Rating: 
Summary: FM114p BURNED out on me early this morning
Review: My Netgear FM114P wireless Accesspoint/Print Server has been working really well for several months. Maybe 6 or so months. I went with this product because I like Netgear from the Baynetwork days. As a company Netgear used to be excellent... especially with support, can you believe that?Last night I heard my printer on the print server reset, I noticed that I lost connection to my router, and then I noticed something horrible. I could smell electrical burn. I immediately unplugged the router. Hoping for the best I let it cool for about 1/2 hour. Then I plugged it back in and started gently spraying air into it. I wanted to try and get a backup of the config. Unfortunately it was dead. The link lights would show, but the port was not pingable. Then it would power down. The only solace I have is that I do have a backup config that I believe is the same as the "current." I don't know what caused this. It was plugged into a surge protector, the same as my Cisco 2912 switch that's got an uptime of more that 365 days. It's a lot like the LED lights issues that others have written about. I will replace the FM114p with another FM114p, but I will tell you that my view of Netgear has taken yet another blow. I will not confidently recommend Netgear the way I used to. I miss Baynetworks. Given that...
The FM114p kicks butt for a SOHO AP/Router. I've used Cisco Aironet and I'll tell you THAT kicks but but it's also 5 times more expensive. But the Aironet software cannot be matched and the hardware is equally impressive. I guess I need to disclose that I am biased cause I'm have Cisco Specialization Certification for Wireless. That means that I'm indoctrinated to be pro Cisco. Even so, I think that the FM114p stacks up pretty well. But back to the Netgear FM114P! For SOHO and price it kicks butt. I immediately eliminate other SOHO APs like Linksys because their software limits you to class A subnets... Why? I dunno. Stupid. Ok. Performance on the FM114P was noticeably better than the MR314 that I was previously using. Either of these are way better than any D-link or Linksys (which I expressly dislike even though someone told me they're a Cisco OEM) type AP I've installed. In short. Very happy with performance. I never actually measured it, but noticeable difference usually means VERY significant difference. The FM114p is noticeably faster than APs I've implemented from the aforementioned companies as well as other's I don't really care to mention either. Wireless is actually very deceiving to measure for throughput, but others mark it near 5.8Mbs. That's pretty decent. Software is decent too. The beta version 1.4 firmware will allow non broadcast of SSID. Router rules are easy but relatively extensive. Overall very functional. Port based IP forwarding and the whole thing. IM, P2P and all games i've tried work well with the Router without poking more holes or making special rulesets in the router. Uh... I haven't tried any h.323 which I would presume would fail because of PAT anyway. Can't get around that unless you specify a ruleset I would guess. For people who are concerned about ease of use, pls do not read my reviews (uh too late?). Unless the particular unit is very weird, I value performance and features way above ease of use. The FM114p probably is NOT the easiest AP/Router to configure if you're not familiar with basic routing, WIFI, and how basic content groups and access lists work. But it is relatively simple and self explanatory. Because it's got more features and functions, it's probably not as easy as other SOHO products. But all SOHO AP/Routers are relatively easy. Almost all APs are web based configuration anyway. Stay away from USB configured devices! There's a help column in the web based configuration window. Besides, if you don't know what you're doing, I wouldn't recommend installing WIFI anyway. Too many systems don't implement WEP or implement it poorly, use default or easy guess passwords, and are not maintained.... same ol wep key for years... AND NO LOGGING or NOTIFICATION!! Oh yeah, the FM114p does logging and notification. Most of those other SOHO AP/Routers don't. Overall the FM114p got rave reviews from Tom's Hardware Guide, CNET and several others. I believe it's a great product too, just don't know about why it burned. BTW, Netgear DOES NOT have print server drivers available for download, only firmware. Like I said, gone are the Baynetwork days, when I could write to them for Linux drivers, and they'd email me Beta drivers the next day.
Rating:
Summary: Little difficult getting going but now its fine
Review: I ordered this product pretty much based on the review on Amazon.
I was able to get it up and running in very few minutes, but
I couldn't get the printserver to work. I called tech support who told me to send it back.
But I remembered the firmware upgrade I read about
and upgraded the firmware and disabled and re-enabled the printserver (we will never know which was the magic). Voila-works like a charm, I am going to hold onto the RMA for 2 or 3 days and make sure
it keeps working.
Rating:
Summary: Router failed but good customer support
Review: I bought this router August/September 2002 (I forgot the exact date) and I loved the router. Easy installation, reliable, good features. However, 11 months later the router failed. The TEST LED was on and all of the ethernet ports were not working. I called tech support and after 10 minutes of waiting on the phone the technician diagnosed the problem and after 3 minutes of debugging the device he determined that I needed a replacement router. I should be getting the replacement router in a day or two. I'm not happy that the router failed, but the technician was helpful on the phone and did not hesitate to send a replacement router to me. I would recommend NetGear because of their customer support and product features.
Rating:
Summary: Great product using the suerior 802.11A standard!
Review: Good: TURBO! Very good through-put. Nice interface. 4-port router for wired network! Solid construction! Does NOT drop signals! Not as good: Through-put falls offs and gets stronger at odd ranges with laptop. Rollercoaster signal strengths. Pricey (but there are good deals out there if you look for them!) The reason I went with this product isn't just b/c the Linsys WRT55AG [was bad] ... rather, it is because I wanted a wireless router that:
(i) would not have to be rebooted every 5 minutes (thanks for nothing Linksys)
(ii) would operated in the (uncrowded) 5GHz band
(iii) would have a limited range (no need for the whole neighborhood to to be on my network, so I avoid the 11B standard)
AND
(vi) I wanted some healthy through-put (which Netgear delivers at 72Mbps!) I got all this in the Netgear HR314 wireless router! Took me about 15 minutes out of the box to get it up & running. It resides in my basement and my PC on the second floor gets very good reception. However, I don't understand why my signal strength vacilates from low to very good....it's not like the PC or the router are moving. Overall I am very pleased with the performance of this router and highly recommend it as a home (or even business) solution. I think the 802.11A standard is the best and we should support it. Unlike Linksys, Netgear has yet to let me down, and this product reinforces their commitment to reliable solutions.
Rating: 
Summary: Netgear warranty procedures
Review: My FM114P failed after 8 months of operation. Netgear makes it very difficult to get a RMA for a warranty repair. The links to warranty service are not clearly indicated at netgear.com. To get an RMA you need to talk to a technician. The wait for a techician is 30 minutes or more.
Rating:
Summary: Happy I Switched From Linksys
Review: I had so much trouble with my Linksys BEFSR41 and WAP11 that I decided to try another vendor. After several months, even though there have been some frustrations, I am glad I made the switch. Printer drivers are a little tricky to reinstall. Tech support, while sometimes frustrating because they are from India, has been acceptable.
Rating: 
Summary: Hands down, best box around
Review: I have this product already, and setting up my second network with the same deal. Set up on the first one took a while, but I figured it out with the online documentation. I used to be a LAN Administrator so I know my way around a bit. Only product that I have found that has hard wire, wireless and print server all in one. The only problem I have is the range - I can't go as far as I had hoped on the wireless, I have to stay near the router. I would definitely recommend this product.
Rating:
Summary: Great Product w/Reasonable Price
Review: Easy to install and get it up and running!
The first time I had trouble to bring up my
2nd and 3rd PC. But I realized it was my mistake
not following the instruction closely. Second
time was a chime!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent product!
Review: I have had this wireless router for approximately nine months and have been nothing but pleased. I had to make a couple calls to technical support and had to download the upgrade, which is free, but for the past six months everything has been working perfectly. I get excellent reception on my laptop using a Netgear wireless card throughout our 2400 square foot house and the connection is perfectly stable. I never have to reset it or anything. I would buy this router again in a second.
Rating: 
Summary: Device should be recalled
Review: Don't buy this device. Neither firmware version 1.3 (Release 05) or the 1.4 (beta release 22) will work for any length of time. Yes you can call support (nice guys 4 stars) and tweak it by hard coding IPs, etc and make it work for a few hours but eventually it WILL go out to lunch. The first one I purchased was returned because the print server failed to function. The replacement, DHCP failed to work for any wired connection. I waisted hours myself and on the phone with support. Not to mention... The MA401 REDHAT 7.2 driver download contains no binaries and although the make worked the device was never recognized. Netgear wanted me to pay them $...to debug and fix the Redhat driver problem. Ya right! Hope this saves just one person time.
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