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Netgear MR314 802.11b Wireless Cable/DSL Router with 4-Port Switch

Netgear MR314 802.11b Wireless Cable/DSL Router with 4-Port Switch

List Price: $213.00
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Absolutely worth every penny: A+ for Netgear
Review: I installed one of these for a friend of mine, and was blown away at the simple elegance of this unit. On top of that, the unit performed flawlessly on the first shot, with none of the usual teeth gnashing that goes along with these type of boxes. Wireless works perfectly with any 802.11b card, and has a fairly good range, given the low cost of this unit.
Most impressive was the logging capabilities. You can use this to keep an eye on the kiddies (or your spouse!)
I highly recommend this box to anyone with an interest in hanging out in the backyard this summer with a laptop, a wireless card, and a cold six-pack.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Excellent choice for novice and expert alike
Review: As an advanced user, I can't comment on the out-of-the-box installation of this router, but based on what I observed and others' feedback, it should be a breeze, dependent on peculiarities of your ISP and any firewall software you may be runnning. In that regard, it's a solid choice for a novice, but the advanced features of this router (most importantly the full 128-bit encryption) make it very attractive for the expert. To take advantage of these features, though, the novice will need assistance since the printed documentation does not cover them at all, and the pdf and doc files on the included cd-rom barely touch on them. While the 128-bit encryption is a boon for security-conscious users, the router unfortunately does not cycle its keys, so the user has to do so manually on whatever schedule they deem fit. This requires that you change the key on each client in the network at the same time. The router provides for four keys, at 40-bit encryption as well if you so choose. (TIP: Define the key in the NIC configuration utility on a client computer first - let it convert your key into hex, then type those hex numbers into the key definition on the router.) Range matched manufacturer quotes of 100 feet indoors - I had signal through multiple walls while still inside the 100 ft limit. I did not, though, have means of testing it through different floors of the house. Throughput was essentially identical to being physically connected to the network. In sum: Excellent feature set (for now, right?), decent price (with rebate), built to last. Could have offered more thorough directions and explanations, but most novices will have neighbors or children that can help them through installation and taking advantage of the advanced features. (NOTE: These comments reflect my use of the Netgear MA401 wireless NIC in conjunction with the MR314.) BE SURE TO CHANGE THE DEFAULT ADMIN PASSWORD ON THE ROUTER WHEN SETTING UP.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Home wireless network
Review: Both the MR314 and M401 wireless card from Netgear worked flawlessly in tandem. I had some difficulting setting up some of the DNS gateway parameters but I found the Netgear support personnel extremely helpful and knowledgeable. I highly recommend this if you are thinking of going wireless in your home office.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Feature rich and fast
Review: I've installed the RT311, the RT314 and the MR314 in different places and they all worked fine. The throughput is great, I haven't had any problems with getting a VPN connection or network games to work. The best feature is that it can do MAC spoofing to fool the cable provider into thinking I have their network card attached (which is a silly requirement they have here). The only time I needed tech support was when I broke something and they were very helpful in fixing it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Outstanding
Review: I have installed three of the linksys wireless routers and four of the Netgear. From now on, I'm pushing the Netgear 314. It's fast Easy and it works with VPN. The only down side is it costs more. But it's worth it.
Let me put it this way. You won't need the instruction book with the Netgear, And you will with the linksys....then you will curse the moron who wrote the Linksys book. As for Netgear's Customer support. it's great. If you call the 866 tech support at linksys, they take your name a call you the next day.
Pay the extra, save the hassle

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: It does not work for VPN, and no firewall
Review: I bought one MR314 yesterday, but returned it today.

I have to admit that it is very easy to setup (less than 5 minutes), and it workes fine in normal cases. But after I enable my VPN, the speed becomes extremely slow, only around 56K (withought VPN, my speed is usually around 2M) It seems to me that this router can not really handle VPN traffic.

And, it does not have firewall functionality. Although it has buit-in NAT, but what strange is, it does not provide basic firewall functionality except one content filter for parents.

Three stars may not be fair to Netgear MR314. If you are looking for a router without the support for VPN and Firewall, it may be the top choice for you.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: No Brainer!
Review: Great product. Beats Linksys by many light years. There system (Linksys) was horrible, and their tech support faired worse. I eventually (at the suggestion of the Linksys tech support) returned it for the Netgear, which was up and running in a jiffy.

Great product, haven't needed the tech support so far.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Netgear Equals Superb Service
Review: This holiday season I was a good santa and purchased numerous wireless networking products for my various family members. Sure it was partially a selfish act as I wanted to be able to easily connect when I went to visit, but for the most part it was just an act of giving. I purchased mainly G products and they varied from routers to USB adapters to PC Card adapters. I did also purchase a couple of B products for those in the family that already had some wireless networking products (yes, I know they are backwards compatible but I didn't want to take any chances).

Only two members of the family had installation problems (considering my family is very non-technical I was quite impressed) and those two people both had yet to upgrade to Windows XP SP2. The rest of the family members were up and running within minutes.

As for the couple of family members that did have problems, well they called me first (of course) and I told them to just run back through the installation procedure again. This solved the problem for Uncle Dennis but Grandma Joyce still couldn't get it to work properly. I reluctantly told her to call Netgear's technical support (hey the reviews on Amazon haven't been too pretty for their tech support). I however was quite pleased when an hour later I got an email from Grandma Joyce thanking me for the great gift. I called her back and she told me that after fiddling with the settings with the Netgear people she was up and running within 30 minutes.

Overall, I consider this the ultimate test of product quality and support and I would give Netgear two thumbs up.

I hope this review was helpful to you in putting your mind at ease regarding ease of setup and trust of technical support if needed.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: issues with Earthlink DSL, but works fine with SBC Yahoo!
Review: My brother got this for his Earthlink DSL. It never quite worked right. (Both of us took a look at it.) The connection would work for a few minutes, and then disconnect. To reconnect, you had to go through the setup again. This was quite annoying for general web browsing. However, it just won't work with internet gaming.

I had an older Linksys router w/o wireless and swapped with him. The Netgear works fine with my broadband service (SBC Yahoo!) I can VPN to work without any problems. The wireless works fine too.

As for my brother's Earthlink connection, the Linksys router is as steady as a rock.

I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 because it does seem happy with my SBC Yahoo! connection. If given a choice, I'd stick with Linksys.


Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Amazing wireless range
Review: I don't like it when people write reviews on here criticizing a product without giving real proof that it wasn't their fault. Some reviewer thought the router setup page didn't work with IE - but doesn't mention any attempt with a different browser. So beware of noobs.

I have a MR814 v1, MR814 v2 and a D-Link 514 and none of them have offered the range this beast provides. I acquired this model after returning a defective MR814 v1, and initially I was annoyed to get an older model. But I think they sent this for a reason - it's much more reliable than the 814. Someone on here complains that they can't get reception over 100ft from the AP - how big is their house?? I have the router upstairs on one side of the house and can get a signal fine outdoors on the other side of the house - i.e. travelling through all the walls of the house (approx 42 ft away). Also I have tested it with my PCMCIA SMC card and a Netgear MA111 USB wifi dongle, and the dongle provdies better connection than the pcmcia, so there is some proper evidence of testing being done here.

It doesn't look nearly as good (or as small) as my other routers but if it does the job as well as it has so far - it is my first choice.


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