Rating: Summary: Like a Rock Review: Why did I wait to go wireless? Well, it probably had something to do with security. But 128 bit WEP rules, baby! And so does this product. I have a 3900 sq. ft. house, and I can't get anything but excellent reads on this thing. I only have two words of caution: 1) Windows XP wireless connections by default enable IEEE 802.1x authentication. I had a problem with my wireless Dell dropping the connection if that option was enabled. I could not find anyone at Linksys or at Dell who could explain why, and the router has no interface to configure this item. I blame the Dell, not the router. Once that checkbox was disabled, I had no issues and no drops. Like a Rock. 2) You have to download the user manual from Linksys. They only include a quick setup guide and a CD rom. The complete user guide can be seen at:ftp://ftp.linksys.com/pdf/wrt54g_ug.pdf
Rating: Summary: Wireless-g Message Boards Review: Just hooked up my wireless-G router with the W-G PC card. What a great and easy to use set of products. I was up and running in 10 minutes. Also got a linksys 802.11b CF card for my iPAQ 3835. It too works great with the -G products. Now I'd like to know if there are any message boards for this -G stuff. Being that this is my first exposure to wireless, I'd like to learn more about things like placement of the router, tips, tweaks or tricks. Highly reccommend all these products.
Rating: Summary: Give it an A - for Absolute JUNK! Review: Installed the wireless G router (Dell GX750 desktop/Win95) & matching notebook card (new Dell lattitude C610 laptop/WinXP). 1st install went easy on both systems and everything was up and running in about 30 min....but this only lasted for about 10 minutes! First the notebook stopped working. Then the desktop locked up! Tried uninstall & reinstall 4 times on both machines. Spent almost 6 hours on the helpline talking to India (4 calls & lots of wait even at 4 am EST on Saturday!) Notebook install says I need a file called LSBCMNDS.SYS but its NOT on any CD that came with the hardware. Tried to download from Linksys.com & they didn't have it in the driver file either! After downloading and unzipping their useless driver file my desktop system locks up everytime I try to access Linksys.com! Maybe they just don't want to hear about it anymore. Save your money, this combo is DEFINITELY NOT ready for primetime.
Rating: Summary: Sony Laptop running Win XP Review: I have no idea why others are having such problems. I did notice some quirks while changing from the default settings, which are easy to get back to BTW, however have had no further problems since the latest firmware release. It works just wonderfully, with the b cards that I have and the new g card that I bought along with the router. I found it extremely easy to setup. I just plugged the router into the net, connected my Sony AP to the router port for an alternate wireless connection and then rebooted the network components. Instantly worked with my existing Sony wireless PC card. The G PC card was also as easy to setup under XP, as any other is...
Rating: Summary: Faster than I thought possible Review: This router was faster than I expected. The first unit I received was defective, but Linksys sent a replacement after finding out there was a problem. Set up seemed simple, but I had problems because of eratic DSL signals. Linksys came again to the rescue. I had it operating within minutes. I highly recommend this product due to it's performance and manufacture service.
Rating: Summary: The speed! the speed!!! Review: Got this with a Wireless g PC Card for my laptop. The original installation wizard did not work for my broadband service (Cox) but I was able to get very specific help from their web-site knowdlege database which resolved the issue. Once I had the internet connection going I found that I kept losing it on the laptop intermittantly. That was fixed by changing the speed setting on the router to 'auto' from the default of '54mbps.' (don't know why it's shipped like that). Some other concerns which I think need to be mentioned. If you're using the free version of ZoneAlarm (like I was) for a firewall, it won't work with the wireless network. I've tried various settings and then finally found out that I will have to upgrade to the 'pro' version for the firewall to work while allowing the network to operate. Haven't done it yet, so I don't know how well it will work, but I gather it should. There is very little documentation provided with both the router and the PC Card. And security issues are totally ignored. It appears that to make it as easy to install (for all sorts of users out there), they have opened the system as much as possible but don't even mention security. Do go to their web-site and get details on securing your network (it's nicely detailed in there). In particular users should be aware that the network is set to broadcast it's SSID which is factory set for 'linksys.' This is an open invitation for hackers to hack into your system. Diable the broadcast feature and change the name of your network to something unique. The MAC address filtering is also a very good feature (where you can define the unique MAC addresses of all your computers) and the network will only allow those computers access (of course, a good hacker will be able to overcome this, but it does make it much more challanging). Again, no mention in the documentation - get it from the web-site. The network also supports 64 bit and 128 bit encryption. I have not yet set up the keys so can't really comment on it. However, encryption (particularly 128 bit) will degrade speed somewhat, but it is probably worth it. I'm planning on working on this aspect next. Once the system got going, it was a beauty. I would give it five stars, but am not because of the lack of documentation, particularly as it relates to security. I have not tried it with the old 11b standard. But tech-support did confirm to me that if I have adaptors running on the g and b standard, the WHOLE network WILL slow down to 11 mpbs (the 11b standard). So be forewarned. However, this may not be an issue for users if all they're doing is surfing the net, etc. (the speed is more than adequate). Also, the signal-booster (for the 11b routers) will not work with the wireless g router, even though both operate on the 2.4 GHz frequency. However, signel stregnth is pretty good and I can move my laptop pretty much anywhere in my house. It does flactuate but dudes/dudettes - 54 mbps is a LOT of speed - some degradation from that won't be noticable to most users. This speed rocks.... I don't want to give the wrong impression here. I really like this system and would easily recommend it to others. However, just be prepared to work on a few issues.
Rating: Summary: Compatibility Issues Review: I bought this router less than a week ago. Some problems to share. Problem #1 Does not work with Linksys' WPC11 version 1.0 PCMCIA Wireless Adaptor. The network card simply does not recognise the WRT54G. I tried updating the drivers from Linksys for the WPC11, used the WPC11 on various laptops with different operating systems. No luck. The firmware which came out on the 29th January does not help resolve the problem, although they claimed that it will solve some compatibility issues with CISCO chipsets, etc. So, still a no-go for me, even now when I am stuck with it. ... Problem #2 Does not work with the iPaq 5455 built-in WLAN adaptor. Tried every other thing. Tried snooping my own network to see what it is sending. Funny thing is, my snooper on my iPaq detects that my router has WEP when I enabled it, and the snooper prompts me for the key, but even when I provided the key, it still does not recognise the WRT54G, with or without the WEP. So... no-go either. On the bright side This works great as a Router! Not that it's work [$$$] just to get a 4-port router. On the whole, I am still hoping that Linksys will give me better answers, instead of sending me an email to ask me to describe my problem, and NEVER getting back to me ever since. It had been 2 emails, but still no replies after their initial email reply to me to ask me to describe my problem in detail. I am starting to wonder if that is a template, coz' the second time I sent them an email, they asked me to reply to them to describe my problem in detail when I had already include the details in my email to them. The technical support needs a boost in order to woo more customers.
Rating: Summary: If only configuring husbands were as easy as this router. Review: . My family had just moved to a new residence when my Linksys 11g router arrived. Everything was still packed with the exception of two computers. The Windows XP machine that I had setup first so the cable guy could connect the Internet cable because they said that they couldn't support an installation they didn't install (Internet didn't work when they left, btw, and I had to reconfigure it.) I also had unpacked my Linux box that I use for everyday work that I had to have up and running. I made the mistake of applying SP1 to my XP box later that evening at my husbands behest who could not comprehend that it was unnecessary, which of course, crashed the machine; so I had only 1 working computer, the Linux box, when my router arrived. I had two choices. 1) Gleefully tear the router out of the packaging and attempt an install via Linux which Linksys does not support or 2)Rationally listening to my husband who told me to finish unpacking to find the proper Windows equipment. Or 3)Waiting until the XP box finished its reformat, install WIN2K this time, and then try to install the router. Being less than patient and typically female (I WANT IT NOW!!), and much to my husband's vocal disdain, I opted for option 1. I hooked her up and connected to the router via the Web. Configuration was straightforward and any questions could be answered in the book that came with the router. I was connected to the Internet via Linux in less than ten minutes. I must admit to being somewhat disappointed the installation was so easy since I was hoping for a few glitches to help delay my unpacking of the house, but alas I had to be satisfied with using the SP1/XP fiasco as an excuse. After I finally finished unpacking everything, installation of all the other Windows machines were just as easy. All are up and running with no trouble. I could only be happier with my router if I could simply order a new husband from Amazon that helps with such things as unpacking and a mute button on the end of his nose. :)
Rating: Summary: Great hardware that should get better with time Review: I've been enjoying my new WRT54G, which replaced a BEFW11S4. I flashed to the new 1.01.4 firmware, which was a simple task, and the complaints about some radios having difficulty associating should be gone. The new code also seems to have improved overall speed. There is some pain associated with being an early adopter. Fortunately, Linksys makes that pain easier to deal with by keeping on top of updates/upgrades and their utilities are a snap to use. Flashing to the new firmware even retained all of my previous settings. Happy computing!
Rating: Summary: What a piece of [junk] and terrible customer service Review: I bought the wrt54g and went to hook it up. It keep trashing my cable modem. After an hour on the phone with my ISP we discovered that it was wrt54g problem. So I called Linksys...did I get an answer? Not yet I have been on hold waiting for a customer service agent for 1 hour and 45 min. Give me D-link or HP
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