Wireless Routers: Reviews

Updated October 2009

Best wireless router for Mac

*Est. $175 Compare Prices

Reviews say the Apple AirPort Extreme is the best wireless router you can buy, especially if you have an all-Mac or mixed Mac/PC network. Experts say it offers great range, is simple for novices to set up and use, and… owners say Apple routers are the most reliable. The Apple AirPort Extreme uses the latest simultaneous dual-band, dual-radio, Wireless-N technology with Gigabit Ethernet (GbE). It allows wireless external hard drive sharing, and -- unlike most routers -- wireless printer sharing and guest networking (so you can let friends onto the network without sharing your password). However, some critics say savvy Windows users can get more for their money from non-Apple routers like the Linksys WRT610N (*Est. $165), which lacks some of the AirPort Extreme's features but does include one extra GbE port.

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Expert & User Review Sources:

Macworld: The Apple AirPort Extreme is one of Macworld's favorite routers. It earns a rating of 4.5 (out of five) for being easy to set ...

PCMag.com: PCMag.com says the Apple AirPort Extreme is a "solid" choice if you run Macs or a combination of Mac and Windows computers, ...

CNET: Dong Ngo tests the Apple AirPort Extreme with both Mac and Windows and finds some drawbacks with the Windows computers. He ...

Computerworld.com: Michael DeAgonia tests the Apple AirPort Extreme with a variety of Apple devices like iPhones and MacBooks. He says its ...

Information Week: The Apple AirPort Extreme is an InformationWeek.com favorite in this PC-centric test of five dual-band routers. Tester Bill ...

Amazon.com: The Apple AirPort Extreme is one of the top-rated routers among owners at Amazon.com, averaging 4.5 stars (out of five) in ...

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Amazon

for $167.99

PCConnectio- n Express

for $164.99

Abt Electronics

for $179.99

Advanced wireless router for PC

Linksys WRT610N

*Est. $165 Compare Prices

Like the Apple AirPort Extreme (*Est. $175), the Linksys WRT610N is compatible with both Windows and Mac -- but PC-centric reviewers are more enthusiastic about the Linksys. It lacks the Apple AirPort Extreme's… printer-sharing and guest-networking features, but the Linksys WRT610N does have one more Gigabit Ethernet port than the Apple AirPort Extreme -- four, instead of three -- so you can hook up one more device. Both routers use the latest simultaneous dual-band, dual-radio, Wireless-N technology and both allow wireless external hard drive sharing. Macworld gives the Linksys WRT610N a mediocre rating, saying it tries to make itself Mac-friendly and fails.

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Expert & User Review Sources:

Small Net Builder.com: SmallNetBuilder.com subjects the Linksys WRT610N to its usual exhaustive tests and concludes that it's "the only viable game ...

Laptop Magazine: Laptop Magazine names the Linksys WRT610N an Editors' Choice, saying it "trumps every other premier model from D-Link, Netgear ...

CNET: CNET gives the Linksys WRT610N a "very good" rating of 3.5 stars (out of five) for its "solid performance, great design, ease ...

Macworld: The Linksys WRT610N tries to make itself Mac-friendly and fails, tester Glenn Fleishman concludes. He gives it a low rating of ...

PC Authority (Australia): The Linksys WRT610N shares the top spot here with the pricier D-Link DIR-855, both rating five out of six stars. The test ...

PC World (Australia): The Linksys WRT610N is an Editor's Choice at PC World (Australia), which tests a good number of U.S.-available routers. Like ...

NewEgg.com: Owners here award the Linksys WRT610N an average rating of three (out of five) in 175 reviews. Most of the reviews are ...

Amazon.com: The Linksys WRT610N averages three stars (out of five) from more than 200 owners. The latest reviews are mostly positive, and ...

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Best value wireless router

Linksys WRT400N

*Est. $115 Compare Prices

The Linksys WRT400N offers sophisticated technology -- simultaneous dual-band, dual-radio, Wireless-N -- at a low price. Owners say it works well, and it even beats the top-rated Linksys WRT610N (*Est. $165) in one… reputable speed test, although it lacks that model's Gigabit Ethernet connections and USB external hard-drive sharing. It's compatible with both Windows and Mac.

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Expert & User Review Sources:

Small Net Builder.com: Surprisingly, the Linksys WRT400N beats the pricier Linksys WRT610N (which uses the faster Gigabit Ethernet) in the speed ...

CNET: Unlike SmallNetBuilder.com, CNET finds the Linksys WRT400N lags behind its big brother, the Linksys WRT610N, in a speed test ...

NewEgg.com: This new router had accumulated only about a dozen owner reviews here when we checked, but so far ratings are very high. Most ...

Amazon.com: The Linksys WRT400N averages four stars (out of five) in more than 20 owner reviews here. Users particularly appreciate its ...

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Tried-and-true (and hackable) Wireless-G router

Linksys WRT54GL

*Est. $55 Compare Prices

If you have old equipment on your network that isn't compatible with Wireless-N -- and you don't want to upgrade it -- experts say you might be better off sticking with a Wireless-G router for now. The inexpensive Linksys… WRT54GL is based on the older 802.11g (Wireless-G) standard, so it's not quite as fast as 802.11n (Wireless-N) routers. But reviews say the Linksys WRT54GL is reliable, easy to set up and secure. Like the Linksys WRT400N, it has 10/100 Ethernet ports instead of high-speed Gigabit Ethernet. Linksys says this router is compatible only with Windows XP and Vista, but thanks to its open-source, Linux-based software, developers have created their own firmware that lets the Linksys WRT54GL do all kinds of things it was never designed to do such as controlling bandwidth usage and signal power.

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Expert & User Review Sources:

Wi-FiPlanet.com: This article explains how and why the Linksys WRT54G-series routers came to be so hacker-friendly, and how to find and use ...

PCMag.com: PCMag's Eric Griffith lists 10 ways to make your home network run faster. One of them is to "hack the wireless" -- in other ...

NewEgg.com: Because professional reviews of the Linksys WRT54GL are hard to come by, user reviews are more meaningful. In more than 2,400 ...

Amazon.com: Amazon.com has more than 500 user reviews of the Linksys WRT54GL. Its average score is 4.5 stars, with more than 400 giving it ...

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3 picks by top review sites.

Apple Time Capsule *Est. $270 for 500 GB

3 picks by top review sites.

Novatel MiFi 2200 Free with 3G service plan

3 picks by top review sites.

Belkin N1 Vision *Est. $115

2 picks by top review sites.

D-Link DIR-615 *Est. $45

2 picks by top review sites.

D-Link DIR-825 *Est. $125

2 picks by top review sites.

Buffalo Nfiniti WZR-HP-G300NH *Est. $100

2 picks by top review sites.

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Wireless Routers: Reviews

See Also

Best wireless router for Mac

Advanced wireless router for PC

Best value wireless router

Tried-and-true (and hackable) Wireless-G router

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Wireless Routers by Price Range


	Belkin Wireless N+ 802.11n Router (Black) from Amazon.com New: $119.99 In Stock. Average Customer Review:


	Apple Time Capsule MB276LL/A (AirPort Extreme Plus 500 GB Storage) from Amazon.com New: $299.00 $205.00 Average Customer Review:


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