Rating: 
Summary: PILE OF JUNK!!!!!
Review: About three months ago my friend came over and set up this SMC wireless router. For the first 20 minutes I thought it was the greatest thing in the world. I could use my computer all throughout the house. About a half hour later I found out that the network interfered with my 2ghz cordless phone, no problem I went out and bought a 5ghz phone.
That solved nothing! This piece of garbage drops me off for no reason even if I am just a few feet away! The range all of a sudden has shortened dramatically. I tried to upgrade the firmware and their website is locked up on the log in screen. Their customer service is 45 minute + hold and they were able to solve nothing. Worst of all I cannot find the receipt and I cannot even return it!
This is by far the worst product I have ever seen or used. Their website and firmware upgrade are an absolute disgrace especially considering they are a technology company. Their customer service is equally pathetic. My recommendation: go to their web site and go through the process of trying to upgrade the firmware so you can see for yourself.
Buyer beware and if anyone can recommend a better unit please let me know I am in the market right now.As soon as I get a new router I am going to spend an afternoon bashing this thing with a sledgehammer. By the way I would have ranked it Zero stars if the choice was available.
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment...
Review: After hearing great things about SMC's Barricade line, I decided to try one when it came time to upgrade from B protocol to the newer, faster G protocol wireless. Perhaps a good decision to upgrade -- but this isn't the product to do it with. The first rough spot was just trying to set a new admin password for security purposes. The web-based configuration system kept complaining that my current password was incorrect -- over and over and over. But after rebooting the box, a login attempt required the use of the new password, so the complaint was bogus. After getting the thing configured, I arrived at the issue of where to put it. The D-Link router/WAP it replaced has a provision for wall mounting, which is what I'd done. The SMC has no provision for wall mounting, no bracket for vertical placement... It can only sit on its bottom. Minor for some, rather irritating here where horizontal surfaces are already at a premium. That issue aside, the performance of the product was abysmal at best. At just a few yards away with only two walls in between, a wireless connection back to the device from any wireless card at my disposal (including one of SMC's own) failed completely -- even with a high-gain external antenna attached. Totally unacceptable, but in-line with tests I read (after I purchased it, unfortunately). The compatibility and performance issues were enough for a swift return of the box. About the only thing I can say on the up side for this unit was about its firewall reporting. The ability to have it send hacker alerts via e-mail was interesting, and did work perfectly. But a nice feature or two just did not make-up for the other issues here.
Rating: 
Summary: more configurable than others
Review: Has a lot of features that people probably won't use in mapping external ports to internal systems in the DMZ. Has a built-in SPI firewall like Netgear's WAP and DDOS attack prevention.
Minus one star because you can't upgrade it w/ open source firmware like the Linksys router (which you can put Sveasoft on); when you do a firmware upgrade, it also blows away your configuration, so you have to reconfigure the IP addresses if you change the defaults.
You have to wonder if all these negative reviews are from people using WinXP. WinXP seems to connect to whatever is in the neighborhood even if you tell it to use a specific SSID (look at the article in Wired magazone) because of its "Zero Configuration" support. If you have dropped connections w/ WinXP, switch operating systems :-)
Rating:
Summary: use it as ap, mac filter works great
Review: I bought is due to it has rebate, very low price after the rebate, and happy with 7004ABR, then I give it a try
but I use it as wireless ap (this should be the cheapest class g ap + 10/100 switch)
actually, I don't need the 3-click, just plug a computer to a lan port, restart it, open a browser, kick in 192.168.2.1
this is control page
then go to lan part, disable DHCP, make sure you give it an ip
then set a channel, mac filtering (note: the firewall is OFF BY DEFAULT), ssid
okay, all set, I can get in either hard-wired (to lan port, no problem with 7004ABR) or wireless
mac filter is cool, limit the computer to connect (up to 32 devices)
the reception is like netgear MA102, but the major different is...the antenna is removable, that you can connect any antenna for wifi, with reversed SMA plug
if you have experience on setting up SMC product, go for this, even use as stand-alone ap is a cheap option tips to power up the range:
1. put it vertically, and point both antennas up and down (look like "T")
2. buy range extender antenna at radixxxxxk (note: get dlink version, 2 in the set)
after I done these 2 steps, the reception quality (both signal and link) is increased about 10-16 percentage point (22-30/50-55% up to 40-44/60-70% with linksys WET11), and I didn't get reception in kitchen with orinoco, now I can get some reception)
and, if you decide to use external antenna, make sure buy and install 2 instead of one, look like a real dipole (T shaped) update: if you're using WEP, make sure turn ESSID broadcast back on when setting up new client (card), or it don't connect at all (you can turn it back off after it's done)
Rating:
Summary: Good/Reliable once the bugs are fixed
Review: I bought this for 69.00 with 25$ rebate. Setting up the router itself was a breeze. I have yahoo DSL and I just plug it in and configure via the brower. I dont even need to install yahoo dsl software. The problem I have encountered was due to a bug in the smc2802w driver(the wirless card). My machine kept losing connection to the rounter after 10 minutes. Very frustrating. I wasted many hours trying to figure out the problem. A couple of days after I bought this I saw a beta driver at http://www.dslreports.com/forum/smc and installed it and was able to keep the connection for 3 days straight without problems. I am getting very reliable and fast speed (90%,54Mbps through a wall 15 feet). I didn't test its range though There seems to be anther bug in the rounter itself when using PPTP VPN. The first time around everything is fine but once you disconnect the VPN connection, you will randomly be refused connection (my remote machine is running checkpoint software). It could be an issue on my desktop but it also could be a bug. Once you are denied connection (error 800) you might be able to issue "ipconfig /renew" (window XP) to be able to reconnect again but a lot of time I have to reset the rounter to be able to use VPN again. Overall these are solid products from SMC. Considering the price I paid I gave it 4 stars
Rating:
Summary: Lousy broadcast range and frequent dropped connections
Review: I bought this unit about 6 months ago and have had nothing but problems with it. Initially I had to spend approximately 2 hours on the phone with tech support in order to even get a connection and ever since new I have been plagued with lousy signal strength and dropped connections.
This unit frequently drops connections (perhaps 2 or 3 times per hour) and has very very poor signal strength. At present, I'm approximately 20 feet from the router with only a single wood frame wall between us and all I am getting is 2 or 3 bars out of 5 signal strength. In comparision, the new Linksys unit I just bought which is installed and sitting on the same desk as the SMC unit is giving me a perfect 5 out of 5 signal strength.
I didn't realize the SMC was so poor relative to the competition until a recent trip where the friend I was staying with had a Linksys router and I was able to connect without any problems at all. Upon my return, I immediately bought the Linksys and have not had a single problem - it was plug and play from the minute I pulled it out of the box.
The SMC is the biggest piece of junk I have ever bought.
Rating:
Summary: BEWARE, dont waste your time or money
Review: I had been using the 2404 nearly a year without trouble so I thought I had faith in the SMC brand.
I attempted to upgrade to the 2804 for better speed and range.
The first one in my house would not let you log into the router, spending around 2 hours on the phone with SMC, attempting every which way in the world to reset the darn thing. Finally they said it must be my system or my modem, and they can not "support" that.
It took 20 seconds to plug the 2404 back in and it worked just fine.
After they finnaly believed that the problem was with the router I shipped it back.
The new one sits here as a door stop because it is junk too. It will not connect to the network.
More phone calls and now I have spent more money on shipping, phone calls, and there is no way to put a price on frustration, but I have spent MORE than the router is worth.
SMC wants to offer additional ways to reset the router.
I have ordered a new setup from a competitor and will be selling all the SMC junk on Ebay in the next few weeks.
If you want a headache head over there and purchase this crap from me.
Pick up some aspirin while your waiting for the shipping to reach you.
Guy Duke -Proudly serving the US Navy overseas
Rating: 
Summary: SMC2804WBR -- works great, costs little
Review: I have been using the 2804WBR for several months now, and it has worked flawlessly. The difference in throughput between it and our 802.11b base stations is quite obvious.
Some observations on the other reviews of this product: 1. Current product does not appear to have any unresolved bugs, and should new firmware be released, the firmware upgrade process is extremely easy, requiring only a web browser. 2. The statement that the 2804 "cannot act as an access point" is simply incorrect. If you do not connect anything to the WAN port on the 2804, all it can do is act as an access point, and unremarkably, that's all it does. Mine is doing just that -- we have two other 802.11b routers on our network, one of which is our internet gateway and the other (an original Apple Airport base station) is acting as an AP. Note that if you are going to use the 2804 as an access point, you probably want to turn off its DHCP server, because you probably already have another one operating. One of the unheralded features of the 2804 (and all recent SMC routers) is that the router does not have to be rebooted for configuration changes to take effect -- you just press a button on the appropriate configuration page, and the change is saved and active. This means that in a multi-user environment you don't trash other users' connectivity when making configuration changes. Very cool, and fairly rare in consumer-grade routers. All configuration is via web-browser, with separate "easy" and "pro" configuration systems. The 2804 configures and operates flawlessly with Macs as well as PCs, and presumably Linux boxes also. The 2804 also has removable antennas, making it possible to add an external antenna without breaking out a soldering iron or cracking the case. I would recommend the 2804 to anyone who needs its capabilities -- it is economical, simple to configure, and yet offers sophisticated capabilities if you want to delve into the settings a little. The only criticism that I have of the unit is that it does not directly support dyndns.org -- but since that can be handled by a free client daemon on your computer, that is of little consequence.
Rating:
Summary: Worst piece of junk I have ever bought
Review: I have built and rebuilt a number of networks. This equipment was the worst I ever bought. First, this hub couldn't hold the internet connection through the cable modem. Second, it can't keep a wireless connection. It is supposed to go over 250 feet at full speed in interior connections, this thing barely made a connection at only 26 feet with only one wall in the way, dropping out every 5 minutes or so. Don't think it's my environment here, I tested the hub at 5 feet from the computer in the same room and it had trouble with the wireless connection. Third, if you try any change to the configuration to do something like turning on any of the security functions, well, the network is down for the count until you reset to factory defaults. Fourth, stayed on hold for 30 minutes on the support line, only to get cut off. The website does not answer any questions either. Fifth and last, the software messed up my brand new Dell with Windows XP. Save yourself and find something, anything, better than this poor, poor, poor excuse for a networking system.
Rating:
Summary: WEP wont work with with other equipment
Review: I have one of these and have had a couple of problems and SMC's tech support is geared only to user problems and not problems with the equipment. The WAN port will not get a DHCP from my ISP. I have to get a dhcp lease with other gear and then set the router to static. When my ISP changes my IP address I have to do this again. The other issue is that it will only talk to other 802.11b, or 802.11g equipment if all security (WEP, etc) is turned OFF. So if you have a static IP from your ISP, and you dont need security go ahead and get one. Oh and dont expect help from their tech support when it doesn't work the way it should. After all every other 802.11 equipment is broken not theirs.
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