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Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless-B Cable/DSL Router

Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless-B Cable/DSL Router

List Price: $69.99
Your Price: $49.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Works Great!
Review: I have had no problems with this router. The only trouble came when I first set it up, since the instructions didn't quite work for my ISP. My ISP was not very helpful, but I eventually got it working. Since then, it has been flawless. I use two or three computers on it at a time.

If you get this, though, I recommend using the security features, or buying an additional firewall. Otherwise, it is very easy for other people to access the Internet from your router, especially if you live in an apartment building with lots of other computer users nearby.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Disconnects occassionally
Review: I had no problems setting it up, and it worked fine for quite a while. Now that we use the Internet more often though, like playing online games, using IM with voice, connecting wirelessly from my Pocket PC, etc., it seems to disconnect several times each night. We ruled out the cable modem/connection (at least our cable company claims there's no problem). They did have me separate the cable modem and wireless AP, saying they use the same frequency and may interfere with each other. It made no difference. Their final "solution" was to remove the router and just have one PC connected directly to them. I did that for a night just to test it and had no disconnections.

I e-mailed Linksys support and they responded the same day! Unfortunately though, I don't think the person knew what he was talking about. I can't quote him directly per the disclaimer in his e-mail, but to paraphrase he basically said we were lucky the router kept a connection at all with multiple computers accessing the WAN at the same time!. Isn't that the whole point of a router? Doesn't this device use NAT?

He suggested using port forwarding to fix the problem, but I'm not trying to setup a server or anything so I don't see the point. He also told me to adjust my MTU value, giving me about 5 values to try, saying to try each one until my connection was more stable. I may still try that before giving up completely, but I don't see why the MTU setting should make a difference either.

Some people have mentioned similar problems that went away after a firmware upgrade. Once the problem started showing up, I upgraded to the latest firmware. It made no difference.

I sent another e-mail asking for clarification and additional support about 10 days ago and haven't gotten a response yet. I forwarded it to them again today. I'm not expecting any real help from them at this point. I'll probably end up replacing it with another brand.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: It works
Review: As a basic no-nonsense wireless access point this one works very well. The installation was easy and painless. My only complaint, and hence the missing star, is that the range is somewhat limited. The signal becomes a bit inconsistant if the networked computers are on the other side of the house, separated by a few walls. On the whole, it works very well though.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A breeze to setup
Review: My family bought this Linksys wireless access point/router two weeks ago after getting a cable connection installed in our home.

After reading reviews from disappointed customers saying that the setup was near impossible, I was very surprised that it took me, a fifteen year old, less than 15 minutes to get it up and running. My dad's computer is a Winbook PC running Windows 2000, and it's hooked up to the router via an ethernet cable. My Macintosh PowerBook, running OS X, is wireless using an Apple AirPort card.

All I had to do was install the Install Disk on my Dad's computer, and he was online. For my computer, all I had to do was turn the Apple AirPort card on and my computer was online.

The wireless capabilities of this router are amazing; I can take the computer to the corner of my large backyard and still have a signal. The only problem I've had thus far is that occasionally my instant messages get backed up when I'm using AOL Instant Messenger, and I won't receive an instant message for a while after a friend has sent it.

Other than that, this router has been a great investment. I am curious though as to why it's not advertised anywhere that Linksys systems are compatible with Macs using AirPort cards, because I've been able to use my computer in my own Linksys home wireless network, as well as at my friend's house, who has a Linksys wireless network running through her house.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Disappointed; you'd think Cisco Systems could do better!
Review: I also had a problem maintaining a cable internet connection in my 3-PC network, running Windows XP. The internet was continuously going out for no apparent reason, and we knew it had to be either the router/PC cards, or Comcast's signal (the cable modem itself was functioning properly). We ruled out Comcast after two service technician visits and many phone calls. Thinking a new Linksys Wireless-B Broadband router might do the trick, I replaced our older Linksys router with this model. Guess what? The same thing kept happening! Worse, when I tried to download the latest drivers for the PC cards & PCI adapters for my two workstations, the Linksys website could never complete the entire download!

Fed up with Linksys, I went to CompUSA (sorry Amazon, but we needed our internet connection to work right away!), and decided to try out a whole new system with a Belkin router and two Belikn USB wireless adapters. You'd think from the other reviews on this web site that Belkin wireless products were inferior, but I discovered the opposite to be true. Belkin works great, and now our PCs stay connected to the internet. Though Belkin's products were cheaper in price, they're better in quality. Shame on you, Linksys and Cisco Sytems (which owns Linksys).

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Needs The Firmware Update
Review: Like others installing this product I had nothing but problems from the start. Worked with my cable ISP and determined that the cable modem was working perfectly. Went on to the Linksys tech support and changed the IP address on the router. Reset the modem, router and restarted the PC. Everything worked fine for a while and then the PC lost contact with the router. On a remote PC for gaming the kids complained that they would lose the connection long enough to time out on the online game and get kicked off. My son called the Linksys tech support and got a rookie who was not much help. The next day I called and was advised to download an update to the firmware which is 1.45.3. I had a little trouble finding it on the Linksys site but finally downloaded and installed it and now everything is working perfectly. Linksys should add this to their retail package to help avoid the headaches I had and to greatly reduce the load on their tech support.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good, but takes some know how
Review: Once you get this router up and running, it works flawlessly. However, you will have problems with sustaining TCP connections until you upgrade the firmware. i.e., your AIM will periodically shut off, a download will suddenly stop, or an online game will lose connectivity (for just a moment, but this is enough to tick you off). Also of importance is that a wireless connection will sometimes be unable to contact the router once you take it off sleep mode. Note, however, that once you upgrade the firmware (which is really easy to do on the Linksys website), it works great. But the firmware version 4 works terribly.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Simple and Reliable
Review: After installing and maintaining 5 of these units in various homes and small business environments, I can say without hesitation that this is an easy to configure and very reliable unit.
The first unit installed is still running flawlessly after nearly a year of 24/7 operation.
The wireless feature offers a reliable and stable connection to the network even with a large download and the range in a properly installed system is impressive.
Average setup time from box to a fully functioning wireless and DSL internet connection is around 15 minutes including enabling WEP security and customizing the DSL PPPoE.
Remote access and control via the router works without problems. It may be helpful to have some knowledge of firewalls and ports to configure some applications but Univiversal PnP is also included.
Overall a great unit!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Easy, and It works
Review: Buy one. Easy Setup, Easy Use.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: easy setup. works great and good range.
Review: I have had no problems with this router. the setup was easy and the wireless signal and range are good. the documentation could have been a litter better but it was adequate. I have my notebook using a microsoft wireless network card and was able to easily find my linksys wireless network. I've seen some bad reviews about this product. some are valid, some are not. in the previous year I have had 3 routers. 1st - wired d-link which worked great. 2nd- microsoft wireless router which worked great for 3 months and then died. 3rd - current linksys router which has worked great.


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