Rating: 
Summary: Time for a dismissal
Review: Alright, this is in response to the morons who say this router is incompatible with Apple computers. I've used this router with an Apple Airport card on a 2001 iBook for (obviously) the last three years and I've never had a problem. It's as plug-n-play as anything can get and has worked without a hitch for years. The only thing that I can think of is that some of you morons think that this is a hub and will facilitate an AppleTalk Network. Goodluck with that but it won't get you anywhere because YOU ARE USING THE WRONG HARDWARE! THIS IS A ROUTER--which doles connectivity to several computers--AND NOT A HUB--which allows computers to "speak" to each other. If you're looking to simply get your Apple, Windows PC or Linux box online (which worked for me on Red Hat Personal 9.0, Slackware 9.0 AND Mandrake Community 10.0), then you've found your hardware. If you're looking to network, get a network running, get a hub/router combo. For the Mac lover, have fun with your overpriced Airport Station... sucker.
Rating: 
Summary: NOT COMPATIBLE WITH MAC
Review: Linksys tech support has 2 differing views - depending on which incomprehensible far-eastern (india, etc) personnel you happen to talk to. position 1) Linksys doesn't support mac, position 2) Linksys does support mac but we can't get this router to work for you.I am fed up with companies that pretend to support platforms but can't get their gear to work even after 2 days (linksys) and 3 day (netgear) of all-day long tech support. I am sure these babies are just "plug and play" for the PC users out there, bu they are a nightmare for us mac users. I will not buy another linksys product - mainly because they outsource their tech support to illiterate morons. There are plenty of illiterate morons here in the US that can at least speak english when we need tech support. Someone please make a mac compatible wireless solution!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Ok, but bad price/performance ratio
Review: It works (with a bit of effort). The main problem I ran into was that the text boxes in the config webpage are a few pixles too small, making the trailing 'B' in my encryption key look like an 'E', and the DHCP didn't work until I had it plugged in for a few days (although DHCP rarely works without a hitch when you have a computer that thinks it should be the DHCP server). Frankly, there are better routers (from D-link for example) that do the job better for the money.
On the bright side, it does have a decent range, and once you actualy get it working, it works pretty well with all other hardware.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Product/Easy Install
Review: Great Product. I got it through Verizon DSL (for free) and it's been awesome. Set up was a breeze, connection is fast and no problems with reception. I get full signal through walls (though only about 30 feet from router) and it's just been troublefree. I would get this product again (though I'd prefer to get a 802.11.g).
Rating:
Summary: Worthless Trash
Review: I've had 2 Linksys routers fail in the last 3 weeks. I was glad in a way because they were a total hassle when I tried to run mixed platform (win/mac) networks - wouldn't work well with WEP, always dropping connections, etc. Contacted Linksys and they said they were sorry that their 802.11 routers wouldn't work with Macs in an encrypted network. Very sorry. But it was a firmware problem and they had no immediate plans to fix it. (?????) I've installed these in Coffee Shops, Apartments, Eateries, and people's houses, and of all the different consumer level wireless routers, these give me the most trouble. By FAR. And forget tech support, unless you've got hours to spare with a phone screwed into your ear. I would particularly advise people who want to do WEP encrypted file sharing across MACINTOSH OS X 10.3 networks to avoid this product. Buy it and you will be sorry. In fairness, I have one good thing to say about these. The signal range is great, at least outdoors.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Wireless Home Router
Review: This is simply the best cable or DSL router for any home user. It is very simple and easy to setup and install and works consistently well, I've been running mine for 2 years with virtually no downtime. I have setup about a dozen of these devices for other people and never ahd a problem using them with either a very basic setup or more complicated network configurations. The router can work in nearly any situation with its 4 ethernet ports to support wired computers in the same room as well as wireless capabilities to support computers all throughout the house. The router works well as a backbone to support your entire network, regardless of how many computers you have. The average user will be impressed with its ease of setup while an advanced user will appreciate all the custom settings that can be tweaked to work with any configuration. In the end, you will never find a better router than this Linksys and it is simply the better than any other brand of router on the market today.
Rating:
Summary: MAJOR DISCOVERY THAT FIXES AD-HOC DISCONNECTIONS
Review: Wow... this is an easy fix that most people would love to know. I have been a wireless user almost from day one and at all times LINKSYS has been my best choice.
I have been reading articles and problems all along and up until last month, I never had any problems. But funny enough, like the most user I started to have the same disconnection problem all of a sudden for no reason at all. I had this machine for almost a year now.
I have tried everything that was "said and heard", asked linksys support 4-5 times on the same day for over a week but no luck. It would just drop connection and would pick it up after 3-4 hours or sometimes longer or shorter. Power on and off, all types of current or previous firmware upgrades would not fix the thing. But NOW it is working just fine for over 3 weeks no problems. I have around my house 7 different wireless devices working (all neighbors) most of the time. I thought it was one of them that was causing the problem but not so. FIX :
1. make sure you backup your configuration to your PC (must learn that)
2. while power is ON press and hold reset switch at the back for almost 90 seconds
3. while pressing and holding disconnect the power with your third hand (!) and keep holding for another 30 sec
4. while pressing and holding reconnect the power back again and keep reset switch pressed at all times
5. wait another 60 or 90 seconds while power is on and reset button pressed
6. no you can let go the reset switch
7. connect to your BEFW11S4 using 192.168.1.1 and your password is again back to the original "admin"
8. once you are connected, restore from your backup (step 1)
9. never experience disconnection problems again (I hope) Note: This is technical food:_ After programming the EPROM that is on the mainboard, linksys manufacturers must do a hard reset on the device. That will clear the stack buffer and some registers. But it looks like they don't do that and even you switch off the thing, stacks don't get initialized and cause stack overflow (DHCP is most likely). Machine will still pump packets out but packets are all messed up you can not connect. Well, if you don't have the problem, you or someone must have pressed reset more than 60 secs at some stage. It doesn't matter what firmware you use, HARD RESET is a must after programming the EPROM.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent -- if you can live with Wireless B
Review: This is an excellent product which does everthing it claims to do. It serves as an ethernet router, internet/network hub, and wireless base station. In addition, Linksys free techinical support is the best I've ever received from a technology company. They quickly resolved the few difficulties I had setting it up. However, anyone with a broadband connection will be disappointed with wireless "B". It's simply too slow. (Note: Wireless "B" is the most prevalent standard for public 'hotspots', so if you're satisfied with that, this would work fine for your home.) I've now upgraded to the Linksys Wireless "G" model and am much happier with my speed.
Rating:
Summary: Frustrating
Review: I've had problems with the BEFW11S4 from the day I unpacked it from the box. Initially, the problems were intermittent wireless drops (as you most undoubtedly have read on various Linksys forums). Hours of frustrating calls to customer service, 2 replacements, and several firmware upgrades later, I gave up and decided to use only the wired switch. Admittedly, this portion has always worked well and continues to work well. Just last month, I decided to buy a brand new NIC and attempt a wireless resurrection. I reset the router, upgraded the firmware, performed a clean upgrade of all operating systems, and did a little resurrection dance around the unit. Miraculously, it worked. I was able to configure the router with no problems and my laptop connected beautifully. I even enabled encryption with absolutely no problems. Signal strength was great and there were no intermittent drops. 15 minutes to set up and 4 hours of perfect operating bliss (until ordered to bed by the wife). The very next day, wireless was once again gone... completely this time. I did not touch the config on the router or the laptop. I merely opened my laptop up and, wah lah, nothing. I had my company's IT manager, several computer geek friends, and a networking instructor try the config... only to become more frustrated than myself. I refuse to deal with Linksys customer service again so I guess I've just inherited an expensive blue door stop. Needless to day, I would highly discourage anyone from buying this particular model, regardless of your computer/networking knowledge.
Rating: 
Summary: Died 1 Month After Warranty
Review: Exactly 22 days after 1 year warranty it died. Of course Linksys made no exception. Technical support is hit or miss, but mostly miss. Good experience with their adapters, however,...so far.
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