Cisco-Linksys WPC54G Wireless-G Notebook Adapter
by Linksys
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List Price: Our Price: $9.95 You Save: $48.04 (83%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $7.50 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Cisco-Linksys WPC54G Wireless-G Notebook Adapter
Customer Review: Had one previously, this recent version occasionally hangs my router.
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this to replace my original Linksys WPC54G adapter that gave up the ghost. I thought it would be just a simple matter of taking the old WPC54G card out of the PCMCIA slot and slapping this one in... not so.
Original card was version 1.3, this one is version 3.2 and the newer driver has to be used, I found that a complete uninstall of the old card and Linksys monitor software & driver needed to be done and a "ground up" install of the new card performed to get it properly installed.
For reasons yet unknown, occasionally after booting up, my wireless connection does not connect with my Linksys WRT54G wireless router, which is a version 2.1, upgraded to the latest firmware v41.1.
Error message is " Cannot associate with the access point". Whenever this happens, I discovered that other PC's (laptop & desktop) in the household with Linksys wireless adapters also would not connect with the router on boot up or if they were up while my laptop booted up, their connections would drop.
Long story short, after sloughing through the Linksys support web page and not finding an answer, I decided to try a power off/on reset of the WRT54G wireless router. All adapter cards were then able to establish an association with the router and access the internet.
Each time that this has happened, the fix has been to reset the WRT54G router, and it looks like it intermittently gets hung when the newer version WPC54G tries to connect.
No other firmware updates are available for the version of the WRT54G wireless router that I have, and I'm contemplating replacing it with a newer version, but as long as the old one works after doing the reset, we'll see how things go... but it's an annoyance I'd rather not have.
Oh, and I'm running windows XP Professional SP2 and I have not found any XP fixes on the MS Update web page that matches this problem.
Bottom line, the adapter works fine whenever it connects, but I occasionally still need to reset the router.
Customer Review: Intermittent disconnection
Summary: 3 Stars
I will echo some of the positive things people have written about this product. I bought both the Wireless-G adapter and the Wireless-G router (v 1.1) from Linksys. I have used Linksys in the past and been quite happy with their stuff. In this situation I was pleased as i could be with the setup. I read the instructions mostly so that I would know what order to proceed in and i would say I was surfing wirelessly with no noticable loss of speed in about 10 minutes.I can walk around my small NYC apartment with an "excellent" signal. Of course I'd expect that because there is no more than one wall between the AP and the laptop in any given poin in the apt.
That is where the good news ends. The bad news has two flavors,
1) the card gets extremely hot. I'm talking about too hot to touch and I'd guess it is up around 130-140 degrees F sometimes. It will heat up the entire left side of my laptop.
2) it disconnects sometimes. I wish i could find SOME pattern but it just seems to disconnect completely at random. it will disconnect when I am right on top of the router. Sometimes it will just come back on its own and sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't I'll reboot, sometimes that works, sometimes not. I have checked some of the more obvious things one can find online regarding this issue and have found no real help. The driver and firmware are both up to date.
Aside from those two things i was a little bit troubled that the default configuration, even if you're all Linksys, is VERY vulnerable to attack. In fact, the default configuration has security that reminds me of what Microsoft thought security was when they were turning out Win 3.11. Suffice to say you'll be spending some time configuring your network if you don't want to be sharing it with everyone in the building.
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Update
I did eventually figure out that 2.4Ghz phones will interfere with the signal that this wireless router uses. If you have a 2.4Ghz phone or anyone in an apt near you does then that could be your problem.
Customer Review: Excellent wireless notebook adapter
Summary: 5 Stars
The Linksys WPC54G notebook adapter is a treat. Mated to the Linksys WRT54G wireless router, G-speeds of 54MB/sec are possible. I found signal strength to be excellent throughout my house which spans 2 floors and 2,000 square feet.The adapter itself is quite small and unobtrusive. It requires a PCMCIA port on your laptop, and very little else. Using the zero network configuration feature of Windows XP, I was able to connect and surf in a matter of 10 minutes. If you have a different Windows Operating System, I suspect that you will have to spend a bit more time installing drivers and adjusting configuration settings, but there is no reason for the whole setup to be complex. As always with Linksys products, I recommend throwing away the installation CD that comes with the product. The automated installation does nothing that can't be accomplished even by the novice. Furthermore, you don't get all the networking software installed by default which will, in many cases, cause your perfectly working network to cease functioning.
My Gateway notebook gets quite hot near the processor area, but this heat is NOT transmitted to the Wireless adapter. The card itself cannot heat up becuase there is nothing inside it that causes heat dissipation. Rather the heat referred to in other reviews here may be because the card is conducting heat from the processor core.
The adapter is physically pleasing with a neutral grey antenna patch and the blue Linksys logo clearly visible. Two LEDs show power and link status, but are largely unnecessary.
In Wireless-G mode, this card has greatly enhanced my wireless surfing experience. Pages load with a snap, and games exhibit no lag whatsoever. Furthermore, my wireless-b hardware seems to be positively affected as well. Connections are more stable and signal strength has improved.
I fully recommend this product, especially if your infrastructure already uses Linksys components. Smooth installation, powerful feature set, and perfect pricing, makes this a piece of hardware not to miss!
Customer Review: Doesn't work on my HP ZE4145 Either
Summary: 3 Stars
I was running the linksys A+B card (which worked fine but had terrible reception...could barely go to the next room without getting "poor" reception). I then decided to try out the wireless G system, So I bought a wireless G router...which I wasn't going to hook up until i could see the reception of my G-card on the A+B Router. It worked really really well...From the same room I wanted to use it in, I went from "below average" reception to "very good." I was impressed...then after I restarted my machine about ten minutes later, I had the same exact problem that another reviewer noted with his HP ZE4125 (which is the same machine with less ram--i think). Basically, when the card is inserted, the system hangs up (100% of the processor is used so you can't do anything). As soon as you disconnect the card, bingo...your system is back and runnning...but without your network capabilities (unless you have a wired lan). It really bummed me out because I am in the Caribbean, and I can't exactly go to the nearest bestbuy and get a replacement.I decided to give the linksys 3 stars, even though It's not working because a customer service rep is trying to be as helpful as he can. Plus, I did see the card in action for about ten minutes...and it worked really well. I'm not sure if this is just an HP laptop issue...I'm going to try it on my dad's laptop tomorrow. Bottom line: If you live in the US...get this card (if you don't have an HP) and try it out. stick with the tried and true "b" cards...they're slower, but they've been around for years now...and all the bugs are worked out.
I will post an addendum to this review as soon as I resolve it with Linksys. BTW...the linksys G router works really well...My fixed wireless internet connection (we don't have cable or dsl here) detects it!...and my desktops were all connected without a hitch.
Customer Review: Ideal solution, completely unproblematic
Summary: 5 Stars
With the internal wirelss card that came in my laptop, I had all of the problems cited in other reviews here - heat, dropouts, weak signal, incompatabilities with Norton, etc. Worse, my laptop would routinely connect to my neighbor's wireless LAN (which was secure and so unuseable) but not mind. Then I got the WPC54G, and all of those problems are gone.I now have *two* of these cards running, one in my laptop and one in my wife's. Each took less than ten minutes from opening the box to complete service. Neither of us has ever had a dropout, the signal remains very good to excellent at all times, and we have no laptop heat problems.
In fact, this external card runs *cooler* than the internal card, which would keep the laptop fan going to loudly and so strongly that we couldn't hear the TV. Now I can actually operate wirelessly in the den without annoying my wife. :)
In reading other reviews here, recognize that many of the problems are *not* due to this laptop adapter. Yes, you may experience some problems under Windows 98. But if you're using a laptop running a six-year-old operating system, you have bigger problems than wireless trouble, and will save yourself plenty of hassles (and time and insecurities) by upgrading to Win2K or XP. Yes, you may have trouble connecting to Netgear's router, but that's because Linksys' router is far superior; get the right router, rather than dissing on this adapter. And yes, if you're unable to distinguish WEP from DNS, you may not be capable of receiving good technical support.
I, for one, have nothing but glowing praise for this card, the linksys "g" router, and linksys tech support. Anyone with a contrary experience may well be misattributing to the WPC54G problems that have nothing to do with it.