SMC SMCWBR11S-3GN WiFi router: Pros and Cons

SMC SMCWBR11S-3GN (SMCWBR11S-3GN) 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 SMC SMCWBR11S-3GN, then don’t hesite and signal the problem to us.

SMC SMCWBR11S-3GN (SMCWBR11S-3GN) 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 Ralink RT3050 CPU, combined with other factors such as RAM capacity and firmware optimization, determines the overall performance and responsiveness of the router. The SMCWBR11S-3GN 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 SMC 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 SMCWBR11S-3GN 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 SMC 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 SMCWBR11S-3GN supports many network standards too. The majority of networking equipment, including routers, switches, and other network devices, is designed to support IPv4. The SMCWBR11S-3GN has 1 x 10/100 Mbps LAN and 1 x 10/100 Mbps WAN ports. The LAN ports of SMCWBR11S-3GN 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.

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). If you have a high-speed internet plan with speeds exceeding 100 Mbps, you may experience a bottleneck in wired connections due to the limitation of the Fast Ethernet ports on the SMCWBR11S-3GN router. By connecting the 3G/4G USB dongle to the SMCWBR11S-3GN router, you can share the internet connection with multiple devices on your local network. This allows multiple devices, such as computers, smartphones, or smart home devices, to access the internet simultaneously.

Wireless

This router has 1 x 2 dBi, RP-SMA 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 SMCWBR11S-3GN 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 SMCWBR11S-3GN 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 N150 refers to the maximum combined data transfer rate supported by the router across all Wi-Fi bands. The SMCWBR11S-3GN is capable of a maximum throughput speed of 150 Mbps. The real-world speed of a SMCWBR11S-3GN router is typically lower than its theoretical maximum speed.

The maximum TX power of SMCWBR11S-3GN router is 17 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 SMCWBR11S-3GN 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

USB ports can offer additional functionality depending on the router's capabilities. The USB 2 port has a maximum theoretical data transfer rate of 480 megabits per second (Mbps), which is equivalent to 60 megabytes per second (MB/s).

Administration

The SMC router setup panel is accessed through a web browser. Connect your computer to the SMCWBR11S-3GN router via Wi-Fi or Ethernet cable. In the address bar of the web browser, type in the 192.168.2.1 IP address. If you are unable to log in to the setup panel of your SMC router, performing a reset can be a helpful troubleshooting step. It is highly recommended to change the default password of your SMCWBR11S-3GN 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.

SMC SMCWBR11S-3GN (SMCWBR11S-3GN) comparisons

According to our statistics, the SMC SMCWBR11S-3GN router was most often compared on our site with the following routers.

SMC SMCWBR14S-N5 SMC SMC7904WBRA-N SMC SMCKAR11U SMC Barricade SMCWBR14-N5

If there’s information about the SMC SMCWBR11S-3GN that you would like to see on this site, then write to us.