Linksys announces WRT610N simultaneous dual-N band router
By Ryan Block 
posted Jul 3rd 2008 12:01AM
posted Jul 3rd 2008 12:01AM
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It could use a longer name. "WRT610N Simultaneous Dual-N Band Router" just doesn't describe the product well enough.
Well, this is going to be my new router.
already out of stock, too bad
Are you sure? I'd let 50 people on Newegg take the hit and review it first to see if it's similar to all the recent buggy, nearly impossible to setup Linksys siblings.
It has been out of stock, it's a pre-order, mine is listed as expected to ship on the 14th.
I would check out the netgear version WNDR3300. Same specs but much cheaper
Doesn't 802.11n draft already make use of the 2.4 and 5ghz band?
No, absolutely not. Read up folks and don't be fooled by imitations.
What N? The only routers on the market are draft-N. Since their not following specifications, they can do whatever they like.
I believe that both 2.4 and 5Ghz are available to use under N, but I'm not sure if it requires both. Few routers offer 5Ghz atm. Though, this should easily have reverse compatibility with wireless a.
@atrain: Are you joking? Of course they're following specifications, it's just a draft of a specification, and most routers will be firmware upgradable to the final draft n once it's done.
My Airport Extreme (Gigabit) does offer me the option of either 2.4ghz or 5ghz, however, unlike this product, it cannot do both simultaneously.
Yes, 802.11n already supports simultaneous 2.4 and 5 GHz, but most router hardware doesn't. Most routers contain only a 2.4 GHz radio.
The Linksys WRT600N has been out for several months now and has support for using both frequencies simultaneously. It also support 40 MHz wide channels (as opposed to the standard 20 MHz), which produces another speed increase. The WRT600N has 3 external antennas, so it doesn't look as nice as the WRT610N, but my guess is that the 600N has slightly better coverage.
These routers use Broadcom chipsets. DD-WRT will run on the WRT600N (and probably the WRT610N as well), but it is currently lacking a couple of features (such as 40 MHz wide channel support.)
@Carlton Bale
Most informative comment of the year. My hat goes off to you!
it's still pre-N (or draft-N, whatever) and I won't buyty a wireless-N router until 802.11N is finalized
Most routers are going to be firmware upgradable to final N, so that's not much of an issue.
iofthestorm, I never thought I would see this, but I just saw a router Fanboy!
lol
Wait,there's a final n?
Someone explain this to my uninformed mind
um, no. he's actually giving out good, useful information.
Ace b, the current 802.11n products are based on the 'Draft' of the final speicifcation. Once the final specification is released, it'll probably gradually replace 802.11g as the standard, and will be far more compatible.
@Gav
So when's the final spec's gonna be released?
Any router that is compliant with 802.11n Draft 2.0 will be firmware upgradeable to the final version. Anything that is Draft 1.0 *may* not be.
Thebhead of the nameing department should be fired
Your spellchecker should be fired.
Why? Says a lot more than most product names.
W-Wireless
RT-router
610-well, the dual band routers have 600Mbps bandwidth, I suppose this is just to distinguish it from the WRT600N
N-802.11n
Is that really so hard to understand?
I'd admit I can't spell worth a darnbut dont blame my spell cheker mobilesafari and firrfox have good ones I'm just really bad at spelling
@DefPo3t
I've found that if you have to explain the backstory of your previous comment,your gonna get low ranked.
And basically,"low rank" is the kind way of people saying STFU.
Just sayin.
@ Ace b
It's "you're" not "your."
I knew someone was gonna bring that up.Damn not being able to edit posted comments.
Tee hee. He said firrfox.
Didn't the WRT600N already do that? Isn't the 610 just the updated form factor?
That's what I'm wondering, from the description, it sounds like the exact same thing, but with internal antennas (shorter range?)
I have the 600, so if there's a real difference, I wouldn't mind hearing about it.
Prettiest router ever made???
LOL
I was thinking to myself..."Damn, this thing would still be put in my basement where nobody could admire it!"
@sam: second that. I was surprised it took a few comments until someone mentioned that.
I can see it now... "Pimp my Router" by MTV
DDWRT Yet?
Or delicious Tomato?
Why do product designers still insist on making things looks like rejected props from b movies!!
I found this on Amazon before Engadget posted it. $149 for pre-order. I think I'm going to get it; I currently have the Dlink 4500 gaming router but I could really use the 5Ghz frequency for my Dlink DAP-1555 bridge that connects my HD Tivos, 360, PS3, and slingbox.
Question I've always wanted to ask with Dualband:
Can I have one band secured and another open (unsecured) for guests, etc? I know I CAN, but what I mean is can I do it without the person having the ability to get into my network files/folders/computers, etc. I just want them to have net access, and possibly even allocated a restricted amount of bandwidth to use.
Very few routers support this type of thing. One that I know that does is the Belkin N Vision 1. It lets you create a guest wifi, that is secured, but it displays the password on the screen so that your guests can use it. It grants them internet, but not local network access. You cannot limit the bandwidth that they use however, even though that would be wonderful. You could always just use the QOS settings and put your devices/lan ports at high, so any other devices that connect get last shot at bandwidth.
THAT BEING SAID
The Belkin N Vision 1 has horrible throughput, and no N only mode. Not to mention being limited to the 2.4 ghz spectrum. So basically, it's just a really pretty gigabit G router with the G crossed out, and an N in it's place.
I bought my wrt610n the moment that they let me at amazon. I can't wait
Or you can get 2 routers, since you planning on getting this one, you can make the gaming one unsecured
Hey, the D-Link DIR-855 has this functions "Guest zone" on either the 2,4 or 5 GHz band with a secured connection (or not) so they cant access your network
/m
It doesn't quite have the lust factor of an iPhone, but this is the first router that actually made me say...that's looks pretty nice. Where are the antennas?
on the inside... its like an inspiration taken right from Intel!!!
it actually has 8 antennas, compared to only 6 in the WRT600N
What are the dimensions on this thing? Looks like a piece of the CM Stacker 830
Netgear have this already for a while; they call theirs WNDR3300.
I also has WPS for easy security with a button. I played with it.
I think it is better than this one because more antenna's.
May I say that Linksys By Cisco is more like Linksys Designed By Netgear? The black look with the blue lights is popular...
This has the same number of antennas as the Netgear. However, the Netgear is limited to only g speeds on the 2.4 ghz side, while this one will do 300 mb on both the 2.4ghz and 5ghz at the same time.
Actually the WNDR3300 can do 270Mbit signal rate / 40MHz channels on 2.4GHz too, just not at the same time as 5GHz. There is essentially one dual band "300Mbit" radio and one 2.4GHz g radio so you can have 300Mbit in only 1 band at a time but can have a legacy g connection going too.
Compare that to the D-Link DIR-628, which only has 1 dual band 300Mbit radio which you can only be in 1 band total.
I've been disappointed with the Netgear WNDR3300 for several months now. I'm looking for something that doesn't drop connections every 5-15 minutes when there are two PCs that are within five feet of each other. I was hoping they would be able to fix this with a firmware flash, but there hasn't been an update since May.
Oh sweet! I've been waiting for this to come out. Now I can connect wireless with my um...
Oh yeah, my...
Wait a sec! I don't own anything that needs a 802.11n router?!
Which chipsets are LinkCo using these days?
If I upgrade my airport extreme, I'm buying this.
It looks like it may have some USB functionality too.
It does.
http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Product_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1175245928479&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper&lid=2847933028B01
At this price, this is going to be a D-Link's DIR-855 killer.
I soo LOVE this router !!!
But just got a Belkin N1 vision from pricegrabber at $200
Which one is better, this one or Belkin N1 vision... ?
Can't understand router which has its ports in the arse...
Why not to put the ports on front? where they should be? where you would not need kneel before the darn cheap plastic box to plug a cable?? or was it intentional?
Because that's how nearly every router for the home market is designed? Or possibly because most people don't want to be staring at a mess of cables all the time? If you really want the ports on the other side, here are simple diy instructions on how to make it so:
1. Lift router
2. Rotate 180 degrees
3. Set down router.
You think is it possible to order it from Europe? I can not wait and pay the double price here...
Is this an ADSL(2+)/Cable router
It doesnt say what internet connection it supports...
Or is it a company router that connects to a Media converter???
I would love this router if it actually connects to the internet..
Why not work on fixing the problems on the wrt600n first? It does both simultaneously also and is $50 dollars or so cheaper.
The WRT310N already looks like this...
I would love to buy this, but the 200 dollar price tag is a wee bit much. 140 would be nice go, and its gold for me.
Or, save $140 and buy a cheap 54G, throw DD-WRT or Tomato on it, and have a much better signal, more control and more features. Have to have a N router? Grab the earlier 150N and still save $100.
Not to diminish the supply even further but:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124296
It's a bit more pricey but available immediately for those that can't wait.
My laptop has built in G, Could I configure it to use a wireless N card instead with this router?
You could do that, but why would you want to? You'd have to put an ugly, bulky card in your laptop (or use USB). 54G is plenty fast. The only reason I can think of to do this is if you need more range and don't want to do WDS or if you need higher speed wireless over your LAN. I doubt your internet connection is fast enough to saturate an 802.11G connection on a regular basis.
My internet connection is 8Mbps. I have a Linksys WGA600N wireless bridge connected to a Popcorn Hour media player. The wireless bridge is G/N. I was thinking I could ftp files to it faster with this router from a laptop with a N card. No?
Nice...
does it mean when you use it, you have 2 wireless networks of 802.11n?
DO NOT BUY THIS
I bought a linksys WRT310N the connection drops 4 or 5 times a day, the router over heats, and if you use bittorrent it really drops and over heats. It will almost burn you to the touch, if you seek the linksys forums, they will delete all posts about the problem do you know what solution they offer?? "powercycle the router" they expcet you to do this 5 times a day. If you feel you must purchase a linksys router check the forums first, linksys deletes posts , so check it each day for a few days before buying sometimes posts last a day about problems before they are removed
Solution, don't buy new linksys routers they are garbage, I picked up a buffalo wireless N , and it has by far been the best router i have ever owned.
I know these are dismal questions for most of you guys but please explain me a couple of things that I´m unsure about:
I'm perfectly happy with my little Linksys Wireless G -Speed Booster 2.4 GHz, 802.11g (whatever that means), but since I have a few desktops, laptops, nas, and media extenders around and I pay a fortune for the highest broadband speed my provider can ... provide, it follows that a good router for me is absolutely essential.
Now: would my wifi toys make use of the new N standard or would they just perferm as they always did in any case?
In what sense would this new router be an improvement since I can see from various broadband speed test that my pcs are already connected at 20 000 MB/s (which is what I pay for)?
Pity my ignorance if you like but please illuminate me.
My God Digitalysick
I've got a Linksys broadband Wireless G 2.4GHz (802.11g) and it has been working flawlessly for over a year non stop.
Is'nt it possible that you have just been sorta unlucky with your unit?
I agree, as a wrt600n owner (I have a feeling the guts between that and this are more similar than 310 to this), I've had zero problems since setup, and only need to powercycle when the cable modem decides to take a break (Thank you Comcast!)
Is this really the only RTR that can do both bands at the same time?
Another GREAT SPECS (rotten performance) product?
I just bought a D-link DIR-655 to replace my aging Linky BEFW11S4.
I was planning to use the N speed to move stream files between my media servers with my new and oh so sexy Acer Aspire 6920...
The acer has a Intel Pro wireless 4965AGN, and it just WILL NOT connect to the D-link at N (G is fine), I've about given up trying and think I'll take back the D-link and try this one.
Question: does anyone know if this router will do N with the Intel 4965AGN?
Actually the D-Link DIR-655 WILL connect to the Intel 4965AGN at N speeds. You must use either no encryption or AES encryption. This is part of the N spec. Most likely you are using WEP or TKIP, which are not supported by N.
Note that the DIR-655 will max out at 130Mbps, since it is single band.
This reply coming to you at N speeds over an Intel 4965AGN and D-Link DIR-655!
wow, not bad......
this actually looks as nice as those belkin routers
All of the old Linksys(by Cisco, of course) routers were boxy and looked ugly-this one looks good though
as for what it can do
If they but "dual band" in just to put the price higher, they are sick bastards
all N(im sorry, draft-N too) routers that can do 5GHz can aleady do 2.4GHz on ABG, weather it says dual band or not
you can get a N or draft-N router for a lot cheaper for the same ability, it just wont have as long a name
@some kid: 802.11a doesn't run on the 2.4 GHz band, the spec was created to not run on the same band as everything else out there so that it could sustain streaming media files. Also, you're quite wrong about N routers than can do 2.4 GHz on 802.11b or g...and really, you've missed the point that this router can run N on both 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz instead of one or the other like nearly every other dual band router out there.
Thanks for the reply bananaman,
Actually the first thing I tried was with no encryption and would never use WEP lol.
Right now I'm in G mode using WPA personal Mode=WPA2 only
With AES on the router side, and AES only on the 4965AGN.
I just got off the line with D-Link Tech support and after going through their moronic flowchart several times they came to the conclusion that I have a bad router and gave me a RMA
Even if the new 655 works with N, I still think I'm going to get the WRT610N though.
I just picked up one at Circuit City. Can't wait to test it out tonight.
So what do you have to report?
So what do you have to report?
I got the WRT610N and you CANNOT run both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz at the same time, you MUST disable one or the other... when both running, the wireless connections drops constantly. I spent 1 hour with Linksys support and it's NOT possible. FALE adverticing from Linksys! DON'T buy this product if you want to run 2.4Ghz BG 54Mbit/s and 5Ghz N 300Mbit/s simultaneously.
Don't know what your problem was. But simultaneous operation in both bands worked fine for me.
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/content/view/30530/96/1/4/
I got my linksys router at www.consumerdepot.com