Rating: 
Summary: Read the fine print
Review: I purchased this for two reasons: one, to bridge an ethernet desktop to an 11b network for now; and two, to use as an 11g AP later. Unfortunately, although the product description clearly states it can be used as an access point, bridge, or repeater, I couldn't configure it as anything other than an AP. The user manual shows "advanced" configuration screens that I simply couldn't find at all. I also couldn't get my changes to the wireless settings to "stick" (they'd go back to the defaults no matter how many times I clicked Apply).It would behoove you to read the user manual before purchasing this product because its compatibility is limited: it can only act as a bridge or repeater in conjunction with another WG602v2 or a WG302 (and you still can't do WPA). Also, the product ships with a bright yellow note saying it's incompatible with the MA101. I've used several other Netgear products. If you're looking for something attractive, simple, and built well, Netgear's great. But if you actually know a thing or two about wireless networking you might be disappointed in Netgear due to limited configurability, expandability, compatibility, interoperability, and performance.
Rating: 
Summary: fast and well designed
Review: I purchased this product to replace a failed Linksys device. The Neatgear is faster and has a longer range (both with 802.11b). In both hardware build and software quality Netgear seems to be a more refined and tested brand than Linksys. I don't yet have a card to try the faster 802.11g that is supported by this device.
Rating: 
Summary: A serious addition to home WiFi
Review: I really like this product. It's not often you see electronics that both look good as well as perform well. This one does. I bought this product because I had already invested in 802.11b for the home-based wifi network, yet wanted to be future-proof for next generation bandwidth as the office PC comes home often enough as well. I was also encouraged by Mr. Chen's review earlier as I planned to plug an access point into an SMC Barricade 4 port broadband router/firewall also. They do plug and play well. The Netgear product has the advantage on the SMC unit in signal strength and coverage based on my less than scientific home trial tests. The SMC unit is a great product itself, having performed flawlessly for over a year without having to touch it. However it is positioned in a basement office and does double duty as a print server so its mobility is challenged, hence an AP solution for broader wifi coverage both inside and out. The product was a breeze to set up and get working. I read a lot about having to change the tcp/ip setting of your network/PC to be able to access the AP and configure it - even the Netgear documentation says this, but it seems to me most people might overlook an obvious setup step. The product comes by default with DHCP, dynamic host config protocol "on" so it should get a tcp/ip address from your router/gateway that you've plugged it into and be "accessible" from the get-go, however if you have MAC address security enabled on your router (don't we all use MAC address and WEP mode on for wireless clients, no? - maybe you should...) then the AP when it boots to the LAN will be not get a connection to the router (DHCP server) because it cannot get a "connection" association to this device as its hardware MAC address hasn't been entered / allowed / registered, if you didn't do this before trying to integrate the AP into your LAN. The result is a timeout, and its default tcp/ip address of 192.168.0.227 is assigned which in most cases means you can't see it via. its very well done browser interface. If you make sure the router/DHCP server has the AP MAC address (found on the back of the AP device) entered into the router/hub association list first, then when you boot the AP it will be able to connect and then be given a tcp/ip address from the sub pool of address range you have configured in the DHCP server and hey presto, you get to see it without going through the pain, anguish and hair pulling exercise of network configuration usually associated with switching a new toy on. Good looking, superior performance and you can't beat the price...
Rating:
Summary: 3 hours on tech support
Review: I spent 3 hours with tech support and could not get it working properly. After the first 2 calls they had me buy a crossover CAT5 cable, then the 3rd call could not even get it working properly. Each time you call, expect to spend 30 minutes on hold before speaking to someone. Even the initial connection was flacky, one day it would not work and then work the next. My experience appears to be the same a several other reviews here.
Rating:
Summary: The Jury is still out...
Review: I will have to say, the inital set up was very easy on a Dell Laptop running WinXP. It was up and running in a matter of minutes. BUT, I started to run into problems when I tried to enable enryption - which I think is a must. After that, I simply could not connect to the internet!!! I spent hours with their tech support, going over the same stuff - even a 2nd level tech - and they still couldnt get it to connect with any kind of encryption. I was told someone will call me within 24 hours, so we will see... So far, I am not pleased - I can't imagine waiting for Christmas day to try to get this thing up and running :( 12/27/03 Update: After talking with a couple of level 2 techs at Netgear who seemed to know what they were doing - I was able to get connected using the encryption but the connection would occasionally drop. I asked Netgear to send me out a new unit - and I am glad I did. It seems the unit I bought from Amazon a couple of weeks ago is already outdated! The one Netgear sent me is a WG602 v2 I was able to get the v2 version up and running in no time and everything at this point seems to be working great :) I am rating this at 4 stars due to the poor tech support and manual that it comes with (they never did call me back - I had to call them again)
Rating:
Summary: keeps on working
Review: i've had it running 24x7 for 10 months and have not had to mess with it once. it provides a strong signal all around a 2000 sf house plus in the basement! the signal strength appears the same regardless of where it is. setup was easy. i'm also using their pci cards in three computers. would recommend netgear and this product.
Rating: 
Summary: Need to reboot daily
Review: I've had this for about 3-4 months now. Really love Netgear products but this is the first one I've found disappointing. It seems to hang up about once a day and needs to have a hard reset (can't reach it via the web). Since its up in the attic this is a real pain. When I sent a question to the service group about this they told me to load the latest firmware (my message to them said that I was already running the latest firmware--I don't think they even read it). This replaced a Netgear "A" access point which was MUCH more reliable. On a positive note the signal strength is very good for B (nobody in the house is using G).
Rating:
Summary: great product, so-so support
Review: It took 2 calls and a fair amount of time dealing with tech support to get it to work with my PC and cable modem, but since then no problems and great connections.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to setup -- working in less than 5 minutes
Review: It took more time to unwrap the package than it did to set up the WAP and start surfing wirelessly. Without reading the instructions, I plugged the WAP into my Netgear RP614 router using the supplied Cat5 cable. I then plugged in the power supply and woke my Apple PowerBook. The PowerBook immediately recognized the WAP and was able to connect to the Internet. Amazing! I then opened the manual and followed the instructions for configuring the WAP. I first went to the Netgear web page and installed the latest firmware upgrade (version 1.5.67). I then changed the password, turned on 128-bit WEP encrytion (for what it's worth), and enabled access control. The access control feature allows one to list the MAC address of the computers which are allowed to connect to the WAP. I have not yet tested wheter this feature works by denying access to unlisted MAC addresses, but I will later. I was able to get good signal in all the rooms of my 2000 square foot, wood frame house. The only difficulty I had was minor interference from a neighbor's Wi-Fi network. I turned on the interference robustness feature on my laptop computer and this problem went away. My access speed through the WAP to the Internet is the same as if I were plugged directly into the router, that is, the WAP connection is faster than my cable modem connection (1.7 Mbps). I have not yet checked the computer to computer connection speed, but I will as soon as I get another computer with an 802.11g card.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: Just got this today and had it up and running in 15 minutes. I get 100% signal strength throughout my entire condo and the lowest throughput I've seen is 36 MBPS on rare occasions. Usually is 48+ Extremely pleased. I've been using Netgear products for the past 7 years and they have all been great.
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