Rating: 
Summary: It would work better with an updated user manual
Review: I bought the Linksys 4-port wireless router as I wanted to connect wireless with my laptop and my wired devices at home. I have a Orinoco silver PC card for my laptop.I upgraded the fireware of the router right away after getting the wired devices to work under the router, and after configuring the wireless parameters (e.g. ESSID), everything worked perfectly. I was able to access the Internet at 11Mbps about 30 metres away (full connection) from the router seperated by a couple of dry walls. And at a marginal connection (still 11Mbps) 45 metres away one floor down. I managed my home network so getting the wireless router up and running wasn't very hard. The entire setup took me around 20 mins and the router has been powered up since then (no power cycle) so I was quite happy with the product. One complain though -- the user guide / online help can be more helpful and is not up-to-date. There are quite a number of configurable parameters (especially the wireless parameters) that aren't documented very well, if at all. For example, the trigger ports aren't documented at all (I couldn't find it anywhere). Advance wireless parameters such as Beacon Interval, RTS threshold, etc aren't documented neither (I could probably look up this info somewhere online though as this is not Linksys exclusive). The filter feature is quite useful although it only has the blocked list, and no allowed list. IP Sec/VPN passthrough and port forwarding worked well for me. In conclusion, this product worked solid for me and the configuration parameters available are very flexible. I would have given the product a 5-star for a better documentation and a more flexible packet filter.
Rating: 
Summary: r0xx0rs
Review: Had my PC, iMac and laptop connected to a cable Internet connection in LESS THAN 5 MINUTES. That's out of the box, without touching the accompanying CD. Granted, I'm no newbie, but the instructions are very direct and painless. Unless you have absolutely no idea what's going on (and that's OK, just call your computer-savvy nephew), you'll find this simple, painless, and of very high quality. With regards to the negative reviews, I'll wager that most of them are people who don't understand their computer's network settings. Not that there's anything wrong with that -- each Windows and Apple OS has a very different set of tools to manage the network. Unfortunately, there's no way Linksys can dummyproof their product for every imaginable OS or network setup. Don't hold that against the hardware; it does it's job and does it well.
Rating: 
Summary: PPPoA versus PPPoE
Review: I can't comment on this product's performance. Why? Because it didn't work with my ISP. Why didn't it work with my ISP? Well, because it has the outdated PPPoE versus the newer PPPoA.
What is PPPoE you ask? It stands for "Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet" and PPPoA stands for "Point to Point Protocol over ATM". As luck would have it, my ISP (here in Lancaster,PA) has the newer/faster PPPoA and this Linksys BEFW11S4 is not compatible with my ISP. So...buyer beware! Check first, and maybe you won't get stuck like I did. I phoned Linksys tech support ( who were very cordial) and they readily admitted it wouldn't work with my DSL Internet Provider.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome product if you can do more than just hit install
Review: You may read reviews about the LinkSys that say it is impossible to install and it's defective. Well, it's possible to install and it certainly isn't defective. To install the thing, you need to have a little more knowledge than the basic put the CD into the drive and hit install. It takes a little more know-how, like configuring your IP address and such. If you can be patient, the reward is fantastic. Even when the signal strength is only at 50%, you don't lose a second of download time.
I do recommend though that the laptop or other desktop you'll be using runs 600 MHz or faster.
Rating:
Summary: Good mix of features and price
Review: I got this for Christmas (opened it a few days early) and found it very easy to set up. The documentation wasn't great but that's par for the course in the electronics world. It worked with my Cisco WiLAN PCMIA card. The only trouble was getting it working with my VPN. After a quick review of the Linksys home page I noticed that I needed to change the IPsec setting. One click of the mouse and my VPN was working wonderfully. The range is adequate for my house (2600 sq. ft.) but it occasionally loses the connection with one of our laptops. Having the flexibility of using my laptop anywhere is a huge benefit! My only warning is that you need to be comfortable with computers and networking. There are always tricks-of-the-trade that are required to get a networking system functional. Worst case, have a close friend that will help you set up the system.
Rating: 
Summary: Buy anything else
Review: I am not a neophyte when it comes to PCs, but I'm also not a network engineer. I bought the Linksys router to network two desktops and a laptop. It is without a doubt one of the worst computer products I've ever bought. The instructions aren't too bad, though certainly not for the faint of heart. The manual is for network engineers only. The setup page/interface is relatively easy to use but is not for those who haven't much experience with networking terminology. Bottom line for me was that the router was broken when I bought it, and it took a lot of time and money paid to a network engineer to get to the point where we figured that out. I'm taking my business elsewhere -- and will never buy another Linksys product, regardless of price.
Rating: 
Summary: Good 4 simple use; terrible docs; no proxy/VPN support
Review: It is OK if you have a direct cable/DSL connection and you don't have to wory about VPNs or web proxy servers settings in your browser. The technical support folks seems to know everything and walk you through any issues as if they are reading scripts; but you as a customer do NOT have access to such documentation!! First, I had trouble with getting connected to the Internet; after the tech support guy walked me through 10-15 steps it worked but he refused to repeat the steps for me to write down for future use! Bizzarre!! Second, I need to use a proxy server in my browser. Linksys won't work at all. Tech Support says Proxies are NOT supported. Third, my VPN never worked and tech support folks were actually asking me to go to my VPN provider to give me sensitive port and other info to get LinkSys to work. If you don't use proxies or don't use VPNs, then it is an OK product. Otherwise, there is NO documentation for the customer to use (although the support folks seem to have detailed troubleshooting instructions).
Rating:
Summary: The best in home wireless solutions! Must buy product.
Review: As an independant consultant - who does not sell or profit from the sell of computer components - I have been impressed with the wireless networking solutions from Linksys. I have installed and configured 8 different clients with Linksys's family of wireless solutions. This befw11s4 device is the best of both worlds. I used to recommend the Linksys cable router and the wap11 access point but now you can buy a single device to handle both and save. Concerning the range of home wireless products, I have found that it varies with the layout and design of each home. In some installations, I have been able to move throughout the home and even outside without complete signal loss - although speeds may drop as low as 1 mb before complete signal loss. In other installations, I have had signal loss issues within 20 feet. This is always when moving from room to room and how the signal gets bounced around. I have installed the access point up stairs and been able to receive a full 11 mbs connection downstairs but other times I have had problems between floors.
I have also had large installations that required multiple access points with roaming features. Linksys products are designed to handle these roaming issues. If you are considering a home wireless solution, examine the Linksys family becuase it should meet most of your requirements. You should also take notice on the amount of product line growth Linksys has experience in the last 2 years. When I first started implementing them, they only had about 3 or 4 products. I feel that Linksys is serious player in this market space and will be on the leading edge of new development.
Rating:
Summary: Trouble
Review: Try to get a hold of these guys and get some help. The friendly voice may say average wait time is 6 minutes, but I wound up on hold for 30+ minutes both times I called. Had trouble setting up both wireless and straight ethernet and tech support wasn't much help. It is in the box on the way back to Linksys.
Rating:
Summary: Easier than I'd feared
Review: Considering I'd never done any networking, I jumped in with both feet. Graduating from dialup to cable modem, I quickly realized I'd need to share broadband not only on my wife's computer, but also the notebook I take home from work. Since my 40-year-old house isn't wired for Cat5, and because I have a wireless NIC for my notebook, wireless seemed to be the way to go (or a combination of cables & wireless). The instructions were simple; the default values were appropriate for my systems. The only problem I had was reconfiguring my wireless NIC to communicate with my home LAN vs. my work LAN. I like this product, and it's opened a whole new realm of mobile computing for me (as well as Cat5 installation practice!).
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