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Microsoft MN-700 Wireless 802.11g Base Station Router

Microsoft MN-700 Wireless 802.11g Base Station Router

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Superb Product
Review: Microsoft delivers another great wireless networking product! Installation was amazingly easy and performance is great. I've used their earlier MN-500 wireless-B router for the past year and recently upgraded to this G version. Even with my 802.11b Dell laptop with the latest Intel Centrino technology, speed and distance are improved over the earlier router.

I can't say enough good things about this product. The radio signal is very strong (more than 6Mbps) throughout my 5000sqft+ home with no dead spots. I don't know how the Microsoft engineers did it. The Linksys WRT54G that I tried for a week was a poor performer compared to this Microsoft unit.

Microsoft may be known for their software products, but this unit should give them solid recognition in the hardware category. Highly recommended!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not ready for release
Review: Bought this router 2 weeks ago to replace wired network. I have 2 wired connections from desktop computers and one wireless from laptop.
Here are some observations:
1) 2-3 sec delay when openning the page with browser
2) Setup was not that easy (my configuration was not described in the manual)- had to call tech support 2 times
3) Even though download speeds measure OK, overall impression is that this thing is sooooooo S-L-O-W (possibly due to 2-3 sec lag).
4) Can not disable the farewall

5) Wouldn't work with PPPoE (DSL) at all without firmware upgrade - would randomly drop connection
6) When open the browser after turning computer on, have to reload the page few times just to get DHCP working
7) Loses wireless connection from 2.4 GHz phones
8) Some pictures are not displayed in the browser - was told to clear the cache (???). Hm, never had that issue with wired router before

Overall, I am very dissatisfied with the product, considering the fact that at least I am able to surf the net and download files. Look first on microsoft's website to find disscusion groups on this router and see for yourself what to expect before buying it.
I would give it a 1 star but at least I was able to get it "working".
I noticed some positive reviews here too. Did you try to connect directly to the net to see if there is a difference in speed?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Beats Linksys any day
Review: Hi,
I had Linksys in as their Cable/DSL Gateway and their Wireless Access Product and it just had far too many problems. My Internet interface was available only about 55 percent of the time.

I tried the MN-700 and it works great. 100% internet connection, better signal for the same distance from the node, less interference from wireless phones and the microwave. I've now replace all my Linksys equipment with these and have excellent coverage, no drop outs, consistent connection etc.

What a great product!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Technical Literacy and Common Sense
Review: If you are technically literate install it yourself, if you are not, have someone that is install it. This product is great for the money. What it comes down to is either you can use technical know how with common sense to figure out your installation or you will be whining like these babies. Obviously, they cannot write a manual with every possible setup scenario in it! Buy and enjoy your computer where you want to. It is great to be wireless!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Easy and reliable
Review: First, a disclaimer - I am an ex-Microsoft employee (but not in this area). I bought this at retail after I had left, so my experience is as a normal customer.

I bought this to replace a Linksys wireless router that I had set up on an existing network as a wireless access point for my wife's laptop (which wasn't located in a spot convenient to our Ethernet connections).

The Linksys was very unreliable as an access point and I am not a networking expert. So I decided to try the MS solution (where I knew the focus was on ease of installation). Since I was upgrading anyway, I bumped up to G.

Installation went completely by the book (including an auto update after I installed the base software). Within 30 minutes, I had the hardware set up, the software installed, the new notebook adaptor in my wife's laptop and the connections made.

It has worked flawlessly for 6 weeks since then. I also have a Dell laptop with the Centrino B wireless adaptor built in and it connects easily and reliably as well.

I also like the vertical setup over the Linksys. It looks better and is more space efficient. And the status lights are visible from more angles.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised at how easily this setup and how well it has worked. Recommended.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent Wireless Router
Review: A terrific product, very dependable and easy to set up. Great two year product support. Highly recommended!!!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Stick to software Microsoft
Review: I unpacked the box and followed the instructions to load the supplied software. That part went easily. Then I cabled the router to the cable modem and to the PC, and switched on. The software wizard failed to find the router and refused to proceed. I tried turning things on and off, rebooted my PC several times, removed my firewall software because the help said that could be the issue. Eventually I removed it from the cable modem and tried to connect it just to my PC. Still no joy.

So I took it back and bought a NetGear Router. WOW NetGear know how to make stuff. It took 5 minutes to get it going and another 5 to setup my security and preferences. No software needed. I then plugged my Vonage VoIP box into the setup and it all worked perfectly.

Microsoft stick to making software leave hardware to the people who know how to do it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Worked great first time, every time
Review: I am using this router and running 2 laptops and a desktop with it. Set-up was fairly easy (I did some manual configurations)and, since I am not using Microsoft wireless adapters, I had to manually configure the computers. I am running an 4 yr old IBM Thinkpad with a Netgear MA111 adapter and also a Dell 3800 laptop (about 2 or 3 yrs old) with the same adapter (802.11b). No problems at all once I configured the WEP security keys,etc. The desktop is an H-P running Windows 98SE, also no problems. When my daughter was here with her new Dell with a 802.11G card, she seemed to have even faster connections.

The farthest I have taken the laptops is out on my deck which is 2 or 3 walls and maybe 50 feet from the router. I have the router conncected to my Comcast cable modem and am surfing the net usually at 1.2-1.7 meg per sec. I would recommend this as a simple, effective way to set up wi-fi at home.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Novice get it to work on the first try
Review: This is my first introduction to wireless networking. I just got this router in January of 2004 and have no disconnection problem reported by other users. I did do an update during setup. It has worked in every way I expected to be. I picked MS MN-700 over the competition, because I heard it is very easy to use.

The setup,
I am a novice and didn't want to be hassles by a lot of informational inputs. This device worked on the first try with Wizard setup. I first plugged it straight to a network card with a cable it worked fine. I have a window 98 and a win2000 computer on. I am using Linksys's Dual band A&G on my XP laptop and all I had to do is enter the network key on the card and it will work. You might have to plug the router with an ethernet cable before you can set up the wireless connection; that is what I did.

Conclusion,
I read that you can not extend the range with a wireless bridge with the MN-700 and I was a little bum (never had to also). If you want to compare performances with this device to other go to CNET first. This is a simple device, which doesn't have much configuration to play with. The exterior design is nice; I like how it looks standing up or sideway on my desk. Most of my friends said go with D-link, but I am happy with this pick.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent wireless router!
Review: Great product AND an affordale price!
I use the 265kbps MSN-Qwest DSL at home.
I previously struggled endlessly with Linksys and D-Link Wireless G routers to get the network parameters right. I had to shutdown and restart my DSL modem, my router and my computer more than 2-3 times to even get the router to serve 1 computer. The moment I hooked on a second machine, the connection would die.

I must say that the software that comes with this router does an excellent job of configuring TCP/IP parameters. All I had to do was to insert the CD, install the software and follow the instructions. AND THEY ACTUALLY WORKED! To hook up my laptop, I had to copy the encryption key to my network adapter settings and it worked immediately. Full credit to Microsoft for a great and affordable product!


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