Routing as it should be (Linksys Compact Wireless-G Broadband Router WRT54GC)

Member Name: Donf18

Product:	Linksys Compact Wireless-G Broadband Router WRT54GC
Date:	16/01/09 (213 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fast reliable and secure

Disadvantages: none it's brill

A recent problem with my WiFi router caused me to have to seek a replacement. With so many different models on the market each with supposedly superior claims to the previous it seemed like it was going to be a long and arduous search. To a point it did prove a bit off-putting so I decided that I would set criteria and reduce my choices that way.
The first criteria I set was a price limit of £50 since the only thing really wireless is my son's Xbox, and although he does use it frequently for online gaming I felt that any greater outlay should be covered by a token gesture from him, this gesture was needless to say not forthcoming................so £50 it was. After making this small decision the rest seem to fall into place pretty quickly, and very soon I had ordered my Linksys WRT54GC from those very nice people at Amazon.

2 days later it arrived, and unaccustomed as I am to reading instructions I thought just this once I might just have a bit of a browse. This was mainly because I figured that the last router packed up prematurely because of something I did, which of course it didn't since being a man I'm flawless.
I had previously as part of my research checked out some reviews on various sites and they had greatly influenced my decision, being with Virgin Media can cause certain irritating side affects and things don't always work as sweetly as they should.

I unplugged the old faulty router after first switching of my PC. I then proceeded to fit up the new router. I them did the obvious and switched on the PC, it took considerably longer to boot up than normal and my first instinct was **** I've done it again and then I remembered............I'm flawless be patient. True enough the PC booted up and too my amazement, absolutely everything was fine including the router connection to my son's Xbox. I hadn't done anything, I hadn't followed any instructions, used any supplied CD,s, or changed any settings, it simply worked straight out of the box.
The router transmits and receives at 54mbs and has 3 levels of security, which can be set to one's preferences by changing the settings on the routers home page. The address for this is on the supplied information and set up CD. All the router settings are set from this page where a password can be set-up to avoid unwanted hands changing things. It is a very robust feeling unit by that I mean it's really quite heavy compared to other router I've tried which gives it a feeling of being solid and reliable. The router has a built in firewall which can also be setup using the home page.

The home page is nothing spectacular but then there is no need for it to since it is probably only going to be accessed a few times to get the settings they way the user prefers. There are options to change:-
Wireless Security
General Security ( i.e access to homepage )
Setup
Applications and Gaming
Administration

Each of these sections has a sub menu section underneath whereby you can finely tune your router, although apart from the Wireless Security part there really isn't much need o change anything in normal circumstances. There are to many options of which I haven't a clue and just leave well alone.
Once you have changed your settings and passworded the homepage you can save them into the router memory and that's it all done. Just sit back and enjoy effortless wireless connection which is fast and secure. I have had absolutely NO problems with this unit, which does have a reset feature which will reset to factory status should any problem prove unsolvable. This probably is mainly a handy thing for those who might forget their password and find themselves unable to change a setting.

All in all a superb piece of equipment which works and looks really well, I eventually decided to give my son it a part of his Christmas, since in normal circumstances he would have had to cough up the £39.99. I'm well pleased with this unit and I believe more to the point that my son's Xbox gaming has never had a single disconnect and he therefore is rising in the ranks of Pro Evo Online. Good for him and even better from Linksys.
As of yet I have had no need to use the customer support and can only report second hand that when required they provide the same excellent service as their very excellent product.

Summary: A superb piece of kit

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