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Netgear WGB511 802.11G WIRELESS ROUTER ( WGB511NA )

Netgear WGB511 802.11G WIRELESS ROUTER ( WGB511NA )

List Price: $145.00
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Code 10 Error
Review: CODE 10 ERROR folks, ***** READ THIS ******

They finally fixed it. Details about the fix are on their product support page. I did all that and used their new (beta) 2.9 drivers finally fixed the code 10 problem on my Thinkpad and gave me WPA.

Updated Review:
Their tech support is super dumb. If you have a real technical issue, don't call them, they won't know how to help. The hardware itself is quite good, the signal strength is very good.

Basically, if you manage to get it to work, you'll be happy. Getting there is mostly your luck! (Though to be fair, after almost 6 months later, their drivers seem to be better now)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Easy setup
Review: First of all, I woould like to commend Amazon.com on their fast delivery. I ordered it on Monday morning and I got the package delivered to my front door the next morning. That was with the free shipping option, which was suppose to take about five days.
Now about the Netgear WGB511 802.11g wireless networking kit...I was able to get the router running with default settings in less than 10 minutes after I took it out of the box and that includes the time that I used to figure out how to use my old Linksys HPRO200 router as a bridge to my HPNA network. Upon inspecting the firmware version, I noticed that the version posted on Netgear's web site is newer and includes WPA-PSK so I quickly downloaded it and burned the new firmware. Except for the slow download from Netgear the whole process went very smoothly, however, the instruction for setting up WPA-PSK is minimal and it took a bit of guessing on my part to set it up (had to guess what needs to be done on my Windows XP, but only took couple tries.) The range of the wireless network is good and I was able to get excellent strength readings throughout most of the house. Over all, I am extremely pleased with the Netgear router so far, I just hope it won't quit on me prematurely as my Linksys wireless AP did right after warrenty expired.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent performance, and it's now Wi-Fi certified
Review: Got the wireless router/PC card bundle last week. I had visited the Netgear website a couple of days before my purchase to download the latest Firmware (F/W) for my version of the router(WGR614v4) and the latest configuration s/w utility for the card (2.5).

As it turned out, my router already had the latest F/W for WGR614v4. The latest F/W adds the badly needed WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) encryption protocol, since WEP is pretty useless and can be easily cracked by a determined hacker sniffing your wireless network transmissions between wireless client and the router. I set up the router, configured WPA and was good to go in about 8 minutes.

I then installed the PC card s/w on my toshiba tecra laptop, plugged in the card, and set up WPA on the card. I connected my
laptop to the network with ease. In conclusion, I'm very pleased with the performance and reception I'm getting throughout my entire house.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Easy to setup/use Wireless Router and PC Card
Review: I bought this about a month back (not from Amazon though). My experience with both the router and the PC Card have been excellent.
The Pros are:
1. very easy to setup and configure
2. install guide is concise and easy to understand.
3. Very good and knowledgeable customer support

The Cons:
1. advanced setup / features are not very well documented in the manuals - this is where the customer support was very helpful.
2. If looks are important, the WRG614 is definitely not the best

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Bad Experience
Review: I bought this at a time when I had a little extra money, but I knew I wouldn't be using it for about 2.5 months. Well needless to say, when I tried to install it at the 2.5 month mark, I had trouble. I used to be a total fan of Netgear products, but I will never EVER use them again. I called their help desk and they tried to help me. I went out of town and when I came back the same problem arose. When I tried to get help from Netgear again, a person on the other side of the world told me that I would have to pay $35 odd dollars for premium service because my 90 day free help had expired. I had the case # and advised them that this issue started before it expired and they said it didn't matter. I would have to pay for their help. Well I didn't pay. Got a D-link router and have had no trouble with it at all. There service is stellar, even after 90 days. Boo hiss to Netgear customer service.


Rating: 2 stars
Summary: WPA does not work for a lot of people
Review: I bought this combo because I wanted to upgrade my wireless network with faster speed and higher security. The speed is no problem, but the security is. After upgrading firmware on the router, I was able to configure WPA security (the best wireless security) with no trouble. The same did not hold true for the PC card...I got installation errors on the software upgrade for the card (you can't use WPA without the upgrade), and apparently for certain computers, especially those with AMD processors, the upgrade software simply doesn't work. Tech support was a big waste of time so far.

If you want WPA security and you have an AMD-based laptop, you might want to think twice.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Product
Review: I got this earlier this week and I have it all set and running. The configuration CD has all answers that you need for advanced set up. I have WEP enabled laptop and router working smoothly. I also have a PC connected to the router. This is great value for the $65 since you are getting the highest speed, with lotsa security and it all works without any call to tech support!! I am very satisfied with this so far. Will keep posted if anything unexpected happens.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not bad at all
Review: i have had this netgear router and the laptop card for over a year now. over all it's been doing good so far. i had to reset it about 4 times in the past year but besides that it's a good solid product.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent Product
Review: I was hesitant to purchase this product after reading several reviews; however, after being burned by D-Link and Linksys in the past, I decided that Netgear deserved as much of a chance. I must say that I will be purchasing wireless products from Netgear exclusively for the forseeable future. I had absolutely no problems whatsoever setting this up. I followed the ludicrously simple directions and had my home wirelessly ready in under twenty minutes start-to-finish. Getting WEP security activated took another three minutes. I have experienced absolutely no signal lossage in the several days I have used this product. Highly recommended to anyone who would like an easy wireless experience. As a nice bonus, it also looks great.


Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent router at an excellent price
Review: I was looking to replace my Linksys Wireless B router that was starting to die on me. I wanted to get a Linksys at first, since I had a history with them. I was reluctant to try a new company, but after reading many reviews, I decided to buy the Netgear.

I want to give thanks to Amazon for a prompt delivery. I ordered on December 26. Even with the holiday rush, Amazon and the USPS got it delivered to my home in four days.

The actual router is very easy to set up as you will read in other reviews. I probably had the router set up and WEP enabled within 15 minutes, ready to surf. Netgear included some software to help enable the security, but it disabled my Windows software. That can easily be changed through your control panel.

The package came with a version 4 router (a tiny silver router), a white wireless card for a laptop, an extra ethernet cable, and the power adapter. All I needed to do was connect my cable modem to the router, and install the drivers from the CD onto my laptop. The installation was very easy.

The signals are excellent on the router. My wireless-B router couldn't hold a signal 30 feet away from my router. In the same spots that my Wireless B would get Very Low, my Netgear gets Excellent or Very Good. I'm very satisfied with my purchase. If you're in the market for a new router, Netgear is the way to go.


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