Cisco-Linksys WRT54GL Wireless-G Broadband Router
by Linksys
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List Price: Our Price: $54.95 You Save: $25.04 (31%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $39.99 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Cisco-Linksys WRT54GL Wireless-G Broadband Router
Customer Review: Easier and Harder Than Everyone Says - WRT54GL for Wireless Noobs
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a fairly competent PC user but entirely new to networking/wireless so it was important to get something of decent quality. That way, if I had a hard time setting up the router, I'd know it was my fault and not the hardware.
I chose the WRT54GL since it's highly rated, but most importantly, even though the device seems to be a couple years old, the reviews were NEW--people were still buying it. So I got it despite it being "only" a wireless-G as opposed to Draft-N capable models, and I wasn't disappointed.
Setup took several hours over a week, which may not sound good, but I work, so whatever. My DSL modem is apparently what experts call 'complete and utter garbage' and I didn't know I had to set it up in bridge mode. I can't blame Cisco for this as they can't possibly account for all hardware types in their instructions. Google is the new Help as we all know, and after following some directions that seemed a bit strange, voila! My router is kicking butt. I'm running a PC via direct Ethernet connection, and a MacBook and PS3 via wireless. Web pages and downloads are screaming-fast, and while the router is only 15 feet away, it's behind a wall but showing 100% signal strength.
So here's a few amateur pointers:
1. Set up your router using an Ethernet connection.
2. Google search terms covering all of your hardware, including your OS, modem type and model, and ISP name. You would be amazed at how many people are in the exact same situation as you.
3. Remember, there's at least two passwords involved with wireless, one for the router itself and one as the wireless key. Be paranoid about security; use two different pass keys. If there's multiple steps you can take for wireless security, do them. Go for WPA2-PSK or the highest level of encryption you can run, and since you can have passwords over 60 characters, use them all!
4. Setup was difficult but before you email Amazon about the "defective" router they sent you, give yourself a week to try and set it up. That's what I did. Apparently my issue was located between the chair and the keyboard.
5. One more thing, the WRT54GL has no coax input. I've never had cable internet, but I believe this is required for you guys.
Customer Review: Linksys-Cisco WRT54GL Wireless-G Broadband Router
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this router soley based on on so many favorable reviews and it does not disappoint so far and I'm still using the firmware that it came with. I have had it over a week and no problems. It is on the ground floor and has a direct line to our family's office computer. It also connects my sister's laptop, my netbook, my desktop, and my Nintendo Wii through wireless. Several times we had all of these running together (online gaming, streaming videos, downloading music, surfing, shopping, etc.)In the past two weeks and no problems (with one exception explained below). Even my online matches on Brawl went perfectly well. My wireless card on my desktop shows great reception of 95-100% (usually at 100 and sometimes 98%) compare that to the mid 60s to 70s I was getting on my older routers.
Speaking of old routers we used a Belkin(F5D7230-4) and Trednet(TEW-432BRP), and the much newer Belkin N+ (my netbook supports N on 2.4). The big surprise was how bad the Belkin N+ router we bought was. The old Belkin required us to reset it about 8 times a day at the router (which is really annoying when you have to keep going up and down the stairs.) The other two would just frequently drop connection and we would have to wait a minute or two for it to reconnect. Extremely annoying when you are being cut out in the middle of a fierce match on Brawl.
Although I recommend the router it may not be perfect for everyone. It did quit on me when downloading multiple large video files on LimeWire. Also obviously it's a G router (or G/B mixed or just B) so if you have equipment that can implement wireless N technology or plan to upgrade your current equipment to take advantage of N then obviously this isn't going to perform as well as routers that support it. Also its somewhat basic no usb storage or or any real fancy bells and whistles or even that great looking but who acres right? Besides the fact that is ahacked and has several other downloadable free firmwares fro it should be another reason to buy it.
Anyway if you are like me and have multiple wireless devices that are only G compatible and just are tired of your current router constantly dropping connection GET THIS ONE!
I will update if any problems arise and if I decide to change the firmware.
Customer Review: it may be a great router but the documentation is terrible
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this router because the amazon write up said "compatible with Linux". Since I had just bought a Dell Inspiron 1420 laptop that had Unbuntu 7.04 Linux on it instead of Windows, I figured this router would be just the thing.
When the router arrived in the mail however it did not have one single piece of documentation anywhere that had the word Linux in it. A search through the user manual (which comes on the CD as a pdf file buried in a directory that a normal user might not notice) did not yield a single hit on the word "Linux". The installation CD only works on Windows ("setup.exe") and the only instructions that come with it are a piece of tape put over the back of the router that says, "do not use before running the installation CD").
Running the installation CD on a windows computer is frustrating because it asks you to type in the password. The only place where it tells you what the password is, is on a small piece of paper easily overlooked called, "Frequently Asked Questions". That small, easily overlooked piece of paper is also the only place that tells you the address to type into the browser to administer the router.
The CD used to configure the router defaults to a connection protocol that few users would use. When you change the protocol to DHCP (which most users would use) it also asks for the host name and the domain name, telling you to contact your ISP to learn their settings if unsure. But for the majority of users the host name and the domain name are not necessary, resulting in a needless call to the ISP technical support line.
Trying to setup security using the browser to access the router is frustrating because there are no suggestions or examples provided that would aid a normal user. It has a drop down select list with 5 different security protocols. The user is on her own to guess which protocol to choose and what parameters to type in to configure that protocol.
In summary, while this may be a great router physically, the documentation is so confusing and sparse that a normal user will probably end up calling "Geek Squad" or imposing on a more technical friend or relative to actually get the thing working.
Customer Review: What version do you have?
Summary: 5 Stars
Well I thought I comented on this before but thought to share some important points especially for other users to keep in mind as far as any issues that may come up as I have had no problems what so ever, work strieght out the box.
First its not a short story but this is an excellent summary of the product line for consideration... [...]Next is wkipedia which will summarize the above, but if you do not have the finer detail knowledge of the above article, then this summary will be less value... [...]
The important point when thinking about buying this product which seems to be a coin toss as far as reliability is to consider the fact out of the box everyone has DIFFERENT hardware versions as well as software versions, the confusing nature is that these TWO different aspects are both referred to as FIRMWARE.
Quick note there are now 7 different "hardware" versions for the "G" model. "GL" version came out after G version 5 so as to continue Linux support, "GL" vesion has 2 version, "GL" has more memory. I have "G" version 6, and have no issues, I did not even bother preloading the software. I jave no idea what is on it, just do not like junking up the PC with needless stuff, as you have full access via web browser anyways, anyone that has tinkered with any router knows how to configure. I do admit there are ALOT of features with stock "software".
Anyways, I feel for those that have issues, I know of someone that also has quirks. But just FYI, compare apples to apples, version 6 works just fine for me, I have a wireless Powerbook G4, wired PC, wired Epson print server printer. No drop connections, and full broadband speed.
Lastly, again a quick summerization, for those wondering about the GL model, here is the deal, the WRT54G is the original model, it WAS originaly Linux base, but eventually Linksys stopped and changed that with version 5 to VxWorks (propritary). Linksys also at that time designated the GL model to continue with the Linux fans. The bottom line is both G and GL version can be flashed to any thrid party to become a super freak router. One difference between the two is that the GL version DOES have increased MEMORY.
Customer Review: This is a good choice for Wireless Broadband
Summary: 5 Stars
First a little info - Our use for a wireless router is a TIVO, Internet connections when our children come home or when a niece comes by. We may have as many as 5 laptops plus the DVR using my router and this new one has worked flawlessly for this first month's usage.
I purchased this router 1 month ago to replace an SMC that destructed with a power surge. After shopping all the options and price comparing, this one appeared to be a good choice for a new wireless connection so I ordered it and as usual AMAZON got it right out of shipping and to my door.
With my first hookup of this router we had some problems using the WEP encryption. We could not successfully set a passphrase to keep the router secure. Due to the loss of the SMC router our TIVO was running out of updates, I left the linksys unsecured for the first day as the TIVO "unsecured download" was taking more time than I had to spare (work schedule) so 12 hours later when I got home I just unhooked it.
The next day I spent some time getting the security set. The TIVO worked fine, but in the WEP security mode and entering a passphrase then pressing "Generatre" none of the laptops could connect unless using one of the "Key 1" phrase-line generated from the passphrase I entered.
With that I updated the TIVO wireless receiver so I could use the WPA encryptions and programmed my new Linksys WRT54GL to WPA2 personal encryption. We entered a password in the "WPA Shared Key" dialong box and problem solved.
My complaint would be the SETUP instructions should have a dedicated line of instructions for the home use of a scenario similar to our less than complex requirement.
Go to linksys web site and download the USER GUIDE and you will find it is over 40 pages and if I was writing out instructions for configuring the needs with our system a 1/2 page document would get the whole bowl of wax.
I ended up having my son-in-law helping to dig through the SETUP mode to the router from my PC and after several attempts got it programmed securely for our application BUT he is a whiz with configuring hardware so - listen up linksys.