Linksys WRT320N WiFi router: Pros and Cons

Linksys WRT320N (WRT320N) pictures

The specifications below are based on the official data published by the manufacturer, but we also take user reviews into consideration. If you found an error or something lacking in the specifications above for the Linksys WRT320N, then don’t hesite and signal the problem to us.

Linksys WRT320N (WRT320N) specifications

Body

If you have limited space available for your router, such as in a small apartment or office, the dimensions can determine whether it can fit in the designated area or not. It's important to consider the physical size of the router, including its height, width, and depth, to ensure it can be accommodated in your space. The weight of a router can be a consideration in certain situations, but it is generally not as crucial as other factors such as performance, features, and compatibility.

System

The Broadcom BCM4717A1 CPU, combined with other factors such as RAM capacity and firmware optimization, determines the overall performance and responsiveness of the router. The WRT320N comes with 32 MB of RAM. The amount of RAM in a router can impact its performance and capacity to handle concurrent operations and traffic. Higher RAM capacity allows for better multitasking, larger routing tables, and improved overall performance.

The 8 MB flash memory in the router serves as the storage medium for the router's firmware. It is a non-volatile memory that retains its data even when power is removed from the device. The Linksys often releases firmware updates to enhance the router's functionality, improve security, fix bugs, and add new features. Firmware updates can provide performance improvements, compatibility with new devices or protocols, and address vulnerabilities.

Depending on your router model and hardware specifications, using an alternative OS may result in improved stability and performance. The WRT320N is an OpenWRT supported router. OpenWrt offers a wide range of features and capabilities that extend the functionality of networking hardware. It includes a package management system that allows users to install and manage additional software packages to add new features or customize the device's behavior. The Linksys provides the appropriate power supply (12 V / 1 A) that matches the voltage requirements of the router. The power supply unit is designed to deliver the correct voltage to the router, ensuring its proper operation.

Network

Like many modern routers, the WRT320N supports many network standards too. The majority of networking equipment, including routers, switches, and other network devices, is designed to support IPv4. The WRT320N has 4 x 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN and 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps WAN ports. The LAN ports of WRT320N router are numbered and are used to establish wired connections between the router and devices such as computers, gaming consoles, smart TVs, network-attached storage (NAS) devices, and other network-enabled devices.

This router has Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports, which provides data transfer speeds of up to 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps) over Ethernet connections. The WAN port on a router stands for "Wide Area Network" port. It is used to connect the router to the external network, typically provided by an internet service provider (ISP). The WRT320N router supports Gigabit speed on its WAN port, that can support speeds up to 1000 Mbps. This router ensures that you can fully utilize high-speed internet connections provided by your ISP.

Wireless

This router has 3 x 2.2 dBi, internal antennas. Many modern routers feature multiple antennas and use Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology. This technology enables simultaneous transmission and reception of multiple data streams, increasing overall throughput and improving the Wi-Fi performance. The WRT320N is compatible with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi networks. 2.4 GHz is the most widely used frequency and in some cases may be overcrowded.

The WRT320N is a Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) router. N routers may have a more limited range compared to newer Wi-Fi standards, making them less suitable for larger homes or offices where Wi-Fi coverage is a concern. The N300 refers to the maximum combined data transfer rate supported by the router across all Wi-Fi bands. The WRT320N is capable of a maximum throughput speed of 300 Mbps. The real-world speed of a WRT320N router is typically lower than its theoretical maximum speed.

The maximum TX power of WRT320N router is 17.5 dBm. Adjusting the TX power of a router can be useful in situations where you want to optimize the Wi-Fi signal strength and coverage. The WRT320N router offers several security protocols: WEP, WPA, WPA2. The WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) was the first security protocol for Wi-Fi networks but is now considered weak and easily compromised. It uses a static encryption key and has known vulnerabilities, so it is no longer recommended for securing Wi-Fi networks. The WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) was introduced as an improvement over WEP and provides stronger security. If WPA3 is not available, WPA2-Personal with AES encryption is still considered secure.

Connectivity

The WRT320N router doesn't have file-server or print-server functionality.

Administration

The Linksys router setup panel is accessed through a web browser. Connect your computer to the WRT320N router via Wi-Fi or Ethernet cable. In the address bar of the web browser, type in the 192.168.1.1 IP address. If you are unable to log in to the setup panel of your Linksys router, performing a reset can be a helpful troubleshooting step. It is highly recommended to change the default password of your WRT320N router after the initial setup. If you forget the new password in the future, you may need to perform a factory reset on the router to revert to the default settings.

Linksys WRT320N (WRT320N) comparisons

According to our statistics, the Linksys WRT320N router was most often compared on our site with the following routers.

Linksys WRT55AG Linksys WRT600N Linksys WRT54GX4 Linksys WRT610N Linksys WRT350N Linksys WRT1900ACS Linksys WRT54GP2 Linksys WRTH54GS

If there’s information about the Linksys WRT320N that you would like to see on this site, then write to us.