Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless-B Cable/DSL Router

Rating:
Summary: Hit or Miss
Review: I got this router (v. 4) free with Verizon DSL. In the first few days of owning it have had multiple problems with dropped connections, just like many others have had.

The problem seems to come down to two things: buggy WEP and buggy DHCP. My tenant has a D-link wireless card and WEP was crappy for him, though it worked fine for me (Orinoco Mini PCI). DHCP has been problematic for both of us. It'll work fine for a day or so and then inexplicably crap out--I finally added an alternate manual config and am thinking about just switching to static IPs. It may coincide with the DSL modem dropping the PPPoE connection and getting a new IP, but I'm not sure. Various resets fix it, but it's annoying to have to do it almost daily.

I have done a bit of research on the net trying to fix these problems, and so far haven't turned up much--except *hundreds* of similar complaints. The troubleshooting section in the manual is skimpy ("Is your router plugged in and powered on?" - Duh!), as is Linksys's online knowledgebase.

Bottom line: spend your money elsewhere. You might get a non-lemon, but is it worth the gamble?

Rating:
Summary: The worst money can buy....
Review: I have this linksys router and it really crashes once a weak... So, I thought: "let's get the latest firmware from the web". On the European Linksys download site I found the upgrade (I live in Portugal-Europe). Now it takes about 6 hours to crash, much quicker. And now I can only access to it in the next day... maybe about 6 to 10 hours crashed, anyone can send me the old European firmware. Notice that even if I reset the router it doesn't give me access to the setup... because it doesn't give an IP to the computer... With the manual IP configured on the PC and the DCHP server off I still can't access, even to the setup, until next day...
In either case, if I don't reset, in the next day it works perfectly for about the same time.
I've read the forums around the web and I really think Linksys should worry... I got so demoralized that I'm considering seriously throwing it in the garbage and buying a new one, away from CISCO systems. All I could read is that their support is rubbish and that owners with the same problem on this equipment have spent their time and money on the phone for many hours and never got the problem solved. Shall I do the same... maybe I get lucky... maybe not...

What I want to declare is: purchase something else... if you're not damned already.

Rating:
Summary: This router is complete garbage!
Review: I have owned this router for two months and it has crashed at least twice per week. Each time I have to reset the entire system and start from scratch. Linksys support has failed to identify or correct the problem after months of trying, yet they won't send me a different router. This is the second time I have written this review because it crashed in the middle of the first one!!! Read all of the reviews; I'm not the only one! Buy something else!

Rating:
Summary: Great Router - Easy Install
Review: I have no idea why others are slamming the BEFW11S4, I have 2 desktops and an X-Box running through mine and everythng works great. Soon going to add a Gamecube to the network. I brought it home and hooked everything up and it was running fine out of the box. Sure there were some settings I had to change in the configuration, BIG DEAL. It took 2 minutes out of my life to set it up. This router is running flawlessly. This was definately a good buy.

Rating:
Summary: Decent But Buggy Router
Review: This is the 2nd Linksys router my family has used over the years. This router does work well out of the box and supports wireless, which works pretty much out of the box as well. However, I have to take 2 stars off for lack of stability, ESPECIALLY with recent firmware upgrades. With the last 2 upgrades, this router has been prone to locking up randomly at least 2-3 times a week. I have yet to find a solution presented by Linksys for the lock-ups.