Rating: 
Summary: Don't Even Consider This Product
Review: Weak system. Set up on WIn XP machine and was terrible. Signal was weak no matter what we did. Set up the entire system in one room, shut down all wireless phones, cell phones and anything with an on/off switch. No go. No police stations, fire stations etc nearby. Eliminated all possibilities. Sent back for Netgear b system. Works great. Microsoft should stick to their monopoly areas.
Rating: 
Summary: Idiot Proof
Review: This is the most simple hardware device you'll ever install. Just read and follow the instructions and you'll be wireless in minutes. I will recommend this wireless router and related adaptors to everyone that asks.WARNING - D-Link is complicated, the instructions are limited, and customer support is a group of barely-english speaking techs that simply repeat your problem to you and send you an email acknowledging your problem, yet provide no solution. Next time you have a horrible taste in you mouth or a bad headache, think D-Link!!
Rating:
Summary: hate microsoft, but love this router
Review: This was my second attempt to attach a wireless router to our hardwired network at home. I am not a tech geek, but have worked on my own pc's since the days of IBM XT/dos. The last router I tried (linksys) was a headache to install. It took a weekend to get the settings right, etc. This one is simple. Really, really simple. Which was a good thing since there was no phone number for tech support to be found anywhere in the documentation or on-line (my one complaint). I put in the cd, followed the instructions from the booklet for adding on to an existing network - and it worked. I cannot emphasize how fast and easy the process was. The router's range spans our large 2 story home, with very few dead spots. The installation booklet is very well written and actually explains what the acronyms mean. Don't know what the heck DHCP is? The booklet explains what it means, what it does, and why it might effect you. Then it explains how to change the settings, step by step. I paid $$$ last time for a separate book which didn't explain it nearly as well. This is a terrific product.
Rating: 
Summary: Mostly great, but...
Review: Generally, it works great! Starts up quickly, easy to set up (including WEP security), good range, hums along reliably. My only complaint is that it seems to broadcast the SSID by default, and I can't find a way to turn it off. I'd prefer if my neighbors couldn't see my network so easily. I live in an apartment, so this is a serious concern for me. Hopefully a firmware upgrade will add this feature.
Rating: 
Summary: setup by a novice
Review: Setting up the router with a cable connection and a desktop running windows 98(second edition) worked flawlessly. Setting up the rounter wirelessly with an IBM laptop(Pentium M) running windows XP was tricky. (Problem was that the laptop found another network. Tech support said I was picking up a neighbor's network. I told them they were crazy. I live on an acre out in the country.) What worked for me was reinstalling the cisco chip on the motherboard and NOT installing any of the router software on the laptop. Instead I just clicked on network neighborhood and it found the network. I have a connection with comcast. During the transition from AT&T, the internet connection to the laptop wouldn't stay. I called Microsoft and IBM tech support and no one had the answer. I found the answer to this problem on Microsoft's website. The trick was to tell the router software to look for a new ISP every 2 weeks instead of every 2 hours. By the way, this was my first attempt of networking anything!!! So if I can do it.......anyone can. I love being wireless with a laptop. We live in a 2000 sq. ft. ranch style house. The connection is great from one end of the house to the other going through a livingroom and kitchen with possible electrical interference. It even works in the screened porch with a metal roof. AWESOME
Rating:
Summary: Gotta hand it to them...
Review: Not being a huge Microsoft fan, it's hard to argue with them, it's hard to argue when they do it right. Like everyone else, I installed the software following the directions completely and of course the Internet didn't come up. I called the toll-free #, a woman took my info, created a profile, told me how long I'd have to wait (she was right on-about 20-25 mins.) The technician tried many things and finally we found the problem (it wasn't automatically assigning IP address and DNS server). Voila. Rep was very professional, no attitude, and knew where to go. This beats a disaster experience I had with a Linksys router-my last one. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em they say. Good for Microsoft. The router works incredibly fast. I'm quite pleased.
Rating:
Summary: Highly reccomended!!!!
Review: It's 7 pm; I need to get my homework done and research online, my dad needs to check his stocks and work on things, and my mom needs to get a recipe and ask her friend for advice. You can't just barge onto the computer, that would be rude and may not even work. So what do you do? Well if you have another computer with an ethernet port, all you need to do is pick up a broadband router. I faced a similar situation to the one above not too long ago, and went on a long search for the perfect router. I eventually came down to this one, by Microsoft. I bought it thinking since it is a Microsoft product, it's gotta be good! Boy was I wrong... IT WAS FANTASTIC!!!! (I also read up a lot on it too). FYI, you also need a USB wireless adapter for every computer/device you wish to hook up to your network, I bought that too. Installation was easy as cake, although I ran into a small problem but it turned out to be nothing big at all. I fret a bit and then called up Microsoft Tech Support and was blown away by how nice they were and how helpful they were too! Extremely patient people who knew what they were talking about, and it only took literally a second to fix my problem! I highly reccomend this product! Works 100% well, never failed, fast, easy to set up, great support!
Rating:
Summary: Worth every penny!
Review: Let me give you a little background about myself and the situation: I'm a network person. I don't really see eye-to-eye with Microsoft very often, either. I read up a lot on technology; I'm the "computer guy" at work, and the "computer guy" at school. I'm also the "computer guy" at home. We have four computers in my house. My parents have a computer that they always want to work, my brother always wants to try the latest and greatest stuff on his laptop in the apartment (he's 23), and my sister just wants to click on the AIM icon and chat with her friends. And of course I want to use my laptop without restriction. Here's the gimmick: since I'm away at school most of the year, I have to make sure things are running fine when I leave. My project this summer was to give my brother (and myself) wireless access while letting my sister and parents continue to use their wired computers. We already had a nice spot in the house where we had a hub that would be perfect for a router. First we tried a Linksys. I really thought that it would just be plug and play, but instead it was "plug, play, and then stop working after about a day". I knew that my parents wouldn't want to reset the router every day, so the linksys went back to the store. Then, we tried a Netgear (the 814). We use Netgear switches at work, and they always seemed robust. It was easier to set up, but this had similar problems, it would stop working after about a few days. The wireless connection was also very poor only about 15 feet away. I was really disappointed since I've always trusted their products in the past. Being a network guy, I did some testing and tried to find out why these routers were failing. Turns out that they were getting "overloaded" with my brother and sister using several downloading programs at once so much that it was killing the units. I thought this was totally unacceptable that a router could get killed with some traffic. So as a last-ditch effort I bit the bullet and bought the MN-500. I knew it was Microsoft right away since it came with a setup CD, two manuals (a "quick start" and a "manual"), and a floppy disk to save your settings. I resisted the urge to just plug it in and mess around for a few hours (like the Mr. Know-it-all that I can be) so I popped in the CD. Microsoft write a nice tool that really simplifies setting up the router (don't need to touch the web interface). Once you set up the router you just bring the CD and floppy to each computer you want to set up and it sets the settings and adds a nice status tool on each computer. (Just as a note these tools aren't necessary if you don't want them on your computer or if you have a Mac or Linux or something else). My brother loves the fact that he can open his ports right from the control panel for games, and my parents like the little tool it puts next to the clock to let them know the router is working. Lastly, the router seems to handle the heavy traffic we put on the router. We've been running straight for about two weeks now. I'm a network guy and know my stuff, but to be honest I think that if you can read the instructions on the setup CD and the little quick start poster they give you, no one should have problems with this router. I really believe that I won't be getting any phone calls from my family while I'm away at school this year.
Rating:
Summary: Great tech support
Review: Great tech support. They help us with 2 problems, it took more then 2 hours but they did it.
(it had nothing to with there product, it was are PCs )
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding wireless router for mixed network
Review: I have a mixed network, a Mac G4, Dell Dimension 8250, homemade, Compaq Armada M700 w/ 3Com wireless card, and NEC SuperScript 1450N printer. After trying a number of other wireless routers, which I was not able to connect to w/ the Armada and 3Com wirelss card, I installed the Microsoft router and after changing the default IP address from 192.168.2.1 to 192.168.1.1 everything worked flawlessly. It was necessary to change the default IP since the NEC printer had a fixed IP.
Was really surprised, since I have a Mac on my network, but thanks Bill and Steve for an excellent product.
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