Linksys WRT150N Wireless N Home Router with 4-Port Switch Mimo
- Product Type - Wireless Access Pt/H
- Warranty - 1 year
- LEDs: Power, Ethernet(1~4), Internet, Wireless, Security
Product Description
The Linksys WRT150N Wireless-N Home Router lets you share a high-speed Internet connection and reach large areas of the home or office. The Home Router uses MIMO radio technology with multiple radios to create a robust signal that travels up to 3 times farther than Wireless-G. Unlike ordinary wireless networking technologies that are confused by signal reflections, MIMO actually uses these reflections to reduce dead spots in the wireless coverage area. With Wireless-N, the farther away you are, the more speed advantage you get. Delivering faster speeds at up to 9 times faster and 3 times the range of Wireless-G. Wireless-N is the next generation of wireless with advanced radio technology that increases speed with coverage & virtually eliminates dead spots.
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Linksys WRT150N Wireless N Home Router with 4-Port Switch Mimo
- Electronics: 0 pages
- Publisher: Linksys
- Label: Linksys
- Studio: Linksys
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 97 reviews
- Sales Rank in Electronics: #9729
Click on Product Listings for Details!
Avg. Customer Review:
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Awesome! But ONLY with DD-WRT 2008-11-06
Comment: Many of you have probably seen references to DD-WRT in other reviews and wonder what it is. It is a firmware upgrade to your router that was created by an opensource group called, as you may have guessed, DD-WRT. This upgrade is available only through their website, not through Linksys.
>> Motivation
Now first, why do you need DD-WRT? Because it transforms this router from a piece of junk into a high-performance wireless machine capable of almost seamlessly streaming high-definition video and high-speed Internet games.
We had this router for about 2 months and were terribly frustrated with it. It constantly disconnected us and was just a lot slower than we had expected a Wireless-N router to be. Our daughter's Powerbook constantly got dropped from it, causing her to have restart her wireless connection several times a day.
Frustrated, I looked up these Amazon reviews to see if there was something I missed. Then I found a review referencing DD-WRT. After some hesitation, I tried it and it worked. I checked our daughter's laptop and it worked fine for the first time since we got the router. However, then I went to Hulu to test the download speed and was blown away. The DD-WRT had turned our once-modest router into a freaking hulk. It now ran as fast wirelessly as it once did only when directly connected by ethernet.
>> How to Install DD-WRT
Now in my story above, I abbreviated the installation process. In reality, learning how to install this firmware took quite a bit more time than I felt it should have. And I am a Computer Science graduate student finished with my PhD coursework. I can't imagine how intimidating the installation procedure must look to the average computer user.
So I wanted to lay out the steps for this specific router so that people can reference it here on Amazon without having to waste their time browsing through documentation.
First, you need to download the firmware file for the WRT150N (this router). It is a little harder to find than your average download:
1. Go to the DD-WRT main site (google "DD-WRT")
2. Click Downloads
3. Click v24
4. Click Broadcom
5. Click Linksys
6. Click WRT150N_v1.1 (you should check the bottom of your router to make sure you have 1.1; you probably do)
7. Click dd-wrt.v24_mini_generic.bin (you want the "mini" and "generic" v24)
8. Save it
Next, you need to reset the router to factory settings. This will erase all your settings so take screen shots of them if you need them. Otherwise, just reset them manually like you did when you first set up the router.
1. Hold down the RED reset button on the back of the router using a pencil or pen for 10 seconds. The power light should start blinking then stop after a while.
2. Unplug the router
3. Plug it back in and wait until it is fully powered on
Next, you need to install the firmware. You can only do it with Internet Explorer because for some reason all other browsers are unstable. Also, you should only do it through an ethernet connection because you could ruin your router if you use the unstable wireless connection:
1. Connect to your router directly with an ethernet cable and turn off your wireless connection on your computer.
2. Using INTERTNET EXPLORER, go to 192.168.1.1. The username is blank and the password is 'admin'.
3. Go to Administration > Firmware Upgrade
4. Browse and open the firmware file you downloaded earlier
5. Wait
You will probably be taken to the DD-WRT screen. You should reset to factory settings again using the method above. But now you should have your brand new smokin' router. The interface for DD-WRT is very similar to the one used by Linksys with almost all the same menu names. An important difference though is that now the USERNAME is 'root' (the password is still 'admin').
Just reset all your old settings and you are done. You can now access and administrate the router wirelessly (it will be called 'dd-wrt' by default instead of 'linksys'). One note: I had to change the router name through the wired connection. But after that, I was able to administrate wirelessly.
If you run into any issues go to the WRT main site, click on Community, then Wiki. However I don't think most people should have issues.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Linksys vs Belkin 2008-11-04
Comment: For my first experience with wi-fi to go with my new laptop, I chose a Linksys N router WRT150N from Wal-Mart for $79. Easy setup but was disappointed in the range and reliability of the signal. Even two feet away the wireless signal was not often available and I had to go with a wired connection. I even changed my cordless phones to the new DECT 6.0 technology to eliminate that potential interference but signal wasn't any better.
Frustrated, I bought a Belkin N router F5D8233-4 for $59 from Amazon. Unit arrived with a burned out front panel lamp and had a security password placed on it (supposed to come out of the box unsecured) A call to Belkin support quickly removed the password and security and Amazon exchanged the unit free of charge for one with a working panel lamp. I love this unit. The Belkin signal is always there and very reliable. Not sure range is any different but a reliable signal was my first priority and I now have it. Nicer looking than the Linksys also. Belkin was cheaper and better.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Great router, but not for multilevel/older homes. 2008-10-13
Comment: This has been one of the easiest routers to set up and work with. My issue with it is its signal output. Regardless of playing with the built in antenna (big problem for this little router--yep...not removable), I can't get signal to the other side of the house.
The house I have is an old colonial (135 yrs old)--brick and plaster, lots of doors and hallways, three floors. Access point is on one side of the house and cannot be moved. I can get the signal to travel vertically down 2 floors, but cannot get it to travel 30 feet to the front of the house on the same floor. Something to keep in mind if you are planning out your network. It may be better to have a router with removable antennae or else create relays by reconfiguring routers.
But don't get me wrong, this device does work well. Easy setup. No problems if you want to configure game traffic to specific ports and setup gaming servers. I just wish the antennae were removable so I could put a booster on.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Disappointing, at best... but there is hope yet! 2008-10-06
Comment: I have been a Linksys user for several years. I had a G router with remote hi-gain antennas prior to this router. I was happy with that setup but the router was getting old and starting to act up a bit. So I decided to upgrade to this N router and N adapter for my HP notebook.
Well the old G did not act up near as much as this router does... I have to reboot this thing almost daily. It either will not connect (set IP address) or the speed is all over the board... starting out at 270 Mbps and will drop to 1 Mbps, float around 1 and 50 but never re-establish itself completely.
I have tried running it with no encryption, WPA2 personal, WEP... nothing seems to impact its reliability one way or the other. It has the latest firmware...
I am truly disgusted with the Linksys product.
Update - 10/19/08 - well once I tried many different frequencies, I finally found one that has very little interference from surrounding wireless phones, etc. The signal has become stable and I do not lose connection like I did. With that said, I am still disappointed in the range of this draft-N product (compared to what I had before) but now that the signal has stabilized, I am satisfied enough to not throw it out the window (how's that for a product satisfaction statement?).
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Router N 2008-09-15
Comment: I like this product a lot. My kids are using their DS Lites with it and enjoy having competition around the world. I have a MAC and enjoy using it. Will b adding more to my network.
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Linksys WRT150N Wireless N Home Router with 4-Port Switch Mimo
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