Rating: 
Summary: Best Router Yet
Review: I purchased this router after doing a lot of research. I had looked at the Linksys and the Netgear but both were plagued with severe problems. I then discovered the SMC. I have heard of them on several occasions but didn't know anything about them. I went ahead and purchased this router anyway and have been happy with it ever since. I HIGHLY RECOMEND this router.
Pros:
Easy to set up
Tons of features for advanced users
Great range
Supports WEP (Must Have)
Cons:
Documentation is pretty good but they don't tell you the admin password so I had to search the internet.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't be too pessimistic about this one..
Review: I recently bought SMC's 2804WBR along with SMC's wireless card 2635W. To be frank, the main reason I went for SMC, inspite of all the terrible reviews I read about this product, was due to the tempting rebates! After about 3 hours of effort (which included a 45 minute phone call with SMC Tech Support) I finally managed to get the two to work together! Here are the lessons I learned:
1. Forget about 3-click EZ installation. It is just a marketing gimmick
2. After installing all the drivers / software, visit www.smc.com and upgrade the firmware/device driver [This was the single biggest problem I faced. The CD that ships with the product has out-dated firmware]
3. Tech Support is not all that bad. In fact for the very first time I had someone who was trying out the same configuration (using two SMC products though)on the other end of the line and then giving me directions. I found them to be technically capable and friendly.Bottomline: This is a value-for-money product suited for enthusiasts ready to spend some time setting it up For the record: I am using Windows Millennium for the wireless client machine and Windows XP Home for the desktop connected to the router
Rating: 
Summary: Garbage, the worse router created.
Review: I recently pick this up, and have had nothing but problems, one problem after another, you fix a problem another creeps up..
WARNING do not waste your time or money on this router, specifically Version 1. i cannot speak of version 2.
I returned it got a netgear, and its smooth sailing everything i want works the way i want it.. its perfect.
again your asking for trouble if your deciding to pick up this router. both firmwares 1.11a and 1.10 have there share of problems..
Rating:
Summary: Almost Flawless
Review: I recently purchased this router for a wireless network. It has worked flawlessly, the only thing that stopped me from giving it 5 stars was the 3-Click setup hung at the end and I had to reboot. But it had done all the setup. However, I did not buy this product for that reason. I read the normal setup info in the manual BEFORE I purchased the unit and I recommend that method for most users because it is very accurate. I work in this business and this product is about as good as it gets short of Cisco. I went to some site that try to hack into my network/PC and the BARRICADE made my network look invisible to current hacker attack schemes. I had been using BlackIce for the past several years and this is a step better. The web interface is very easy to use and understand. Be sure to understand advanced settings before making changes. I also updated the firmware and found it work perfectly. I have a new Dell box on order to try out the wireless aspect and will modify this post with that experience soon.
Rating:
Summary: Wireless functions flaky, technical support awful
Review: I was an early, happy adopter of wireless networks after buying a Linksys 802.11b wireless router. It was a piece of cake to use and never caused me a problem. I decided to upgrade to an 802.11g network and bought the Barricade to replace my trusty Linksys. The Barricade router has been a complete nightmare. There are a host of minor issues, but one major one: it refuses to recognize any 802.11g device unless there is also an 802.11b device already active on the network. Beyond that, the wireless connection with other 802.11g products is awful, with frequent drop-outs. I've set up a half-dozen networks for friends and family, and never experienced a problem even close to this one. I called their technical support, but after carefully explaining the issue, the customer service representative told me to contact the vendor of the wireless card (which works fine on other networks) for support. She essentially refused to even acknowledge the issue or suggest any remedies. This is more of an indictment of SMC technical support than the device itself, but I believe it's relevant. Of course, it's perfectly plausible that I just got a bad unit and it generally works fine; but since SMC refuses to help solve my problem, I can only conclude that it's a universal problem with this model.
Rating:
Summary: NEED A BIT OF HELP WITH THE REMOTE MANAGEMENT
Review: I would like to remotely manage my router. However SMC makes it a bit difficult when they fail to mention the port number needed in order to do so. Could someone help me with this. In other word, i need the port number for remote administration of this router.
Rating:
Summary: Buy the SMC2804WBR, it beats any similar LinkSys product.
Review: I've had the Siemens SS2623A for a number of years, and
was looking to upgrade from 802.11b to 802.11g for added
speed.
I was in J&R (NYC), and not knowing which wireless
broadband router to get, I purchased both the LinkSys
WRT54GS, and the SMC2804WBR (note: there are 2 versions
of the SMC2804WBR: P/N 751.0164, and 750.9915. This
review covers the 751.0164).
Reasons why I kept the SMC over the LinkSys:
1. LinkSys took over an hour to setup, and the interface
was a bit quirky. The SMC, on the other hand, has a very
intuitive interface and a built-in 3-click setup wizard,
which got me connected to my 4 megabit cablemodem ISP
(OPTONLINE.NET) in no time. After that, I simply
fine-tuned the setup to my preferences of gateway base
address, SSID, WEP, etc. The SMC unit is a PLEASURE to
administer.
2. The LinkSys SpeedBooster feature is enabled by the
use of a driver that runs on the PC side. Thus only Win
98, XP, and NT can take advantage of the SpeedBooster.
All other OS's including Win95, MacOS, and Linux are
S.O.L.!
The SMC barricade uses Conexant's PRISM Nitro, which is a
PACKET-BURSTING method that's 100% 802.11 b/g compatible.
This means that your wireless PC can take advantage of the
increased performance as long as it's 802.11 b/g compatible.
3. I downloaded NetSumbler (www.stumbler.net), and
compared the signal strength of the SMC2804WBR to the
LinkSys WRT54GS, and at 1 floor down, the LinkSys had
half the signal strength of the SMC device. Moreover,
the throughput speed was consistently faster on the
SMC than on the LinkSys.
4. Finally, the LinkSys WRT54GS is over TWICE THE PRICE
of the SMC2804WBR.
Needless to say, I packed up the LinkSys and returned it
the next day. The SMC2804WBR is a worthy replacement
for my old and trusted Siemens SS2623A.
Rating:
Summary: Not worth the aggravation
Review: I've worked with a lot of different wireless routers. But I've never encountered one that I could tackle till this one. I bought this router to replace an older SMC 7004AWBR 802.11b router. I liked the additional features, such as a true firewall with stateful packet inspection and the additional RJ-45 port (the old one had only 3). And since I had good luck with an older SMC, I thought that getting the new one from SMC again would be a slum dunk. That was an assumption I was totally wrong about. Everything seemed to work fine when I hooked it into our network. All the wired connections worked. But when I turned to the wireless connections, only the 802.11g devices worked. None of the 802.11b laptops could connect. They were able to detect a strong signal but the router would not give them IP numbers.
I checked and rechecked the settings. I upgraded the router with the latest firmware that I found at the SMC website. None of this worked. The router still wasn't issuing IP leases to 802.11b devices. I called Tech Support and was fielded to what was obviously an offshore call center. After going through the "script", he wasn't able to make the router work either. He finally said he was going to email me a lower version of the firmware to see if it would work. I asked him how I could contact him back if I still had any problems. He said to simply refer to the my phone number as the reference number. I spelled out my email address to ensure that he got it right. And I waited. And waited. I never received the email. Tech support had, in their parlance, just "punted" me. (I suppose that's one effect of subcontracting tech support jobs; the tech support people simply do not have the pride of being the representatives of the company and doing the job right.) In summary, performance and tech support on the SMC were just totally unacceptable. I've since returned the SMC 2804. It wasn't worth the aggravation. I'm going with the Linksys Extreme G. At the very least, I know that it works with both 802.11g and b devices. I accidentally got into his wireless network because he didn't set up WEP/WPA (I've since assisted him in setting in up). At least, I know it's plug-and-play. And that's something I can't say for the SMC 2804.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad other than, DHCP problem renewing IP address
Review: Many people have commented on the constant loss of connection with this router. From other news groups we gathered that when connected to cable modems (Comcast and others except BellSouth)There is a problem with the new firmware 1.11 that prevents the DHCP service to not renew the IP address properly thereby losing connection. Revert back to firmware 1.10 and the problem will be fixed. Other than this the signal has been excellent and if you have Xbox wireless G connection this router works great. Also make sure that your atenaes are not alligned in the same direction - aligning them out of phase makes the signal much stronger.
Rating:
Summary: OUTSTANDING-high performance, feature packed,dependable
Review: SMC produces **outstanding** networking products at outstanding prices - **Period**.
I have purchased and installed dozens of SMC networking products, **all without failure**.
After trying less expensive LinkSys products that failed after firmware updgrade (wireless router), and a LinkSys wireless card (corrupted key operating system files), the few extra dollars spent for the performance and features of an equivalent SMC product are worth every penny.
The cost in time and effort using anything but SMC networking products is simply not worth the money saved or the wasted time.
SMC networking products are not a pretty blue, they are a stark, functional grey, and provide an incredible array of security, and network configuration options. If you want functionality, SMC is the only way to go. If you want pretty, well, you'll get what you paid for.
If you want an affordable, business class router with outstanding performance and features, this router is the only way to go.
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