Review on Cisco-Linksys BEFSR81 🔀 Cable/DSL Router with 8-Port Switch by Jason Burnside

A few years ago, I personally took the trouble to connect my home to a computer network because I believed that a wired network would be more reliable than a wireless one. I started with a Linksys BEFSR41 4-port router and after some initial tweaking, this router worked fine for about three years, only needing an occasional "reboot" to fix issues. Severe slowdown started recently and no reset helped, so I bought this BEFSR81. This 8 port router was my choice because I wanted to expand my network to 5 locations. Also, the choice of WIRED routers in the market today is not that great - WIRELESS seems to dominate the market. In any case, after installing BEFSR81, like its predecessor, it was very slow. I checked with my cable ISP (Comcast) and their signal worked fine. I unplugged the router and only connected one computer directly to the cable modem. This worked great, so the router was definitely the cause of the problem. I contacted Linksys customer service and was instructed to download and install firmware that should fix the problem. No improvement. Going back to support, they suggested the usual "power cycle" (unplug your router and modem, then plug them both back in), but it didn't work. Finally the support team walked me through the steps to change the MTU(?) from 1500 to 1490. NO IMPROVEMENT YET. Then the technician said, "Wait 24 hours. If problem persists call back." Needless to say I wasn't sure but I was too frustrated to try anything else. After 24 hours - no change. BUT, 48 hours after that, without my extra intervention, everything was great!?! Everything has been fine for the last 6 weeks, but don't ask me why. I'm sorry if this review makes you feel ambivalent about this router, but that's how I feel.