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Netgear MR814 802.11b Wireless 4-Port Cable/DSL Router

Netgear MR814 802.11b Wireless 4-Port Cable/DSL Router

List Price: $99.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Product may be OK, but Netgear support and ethics are not
Review: I was able to set up the router fairly quickly. Ran into couple of issues, which I tried to resolve through their support, but they didn't answer my email, so had to rely on other users on the net.
The router since works fairly well, even in a two-story home.
The only issue I have is when I come out of deep-sleep mode,
where the router won't respond, so I have to restart my computer.

My problem with Netgear is that they would not pay the rebate on this product, they won't even take emails on this issue.

During my investigation on Netgear's reputation on the Better Business Bureau web site I found this excerpt:

"Based on BBB files, this company has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau. Specifically, our records show a pattern of non-response to consumer complaints as well as a pattern of unresolved complaints brought to its attention by the Bureau. "

Regardless of the quality of their products, Netgear comes across as a company that lacks simple ethics of business, so they shall never again get my business.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Buy a Linksys
Review: I bought this item last weekend and returned it this weekend. It was easy enough to set up, but it ran very slow. I spent a lot of time doing research and getting help from the computer geeks at work, but could not come up with a solution to the slowness. I spent a little more on a Linksys WRT54G today, and am very happy. I still only use the .11b, but it is alot faster.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Money down the toilet.....
Review: Bought 2 of these pieces of junk with one montht difference, one for me and one for for my sister's place. Both started to drop wireless connections after 2 months use with increasing frequence until wireless feature is down most of the time. Firmware updates are just placebos, won't improve anything!!Customer support are just dummies reading through scripts assuming you're utterly stupid and forgot to plug to the power or so. Rebates are a bad joke!!! 4 months and I got no money back on either!!! and I'm not going to expect them to honor the warranty, so they'll end up leveling some table.
SAVE YOURSELF SOME MONEY BY SPENDING A FEW EXTRA BUCKS ON SOME OTHER BRAND!!!!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: OK as a WAP only
Review: --I have a two Macs, a G4 tower and a Ti Powerbook running OS 9.2.2 and 10.2.8. I bought the Netgear product (MR814v2) to replace a hard-wired Linksys router that has performed in rock-solid fashion for years. Set-up is very easy and the device works fairly well with an Airport card in both OS 9 and 10, even with WEP encryption on. Range is limited. If the wireless computer gets more than 10 feet or so away from the router, pages load with frequent errors (usually missing pictures). However, since all I wanted to do was replace a cable that runs 10 feet across a hallway, I was prepared to live with that. After upgrading to the latest firmware (5.03), the MR814v2, which already dropped connections to wireless computer, began dropping connections to the hard-wired computer. I returned the router to Amazon for a replacement after Netgear tech support told me the router may have had a defective LAN port. The replacement router has the same problems. Both before and after upgrading the firmware, about once or twice a day, either the hardwired or wireless computer or both will be unable to access the net. I either have to turn the router off, or in some cases, turn the router off and reboot the computer. After years of trouble-free surfing with my Linksys product, I find these drops really annoying.
--It also turns out that we cannot make a direct connection using AIM unless we have port forwarding on, a DMZ established AND the SPI firewall disabled.
--Some hints for better wireless reception: move the router away from your computer and get a sniffer program to detect other wireless networks that might be using the same channel you're using. I turned out to have a neighbor with a network on Netgear's default channel and setting my channel so as not to overlap the neighbor's helped my wireless performance slightly.
--Netgear technical support (in India) seems reasonably competent for basic issues - anything more complicated -> good luck. The last tech was unable to discover why I couldn't establish a direct connection with AIM, but seemed knowledgeable otherwise. However, wait times to reach a support tech were thoroughly ridiculous, probably in excess of 20 min, and there were minor difficulties due to the language barrier. The set-up Wizard is excellent, but if you are a router newbie, Netgear's knowledgebase isn't as helpful, because it assumes a lot of knowledge on the user's part.
--I only paid about $30 after rebates for this product and usually have my wireless computer very close to the router, so I don't feel that bad about the purchase. However, if I had paid more money and had wanted to roam all over the house, I'd feel cheated.
*******
1-month update: after hassling w/ dropped connections on a daily basis, I gave up and converted the router into a wireless access point only. Would only buy this product from someone who won't hassle you if you need to return a defective item.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Router
Review: As a computer/electrical engineer I was ready for whatever this router had for me. To my surprise, I was up and running in less than 2 minutes (clocked). I just did all the unplugging, the plugging, the re-starting, and POOF all set and done --not a single problem.
This is the BEST value I've seen in a while. For less that $30 (after mail-in rebates), this is a gift, so to speak.
The configuration interface is superb. The control the advanced user has over this router is tremendous. The security is rather strong and complete (even more so with the firmware update). I transferred a 150Mb test file from one computer in my network to another in less than 15 seconds! In case you don't know, those 100Mbps that they so much advertise are "theoretical" or "lab" transfer rates and are very seldomly achieved in real-world situations. So, for this under $30 router to achieve performace comparable to pro-grade equipment is outstanding. I definitelly recommend this unit to anyone novice or expert.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Simple, Easy to use and Reliable
Review: When I bought this router I was slightly worried from some of the reviews saying it had problems maintaining a wireless connection. In the two months that I have had the router, I have had no dropped connections whatsoever (from a DELL Inspiron 8200 with WinXP Pro and a miniPCI internal 802.11b card).

The router is easy and quick to setup. It took me about 5 minutes before everything was working. I currently use it to share a Dial-Up connection (ugh) with my laptop.

I cannot say how well its WAN connection works as I do not use it for routing a high-speed connection. But for networking my PCs both via wires and via airwaves it works excellently.

I recommend this router to anyone who wants to start a new wireless network, or someone switching from a cable based network. Due to its ease of use, I think that this product is a good choice for someone who has limited computer/network experience. But don't let its simple interface fool you: it has allot of power and settings just begging to be tweaked with ;)

All in all, I think this is an excellent product for its price. I am sure there are better routers out there, but for home use, it's hard to beat this deal. Highly Recommended.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Netgear MR814 - Simple Straight Forward = Nice
Review: I purchased this based on reviews and the lure of a nice price... The install on this piece of hardware was a breeze and I was up and running in minutes. I would highly recommend this router.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Works great!
Review: A great product you can get up and running in just a few minutes! The instructions and CD are well written and the unit works very well throughout a two-story house. By the way, I noticed that you can get quite a bit of additional range by placing the unit on a foot-square piece of ordinary aluminum foil. (Forms a ground plane for the antenna, I guess.) This product deserves five stars for sure.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great little router
Review: To supplement the reviews, let me describe two networks that I setup and have running with two of these great routers. At my parents', I have a router setup in the basement and get great signal on the floor above on a PowerMac running OS9 with a Belkin USB/802.11b adapter. At my apartment, the router serves an iBook (OS 10.3/Airport), PowerMac G4 (OS9/10.3/Belkin USB-802.11 adapter), Dell PIII (Windows Me, Intel USB adapter), and another Dell PIII (Windows XP, Siemens Speedstream adapter).

Both of these networks are sharing Comcast cable modem service. The router has worked flawlessly at the apt. After 3-4 months of up-time, I sometimes have to reset the router at my parents' to reestablish Internet connection (have not had time to investigate this- could be Comcast or the router; only have done it twice).

Setup/administration is extremely easy through the web interface. If you know what you're doing you can have it setup in less than 5 minutes. WEP and MAC access control lists for security are pretty much all you can ask for in these types of routers; the MR814 offers these and makes it extremely easy to setup. I highly recommend this router.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Easy installation and great reception
Review: This product is easy to install. It only take me 15 mins to set up my wireless workstation and connect it to my LAN. The range is also superb.


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