I had an older Medialink Router and had a problem in internet access.. I had it over 5 years and thought maybe the problem was the router. I checked the current offering and found this model, the AC1200 - was faster, had more extensive range coverage, and at a quite reasonable price. So I ordered one from Amazon with one day delivery.
Before the new router arrived I discovered the problem was due to a disruption by my internet service provider. But I am glad I got this newer version. When I had a problem installing the new router, I called the Medialink people for advice. It turned out the problem was the modem to my local ISP, and that the modem had remembered the old password and needed to be unplugged and immediately plugged in again. The Medialink person had me check a few things then suggested the mobem reset issues. That fixed my installation immediately. The company answered my phone call quickly, was courteous, idententifed the problem, and I was up and running.
We tried several routers, including several very expensive products, and by far the Medialink AC1200 is the best. Super easy to set up and use, excellent Wi-Fi that one can TURN OFF when not needed, and unbeknownst to us, only because there is no mention of this feature in the Amazon description of this router, the Medialink AC1200 has a VPN included too. So if you are turned off because this router does not show a VPN feature - it's included, Amazon just doesn't have it listed.
I've had this wireless router 2 weeks and so far it rocks. It was super, super easy to install and the range is awesome. My son connects wirelessly on the 5Ghz band with his gaming PC on the other side of the house and hasn't had any of the problems he had before we upgraded to this router like weak signal or slow/dropped connections. He loves the high fps gaming he is able to achieve now.
I am an IT guy with lots of networking experience, but it is not needed to setup anything on this router, and it has a bunch of cool features for those looking to do advanced stuff like VPN, Port Forwarding, Dynamic DNS, DHCP Reservation, etc. I like that it is set by default to automatically reboot every night while everyone is sleeping.
This is an excellent product which solves a maddening first world problem: horrible wi-fi coverage within your own home, wife child and self griping about phones and laptops and cable constantly dropping, breaking up, even working well enough at random moments to infuriate friends and business contacts on the other end of the line , phone company and cable company unable to help (I got a booster which didn't help at all) ... this router is not only VERY powerful, it has an extender mode that will ADD to the power of your existing router and most importantly, it has an absolutely CRACK SUPPORT TEAM willing and able to do whatever it takes to MAKE YOUR WI FI WORK. Because frankly, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way ... no wait a minute, that's Tolstoy ... every house is different architecturally, has different walls and doors, coverage varies from area to area (as does the placement of power lines screwing with same) ...frankly it can be an impossible problem for the normally intelligent layman. Best thing to do is buy one of these. It works right out of the box, the instructions are simple (relatively), it's powerful as hell ... and if you've got a real nightmare of your hands, call tech support and ask for Jarrod. Problem solved!
I was very excited about this router because of it's features for it's price. Most of the routers in this price range are older and do not come with some of the latest features this router has (June / 2017). More specifically beamforming, or even 802.11ac.
I've never heard of this brand before, but the product seems well made and put together. The web interface is very simple, and probably more simple than other router's I've tried (the good kind of simple).
I have to say though, the signal quality that I was most looking forward was good, not great. Definitely an upgrade from my older router though (it's actually ancient).
My computers are about 20 ft. from the router.
- Compared to my older router on 2.4Ghz I went from 25Mbps to 45Mbps roughly. On 5Ghz band I did top out my internet speed 100Mbps.
- Packet loss was an occasional issue on my older router on 2.4Ghz band, it's been dramatically reduced, but still happens (rare).
- Latency of wireless transmission on either band seems about average and the same as my older router.
- Signal strength is better of course compared to my old router, but the numbers are not impressive especially for being 20 ft. away. Though I'm sure it's comparable to other routers in this price range.
Maybe I gave beamforming too much credit, I'm not sure.
All in all it's an upgrade, and a great value to me. I am considering purchasing a second unit for another building where the signal / range demands are higher. So I'll probably get a clearer picture how well it works there.
P.S. There is no 3rd party firmware (like DD-WRT) available for this router. But I am optimistic one will be made eventually.
Feature Product
- 10X'S THE SPEED: Most routers in this price range have only "Fast Ethernet" ports that max out at 100Mbps. Our router has Gigabit ports to give you 1,000Mbps for lag-free 4K video streaming & gaming.
- RANGE: Beamforming and 2 high powered antennas work together to cover larger homes by focusing the wireless signal directly to your device
- SAFE: Robust firewall and wireless security keeps out unwanted visitors while Guest Network access gives a separate safe and secure connection to guests
- FULL CONTROL: Are the router lights too bright? Turn them off! Are your kids staying online too late at night? Restrict access to only the times you want
- RANGE EXTENDER: Extend any existing wireless network using the Universal Range Extender Mode to cover even larger areas & keep all your devices on the same network
Description
Ac Wi-Fi provides larger-home coverage with Gigabit wired connections. Avoid wireless interference with simultaneous dual Band technology. This router provides Wi-Fi coverage to many corners of a big home. You can also extend existing Wi-Fi signals With the router's universal range extender mode. The mlwr-ac1200r makes sharing across your network even simpler. Quickly access stored photos & music across devices. It supports the latest security features, to help ensure your privacy & make sure that your family is safer while online. Parents & admins can manage Internet filtering & control bandwidth for devices.
Quite possibly the best router I have ever had. Some would think that only spending $50 on a router makes it a cheap, not functional one. That is completely not the case with this one. I have been purchasing products from Mediabridge for a while now and they have all lived up to the quality you expect at an affordable price. This router handles all of the tasks it's required to do. My house definitely puts stress on routers and I can never get more than 6 months out of any of the name brand ones bought in the past. With 2 Xbox's, 3 Chromecasts, 3 Laptops, and a smart tv, this one has never slowed or had to be restarted. Highly recommend this for any household looking to save money and get a high quality product form a great company.
Only had this router for 2 days, but thats long enough to convince me its top quality. I often install routers for a living, but recently I've had a lot of trouble with IP reservations and port forwarding on a lot of brands. I have had to return several, just couldn't get them to port forward. This Medialink router had no trouble with DHCP on the 22 devices I have linked to it. Address reservations on 8 devices worked flawlessly and port forwarding on 5 cameras also worked with no trouble. Wifi strength on both bands was very good, I even cancelled plans to install a range extender.
Can't speak to customer support as I didn't need it.
5 weeks later: Router spontaneously reset itself this am (no power surge, no other problems). Fortunately I had a configuration backup so it was easily fixed. But this is not acceptable if it occurs with any frequency. I will report back if this was not just a fluke.
I'm a retired senior with 'limited' tech knowledge. With the help of the Medialink Tech support Rep (Tim) my new AC1200 router was extremely "easy" to install. Had it and my home NET up and running in less than 15 minutes. Maybe that was helped by the fact it was replacing an older version of a Medialink router, BUT regardless, it was easy. My old Medialink router 'failed' after 5 years and I needed a replacement.
Of course the assistance that I received from Tim, the Medialink Tech support Rep to assist me with the install was just "outstanding". He was professional, courteous, and knowledgeable. I understood everything that he explained to me. If I needed a replacement router some time down the road, I would turn to Medialink in a heartbeat for both their device and their tech support.
Thanks again Medialink.
I am using this router as a universal repeater and it does exactly what I need it to do, at a very reasonable price. I had a little difficulty setting it up (I usb'd to my laptop but did not turn off wifi and this confused things) but when I called Medialink, I got great help. The phone was immediately answered by a human, Tim T., who walked me through exactly what I needed to do to complete the setup. Others have complimented this company's customer service, and my experience bears this out.
WOW... Really impressed!!! I simply plugged in this powerful repeater (as that is what I was shooting for) and following the instructions about typing in the URL Address... followed the prompts and was up and running in literally minutes. I went into the various settings... for example Wireless Repeating to turn on and initially selected WISP but then discovered that this setting sets up lets the unit setup its own network. This then didn't allow me to print to my printer and some other network connections... but it still worked on many of my machines. However after selecting the Universal Repeater then I could print and connect to all my network devices. Here's the kicker... I work from home. I wanted to be able to be at our neighborhood pool which is direct across the street. When I emailed MediaLink they kindly declined to say that the single would reach... understandably since they didn't know all the parameters involved. In other words they didn't want me to buy it and then be disappointed that the signal wouldn't be strong enough. Now that makes this a smart and customer service company. Meaning not over promising and under delivering. The cool thing is the signal is so strong not only can I sit at the pool I can be way in the back... further away... and still get a strong signal. Now bear in mind I do have it next to a window... our home office... that faces the pool... which BTW there is no need to follow the instructions like hooking up a CAT5 or hardwire cabling with a computer. I got it up and running simply by plugging it in... letting all the lights for wireless come on... and then looked at my various wireless connections... selected the new connection MediaLink, logged in as instructed changing my password and then changing the settings as described above. This is by far one of the best networking devices I have ever purchased in over 30 years in the IT World. Oh BTW the company had emailed me a day ahead of me receiving the device with all kinds of information both online and/or I could call for help if needed. No company does that anymore now-a-days. Never had to call... but I'm sure they'd be right there if I had to or have to moving forward. The strange thing is I had never heard of this company before. I was always a CISCO, HP, Microsoft etc.. you get the picture.. but this company puts them all to shame both in quality of product and of customer service. So glad I researched on Amazon as I do a lot and most if not all others whom purchased this product gave high stars and great personal testimonies. Mine is just an addition to theirs. Thanks MediaLink for such a great product and I'm sure great service.
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