Rating: 
Summary: WG602v2 is a way to go. And it's fast!!!
Review:
WG602v2 is a lot better than the WG602 802.11g.
When you update the latest firmware, you'll get :
- Access Point
- Point to Point bridging
- Multipoint bridging
- Repeater
- Support for WPA-PSK
Compared to other access points with bridging, this AP is a lot cheaper. Detachable antenna also is a right way to increase your range. Just buy a 5.5dbi Omnidirectional antenna with RP-SMA connector, and you have a range of two times farther than before.
Works great with WG511. It's fast. Transfering a 50Mb file on
the network is only 20 seconds....
Rating: 
Summary: Poor SMA Connections
Review: As a company we have now purchased 2 of the Netgear WG602 access points and are generally very happy with the overall performace and ease of configuration of this product, we currently have a wifi network spanning just over a mile with the use of external antenna's, however, a word of warning to any consumers that are planning to purchase this product with a view to using it with an external antenna.
The SMA connection an the rear of the access point is rather dificult to atatch a coaxial connection to due to the overhang of the rear of the case, once the connection was made, we were very suprised to find that the weight of the coaxial cable had quite easily pulled the pressed brass insert from the SMA connection completly out of the access point, personally i feel that this is quite a poor design and would have expected the brass insert to be threaded to avoid this problem.
But, these really are the only faults we found with this access point and are generally very happy with the performance..
Rating:
Summary: Buy WG602 v2, not WG602
Review: As of today, Amazon doesn't specify whether WG602 on this page is WG602 v2 or not. Product specification on this page indicates it is WG602. WG602 hardware isn't software upgradable to WG602 v2 which has WPA and other additional functionalities.
I purchased WG602 more than a year ago. It's been working fine without any trouble. Just like GW511, I was hoping WPA would be added to WG602 through firmware upgrade. However, Netgear released WG602 v2 which doesn't share the same firmware with WG602.
Irecommend you to confirm which version your are purchasing.
Rating:
Summary: A decent product with room to grow
Review: Bought this to compliment my linksys 4-port router. Setup is simple and straightforward. Everything is up and running in 10 minutes with most of the time spent on configuring the client (linksys 802.11b PC CARD). The built-in management UI is taking a minimalistic approach comparing to my 802.11b linksys wireless router. I'd expect more improvements will come in future firmware updates. In terms of functionality/performance it's decent but less than what I expected. The signal strength tends to be between 45-100%. When accessing from 40 feet with two walls in-between, the signal strength drops to 45%. In comparison to the linksys wireless router, the linksys router has better signal and higher throughput in the 802.11b mode. I received an Orinoco 802.11a/b/g combo card last night. It took me about 30 minutes to get everything going while I played around with different security modes and settings. Under g-mode operation with the Orinoco card, signal strength is higher than the b-mode/linksys combo. Overall I'm quite happy with the g-mode performance.
Rating: 
Summary: Their products have no warranty
Review: Contrary to their claims, their products have no warranty at all (unless you pay for it). I have a 2 year old gateway router that had a 5 year warranty that stopped working one day so I called their tech support. The tech support person told me that since the product is over 90 days old and they do not manufacture it anymore, then I would have to contact their pay tech support line to get an RMA. If they are able to fix the problem over the phone line, then they will charge me, otherwise they will offer me an RMA number for a return. So basically you have to pay to use their warranty. A friend who is a lawyer is currently handling this situation.
Rating: 
Summary: On my third one now
Review: I am on my third one of these access points now. Both boxes simply stopped responding and wouldn't reset. Netgear technical support was no help either. My advice, try the Linksys box first.
Rating:
Summary: Defective product and lousy technical support
Review: I bought this access point because it got such rave reviews for easy setup. I'm no slouch when it comes to computers, but I am no tech wiz either. This product just wouldn't work. The CD rom was defective so you couldn't access the guide. Then I could not log into the access point using the name or ip address. I had to go out and buy a special cable to connect to my computer. This I learned after 3 telephone calls to netgear with average waits on hold of 30 minutes. Then I could log on and change the settings, but found out that I had to reset all of the settings EACH time I wanted to change anything! I was told by netgear that this sometimes happens and that the product was still great. Well, it might be great, but I just returned it.
Rating: 
Summary: Greatness
Review: I just bought the Netgear WG602 about a week ago, and I am very impressed. I also purchased the Netgear 54G Wireless PC Card. Both items work great. All I did was connect the ethernet cord (that comes with the access point) from my existing D-Link wired router and into the Netgear access point. Then I installed the PC Card software on my laptop and rebooted and done. It was up and running in 10 minutes. At about 1 foot I was connected at 100% out in the living room about 30 feet away through one wall it was between 78-86%. Then about 60 feet away through 4-5 walls it was 60%. Even at 60% the connection flew. It was just like I was connected through a wire. I then walked outside my house about 200 feet and was still connected. My dad has a Linksys 802.11b access point and can only go about 40 feet. It seems the 802.11g makes a big difference on signal strength. The access point is very stylish and the stand works great. You need to point the antenna in the right direction to make a stronger connection. Another plus is that you can replace the antenna with a more powerful one if needed. You need to secure the access point soon after you set it up. I went into the setup features of the access point and turned on authentication type to shared key. Then I turned on WEP and used the passcode feature by typing in a word. Then I turned on MAC security and added the PC card's MAC address (which I found in the About tab) to the allowed addresses. Then I rebooted the access point. At this point of course the laptop could not connect because it was not using WEP so I went to the PC card and told it to use WEP security and used the same passcode that I had used on the access point. And then told the Netgear Wireless PC card to re-scan. It found the access point and the entire setup including tight security was done.
Rating:
Summary: Why did I wait so long to go wireless ....
Review: I just got this a week ago along with a Netgear WG511 PC Card. It looks really neat. And works great. The setup was a breeze. I just connected the access point to an ethernet switch connected to the router. Installed the PC card and it immediately detected the WLAN. Configuring the access point took a little while because my network's IP range is from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.255. The access point comes with a preset IP address of 192.168.0.227. To access the AP from a PC that is connected to my network over ethernet, I had to change the IP address of that PC to start with 192.168.0. The PC card shows the signal strength as "EXCELLENT", "VERY GOOD", "GOOD", "LOW", "VERY LOW" etc. I did some benchmarking on this. In the same room, the signal strength is shown as "EXCELLENT". I copied 25MB of files from the other PC to my notebook. It took 1 min 7 seconds. Over an ethernet connection between the same two computers, it took only 53 seconds. Then I took the notebook to another room (2 walls) and the signal strength was shown as "VERY GOOD". With 3 walls in between it was still "VERY GOOD". Interesting thing is that I didn't see any noticeable delay in copying the same 25MB files. I took the notebook to upto about 180ft (2 walls in between). The signal strength became "VERY LOW" and it also got disconnected after a while. With more than 2 walls in between, irrespective of the distance, it becomes very unreliable. I keep my access point in the basement in a corner room. I cannot get signal on my ground floor at the opposite corner of the house. I think it is safe to assume that we should get upto 200 ft with no walls in between.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Access Point!
Review: I purchased this access point about a month ago for my girlfriend's house. Her existing setup consisted of a Zoom cable modem connected to an SMC Barricade 4 port broadband router/firewall. I went over to her house, plugged an ethernet cable into the router and the acess point, plugged in a wireless PC Card into her laptop, and it was ready to go. All together no more than 15 minutes to get it up and running. I haven't had a chance to play with the advanced features and security, but from the initial setup, I have to say that I'm impressed, perfect for networking newbies (although I am not, I like the idea that this hardware is easy to use and easy to set up, as all hardware should be). Performance wise, I couldn't be happier. As a test, I had the AP set up in a room on the second floor of her house and walked outside with the laptop. Roughly 70-80% connection quality around 3/4 of the exterior of the house and roughly 50-60% connection quality on the farthest side of the house, which is not bad IMO considering it's going through several walls. The AP also works flawlessly with both 802.11b and 802.11g clients.
Although when a "b" client connects, all "g" clients are dropped to 11Mbps, this is a behavior that is common to all current generation "g" chipsets. I am a "b" client while all the users in my gf's house are "g" clients, works flawlessly. Aside from the above, the Netgear WG602 is probably the best looking AP that's out there on the market. It's very stylish and unobtrusive. Sizewise, it's not much larger than a sandwich. It comes with a very practical vertical stand for added convenience. As a side note, Netgear is perhaps the only manufacturer that gets these stands right; it actually holds the AP up stably. In summary, this is an excellent choice for customers who already have some sort of wired network in place. It's great for those who are less technically inclined as it should pretty much work right out of the box.
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