Medialink MWN-WAPR150N review (vs. Linksys WRT54G)

This is a comparison of my new Medialink MWN-WAPR150N (v11.8-Nov 18 2011) to my old Linksys WRT54G (DDWRT v24 micro).


I have had the Linksys for a few years now and I wanted to upgrade to an N router. The cheapest and most popular was the Medialink so I gave it a shot. I am a little disappointed! I have a repeater approx 450 feet away from the Linksys router and I was hoping the Medialink would do at least as good but hopefully better.

Good news: I am getting approx 20% reception from both the Linksys and the Medialink to the repeater. This is being displayed in the repeater, a Linksys Wrt54GL with DD-WRT. The same channels are being compared ofcourse. I had to put in a heatsink and fan for the Linksys as it was getting super hot from having a few dozen torrents running with multiple connections each through it. The fan is noisy and it is located in a bedroom so it was annoying. The Medialink is silent as it has no fan and has a smaller footprint and no external antenna sticking out. Both give approx. 5 Mbps via the repeater from a 15mbps line to the routers.

Bad news: The lights from the Medialink is very bright which have to taped over if you want to hide it.
I am only seeing G networks from the Medialink, no N networks yet, not sure what I am doing wrong. I wanted to upgrade my network to N but since I am only seeing G I am disappointed.
The transmit power can be adjusted in the Medialink but by default it as at 100% so it is of not real help to me. In the DDWRT settings I could push the transmit power much higher if I wanted, and risk burning the router out.

I paid $50USD on amazon for it and it was definitely worth the money as it is at least as good as the Linksys but if it only gives G wifi I would have to give it 4 out of 5 stars.

 

Update 29 July 2012:

I solved the problem on only seeing a G network from the router. I had to use the AES and not TKIP WPA algorithm to get the N network up. As soon as I switched it and applied the settings I saw an N network I could connect to. I am using an HP Probook 4430s with an Atheros AR9285 b/g/n adapter.  

Update 9 Aug 2012:

My cable modem is causing me to lose wifi signal strength when it is placed close to the router. I get 4% on the repeater or approx 200kbps with the modem close to (6 inches from) the modem. With the modem two feet away I am getting 20% or 5Mbps on the repeater. The router power cable has to be well away from the modem also.