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D-Link DWL-G120 Wireless 802.11g USB Adapter

D-Link DWL-G120 Wireless 802.11g USB Adapter

List Price:
Your Price: $52.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hey it Works!
Review: All I had to do was follow the instuctions and it works great!
I use this USB adapter instead of my built in wireless for my laptop because I get waaaaay better range and signal quality. Plus my internal wireless card/antenna is only for 802.11b. I wanted 802.11g speeds so I bought this USB adapter and it works wonders.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Works pretty well for its intended use
Review: Background of my set-up: I have an HP computer with a cable modem internet connection with Comcast. I purchased a Dell computer for an office downstairs. I bought the DI-624 router and purchased the DWL-120 to connect the HP computer to the internet connection as the Dell is connected to the DI-624 router by an ethernet cable.
My conclusion: The router works great. I would highly recommend it. The DWL-120? My wife uses the HP for just occasional surfing and light internet use. It works great for that. If you are a heavy-duty internet user you will experience occasional delays as the signal constantly fades from good to poor. I believe another review stated the same. It may not bother you. All in all it's a great device with super easy set-up. I just can't say to the frequent, impatient internet user that you'll be totally happy with it. I have not tried any other wireless products so I cannot compare my impression with others.
Bottomline: This product was super easy to set-up and it's getting the job done and best of all, my wife doesn't complain.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Conflict with the D-Link DWL-G800AP Wireless Range Extender
Review: Before ordering your product from D-Link, it would be smart to call D-link sales, at 877-453-5465, and discuss with a live sales rep what you intend to install, and if all of the D-Link components you are intending to purchase will work with one another. Believe it or not, they may not. I learned the hard way. I also learned that D-Link Tech support does not seem to be aware of compatability factors either, which may account for their inability to solve so many problems that customers have reported. The knowlege in compatability issues is the Sales department! My problem? This USB card will not work with the D-Link DWL-G800AP Wireless 802.11g Range Extender (which I installed near the edge of my router's signal range in order to boost my network signal and lengthen my network's reach). I eventually noticed that the product description and the the box itself tells you what product works with which other product, but all of the product designations are respresented in nomenclature such as DWL-2000AP,DWL-2100AP, DWL-G120, DWL-G132, DWL-G650X, and so forth. I initially found it confusing. As an average consumer, I just assumed that the company would create products that work with all of its network products, but with wireless, many companies just don't. I guess they are designing products and redesigning for different markets, and then rapidly designing newer, updated products as IEEE standards even more rapidly evolve -- Hence, the G20, G22, etc. Bottom line? Dlink is good quality hardware, but you need to have more than plug and play knowledge to set up ANY wireless system no matter whose you buy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This Works Great on my Shuttle XPC
Review: I am running Windows XP on my new Shuttle XPC and this USB adapter plugs right in the back of it and sits on the top of my desk and receives strong reception from my wireless access point two rooms down the hall.

The installation was simple, is easily plug and play now, plus it looks good and small on my desk. The software is nice and easy to use and it doesn't intrude on my desktop, or make annoying flashing/blinking icons.

Speeds are fast, web surfing is the same speed as being wired, and playing games online is not effected by being wireless, even with 128-bit WEP enabled.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Hiccup from the G120 but so far so good.
Review: I bought the G120 and a DI-620 rev C router to connect a new machine running XP. I had to reinstall the driver more than once after XP could not find the G120 USB hardware. I downloaded and installed a newer driver version (1.12) from the D-link site to correct "connectivity problems" acknowledged by D-link. I am not sure if everything is fixed yet, but it works. The reported signal surges to excellent then can drop to poor. The ExtremeG protocol uses multichannels, with a forced use of channel 6, to get the high bandwidth. I suspect cross talk from somewhere in the neighborhood is impacting reported performance, independent of hardware. The main bandwidth limit is the cable connection anyway. The router sofware control is powerful. The security features alone redeem any hiccups with the G120.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: It's worth $35
Review: I got mine from CompUSA for $60 (...)

PROS:

- They give you a nice long 6 foot USB cable, so you can put it wherever you want.
- Supports WPA and WPA-PSK.
- Small form factor.
- Easy set-up.
(...)

CONS:

- Signal is very flaky. Expect it to fade in and out as you use it. Where you place it is very important -- don't even think about putting it on top of your computer (if you have a desktop) because it will suck. It didn't seem to like being on a desk shelf either. For some reason, it works better on top of the monitor.
- D-Link's configuration software is horrible. If you're using Windows XP, you're better off using the Windows Zero Configuration service. If you're not using XP, good luck.

CONCLUSION:

Most wireless cards on the market don't support WPA yet, though a lot of the newer routers are starting to. If you're using it for a desktop (as I am), the increased security of WPA outweighs the inconvenience of having to place it in that "perfect" spot to get good reception. If you plan to use your wireless adapter with a laptop, get a different one.

This adapter is not worth $55.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Signal
Review: I have the D-Link 120 wireless adapter and I have absolutely no problems with it. I love it!!! I have a dell pc, I am two floors away from the router, and I get 100% strength. This is a must buy!!! For all those who are not getting perfect strength try going into your Wireless network settings--right click on your connection and hit properties. Go to your wireless network tab and UNCHECK "use windows to configure my wireless network settings" This will keep you online at all times.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Awesome Performance from such a Tiny Device
Review: I have this installed on my Windows 2K Professional loaded laptop. Installation was super quick and easy, and using it now only requires that you plug it in. Once plugged in it starts up the software and connects to your AP in seconds.

Security is tight with the 128-bit WEP, and MAC filtering on my DI-624, plus the speeds and range are both great. I can be anywhere in my 1500 sq. ft. home with this wireless adapter on my laptop. Thanks D-Link

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I Great USB 802.11g Adapter
Review: I love how portable and easy to use this adapter is.
After the painless install, all you need to do is plug it in and my Windows XP Laptop suddenly recognizes it and connects to my home network.

The flip top makes for a cool tech look, while being a functional antenna. I get better signal with the flip top up.
I get good range with this ... strong signal anywhere in my home with my Access Point/Router located on one side of the house.

USB also makes it so you don't have to plug it into the wall to get power. I hate having to do that with so many "wireless" devices.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: POS in a Nice Wrapper
Review: I'm disappointed that I did not read the reviews before buying this adapter. I had a very bad experience with Dlink products before. And I know that some of their products must be pretty good, otherwise they would have been out of business by now. I guess I just have not been lucky enough.

As for the DWL-G120 adapter it seems that it has all the components to be the best USB 802.11 network adapter on the market. It is just that those components are not put together well enough. Stylish design, good reception for an omnidirectional antenna of this size, fast USB 2.0 connection, low power consumption, seamless installation. The chipset is not the best on the market, but it is cheap and this is what most of the competitors are using anyways. Kudos to the hardware designers. There are not that many things that you can mess up by taking a reference design and putting it into an attractive package, and they managed to stay out of trouble.

On the other hand, the drivers that come with the adapter SUCK! The drivers are not WHQL certified, they do not support basic plug and play and power management features (which is very strange, considering this is a USB device and I'm using Windows XP), I also think that most of the problems with stability of the link and the software itself are attributed to the poor quality of these drivers. And it would have been more or less understandable if the product have just been released and the software team was still working on it, but it has been a full year since the drivers have been last updated, and it seems that there is very little hope that somebody at Dlink still cares about the fate of this product.

It is a good example of how even the things that start out very well can be screwed up by not giving them enough attention.

I'm returning this thing tomorrow, and I'm suggesting that everybody else stays away from this product, at least until Dlink decides to come up with decent drivers for this adapter.


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