ASUS RT-N13U Wireless-N Router, Access Point, and Repeater Review

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(More customer reviews)For those looking for a cheap wireless N router + Print & FTP Server, this is an excellent buy!
I bought this router specifically with hope that it 'might' be able to do more than what it claims on the box, and it does, to some extent. Read on and you'll find answers to your questions that any other reviews on the web aren't able to tell you.
1. Can a USB hub be used to connect multiple peripherals to the router?
A. Yes, but with certain limitations. I have successfully connected a printer and a hard drive to the router via a usb hub, and both work flawlessly! Here's what you do: plug in the usb hub to the router, then connect the hdd to the usb hub, set up your ftp server on the hdd, then connect the printer to the usb hub, and set up your printer. You will only see the printer show up in the router's main page, but the ftp serve works fine. However, hooking up 2 printers will not work because the print command is directed ip-to-ip (your pc to the router) and pass on to the usb port. When you have a usb hub with multiple printers connected the print command will be pass on to every port on the hub. Sometimes printing will come out from the right printer that you want it to, but sometimes the command will get send to the other printer which may cause your printer to malfunction. I have two printers: a HP inkjet and a Samsung laser. It happened to me when I want to print from the Samsung but the command got sent to the HP, and HP will keep feeding paper and print out an error message on the corner until I force power-down the printer; same for the Samsung when a HP print command was sent to the Samsung it just kept printing errors until the machine overhead and power-off itself.
2. When connected to a HDD, it can only be set up as a FTP server, not a network drive.
What the differences you ask? On a network drive you can stream files directly from it, while an FTP you can only upload/download files but no running directly on the server. But simutenous access from multiple users are possible. That's an advantage over the so called "netowrk shared usb" where only a single user are allowed to use the peripheral at a time.
3. This router has a hardware repeater mode switch, which I consider a big plus. It's the transparent repeater mode, meaning it will receive and broadcast the same SSID of the network you're repeating; as oppose to 'stealth' repeater mode where you can set your own SSID and security for broadcast. Note that the network printer won't work in the repeater mode 'cause the print command will be pass on to the someone else's router (one that you're repeating). The Asus router still maintain its own ip and subset which the network printer belongs to, but it's hidden in the repeater mode. You can manually configure your pc to connect to it and you'll be able to print, but you lose internet. Not sure about FTP serve in repeater mode. Haven't try yet. The router has good range. I can receive Safeway's wifi which is like 300m from my place.
4. The router itself looks good IMO. I like the hidden antenna design.
What else? Msg me if you still have a question regarding the router.

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ASUS RT-N13U Wireless-N Router, Access Point, and Repeater

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ASUS RT-N12 Wireless-N Router, Access Point, and Repeater Review

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(More customer reviews)The short review is: excellent router, extremely easy to set up, great range, good stability, nice white color, absolutely no complaints.
Here's the longer review:
I took a total risk on this router...there were no reviews on Amazon, I'd never heard of ASUS, and wasn't convinced that ordering it was a good idea. However, the price was right, and I had just spent frustrating hours trying to configure a Netgear route. My previous router, a D-link, had a "known issue" that the manufacturer solved by discontinuing the model's support. So, I thought, let me try this unknown brand and see what happens. If worse comes to worse I'd just return it to Amazon.
WOW was I pleased! Literally, 10 minutes after I had opened it, I had it configured as an access point, had logged into the router from my wireless laptop, and had set up a password to encrypt the network. I've set up maybe 5-7 routers in my life and always dread it... this was by far the easiest experience I've ever had. In the picture on the site, this router looks like it's an ugly grey color. It is a shiny smooth white - think Apple ipod aesthetic - with nice white antennas. Very aesthetically pleasing.
Though the advertising for this router states "diskless setup" it come with an optional setup disk. I did not use it as I wanted to test the advertising's claim...and am pleased to say it's an example of truth in advertising!
I'm also getting very good signal strength, speed and stability...I will DEFINITELY update this review if I run into issues, but overall I'm giving this thing 5 stars (and I almost never give 5 stars because I think everything has room for improvement) because it was so inexpensive and easy to set up, and performs exactly as advertised.
I am using this router as an "access point" which means it is connected via ethernet cable to another router and serves to extend the range of my wireless network. There's a switch on the back that allows you to select access point mode, standard router mode, or bridge/repeater mode.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Update 5/10/2010- still working great... I put some white electricians' tape over the blue LEDs in front as they were too bright, but other than that, no issues at all. I forget it's there - it just works all the time without needing to be unplugged every so often like my other routers.... my wireless devices are always connected to it and don't lose signal. Still a 5-star review.

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ASUS RT-N12 - SuperSpeedN Wireless Router 300Mbps Super Speed - CD-Free Installation and Manual-Free Management - 4-Network-in-1 - Hardware EZ Switch for router, repeater and AP mode quickly changing.

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ASUS RT-N16 Wireless-N Gigabit Router Review

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(More customer reviews)First off, let me say here and now that a good router is one of the most difficult components to choose. I had some specific requirements which were as follows...
1) Stable wireless signal, ie not dropping all the time, also decent range and good throughput.
2) At least 4 gigabit ports for switching.
3) Dual band simultaneous
4) DD-WRT support.
5) NOT be a linksys (last 2 experiences were horrible)
6) $100us or less
Honestly, I went into this thing looking for a dual band router, specifically a simultaneous dual band router. All of them though apparently suffered from poor 5ghz range, throughput or some shortcoming or the other. I looked around and found a whopping total of 1 device I have that uses a dual band wireless card. So really, whats the advantage of dual band if the 5ghz is weak and slow. What do we do with the weak and slow? Shoot it. So I shot the 5ghz most humanely.From there, my choice became clear. I have been playing with this asus for a few days now with DD-WRT and its great. You are able to create policies that will block torrent access via ports. You can also select specific clients to which the policy is applicable. There are also time of day settings where all policies can be implemented on the DAY and TIME you want. VERY sexy. So ive set up a policy on mine that can block ALL torrent access while keeping the Internet accessible.
There's also a dedicated internet killing option that totally kills ALL internet access, leaving only local file access in tact. Again, this can be set on an individual client basis. At first I had a lot of issues with the wireless signal dropping during file transfers even with Asus' latest firmware. After much frustration, it turned out to be the wireless adapter I was using was faulty. I switched over to another and instantly the problem went away.
So far I just managed to get a solid, stable 150Mbps using a Belkin expresscard adapter while another laptop with the Intel 5300agn adapter reached 300Mbps quite easily. Even so, strangely enough, I got faster transfer rates with the Belkin using Windows 7 despite its slower connection speed.
The wireless coverage is sufficient as all areas of the small-medium single level house receive at least a 'good' Windows signal rating through a mixture of wood partitions and concrete walls. While the Asus will be used primarily for N connections on channel 6, I also have a Linksys RT160n on channel 1 as a secondary access point to handle guest machines and wireless g connections.

I've heard many complain about overheating on this unit but while transferring data through both wired and wireless connections simultaneously in a ~ 26c room, it NEVER gets more than slightly warm to the touch.
In closing, here are some pro's and cons I have identified in my week with this router.
Pros
1) Blazing wired performance through its 1Gbps switching ports
2) Fast, stable wireless connections that have not dropped as far as I have observed
3) dd-wrt compatible for accessing advanced features (MUCH better than the default firmware)
4) Strong dd-wrt community support and updates (there is a lot of help available for this router on their forums.
5) Aesthetically pleasing
6) Fast cpu, memory and storage
7) Blue lights are a nice touch
Cons
1) USB drive setup using dd-wrt is a bit challenging (not a fault of the router itself)

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ASUS RT-N16 - Multi-Functional Gigabit Wireless N Router with storage,printer and media server Powerful CPU provides a high-performance throughput - Support up to 300,000 sessions for extensive P2P clients.- Most widespread application with USB2.0 port : All-in-1 printer server and FTP files sharing - Ultra-fast and Convenient Downloads with the Revolutionary Download Master

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ASUS WL-520gC - Wireless Router - 802.11b/g Review

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(More customer reviews)I have being using this model since 2006. Although there have being many new technology updates since then, to me, what most important factors are still down to the range, trouble free usage, and the ease of setup. For these, this Asus WL-520GC performs extremely well.
Range: I am able to place the base unit on the first floor while got the decent signal at the third floor. The workable range seems even better than my friend's newer Asus N router.
Free from trouble: I have never had a need to restart the router as what I occasionally needed to do so on other brands' routers. To me, this is the only router that I feel 100% safe while I need to use it remotely.
Easy installation: I am an experienced PC user but is a network moron. By using the installation disc, I was able to do the setup with a breeze.
In the past few years, I totally bought about 8-10 of this model and gave them to my relatives. None of them had experienced any dissatisfaction or have ever had the need to upgrade. (Note: It has no N mode)
I highly recommend this model to anyone who need a simple, trouble free, and robust wireless router.


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ASUS WL-520gC - 125M Broad Range Wireless Router; 125HSM and BroadRange technology provides 300 percent more coverage; 135 percent faster speeds when compared to 802.11g

Get 6% OFF

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ASUS Black Diamond Dual Band Processor, Hardware NAT, 5 Internal Antennas, Fast Gigabit Ethernet and 128MB DDR2 Wireless Router (RT-N56U) Review

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(More customer reviews)I recently purchased two other routers before purchasing this one to replace an older 2.4ghz router. The first router I purchased was the newly released Cisco Linksys E4200. I ended up returning it because I barely had a signal downstairs and slow output. My previous router usually had around 70%-80% signal downstairs however the E4200 would quickly lose signal the farther I moved away from the router. I purchased as a replacement the highly rated Netgear WNDR3700. This router had much better signal however it would not work with my external hard drive. Per review of online comments and Netgear's own website, the 3700 has issues being compatible with numerous external hard drives. Netgear has posted on their website about a dozen compatible hard drives that work with the 3700. I had the choice to either keep the 3700 and fork out another $50-$100 on a new external hard drive that would work or purchase another router with similar features. I ran across the Asus at my local electronic store. I never heard of this model before since it is a new release. Before I decided to purchase it, I went home and read the limited reviews I could find on it. Both expert and consumer reviews were positive. I ended up purchasing the Asus. I was completely blown away by the features and performance of this router. I have over 90% signal downstairs. My laptop is maintaining 230-270mbps connection when I am downstairs (about 30 feet away from router which is upstairs) which was impossible with both the E4200 and 3700. The user interface provides significant amount more custom options than both the Netgear and Cisco. My external HDD (Seagate) was instantly recognized by the router. I also found the wired connection runs smoother and faster than the 3700. The 3700 had a delay at times loading pages. Overall this is in my opinion the best performing router that I have ever owned. Currently the WNDR3700 is considered the best but it has been out for a while now. The Cisco E4200 claims to be the best however I disagree with this due to real hands-on experience with it. There is a good amount of owner complaints already being posted about the E4200 which is similar to issues that I also encountered. The only bad thing I found with this unit is that it does not allow wall mount option. For the price, performance and features, this is an excellent value and steal.

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ASUS RT-N56U. Ultra Slim. True Dual-N Gigabit Wireless Router

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