Linksys by Cisco WAG160N Wireless-N Modem Router – 300 mbps (for ADSL / telephone line connections i.e BT Broadband) Reviews
Linksys by Cisco WAG160N Wireless-N Modem Router – 300 mbps (for ADSL / telephone line connections i.e BT Broadband)
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(out of 108 reviews)
List Price: £79.99
Price: £57.99
Review by Traveller for Linksys by Cisco WAG160N Wireless-N Modem Router – 300 mbps (for ADSL / telephone line connections i.e BT Broadband)
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This router gave me untold problems from day one and was eventually returned which Linksys diagnosed as faulty. The router provided me with a wireless speed of 180mbps from a 10m distance. Router model does not work on WPA2 security settings – continually drops signal – Linksys confirmed this is an ongoing problem with this model – therefore this router doesnt do what it says on the tin. I spent over 6 pounds in calls to Linksys before it was diagnosed as faulty. After reading the various reviews I dont believe the big manufacturers have got a grip on N wireless technology or they are having quality control issues. I am going to stick with wireless G technology for now and keep using our O2 router.
Review by Dan for Linksys by Cisco WAG160N Wireless-N Modem Router – 300 mbps (for ADSL / telephone line connections i.e BT Broadband)
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I rarely review items on Amazon, but felt compelled to write a short review of this product to counter the other rather negative reviews.
I bought this, after reading high praise on various websites such as pc pro, to replace an aging BT voyager router.
This is not a router for the technically timid. Setup involves an awkward looking web-based config – however, once you obtain the right settings from your broadband provider the fields are easy to fill – in fact, for me the default settings “just worked”. There is a CD based config package which is PC only. As a Mac user I couldn’t use it. Perhaps this makes the config easier.
One further potential problem for the wifi newbie. The unit is provided without wireless security enabled by default – a pretty bad practice, which encourages poor security in the uninitiated.
Still, for the technically competent, however, this router is a dream. Once set up the performance is astonishing – I had not imagined how much my old router was holding me back! Even webbrowsing is faster now. Wireless transfers of large files are very fast and smooth.
Very very impressed. I strongly recommend this router.
Oh yeah, and it looks very cool too.
Edit: Oh dear. One week later and I am returning the unit to Amazon. Why? The unit has a very annoying bug – after it has been running for 48hours or so all apple Bonjour services are blocked – this means that Apple to Apple networking stops working. Very frustrating, as otherwise the unit is brill.
Bottom line: 1 star for Apple users 4.5 stars for everyone else.
Review by Chris B for Linksys by Cisco WAG160N Wireless-N Modem Router – 300 mbps (for ADSL / telephone line connections i.e BT Broadband)
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This is a great looking router and its wired functions works very well indeed. However, it is a wireless router, and that is the bit that does not work. All the following comments refer to wireless clients only. The DHCP server will frequently fail to allocate an IP address when the client restarts. Result – no network connection until a router reboot. Secondly, if you allocate a fixed IP address to get round that problem, file and printer sharing does not work – clients cannot see each other.
The Linksys forums have lots of comments on this but Linksys has been totally silent on indicating whether they intend to fix the problem. What is more, as users become more frustrated and criticise the product, they delete the forum posts.
If you do not need wireless, then save some money and get a wired-only router. If you want wireless, this router will let you down.
Review by John Nunn for Linksys by Cisco WAG160N Wireless-N Modem Router – 300 mbps (for ADSL / telephone line connections i.e BT Broadband)
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After having used a number of different ADSL routers over the past few years, I decided to try this model because of the reliability of CISCO in the comercial world. I was not willing to spend several hundred pounds on a cisco model but Linksys are CISCO’s consumer brand. I have been very happy with the performance and reliability of this device. The configuration is simple and powerful with very precise control over firewall rules. The wireless settings are versitle and allow for a large number of devices to connect. I have had no problems connecting several laptops and smart devices to this router despite some of the devices being fairly old.
Review by Ian Wiebkin for Linksys by Cisco WAG160N Wireless-N Modem Router – 300 mbps (for ADSL / telephone line connections i.e BT Broadband)
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I saw this router came top in the Which? review and despite some bad reviews on Amazon I decided to go ahead and buy it. This was a bad move. Initially the router was easy to set up and worked well initially.
About 3 months after purchase it started losing connection to the Internet which was resolved by unplugging and plugging back in the telephone line or re-booting the router. This problem became more and more frequent and then to top it all I had problems connecting wirelessly. Although my desktop PC could connect to the Internet OK the laptops in the house could only ‘see’ a local connection. Even when I was able to connect wirelessly, the router also started to drop wireless connections regularly. I installed the latest firmware on the Linksys site (V1.00.12) to no avail.
I used the Linksys online agent facility to try and resolve the issue. They told me I needed to carry out a ‘full reset’ on the router.
1. Press and hold the reset button for 30 seconds.
2. Then, unplug the power keep holding down the reset button for another 30 Seconds.
3. Plug back the power back in, and keep holding down the reset button for 30 Seconds.
4. Release the reset button.
This seemed to work for a while but then the problem came back. I seemed to be able to persuade it to let laptops connect wirelessly with no encryption, but as soon as I introduced encryption it failed.
I used the Linksys online agent facility again. This time they asked me to upgrade the firmware to “the most stable firmware for the router.” This turned out to (V1.00.10) which surprisingly was the firmware that the router was delivered with! I aired my surprise and concern but did as I was asked. They told me that if this did not cure the problem that they would send me a new one if it was still under warranty. I said it was as I only bought it in January 2009 – although the conversation was very worrying and went like this:
Dave: Serial Number: SSH00H405937
Model WAG160N-UK
Description WAG160N-UK, Wireless-N ADSL2+ Gateway
Orig. Manufactured: Apr 01 2008
HW Warranty Expiration (est.) Oct 23 2009 [09:50:21 AM]
Ian: I’m really not sure what you are saying – are you suggesting that the warranty starts from the date you manufacture an item rather than the date I buy it? [09:47:11 AM]
Dave: I am afraid Yes. [09:51:38 AM]
I’m sure this would stand up under UK consumer law but disturbing all the same.
Anyway the ‘firmware downgrade’ still did not cure the issue and I contacted them again.
This time the agent promised me that I would get an e-mail ‘tomorrow’ telling me how to return the router. No e-mail arrived so I e-mailed them again but I got no reply.
In exasperation and two months after starting this ‘quest’ eventually I got them to give me a returns code via another agent. But do note: Under the warranty agreement you as a customer have to pay the postage costs to the Netherlands to return the item. You also only get a refurbished router in return.
I haven’t received my replacement yet, but I think the experience so far is worth posting a review. Just Google ‘WAG160N problem’ to see how many people are experiencing issues.
In essence Linksys (Cisco) have got something VERY wrong with this router – and their customer service leaves a lot to be desired. I will not be buying another Linksys router!
In case you are wondering if I am a bit of a nupmty and don’t know one end of a router from another – I am an IT Consultant and have worked in the industry for 25 years.