Technically Easy

Tag: Linksys E4200

  • Linksys E4200 Wireless Router Review

    Linksys E4200 Wireless Router Review

    After about 6 years, my Linksys WRT54G finally packed it in, so I went out and bought myself a Linksys E4200 dual band wireless-N router. I have several laptop computers and a media player that have wireless-N adapters, so the new router will be a welcome change.

    Besides the added benefit of being able to connect using the 802.11n standard, the Linksys E4200 wireless router has a few additional features that were available on my previous wireless router. After I got the router up and running, I began to explore some of the additional features to see how well they worked. Considering this is one of Cisco’s top performance home wireless routers, I expected big things from it.

    Setting Up the Linksys E4200 Wireless Router

    The package contents were basically the standard items: the Linksys E4200 wireless router, a power cable, a network cable, and a CD containing the Cisco Connect software. I haven’t used any software that came with any of my routers in the past, so I really couldn’t see myself using this one. Although I may explore the software in the near future, for reasons you will read later.

    The router itself is smaller than my previous WRT54G router. While the width and length is about the same, the Linksys E4200 is slimmer, and there are no antennae sticking out from the top. This means that when I reach behind my desktop, I don’t have to worry about knocking into them.

    The setup of the router was pretty straight forward, and I set it up manually as I usually do. I basically logged into the router’s dashboard through my Web browser and configured the security settings for the wireless network.

    The dashboard, while it has change slightly from the WRT54G, basically looks the same, which made it easy for me to find my way around. The biggest change that I say while I configured my wireless network was the fact that you can create two separate wireless networks – one for 5 GHz, and a second for 2.4 GHz. Since this router is dual-band, devices can connect to the router on either frequency at the same time.

    Since I only wanted to manage one network, I changed the settings for both the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz bands to be identical. Doing this didn’t cause a problem, and I was able to connect both wireless-N and wireless-G devices to the different frequencies without any problems.

    The one thing that bothers me about the Linksys routers is the inability to change the dashboard user ID. You can change the password easily, but the actual user ID you use to log into the dashboard can’t be changed from being blank. I have seen other routers that provide this ability, and I hope that Cisco will change this for future routers.

    Router Performance

    So far, I have been pleased with the speed of the router. I have a hard-wired desktop connected directly into the Linksys E4200 router, and it seems faster when downloading from the Internet. Although I haven’t done an actual speed test, the computer seems more responsive overall.

    A wireless-N laptop connects to the router at faster than the 54 Mps rating of a wireless-G connection. Although, the one aspect that I am disappointed with is the range the router has. From the opposite side of the house, the laptop connects with 3 out of 5 bars within Windows 7. The WRT54G router connected with the same number of bars, so there really isn’t an improvement in the connection range with the Linksys E4200. I am a little disappointed in this as I thought I would have a better connection to the router, and because of this I my connection speed is 74 Mbps. This is still better, however, than what I would have received from the WRT54G at 5 bars.

    Linksys E4200 External Hard Drive Connection

    The Linksys E4200 wireless router includes a USB port on the back next to the ethernet ports. This allows you to connect an external hard drive to the router and then share the data on the hard drive to the computers that are connected to the router.

    While this is a huge selling point for me, it was a nice feature that I was looking forward to trying. As I don’t have a NAS (network attached storage) device, having the Linksys E4200 router and my external hard drive act as one was a nice bonus.

    After setting up my router, I connected an external hard drive into the router and the router immediately identified the drive. I was able to setup user IDs and shares for the hard drive so I could connect to the hard drive from other computers. When I tried to map to a share on the hard drive, my desktop couldn’t connect to the share. I also tried to connect to the share from a laptop, and it, too, couldn’t connect. I decided to wait a few days and try again.

    The next time I tried, the Linksys E4200 wireless router couldn’t even detect the external hard drive, so I couldn’t even manage the shares. I unplugged the hard drive and plugged it back into the router, but the router still couldn’t find the hard drive.

    I saw read about a few people online that have also had this issue, so it appears to be a common problem. With the latest firmware update, you can also connect a printer to the router using the same USB port. I haven’t tried this, and from what I have read, you need to use the Cisco Connect software to get the printer sharing to work.

    Linksys E4200 – Pros

    • Dual band (2.4 and 5 Ghz) that allows you to connect to either band to avoid interference.
    • Ability to setup a separate network for each band.
    • Easy to configure – dashboard very similar to previous Linksys routers.
    • Connected to my ISP without any problems.
    • Connected wireless-G and wireless-N devices without any problems.
    • Lower profile – no antennae sticking out from the top.

    Linksys E4200 – Cons

    • No ability to change the router’s user ID.
    • The range isn’t much better than my 6 year old router.
    • Couldn’t get an external hard drive to connect to the router.

    With the exception of the external hard drive issue, I find the Linksys E4200 wireless router to be a good router. I was disappointed in the range of the router, but I do like the dual-band feature, and I had no issues with connecting any device to the router. If you can get the Linksys E4200 wireless router for a good price, I suggest you pick one up.

  • How to Reset the Linksys E4200 Wireless Router

    How to Reset the Linksys E4200 Wireless Router

    There may be times when you may need to reset the Linksys E4200 wireless router back to factory defaults. You may need to do this if there is a problem with the router, or you forget the administrative password needed to access the router’s setup pages.

    Once you have reset the Linksys E4200 wireless router, it is important that you take the time to secure the Linksys E4200 wireless router. The reason for this is because once the router is reset, it is no longer secured. There are two methods to reset the router, and both are explained below.

    The Two Methods to Reset the Linksys E4200 Wireless Router

    There are two methods that you can use to reset your wireless router. The first method requires physical access to the router to press the reset button. The second method requires you to login to the router’s administrative web pages.

    The steps to use both methods are as follows:

    Reset the Wireless Router Using the Reset Button

    1. Turn the router upside down.
    2. On the bottom, press and hold the reset button for 5-10 seconds.

    Reset the Linksys E4200 Wireless Router Using the Browser-Based Utility

    The second method involes actually logging into the router’s administrative pages. Obviously, if you forgot the router’s password, you will need to use the first method to reset the router.

    1. Open a web browser and navigate to http://192.168.1.1, or whatever the IP address of your router.
    2. Enter the user name and password for the router.
    3. Select “Administration” from the top menu, and then select “Factory Defaults” from the submenu.
    4. Click the “Restore Factory Defaults” button.
    5. In the popup message window, click the “OK” button.

    The post explained two methods that you can use to reset your wireless router. Once the router has been reset, it is important to ensure you take the necessary steps to secure the router once you reset the Linksys E4200 wireless router.

  • How to Secure the Linksys E4200 Wireless Router

    How to Secure the Linksys E4200 Wireless Router

    As with any wireless router, it is important that you ensure you secure the Linksys E4200 wireless router to prevent unauthorized users from accessing your network. Ensuring that your wireless router is secure is the first step to keeping your data and private information safe.

    Included with this router is a CD-ROM that contains the Cisco Connect software that allows you to setup your router. This post, however, will provide the manual steps you can take to manually secure the Linksys E4200 wireless router.

    Steps to Secure the Linksys E4200 Wireless Router

    The steps outlined below will help you to secure the Linksys E4200 wireless router. Ensure you follow the steps exactly, and if you think you have missed a step, or are having problems, you can always reset the router back to factory defaults and start again.

    Note:

    When accessing the router’s administrative web pages, I recommend that you use Internet Explorer if it is installed. It seems many of the administrative pages in routers tend to be more compatible with Internet Explorer.

    1. Open up your web browser and then go to 192.168.1.1.
    2. When the router prompts you for a user name and password, leave the user name blank and type “admin” as the password.

    Change the Router Password

    1. Click the “Administration” tab the top, and then click “Management”.
    2. In the “Router Access” section, enter a new password for your login, and then enter the same password a second time to confirm it.
    3. Click the “Save Settings” button and then re-login with the new password. The user name will still be blank.
    Linksys E4200 Wireless Router - Changing the Administrator Password
    Linksys E4200 Wireless Router – Changing the Administrator Password
    (Click to enlarge)

    Set Network Name

    1. Click the “Wireless” tab, which should display the “Basic Wireless Settings” page.
    2. Select “Manual” for “Configuration View”.
    3. In the “Network Name (SSID)” field, in the 5 GHz Wireless settings section, enter a name for your network.
    4. In the “Network Name (SSID)” field, in the 2.4 GHz Wireless settings section, enter a name for your network.

      5. Note:

      You can use the same network name for both the 5 GHz and 2.4 Ghz settings. Doing so will allow devices to use either frequency band when connecting.

    5. Click the “Save Settings” button.
    Linksys E4200 Wireless Router - Setting the Network Name
    Linksys E4200 Wireless Router – Setting the Network Name
    (Click to enlarge)

    Secure the Linksys E4200 Wireless Router

    1. Click the “Wireless” tab.
    2. Next, click the “Wireless Security” option.
    3. In the 5 GHz section, for the “Security Mode” drop-down list, select “WPA2 Personal” or “WPA2/WPA Mixed Mode” for the best security, and enter a long passphrase that will be used to connect to your wireless network.
    4. Repeat the same steps for the 2.4 GHz section. If you used the same network name for both the 5.5 GHz and 2.4 GHz, then use the same passphrase, otherwise you can specify a different passphrase.

      5. Note:

      When creating a passphrase the length of the passphrase is important. The longer the passphrase, the better.

    5. Click the “Save Settings” button.
    Linksys E4200 Wireless Router - Setting the Wireless Security
    Linksys E4200 Wireless Router – Setting the Wireless Security
    (Click to enlarge)

    After following the above steps, you should now have a secured router. If you have problems in the future, you can reset the router and follow the steps again to secure the Linksys E4200 wireless router.