(Refurb) WNR2000 N300 router $9.99 AR FS @ Newegg

[VirtualLarry]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833122275

One of the few times I've ever seen Newegg offer a rebate on a refurbished product.

Anyways, the last two times I've ordered these (I have a stack of them now), they have been v2 (what I was praying for). Which is Broadcom hardware, and supports DD-WRT.

4MB flash, 32MB RAM. DD-WRT mini, and some other versions. Does not take the full DD-WRT build, nor the "Mega" build, because of flash size limitations.

Only 2.4Ghz, no 5Ghz radio. 10/100 LAN/WAN ports, no Gigabit. No USB ports.

That being said, these are pretty reliable routers with DD-WRT on them. I've been using mine for around, I think, two years? At least a year. Don't have to reboot them, like ever.

Was having some low-speed issues with one of them, but I swapped that router out with a new refurb from my spare pile, and had the same issues, even tried swapping power bricks like three times.

Have resigned myself to ordering some E2500-RM routers from homestore.cisco.com , they were $34.99 last time I checked for refurbs. Those ARE simultaneous dual-band (2.4Ghz and 5Ghz), and also support DD-WRT. They have 8MB flash, so should be able to take the full builds of DD-WRT.

Hopefully, switching to 5Ghz bands will remove my occasional interference problems. (I live in an apt building, with MANY wifi routers nearby.)

Edit: Even without the rebate, this is a solid deal at $19.99 FS. However, you are not guaranteed to get a "v2", they make a v1 and a v3 too. v1 is not supported by DD-WRT, and v3 is only partially supported. (Atheros hardware.)

 

[s44]

Not a bad deal.

But:
(1) Tomato > DD-WRT
(2) The $22 Belkin also runs Tomato/DD

 

[VirtualLarry]

Not a bad deal.

But:
(1) Tomato > DD-WRT
(2) The $22 Belkin also runs Tomato/DD

That Belkin isn't a bad option either. I don't know what hardware is in it though. Broadcom? Atheros? Other?

If you need a USB support, I suppose that would be a better choice.

I wish that you could still get the N600 Belkin "Play HD N600" units, with the dual-band and gigabit ports and USB for $25 or so, but those seem to have dried up.

 

[s44]

It's Broadcom, hence the third-party FW support. I'm guessing the stock firmware sucks.

The Play N600 is up to $45, which isn't bad but not really worth it with the $35 E2500/$70 E4200.

 

[j03h4gLund]

I had this router and had nothing but problems. Disconnects every 20-90 minutes. I was however using the stock firmware so maybe that had something to do with it. Also had it as an access point to my main router, a Belkin. I also think it's worth noting that the 30/30/30 reset or the hard-reset instructions by Netgear worked about 20% of the time.

Idk - for $9 it seems like it would be okay. I spent like $90 on it when I bought it so maybe I just had a bad egg.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I had this router and had nothing but problems. Disconnects every 20-90 minutes. I was however using the stock firmware so maybe that had something to do with it. Also had it as an access point to my main router, a Belkin. I also think it's worth noting that the 30/30/30 reset or the hard-reset instructions by Netgear worked about 20% of the time.

Idk - for $9 it seems like it would be okay. I spent like $90 on it when I bought it so maybe I just had a bad egg.

Sounds like you had a v1 unit, or defective hardware.

One of my v2 units running in WDS with two others - sometimes, when I turn it on, it doesn't boot, all the lights come on and don't turn off as they normally do during the boot sequence. I guess it's slightly flaky. Once I get it to boot correctly, it's alright, and seems to run without needing a reboot. I just chalk it up to being a refurb. The PC connected to it is less important than the others, so I haven't bothered to replace it with one of my spare new refurbs.