Linksys WRT160N Ultra RangePlus Wireless-N Broadband Router Reviews

• Fixed all my problems

  
  By ANH4SSC0JZ7DT on 2008-03-05
  FINALLY! A router that fixes all of the problems I was having. My old router, a D-Link Draft N had trouble connecting wirelessly with my Dell Laptop and my MacBook Pro. (Draft-N routhers don't all conform to the same standards.) It did work with my iMac wirelessly and it did OK with my wired connections.
  
  So, I decided to tey an Apple Airport Extreme. It worked with all my wireless devices, but supprisingly did not do well passing HD TV Shows from my Media Center PC to my Xbox 360 over a wire!
  
  So, after much research I decided to try this Linksys. Since it just hit the market, I figured it would have better Draft-N support.
  
  So, with minimal configuration, this routher works with ALL my devices:
  
  (I have it setup with WPA/WPA2 Wireless security.)
  
  MacBook Pro (Draft-N Wireless)
  Dell Vostro Laptop (Draft-N)
  Apple iMAc (Draft-N)
  Apple iPod Touch (Whatever wireless it uses...)
  AppleTV (Wireless)
  Nintendo Wii (Wireless)
  2 Wired Windows PCs
  Playstation 3 (Wired)
  Xbox 360 (Wired)
  
  Plus it has no trouble passing the HD TV shows from my Windows Media Center PC to my Xbox360.
  
  
  
  

• Beautiful looking and easiest set-up ever!

  
  By A1BVN8OVG91D0H on 2008-03-12
  I noticed a lot of so so reviews and was wary until I read a professional review praising it's easy set up. I decided to go for it and boy am I glad I did. I happen to be a novice setting up PC related stuff but this router was cake to set up. Be forwarned; however, my intention was to simply set up wireless with encryption and nothing else. I had no desire to set up a full blown network with file and printer sharing. I simply wanted encrypted wireless for my xp windows pc and vista windows laptop in the house. I figure I can print stuff by using the pc with the printer or using a flash drive so I had no desire in oversteaping my technical boundries.
  
  That being said... it was as simple as putting the disk in, following directions printing the encryption code and connecting the router. Easy as cake! I had more trouble configuring the recieving vista windows laptop and xp windows pc! Which wasn't that hard either. The router is connected to my windows vista desktop and my windows vista laptop and seperate xp windows desktop are recieving the signal. It was as easy as plugging in the code to the recieving laptop and pc.
  
  The signal is always strong and no breaks in three weeks of constant use. Despite other comments, the signal strength is awesome even with the unit under a shelf. Unless you live in a 25 room mansion or set up the network wrong... you should have no problems. I have absolutely no complaints. The cherry on top is how awesome this router looks and with no antenna! You could easly hide this under a shelf but why would you want to! It's beautiful and you could use it as decoration! I admit, it is pricey but well worth the money in the headaches you will save setting it up and the aesthetic factor. Highly recommended especially for novices who simply want wireless in their house.
  
  

• Good but not enough - poor VPN support

  
  By A24JIE3OBKCO3P on 2008-04-22
  I have used wireless networking at work for quite a while but had put off installing it at home for security reasons. With a few new gadgets that could take advantage of new high speed capabilities, I decided to jump in and ordered a WRT160N to replace my existing Linksys wired router.
  
  The wireless router showed up very quickly on my doorstep. I unpacked it and was very impressed with the small size and the good looks. I appreciate technology, but I like the style of this unit since it does not appear to be an alien space craft.
  
  Loading the CD and following the instructions, I had it up and running in just a few minutes. My new laptop connected wirelessly very quickly and a few simple firewall updates had the system running the existing wired network, the laptop and even my Blackberry Curve using the WPA2 Personal security encoding with minimal hassle or delay. Connection speed was 130 Mbs and I was able to get a signal at the far end of the house. Subsequent connections had no problems either. I was impressed.
  
  As I mentioned, I was connecting my laptop from work to the system. My employer is security conscious, so we use a VPN every time we connect from outside our building. The WRT160N connected using the VPN without a problem. However, part of the WPA security protocol is the concept of changing the encryption key on a regular basis. The sender and receiver are supposed to exchange the new key and then continue on seamlessly. Unfortunately, the router dropped the internet connection every time the key changed. This was a pain, especially when doing big file transfers when the connection was dropped. The dropped connection cannot be reconnected until I went through the whole VPN authentication routine again, which gave me another hour or less if I didn't manually re-connect right away.
  
  I set to the key resynchronization interval to different times (very easy to do in the router control panel) and confirmed this was the cause. My family also noticed some weird browser lockups that had not occurred before installing the router (or after replacing it).
  
  I contacted Linksys technical support about this issue. First, I will say that I was very impressed with the support person I spoke with. They responded very quickly, were knowledgeable about their product and very helpful. They seemed very friendly too. Unfortunately, they told me that dropping the internet connection when changing keys was a known problem with the WRT160N. I suppose these things happen (don't the developers try this with their Cisco/Linksys laptop at night?), so I inquired about a firmware patch. Unfortunately, there is no patch scheduled at this point. They suggested using WEP, but I noted that their own manual stated that WEP encryption was easily broken, not secure and not recommended. There was no push-back on this.
  
  I discussed the situation with the support person, and they recommended that I return the unit. So I did...I took it to the post office this morning.
  
  In honesty, the support provided was about the best I have ever. The symptoms were quickly understood, problem was identified, a possible solution was proposed and an honest recommendation was made in a matter of minutes. They even sent me a complete transcript of the exchange. I was very impressed with the support team, especially compared to some other high-tech products.
  
  I wanted to like this unit and never have to think about it again (because it was just doing its job). Installation was fast and easy, it looked good, and it connected well. Support was top notch. However, dropping the connection all the time is not acceptable. I consider this very normal usage (certainly not an exotic application) that should not happen. I am back to the wired router. It is working, but I am disappointed with the WRT160N.
  
  

• Works fine with Mac

  
  By A106TZO4J5G1WQ on 2008-05-02
  For years, we have been happy users of a Netgear MR314 wireless router. But it didn't reach the farthest corner of our home. In looking at various routers, I found many mixed reviews for the newer Netgear routers, so decided to try the Linksys WRT160N. We use almost nothing but Macs in our home.
  
  Setup: Forget the included CD that comes with this router, it is Windows only. It does have the User Guide as a PDF buried in one of the folders. But it is not much help.
  
  Instead, just turn on the router, look for the wireless signal (or plug in directly using an ethernet cable), then use FireFox - the current Safari doesn't work and any changes cause a "server unexpectedly dropped connection" error.
  
  Type: 192.168.1.1 in the browser, then user name "linksys" and password "admin" to get the web based setup menus.
  
  From there, if you have any questions, click on the "Help" link for the individual pages. The help there is much better than in the User Guide.
  
  This router does reach the far corner of our house, and is able to use WPA, etc.
  
  I would have given the router 5 stars if the documentation had been better, and if the Mac had been included. (Even though it's really really simple to set up the Mac for wireless, it's still nice to be recognized.)
  
  

• Linksys WRT160N Ultra

  
  By A5QSKRM241G75 on 2008-03-12
  Overview - We are on AT&T DSL running the Elite broadband which is 3-6 Mbps. Our average speed is running 5+ Mbps here in the office and that is with Vonage VoIP phones (6 lines) and 4 laptops
  
  We just hooked up the the Linksys WRT160N Ultra RangePlus Wireless-N router in our new office onto 3 Dell laptops and 1 LG laptop. After the intial install on all the laptops running Windows XP Pro, we had only one minor glitch and that is a firmware upgrade needed on the Intel Wireless 4985 card on one of the Dells. It will not run currently on the Intel Pro Wireless card, everything G and below works fine. But it does run on Windows Wireless configuration just fine. We are all averaging 80 - 140 Mbps depending on how much load is on the line with the phones and broadband activity.
  
  I can not speak for the range of the unit yet since the office is only 1300 sq feet and we just hooked up the router, but I'm approximately 40 ft away with no problems. I'm so impressed how quick this is, I think I will go junk my Linksys Wireless G router and go buy another one of these for my home (Comcast Cable and Comcast Digital Phone which is also VoIP) just for the performance and good looks with the antennae now built in.
  
  Last thought, as I read these reviews people seem to bash the router when in fact typically it is the computer configuration or the wireless card that is at fault for not having the lastest firmware installed or the hardware not working. Another potential problem is if your system is standard broadband (CAT5 cable) this is the router you need. If you purchase the GIGABIT router and do not have the bandwidth or CAT6 cable, you may possibly get impeded results.
  
  
• Not worth upgrading from a G router!
  By A1J1REA0KLLDN3 on 2008-08-01
  I upgraded from a Linksys WRT54g ver 1.0 router in order to get more range (as I had heard that wireless N provided this even with G adapters). I was very disappointed.
  
  The installation process was fine (assuming you know Linksys), although their software configuration tool crashed repeatedly. I got the router working with no problems.
  
  Then I noticed the range was much worse on this router. I conducted my own tests using my internal Intel Wireless G adapter on my Dell Inspiron laptop. I conducted the tests with WirelssMon software program. I positioned the routers in the exact same spot each time, and the laptop was also in the exact same place each test. Here are my results of my signal strength testing:
  
  Basement (right next to the router):
  Wireless N (20 MHz): -40 dB = 67%
  Wireless N (40 MHz): -32 dB = 75%
  Wireless N (auto): -37 dB = 70%
  WRT54G: -29 dB = 79%
  
  Main floor (one floor above router):
  Wireless N (20 MHz): -53 dB = 51%
  Wireless N (40 MHz): -55 dB = 51%
  Wireless N (auto): -54 dB = 50%
  WRT54G: -44 dB = 62%
  
  Front Porch (one floor above router, a bit farther):
  Wireless N (20 MHz): -86 dB = 16%
  Wireless N (40 MHz): not conducted
  Wireless N (auto): not conducted
  WRT54G: -71 dB = 32%
  
  Main bedroom (two floors above router):
  Wireless N (20 MHz): -74 dB = 27%
  Wireless N (40 MHz): -72 dB = 30%
  Wireless N (auto): -71 dB = 32%
  WRT54G: -65 dB = 39%
  
  Clearly there is a benefit to the WRT54G (by about 5-10%) in terms of signal strength. I have returned this router. I might try another Linksys with a stronger antenna (?WRT610N), but I was very disappointed with the performance of this router.
  
  
• Pay attention if you got WRT160NV2 or WRT160N!
  By A28ZY3NBPV2LZL on 2008-10-01
  After reviewing several router options I have chosen the WRT160N as my new router, actually my main point was to use the DD-WRT firmware with it, partly following several reviews here below and from several forum.
  Once I received this router I tried to work with the CD provided but it had a problem to run.
  No problem, I had installed some routers in my life and this one didn't take more the 10min to install including wireless configurations.
  immediately after installation I saw that I can't upgrade my firmware as this is WRT160Nv2 and it apparently uses "Ralink" CPU and not "BROADCOM" cpu - Ralink is not supported yet in open FW due to licensing :(
  In addition, it appears that there is degrading in memory capacity in the versions of the routers that goes by WRT160N!
  V1 - 32mb
  V1.1 - 16mb
  V2 - 8mb
  Even more annoying, Linksys do not have a web page for any version other than for v1!
  Although I didn't get the actual product I thought I am buying, I started using the wireless with my laptop while my desktop was connected to one of the LAN ports, the results:
  1) P2P software causes network disconnects (probably due to the fact linksys reduced the memory to 8MB only), I had to minimize the software configuration in order to stop the disconnects.
  2)Signal strength is ridiculous as it doesn't cover all my apartment which is not big. - Update: I got some configuration advise from Linksys support to improve the signle:
  
  Change the Beacon Interval to 50
  Change the Fragmentation Threshold to 2304.
  Change the RTS Threshold to 2304
  
  - It increased the signal strength... I do not like this solution, as my apartment is small the defaults should have sufficed.
  
  I might return this product to Amazon and replace it with a different wireless router.
  
  Based on all other reviews, I am pretty sure that WRT160N V1 is a solid router (Good hardware & FW can be replaced) - if you order this one, make sure you don't get version 2 (at least until Linksys will have a webpage for it with new FW)
  
  
• Good product, appalling customer service
  By A3QT2QBL2JYXEU on 2008-06-02
  After considerable deliberation about what brand of wireless router to buy, I went with this Linksys model, as I had previously used a wired Linksys router that had performed well for the past few years. I also purchased a Linksys Dual-Band Wireless-N USB Network Adapter(WUSB600N) for a second computer.
  
  Now that the router is working, I am very happy with the product, I am getting a strong signal, fast connection and good coverage throughout my 2600 ft^2, two-level house.
  
  However, when I got first tried to install the product, I ran into all types of problems. I tried to use the installation software that came with the router, but even after repeated attempts, the set-up procedure failed, as the router failed to recognize the active internet connection. I could verify that the connection was active because when I re-connected the old router to the modem, the Internet was detected immediately.
  
  At that point I called Linksys customer service. The call started off badly because there was so much background chatter at their call center that I could hardly hear the person I was speaking with. After describing the problem, the person I was speaking with repeatedly put me on hold while she relayed my problem with their technician. This three-way conversation went on for 20 minutes, and despite asking I was never given the opportunity to speak directly with the technician, only with the operator, which seems ridiculous when you are calling for technical assistance. In the end, she basically told me that it wasn't their problem and I needed to speak with my Internet provider to see why I wasn't getting a connection, even though I repeatedly pointed out that I could get an immediate connection with the old router attached.
  
  At that point, not being particularly technically savvy, I called a local computer repair company to come to my home and install the router. He diagnosed the problem in about 2 minutes (the MAC address was not correct), unfortunately at the cost of about $100 for the service call.
  
  I had read about Linksys's reputation for poor customer service before, but had not experienced it personally before now. Bottom line, this is a good router and it works well, but if you run into problems with installation or operation, don't look to Linksys for help. You'll have to deal with the problems yourself.
  
  
• Dropping connection & seems no faster than B
  By A2QH9DG8X4I0ZE on 2008-04-25
  ***ETA: As of mid September, I am never having issues with this any longer. I don't understand it at all but it's almost like the "kinks" worked themselves out and now it's fine. Makes no sense but I haven't had a dropped connection in a long time. I changed nothing in our set up at all. My boys get free Mac laptops at their high school and both of them are having no issues at all. So, we've got 3 laptops and Daryll's pc using an adapter and no complaints from any of us.
  
  I wish I could have an explanation for this going from pain in the arse to awesome but I just don't have one.
  
  Thanks to everyone for your helpful comments. :)
  
  ****
  I really struggled with how many stars to give this system. Set-up and configuring wasn't too bad. We had a couple glitches but got through it without too much profanity. It looks great! Our previous router was Linksys wireless-B. Hubby got me a brand new laptop for my birthday with draft N card so my thought was "why not utilize that upgrade or otherwise, what's the point?" (Note to self from this point on: Always be wary of trying to fix something that isn't broken.) Actually, the wireless B was a little "broken" as in we had to constantly (2 to 3 times per day) unplug and plug back in the power cord to the router. We were never able to figure out why we had to do this.
  
  Anyway, after a huge amount of reading I decided to go with the Linksys WRT160N. Long story short-I am now losing my connection on my laptop 10x's more than I ever did with the wireless-B. I could surf from anywhere in the house with the old router and now have trouble when I'm in bed about 15 feet away from the router. We may have had to unplug and plug a few times a day with the old router but 99% of the time it was after it had set idle for a few hours. For example, in the morning it always had to be done. I never lost my connection in the middle of working like I am now.
  
  Hubby said he's lost his connection downstairs too, only not near as often as my laptop. He's directly below the router with a wireless-N adapter. Router is connected to another pc upstairs. (Which is what I'm writing this review on b/c I'm sick of my connection dropping.) Upstairs is where I am surfing 99.9% of the time with my laptop. Always within 20 feet of the router.
  
  Also, says it's running anywhere from 80-130 but I swear my laptop isn't any faster now than before. Maybe it's constantly trying to find the connection, not sure. I've contacted Dell making sure there was nothing I'd done wrong with my laptop and there isn't. I know it's the router b/c I can be on my sofa and lose the connection and while it's trying to find it again, get up and walk towards the router and voila! Connected again. Walk away and repeat. This distance I speak of is less than 20 feet away with no walls in between. FYI:We live in the country so I'm not getting interference from other "users" either. I don't think they could get connected anyway.
  
  I really wanted this to be awesome and it just isn't. I have to keep my whining to a minimum b/c I was the one who insisted on getting a new router. I almost got the wireless-G and yet I'm not sure that would have been any better. I guess a positive note is that we don't have to unplug and plug every morning, afternoon and night. For the most part, my laptop seems to be the only one struggling with this router. Which is why I gave it 3 stars. After all, what good is a wireless-N router if it can't keep a wireless-N (draft) laptop connected?
  
  As always, Amy/Daryll's better half
  
  
• Only works if you install DD-WRT
  By A1HPMO7KFH1A6I on 2008-05-25
  I was having a lot of trouble with my old netgear router dropping 802.11g connections so I picked up a WRT160n router from Best Buy hoping it would solve my problems. Unfortunately the WRT160n also kept dropping my connection from a MacBook Pro w/ Airport Extreme.
  
  In a last ditch drastic effort I flashed the factory firmware with DD-WRT v24 and it has been rock solid. It was a pretty easy upgrade but its not for the faint of heart. I believe flashing the firmware voids warranty on the thing, so keep that in mind before you brick the router.
  
  So bottom line -- WRT160n is piece of crap, but decent if you install Linux on it.
  
  
• Linksys...
  By A1T57MZVGOQTVE on 2008-07-21
  I needed a wireless router asap, so I went to wal-mart (sorry amazon) and this is all they had. I knew linksys quality has gone down the tubes over the years, and i hesitated to buy this. However, I needed a router that very day though so this was the only choice.
  I've set up many wireless networks in the past for friends and family (mostly using early WRT54G's, which were great pre v5) however I've never personally used a wirless network in my own home so I wasn't quite sure what to expect performance wise. Setup was easy as always using the web interface. I was excited to see my computer connect at 100+ Mbit from down the hall. However that was short lived as I soon realized I was actually getting barely 20Mbit...
  
  Well.. the horror stories are true. Linksys really cannot program for the newer routers very well at all. It worked great for the first few days, however when I went to copy some very large files between my computer (on wireless) and the computer in the office (on wired LAN) it would fail randomly as my computer started disconnecting and reconnecting randomly. These files were about 5GB and over the paltry ~20Mbit connection it was painfully slow and I almost cried when it failed at about 80%.
  I tried many settings. I had been using WPA2 and SSL for setup, and I thought maybe that was just too much for this thing to handle. However no amount of fiddling would solidify the connection. The most stable settings were to use G-Only, 20Mhz band, and no encryption, but that was just unacceptable to me for such an expensive device. Also the device becomes fairly hot during heavy use.
  
  THEN I DISCOVERED DD-WRT. HOORAY! I didn't think you could put custom firmware on newer linksys devices (it's been a while since I've set up a network). Man am I glad DD-WRT exists. I now have a rock solid device, consistently get 1ms pings from anywhere in the house, and haven't dropped a connection yet. Not to mention I can now use VPN, UPnP, advanced QoS, etc etc.. Upping the transmitter power to 70mv (from the default 28!) now gets me a signal almost a block and a half away! Now if i could just get up the Tx power on my usb adapter and iphone.. :)
  Not only that, but the thing runs cooler now even with the more than 2x power put into the antenna on the new firmware.
  
  A note about speeds: First, I am using a WUSB100 adapter. As I said with the stock firmware I would get about 20mbit from my bedroom to the office. I have no doors in my house so there is almost a line of sight between the two devices. The WUSB100 would always report about 135Mbit (yeah right lol!). This was with a 40Mhz channel in mixed mode. Now with DD-WRT I get about 30Mbit and its rock solid stable. The WUSB100 now reports I connect at 65Mbit.. Not too bad I guess. However there is no support in DD-WRT for wide channel on this device, I would be curious to see what performance would be with that enabled if it were possible. Also I am using SSL for the web interface and WPA2 again, and the CPU load on the router barely goes above 20% in most cases.
  
  So I give this hardware 5 stars. However I'm rating it a 1 star because out of the box this thing is basically an expensive paperweight. Plus you have to know what your doing and risk bricking the thing to get it to perform as advertised.
  
  Also note that I am a VERY heavy network user. I use a lot of P2P, video streaming (to xbox on the LAN), copying massive files around, full HD backups, etc. My problems may not be the case for the average home user.
  
  
  
• Fast and easy install !!
  By A3LBHXT3NJLM1D on 2008-03-03
  I puchased this directly from Amazon.com. It was so easy to set up, it comes with a set up CD that does everything for you! No problems using my laptop in the other end of the house, nice strong signal. The unit is sleek and small, takes up very small space on an overcrowded workspace.
  
  
• Excellent, easy install
  By A3C0ZVDORI8I2S on 2008-06-30
  I bought this to replace an older Linksys wireless-G router that got hit by lightning. It was simple to set up, and works very well. Access by wireless is noticeably faster than the G version I had. I have had several brands over the years, and Linksys (a division of Cisco) always seems to work well right out of the box. The range is also better than the older G version, we consistently get 1-2 bars more than the older version on all 3 of our PC's that are connected wirelessly.
  
  This router works great with the Linksys USB wireless card (WUSB600N) for the remote computers.
  
  Highly recommended, and the price is right too!
  
  
• Big house? Not for you.
  By A3S5YHP8RCII7O on 2008-07-22
  I ran this as N-Only and compared its performance and range to my existing WRT54GX2. For reference I am running Vista64 and use a Belkin N adapter (F5D8053). I am spanning a distance of three floors and about 80 feet horizontally with lots of obstructions (walls, windows, doors, etc).
  
  Range was significantly less than my older router, went from Fair/Good (2-3 bars) to Poor (1 bar) with frequent timeouts to the router. I assume the internal antennas in the WRT160N are not as capable as the external antennas on the WRT54.
  
  Performance was dramatically diminished. I clocked performance on SpeakEasy bandwidth tester. Direct (wired) connect to cable modem was 20+ MBPS. WRT54GX2 (wireless G) clocked at 9.8MBPS. WRT160N (wireless N) clocked at 2.8MPS. Obviously this is due to the poor range.
  
  If you are looking to traverse a long distance with lots of obstacles, this not the router for you.
  
  
  
• No Improvement from G Router; Some Disadvantages
  By A1CE171OWP5DPS on 2008-06-15
  I have had an older Netgear router (G) and have had long-term experiences with intermittent dropped connections and required modem resettings. The range was ok for my house, but not exceptional.
  
  I saw all the advertising for the new "N" routers and so decided to buy the 160N.
  
  Generally, the router has nothing to recommend it.
  
  -Set up was not smooth. Instructions were not tailored for DSL, so I had to research this on the internet.
  -After changing routers, I immediately had significantly more lost connections.
  -I checked speeds with both G and N notebooks and found the 160N generally to be slower.
  -I also lost my ability to use my SlingBox, which was the decisive disadvantage. There may well be some technical fixes for this, but after searching the internet and spending probably four hours, I found nothing that worked.
  
  In sum, I see no real advantage to moving to this N router.
  
  
• Works great -- if you can get it up and running
  By A2RWJ2XL2BWZT1 on 2008-02-24
  I bought the WRT160N router (Linksys WRT160N Ultra RangePlus Wireless-N Broadband Router) for use primarily with my 2 Macs.. and for a friend to share the Internet on his Dell.
  
  The easy install CD supplied in the box is for windows only. However, I have bootcamp & windows XP installed on one of the Macs and tried to set up the router via the easy install CD on the Windows partition. The install was unsuccessful.
  
  I called an IT friend of mine who came over and he manually configured the router to work.
  
  So far it's been at a consistent 54Mbs. Speeds are similar to the Ethernet line connection.
  
  If you are technically inclined or have access to an IT person, I have no problem recommending this product. I've been using it for 3 weeks thus far. Internet access works great both on Mac and Bootcamp partitions. The instructions for setting up the router however could be more "non-IT person on the street" user friendly.
  
  
• LinkSys Wireless - N - Broadband Router
  By A3LR18FF01HPG7 on 2008-03-06
  I've tried Belkin and NetGear products before and neither were as compact as this Linksys WRT160N UltraRangePlus Router. This product is exceptionally thin, easy to install, easy to use and also includes the best "tool" anyone would want, a LinkSysEasyLinkAdvisor. This item makes it simple to "repair connections" should something go wrong, or if one wants to add devices (such as a remote laptop computer with a Wireless Adapter). I'm simply blown away by this product and the price is very competitive.
  
  
• Sleek
  By AU3RORL8PZT18 on 2008-04-28
  Bought this to upgrade from my Linksys Wireless-G Router, and am glad I made the investment. The speed and range of the previous Linksys router was fine, and pretty reliable all-in-all. However, this new model definitely improves my overall experience by giving me faster speeds and a much broader broadcast that means I can get really strong signals from different rooms and floors of my house. I recommend Linksys products in general, and this one gets high scores as well. It's also got an incredibly sleek, cool-looking design compared to other routers.
  
  
• Keep Looking
  By A23DDRJWZHDII6 on 2008-06-13
  I bought this router to replace a Linksys WRT54G Wireless-G I had that was going bad. I thought that would be a good time to upgrade to the world of Wireless-N. Unfortunately, I chose this router.
  
  It looks great, setup was easy, and all that jazz.
  
  Then on day 2, I couldn't get a signal. I tried everything, but nothing worked. So I rebooted the router. As soon as the router came back up, my computer connected. I thought it was just a glitch.
  
  Day 3, I couldn't get a signal. I rebooted again, and again, the signal came back.
  
  Day 4, same thing. Hmmm... I'm noticing a pattern here
  
  Also, part of the allure of this router was the advertised "MIMO technology uses multiple radios to create a robust signal that travels farther and reduces dead spots". The signal doesn't even reach as far as my old WRT54G did.
  
  On the bright side, however, computers that are hard wired into the ports on the back of the router work wonderfully, and have not lost signal yet. But if I wanted everything plugged into my router, I wouldn't have spent the extra on the wireless capabilities.
  
  I'd say definitely not worth buying
  
  
• not good enough!!
  By A3T3NTIGE91L66 on 2008-03-02
  i bought this router from BestBuy. i have 6MBPS-12MBPS internet connection at home. (i have wireless N card on my laptop) i tested internet connection sitting 2feets from the router and max internet speed was 12MBPS. i went inside my room (may be around 10-15feets from the router) tested for the speed and it was only 700kbps(by the way, my room door's were closed). i don't think its worth $108 for this router. (94% reduction in speed huh!!!)
  
  
• Excellent router!
  By A9J2T449HLSTM on 2008-04-04
  So I finally upgraded from the Netgear WGR614 Wireless-G Router! The Netgear router did a good job over the years, but once we started frequently using our wireless products 60 feet away through several walls and plumbing the quality definitely started to fade, because our signal was poor and speeds were pretty slow.
  
  The first upgrade we made was getting the Belkin F5D8233-4 N Wireless Routerbut to our surprise despite the advanced technology and all- it got *worse* speed and coverage than the Netgear! We tried many different things to fix the problem, but we weren't able to so we returned the product and got our money back.
  
  We were a little skeptical on getting another N router after that, but we heard Linksys made high quality routers so we paid the extra money, and it was well worth it! This sleek looking router may be tiny, but it puts out a lot of power! We get near perfect signal 60 feet from the router through around 5 walls, plumbing, etc. and it is very fast! We also have a VoIP phone service and the call quality is better than ever! I highly recommend this product.
  
  
• Powerful, looks great -- tricky setup, poor Mac support
  By A3MNPX25EDDG5W on 2008-04-17
  We use Macs at home, but upon opening the WRT-160N I discovered that the install CD is Windows only. And unfortunately, everything in the box screams at you to "INSTALL CD FIRST!". I do use Parallels, so I used the CD in the Windows side, but it didn't go smoothly. Unable to detect internet connection, didn't configure the router properly, other hiccups.
  
  On Linksys' support page for the WRT-160N, there is a Mac option, but it links to the same documents used for Windows. Nothing actually addresses supporting the product on the Mac.
  
  After a bumpy installation, and finally getting the Macs connected to the network, the signal and speed are very impressive. (I'd been getting a lot of random disconnecting with our previous router, a D-Link DI-524 G).
  
  It does have a SecureEasy Setup button, which I was excited to try with our Brother MFC which supports it. But they would not "find" each other, no matter what I tried. I don't know whether the fault was with the Brother or the Linksys, but it didn't work.
  
  Overall, I'm impressed. The wireless connection has been rock-solid so far, and the router looks terrific. But Mac owners be warned, setup will likely be a hassle.
  
  
• Amazing... Super....Mind Blowing
  By A1BLC665J4J3M0 on 2008-05-29
  Normally I am very reluctant in writing reviews for the products that I buy. But for this one, I was kinda forced to write this up. I am sorta little bit of techie as I am a Software Professional. I had a Netgear (54MBPS) G router which I have been using since last 3 years. Suddenly it started giving me a lot of trouble and I tried probably every trick under the sun to fix this without much of the luck. Then I decided to upgrade my wireless router. As my new VAIO (CR-405E)supports the Network adapters for the 'N' mode, I thought to go for a draft-N router. After doing quite a bit of research, finally settled with this 160N from Linksys. The first look, I got amazed with it's size and shape. It's sleek and stylish. Then I took around 5-7 minutes to get it run and the speed of internet I got was mind blowing. I ran a upload/download tool to see the performance and I got shocked when I saw it can support upto 3-5 MBPS of download speed (As my ISP is providing around 6-7 MBPS of download speed). Connection never dropped. Since then, never had any issues with the internet connection at all. Overall, "As of now" I am absolutely delighted to have this as my Wireless Router.... :).
  
  
• Signal range isn't wide as expected
  By A2EYJ13VM856QS on 2008-06-07
  After moving to a bigger place, I needed a router with wider range so I bought this product to replace my old Wireless-G router (WRT54GC). The room where I place the router and the room where I use my laptop is about 35 feet away, but the signal of this router is either "very low" or "none", which is about same as my old Wireless-G router. So after spending hours on talking to Linksys support (as usual) and trying out different configurations, he told me that I have too many walls so that signal can't travel. So since the signal didn't improve at all, I decided to return it. This router might work better for people who lives in wide open space, but if you have walls between the router and the device, you might want to consider the different options.
  
  
• Easy
  By A17JFGAW02A47M on 2008-06-08
  This was a VERY easy product to set up and start using. I would describe myself as having average to slightly above-average technical knowledge. The instructions were EASY to follow and set-up took no more than 5 minutes in total (total actual time!).
  
  I have a 4,300+/- sq.ft house and the range is good enough that the modem and router are on one end of the 2nd floor of the house, and my laptops are on the 1st floor on the opposite side of the house and they get a good connection.
  
  I have had Comcast broadband for the last month and I have thought that it was no faster than the AT&T DSL service I had previously had. Since I started using this router, I have noticed the internet to be remarkably faster.
  
  Anyway, I would recommend the product as being easy to install, providing a good connection to wireless devices, and providing a fast internet experience.
  
  
• Performance: 5 stars - Ease of Use: 2 stars
  By A3Q6MJSYWP048F on 2008-06-14
  I was a little concerned when I read the reviews that claimed difficult set-ups, but what the heck? I've set up a bunch of wireless networks and didn't expect any problems. Boy was I wrong...
  
  The router set-up wizard did a very nice job, but seemed to have problems addressing my workstation once the hard-wired connection was removed. After powering down and restarting the cable modem, router and computer, I got connections on my workstation and my laptop. Then, when I tried to add security (WPA), everything broke again. After 3 hours I gave up and went to bed.
  
  Next morning, I reset the router and started from scratch. Amazingly, it went smoothly this time and I was up and running with WPA on all systems within 30 minutes. Nothing in my experience can account for the issues I had with this.
  
  Performance? Ah, well, let's just say it was worth the effort. I'm running one distant workstation with an "n" wireless adaptor, plus a laptop and my wife's system on "g" adaptors. ALL of them are much snappier and the distant workstation now has a superb connection (which I never enjoyed before).
  
  Bottom line, go for it. You may struggle (like I did) or you may have a simple set-up (like I did), but once it's done, I predict you'll be pleased with the result.
  
  
• Lots of setup options
  By A2XV6PEFTRHD7Z on 2008-07-05
  I have this router installed in our basement office. I have set up a lot of equipment and normally bypass the installation disks that come with routers, but this disk was dead easy to use and had my network up and running quickly. Just make sure to shut down any firewall you may have running until you have finished the install disk. Speed and coverage are great, and I am able to watch Netflix streaming movies and our slingbox with no lag up in our bedroom on the second floor. As far as complaints with laptops dropping the connection, I went into the options on the router and gave my laptop a permanent ip address. Simply type the router's ip address into your browser's address bar. This will bring up a much more thorough interface to configure the router. The help manual on the included setup disk can give step by step instructions on how to do this for those that are not sure. Once at the web based router setup, on the first page that comes up, simply click DHCP reservation in the center of the page. You will see devices that are currently connected to your router. Simply check the box next to your laptop and choose add client. Now you have given your laptop a permanent reserved ip address. This stopped my laptop from dropping its connection. We are running an xbox 360, two laptops, two hard wired computers, one gaming adaptor, a Wii, one slingbox, and a old wireless b palm pilot with no connection drops or lag time. Highly recommend this router.
  
  
• Awesome choice for Mac owners, speed issues aside
  By A31Y5C2D5VMO52 on 2008-08-12
  I have to start this review by admitting this router wasn't my first choice. After struggling with an old 802.11B router for a while, I decided it was time for an upgrade and went shopping. After a great deal of time and research, I settled on the Belkin F5D8233-4 N Wireless Router, an inexpensive Draft-N solution that got good reviews.
  
  It worked well -- for about a month. Then, the router and my MacBook decided they were no longer going to play nice. My connection would drop every ten seconds, and sometimes it would fail to reconnect for hours on end. The Belkin, I decided, must be destroyed. I read the reviews on this Linksys model, and decided to go with it instead.
  
  Thankfully, this solved the problem with my MacBook. Indeed, I have that laptop and another MacBook Pro hooked up to the Linksys, both without a single connection issue. Other items on the network are a desktop PC, a multi-function printer, a VOIP line, two iPhones, and a Tivo. All have behaved well. Better yet, the frequent power blinks we get here don't seem to phase the router -- after a brief power cycle, it gets back on its feet quickly.
  
  The range appears to be quite good, but I have to admit that my duplex isn't exactly cavernous. Nonetheless, I've taken the MacBook and the iPhone well into the backyard, putting some distance and a couple of brick walls between the devices and the router, and have experienced no loss of coverage.
  
  Speed, unfortunately, is the only spot where I've been less than enthused. Don't get me wrong -- it's pretty quick, especially if you're accustomed to an 802.11B connection. However, the Belkin I first tried put this Linksys to shame. Well, when it worked, at least. It was blazing fast, and I found myself a little disappointed at being slowed down. I haven't done any official tests for this, however. Moreover, the Linksys is plenty fast, and I'm a relatively high-demand user, much to my ISP's chagrin.
  
  Setup is easy and, if it's important to you, this router is one of the most attractive on the market. Better yet, I didn't have any MAC address issues like I've had in the past with other routers (that is, Belkin). Within 10 minutes, I was up and running, cursing Belkin and praising Linksys the whole time.
  
  All together, this router is a solid purchase. Reliability has been wonderful, and I can live with slightly decreased performance. If you're a highly wired weirdo like me, don't hesitate to buy!
  
  
• It's small in size, but the coverage range is real Ultra
  By A2STODY4B58XXB on 2008-08-18
  Our business building has 8 offices on 2 floors (metal-studs construction in all partition walls). Since we experienced some difficulties in receiving wireless phone (including cell phone) signal in some area inside the building, we were very concerned about using a wireless network. But amazingly, this small Ultra Range Plus can work nicely to transfer strong signals wirelessly across all offices..
  
  
• Great product, truly long range
  By A1BXCRN64DXAEG on 2008-08-28
  I bought this for replacing an older Linksys WRT54GL, which has trouble to reach a room at the other corner in my house. I have a Windows laptop, a Macbook pro, a linux desktop, and iPhone. All of them are happily connected with this new router from any location in my house without any problem.
  
  One thing I would like to mention: During the initial setup, wizard does not work -- I suspect it is because my ATT DSL router uses 192.168.1.1 and by default the linksys router tries to use the same network for LAN. After I changed it to 192.168.10.1 for LAN on the linksys router (as I did for my older WRT54GL), now the wireless network works fine.
  
  

• Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition FULL VERSION with SP2
• Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007
• Norton Internet Security 2009
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 7
• Quicken Deluxe 2009

• Linksys Dual-Band Wireless-N USB Network Adapter, WUSB600N
• Linksys WUSB300N Wireless-N USB Network Adapter
• Linksys Wireless-N PCI Adapter WMP300N
• Motorola Surfboard SB5101 Cable Modem
• Western Digital My Passport Essential 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive WDME3200TN (Midnight Black)