Cisco Linksys E4200 Maximum Performance Wireless-N Router Reviewed
- Thread starter altdel
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EagleIDEyes
New Around Here
Better in every way!
I was in search of a router to replace my DIR-655 which had a radio failure recently. I purchased the E4200 and having been running some basic tests. I can say that so far I am quite pleased with the improvements over my DIR-655. My observations so far...
1.) Aesthetics. This router is very nicely designed. Internal antennas and sleek curving lines. Also, there are no retina burning status LED's like the DIR-655 had. The blue lights in the DIR-655 would illuminate the ceiling over my entertainment center and were quite distracting. The Cisco E4200 has a single status LED that is soft white and doesn't blink unless there is a problem with the router. The E4200 does have the typical LED indicators on each wired ethernet port, but these are not too bright are on the backside of the router and can be turned off if desired.
2.) Setup was a breeze. I still have a little more tweaking I might do but the configuration of the router is very straightforward if you have a little experience in this area. I did not try the Cisco Connect software and doubt I ever will unless it turns out that some features are only accessible through Cisco Connect. I can say that the Guest network feature does not require Cisco Connect to enable. I had heard that previous E series routers required Cisco Connect software to enable the Guest network. I'm not sure why Cisco would set such a low limit on Guest network connections (10). That is fine for me, but might be too limiting for certain applications. Also, I haven't poked around the config pages for a Cisco router since I replaced my old WRT-54. It's amazing how consistent these config pages have remained.
3.) Performance. It is still too early to tell for sure, but wireless performance seems to be significantly improved over my DIR-655. I say this on the basis that I have fewer disconnects and my range seems to have improved. I keep the router on top of my home entertainment center which is centrally located in my house. My biggest wireless challenge is getting a good signal out in my workshop (detached building) which is about 150ft away through two interior and two exterior walls. The walls are at an oblique angle which probably doesn't help the situation. With the DIR-655 I would register 1-2 bars and achieve a maximum link speed of 11Mb/s (often 5Mb/s or less). Worse, the connection would frequently drop and need to be reestablished. So far the connection with the E4200 has not failed. The E4200 connects with a stable link speed of 26Mb/s and it hasn't dropped once. All of this testing was done with the 2.4GHz radio. I have not tested the 5G radio and probably won't attemp it for this long range connection. Every other location in my house (large 2 story) registers 4-5 bars of signal strength and good connection speeds.
All in all, I am very pleasantly surprised at the improvements with the E4200. All routers are definately not equal and so far the E4200 looks like a winner. I'm not sure if I would have had the same positive results with the Netgear 3700 which was the other router I was considering. Perhaps the 3700 would have had similarly good performance, but you can't beat the aesthetics of the E4200.
I was in search of a router to replace my DIR-655 which had a radio failure recently. I purchased the E4200 and having been running some basic tests. I can say that so far I am quite pleased with the improvements over my DIR-655. My observations so far...
1.) Aesthetics. This router is very nicely designed. Internal antennas and sleek curving lines. Also, there are no retina burning status LED's like the DIR-655 had. The blue lights in the DIR-655 would illuminate the ceiling over my entertainment center and were quite distracting. The Cisco E4200 has a single status LED that is soft white and doesn't blink unless there is a problem with the router. The E4200 does have the typical LED indicators on each wired ethernet port, but these are not too bright are on the backside of the router and can be turned off if desired.
2.) Setup was a breeze. I still have a little more tweaking I might do but the configuration of the router is very straightforward if you have a little experience in this area. I did not try the Cisco Connect software and doubt I ever will unless it turns out that some features are only accessible through Cisco Connect. I can say that the Guest network feature does not require Cisco Connect to enable. I had heard that previous E series routers required Cisco Connect software to enable the Guest network. I'm not sure why Cisco would set such a low limit on Guest network connections (10). That is fine for me, but might be too limiting for certain applications. Also, I haven't poked around the config pages for a Cisco router since I replaced my old WRT-54. It's amazing how consistent these config pages have remained.
3.) Performance. It is still too early to tell for sure, but wireless performance seems to be significantly improved over my DIR-655. I say this on the basis that I have fewer disconnects and my range seems to have improved. I keep the router on top of my home entertainment center which is centrally located in my house. My biggest wireless challenge is getting a good signal out in my workshop (detached building) which is about 150ft away through two interior and two exterior walls. The walls are at an oblique angle which probably doesn't help the situation. With the DIR-655 I would register 1-2 bars and achieve a maximum link speed of 11Mb/s (often 5Mb/s or less). Worse, the connection would frequently drop and need to be reestablished. So far the connection with the E4200 has not failed. The E4200 connects with a stable link speed of 26Mb/s and it hasn't dropped once. All of this testing was done with the 2.4GHz radio. I have not tested the 5G radio and probably won't attemp it for this long range connection. Every other location in my house (large 2 story) registers 4-5 bars of signal strength and good connection speeds.
All in all, I am very pleasantly surprised at the improvements with the E4200. All routers are definately not equal and so far the E4200 looks like a winner. I'm not sure if I would have had the same positive results with the Netgear 3700 which was the other router I was considering. Perhaps the 3700 would have had similarly good performance, but you can't beat the aesthetics of the E4200.
I owned them all and this is how I think they rate... E4200 > WNDR3700 > DIR-655. One thing about WNDR3700 is buggy firmware, it had great start with the firmware, but quality deteriorated afterwards.
I am on my 2nd day after a heavy usage with E4200 and I have had a lot of stuff going on with 10 gadgets connected to it and it's handling everything admirably.
I am on my 2nd day after a heavy usage with E4200 and I have had a lot of stuff going on with 10 gadgets connected to it and it's handling everything admirably.
I've run quick tests in Location A, same room on both bands. Wireless throughput is pretty stable: no big dropouts like I've seen in the past. Throughput is higher than the WNDR3700, especially on 5 GHz.
Haven't done range tests yet, but I don't expect miracles.
Looks like it's Broadcom based, BTW.
Haven't done range tests yet, but I don't expect miracles.
Looks like it's Broadcom based, BTW.
NightOwl326
Senior Member
I would not expect much from Netgear on new hardware, since they have not even produced a workable firmware for a product that has been as long on the market as the WNDR3700. Since they have come out with a v2 router now, I would bet money that the v1 firmware support will end soon, and owners will be left with unreliable firmware. I do not wish to go down this road again with Netgear with their new and improved 3800 or 4000 models. I spent to much money on the WNDR3700 to make the same mistake again. Screw me once, shame on them, screw me twice, shame on me.....
NightOwl326
Senior Member
Keep in mind that Cisco gives you a no questions asked 90 day return policy, and with Netgear you cannot even get 90 Days of quality customer support.
Has anybody here actually used the Cisco support though? I bought an Asus notebook because of supposedly better customer support and warranty terms. (Eg bragged about how fast warranty repairs were, they even used 2nd day shipping it said in the ads before you buy) In reality however, Asus was bar none the absolute worst notebook manufacturer I've ever had to deal with. I'll take 3 hours on the phone with Acer trying to get a recalled battery exchanged ANY day over trying to deal with Asus again. I actually ended up just buying a new HD (as it was just the HD that went bad in the Asus notebook, 2 months old at that time) at Amazon rather than continuing to deal with Asus.
Basically - has anybody here actually used Cisco support and knows them to be good and honor what they advertise?
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Linksys/Cisco support
I've used Linksys support. Yes, they talked to me. The were better than D-Link support, but really no help. The best help was in the Linksys "community forum", and that was not very helpful. In other words, anything that I fixed I figured out for myself, or got via my own research. If you have a very basic question or problem, then Linksys support might be able to help you, but if it's anything interesting, forget it.
I've used Linksys support. Yes, they talked to me. The were better than D-Link support, but really no help. The best help was in the Linksys "community forum", and that was not very helpful. In other words, anything that I fixed I figured out for myself, or got via my own research. If you have a very basic question or problem, then Linksys support might be able to help you, but if it's anything interesting, forget it.
Can't wait for your review, I have a E3000 that I bought 2week ago, still have 2 weeks to return it..
So far:
CNET say its the best router they ever seen.
http://reviews.cnet.com/routers/lin...mance/4505-3319_7-34473222.html?tag=mncol;txt
and
PCMag say its performance is worst than E3000...
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2375972,00.asp
So far:
CNET say its the best router they ever seen.
http://reviews.cnet.com/routers/lin...mance/4505-3319_7-34473222.html?tag=mncol;txt
and
PCMag say its performance is worst than E3000...
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2375972,00.asp
EagleIDEyes
New Around Here
Jumbo Frames
From what I can tell, the E4200 WAN port has an MTU setting of either 'auto' or 'manual'. The E4200 user guide provides some instruction on the manual settings for various types of wan (internet) connections.
It is not clear to me that the internal switch supports Jumbo frames, though. I see no indication either way in the firmware or user's guide.
From what I can tell, the E4200 WAN port has an MTU setting of either 'auto' or 'manual'. The E4200 user guide provides some instruction on the manual settings for various types of wan (internet) connections.
It is not clear to me that the internal switch supports Jumbo frames, though. I see no indication either way in the firmware or user's guide.
looks like PCMag performance review is inconclusive, so I would take it with a grain of salt.
Jeez, guys. Cool your jets. It's just a router! 
Data is in the router and wireless charts. The short story is that it's one of the best routers I've seen in the 2.4 GHz band, especially for medium to low signal strength.
5 GHz isn't bad, but not chart-topping, despite the use of separate amplifier chips (there are also separate amps on the 2.4 GHz side).
USB drive file sharing is still poky at around 6 MB/s. Review will probably post tomorrow.
Data is in the router and wireless charts. The short story is that it's one of the best routers I've seen in the 2.4 GHz band, especially for medium to low signal strength.
5 GHz isn't bad, but not chart-topping, despite the use of separate amplifier chips (there are also separate amps on the 2.4 GHz side).
USB drive file sharing is still poky at around 6 MB/s. Review will probably post tomorrow.
EagleIDEyes
New Around Here
SNB 2.4GHz results verify what I've been seeing
Streaming video from a Slingbox Solo (not HD) to a completely separate building on my property now works (finally). I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that my shop would get marginal wifi performance. I tried what I thought were considered to be good wireless routers including the D-Link DIR-655. Not until I tried this Cisco E4200 did I get acceptable performance in my shop. Uninterrupted stream and no disconnects through the Packers/Bears and Jets/Steelers playoff games. That was almost 7 hours of streaming video and the connection did not drop once.
Granted, my bandwidth requirements are not too high with a SlingBox Solo. I use the stream to feed an old 720p plasma display out in my shop. The data rate (as reported by the SlingPlayer app) hovers around 3-4Mb/s. So, I can handle this throughput with a link of 20Mb/s or faster. The E4200 is typically connected at 26Mb/s but will vary between 11Mb/s and 53Mb/s. More importantly, while this link speed may vary the connection does not drop and I get uninterrupted Slingbox streaming. Nirvana at last!
Streaming video from a Slingbox Solo (not HD) to a completely separate building on my property now works (finally). I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that my shop would get marginal wifi performance. I tried what I thought were considered to be good wireless routers including the D-Link DIR-655. Not until I tried this Cisco E4200 did I get acceptable performance in my shop. Uninterrupted stream and no disconnects through the Packers/Bears and Jets/Steelers playoff games. That was almost 7 hours of streaming video and the connection did not drop once.
Granted, my bandwidth requirements are not too high with a SlingBox Solo. I use the stream to feed an old 720p plasma display out in my shop. The data rate (as reported by the SlingPlayer app) hovers around 3-4Mb/s. So, I can handle this throughput with a link of 20Mb/s or faster. The E4200 is typically connected at 26Mb/s but will vary between 11Mb/s and 53Mb/s. More importantly, while this link speed may vary the connection does not drop and I get uninterrupted Slingbox streaming. Nirvana at last!
It is not spec'd as supporting jumbos. I ran a test for 4k jumbo and got traffic in one direction, but not the other. So I'd say to not count on jumbo frames working.
Jumbo frames don't really provide much throughput improvement with today's processors and network cards. So don't let that be a deciding factor.
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