Rating: Summary: Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless 4-Port Cable/DSL Router Review: definitely need improving. Here what I see after 5 days: first time set up was so easy. It reconigned my cable modem and ran right away. The problem started when I turned off the pc. One the pc (Win XP) turned back on, it could not get the DHCP address from the router so of course no Internet connection. Had to repower off router, modem and pc in this order for it to work. Try it several time and got the same symtom. Upgraded firmware still not resolve the problem. Still can not get tech support because i was on hold for too long.
Rating: Summary: Highly Recommended - Great Support Review: I actually bought the wrong thing when I bought this router. I already had a LinkSys 4 port router, but I wanted to add wireless connectivity for my laptop. I should have bought just the wireless access point without the router. After looking at the documentation I couldn't figure out how to configure a second router on my network. I searched the web and only found information saying that I shouldn't have two routers. So I sent an email to LinkSys support asking if I could make it work. I sent the email on a Saturday and received a reply on the next day (Sunday)! They gave me instructions how to configure both routers and they are now up and working great. Wireless is more expensive than wired, but makes things very convenient. Both LinkSys routers I have have been rock-solid, easy to set up, and the tech support is the best.
Rating: Summary: This [router] has been an insane nightmare..... Review: Although I never have a problem getting an internet connection when connecting my computers directly to my cable modem, this so called router still can't talk to my modem - and this is after a week of trying! Linksys tech support has so far had me perform all sorts of tests, and first told me the router has a bad WAN port and to exchange it. So I did (both Linksys and Amazon refused to overnight me a replacement). Yep, I replaced it, but still the SAME PROBLEM. Now they tell me that on this one the firmware needs updating, they'll email me something that'll allow me to do it. They never emailed it. I call them again about it, and they want me instead to BORROW SOMEONE'S HUB(!)to do some more tests. Yeah, that's not a hassle. If you take your chances with this [router], pray that you don't have this same nightmare.
Rating: Summary: Good for the most part Review: Great and easy to set up if you're not doing anything crazy. Beware of some of their VPN troubleshooting techniques, though. Techs had me DOWNGRADE my firmware to the last "stable" version for what I was trying to do. Not exactly confidence-inspiring. Overall, a very stable and reliable product.
Rating: Summary: Great Product Review: This is a great product! I was hesitant at first given some of the bad PR but after networking THREE machines together in minutes I could not be more satisfied. No problem with connectivity through numerous walls and doors. Signal strength from my deck is awesome. Even got it to work in the furthest part of my basement (although the signal was kind of weak). On one occasion there appeared to be a signal conflict with a wireless phone (also using 2.4 GHz) but changing channels on the wireless phone (one click) solved the problem. I can't comment on the tech support but the product manuals and web site have lots of info if you get yourself into trouble. Highly, highly recommend this product.
Rating: Summary: Best thing since sliced bread Review: I had an SMC cable router since we had DSL installed in NOV 2001. Lots of problems the whole time - although manually resetting the SMC always fixed the probs. Just bought the Linksys last week - Wow - this is a fantastic router!. I updated the firmware from APR 2002 to DEC 2002 - but it had worked fine before. I'm in a four-story concrete (German) house, the router is in the stairwell on 2nd floor - and we have great signal strength/link on the three top floors. My Dell notebook, with a Linksys PCMCIA card, works in the basement but signal/link are around 40%. Either wired or wireless - this is a great router.
Rating: Summary: great when its up Review: We have this router and 2 of the wireless usb connections too in my home. One is 2 levels below the router in the basement and has no problem. Unfort our network goes down for no understood reason about once every week or two and must be reset before everything goes back online. No idea why. Otherwise, this works very well.
Rating: Summary: Excellent product Review: I've had this product since July, and it works great. I live in an apartment in New York City, and cutting walls open for ethernet wires is incredibly expensive, and messy. This is an excellent solution if you dont want to wire your house. If you want to stream video from one comp to another, i would recommend the 54G router, because it is compatible with 802.11b as well. But for the price, it is excellent. I have a win 95 and another 98 desktop with pci cards, and an xp laptop with the pcmcia card. They all work great. My only two beefs are, 1. You need an extra ethernet cable to set it up and to enable wireless, as well as the patience of moving it to where it will go, if you dont have a laptop with an ethernet port. 2. I live in a pre-war apartment with plaster-of-paris and cement walls, and that really takes away from the signal. You have to play with the antennas, but eventually, you can get good signal everywhere. I dont think it's the product's fault, it is the walls in my apartment. Overall, get this product if it is for sharing internet.
Rating: Summary: Be sure to get the latest firmware Review: I give it 5 stars, but only after I downloaded the most recent firmware from the Linksys website (as of the date of this review, December 2002). I bought mine in early January 2003 and it came with a firware dated in April 2002. When I hooked up the components (this router with the Linksys WET11 bridge and WMP11 wireless pci card) I was getting 87% reception and 87% quality and my access point was in the next room only about 20 feet away. The speed was also very slow. Downloads were over 100k/s when wired directly to the router and only about 30k/s when going wireless. After I downloaded the firmware and upgraded it, I was at 100% reception and 100% quality and the download speeds were the same either wireless or wired. Very nice product overall and I no longer have those annoying wires running all over.
Rating: Summary: Easy Home Networking Review: Let's face it...sometimes you pick up an item that sounds like a great idea and then get it home, unwrap it and the problems begin. Not so with this router by Linksys. When I needed to share my DSL connection with 3 computers in the house, as well as setting up some shares for data and printers, I chose this product and was glad I did. I was able to install the router, hook it up to my existing desktop and DSL line as well as connect 2 new additional wireless cards in 2 notebooks in under an hour. The CD for the router makes installation a snap. It guides you through the whole process step by step. You do not have to be familiar with networking at all to have a home network up in running in no time. It automatically senses all your current configurations and just brings them into the new router. The wireless install into the notebooks went as simply as any installation of a plug and play device could. No hitches, no problems. Three computers sharing and accessing the internet within an hour. Not bad! Hats off to Linksys for making home networking so easy anyone can do it!
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