Cisco RV132W VPN Router with 3 Gigabit Ethernet Ports ADSL2+ Wireless-N, Limited Lifetime Protection (RV132W-A-K9-NA)

So when DSL becomes your only option because you live in the sticks in the 5th city of the US, this little modem/router has it all. It gives us full bars all the way through our 5,000 sq. ft Santa fe style home- a feat with all the walls. Reliable to set up and run, with the best results one can hope for. Mind, it is DSL, and was yesteryear's tech, but it will do until better arrives.

This router requires a physical connection between a computer and the router via Cat 5 cable to create a password for usage. Using the step by step instructions, the process failed to create a usable password to access the router. Cisco assistance was impossible. It requires users to register on the site before any technical assistance is available. The registration process will not accept any inputs. Unbelievable.

I bought a like new (previously returned) version of this router as a replacement for the Arris router provided by Frontier that was overheating in warmer weather and losing its connection due to the heat produced by the internal WiFi chips. During the initial setup routine, the router identifies that I do have a DSL connection, and then asks whether a login is needed. For Frontier, PPPoE login is necessary. I enter my username & password, but the login is unsuccessful. After spending a lot of time playing with the DSL settings, it turns out that the only change I had to make (for Frontier) was setting VPI/VCI to 0/35 (the default is 0/33, and the "auto" option doesn't work). The type of connection has to be the default, "multimode"; no other setting works, and it screws up detecting the DSL signal if you try to run the initial setup routine again. The router only supports 2.4GHz WiFi. It's a very old design and the web-based user interface is clunky. For example, the connect button is not on the page where you edit DSL settings, and it's not on the main status page, but is almost invisible on one of the other status pages. This router also seems to randomly lose its login connection (not the signal connection) for DSL, and takes its time to reconnect, up to 2 minutes (which is why I went searching for the manual connect button). It's not due to overheating, but I wasn't able to figure out why it behaved like this, even after a firmware update. The connect time from power on to DSL login is almost as lengthy as the Arris model, about 3 to 4 minutes. Cisco has recently announced the end-of-life for this product. I replaced this router with a used Motorola MD1600 which is much easier to setup and is fully connected to the internet within 90 seconds after power on. And, so far, no random disconnects.

All in all I'm happy with this, but it's only been setup/working for about 20 minutes so really hard to say. First, I'm unhappy that the power adapter that came with it wasn't for north america even though the product description specifically is NA. Instead, it's a plug type for I'm guessing China, with 2 prongs at 45 degrees. Basically useless. I did have a 12v 1A adapter that works, though it's not the one shipped and though the modem functionality is working it could void warranty, but they give me no choice. My Internet has been down since my old modem fried just before the holidays and everyone is out of stock. Setup was a pain - mostly because internet providers don't tell you things and this has more settings than expected, but I did get it setup/connected and working and I'm happy for that. I did get this to negotiate and connect and for that I'm happy, it's hard to work from home when your internet goes down.

Wasn’t compatible

The first time I tried to get this working, I failed. Just could not do it. In the morning I was getting all my ducks in a row to call tech support, meaning I wanted one computer hooked directly to the DSL modem via an ethernet hub so I could verify that, a second one connected to the device by cable to access its web interface, and a third one actually ready to connect by wireless. The idea was that once set up, I could see exactly what stage the whole process was failing at. And it turned out that setting it up that way - using a separate DSL modem and supplying the RV132w its WAN signal via ethernet cable instead of DSL cable - turned out to fix my problem. Either there's a switch somewhere that I never found that has to be thrown to change it, or else he DSL modem built into this device just plain doesn't work. But configured as a simple wireless router instead of a DSL modem + wireless router, it's fine. Basically it gives you three ethernet ports that are connected to the same basic function as your wireless devices - go through the same DHCP, see each other on the local network, etc. - and a wireless system which is apparently rock-steady, although it's only been a few days, so my opinion may change. At least it isn't dropping and skipping like the wireless modem I used it to replace. Once up, it stays up. The wireless speed seems fine too; devices connected via wireless seem to get the same speed they'd get wired. My only remaining problem with it is its signal strength. We have a large old house with heavy plaster walls, and if you're downstairs, or a couple rooms away, you just can't find the signal. Penetrating this pile of rocks would be asking a bit much of any simple wireless router not specifically selected for signal power, so that's not really their fault. It's a disappointment on my part, not really a failure on the device's part. So... serviceable since I don't really need another DSL modem. but disappointing since I now have to keep my old modem around and didn't really want to. Serviceable because of the stable signal and decent speed, but disappointing because it's not particularly strong and in this house I think I need one that's particularly strong. All told, a mixed bag. I'll use it for now, but I guess I'm still in the market for something better.

can be used as just a router, but it would better to just buy a modern router .

The router has no modem. In order to work I would have had to buy a separate modem to work with it.