Rating: 
Summary: Easy, Effective and Moderately Priced
Review: I really like this router. The directions are easy to follow and I had no trouble setting up a wireless network among my three home PCs, two of which are laptops. The signal is strong enough to travel through thick plaster walls and down a long hallway, and the Linksys comes with a built-in firewall to protect my network from unauthorized access. Overall, a nifty device at a good price.
Rating:
Summary: So far, so good...
Review: I just purchased this Linksys BEFW11S4 wireless router after dealing with a failing D-Link wireless access point for three days. Setup instuctions were clear and concise. I used the web-based setup interface, and had everything up and running in less than 15 minutes. My knowledge of wireless networks is limited, but I was able to tweak the more advanced settings after reading the user guide from Linksys' website. I definitely recommend enabling "Block Anonymous Internet Requests" on the Security page of the setup interface. Also, users should test the security of their setup using Gibson Research Corp.'s excellent website at www.grc.com . If you're looking for a wireless router from a major manufacturer that will work right out of the box, this one should be at the top of your list.
Rating: 
Summary: BEFW11S4 Range
Review: I got two of those routers one in a California home and one in France (wooden and brick houses respectively, no concrete)
I use them exclusively indoor and in both cases the maximum range is about 30 feet!!! Beyond that there is no signal.
I then added a Linksys booster to the one in France, with no change whatsoever in range.
I emailed twice to customer service at Linksys without getting an answer nor an aknowledgement not to mention an explanation.
I do not know of the other brands of wireless routers but this one is poor range wise.
Rating:
Summary: Smooth as Silk!!!!
Review: This product almost installed itself! Out of the box, a couple of simple connections, power it up, and voila! Clear, concise instructions, great on-line support for firmware upgrades.... I'm impressed. Thanks also to Amazon for the rapid shipping.
Rating:
Summary: What Happened?!?
Review: I have had V.2 of this product for nearly a year, if not longer; setup was relatively easy and it had worked fabulously, in conjunction with the Linksys Notebook Card. A few weeks ago, however, the connection to the notebook card died. I thought to myself that it was the notebook card and I needed a new system anyway so I purchased a desktop with an internal (MSoft) wireless adapter. I thought I was being smart; oh how wrong I was! Now the internal adapter senses the network, but the signal strength is so low that it cannot sign on for more than a few seconds, if at all. After repeated calls to the terribly unhelpful "technical support" (who seemed convinced that the problem was everything BUT the router - very suspicious - and who sent me firmware that refuses to install) and a sore neck from long hold times (at least 45mins. at 12AM-3AM EST!) I am convinced that this router is a lost cause. Engineered obsolescense is understandable, but a year or less is ridiculous. I'm going to purchase a new, g-level model, but it won't be Linksys.
Rating:
Summary: Good for a short sprint but not for the long run
Review: I bought this Wireless router after doing quite a bit of research and getting good reviews from co-workers (even network guys) on it. I have owned it for almost 2.5 years now. I will break this down step by step: Installation:
Couldn't be easier. Had the whole thing setup with my Cable Modem and my desktop in less than 30 mins and was surfing the net. in an additional 30 mins or so had my wireless laptop going and didn't have a single problem. Switching from an Orinoco or a Cisco wireless card on the laptop was easy and no problems there either. Initial Usage:
It had problems. It would keep stopping and requiring a reset or a full power down/power up. I updated the firmware (keep on top of firmware updates) and this problem went away. Updating the firmware is very very easy. Performance:
I will review only the wireless part this. For internet browsing and basic stuff, it performs great. No complaints here. It was a little slow on some of the more heavier network utilizing applications but its wireless you can't expect the speed of a Lan line. Range:
I didn't have problems with ranges in my townhouse. It worked everywhere without any degradation. When I moved to a two story colonial, I started to see some range problems. It would work fine on the floor where the router was. On the ground floor however it would move from excellent/good to fair frequently. Sometimes just turning the laptop a certain way would do miracles. I never had a complete dropoff though. Never did try the basement :-) Features:
I couldn't have asked for a more easy to configure and more featured router for my usage. Supported all the protocols (IPSEC/PPOE) for me to VPN to work. Had nice control over ports and traffic. The control of DHCP and static IP addresses was nice too. Didn't use much of the other features. Now with all that said here comes the BAD part: about a month ago, the wireless part stopped working. I was surprised at first. I checked the router. Lan activity Lights were on but not the wlan activity lights. I hit the reset button no go. Checked my desktop.. the lan connection was fine. Did a full power down and power up. Still nothing. Checked the website for firmware updates (in case I missed one that fixes something).. nope I had the latest firmware. This was on a friday so I just let it be. Saturday.. still no luck. After going nutz on Sat, I finally emailed Customer Support on Sunday. They responded fairly quickly (within hours) and after a couple and back and forth emails.. the response: "This can happen if you are under warranty we can replace it" Well the warranty is a bleak 1 year and I had had this router for 2 years...soo.. bottom line.. I am getting a new router and probably not going with Linksys again. A response of "This can happen" is not acceptable to me.
Rating: 
Summary: Just Returned It Today
Review: This was my first wireless networking experience, using this router and a Linksys USB Wireless Adapter. At first, it worked great out of the box and I was even amazed at how simple it was to install, but then the next day the router kept dropping the connection to one of my PCs. Had to uninstall/reinstall everything and it still wouldn't work. Then all of a sudden it work work again, then stop a few hours later. It got to the point where I had had enough with the same inconsistency and unreliability that you'll read in some of these other reviews. At this point, I just don't think that any other company (Netgear or D-link, etc...) would be any more reliable. I don't think that WiFi is reliable, period. The product reviews by CNET, PCWORLD, PCMAG are never accurate for networking products because they are not tested over the long term (ie, 1-6-months, year) when they usually break or stop functioning. No one should have to buy new networking routers/adapters every 3-6 months or even a year, not at this price. Hardware like this should last at least 3-5 years, but it just isn't the case with so many of these WiFi networking products. Seems like people go through these things like they go through toner cartridges. This should not be!
Rating: 
Summary: Update the Firmware
Review: I spent hours struggling with the router trying to get it to work. Finally I went to the Linksys website and discovered that I did not have the latest firmware. I updated the firmware and it now works great. I am still waiting for a response to my email from Linksys technical support regarding this problem. A prompt response could have saved me hours of frustration.
Rating:
Summary: The Wrong Way to Go
Review: I would never buy another Linksys product again in my life. They have the worst costmer service and the 2 people i talked to had no idea what they where doing so they just hung up on me. Linksys is a company that will some day fail because of its bad service
Rating:
Summary: Customer service? What's that?
Review: I've had my linksys for a year now and have been relatively happy with it until recently. In the last month I can barely walk 15 feet away from my router without losing my signal. I called linksys for customer support only to spend an hour on hold, thirty minutes with a technician and to get disconnected by the technician. Following being disconnected by a technician I spent an additional four hours on hold trying to get in touch with linksys. I finally reached a human (Sheila) to find that linksys has 200 calls in the que at any time. Sheila spent fifteen minutes with me on the phone, did not fix my problem but still tried to get me off the phone claiming calls taking as long as mine is why customers have to wait so long. Sheila wanted to give me a list of MTU numbers to try on my own. I insisted on getting my technical issues resolved before hanging up the phone. Fifteen more minutes on the phone, and they may or may not be resolved. I should have an email waiting for me with updates that may fix my problems. The technician seemed more concerned with getting me off the phone than helping me fix my problem. If they are not fixed I will not call linksys back. I will not purchase another linksys system. I will seek out a new wireless router. As a busy mother of two I do not have four hours to give to linksys as a penalty for owning their product.
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