Cisco-Linksys WRT54G2 Wireless-G Broadband Router
by Linksys
|
List Price: Our Price: $55.85 You Save: $11.14 (17%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $15.99 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Cisco-Linksys WRT54G2 Wireless-G Broadband Router
Customer Review: Uber Easy!
Summary: 4 Stars
First, I have to say that I have never been moved by any one product enough to sit and take the time to review it but the truth is, in this case , I just can not resist. For some of you, those of you like me, it is helpful to note that I am NOT computer savvy AT ALL. I use my computer to email, surf the web, shop and update my blog- other than that I am pretty clueless. I recently bought a used Mac to edit and make home videos and wanted to go wireless. The router that I purchased needed to be easy to set up, have a good range, work with my Mac/PC/Wii and most importantly be with in my budget. After doing some research and reading the reviews I decided that the Linksys WRT54G2 was the best option for me, mostly because of the price AND I kept reading that it was uber easy to set up. I had planned on ordering the router from Amazon but while I was in Target today I saw it for only $5.00 more than the Amazon price and since I was pretty doubtful that I was going to be successful, the idea that I could return it locally seemed pretty appealing. I came home and anticipating a hassle (I really am a computer idiot) I waited to install it until after I put my kids down for a nap. When the time came I simply popped the start up disc in and followed the directions- five minutes later my PC and my Mac were both online. No problems. No tech calls. RIght now I am about 30 ft from the router and getting a full signal. As for getting kicked off- I have only been online for and hour or two so I have no problems with that. Since reading most of the reviews that included fancy computer lingo was like reading a foreign language, I really can not dispute anyone else's problems. I do know that for me this has been a great purchase. In fact after I installed it I called my husband to brag that I did it all on my own- he too was doubtful. I am rating it 4 stars only because I have not been online long enough to see if it boots me off- only time will tell.....Customer Review: Very Disappointed in Linksys
Summary: 2 Stars
I currently own a Linksys WRT54G wireless router, and it gives me no problems whatsoever. I bought this new WRT54G2 for my in-laws, and thought I would go through the exercise of installing it in my house to make sure it works, and to leanr more about it.
The software install script failed 3 times. On the third time it failed even though it successfully established internet connectivity for the router. This is with BellSouth (now AT&T) FastAccess DSL 6Mb with Motorola modem. This is very disappointing. How are people who are not familiar with wireless networking concepts going to use this product if it fails on such an easy install with such a popular provider?
I had much better luck resetting the modem and then not running the software install all, but instead using the IP 192.168.1.1 to manage the router manually. Had it working in 3 minutes that way.
Once it was up and going, the management was identical to the old WRT54G I have.
One test I do with routers is to connect wirelessly with my work laptop, establish a VPN connection, and then see how long it stays up. With my old WRT54G it will stay up for days...maybe forever. Unfortunately the WRT54G2 is not nearly as successful. With my laptop 5 feet away from the router, it has already dumped my VPN connection 3 times in the first hour. All it takes is a little blip in wireless connectivity and the VPN connection drops. People who don't VPN into work from home won't even know it's happening.
This router will be fine for my in-laws because I know what I'm doing when it comes to wireless networking so I'll be able to configure it, and they don't VPN anything. For those of you who are not very wireless networking literate, or rely on VPN from home to do your job, I would steer you clear of this router. Maybe a future firmware update will make it more stable, but for now its a frustration waiting to happen.
Customer Review: Great router once you get it set up
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this router to replace my WRT54G which died after 5 years of continuous use. Considering the performance of my previous Linksys, going w/ their product again was a simple decision. I stuck w/ wireless-G because there is little to no feedback suggesting wireless-n technology increases performance. Plus, I hoped I would have no trouble configuring my router sticking w/ a similar product.
I have AT&T's express DSL service w/ up to 1.5 Mbps downstream. I while my connection speed may not be blazing, I'm quite happy w/ the performance for my home use. I notice no drop in speed using my Linksys wireless vs. direct ethernet connection.
I was pleasantly surprised to find my signal range was slightly greater than my previous router. I only say this as I tend to get better signal quality at my laptop. I cannot offer any specs or "scientific proof," just my casual observation.
I notice a lot of people complain about setup. I spent around 2 1/2 hrs setting my network up, but it probably had more to do w/ my lack of computer savvy than the Linksys product. Initially, I followed along w/ the included CD setting up the router using my laptop (Windows based). My fatal error came when I decided to use WPA encryption - higher security, why not? Well, the CD warns that older computers (hence my laptop) may not be compatible w/ WPA. Had no problem connecting our iMac; the included instructions were easy to follow and worked beautifully. When I went to connect my laptop, trouble ensued and I really made a mess of things BFG'ing my way through fixing it. I finally configured for WEP encryption - the same I had w/ my previous router - and things are now copasetic.
Bottom line, I am very pleased w/ Linksys wireless-g routers. I probably would have had no setup problems if I had paid closer attention to the instructions. Either way, I highly recommend this product.
Customer Review: Experience was upsetting
Summary: 2 Stars
After one week, I started having problems with getting a message of No Internet access. At first I thought it was the modem. Called the phone company and learned the modem was working fine. I called Linksys tech support. Despite the language accent difference (one was from India, I'm Southern), the first guy tried to figure out how to fix it. We were on the phone for a little over 2 hours. He couldn't get it working correctly. Somehow, I was "accidentally" disconnected. I called back and spoke with another person (she sounded French). In about fifteen minutes, she had me back up.
The next day when I was ready to log in, same problem: my laptop showing No Internet Access. I could get it to work sometimes by unplugging modem and router then replugging. When I did call again, I reached another guy who really wanted to help (from India). We were on the phone for about 30 minutes. He had me doing the same thing as the first guy (the things that didn't work). At one point he told me to call the phone company again and get them to put my modem to full-bridge mode. I refused because I felt there was something wrong with the router and he was really going to mess everything up. He told me if I do this one thing and it didn't work, they would send a replacement router. He felt the router was defective, but wanted me to call the phone company to make them match something (possibly) with the router instead of the router working with the modem.
Long story short: I bought another router, it's working perfectly now. Had to send the defective modem back. I'm thankful to Amazon.com for having a policy that doesn't saddle you with a defective product. It's amazing all of the hours I lost trying to make something work that never had a chance. I wasn't happy to say the least. Now, I'm up and running (I still bought a Linksys because I became an expert on all the things you could change to make it work ;-).
Customer Review: I returned three units, then gave up
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought the WRT54G2 to replace a five year old WRT54G that was starting to have reliability problems. I don't have any "N" WiFi devices or gig ethernet cards, so I thought the base model would be just fine. The brand new WRT54G2 operated fine for about 24 hours, then it would drop the Wifi connections, Internet speed dropped to 1/4 the usual and I'd see excessive jitter (see pingtest.net). Linksys/Cisco tech support had me go through a number of ritual resets and config changes to no avail. After a few days, they said send the unit back as defective. Amazon was great about the RMA and got the replacement to me overnight, twice. After the third unit exhibited the exactly the same problems, it was clear that this model just was not going to work. I returned it for a refund and purchased the Linksys WRT610N. So far, so good!
My home network has two PCs and a Vonage modem running wired on the router. On WiFi, I have a laptop, two iPhones and two bridge adapters for blu-ray and a DVR. Looking back, my old WRT54G was fine until I added a bridge for the DVR and two iPhones at about the same time. I'll never know for sure, but I think the WRT54G2 might be capable of reliably supporting only 3 or 4 devices.
Linksys online support is a bit of a pain. I had to wait in a queue for about 40 minutes and the WebEx client felt very sluggish with keyboard input (even on a good 20 mbps connection). The techies were not consistent with the diagnostics and we never came to a solution other than send the WRT54G2 unit back. It would have been nice if the first tech support person could have told me the unit was under powered.
I've had the WRT610N running for about a week and it is fine. Linksys by Cisco WRT610N Simultaneous Dual-N Band Wireless Router