Cisco-Linksys E4200 Product Details
The Cisco-Linksys E4200 offers maximum speed of up to 300 + 450 Mbps for each of it’s 2 wireless networks. This model also features optimal range, and simultaneous dual-band technology to create a powerful wireless network designed for performance. Simultaneous dual-band Wireless-N technology allows for smoother and faster HD streaming.
Cisco-Linksys E4200 Additional Features
A built-in USB port lets you add external storage to share files across your network. Additionally, a built-in UPnP AV media server means you can seamlessly stream media files across your network. Plus, included Cisco Connect software gets you set up in three easy steps and offers powerful tools for ongoing management of your network.
The Linksys e4200 router supports dual band N at 2.4 and 5 Ghz with a 450 MB/second throughput in the 5 Ghz band. It comes with a USB port for shared storage and has a built-in UPnP AV media server. The router also has a USB 2.0 port that supports external attached network storage and provides compatibility with the 80211.n, g, b, and a standards. Simply connect it to a cable modem or DSL modem, and you’ll be on your way!
ATIC96 –
After losing the WRT300N to power surge, switched to a Comcast provided Netgear WRN1000 which was absolutely a nightmare with drop signals. After two days, I researched and bought this top of the line Linksys. It’s a dream to use. We have a large house and signal to our downstair masters is normally 1 bar, and required a range extender. Download speed was at best 2Mbps, now with E4200, it’s nearly 20Mbps!!! And this speed is retained throughout the house! It’s amazing consider the router is upstairs inside a room. The plug in speed at Comcast modem is 26Mbps down and 4Mbps up. E4200 retains about 20Mbps/3Mbps throughout the 6000SF house, even in the back patio. This is absolutely the best router out there. I am donating the range extenders tomorrow, as I won’t ever need them again. It felt so good to have high speed WIFI, instead of trying to point my laptop for the best signal strength. Great to have my time back from waiting for things to load.
Roger J. Buffington –
This router is fast and reliable. The main distinguishing feature of this router is that it lets client devices freely choose which channel to use based upon bandpass requirements, etc. Older routers set up two bands of network, typically the high frequencies for media and the lower frequencies for the internet. This router sets up one main network (and one guest network) for both internet and media and then the router intelligently decides which data stream goes where, for optimal throughput. I was skeptical at first, but it works well.
For those who wish to do so, it is easy to set up a single 8Ghz discrete sub-network. I have not found it advantageous to do this.
I have often been streaming a movie, downloading a movie from iTunes, and working on the Internet, and the router handled all of them so that all three functions had good throughput.
The router also features a “guest network” which can have a different password, for guest users. This guest network provides internet access only but will not allow guests to have access to hard disks or other computers on the network. A nice amenity.
This router installed almost instantly, with no fuss. Very user friendly.
An excellent router for home or office. Highly recommended. RJB.
Joe –
My goal for my router is security and wireless range. I’ve replaced two other non-Cisco routers with this one, and the range has been great on this one. I have about 20 wireless items that connect to my router. This includes multiple PCs, phones, iPods, iPads, a Tivo, printers and other devices. My house is about 3,000 square feet and on three levels. Some of my devices use 802.11g and some use 802.11n. I’ve had no connectivity issues with either technology.
This wireless router supports the latest wireless security, and all my devices are able to connect without issue.
This wireless router is in the basement, and provides great range to all devices in every part of the house, and nearby outside.
I have attached a hard drive to this to watch videos on both the wired and wireless network. The router support USB 2. The good thing is that I can access the files. The bad thing is that some of the videos are choppy. I don’t have this issue when the hard drive is connected directly to the computer, so I assume that the issue is with the router. If you are just looking to share files, this router has no issues.
In short, if you want a home router with great range, this one is for you.
Tom –
I got the E4200 after becoming frustrated by the performance of my Asus RT-N56U router. The Asus has wonderful wifi coverage, but the firmware stinks. I could get 300mbps consistently in the same room, and 144mbps 30 feet away, but the firmware is horrid. Connections would drop randomly here and there throughout the day, but it wasn’t unbearable. I needed something more reliable, so I got the E4200. Out of the (huge) box, the E4200 was easy to set up and didn’t disappoint. I noticed that 2.4gHz liked to stay at 20mHz even 10 feet away, limiting my wifi speed to 130 mpbs, but that’s not a problem (my internet is limited to 30 mpbs, and I rarely transfer files between computers). Unlike the Asus, I can’t force 40mHz on the 2.4gHz band, but it’s not a big deal for me.
I’m very happy with the E4200. It’s stable and it works great. It has a very low-key, elegant appearance that makes it quite attractive. Unlike the Asus, it doesn’t light up the room with blue lights, and it has an option to turn off the link LEDs, leaving only the white Cisco logo dimly illuminated on the top. If I could force 40mHz on the 2.4gHz band, I’d give it 5 stars. My ASUS now serves as a remote AP, which for unknown reasons has improved its wireless stability, but I’ll leave the routing duties to the E4200.
Update 8/31/12: I’m running this router using “DD-WRT v24-sp2 K2.6 NV60K v18000 big” firmware. I had to flash it with “dd-wrt.v24-16773_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini-e4200.bin” by carefully following the proper FAQ on the DD-WRT site (search Google for >> E4200 DD-WRT wiki << to find the right page), then I flashed it with "dd-wrt.v24-18000_NEWD-2_K2.6_big-nv60k.bin" and that's where I left it.
If you choose to use DD-WRT, you MUST follow the steps outlined on the wiki page to a "T"! This includes reading all of the required reading links on the page. It's easy to brick your e4200 if you're not careful. For me, the upgrade to DD-WRT was well worth the effort spent. I now have a tremendously-configurable router that is rock solid stable. I've been running DD-WRT on the e4200 since 3/2012.
One side benefit is that I was able to boost my TX power to 175 mW, allowing my e4200 to provide close to the same WiFi strength as my ASUS N56U and N66U routers. I use my e4200 to handle all routing duties, with the ASUS routers serving as APs. The e4200 is much more robust than the ASUS routers in terms of routing capabilities. I'm very happy with the e4200 and would gladly buy it again.
Update 6/6/12: Still running the same DD-WRT firmware, and still no issues. I'm quite happy with the performance of this router under DD-WRT. It works great.
Update 6/4/14: Changed over to DD-WRT version 22000M by Kong. For more detail, search Google for "my-cisco-linksys-e4200-dd-wrt-settings-for-max-speed". It's been very stable and the e4200 is still running great. Note that the newer e4200 v2 is not supported (different chipset), so you'll need an e4200 v1 if you want to run DD-WRT.
Customer –
… I will still add my 5 stars for this unit.
As the IT department for our home systems, I should start by saying that I hate networking and everything about it. But our existing router was getting on in years and only capable of WEP as a security protocol, so I caved in and decided to upgrade. After research, I bought this machine, then let it sit in my office for two weeks while I nerved myself to do the install (the only thing I hate more than networking is dealing with support desks.) Finally, I forced myself to make the cutover.
Thirty minutes, flat, from opening the box to putting the old router away in the archive. No problems, two desktops, two laptops, two Android phones, and a Roku, up and running. Trivially simple. And most of that time was just changing the password on each client and making sure they were connected.
A day or so later, I switched a direct-connected HP printer to wireless: this time, twenty minutes, and again most of that was just doing the install on each of the machines that had not had access to it.
I have to say, I find the reviews that complain about the install process to be incomprehensible — I don’t know what they were doing or what they were running, but if it was Win 7 in any of its flavors, something must have been out of order. I do notice that many of the people who had issues were running Macs, but I have little sympathy with that kind of self-inflicted wound.
Kuriakose –
I have the first version of the E4200. I bought it in the first week of release, and working great so far. This is one of the best Wireless-N router out there. Belkin used to be one of the best for performance especially in the N area. E4200 took over the lead.
E4200 is top of the line in terms of technology, features and performance. It protects your investment in wireless adapters by supporting all types, i.e., B, G, N and even A. Simultaneous dual band gives amazing bandwidth, a total of 750mbps. I have not experienced the 450mbps speed yet since my current wireless adapters support a maximum of 300mbps. My wireless network is future-proof for many more years!
Four gigabit (10/100/1000) ports in the back is very useful for connecting my desktop computers sitting next to the router.
No external antennas sticking out of the router. Internal antenna is powerful and provides very good range. I get very good signal throughout the house. Be sure to secure your network otherwise your neighbors might enjoy your internet connection and you would be wondering about the slow internet speed!
I prefer to configure the router manually and don’t use the CiscoConnect utility, but it is a great tool lets anyone setup a secure wireless network. I don’t use the so called fancy features such as website blocking etc. Those are handy if you want to block couple of specific sites but not really an effective tool protecting your kids from inappropriate contents.
I have not tried sharing USB storage using the router. I tried sharing a USB printer but it did NOT work as mentioned in the data sheets. Some article on the internet says that original firmware on the first version of E4200 does not support sharing USB printer, and need a firmware upgrade. I have upgraded the firmware, but still did not work. It would have been really nice if that had worked; I am bit disappointed about that. Someone mentioned that I have to use CiscoConnect software for sharing USB printer.
Edgar R. Glass –
7/24/12 For Several Years I Had Used A Comcast-Supplied Netgear WNR1000 Router. With Broken Antenna ( Installed Under My Desk ), Airport Lost Contact Several Times A Day. Linksys E4200 Has No External Antenna And Stays Connected. Despite Not Understanding Network Architecture, I Managed To Setup My LAN ( iMac, Dell, Smartphone, Printer ) In Maybe Two Hours. I Do Tend To Over-Think About Projects. Perhaps E4200 Really Is Plug-And-Play. Just Like Me To Make Installation More Complicated Than Necessary.
I Have No Idea How To Utilize The Dual Band Feature Or Its Benefit – I Only Want A Reliable Connection For Surfing, email, etc. E4200 Seems To Operate With WPA2 Level Security Which Appears More “Safe” Than Its Predecessors.
E4200 Serves My Simple Requirements Very Satisfactorily.
Snow Leopard 10.6.8, Canon MX870 Printer
8/3/12 E4200 Operates Flawlessly – No More Dropped ISP Connection – I’ll Have Perhaps A Dozen Tabs Open At Any One Time ( QuickBooks, Several Financial Sites And Their Several Tabs, Xfinity Mail, BBC World Service, And New York Times ) And Surfing Amongst Them Is Prompt. MX870 Does Generally Take 15 Or 20 Seconds To Commence Printing Rear-Fed, Reverse Order, Time-Stamped, Logoed And Numbered Pages, But For Standard, Tray-Fed Printing, Print Jobs Commence In 5 Or 10 Seconds. This Delay Appears To Be Related More With The Printer Itself Than The Router.
Overall, E4200 Has Made My Internet Time A Breeze ! Best $100 I’ve Ever Spent !
An Honest Engineer –
After trying most of the higher-ranking, still cost-efficient brands(Netgear, D-link, Zyxel), I was getting very tired of constant signal-loss, connection problems, communication problems with Comcast modem etc etc. Reading a lot of reviews, it seemed like Cisco/linksys is still the only one who can create a properly functioning router.
My network is pretty extreme for a normal house, and I utilize most aspects of it that you would see in a modern high-tech household (centralized data server, media streaming all-over etc). This router is the first one ever for me to meet all my expectations and more.
– Set-up is easy; would be easy for non-tech users too
– All connections are stable
– set-up at central point in house; connectivity in almost every corner and right outside with wireless-N (3400 sqft house)
– Standard additional guest-access with separate (short) password (compare to hotel access)
– Many functions on top of all standard advanced functionality, like blocking websites, blocking 1 MAC address at certain times
– etc
I couldn’t be happier with this, and wish I wasn’t so cheap in the first place; spent over $200 on cheaper ones before spending the appropriate $100 on this one.
Cat –
Pro:
It was very easy to set-up right out of the box. The look of the router blend-in easily with other office settings.
Con:
Bigger footprints than netgear routers which can stand up-right.
It was working beautifully, until one day, just suddenly not working anymore. The light on the logo still goes on. But in the back, all the connection port lights are all off. I have gone through all the free on line support from linksys website. But no way to figure out why it doesn’t work any more. Of course, I can spend another $130 to purchase the tech support from linksys. But it seems not worth it, since it is almost the same amount as a brand new one.
Conclusion
Since the factory warranty is stated only for one year, and I have used it for almost 18 months without issues, I guess that it is a somewhat alright purchase. However, In this rate, every year or so I will need to throw away a router, if I continue to purchase from linksys.
My previous router was a Netgear wireless game router, which lasts me almost 4 years. Unfortunately, that router model was discontinued.
I thought I got a upgrade from linksys E4200, but actually the upload and download speed is similar to my previous Netgear one, but the life spam is much shorter.
By the way, I don’t play video game on line but watch video on hulu or netflex.
Marcus Lamb –
So I bought this to throw DD-WRT on it but it has the newer version which seems to have have a different chipset than the version 1 so therefore doesn’t support DD-WRT. So golly jee to that. But since it is a version 2 the processor is much better and the performance seems to be much improved over the version 1. I would not pay more than $60 buck for the router though so I ended up getting it used and that took some of the bite out of the purchase and the deal made me add a star. Can’t say how upset I would have been to have paid full price for this bad boy and found it didn’t support DD-WRT. Okay so other than that, the router is working great and various reviews seem to agree that this is a very decent router; I tend to agree and I am not disappointed. Of course it doesn’t get five stars because there are other routers that are more deserving but I am not shelling out $200 for those. I do just fine with my price/performance buys.
TexasRedneck –
I’ve had my router for a little over a year now and it’s been a great router, however it really didn’t meet up with my expectations when I bought this thing for $170. It runs quite hot all the time and the range isn’t better than my ATT u-verse router. It’s actual worth than the G router that came with my internet service for FREE. A few weeks ago I ended up putting DDWRT on my router and that has turned it into a MUCH better router meaning that CISCO really held the router back with the firmware. So if you do end up buying this router instead of one of the newer AC routers, put DD-WRT on it and you’ll have a decent router on your hands. Although I would recommend spending the money and getting an AC router to future proof your network.
Michael Alexander –
I was replacing a router that was locking up regularly in response to streaming or accessing google services. While setting this up, the interface is advanced, but a little lacking. It allows all the standard port forwarding, QoS, static IP assignment, etc. Setting a static IP assignment wasn’t obvious, rather than having the setup table directly on the page under the relevant tab, it had a button that opened a separate window containing the additional settings of allocating static IPs to fixed MAC addresses. For some reason they also separated the port forwarding for a single port from the port forwarding of a range of ports, which is odd, The QoS can be setup based on MAC address, among other things, but rather than having a way to select from the connected MAC addresses, or from the MAC addresses setup in the static IP assignments, you have to type them in manually with no reference. Trying to leave the static IP assignment window open when going to the QoS also automatically closes the static IP assignment window, so you’ll constantly be switching back and forth to reference the MAC address as you’re setting up different QoS settings.
Signal strength is very good on the wireless, and has very good throughput. It’s very stable, any lock-ups only required the terrible broadband provider’s modem to be reset to completely restore service.
Michael Sinz –
So, this is not the Linksys E4200 that I had before. Not only is the hardware different (and thus not DD-WRT supported) the firmware it does have is completely broken.
The firmware’s parental controls are unusable. First, you can not just enter a MAC address for the device – you can only select devices the router has seen (so you can not preemptively enter them) and you have to hope that the router can figure out the name of the device as otherwise it just shows “Network device” (I have 8 of those – some are sure to be iPod Touch devices that my kids have)
Setting the time limits is all or nothing – the older firmware allowed you to make different groups, such as for my younger daughter vs the older one – different time ranges to allow, etc.
Linksys is completely unresponsive to this. They claim that the new UI is much better (when in reality it is completely worse)
I really want to return this but my prior device has failed and I need something for my family to be able to get on the net. Can’t have everyone off-line for a few days to return and get a different device.
morpheus –
works great out of the box. I wanted to buy this to upgrade firmware to Tomato but didn’t want to spend over 200 bucks and so bought it as a refurbished router. One thing i don’t like about this is the ‘serial number’ at the bottom of this router has been removed!!! whats up with that!! Took me a while to figure out its version and found out that this is v2. so, i can’t install tomato on this 🙁 very disappointed but the router as it is, is pretty decent and i am able to keep track of the devices attached to my network. I was also able to remove ‘guest’ access and limit the number of devices connected to my network. the admin utility is pretty neat especially when connected via a browser. The executable that got installed was pretty much useless for me as it couldn’t identity my router! something was not right with that. I use this wth my motorola surfboard SB16141 and so far its been doing great. have had this just about over a week and will update 6 months from now.
T. –
This router was purchased to replace our aging WRT-54G which had given us over three years of solid use (It was purchased at Salvation army for $5!! and still handled everything we threw at it). But we were looking to enter 2014 and join the N revolution.
The router worked flawlessly for about a month. Shortly afterwards, the router began randomly restarting. After cruising through a number of support forums, websites, and adjusting numerous settings (including a call to Linksys) the problems persisted. We moved the router to a well ventilated area which helped, but didn’t outright fix the problem.
Finally I disabled UPnP, disconnected the external drive from the router, and the Dual-Band feature and dropped back to only a G network (So much for our 2014 visions of the future). This improved stability as long as fewer than 4 devices were on the network.
After two months, the router would not break free of the restart sequence. After trying various resetting procedures and a few other remedies (including putting the router in the freezer for an hour) I deemed the router dead.
It was disappointing to go from a history of rock solid routers (I’ve owed 3 different WRT-54G routers without any issues) to a router that was fraught with problems. With this router it seems Linksys (and Cisco) had bitten off more than they could chew.
I do not recommend this router to anyone due to reliability issues and after scouring the web for a fix, it seems there is a huge population suffering from problems as well.
Missoula woodworker –
I remain a bit disappointed by its power. We have our TiVo along with a Visioneer streaming receiver in a bedroom that sits only about twenty to thirty feet from the router. Admittedly, that means that three walls separate the router from our other equipment, still I expected to have few problems receiving a satisfactory signal, given that distance. We are, therefore, somewhat unhappy when our streaming broadcasts lose the signal long enough to interrupt our shows. Usually, the situation corrects itself within a few seconds, and in fairness, we don’t see this happen often, but that seems to make the interruption that much more annoying when it occurs. Also, Cisco now insists that manual setup is virtually impossible unless one is a guru and able to hack their plan in some way. It seems that they insist on going through their interface, including password protection, to even start. Are you as tired of remembering the various passwords as I am? Maybe I’m not sophisticated enough, but since I’m accessing the router from a computer that is attached with a cable to the router, shouldn’t I be able to do so without a separate password entry? Once one logs in, however, it is possible to manually adjust many of the router’s features and a guest account can be toggled with its own password, a nice feature.
Michael Laferriere –
This is a fantastic router. The spec’s may be a bit dated compared to more modern routers with AC and such. But what makes this router a gem that can outperform and outfeature routers costing many times more is the ability to run custom firmware. Look at DD-WRT and Tomato for example. Be warned though that if you do not install this correctly you can brick this router. The router supports 3X3 streams on both 2.4ghz and 5ghz and will use either 20mhz or 40mhz of bandwidth. Running DD-WRT you can also purchase a second one of these to extend your range. You can use the 5ghz radio to set up the second one as a WDS and place it elsewhere in your house as a second access point without running additional wires. I would recommend running ethernet cable when possible. This will cut back on latency and also allow you to place the router further and have less overlap.
Also, if you plan on modifying your firmware you will NEED a V1 router! The later E4200’s use a Marvell chipset which is not capable of running aftermarket firmware.
Darren –
I typically only like to review things on Amazon after I’ve had them awhile to truly give them my experience with the product. I have been a fan of Linksys over the years and have bought many of their products. I also know that Cisco makes quality stuff. Based on this and the reviews, I purchased this model in 2011, and now it is 2017. I still have it and it is still working great for my entire house. I’ve moved 3 times since this was purchased, and it has worked great throughout the house. There may be better options (faster, more coverage area) out now since technology is always evolving — I don’t know–, but this has been a rock solid unit for my money and would recommend to anyone looking for a good router.