Home :: Computers :: Components :: Networking :: Wired Networks  

Broadband Access
Telephony
Wired Networks

Wireless Networks
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

<< 1 .. 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 >>

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: I have had both experiences
Review: Yeah I got one of these - in fact I got two.

The first had the problems described - in fact the router would crash within a few seconds of wireless activity. Very frustrating as especially at first I thought it was something I was doing wrong. ALso the web server seemed very flaky - kepts going unresponsive which made playing with the setup a nightmare.

I returned it and got a replacement. This one works pretty much flawlessly. I am doing PPPoE in Mindspring (Baltimore), the wireless and CAT5 works great and setup was straight forward...

I am happy now and probably won't be returning my second one, keeping an eye on it though!

Two lingering problems

1. the web server is still flaky, esp. when the router is busy. My advice is to avoid playing with the config two much.

2. My Lucent ORINOCO card works fine in windows but no longer in Linux! (It worked fine before in Linux with peer to peer). My pings go unretuned - but the lights flash on the router!!! If anybody has any ideas I'd appreciate hearing from them. I've tried both the Lucent driver and the GPL one.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Is this thing on?? Hello???
Review: I've been a network engineer for over 10 yrs. I've worked w/ routers, switches, etc. I'm even certified. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the worst piece of hardware ever released by a company! It wouldn't work at my father's house on DSL at ALL! We called Tech Supp. "we'll call you back in 3 hrs." they said. Mind you.. no call back was given! Brought it back to my house to try it there on cable. OK, the Internet link worked, but wireless still doesn't. I'm even using a brand new Linksys PC card! It links, but won't get a DHCP address (renew, release, nothing helps!). Now, trust me, I KNOW what I'm doing! The Router config says my channel range is "out of range" and can only be from 14 to 14 (some range!). The book says it can only be from 1 to 11?? So, I set the channel to 14, but still get the error (expected), set it to disabled, still get the error, reset, reboot, re-seat.... error, error, error!!! Is LinkSys starting a new dept. called Quality Control this year? OK, yes, some people say they've gotten it to work. That's great. But I don't have a subnetted network here!!! This is not rocket science, but it's like shooting in the dark whether people are successfull with this thing or not!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: I really wanted to like this unit.. but I am returning it
Review: I purchased this unit because I (used to) trust Linksys products. I have a classic Linksys router/4-port switch, and it has been working great for the past year. Thoughout the year, I've upgraded the firmware on the router several times, each time adding new functionality (PPPoE, IPSec tunneling, etc) without introducing any problems. So I was really excited to see the AP/switch because I thought I could just cascade the 2 devices together to serve my 9 computers at home... They look so neat stacked up...

So I thought. Well before that point, I have problem even getting my Lucent Orinoco Silver card to stay connected to this AP. When I first power up the unit, the AP would talk to the card for a brief period of time, sometimes 15 minutes, some times 30, but never longer than 45 minutes or so. I thoguht it may be interference, so I tried a Lucent Orinoco RG-1000 AP AND a D-Link AP, both of which connects multiple devices over multiple days. In addition, I tried to use this AP for *only* hard-wired connections (turning off all wireless devices at home), and over time (30 min or so) the hard-wired computer would lose its IP address over DHCP, and I couldn't get a new one. Because of this, it tells me that it's *not* a compatibility problem between Lucent Silver card and the Linksys AP. Moreover, if I power off the unit for 5 minute and power it back on again, it would work for another 30 minutes or so. It's clearly broken.

So now I've standardized on Lucent Orinoco wireless gears: 3 silver cards (2 for laptops, 1 for a iPAQ 3650), 2 RG-1000 APs, and life is wonderful. My advice - don't buy this unit until Linksys fixes it.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Major Quality Issues with this Product
Review: I tried to setup the product and it basically does not work. Linksys support admits that the product is defective. Quality definitely was not a major concern when they decided to produce this product. I returned the product in frustration because it is just a very expensive box that flashes LEDs at you.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This product is not ready for prime time
Review: I totally agree with hydrogen3. When I first got it, I had a lot of problems and linksys tech support said it was a bad router. Then I got a replaced one and STILL the same problem.

Linksys kept pointing at Win2k TCP/IP stack which generate the lock up on the router and they weren't helpful at all. SOme of them don't even know how the products work.

I am actually getting the WAP11 and the DSL router with 4 port switch unit separately.

Not a happy person at all after 3 weeks of frustration.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: What's up with LinkSYS wireless?
Review: I am having the the same problems that spjefferies and other reviewers have expressed in earlier posts: cannot get a decent ping from a WPC11 even at close range. Linksys has great CAT5 products, but seem to be suffering on the Wireless end. Is this just me or has anyone else solved the WPC11 ping problems?

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Bugs in the first generation units
Review: I figured a product based on two other working Linksys products (WAP11 and BEFSR41) would be stable...wrong. Keep in mind that the BEFW11S4 has just been released. It is a first generation product, and these units are the first off the production line. I spent four nights trying to configure it. Now, I'm a Network Administrator for a medium-size enterprise, and I'm no stranger to routers and wireless bridges.

I could get the unit to run for wired connnections, but with lock-ups after it had sat idle. But forget about wireless. I tried with a WPC11 card in a Win2k laptop and a WUSB11 on a Win98SE PC. No go. I could get the NICs to link at various strengths, but any attempt to pass data would send the BEFW11S4 into fits. It would loop through its diagnostics, and finally stop all wireless communications. In fact, the WLAN light would go out, even though its interface page still said that wireless was enabled. I tried factory default settings and several custom configurations.

I was able to find both a WAP11 and a BEFSR41 on sale locally, and with Linksys rebates, they were only $40 more than the single BEFW11S4. I got the seperate units working perfectly within a hour.

If your thinking of buying this unit, forget it for now. Look for deals on the seperate units (after all, the BEFSR41 is already in its second generation, it says "v.2" on the box). If you already have the BEFW11S4 and are having problems, you could wait for a firmware upgrade--who knows when that might come out. But, obviously, many poeple are having the same trouble so Linksys "should" be aware. Let me say, Linksys may blame Compaq, but it's the BEFW11S4 that is buggy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: What a Great Product!!
Review: I was planning on the usual painful process. However, almost directly out of the box the Linksys Wireless router was installed, configured and set up easy and beautifully!

I just can't believe the performance I'm getting across this wireless network, and my parents are ecstatic about the zero cables, no phone line tieups, and having their own shared access to the internet, printers, etc.

Great product solution. I definitely would recommend this product.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Defective
Review: I spent an entire day trying to get this to work and trying to get through to the Linksys "24 hour technical support" line. Usually all I got was an answering machine. The LAN and WAN ports worked fine but the wireless access point was disabled and there was no way to enable it. When I finally spoke to a person at Linksys they spoke with 2nd-level support and then told me that this was a known problem with the hardware and there was no fix. Apparently Linksys shipped the product quickly without really testing it. I was told I would have to ship it back and try my luck at another one. Well, I am shipping this back and will never buy Linksys again. The product was non-functional and the support was dismal.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One Great Product
Review: I'll try the review again, I guess the first attempt didn't take.. We installed wireless LAN at work, so I thought this was a perfect opportunity to install at home on two laptops. I had also been told I should add a firewall to my DSL connection, I also have 3 workstations that would remain connected via CAT5. I purchased the BEFW11S4 and 2 WPC11s and had everything running in about 20 minutes. The BEF* had everything I needed: Firewall, 10/200 switch for the wired workstations and 802.11b for the laptops. Because everything is in a single unit, I keep the box count down in my wiring closet. I'm sorry to hear others have had problems using the BEF*, my experience has been great.


<< 1 .. 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates