Linksys WRT1900AC First User Reports

[sm00thpapa]

I was contacted by Belkin/Linksys today and a new firmware is in the works to be released any day now. They mentioned fixing the wireless on the 5 GHz band.


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[jalyst]

I was contacted by Belkin/Linksys today and a new firmware is in the works to be released any day now. They mentioned fixing the wireless on the 5 GHz band.

We already know they're releasing the fw, what they still haven't released is the wireless driver:
https://forum.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?pid=230983#p230983
That's the critical component of a wireless router that happens to also be an okay NAS device.

Anyway, this discussion is best continued here...
http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=16645&page=2
This thread is about users reporting their usage experiences, not the evolving F/OSS fw saga.

 

[thiggins]

I was contacted by Belkin/Linksys today and a new firmware is in the works to be released any day now. They mentioned fixing the wireless on the 5 GHz band.

Fixing what specifically?

 

[hewligun]

Hi - I'll try to answer your question without the rhetoric ... Yes BestBuy stock online is relative to what's in the store. If they do have in stock you can order online and pickup in store same day ~ otherwise they are out. If you put in zip you should be able to broaden your search and see what the next closest stores are with stock.

Back to the router - you mentioned you've been through the RT-AC68 and the R7000 and had problems with both. I have too but found the Asus the better of the bunch. Not sure what features are most important to you but I've never used any of the sharing (drives or printers) since I have dedicated NAS and network printers. I had high hopes for the WRT1900AC but it kind of falls down on the 2.4ghz. One thing I noticed is the Marvell SoC is the same my Synology NAS uses and that maybe why the drive performance is so good. I just wish they has better radios.

I am in the same boat as you. I have a NAS and an HTPC that also has media content but is wireless. The r7000 and the 68u both had problems with wireless to wired staying up. they would both drop out.

I came from a linksys wrt610n that was working like a champ. Just stopped working for no reason. I took my r7000 back and ordered this router and by chance tried my wrt610n just to see if it might work while i wait for the linksys in the mail. Sure enough it works. I notice my entire network being a lot faster.

I will report how the linksys works for me. It arrives tomorrow and I will play with it for a week and let you guys know.

I also wonder between the marvell and broadcom which is the better option. It seems most routers have been broadcom for along time.

 

[hewligun]

So far so good on this router. Only been a few hours. Only issue so far and its driving me mad!!! i cannot get my xbox ones to be open NAT. Furthermore if I open the ports as microsoft has them pointed to JUST the xbox ip... my internet does not work. There is 7 ports needed to be opened and i was so frusterated I just deleted them and internet works but NAT still moderate. we have 2 xbox ones in the house.

 

[jlake]

So far so good on this router. Only been a few hours. Only issue so far and its driving me mad!!! i cannot get my xbox ones to be open NAT. Furthermore if I open the ports as microsoft has them pointed to JUST the xbox ip... my internet does not work. There is 7 ports needed to be opened and i was so frusterated I just deleted them and internet works but NAT still moderate. we have 2 xbox ones in the house.

What ports are you trying to forward. Hopefully you're not trying to forward port 53 and port and 80. Keep in mind that when Microsoft says "open", they don't mean "forwarded".

Just use UPnP. Don't use single port forwarding. Use port triggering since you have multiple xboxes. Make sure you set up DHCP reservations for your xboxes.

 

[hewligun]

What ports are you trying to forward. Hopefully you're not trying to forward port 53 and port and 80. Keep in mind that when Microsoft says "open", they don't mean "forwarded".

Just use UPnP. Don't use single port forwarding. Use port triggering since you have multiple xboxes. Make sure you set up DHCP reservations for your xboxes.

I did do that and yeah it was port 53 that was the culprit. I should also mention one xbox one is open the other is moderate and somehow i got it to strict but was able to get it back to moderate. It seems nobody else is having this issue.

I have the dhcp reservations on both. I have not used port triggering before. does it work the same? as a note i also put the xbox ip in the dmz and it still was moderate.. (wtf?)

as far as upnp goes it is turned on. I didnt have a problem with this when i owned the nighthawk. Below are the ports I used based on ms page.

Port 88 (UDP)
Port 3074 (UDP and TCP)
Port 53 (UDP and TCP)
Port 80 (TCP)
Port 500 (UDP)
UDP Port 3544 (UDP)
UDP Port 4500 (UDP)

Also I did notice that smell from it. But i have noticed that with most brand new pc's. So hopefully in a week that smell burns off. The only other thing i noticed when sleeping and waking up at night i can hear the fans just every so slightly. That is a little annoying.

If everything stays as rock solid as it is right now and i can get the NAT open on my consoles at the same time, its a keeper. range is better than my r7000 was.

 

[thomfrost]

WRT1900AC vs R7000

Did I miss it or how does the 1900 compare to the R7000 which is the top performing router.

Is there a head to head comparison between the two.

 

[jalyst]

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?p=115704#post115704

 

[roldogg]

Same situation

I can't decide what to do, its too expensive to justify having it as a second router and I honestly don't think it will outperform my AC66u. I'll wait for the reviews. I grown used to the custom firmware Merlin provides and I am not sure I am willing to go back to the basic Smart Wifi firmware. Other than this the 1900AC looks like a beauty.

I'm in the exact situation. I've been running my RT-AC66R with Merlin firmware, but I also have a Linksys N900 in bridge mode on the other side of the house. Well, yesterday I went into Best Buy for something and I came out with the WRT1900AC. I figured I could replace the older Linksys I'm using in Bridge Mode. Now I have a problem, do I replace my RT-AC66R as my primary router with this new Linksys and move the Asus and run it as an access point, or do I replace the older Linksys router with the newer router? I think I may replace the ASUS with the new Linksys as my primary router.

 

[lexist2112]

I'm in the exact situation. I've been running my RT-AC66R with Merlin firmware, but I also have a Linksys N900 in bridge mode on the other side of the house. Well, yesterday I went into Best Buy for something and I came out with the WRT1900AC. I figured I could replace the older Linksys I'm using in Bridge Mode. Now I have a problem, do I replace my RT-AC66R as my primary router with this new Linksys and move the Asus and run it as an access point, or do I replace the older Linksys router with the newer router? I think I may replace the ASUS with the new Linksys as my primary router.

I vote for you to make the WRT1900AC as your primary router and reuse the Asus in the network. I had the R7000, great router with current FW, very happy with the Linksys thus far and just waiting for the OpenWRT to get the Marvell source code so that they can "hopefully", tweak the wireless.
Happy Camper and so is my friend who now owns the R7000.

 

[RogerSC]

Just got the WRT1900AC, interesting piece of hardware. Seems fast and stable, very solid, and I'm impressed with the level of testing that Linksys/Belkin has done when I compare the stock firmware with my experience with the R7000 stock firmware.

Haven't time to do performance testing yet, but very happy with the fact that I can reboot the WRT1900AC and not lose my internet connection with IPv6 enabled. I'm not sure that Netgear will ever get right. Also, all computers, smart phones, and my iPad also work with IPv6, another thing that Netgear doesn't get right. Some wireless devices don't have IPv6 available using the R7000 with stock firmware.

The WRT1900AC works with all our devices, getting an 867Mbps connection using the Asus USB-AC56 adapter, works with phones, tablets, ethernet bridges, MoCA, Roku, Verizon Network Extender, etc. No problems yet.

The only thing I don't like about the WRT1900AC so far is the lack of features in the firmware. This lack of extended features that I expect in a $250 router makes it easier for firmware developers to put out nice, stable firmware, but leaves you feeling like you didn't get what you paid for. Even the Netgear stock firmware (I don't use it *smile*) has a bunch more useful features. Although the stock firmware for the R7000 comes up short on features, as well, and has stability problems that I haven't yet found in the WRT1900AC stock firmware.

Another minor annoyance is that I've spent some time looking for an "uptime since last reboot" clock, pretty much standard equipment in routers these days, no luck yet. It is helpful to remind you when you last had to reboot to get a feeling for long-term reliability.

Anyways, I don't know if Linksys plans on adding more features to their firmware over time. However, I've seen clear statements in the documentation that they intend to support the development of open source firmware (not support the firmware, just the development *smile*). If I could use dd-wrt firmware with this router, that would be a great combination. Just like dd-wrt makes the R7000 into a great router, it could do the same for this one. Got my fingers crossed that this gets done.

 

[G997]

Don't unplug and plug back in to reset the 1900.
Settings become corrupted and eventually revert to a combination of stock and custom settings....
Other than that its a solid router
Just need more customization in the firmware

 

[lexist2112]

Just got the WRT1900AC, interesting piece of hardware. Seems fast and stable, very solid, and I'm impressed with the level of testing that Linksys/Belkin has done when I compare the stock firmware with my experience with the R7000 stock firmware.

Haven't time to do performance testing yet, but very happy with the fact that I can reboot the WRT1900AC and not lose my internet connection with IPv6 enabled. I'm not sure that Netgear will ever get right. Also, all computers, smart phones, and my iPad also work with IPv6, another thing that Netgear doesn't get right. Some wireless devices don't have IPv6 available using the R7000 with stock firmware.

The WRT1900AC works with all our devices, getting an 867Mbps connection using the Asus USB-AC56 adapter, works with phones, tablets, ethernet bridges, MoCA, etc. No problems yet.

The only thing I don't like about the WRT1900AC so far is the lack of features in the firmware. This lack of extended features that I expect in a $250 router makes it easier for firmware developers to put out nice, stable firmware, but leaves you feeling like you didn't get what you paid for. Even the Netgear stock firmware, as much as I don't use it *smile* has a bunch more useful features. Although the stock firmware for the R7000 comes up short on features, as well, and has stability problems that I haven't yet found in the WRT1900AC stock firmware.

Another minor annoyance is that I've spent some time looking for an "uptime since last reboot" clock, pretty much standard equipment in routers these days, no luck yet. It is helpful to remind you when you last had to reboot to get a feeling for long-term reliability.

Anyways, I don't know if Linksys plans on adding more features to their firmware over time. However, I've seen clear statements in the documentation that they intend to support the development of open source firmware (not support the firmware, just the development *smile*). If I could use dd-wrt firmware with this router, that would be a great combination. Just like dd-wrt makes the R7000 into a great router, it could do the same for this one. Got my fingers crossed that this gets done.

RogerSC, great to have you onboard. Like yourself I bought this router day 1 and has been bullet proof on the latest FW. All devices connect and stay connected(wireless). Configured the router in less then 15mins and connected to the network without a problem. I have not powered down the unit for any reason. I agree that the current FW is lackluster of features, but for now I am fine with it. Having Linksys develop FW and the OpenWRT, will give us many options to select from. The current OpenWRT has an extensive menu system, but it's not ready for prime time. Some have used it with no problems to 1 user bricking his unit. I am going to wait until OpenWRT has a stable FW, then I'll load it up. For now Iam happy with the current FW.

On a side note Linksys customer service has been great, they have contacted me directly like many other users, in my case just have a small bug on my 3TB external HDD, showing up as "expansi" in Italian, instead of english. Troubleshooting revealed possibly reformatting the drive. Going to try that this weekend.

Also asked the tech if they will be releasing a NEW FW. She said Linksys is in the process, and they will be releasing one soon enough

 

[jalyst]

Some have used it with no problems to 1 user bricking his unit.

Can you recall where you saw this?

 

[roldogg]

Well, I've been using my Asus RT-AC66R with the latest Merin firmware as my primary router, and I bought the WRT1900AC a few days ago but finally hooked it up today. Now, all I did was unplug my Asus router and hook up the Linksys. I use a desktop the majority of the time, which is hard wired into my router. In addition, I have a server, which is also hardwired, 3 android tablets, an iPad mini, 3 cell phones, 3 laptops, and some printers, smart TVs, Roku, Chromecast, DirecTV Genie with 6 clients, 2 Xboxes, Wii U, etc, but most of those were not connected to the new SSID I set for the Linksys. Based off the upload/download speed using a hardwired desktop, using the WRT1900AC, my speed was cut in half. Now, on all my wireless devices, I get a stronger signal throughout the house, but the speed on everything was cut in half, using the stock firmware. So, I'm going to change some of the settings and maybe look for the OpenWRT firmware, and see if the results improve. I must say, Linksys has in the past been one of my favorite routers. Who didn't have one of those WRT54G routers when they came out. Ever since I started using the Asus router, I didn't want to change back to Linksys, but from all the hype over this router, I thought I would give it a shot, but all I have to say is that their R&D department should have spent more time and money on functionality than aesthetics. Yes, it's pretty, it has the neat gadgets that work with your mobile device, etc, but they need to pay attention to performance. I run a billion dollar hedge fund and I expect no downtime and quick responsiveness, but as of right now, the WRT1900AC isn't even satisfactory based on the out of the box settings.

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[speedingcheetah]

Can you recall where you saw this?

More than 1 user with possibly bricked routers.

http://community.linksys.com/t5/Wireless-Routers/WRT1900AC-May-have-bricked-it/td-p/811096

http://community.linksys.com/t5/Wireless-Routers/WRT1900AC-and-OpenWrt/td-p/810750

 

[G997]

Another thing
A few of my static ip devices do not show up on the 1900 Network Map as connected or
in any of the other tabs but they work on my network....

Kinda weird

 

[roldogg]

Yes, my desktop, which is hard wired into the router, says it's not connected in network settings, but it is.

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[sfx2000]

I've got one of these as a review device:

I'm in contact with the Linksys team, so holding back a bit on comments until we can close out on some items... for the most part, my Linksys contact has been very open with access to the dev team, and I've received good responses.

couple of quick tips though for current FW on this box - current being 1.1.7.160177

1) Devices with Static IP's - they won't show up on the network map widget

2) For those who are seeing issues with 802.11 b/g/n devices - change the 2.4Ghz setting from Auto to B/G/N only and set channel width to 20MHz only - works better here for Atheros and Ralink STA's

3) Bridge Mode - note that you have to access the AP by IP - so you might want to assign a static IP vs. using DHCP

It's a quality device out of the box - I'm doing a bit more of a deeper dive perhaps, just short of putting it on the lab bench - I wouldn't do this for most vendors unless I think the device is worth consideration.

FWIW - I do see this device as something more than "just another product" based on conversations with the Linksys Team - they're pretty serious about this device being a flagship product.

sfx