Rating: 
Summary: Worked fine, easy and fast setup, including print server
Review: After reading the reviews of this router, I was a little nervous purchasing it for a friend of mine. He specifically wanted printer server capabilities and many of the reviewers stated they had problems with getting the print server to work correctly and/or reliably. Other routers with print servers were $50-$100 more expensive (and reviews also indicated various problems printing), so we decided to purchase this one from Fry's electronics, confident that we could return if it had problems. I have one of SMC's original routers (the 7004WBR - with a parallel port print server) and it's worked reliably for the last 3.5 years ( I paid ~$299 for it back then, the price of early adoption).My friend also wanted to go wireless with 2 notebook PC's, so we also purchased two SMC wireless cards. One of the notebook PC's was a relatively new Dell Inspiron, while the other was an old IBM A20 with just 128M RAM, 10G HD and a ~500 MHz CPU. Both the Dell and amazingly, the IBM had Windows XP running. Installation of the router was fast and easy. Per the quick start manual, I installed the software from the CD, then checked the "wired" capability to the Dell. I was able to log into the router and check the settings. I did not change anything from the default (including security) before installing the wireless cards. Those too went quick. I was surprised there were no real problems with either PC. One reboot later and both notebook were wireless. I enabled some of the security features (WPA, discard pings from WAN, MAC Address filtering) and left the rest untouched. The last task to do was to install and configure the print server. I had to pull up the full manual for this as I remember the process was involved for my old SMC router. This is not in the quick start guide. Following the instructions word for word, I set up the print server. Several "wizards" and related windows come up during the process, but manual is pretty easy to follow. My friend had a HP deskjet 940c, which was on of the many HP printers on the list. In fact, the list of "configurable" printers seemed very comprehensive. We printed a few documents without problems. The printer seems to print the last page first now, but otherwise worked fine. I set up both computers to print to the SMC print server and tested several documents. No problems. Some reviews have mentioned reliability and the need for reboots as a problem. Well I cannot say one way or another as I just installed it, however my older SMC 7004 WBR has lasted almost 4 years with no reliability problems. I gave it 5 stars because after only about 1 hour of setup I had both computers wireless and using the SMC print server without any problems at all. My friend was very impressed. I showed him some "cool" multimedia links (www.ifilm.com) and we watched a few movie trailers wirelessly from the kitchen. He was impressed and very thankful. I'll update the review if I get a "support" call from him. The price on Amazon is pretty good, so I certainly would consider buying this one online for myself when I decide to upgrade my older SMC 7004WBR.
Rating:
Summary: Worked fine, easy and fast setup, including print server
Review: After reading the reviews of this router, I was a little nervous purchasing it for a friend of mine. He specifically wanted printer server capabilities and many of the reviewers stated they had problems with getting the print server to work correctly and/or reliably. Other routers with print servers were $50-$100 more expensive (and reviews also indicated various problems printing), so we decided to purchase this one from Fry's electronics, confident that we could return if it had problems. I have one of SMC's original routers (the 7004WBR - with a parallel port print server) and it's worked reliably for the last 3.5 years ( I paid ~$299 for it back then, the price of early adoption). My friend also wanted to go wireless with 2 notebook PC's, so we also purchased two SMC wireless cards. One of the notebook PC's was a relatively new Dell Inspiron, while the other was an old IBM A20 with just 128M RAM, 10G HD and a ~500 MHz CPU. Both the Dell and amazingly, the IBM had Windows XP running. Installation of the router was fast and easy. Per the quick start manual, I installed the software from the CD, then checked the "wired" capability to the Dell. I was able to log into the router and check the settings. I did not change anything from the default (including security) before installing the wireless cards. Those too went quick. I was surprised there were no real problems with either PC. One reboot later and both notebook were wireless. I enabled some of the security features (WPA, discard pings from WAN, MAC Address filtering) and left the rest untouched. The last task to do was to install and configure the print server. I had to pull up the full manual for this as I remember the process was involved for my old SMC router. This is not in the quick start guide. Following the instructions word for word, I set up the print server. Several "wizards" and related windows come up during the process, but manual is pretty easy to follow. My friend had a HP deskjet 940c, which was on of the many HP printers on the list. In fact, the list of "configurable" printers seemed very comprehensive. We printed a few documents without problems. The printer seems to print the last page first now, but otherwise worked fine. I set up both computers to print to the SMC print server and tested several documents. No problems. Some reviews have mentioned reliability and the need for reboots as a problem. Well I cannot say one way or another as I just installed it, however my older SMC 7004 WBR has lasted almost 4 years with no reliability problems. I gave it 5 stars because after only about 1 hour of setup I had both computers wireless and using the SMC print server without any problems at all. My friend was very impressed. I showed him some "cool" multimedia links (www.ifilm.com) and we watched a few movie trailers wirelessly from the kitchen. He was impressed and very thankful. I'll update the review if I get a "support" call from him.
Rating: 
Summary: Great features ...... if the device actually worked
Review: As a rule I always try to stay away from SMC products as from personal experience they have always given me grief. This product has such nice features I decided to give it a try. Alas, just like all the other SMC products I have tried previously, the router just freezes for no reason. I contacted tech support and they are well aware of the problem. They gave me some unreleased flash upgrade to try. It seemed much better after the update, but no cigar. As soon as I tried to print the device froze again. Save yourself much headache - stay away from this product.
Rating: 
Summary: SMC2804WBRP-G Not So Bad if you turn off the Timeout ...
Review: I bought an SMC2804WBRP-G and had the same problems that a lot of reviewers here have complained about - print server not working well at all. Then, I went into the SMC SYSTEM Password Settings page and found an Idle Time Out setting that I could set to 0 to specify "No Time Out". Big improvement after I did that. In fact, I have had no problems with my Canon i850 printer since I made that change. I agree with everyone that a firmware upgrade is needed but in the mean time this will help.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor Docs, UI and weak radio strength mars good feature set
Review: I bought this product in order to avoid having a separate print server and router, but in the end I had to use both. I would recommend this product if you are covering a small area with your wireless.
Pros: Combined unit of wireless AP and print server is a good value, would be a great value if it worked better.
Cons:
1. Documentation - It took me a long time to get the print server up since the documentation lists the wrong printer queue in the screen shot, but below on the next page lists the correct print queue name. I called customer support for them to clarify. There is a real down side to having all documentation on PDF, a better cheat sheet would be appreciated.
2. Radio range is poor, compared to the old Netgear the signal strength is weak. Sufficient for small places, but not for two story homes.
3. User interface is confusing as to where the settings are located, and not a lot of freedom in configuring system parameters.
Overall, it is a great set of features, but poor execution. 2.5 Stars
Rating:
Summary: SMC2804WBRP-G a bummer
Review: I can confirm what the other reviewer has said here, that the SMC2804WBRP-G *WILL* lose connection on your wireless client with annoying frequency, and that the ONLY way to bring it back is either a Reboot from the Browser Configuration Screen (or by unplugging it for a few seconds). I had heard good things about SMC, but this product is simply not ready for primetime. Also, unlike the other Reviewer, I had a tech support person say the OPPOSITE of the above, in that they were blaming the client for this problem. (NOTE: A word of warning about tech support - it is outsourced to India, and you stand a 50/50 chance of not being understood, but instead have recited back rote "answers". Very unsatisfying.
Rating:
Summary: If you need the printer server: FORGET IT!
Review: I don't want to waste any more time than I have messing around with the USB Print Server capabilities. I have a Lexmark Z65n printer which works great EXCEPT when hooked up to this router's USB port. I spent 2 hours with 2 different SMC support reps on 5/21, they had me download two different Runtime Code Versions, multiple reboots, and had me try numerous settings that were completely different then what they publish in their manual etc... Then they said they would escalate the problem and I waited one week. Finally on 5/29 I called them back, they had me upload a third Runtime Code Version and IT STILL DOES NOT WORK. Yes, the router works for wireless but that isn't why I bought this product. As mentioned in other reviews, every time you update the firmware or runtime code you have to reset the defaults back to the factory settings and start all over. If I added up all the hours I wasted on this SMC product and could bill SMC for MY normal billable hours they should be writing me a check for over $700 dollars. Don't companies feel a responsibility to make sure their products work before sending them out to the public? Maybe they should spend more money on Quality Assurance than they do on their marketing. Also, with no harm intended, it is VERY, VERY difficult to understand the support representatives because the SMC support is outsourced in India.
Rating:
Summary: Nice Package
Review: I picked this unit up from a local store because it was inexpensive, had all the features I wanted, and was in stock. I have been pretty satisfied with the systems performance, but there are a couple of outstanding issues.
As a matter of course I flashed it to the latest firmware before even bothering to do the initial setup, so I can't comment on the earlier firmware issues, but with the latest firmware it seems to work quite well. Just about all AP seem a bit like alchemy getting things setup right the first time, but now that I have some experience the SMC came right up with WPA encryption.
BUt while I do have the following nits to pick, I'm planning on purchasing a second one for home use, since it seems unmatched for a price/capabity standpoint.
1. Despite having a mode labeled WEP/WPA, it does NOT work with both protocols (even says so on their site? Why don't they update the public firmware to remove this option until its fixed?). In fact, after switching to this mode, I was locked out and unable to connect wirelessly. I was able to fix this by connecting directly, but it was a big pain.
2. There is no interface to the print server via the web interface; but this is because it is excruciatingly manual. On the bright side the manual takes you through all the custom steps pretty clearly, but I was surprised I even had to pick the printer driver manually.
But these are two minor annoyances for a home system, since you'll deal with them once in a blue moon. Its got an excellent built in firewall, and supports standard syslog logging, which is very nice for troubleshooting.
Rating:
Summary: Requires frequent rebooting, print server doesn't work
Review: I previously owned an SMC7004AWBR wireless router (802.11b w/ parallel print server) and was very happy with it. I upgraded to SMC's new version of this router, the SMC2804WBRP-G (802.11g w/ USB print server). I was very disappointed. I had to send it back and reinstall my old SMC7004AWBR router. The SMC2804WBRP-G router has two major problems:
1) It regularly loses its wireless connection. The connection can only be restored by rebooting the router. The loss of connection has nothing to do with signal strength. The computer can be right next to the router and it still loses the connection. It's interesting that my old SMC7004AWBR had this exact same problem when I first installed it, which was later fixed by a firmware upgrade. So if SMC already had this problem with past routers, why did they release a new router with the same problem? Poor testing. I spent time with SMC tech support on this and they acknowledged the problem, but said there was no firmware upgrade yet available to fix this (there is an upgrade, but it doesn't fix this). I would definitely wait until they fix this problem before buying this router -- it then might be a great router. But right now it's a *really* frustrating problem that forces you to get up from your couch, walk to the room with the router, unplug the power cord from the router, count to 5 and plug it back in again. Repeat this on average every 30 min. (it might happen again in 5 min. or 1 hour, but it will definitely happen at least several times a night). 2) The USB print server does not work with the HP LaserJet 3330 printer. My old SMC7004AWBR router with a parallel print server worked perfectly with this printer. But this new router crashes every time I send a print job to it. Again, poor testing on SMC's part. Will this router work with your printer? Only trying it yourself will tell since SMC has not tested it with a range of printers and has not released a supported printer list -- their first customers are their testers. I've now reinstalled my SMC7004AWBR and I continue to be happy with it -- it's rock solid. I guess I learned a lesson -- wait until SMC has a product out for six months or so before you buy. BTW -- don't confuse this model with the similar 802.11g model without a print server (SMC2804WBR) -- that one uses the old-style case. It's getting good user reviews -- maybe it also uses older, more reliable firmware. Just watch out for this brand new model in the new case. Bottom line: the SMC2804WBRP-G was released without thorough testing. Wait a few months until SMC processes the feedback from frustrated users like me and fixes the problems that currently make this router unusable. One more note: You can tell this product is not ready for prime time when you go to the SMC web site and they still list it as "coming soon". There is no support information whatsoever, no driver downloads, no documentation, no acknowledgement of any kind that this product is shipping.
Rating: 
Summary: Great features, but unreliable--especially with Macs
Review: I've had this unit for 8 months now (2/05). I bought it because it was a great price for 802.11g speed, plus the USB print server. Turns out you get what you pay for. I have Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Mac OSX laptops. The windows machines work fine all the time. The Mac laptop crashes the wireless network every day, despite a Summer, 2004 firmware upgrade (however, wired connections are fine?!!?). Never actually got around to using the print server because of the networking problems that tech support couldn't fix. Now I'm having problems with my corporate VPN. I've already spent too much time with this thing. I'm going back to Linksys.
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