Linksys E1200 Wi-Fi Wireless Router with Linksys Connect Including Parental Controls (Renewed)

AT THE END BELOW I GIVE SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO MAKE THIS ROUTER PERFORM AT IT'S PEAK (for novices).This router is amazing for the price. You can't beat the bang to buck ratio here. The only problem here is that there's clearly a model lottery going on. Some are getting the E1200v1 while others are getting the E1200v2 at random. There's no way to choose, & you REALLY want that v2 model. It has double the RAM of the v1 among other things & you can do a lot more with it in terms of installing CFW etc. I was lucky enough to get a v2. It performs better than its v1 counter part & is immune to a security flaw present in the v1s. As soon as you get your v2 (if you get one) & set it up, you'd want to go & download the latest firmware build from Linksys support & install it to the router. The v2 here comes with the 2.0.02 2012 build. You want the 2.0.06 2013 build to clear up the bugs & security flaws the router comes with.Now that we're past that...this router is FAST. I mean FAST, & VERY stable. I had a Belkin-G before & couldn't download 500MB without the connection dropping constantly on me. With the E1200v2, I've been downloading 4GB files all day & the connection hasn't dropped once, & it's downloading way faster than my Belkin even in Mixed Mode. I was afraid of the "refurbished" status of this product. As someone who studies & deals in I.T. & tech, I generally don't practice buying used or refurbished electronic products. It's out of the question for me. However, I took the chance with this router & I haven't regretted it. There's a wealth of features to enjoy even without using CFW on it, & the interface is easy enough for beginners to get a grasp on it.If you want this router to perform at it's best there are a few settings you'd want to change from the get-go. I'll give you a heads up:1. Apps & Gaming>>>QoS: Disable WMM support2. Wireless>>>>Basic Wireless Settings: Change Config View to manual, set your Channel to either 1, 6, or 11. If all the devices in your home support the same type of wireless standard (eg. wireless-n, wireless-g etc), set it to broadcast that standard ALONE in Network Mode instead of using "Mixed".3. Wireless>>>>>Wireless Security: Just like with your signal standard above, if all your devices support the same security protocol, select it from the drop down list instead of using a Mixed Mode. Select either WPA2 or WPA (preferably WPA2 if all your devices support it).4. Setup>>>>IPv6 Setup: If you don't know what IPv6 is or don't know whether you're using it or not, chances are...you aren't. Disable it.There you have it. Hope you guys get the same great performance from this router as I did.

The ad copy on this router did not originally state why it was less expensive than other listings for it. I looked carefully and there was no statement that it was "refurbished" and lacking in a full warranty. That listing copy was similar to what I got when I ordered and what I got by email when the item was shipped: no mention of refurbished. Then, all of a sudden I got an email saying that the shipment was delayed by extreme weather and that email suddenly listed the router as "refurbished." Grrr.I ordered this router because I had installed an identical one for my daughter in her house and I wanted to be able to work via the phone doing "tech support" if she needed help--the idea was that I could go through my menus and she would see about the same thing in her menus. I decided not to go to the trouble of shipping it back due to the deception but to instead accept it with a short term warranty and a $15 savings so I could have it then without further delay.So, the router? It's okay. As many reviews of it have stated, it is a bit weak in signal strength. My previous wireless routers transmit from my back room office to my livingroom with robust signals and this one comes through with lower signal strength. However, it does come through and it is twice the speed of my previous router and that makes it good enough. It's not a gaming router but it's fast enough for me to stream movies to my Roku and Sony BluRay player without issue. It stays connected and it is easy to set up.I set it up in my daughter's house starting with the Windows installation software it came with. That was easy enough and had reasonable explanations so that I think my daughter would have had no trouble doing that on her own. I modified a couple of things using the settings in the routers internal browser menu, bypassing the setup disk. That was so much like my previous Linksys/Cisco router menus that for my installation I went straight to that method since it didn't require me to use Windows machine and it was easily setup and tweaked from my Linux machines.In short, it is a good basic router at a bargain price and I'm happy with it--it serves my purpose in having the same model as my daughter's and it works faster than my previous Linksys. If you have a house where you're only going through a few walls to get from the router to the machines it will do it with its modest signal. I've not tried going out in the yard because it's not lawn chair weather.