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Linksys WRT54GS Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster

Linksys WRT54GS Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster

List Price: $99.99
Your Price: $79.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good Performance, Decent Tech Service
Review: Contrary to what other reviewers have written, there are errors in the install how-to. I called tech service twice to rectify the problems - the first tech was difficult to understand so we broke it off and I called again and got good, efficient help. We're running one desktop wired, one wireless and three laptops wireless and are not having any dropouts anywhere in the house, even 50 feet from the transmitter. I had been on the verge of buying the Belkin pre-n rig and I'm glad we saved the bucks - the Linksys stuff cost us about half since we got in on a good rebate deal.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Installation for dummies
Review: Decided to go wireless. Reviews sounded great! How hard can this be. I am a Test Pilot, so this should be no challenge. We also ordered the wireless WPC54GS notebook card to go with the router. My son, being a typical 20 year old know-it-all decides to configure the notebook card first (against my wishes). Every time we put the card in the notebook, it locked up. The Linksys tech support people said "oh yeah", you need to download new drivers! The ones on the CD ROM won't work. OK, back to my original idea, lets do the router first. Put in the CD ROM, followed instructions and WA LA. We were on the net (hard wired) through our cable modem in less than 5 minutes!!! My recommendation on the WRT54GS - BUY IT (but DO NOT let your know-it-all teenager or 20 year old, install it. Do it yourself). One major problem! Back to the notebook card. The second Linksys tech support person told us "the card is bad, send it back to Amazon.com to have it tested" What??? How can this be??? The dang card is brand new!!! Lets try other options. Card still locks up computer! Third Linksys tech support person helped, but the computer still locks up on start-up. WOW the card is bad! Amazon.com, you guys are great! Within 5 minutes we had the return information, and about 10 minutes later we were notified by email that another card would be sent out tomorrow. Great!!!
Ok lets review - Buy the WRT54GS router!
DO NOT buy the WPC54GS notebook card - even the Linksys tech support people seem to think it is junk. I guess the quality control guy in that department is always out to lunch!
Read all the reviews that are shown on Amazon.com under each piece of equipment. There are some very good tips there that you will not learn from the installation information (like turn off the Windows XP fire wall before you start installation or you will get a lot of nasty windows "Hey idiot, you can't do that" messages.
AMAZON.COM You guys are great as usual. We also ordered our print server this morning. Keep up the good work.
Linksys - You guys have a lot of work to do. First thing I would do is fire the Notebook card quality control guy.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Not dual-voltage -- don't buy if you live overseas
Review: Don't bother reading this if you live in the States or Canada, but if you are one of the many Americans stationed overseas who buy electronics online, you might benefit from my frustrating experience.

When the router arrived, I read the box very closely; even though every other piece of computer equipment I've purchased in the last few years has been dual-voltage, I wanted to make sure this one was, too. The box doesn't specify the input power requirements, but it does say "For all EU countries" and specifically refers to using it in France and Italy. So I logically assumed that I would indeed be able to use this product in Europe without needing a transformer.

But no. The power adapter is 120V only. I've been trying for over a month to get Linksys to send me a 220V-compatible adapter -- I know they make them; Linksys is worldwide. But every call and email I've sent (and there have been many, to the UK and Germany as well as to the States' outsourced customer service locations) has only resulted in being told to call someone else. Customers can request a replacement power adapter from the Linksys website; I did that, specifying the 220V version, and was sent another 120V one (incidentally, I had to have it sent to my parents, who forwarded it to me, as Linksys refuses to ship to APO addresses). I guess the good people at Linksys thought I didn't know what I wanted.

So -- I can't evaluate the product itself because I haven't used it yet. But the customer service has been extremely disappointing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: WOW!
Review: Got my router today. Installed in about 15 minutes, one wireless Toshiba with g, and one wired computer. Wireless internet is FAST! Set-up is straight forward and easy. Highly recommend.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great product
Review: Got this router last week and instantly installed it with out any hassles. It was up and running in no time and was able to link to it with my wireless pci card WMP54GS(from linksys also). Had a big issue getting it to link with my wireless adapter for my laptop(WPC54GS), but the customer chat service guys at linksys where just terrific in assisting me to get it connected. Just needed to change the broadcast channel from the default channel 6 to channel 11. By the way, my systems where all running windows xp with sp2. Impressed with their customer care. Kudos to them.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent Product
Review: Having read all the reviews for this product, including some not so favorable, I decided to upgrade my wired router to wireless.

Setup couldn't have been more straightforward. I didn't use the setup CD, but followed the setup guide. Within ten minutes, I was connected. The router is connected to a custom built P4 and my laptop is a Sony Vaio. I used the Linksys WPC45GS to connect my laptop to the network, another easy and flawless install.

After the initial install of the router, it is strongly suggested you do the following:

- Change the SSID
- Disable SSID broadcast
- Change password for admin access
- Enable MAC filtering
- Change SSID often
- Use highest encryption possible
- Change encryption keys often

For me, this router has been working flawlessly for the last week. Installation and configuration was simple. With my laptop, I can go anywhere in my 1800 sq ft. home and get a strong signal with no dropouts.

Excellent product. Highly recommended.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Product
Review: I bought this about a month ago and it works great. Just stick in the CD and it will automatically configure everything for you. Its so simple. It also comes with a Cat5 cable which is nice.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent technology and great customer support
Review: I don't usually write comments but I was so impressed I felt it necessary. I followed the enclosed instructions but was not able to get my Win2000 computer to resolve some IP conflicts. I called customer service at 0530 eastern time. I connected quickly to a very friendly and knowledgable person. With some specific point, clicking, and typing, I was up and running. I am an engineer and would not have figured these specific chages myself. A golf clap for Linksys customer service. Everything is working great!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Better, stronger, faster than before...
Review: I have had Linksys routers off and on over the years. I changed frequently due to ferreting out bugs with my connection, which has slowly improved due to various reasons. Most recently I had a Netgear WGT624 (108Mbps) which seemed to have a fast connection with the accompanying wireless cards. However, I was frequently getting dropped off the network at which time I would have to do a router reboot - even with the latest firmware installed.

After reading the reviews here and on www.dslreports.com, it seems I am not the only one with this problem. Now, since this router has received rave reviews, I figured I would try out Linksys again. I did, and am very happy with it so far. I have not had a drop within the last 24 hours.

The only caveat I have had with Linksys is how unbelievibly ugly the hardware is. Why they keep using a dark blue Cisco box is beyond me. I spend quite a bit of money in order to keep things looking clean and consistant in my work area and this box sticks out like a blue flaming sore thumb in my sea of black/gray hardware. They need to take design lessons from Netgear, they would sell more routers.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Very Good Router & Xbox Live Compatible
Review: I have had this router for about a week, upgrading from an outdated router, and have been very impressed. It is easy to use and set-up (even the security settings: WEP, MAC address control, etc.). I am running a mixed wireless network (802.11b & g) and file transfer, internet, etc. work great. I initially had trouble with Xbox Live (on LAN), but when you go into the Xbox's "Network Settings" and have it find the router again, it works fine. The problem was the Xbox had a different IP address that needed to be reset to the IP address given to it by the WRT54GS (firmware version 2.07.1). DO NOT turn off your your security settings like previous reviews have suggested, it is unneeded. Overall, a great router.


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