The short:
Pros:
- MEGA fast (connecting, streaming, transferring)
- USB ports (with 1 supporting faster USB 3.0)
- Powerful signal (no longer in competition with apartment complex neighbors--consistently strongest signal)
- Sleek interface (easy setup, easy maintenance and setting changes)
- Very convenient (Phone app allows remote support, meaning you can manage your router from anywhere)
- Lots of functionality (client management, parental controls, media prioritization, NAS management)
- Competitively priced
- Aesthetically pleasing, much softer lighting than typical routers (esp. Linksys)
Cons:
- Mounting holes are in an odd spot (hangs router such that cables protrude to the left)
- Power cable is a little short
For reference I am on Charter (cable broadband like Comcast or Time Warner) with advertised 60 Mb/s. I live in a 2-level apartment with lots of 2.4 GHz noise from surrounding networks. We have the following wireless devices: 2 laptops, 2 desktops, 2 smartphones, Chromecast, and a game console. I used to also use a wireless range extender (TP-Link N300), however now I don't need it!
The long:
What a great router! I upgraded from an old Cisco N300 router that had done the job fine, but was beginning to need periodic resets in order to be functional. This combined with a shotty modem provided by my cable internet company and a range extender on another floor made for a frustrating dissatisfactory internet experience about 50% of the time. I upgraded to a new modem (Archer SURFBoard), and noticed the connection on wired devices was faster and more consistent, however my wireless signal was still spotty and intermittent especially with the noisy surrounding networks. I decided it was time to upgrade.
I am definitely a techie so I did a lot of research before on different routers, and heard rave reviews from a relative and a coworker on the management app, signal strength, and overall router performance. The setup was super simple, just plug and play if you just want a router that works! The quick-start guide lists the pre-set strong password and unique SSID. I, however, had to make sure I knew every setting and feature well, and was very impressed with the settings for Media Prioritization (very useful for streaming) and External Storage (NAS, FTP server and user permissions!). I also set the wireless channel to 9 after bringing up a WiFi analyzing app on my phone and seeing that 1-6 or so were jam packed.
The difference was, well, underwhelming! Before I was consistently annoyed, and now I hardly even notice it's there! The external storage is super useful if you haven't used that before. Me and my wife can transfer files between computers much faster now--our own personal cloud! I no longer use a range extender and I never lose connection.
Overall, very pleased. Job well done, Linksys.
P.S. My SSIDs: TellMyWiFiLoveHer and BillWiTheScienceFi
| Wireless Type | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac |
|---|
