Linksys WRT3200ACM AC3200 MU-MIMO Gigabit WiFi Router Review

Bohs Hansen / 8 years ago

Final Thoughts

Pricing

At the time of writing, the Linksys WRT3200ACM Open Source Dual-Band Gigabit Smart Wireless Router can be yours for $235.58 in the USA and £199.99 in the UK.

Conclusion

I expected great things from Linksys’ WRT3200ACM and I wasn’t disappointed in any way. The router maintained the classic and loved WRT design with its recognisable shape and blue/black colouring.

The WRT3200ACM features all the connections that you expect from such a device. Four Gigabit LAN ports, one Gigabit WAN port, and a USB port for storage sharing. The router features one USB 3.0 port and a combined USB 2.0 and eSATA port. That combination should allow you to connect pretty much any storage drive to the router and share it over your network, via the built-in FTP server, or stream it to UPnP and DLNA devices. The only thing missing is a possible printer sharing feature, then again, most modern printers have their own network connection.

The wireless side of things is where the router really shines. It features dual-band AC3200 specifications which mean that it can perform with up N600 on the 2.4GHz band and up to AC2600 on the 5GHz band. The reason that it can deliver double the 5GHz speeds is due to the Tri-Stream 160 technology and use of the 160MHz bandwidth. It also comes with beam forming technologies to direct the stream towards a wireless device as well as MU-MIMO for the best possible connection for every connected device.

And the difference shows, even with the wireless settings set to combined bands and auto channel select. Most users don’t have the newest wireless tech in every device and it is as such a fairer test and more likely usage scenario than a pure performance one-to-one test. The Linksys WRT3200ACM showed us some of the best wireless performance results that we’ve seen so far.

Added bonuses include full remote management through Linksys’ own service and full WRT open source firmware support.

Pros

Powerful hardware
Tri-Stream 160, MU-MIMO, and Beamforming Technologies
USB 3.0, USB 2.0, and eSATA file sharing and media streaming
Great coverage
Great performance
User-friendly interface

Cons

It will make you want to upgrade all your old wireless devices to match the great performance abilities.

“Linksys’ WRT3200ACM is one of the best routers we ever tested. It features the latest technologies to cover large homes and delivers an impressive performance.”