Linksys AC1200 Wi-Fi Wirless Dual-Band Router

Screen Shot 2014-08-18 at 3.05.09 PMI already own a Linksys WRT1900AC wireless router, which is one of the best high-end home and small office routers currently available. That’s a very powerful router that can really deliver an exceptional performance. However, for many people that router might be an overkill, and a simpler, less capable router would probably serve them well. AC1200 is one such router, and as a basic WiFi router it delivers a pretty good performance at a much lower price than WRT1900AC. However, it does not feature the gigabit ethernet, so it may not be an ideal router for those who need to download and stream a lot of high bitrate online content.

Of all electronic devices that I own and use on a regular basis, the ones that rely on tricky networking setup in order to function are the ones that I usually have the hardest time setting up. This would include Internet routers, network serves and storage, and IP cameras. However, Linksys router was a breeze to setup. The reason for this lays in no small part in the intuitive and straightforward stand-alone setup app. Once you setup your router, though, you are able to use all the bells and whistles of the traditional router website-based power interface. If you happen to be more tech savvy, and like to tinker with settings and networking configurations, then you will be really pleased with what this router has to offer. I am not an IT professional, but the router configuration interface seemed on the level of the best professional interfaces that I had seen.

The advertised range of this router was indeed on par what I had experienced. The WiFi signal was really strong throughout my house, and even for some distance around it.

Another small feature that I wish this router adopted from its more advanced siblings is a dedicated on/off switch on its back. Such a feature is not essential, of course – you can always just unplug the router from the wall if you need to power cycle it. However, it adds to the overall feel of good and elegant design.

The router has one USB 2.0 port that allows you to connect a hard drive or a printer. It allows you in principle to turn one of your old printers into a networked printer. This worked, sort of. It took me a bit of tweaking before I was able to access my old HP laser printer this way from my two Macs. As a data server the router left something to be desired. The USB 2.0 standard is too slow, and combined with the slower ethernet it makes it sometimes frustrating to transfer your files.

I do wish that this router had another dedicated USB port on the front. Sometimes you want to quickly share some file with your whole network, or connect a dedicated USB device. In such situations trying to access the back of your router can be a bit of a pain.

For a “standard” router AC1200 is pretty compact. These days routers can be true behemoths, occupying a significant chunk of your desktop real estate. This router is much smaller than most other ones I’ve used recently, but it’s still much larger than I think a router with its features ought to be.

If you intend to primarily access the net wirelessly (as it’s increasingly the case these days it seems), and don’t need to stream large bandwidth-clogging files (HD video for instance), then this router might be the right one for you. However, for its price I still feel that this router underperforms. You are paying for the quality and reputation of the Linksys name, but the networking equipment from many other competitors is almost as good and oftentimes comes at the fraction of the price. Before deciding for the right kind of router for you and your needs I would definitely shop around and check out the reviews of other products in this category.

 

Bojan Tunguz

Bojan Tunguz was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he and his family fled during the civil war for the neighboring Croatia. Over the past two decades he has studied, lived and worked in the United States. He is a theoretical physicist with degrees from Stanford and University of Illinois. Tunguz has taught physics at several prominent liberal arts colleges and has been writing about physics, science and technology for more than a decade. He also has a wide spectrum of interests, and reads and writes about current events, society, culture, religion and politics. Over the years he has reviewed many of the books that he has read, and posted his reviews on various online outlets. In 2011 he had become a top 10 reviewer on Amazon.com, where he continues to be very active. Aside from reading and writing, Tunguz enjoys traveling, digital photography, hiking, and fitness. He resides with his wife in Indiana. You can follow my review updates on the following pages as well: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tunguzreview Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tunguzreviews Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104312842297641697463/posts

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