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

This router, on its own merit, would get 3 stars. It works well enough as a basic router, it gives you wifi access, and that's about it. It lacks a lot of features that would make it great... guest wifi, website filtering and controls, etc. HOWEVER - it so happens that this inexpensive router is popular enough to be blessed with DD-WRT support, and that's where it earns 5 stars. In fact, Cisco even sells a version with DD-WRT pre-installed (for almost twice as much), so you know it's legit. What DD-WRT support essentially means is that you can flash a custom firmware onto it that allows it to have all the features you could ever want, like a separate guest wi-fi, fine-grained access controls and website/service blocking, tuning signal range/quality (by setting TX power), virtual lans separated by physical ethernet port, OpenVPN support (on the E1200 v2 model), captive portal hotspot, ssh, cron/scripting, etc. My two must-haves are the ones I mentioned at the top: 1) Guest wifi is almost a necessity these days, as it's common to allow guests Internet access at your house, but probably don't want to give them access to all your devices, shared folders, etc. 2) With fine-grained access controls, you can easily do things like "disable NetFlix during the school week only on the kids' iPad", block websites by URL or keyword, or disable bit torrent (for when unscrupulous in-laws come to visit.) While more technically difficult to setup and use, I'm also excited about the OpenVPN service. It allows you to connect your 3G/4G phones and tablets to your home network from anywhere. Once setup, I will access my network-connected devices at home (DVR and streaming, webcams/monitors, home automation, etc) from anywhere. This is a ridiculously powerful feature set for an inexpensive router, and it's all possible via the free DD-WRT project. This router is one of the supported DD-WRT targets -- and for that reason, I give it 5 stars. A great value with DD-WRT. Without... Meh, it's not bad for the price, but it's a very basic router. A side note about flashing DD-WRT onto this router - the reset button is hidden on the bottom of this unit - you need a toothpick or small screwdriver to press it. The blue button next to the power port is not the reset button.

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.

value for money & worthy deal with this price. on top of all amazing service by amazon & seller. I am using it for quite time now... i waited fro few months to post views,...its really good wifi router. Easy to configure, and less power consumption, and very reliable. Provides decent level of device controls and supports all levels of security. In this segment best suited for domestic purpose.

Very easy to setup. It is even easier to change the firmware to DD-WRT if you don't like the stock firmware which is very poor on parental control. I changed and it and works to my satisfaction.

Product was not in Amazon Packing but was is in brand new condition and in its original product packaging. Installation took time since Linksys is a professional device and has good security features and a sturdy device and it is also under Cisco. Also I didn't use their quickconnect software. Operating System or Firmware is bit slow when accessed from Browser. However, it's a smart device and one can implement couple of security features with help of Internet Providers or IT Network Engineer. I also tested Netfix, Amazon works perfect on HD TV and Mobile even at its last range available in my bedroom.

Product was good but the seller doesn't give you the gst credit if you are purchase it for commercial use. Also amazon doesn't do anything about this matter. Thanks amazon we don't buy things like this.

I love the way the router was functioning, didn't let down till now. But the price is a bit on the higher side I would say, compared to the other products in market. Had an initial glitch during the software installation, but that was because our OS was not updated. But all trouble shooting tips are available on the net. Overall, if money is not an issue, go for this