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Bought a E8450 a few months back from Woot, similar deal, for $15. After 4 weeks of use, it went tits-up. It was not broadcasting any SSID, couldn't hit 192.168.x.x even through ethernet connection. Spent 4-5 hours (not exaggerating) on the chat with Linksys. Their final diagnosis:
"Your router is bad. Being a refurb means it is at the end of its life, and we do not have a direct replacement available. So box it up and ship it to us on your dime, and we will issue you a prorated refund."
So I am supposed to spend $20 to ship a $15 router to you…..so you can issue me a $13 refund?!? $15 right into the trashcan, and I will never buy another refurb Linksys. Buyer beware.
can you tell me more about openwrt. I know it is custom firmware but how do you utilize it?
Usually involves uploading an OpenWRT file when you go under your routers firmware update page. Some routers require slightly more complicated steps to "flash" (essentially installing) the OpenWRT firmware onto your router, which you can find by going to the wiki page (Google your router + OpenWRT).
From there, it's as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. You can use it similar to your standard manufacturer's firmware, where you just go in to activate wireless SSIDs and put passwords for them or you can go even further and add VLANs, firewall rules, setup multiple access points with multiple routers, etc.
That's the best thing about OpenWRT. It opens up borderline enterprise level features that let you control your home network more than the crappy manufacturer's firmware allows you to do.
Another nice thing, and I think this is the most important one for the average Joe, is that you will continue to receive security updates way after the manufacturer stops supporting your router. This is the primary reason why I recommend everyone flash their routers with OpenWRT, even those who have no interest for fancy networking capabilities.
Usually involves uploading an OpenWRT file when you go under your routers firmware update page. Some routers require slightly more complicated steps to "flash" (essentially installing) the OpenWRT firmware onto your router, which you can find by going to the wiki page (Google your router + OpenWRT).
From there, it's as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. You can use it similar to your standard manufacturer's firmware, where you just go in to activate wireless SSIDs and put passwords for them or you can go even further and add VLANs, firewall rules, setup multiple access points with multiple routers, etc.
That's the best thing about OpenWRT. It opens up borderline enterprise level features that let you control your home network more than the crappy manufacturer's firmware allows you to do.
Another nice thing, and I think this is the most important one for the average Joe, is that you will continue to receive security updates way after the manufacturer stops supporting your router. This is the primary reason why I recommend everyone flash their routers with OpenWRT, even those who have no interest for fancy networking capabilities.
Thank you. Really helped. I should at least start with custom firmware for security. Mine was last updated in 2022!
Bought a E8450 a few months back from Woot, similar deal, for $15. After 4 weeks of use, it went tits-up. It was not broadcasting any SSID, couldn't hit 192.168.x.x even through ethernet connection. Spent 4-5 hours (not exaggerating) on the chat with Linksys. Their final diagnosis:
"Your router is bad. Being a refurb means it is at the end of its life, and we do not have a direct replacement available. So box it up and ship it to us on your dime, and we will issue you a prorated refund."
So I am supposed to spend $20 to ship a $15 router to you…..so you can issue me a $13 refund?!? $15 right into the trashcan, and I will never buy another refurb Linksys. Buyer beware.
Purchased this exact model from Woot a couple of days ago and had to return it due to intermittent Internet/disconnects issues. After spending a couple of hours between Amazon/Linksys technical support, Linksys recommended return to Woot even though it had a manufacturer refurbished seal on the box when received. Yes, I'd also not recommend a Lindsys refurbished router.
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Bought a E8450 a few months back from Woot, similar deal, for $15. After 4 weeks of use, it went tits-up. It was not broadcasting any SSID, couldn't hit 192.168.x.x even through ethernet connection. Spent 4-5 hours (not exaggerating) on the chat with Linksys. Their final diagnosis:
"Your router is bad. Being a refurb means it is at the end of its life, and we do not have a direct replacement available. So box it up and ship it to us on your dime, and we will issue you a prorated refund."
So I am supposed to spend $20 to ship a $15 router to you…..so you can issue me a $13 refund?!? $15 right into the trashcan, and I will never buy another refurb Linksys. Buyer beware
I just bought one. $23 is a slick deal. I love using Linksys products for my home networking needs. This router has an extended 2,800 square feet wifi range.
Last edited by MadDoraemon July 20, 2025 at 02:08 PM.
Couldn't ever get the thing to connect to the internet. Also the instructions in the box were for an incorrect model, which other commenters mentioned too.
Returned and got the $50-something ASUS router on Prime day and couldn't be happer
Bought a E8450 a few months back from Woot, similar deal, for $15. After 4 weeks of use, it went tits-up. It was not broadcasting any SSID, couldn't hit 192.168.x.x even through ethernet connection. Spent 4-5 hours (not exaggerating) on the chat with Linksys. Their final diagnosis:
"Your router is bad. Being a refurb means it is at the end of its life, and we do not have a direct replacement available. So box it up and ship it to us on your dime, and we will issue you a prorated refund."
So I am supposed to spend $20 to ship a $15 router to you…..so you can issue me a $13 refund?!? $15 right into the trashcan, and I will never buy another refurb Linksys. Buyer beware.
I also bought one, had a horrible experience even getting OpenWRT onto it because of the truly awful linksys firmware which won't let you into the router UI at all until you connect it to a modem, and then any time it has connection issues seems to just reboot itself after a minute or so of uptime.
Linksys firmware: not even once. You really want to buy these cheap units for OpenWRT installs and then you get decent firmware with security updates. You need to check the specific model is supported first because the actual hardware in what seems like the same lineup can vary a lot (as in this case).
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Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank frollic
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank fat-johnny
"Your router is bad. Being a refurb means it is at the end of its life, and we do not have a direct replacement available. So box it up and ship it to us on your dime, and we will issue you a prorated refund."
So I am supposed to spend $20 to ship a $15 router to you…..so you can issue me a $13 refund?!? $15 right into the trashcan, and I will never buy another refurb Linksys. Buyer beware.
From there, it's as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. You can use it similar to your standard manufacturer's firmware, where you just go in to activate wireless SSIDs and put passwords for them or you can go even further and add VLANs, firewall rules, setup multiple access points with multiple routers, etc.
That's the best thing about OpenWRT. It opens up borderline enterprise level features that let you control your home network more than the crappy manufacturer's firmware allows you to do.
Another nice thing, and I think this is the most important one for the average Joe, is that you will continue to receive security updates way after the manufacturer stops supporting your router. This is the primary reason why I recommend everyone flash their routers with OpenWRT, even those who have no interest for fancy networking capabilities.
From there, it's as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. You can use it similar to your standard manufacturer's firmware, where you just go in to activate wireless SSIDs and put passwords for them or you can go even further and add VLANs, firewall rules, setup multiple access points with multiple routers, etc.
That's the best thing about OpenWRT. It opens up borderline enterprise level features that let you control your home network more than the crappy manufacturer's firmware allows you to do.
Another nice thing, and I think this is the most important one for the average Joe, is that you will continue to receive security updates way after the manufacturer stops supporting your router. This is the primary reason why I recommend everyone flash their routers with OpenWRT, even those who have no interest for fancy networking capabilities.
"Your router is bad. Being a refurb means it is at the end of its life, and we do not have a direct replacement available. So box it up and ship it to us on your dime, and we will issue you a prorated refund."
So I am supposed to spend $20 to ship a $15 router to you…..so you can issue me a $13 refund?!? $15 right into the trashcan, and I will never buy another refurb Linksys. Buyer beware.
Purchased this exact model from Woot a couple of days ago and had to return it due to intermittent Internet/disconnects issues. After spending a couple of hours between Amazon/Linksys technical support, Linksys recommended return to Woot even though it had a manufacturer refurbished seal on the box when received. Yes, I'd also not recommend a Lindsys refurbished router.
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"Your router is bad. Being a refurb means it is at the end of its life, and we do not have a direct replacement available. So box it up and ship it to us on your dime, and we will issue you a prorated refund."
So I am supposed to spend $20 to ship a $15 router to you…..so you can issue me a $13 refund?!? $15 right into the trashcan, and I will never buy another refurb Linksys. Buyer beware
Thanks for the heads up
Returned and got the $50-something ASUS router on Prime day and couldn't be happer
"Your router is bad. Being a refurb means it is at the end of its life, and we do not have a direct replacement available. So box it up and ship it to us on your dime, and we will issue you a prorated refund."
So I am supposed to spend $20 to ship a $15 router to you…..so you can issue me a $13 refund?!? $15 right into the trashcan, and I will never buy another refurb Linksys. Buyer beware.
I also bought one, had a horrible experience even getting OpenWRT onto it because of the truly awful linksys firmware which won't let you into the router UI at all until you connect it to a modem, and then any time it has connection issues seems to just reboot itself after a minute or so of uptime.
Linksys firmware: not even once. You really want to buy these cheap units for OpenWRT installs and then you get decent firmware with security updates. You need to check the specific model is supported first because the actual hardware in what seems like the same lineup can vary a lot (as in this case).
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