Buffalo Technology Nfiniti Wireless-N High Power Router & Access Point WZR-HP-G300NH

10 Review to this product

• 

  Robert A. Tickle
  December 13th, 2010 on 11:47 pm

  Rating

  I was wondering when someone would come out with a Wireless-N version of the Linksys WRT54GL Open Source router. Buffalo seems to have done it. The WZR-HP-G300NH is a combo wireless gateway/router/switch that supports Wireless-N with a 400 mHz processor and it has Gigabit LAN and WAN ports! The icing on the cake is that Buffalo and DD-WRT have entered into a joint agreement. Buffalo will sell and support this box with DD-WRT firmware starting in July 2010. This is HUGE news! DD-WRT firmware is awesome!

  I had no problem flashing my version A0 D0 unit directly from Buffalo firmware directly to DD-WRT firmware using the Buffalo Web-GUI.

  However, be advised:

  1) DD-WRT software has so many features that it takes a good bit of knowledge to configure this unit properly.
  
  2) I only use this unit as a switch and for Wi-Fi. I have Fios, so I can’t use it for my gateway.
  
  3) Reportedly the problem of flashing DD-WRT firmware to hardware version A0 A3 models has been fixed.
  
  4) Current DD-WRT firmware (July 2010) is beta. Many users have reported that when using DD-WRT firmware they cannot connect and maintain wireless-N connections at 300Mbps. (It connects at 300Mbps, but then drops to and stays at 130Mbps. Stock firmware supports 300Mbps much better than current DD-WRT. Hopefully, future releases of DD-WRT will fix this problem.)
  
• 

  Rickie Alvarez Diaz
  December 15th, 2010 on 4:51 am

  Rating

  Just an excellent product!!

  Never before had a better signal with a router.

  The only bad thing is that he’s a bit difficult to configure, but the functions
  
  you are an exceptional value added.

  Thanks!!!!
• 

  Scott D. Davis
  December 15th, 2010 on 11:27 pm

  Rating

  I have tried Linksys, Cisco, D-Link, and Belkin wireless routers. This router has beaten them all. The range it provides is better than any other router I have tried. The last router I had was the D-Link DIR-655, and while it was better than the ones before, it suffered from dropouts and range. The Nfinity Buffalo has no problem getting a strong signal from anywhere in my house, a feat that no other router has been able to do.

  The WZR-HP-G300NH is connecting at a true 270M and I am seeing DL speeds of 20M+ whereas with the best of the rest, the D-Link DIR-655, DL speeds were less than half that at 9M from the same locations. Secondly all of the routers before lose connection, and would require me to reconnect or power cycle the router eventually. The WZR-HP-G300NH has not.

  I got the Buffalo USB 2.0 Adapter WLI-UC-G300HP to go with it, and it is awesome as well. I compared the connections with the other adapter I have from my last try with D-Link (D-Link DWA-642) and again, the Buffalo comes out on top.

  I subscribe to Maximum PC, and they name it as their best single band router. If you do not need dual band, and want to save some money, this is the router.

  The router came preloaded with the latest firmware. The setup was a little more difficult than other routers, but not hard. The admin GUI is different than most others in that it is arranged differently, but has all you need, and is very usable.

  I can highly recommend this router.
• 

  KD
  December 16th, 2010 on 8:15 pm

  Rating

  Very good CPU, RAM, and flash. However, the built-in software is terrible. If you buy this to install DD-WRT, then it’s a great router that can be turned into a low powered Unix server as well (with a USB hard drive). The latest DD-WRT firmware is stable. If you do not want to mess around with flashing the firmware, I’d recommend waiting until September when these devices will supposedly come factory flashed with DD-WRT.

  This was what I managed to turn this router into after a little fiddling:
  
  Samba Server
  
  Transmission (Bittorrent) server (you can use a Windows client to control it)
  
  Web Server

  The most important thing is that the router has been solid for me with no disconnect so far.
• 

  Buckeye Sam
  December 17th, 2010 on 8:49 am

  Rating

  Pros:
  
  Excellent Range – even with existing Wireless G clients
  
  Gigabit ethernet ports
  
  Network Attached Storage
  
  VPN Endpoint
  
  Excellent web interface with help along the right column

  Our house is like a wireless black hole. We have tried multiple Wireless G routers and cannot get a strong signal throughout the house. If the router is in the center of the house, we usually get a 11 mbps connection from our Wireless G clients. If we put the router at one end of the house, we do not get a signal at the other corner. We don’t live in a huge house by the way. With this router, we get a full strength signal through the house, regardless of whether it is placed in the center or in one corner. I assume it’s due to high gain antennas plus the built-in power amplifier. The range of our Wireless-G network has been extended greatly without even having to upgrade our computers to Wireless-N adapters. Most Wireless-N routers transmit in the 100 mW range (e.g. Linksys WRT610N, D-Link DIR-825). This router transmits above 800 mW, close to the legal limit of 1000 mW. You can look up the transmit power of all routers on the FCC web site. Excellent product!

  Update on September 1, 2009: Buffalo has confirmed a bug in the router. It sometimes loses the ability to connect to wireless clients. It seems to happen to me once every 1-2 weeks. I have to reboot the router to correct. They assured me that the first firmware update will correct it. The significant speed and range improvement for me makes it worth dealing with this minor issue.

  Also, a positive review from Small Net Builder (formerly Tom’s Hardware): [...]

  Update on October 29, 2009: Updated firmware (v1.65) is available on the Buffalo Technology website. My router is running it, and so far I have not seen any issues.
• 

  W.H.
  December 17th, 2010 on 3:24 pm

  Rating

  I have used Linksys 54G, then upgraded to 310N. The 310N was fast but had poor range. I could only get around 15feet of usable range for N-wireless, not acceptable.

  After 9months of suffering, i stumbled upon this Buffalo high power N-wireless router. Couldn’t be happier. I am able to connect at 40Mhz bandwith for consistent 270Mbps N-wireless with my HTPC 1stair down my house.

  Incredible range and consistent speed. Much better than Linksys Wireless N and cheaper too.

  Highly satisfied.
• 

  George Gilman
  December 17th, 2010 on 9:31 pm

  Rating

  I’ve had several different wireless routers in the past including the DIR-825, DIR-655, and others over about the last 6 years. None of them have really ever lived up to my expectations. In each case, I would have to claim at best they “almost” worked. I could get enough signal for Internet access most anywhere around the house with occasional drop-outs. However, I could not stream video via Netflix or Windows Media Center, and the occasional dropouts were frustrating, especially getting kicked form Xbox Live. What was particularly frustrating was that between the two houses I lived in during that time frame, neither was that large. The first ~1850 square feet and the second ~2400, both single story. How do people use wireless in larger houses or with multiple floors??

  For the first time, I can say I’m happy with my wireless. That is all thanks to my new WZR-HP-G300NH router. The extra power it provides over the other routers is enough to fulfill my needs. I can stream Netflix through my XBox or Tivo (both on separate wireless DAP-1522 bridges) flawlessly. Previously, IF I could get Netflix to run on either, it would be low quality and likely stop playing after the first couple of minutes. Most of the time though, I couldn’t get as far as seeing the movie choices where it would time out. Now, I get great quality and have yet to have a failure. I can also stream HD movies via Windows Media Center to my XBox. Last time I attempted, I couldn’t even get the Xbox and PC to recognize each other properly before timing out.

  Now my only problem is that I want to buy more WZR-HP-G300NH. If I’m getting this good of quality between the WZR-HP-G300NH and DAP-1522 bridges, just imagine how much better it would be replacing the DAP-1522s with WZR-HP-G300NH devices, since I believe I can put them in bridge mode.

  One note, I did change to the DD-WRT firmware. Buffalo is supposed to be officially supporting the firmware in the very near future but you can download the unofficial version already from DD-WRT’s web site. The DD-WRT firmware is much easier to navigate and Buffalo’s support of the firmware was one of factors that went into me making the purchase.
• 

  T. Cook
  December 18th, 2010 on 2:52 am

  Rating

  Replaced a 7 year old Linksys WRT54G version 2.0 with this. Did not even give the stock firmware a chance, so I refuse to comment about the functionality of it. Within 5 minutes of opening the package the router was flashed with DD-WRT v24 preSP2. Have been running the DD-WRT firmware on my old Linksys WRT54G for around 5 years and it has performed spectacular. The latest release on the Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH so far appears to be just as reliable as on the old WRT54G.
  
  This is a fabulous router and a great price point! The internal hardware specs guarantee the unit will perform for many years as your bandwidth and throughput need increase. With an Atheros AR9132 chipset, 64MB RAM and 32MB of flash memory on board this unit is currently at the upper level of the home user hardware specs. Better hardware then other routers that cost twice the price. The built in USB port and NAS functionality are also pretty awesome.

  As a side note, please be aware to take full advantage of the routers 802.11-N capability, you will need to use WPA2 with AES. Also, running in the 40MHz configuration has increased the connection speed from 130 Mbps to 220Mbps.

  Follow Up:
  
  Two days after writing this review I started to notice this unit intermittently dropping wireless connections. Even on the 20MHz setting. Tried it with the vendor provided firmware and it is still occurring. Did a WiFi site survey chose and tried it on 3 different channels (not used in my neighborhood) still dropping connections from several different devices. I had such high hopes this would perform as reliable as my old faithful WRT54G. My hopes have been shattered.
  
• 

  Shawn Clover
  December 19th, 2010 on 6:41 am

  Rating

  I never tried out the Buffalo firmware–first thing out of the box I loaded on DD-WRT open-source firmware. DD-WRT can be frustrating at first, especially when trying to figure out the convoluted way of adding multiple DHCP reservations, but once I got everything set up, the router performs like a champ.

  I’m on a 100MB/s up/down shared pure ethernet connection for internet, and the router handles at least 70MB/s up and down with no problem. I have a full-time server running non-stop torrents, flac music, HD video, etc, along with various media clients and other machines on my gig-E network, and the router has handled everything perfectly. I can’t say the same about the D-link DIR655 that I replaced with the Buffalo–the D-link often choked with the workload I threw at it.

  Wireless N is noticeably stronger from the Buffalo than the D-link as well. Very impressive router.
• 

  Matt B.
  December 19th, 2010 on 11:39 am

  Rating

  I bought this router after considering EVERY other one on the market as of this review date regardless of price… Literally EVERY other router, from Linksys (610) to Netgear (3700) to D-link (855, 4500, 4300) to Belkin… I do NOT regret it for a second. Every other router seemed to have it’s minuses and was more expensive than this one. After a small setup glitch with my comcast modem I’ve been up and running for weeks with a full signal everywhere in my 2-story house. I have the router in my basement and I still get a full signal on the opposite end of the house on the second floor. For (…) this was the best purchase I’ve made this year.

  On top of this with the newest (1.70) firmware everything seems to work very well and the news just keeps on getting better… Buffalo just announced last month that starting this summer all new firmware for all of their wireless routers will be based on the awesome DD-WRT firmware! This is an industry first that should not be overlooked. Buffalo tech just shot way up on my tech list of best brands. Here is a link to the press release: (…)

  The only complaint I have about the router is that it only supports drives with a fat, fat16 or fat32 filesystem… This sucks if you’re downloading (or want to share) any files bigger than 4gb.

  Overall do NOT hesitate to purchase this router, you will not be disappointed.