Rating: 
Summary: I liked the setup and firmware upgrade but...
Review: I had no problem setting up this access point and upgrading the firmware, but my experience so far is that I have to reset the device far too often for my liking. The signal drops to the point that I loose network connectivity on my clients, and no matter how many times I rescan the channels with the PCcard software, the signal does not return until I pull the access point's power plug and put it back in. I have had to do this almost daily. When the device is not hung and needing a reset, it works great. It has good signal strength, and provides acceptable all-around area coverage in my home. I do think that I will save up for a higher quality product like Aironet though. This being my first experience with wireless networking I would say that for the low cost, I guess this one is OK. I would appreciate a more reliable signal though.
Rating: 
Summary: sweet, but missing web config, and...
Review: I had this ap for 3 years, this offers good range w/orinoco and linky WUSB11 2.6
the setup requires windows (sorry for mac, linux, and pda users)
I got the latest firmware, which claims bridge support
but after upgrading, no luck at all to set it up as bridge, the config is very confusing, how come use mac address instead of ESSID???!
the bridge setup of Linky is way easier and working, this one should have been good like linky
I don't try 128bit WEP yet, but the added mac filtering is handy
good: good range, mac filtering and 128bit WEP through firmware update
bad: windows only setup, bridge function is not working, antenna is not removable/upgradable
if you use it as ap, you'll like it, however, SMC 2804 works better, and antenna is upgradable, and NO PLATFORM
Rating: 
Summary: This was great!
Review: I had this up and running in 10 minutes. It worked right out of the box, no problems. I also had the Netgear ME401 card and it also installed flawlessy (on win2k). I get good reception on a different floor and across the way in my house. I previously had purchased the LinkSys WAP11 -- don't bother. It got horrible reception and took me hours to get my laptop to work with the linksys wireless card. Netgear is the way to go here.
Rating:
Summary: ME102 Easy to setup but lacks some important features
Review: I installed the ME102 and had it up and running in less than 20 minutes (without enabling WEP and changing the SSID). The installation requires either a USB connection between the configuring computer and the access point, or an ethernet connection to use the SNMP connection. The quick start printed documentation and the full documentation on the CD are very good to get the unit configured quickly. However, the default configuration works but is not secure. The included guides don't show you how to properly implement security.As the number of people using wireless LAN is expected to rapidly increase, the security aspects of wireless networking become increasingly important. The Netgear ME102 is behind other competing products such as the Linksys WAP11 in this respect. It is important to change the SSID (same as ESSID) from the factory default to something different to prevent access by neighboring snoops for all access points (no matter what brand you run). This value has to be the same on your network access card for it to work. Second, it's probably wise to use the WEP encryption to safeguard your data from potential snoops. There are three deficiencies in this product that the WEP11 from Linksys does a bit better. 1) Linksys implemented 128-bit WEP. This is not available as of yet in Netgear's ME102. 2) The SNMP access is not password protected. This means that if a hacker or inquiring teenager gets into your system, he/she could potentially re-configure the system or allow wireless access to people you don't want on your system. 3) The ME102 does not limit access to known MAC addresses. The MAC address is a unique number like 00-30-AB-xx-xx-xx that is assigned to each network access card (MA401) or USB access (MA101) and other devices. If you already own a Netgear ME102 and you are a bit of an experimenter, there is a solution for you. It turns out that the Linksys WEP11 and the Netgear ME102 are built using the same chipset. So it is possible to download the upgraded software from the Linksys site and get these advanced features. It's working for me. I'm running 128bit WEP, Authorized MAC, and a password protected access point. However, I'm not giving you any guarantee nor would the resulting configuration be covered by Netgear's 24x7 service. I use an MA401 card in my laptop which runs XP.
I use an MA401 card with an MA301 adapter in an older PC which runs Win95 and has no USB port.
I use an MA101 USB network access device on a newer PC which runs WinME. My coverage area with my access point is sufficient to cover my 1/4 acre lot with better than 60% Link Quality and 60% Signal Strength in most places, including in the basement, backyard and dining room on my laptop. My house is a three-story split wood frame house. The access point is mounted high in the middle of my home. When combined with a good broadband service (I use Sprint Broadband), I am able to listen to continuous streams of music from launch.com while working and/or surfing and sharing the access with a four computers. Except for a few of the things to perfect my installation, the ME102 is a great accesspoint and should work well for anyone wanting to install a network in their house. It certainly beats installing CAT5 wire into pre-existing walls.
NETGEAR: Get your act together and upgrade your security on this product. Also, site planning software can be useful to troubleshoot interference problems. Konrad Roeder (...)
Rating:
Summary: No complaints YET!
Review: I just bought the Netgear ME 102 802.11b Wireless Access Point and the Netgear Wireless Card. I was up and going in less than 2 hours (includes the time to unpack everything!). I can virtually walk anywhere in my house and still can surf the internet. It's absolutely wonderful! On the downside, the documentation is VERY SCARCE! The configuration screens are not very intuitive - and it could be a nightmare for network newbies. Besides that I'll recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: It does what it's supposed to do, nothing more, nothing less
Review: I just purchased the ME102, along with a MA401 PC Card and a MA301 adapter. The ME102 is small, nice looking, a cakewalk to configure, and so far reliable. Performance isn't stellar like say, Cisco Aironet, but then again you get what you pay for and this AP is a very nice offering for the $$$. Range is decent as well. The only think I dislike is the fact that currently the ME102 only supports 40-bit WEP, hopefully Netgear will add 128-bit WEP in the future via a firmware upgrade. It would be nice if Netgear included some type of simple management application, specifically so you could see what 802.11b devices are currently associated to the AP. It would also be nice if it supported MAC layer filtering, for security purposes. I wouldn't want to unintentionally share my T1 with my neighbors, but WEP mitigates this risk slightly. All in all, I am very happy with my purchase!
Rating:
Summary: Works great, inexpensive - but not for network newbies
Review: I just received my ME102 today, and it was up and running in 5 minutes (not counting the time required to drive the screws [included] to wall-mount the unit near one of my Ethernet switches). I didn't find the USB-based configuration to be ideal. To be sure, it worked well. But I don't like installing drivers and software on my PC that will be used only once or occasionally, and the rest of the time just adds more junk to the Windows registry and is yet another thing added to program groups. (I have issues with clutter.) In any case, as others here have mentioned, documentation is sparse indeed. And frankly, if you don't know your TCP/IP network pretty well, and/or don't know the basics of wireless Ethernet concepts, you might well find yourself in over your head. The default configuration is far from one-size-fits-all, and the average home computer user will have trouble changing it -- especially with the somewhat non-intuitive interface to the config software. All that said, once this baby is set-up and running, it's great. I get terrific range and excellent performance, even with a basement mounted access point. My only caution: Beware of your 2.4 GHz cordless phones. This would be true of any 802.11b set-up, but some of these cordless phones will chew-up your data stream and spit it out in chunks on the carpet. Here, I have my choice between using the wireless Ethernet, or using a Panasonic 2.4 GHz phone... Any attempts to use both, and the phone wins. (The Panasonic is going in the trash very soon; a Uniden 2.4 GHz model cooperates fine.)
Rating:
Summary: SUPER EASY WIRELESS
Review: I just wanted to say that I took me more time to open the box and briefly read the instructions, that to get on the net. I can't believe how easy was this Wireless Access Point was to set up. I'll give it more than a 5 if I could. But for me it get's a 5++++. Couldn't get any easier.
Rating:
Summary: SUPER EASY WIRELESS
Review: I just wanted to say that I took me more time to open the box and briefly read the instructions, that to get on the net. I can't believe how easy was this Wireless Access Point was to set up. I'll give it more than a 5 if I could. But for me it get's a 5++++. Couldn't get any easier.
Rating:
Summary: Great Product, Not for Networking Novices
Review: I purchased the Netgear WAP as an alternative to Apple's AirPort Base Station, as I was looking for a lower-cost, cross-platform solution. All of my computers are currently Macs, so configuring the WAP was a bit of a challenge, requiring about one hour (I was able to do this using Virtual PC). The WAP does not have a web interface; you must set it up using software provided, which is Windows-only. Using the software, you connect to it via USB (cable included, a big plus) or Ethernet (likewise, cable included) and set up the access point. Tragically, Netgear provides sparse paper documentation--only the fold out quick install "poster." The PDF manual on the CD-ROM helps with some terms, but unless you are familiar with networking protocols and wireless protocols, some of this may be quite foreign. Since the WAP does not support AppleTalk, my LAN connections for file sharing and printing must be made via TCP/IP, which is also not documented anywhere. Once set up, the WAP performed impressively: its range through my house, across my backyard, through trees, and into an adjacent park was about 200 feet! Connections have been very stable (no unexplained drops) and very fast, with very little slowdown as compared to transfer speeds across my LAN. I have had no problems connecting to the Internet through my DSL modem and Linksys router, with everything working harmoniously. To sum up: I would recommend this product to anyone wanting to create a wireless network, with the suggestion that he or she have at least basic knowledge in how to create such networks--there is no setup wizard to guide you through the process. If Netgear improved the documentation and software interface, and added Macintosh support, this product would earn 5 stars from me.
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