Rating: 
Summary: Use caution when purchasing this item
Review: In the past Linksys has made some good switch products. This is not one of them. I am now working with my third BEFW11S4. On the surface it seems like a good product and it is when it works. However, the switch has a problem that causes it to stop forwarding packets periodically. This happens on the RF and wired ports. It will recover on it's own but frequent pauses can be frustrating. I have spoken with Linksys support. They had me try several code releases but the problem remains. I'd like to recommend this product. The price/feature mix is good but I cannot recommend it until Linksys corrects this issue. If you have this product enable outgoing logging. You will quickly see strange and incorrect characters in the log. Since the log is formatted as a routing table might be it makes me wonder if the log data comes straight from the routing table.
Rating: 
Summary: overall
Review: Well, installing this with Win 2000 was harder than I thought. I heard there was problems but figured if I downloaded the lastest driver it would work out. Wrong. The driver place a file in the wrong place and once moved it worked fine. If you buy this and are going to use it with the wireless pc card then you need to worry about this. If you are going to hardwire (why are you buying wireless) then you are ok. So I guess the problem is more with the wireless pc card then the hub.
Rating: 
Summary: What's the Deal with the Negative Reviews??
Review: I read all reviews before purchasing this product. I decided to ignore them all, and just buy it. This device is excellent. For those of you who gave it bad ratings or found it to be too complicated, that's a USER issue and I assure you it has nothing to do with the device. The device functions EXACTLY the way it it says it does. heh It's is incredibly easy to setup. Anyone can set it up. If you plan on purchasing, I suggest you ignore or not worry about all the reviews indicating complicated setup. My recommendation is as soon as you get the product, upgrade to the latest firmware before configuring the router. The Wireless AP: I'm running it with a WinCE device that has a Cisco Aironet 340 PCMCIA card. (People stated this wouldn't work). heh So it really is interoperable with other 802.11b equipment. Works perfectly. Get excellent signal strength no matter where I am in the house. If you would like to achieve even better signal, there are tips if you do your research. The Routing: Extremely easy web based configuration/setup. The device also has very good advance features like port forwarding for those of you who would like to run other services like FTP, Mirc, etc. Excellent Device, excellent price!
Rating:
Summary: Best of the Wireless Access Point/Router Combos
Review: Linksys' BEFW11S4 is a great product. Set-up is a breeze, and the range seems significantly better than competing products from the likes of SMC and D-Link. It works with other 802.11b products (such as Lucent's Orinoco PCMCIA product (Warning: the Lynksis PCMCIA cards have a high failure rate). I use this product in a three story house and have good reception throughout as well as throughout my yard. I'd buy this product again.
Rating:
Summary: Great product, awesome support.
Review: I am not close to being a technician -- I might be classified as a "power user". As we speak the two kids are connected wireless, both downloading, and my wife is surfing the net-- all on a single DSL line with no degredation in access (I used the new Linksys USB wireless NIC). I installed the router on a Sunday in 2-3 hours. Twice I punted and called Linksys tech support. On a Sunday, they answered on the first ring both times and nailed my problems (which were not trivial and related to some firewall issues on my machine and configuration requirements of my ISP). I wish this could be a little easier -- but Linksys keeps working on it. The software and enclosed CD instructions are great and www.linksys.com has a lot of FAQs. But at the end of the day, the guys on the phone will get you through the installation. If you want to share a DSL line with a mix of wired/wireless and are ready to take the plunge, I'd recommend this without hesitation.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Product -- just need a little patience
Review: I AM not a networking expert. I read all the Amazon reviews (all of them!) and decided to go for it despite all the bad rap on the BEFW11S4 (Wirless AP/Router) -- biggest fear was that it does not work with a VPN - WRONG! Set it up in 20 minutes (with a little help from some great tech support who knew EXACTLY what to do). Installed the wireless adapter/card on a second desktop (about 250 feet away with 3 walls and two levels in between) without any tech help (infrastructure parameter for Network Type is key) and was up and running in 30 minutes. I had to play around with the VPN stuff but IT WORKS. You need to know what the SERVICE PORT RANGES are for your VPN. Call tech support and they will walk you through the VPN parameter setup. (I have 2 Win98 desktops, 1 Win2000 laptop. VPN is through one of the desktops). Man, I'm jazzed.
Rating: 
Summary: Final Review on the Linksys BEFW11S4
Review: Ok, my problem is solved. For me the Linksys BEFW11S4 wireless router was not the way to go. Although some users may be thrilled with this product, I've gone back to my orginal Linksys router the BEFSR41. Its the king of the hill when it comes to home networking. Now I still need wireless...so I bought the Linksys wireless AP model WAP11. So you say what is the difference? Stability is better. Plus I can now use my print server which connects using IPX/SPX protocol on all my computers. Look, go to the linksys site. Check the features on this unit. You will find that they will not say "Compatible with All Standard Internet Applications " but check the BEFSR41 and the WAP11 They have it in their features. So what do you get from that? Exactly, you can not use the BEFW11S4 for all applications. Sure , some people love it! It does have a fast connection and for basic internet only, its fine. But with the WAP11 I can relocate the wireless router which now can extend my range by placing the WAP11 in the best location in my home. I can now take my laptop outside and relax by the pool and dial into my business. Life is sweet. Linksys is still the best, but not yet this unit. I'll sell my BEFW11S4 on Amazon or Ebay.
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Summary: Awesome networking product, but knowledge is assumed
Review: After having wireless networking at work, I was keen to duplicate a similar environment at home... After reading reviews of a number of products, I decided on the Linksys BEFW11S4. From reading the specs., the Linksys BEFW11S4 offered all I was after : A WAN Ethernet port to connect to the cable modem (albeit via a cross-over UTP cable that Linksys don't supply in the box :-(), 4x100Mb ports to connect to my desktop PCs and of course the inbuilt wireless capability. In addition, the unit can be setup as a DHCP server to allocate IP addresses for your machines, and also supports both PPTP and IPSEC (which is very handy as I can happily create a VPN into systems at work). Wireless support is IEE802.11b inc. WEP. For me, the setup was a breeze - the device is already allocated a static IP address out of the box (so there is no messing around with BOOTP or additional s/w) and all the configuration is through a relatively nice web interface. Within about 10 minutes I had both the networked and wireless machines working through my cable modem and was happily surfing from other rooms in the house. Wireless strength appears to be good, and I was getting around 70% signal strength on the floor above where the unit was installed (my laptop is running with the Cisco Aironet card - I can't vouch for the Linksys cards...) For anyone who has had IP networking experience, this unit is easy to use and great value (I was almost going to buy a separate switch, router and Wireless AP until I came across this product). For those without the years of networking knowledge, I'd still recommend getting the product, but would emphasize the need to read the documentation before diving in and getting frustrated... Either way, a great product.
Rating:
Summary: Working great w/ 1 desktop and 2 laptops.
Review: Installed with out any problems. Has been working great. VPN to corp from home works also. Their tech support depends on who you get. Good help from some. Bad answers from others. One person told me that I would have to work with my HQ to get VPN to work. Found enable pptp pass through on the set up page and it works great. Working email and internet form around the house and outside.
Rating:
Summary: Important Firmware notice for the BEFW11S4.
Review: I wrote a review a few days ago basicly saying I was pleased with the product but wished the distance was a little better. I bought the router new from Amazon and was pleased with the price. After owning the router for a week and no problems I decided to put it to work. I have friends around the country that I video conference with from time to time. We use paltalk and internet phone. When I fired paltalk up and tried to connect with the voice and video the router jammed.(this never happened with my old wired Linksys router) I reset it and it happened again. I double checked to see that the proper ports were open, I even opened the dmz on the router. NO GOOD! Then I went to Linksys site checked the firmware up grade and found to my delight there is a new upgrade as of may 5/30/2001. You must download this firmware! Now my router is working with video conferencing. I noticed that some reviewers said they were locking up with games. This firmware says it fixes wireless instability. I think my distance is slightly better. So far so good...
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