Cisco-Valet Plus Wireless Router

I bought this for my parents because of the easy set-up. Basically, you plug it in and there is software on an included thumb drive that guides you through the set up process. Given what a pain in the you-know-what setting up a wifi network can be, this simplified process is like a breath of fresh air, even to people who do know what they are doing. After you set it up with one computer, you carry the little thumb drive from computer to computer to add that computer to your network. The thumb drive has all the software and after the first install, it also gets all of the network IDs and so forth. You still have to add phones and tablets and stuff manually, but you can get every computer onto the same network in almost no time, and the software has a screen with all the info you need to add additional devices in one place, so they really do a good job of making it as easy as it can be.What surprised me is that the benefits extend beyond just the set up. This is a really excellent router. The range on this thing is outstanding. My parents home is one of those rambling New England farm houses that spreads out everywhere. I was sure I would need to get repeaters and such to cover the whole house, but I had a good signal throughout the house with just this thing. I was shocked how far the signal traveled effectively without a significant speed degradation. Obviously, your mileage may vary, but I think this is about as good as you are going to get, at least from this version of the technology.You can set up a private network where everybody shares files - and then a separate, public network to let guests have access to the internet without any corresponding access to your computers and files. Very nice to do this at the level of the router rather than worrying about all the weird sharing settings on every computer in the network. Very clever.The beautiful thing about this is that it is now not the latest and greatest generation of wifi, so it comes quite cheap. But for almost everyone out there, there is no real benefit to the later versions of wifi. Your connection to the internet runs more slowly than this thing does for most people. So unless you are constantly transferring huge files between computers on your network wirelessly, or you are a hardcore gamer who is paying big bucks for a super-fast connection, there is really no reason to pay more to get more speed that you can't take advantage of anyway. I would recommend this router to any mainstream user who needs one, not just people who are scared to set up a wifi network themselves.

I needed a router to replace an old D-Link router that had served me well for many years. After much research and some trepidation, I decided to buy the Cisco Valet Plus. I also opted to get it via Amazon because of its excellent, hassle-free return policy (just in case I ran into any serious problems). I wanted a router that was flexible enough to operate wireless and wire-based PCs and laptops. I needed it to work with multiple Windows systems as well as a Mac. I also have children that want to play on-line games in their upstairs bedrooms (two floors above the router and modem location).After the router arrived, I was initially disappointed to learn that there were no instructions included with it (i.e, just the router and a special installation key). However, my disappointment turned into joy when I put in the installation key and found the process to be very simple and intuitive. Here are the basic steps I followed: 1) hooked up the router to my cable modem, 2) hooked up my wire-based PC to the router, 3) connected the installation key to my PC, 4) let the installation key do all of the set-up work. The entire 4-step process took less than 10 minutes. Then I connected the installation key to my Mac and it established a wireless connection in about two minutes. I followed the same process for two more computers and each one was set up in less than two minutes. I also appreciated the security-enabled connection that was automatically installed on each system during set-up. Although I have some experience with computers and networking, the installation key took care of everything. All I had to do was put the key in each computer and take it out after each system was done. Very simple and very quick.After three weeks of usage, the performance and reliability continue to be very good. I'm very pleased and would definitely recommend the Cisco Valet Plus router. I also want to thank everyone for taking the time to share their personal experiences with different routers. This information was very helpful to me in making my purchasing decision - hopefully, my review will prove to be helpful to others as well.

My router died and I needed a new one - fast. I was leaving on a three week trip and had no time to spare. I had several kitty sitters coming who wanted internet access, but had no idea how to set up a network. The Valet Plus was perfect. Amazon delivered in one day. Kitty Sitter Prime (a saint) set it up in five minutes with absolutely no problems, fast internet access (7505 kb/sec according to CNets speedometer) without the hassle of setup screens and arcane network addresses. When Kitty Sitter Beta and Gamma showed up they simply plugged in the supplied thumb drive and were connected in less than a minute. Now the thumb drive sits in a secrete corner waiting to invite any trusted guest to the wireless party in mere seconds. When I returned from my far-flung adventure, I had to connect an extremely secure computer (If I told you I would have to shoot you) to the network, again no problems. The security would not accept the thumb drive but all I had to do was enter the automatically generated strong net access password in windows and I was up and running. Best of both worlds.This router is sleek (you would almost think Jobs designed it), unobtrusive and quite a lot easier to look at than the scary two antennaed antelope like creature it replaced. My wife does not complain about the aesthetic anymore. You can get more powerful routers, but in a small NY apartment I do not want to compete with Starbucks; the fewer of the masses that can see it the better. The only downside is you pay for the ease and convenience - a lot. You can get essentially the same router, the Cisco Valet, for about 30 dollars less. What you give up is the ease and convenience of the thumb drive setup. So if you are network savvy and are not in a rush to catch a plane to the Himalayas, that is a better choice. If you just want to plug in a thumb drive and be done with it, the Valet Plus is tough to beat.