# Linksys E4200 Wireless Range



## HDJulie (Aug 10, 2008)

Those of you who have the Linksys E4200 or similar router -- how well does it do with wireless range through a house? My sister has a 100 year old house that is mostly stone on the outside & the walls are thick on the inside. Her current router has issues with the wireless range. Linksys says the E4200 has teh best range of their products. I'm curious to know if anyone has tried this router & if so, is the range good & if so, is it better to use 5GHZ (if a device supports it) or 2.4GHZ.


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## klang (Oct 14, 2003)

Can't help with this specific router but 5GHZ has shorter range in general.


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## RasputinAXP (Jan 23, 2008)

5GHz is shorter range because of the wavelength. It's more susceptible to penetration issues.


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

Maximum PC recommends two routers for excellent performance and range. One is a new model by Buffalo (can't recall the model number), the other is the Netgear WNDR3700, which I have and am very pleased with.


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## HDJulie (Aug 10, 2008)

I'll go check out the information on that Netgear


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Cholly said:


> Maximum PC recommends two routers for excellent performance and range. One is a new model by Buffalo (can't recall the model number), the other is the Netgear WNDR3700, which I have and am very pleased with.


I have the 3400 of the above, also pleased.

Curiously, I found another reason to not recommend lynksis linksys?: I found my neighbor had been advised by Comcast to get one....:nono2:


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## dorfd1 (Jul 16, 2008)

Laxguy said:


> I have the 3400 of the above, also pleased.
> 
> Curiously, I found another reason to not recommend lynksis linksys?: I found my neighbor had been advised by Comcast to get one....:nono2:


the linksys router is required if the person wanted to participate in the comcast ipv6 trial's using the comcast openwrt build.


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## mutelight (Oct 6, 2008)

I have the Linksys 4200 and the range is quite good. My place is not that big but I have been very satisfied with the wireless speeds I achieve with it.


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## HDJulie (Aug 10, 2008)

I've read mixed reviews of both the Linksys & the Netgear. I bought the E4200 & was disappointed that the signal wasn't better in the Man Cave, but the Cave is on the opposite side of the house from the router, & is on top of the shop so it isn't even in the house . The laptop & iPad both work from the Cave so I guess that's all I can ask for here. Hopefully my sister's will work well at her house.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

dorfd1 said:


> the linksys router is required if the person wanted to participate in the comcast ipv6 trial's using the comcast openwrt build.


Heh. My dear neighbor is not a candidate for testing of anything past windup wrist watches!

I dislike the Windows centric aspect of Comcast (and Linksys)


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## RasputinAXP (Jan 23, 2008)

Laxguy said:


> Heh. My dear neighbor is not a candidate for testing of anything past windup wrist watches!
> 
> I dislike the Windows centric aspect of Comcast (and Linksys)


Windows centric? You kidding me? Linksys is platform agnostic, and its internal OS is Linux based. Comcast doesn't care what OS you're running, either.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

"RasputinAXP" said:


> Windows centric? You kidding me? Linksys is platform agnostic, and its internal OS is Linux based. Comcast doesn't care what OS you're running, either.


Does Linksys have some Windows only configuration tools? I know I had to use one to one with a gaming adapter I had (no web interface).


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

RasputinAXP said:


> Windows centric? You kidding me? Linksys is platform agnostic, and its internal OS is Linux based. Comcast doesn't care what OS you're running, either.


How long have you been running Macs? 
Of course Comcast doesn't care what platform you're running as long as you pay your bill, and don't ever require support beyond the modem.


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## RasputinAXP (Jan 23, 2008)

Laxguy said:


> How long have you been running Macs?
> Of course Comcast doesn't care what platform you're running as long as you pay your bill, and don't ever require support beyond the modem.


System 7. Support thousands of current Macs. Personally their enterprise networking stack sucks.

What you're saying is that for 99% of people it's not a problem, right?


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

RasputinAXP said:


> System 7. Support thousands of current Macs. Personally their enterprise networking stack sucks.
> 
> What you're saying is that for 99% of people it's not a problem, right?


Dunno if I am indicating that, no. But if one is as savvy re networking, enterprise, etc., as you are, you'd barely notice the difference as you don't need their help (the ISP nor the modem mfg.). I do admit my bias is based on equipment trials several years ago.


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## scooper (Apr 22, 2002)

I'm currently using a Netgear WNR3500L from the Samknows project of the FCC, but I also have a Linksys WRT54GS in the kitchen for wireless connections on that side of the house.


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## RasputinAXP (Jan 23, 2008)

scooper said:


> I'm currently using a Netgear WNR3500L from the Samknows project of the FCC


Me too. I have to admit, I'm less than thrilled with the performance of the thing. I'm hooked on N, now though. I may finally knuckle under and get myself a legitimate N WAP with some MIMO antennas.


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## HDJulie (Aug 10, 2008)

scooper said:


> I'm currently using a Netgear WNR3500L from the Samknows project of the FCC, but I also have a Linksys WRT54GS in the kitchen for wireless connections on that side of the house.


To use the Linksys that way, it has to be plugged into a wired connection, right? And then you turn off DHCP in it?


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

HDJulie said:


> To use the Linksys that way, it has to be plugged into a wired connection, right? And then you turn off DHCP in it?


Correct. You also need to give it a valid hard-coded address on your LAN and make be sure to connect it via one of its LAN ports, not its WAN port.

Also, if it will be the _second_ wireless router on your network, give them both the same SSID, but assign different channels to them.

RE: DHCP. You don't have to turn it off. You can turn it off on the main router. You just don't want two DHCP servers on the same network.


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## scooper (Apr 22, 2002)

Steve said:


> Correct. You also need to give it a valid hard-coded address on your LAN and make be sure to connect it via one of its LAN ports, not its WAN port.
> 
> Also, if it will be the _second_ wireless router on your network, give them both the same SSID, but assign different channels to them.
> 
> RE: DHCP. You don't have to turn it off. You can turn it off on the main router. You just don't want two DHCP servers on the same network.


Ok - didn't realize you want the same SSID


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

Steve said:


> Correct. You also need to give it a valid hard-coded address on your LAN and make be sure to connect it via one of its LAN ports, not its WAN port.
> 
> Also, if it will be the _second_ wireless router on your network, give them both the same SSID, but assign different channels to them.


You can give it a different SSID if you want as well. That way you can select which router you want to connect to, if you desire that option.

- Merg


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