Router Asus WL-520gC: specifications, setup, firmware and reviews

Wi-Fi router - this is perhaps at this time a more important gadget in the house, rather than a TV. Today, few people use wired Internet, preferring wireless networks. It's understandable: in the era of smartphones, tablets, and indeed, when in the house with a dozen different devices working with the Internet, you need to acquire a quality router that will cope with the entire range of gadgets. The same situation is observed in offices or educational institutions.

In this article we will talk about one of the most affordable and convenient routers on the market - Asus WL-520gC. Although the manufacturer Asus appeared on the market much later than its competitors, it managed to create the most balanced line of routers with advanced functionality, ideally suited for home and office.

Equipment

The router is delivered in standard plastic packaging with the image of the gadget itself and brief information about its main features. The kit also includes:

• A disk with software to establish a connection and configure the device;
• User manual in English;
• Cable for connection to Ethernet network;
• Power supply for connection to an external mains.

Design and design of the router

A purely visual router from Asus is not much different from other models. The case of the device is made of black matte plastic. It looks strictly and minimalist, but it is too out-of-date. It can be seen that this model was created back in the days when routers were hiding in the corners, molded on the walls in the corridors and put on cabinets, where this miracle of technology nobody will see.

Let us proceed to the construction. On the cover of the device there is nothing interesting, as well as on the bottom. Solid plastic. But on the front panel there is a silver edging on which the power indicators and network cable connections are located. On the back panel is mounted antenna, hole for resetting the settings. 5 slots, 4 of which are for connecting LAN cables and 1 for connecting WAN. Here, the power supply socket also hides.

Characteristics

The Asus WL-520gC has the following features:

Main features of the router

The official website of the manufacturer shows the following advantages of the described model:

• Support for EZSetup technology. This is a special software designed to facilitate the process of setting up a new connection. The program stores information about the settings of providers throughout Russia.
• Support for Windows Vista. Those who still use this version of the Microsoft operating system, can not worry about the incompatibility of hardware and drivers. The manufacturer took care of everything in advance.
• Wireless Distribution System support is a tool that allows you to merge several different routers into one large network that can be managed from one single interface.
• Support for BroadRange technology - thanks to this technology, Asus engineers managed to increase the coverage of the wireless network by 3 times compared to competitors of the same year. The transmission speed increases by 35% compared to other routers working with 802.11g.

How to configure the Asus WL-520gC router?

Despite the availability of EZSetup software designed to make the first connection and configuration as simple and quick as possible, with a probability of 80% the main manipulations will have to be performed manually.

First you need to connect the router to any computer. If everything is done correctly, then after clicking on the link 192.168.1.1, the screen with the Asus WL-520gC settings will open. The router immediately prompts you to go through the process quickly, but it does not suit us, so we refuse and go to the main screen of the web interface of the router. For authorization, enter the login - admin and the password - admin (if the data does not fit, you need to reset the data).

Next, you need to choose the type of Internet connection (each provider can have its own requirements). In the case of PPPoE and PPTP, you will need to prepare data for connection (login, password, DNS and other data depending on the type of connection and provider).

After the connection between the router and the provider's server is established, you need to create a wireless network:

• Go to the submenu Wireless;
• Enter the network name (SSID);
• Indicate the level of security (the most successful option is WPA2);
• Enter a password of 8 characters;
• We reboot the router and try to connect.

Firmwares for Asus WL-520gC

The situation with third-party firmware is very interesting, because the router model is popular and is still in demand, but there have been no updates from the manufacturer for a long time. Fortunately there were craftsmen who created third-party versions of firmware, more stable and convenient, and most importantly - workers.

Find the firmware for Asus WL-520gC on the DD-WRT website or on the resources dedicated to devices from this manufacturer. Third-party firmware is a lightweight TRX file that is installed via the web interface of the router itself. In order to update, we need:

• Go to the address 192.168.1.1;
• Open the System Setup submenu;
• There choose the sub-item Firmware Update;
• Click on the button "Choose a file";
• After the file with the firmware is selected, click on Upload and wait until the firmware process is completed (on average, the process takes about two minutes).

Customer Reviews

Because of its prevalence, this gadget can already be called popular. And it is popular not only because it is very cheap (like some DIR-300, for example), but also because over the years it only confirms the title of the most stable and fast router. Stability, by the way, is the main advantage that the owners of the gadget singled out. After all, no one wants to lose the connection while working, watching a movie or playing a game.

Almost 50% of the users who left the review put the maximum score for this gadget, since it was considered the easiest to configure and flexible in use. Negative estimates of only 15%, and almost all of them are associated with defective models and incorrectly installed firmware. People talk about a strong drop in speed and hangs of the router. All these problems, fortunately, are solved by installing a new firmware. Therefore, considering this gadget as the main router, it is necessary to be ready in advance for the fact that the software part will have to be updated manually, otherwise there is a chance to face troubles in the form of low speed and malfunctions.