9/27/2011

Cisco-Linksys WRT110 RangePlus Wireless Router Review

Cisco-Linksys WRT110 RangePlus Wireless Router
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Got the Linksys WRT110 because my Netgear WGR614 has been acting funny (will only connect to one wireless device at a time). I chose to do a manual install/configuration of the WRT110 and skipped the disk install completely. Setup the encryption (not WEP, by the way) and other settings, and I had the wireless router working in 10 minutes (it actually took less, but I was tutoring my 17-year old nephew on how to properly install a wireless router, which was why I skipped the disk install version). Afterwards, I searched the available wireless network, found the router SSID, typed in the password for network security (a definite must-do in San Francisco), and I was wirelessly connected! Still connected after 3 days, too.
I gave it a 5-star rating because it worked for me out of the box and without the disk installer. No glitches, and the device was current with the latest firmware. The router is on the second level, and I have decent signal (24-54 Mbps) in all the rooms on the same floor, and a stronger signal than the previous g-router on the other floors (18-24 Mbps with WRT110, -vs- 0-12 Mbps with WGR614). Internet is not affected, since my DSL is only 6 Mbps, anyway.
I picked the WRT110 over the WRT54G2 to try out the MIMO technology. I will update this review in a few weeks after I've completed my testing. Stay posted.
After configuring it as a stand-alone router, I then put it to the test by adding it to my LAN. I have a special configuration, which is a bit more advanced than those of a typical user. I have a D-Link DIR655 (Gigabit Wireless N router) as my DHCP router and is set as N-only mode. I have the WRT110 as wireless-g device hooked to this router which transmits at g-only.
"Why do I have two routers, when the DIR655 is backward compatible with G as well as N?" one might ask. The reason I have it with this configuration is because I have three wireless-N devices and four wireless-G devices. The G devices drops the DIR655 down to wireless-g whenever they are wirelessly connected to the DIR655. So, I have a wireless-G router hooked to the DIR655, the wireless-G computers are connected to the WRT110 and the N devices are connected to the DIR655, and all the devices are working to my preference.
Update:
After having this router for a week, it has stood up to the test and consistenly maintained its connection. My test is basically to bring two laptops (both wireless-G) one floor up and on the other side of the house where the router is located. Both laptops connect fine, and consistently maintain 8-24 Mbps, wheras connection with the old router is still hampered and drops connection every now and then. So either the MIMO function works as noted, or this is just a better router all together. I do not have the WRT54G2 to compare (with and without MIMO), but I'll try to get my hands on those and do a side-by-side comparison.
UPDATE 2 (2009-11-02):
After having this router for over a year, I am still surprisingly very pleased with it. I say "surprisingly" because the reviews for this router on Amazon.com is all over the board. I may have been one of the lucky ones with this router, because 1) I have never lost connection (wired or wireless) with this router, 2) I have never had to restart (in fact, I completely forgot I had this router, since I am running two different wireless routers), and 3) it is small enough to fit on top of a cabinet so that I don't see it. I have three computers (two notebooks, one desktop) connected wirelessly, and two wired PC computers (acting as file servers). It has worked so well for me that I bought one for my father-in-law, and one for my brother. After I set up their WRT110 routers, they have reported NO problems thus far (a year coming up in December). Overall, I am VERY pleased with this router, and fully deserves the initial 5-star rating I gave it.
UPDATE 3 (2010-11-03):
I've had this router for over two years now, and I stand by my initial 5-star review. I have never had to reset/restart this router since my last review a year ago, I've never dropped a connection when connected to this router, I have various things connected wirelessly to this router with no issues (4 desktops, 4 laptops, several iPods, my blackberry and Droid, my HP Ipaq, Iomega ScrenPlay TV Link, and whenever guests come over). I am able to stream video in DVD quality with no stuttering or lag. I do not have an extensive HD video collection, but with the home HD videos, the playback quality depends on the computer I am using, and ranges from perfect to acceptable (which tells me it is a hardware issue related to the computer, and not the wireless router).
I had to post an update because I've been reading some of the recent negative (one-star) reviews, and maybe I got lucky with my unit because it has been as reliable as my D-Link DIR-655 router. One possible explanation is that maybe Cisco-Linksys QC is slipping a bit with the newer products. Another is that the components are different, and not as reliable as the initial batches. Whatever the cause, I know I have been quite happy with this router for over two years.

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The RangePlus Wireless Router is really three devices in one box. First, there`s the Wireless Access Point, which lets you connect to the network without wires. There`s also a built-in 4-port full-duplex 10/100 Switch to connect your wired-Ethernet devices together. Finally, the Router function ties it all together and lets your whole network share a high-speed cable or DSL Internet connection. With the Linksys RangePlus Wireless Router at the center of your home or office network, you can share a high-speed Internet connection, files, printers, and multi-player games, and run media-intensive applications at incredible speeds, without the hassle of stringing wires!

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