You’re likely to see Linksys on routers, Wi-Fi systems, and similar tech. It’s an American data networking hardware manufacturer based in California, US, with other products that include DSL/cable gateways, switches, storage, and security IP cameras. Husband and wife Victor and Janie Tsao founded DEW International from their garage in 1988. Later, it was renamed Linksys. The pair used Taiwanese manufacturing to grow the company, producing printer sharers to connect PCs to printers. Microsoft’s 1995 release of Windows 95 with integrated networking software to connect PCs advanced the business. It was a feature that put Linksys in the spotlight, thanks to the convenience it provided with its networking equipment. Another big boost in the market occurred in the late 1990s as broadband internet for home use became widespread. At the time, Cisco was the lead market competitor for routers that allowed computers to connect to a modem. Linksys gained an edge on Cisco by offering more affordable routers. This strategy made the company a household name for homes with home-based networking. Once again, Linksys found massive success in 2001 with the 802.11b wireless connection. Like its previous products, the company made existing technology more accessible to the average consumer. Cisco bought Linksys in 2003. Ten years later, Belkin acquired Linksys from Cisco but kept the name Linksys by Cisco. It continued to focus on network management and later in 2018, the Taiwanese company Foxconn acquired Belkin and its daughter company Linksys. Despite becoming a subsidiary of Cisco and Belkin, Linksys stayed true to its values and goals of producing easily accessible tech products for consumers. One of its key products is Linksys Aware, released in 2019. It’s a home monitoring system where users can manage or block online content.
With such a rich history, it’s no wonder the company has so many products out there, from new to used. Finding the right documentation can be difficult, especially in the English language. This is the reason why we opened up a section dedicated to Linksys User Manuals, where you can view or download each PDF.