you can browse through it as well.
Logs
This is the final tab under the troubleshooting section and like the reports above is really important in helping you troubleshoot problems on your network at a glance. It is not a replacement for tools like Wireshark but may give you enough information to make you want to dig deeper. The logs are not enabled by default so if you want to take advantage of logs then you’ll need to enable them. The logs tab also allows you to refresh logs, open in a browser, print, and of course, clear your logs just as you can for the device and reports under the status tab mentioned earlier.
Wireless (view and change router settings)
There are four tabs under the wireless section as well: Wireless, MAC Filtering, and Wi-Fi Protected Setup & Wireless Scheduler. This is where you configure all your router’s wireless options and can really harden your wireless security.
Wireless
On the wireless tab you have both of your wireless networks (2.4 GHz & 5.0 GHz) represented and can modify the settings for both easily. The options are basically identical except for the selections under channel which allow you to select an individual channel (frequency) for your wireless to operate on and channel width which allows you to select the feature that provides you the best bandwidth/performance for your individual situation.
In most environments, you should have good performance by leaving channel and channel width set to auto. What you need to understand is your wireless environment can be affected by other devices operating on the same or near frequencies within range of your network. In fact, the 2.4 GHz frequency spectrum has a lot of competing devices with varying power output levels. So, if you live in an apartment complex, have other devices (cordless phones, microwaves, wireless security cameras, etc.) you may need to play around with the channels to ensure you get the best performance for your network and the only way you will know is to experiment. If you’ve got a friend who has a spectrum analyzer, then you might be able to narrow down the best option a lot quicker but how many people do you know with a spectrum analyzer laying around? I did find the user guide useful in explaining how to make optimum use of the various wireless settings.
You can read the rest of my review @cybersecurityforeveryone.com
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| Customer Rating | (9594) | (10031) | (926) | (50789) | (733) |
| Price | From $35.31 | $79.00 | $139.00 | $76.10 | $93.99 |
| Sold By | Available from these sellers | Azusa-IoT | Connected Home Store | Amazon.com | Legacy-books |
| Connectivity Technology | WiFi | wireless | Wi-Fi | WiFi | WiFi^USB |
| Data Transfer Rate | 54 Mb per second | 1900 Mb per second | 3 Gb per second | 1300 Mb per second | 3 Gb per second |
| Frequency Bands Supported | 2.4 GHz | Dual-Band | — | Dual-Band | Dual-Band |
| Item Dimensions | 9.75 x 10 x 2.8 inches | 6.3 x 3.3 x 8.6 inches | 8.46 x 6.08 x 6.23 inches | 11.22 x 7.2 x 2.44 inches | 9.76 x 7.68 x 2.01 inches |
| Item Weight | 1.65 lbs | 1.40 lbs | 1.00 lbs | 1.58 lbs | 2.11 lbs |
| Range | feet | feet | — | — | feet |
| Total Ethernet Ports | 8 | 5 | — | 5 | 2 |
| Total LAN Ports | 4 | 4 | — | — | — |
| Wireless Communication Standard | 802.11b/g | 802.11ac | 802.11ax | 802.11ac | 802.11bgn |
From the manufacturer
Linksys WRT router is versatile and customizable.
WRT54GL Wi-Fi Wireless-G Router
At a Glance:
- Linux-based, open-source firmware allows you to customize your device
- Four Fast Ethernet ports to extend your wired network
- Wireless speeds up to 54 Mbps, supporting 802.11b and 802.11g
- WPA2 wireless encryption and SPI firewall for security
- Parental controls offer easy-to-configure restricted Internet access
Linksys WRT54GL Wi-Fi Wireless-G Router
Versatile Router Also Functions as Access Point and Switch
The Linksys WRT54GL Wireless-G Router delivers the functionality of three network devices in one. When used as a wireless access point, the WRT54GL delivers wireless data transfer rates up to 54 Mbps, supporting Wireless-G and Wireless-B devices.
Full-duplex Fast Ethernet ports enable you to connect up to four wired Ethernet devices to scale your network to best fit your needs, while the router functionality ties your network together to share a high-speed cable or DSL connection securely throughout your home or office.
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Open Source Firmware for Custom ConfigurationsWhile the Linksys WRT54GL comes with ready-to-use firmware that allows you to control and extend your network, open source, Linux-based firmware can also be modified to provide additional customization. With easy-to-find tools readily available online, you can transform the WRT54GL into a commercial-grade wireless device featuring enterprise-level functionality with minimal effort and minimal cost. |
Wired Connections Expand Your NetworkEquipped with four full-duplex Fast Ethernet ports, the WRT54GL allows you to further extend your network to fit your needs. For small networks, simply connect four computers directly to the router, or expand your wired access by connecting additional network hardware. The WRT54GL is designed to be physically stackable, allowing you to mount additional WRT54GL routers to further expand your network. |
Security Features Provide a Safe ConnectionFeaturing a full suite of advanced security features, the Linksys WRT54GL provides you with a safe way to stay connected. A combination of WPA2 encryption and SPI firewall offer enhanced wireless security for your Wi-Fi connected devices, while Internet Access Restrictions enable you to limit Web usage in your home. Thanks to a convenient browser-based interface, configuring secure access is a simple task, allowing the whole family to surf with peace of mind. |
Easy 1-2-3 SetupGetting the WRT54GL up and running is simple. Just plug the router into a power source, connect it to your Internet modem and your computer or laptop, then run the Setup Wizard on the included CD-ROM and follow the instructions. |
Four Fast Ethernet Ports for wired network connections.
What's in the Box
Linksys WRT54GL Wi-Fi Wireless-G Router, quick-start guide and setup software on CD-ROM, and Ethernet cable.
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Solved problems with firmware....Indefinite "waiting" and "2118" errors, when it allows a log in...
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2017
Problems right from the start.Non-stop 2118 errors, when logged into 192.168.1.1, while trying to click on ANY of the options to manually config.If I don't get the 2118 error, it'll show a blank screen, or "waiting" indefinitely.Have to hard reset router regularly just to get it to work for a few minutes for a manual log-in. But, router won't save any settings or it gets stuck on the blank screen "waiting" forever. Youtube videos show others can click on an option and it comes up in a second or two but mine won't. Another error is that router keeps stating that internet is down, yet I can surf from another browser window or tab, like for this review.I've tried several different laptops, desktops, browsers, and operating systems, and 'no joy' with any plugged into this router, and even created a non-needed useless linksys login identity which just won't 'link' to this router either.I will RMA this failed unit and hope that the replacement works. If the replacement works, I will update this review accordingly.UPDATE:Well, Amazon over-nighted a replacement router. Same problems. When using ANY browser(IE, Firefox, Chrome), Windows 7,8,10(and even XP) with the antivirus and any/all security settings turned off, I just can't make ANY changes to the router from its browser log in. That's 2 routers in a row that can't be adjusted using a simple browser log in. Besides regular 2118 errors and indefinite "waiting", the new router also has 2117 errors.BTW, you can manually download the latest firmware. FW_WRT3200ACM_1.0.6.181063_prod is available for download and my routers shipped with 1.0.5.175944 which didn't not allow browser settings changes.If you can't log into router, you can't update it. The automatic firmware update(via Android phone app) doesn't see the latest firmware that you can manual download to a PC. Auto update(via Android app) says no new firmware is available even though the downloadable, from the Linksys website, firmware is newer than what the router is equipped with.Additional update and review, after battling with router #2 for a couple days, I decided to do another reset and just leave it alone. After a few hours, using the Linksys cellphone app, it finally was able to update itself with the previous mentioned firmware update. I would guess that the LInksys support made that happen. That did the trick and after a reboot, router is now responding to my browsers. I was able to config/save my settings and now the wireless network is working just fine.I don't want "email" log in, Linksys membership smart-wifi log in, or auto-anything-easy-quick config by default.Loses 1 star because firmware updates took a while to go from website to router's auto-update.Loses another star because router browser settings uses stupid silly "pop-up's" instead of normal browser pages like older routers. Pop-up script can easily be blocked by a pop-up blocker or script stopper(that is, a browser with some security settings). Pop-up's can also be stopped by aggressive antivirus-settings, browser ad-blockers,...... The engineer that wanted that should be fired.In the end, this router goes from 1 start to 3 stars. I don't want a "cool" router with apps and silly config page pop-ups. I want a usable router that I can manually set up quickly, update as needed, and then put to work!Linksys, get rid of the pop-up's when clicking on ANYTHING when accessing the router's menus. What was Linksys thinking? Every browser pretty much has a pop-up killer now.Update 12/22/2018:With the latest firmware and selective router manual configurations, router has served well until drowning during hurricane Michael. I'd wager most negatives reviews are caused by either older firmware, or not choosing the proper wireless options for your network. Since it ran nonstop since the firmware update without issues, I've bumped up the rating to 5 stars. If you buy this router, learn how to log into it(no quick setups or phone ap's), and go thru each step by step option. Eliminating "B" and "G" wireless using only "N" or "A/C".... is good start, setting priorities and specific options in your phones, laptops, TV, bluray, audio receiver..... can make your WIFI super fast, well managed, and safe.I replaced my flooded WRT AC3200 with the Gaming Router WRT32X(seriously lacking options and overly dumbed downed user interface). It too works great but I prefer the config/options of the non-gaming router. And, for better reception/distance, Linksys offers high gain antennas which are about twice as tall, and provides exceptional capability an acre away in my work shed.Current Firmware for the WRT AC3200ACM is 1.0.6.186168, released in January of 2018. If the router doesn't automatically update to this firmware, do a manual update.
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2017
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