Cisco-Linksys WRT54GS Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster
by Linksys
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Our Price: $159.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $12.50 (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 WRT54GS Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster
Customer Review: I've had bad luck with this company...
Summary: 1 Stars
Linksys products seem to be either a hit or a miss. One of my friends swears by them, and never has problems, but I've had nothing but nightmares with them.
I owned the wired 4-port router before this one, and even that one was unreliable. The connection would drop for no reason, and I would call Linksys and they would blame it on my ISP (which it wasn't). I swore that I would never buy another Linksys router, wired or otherwise, but this one was recommended to me by many people, so I took the plunge. Big mistake.
To be fair, it worked extremely well for almost 2 months. Then, all of a sudden, for no reason, the connection would sporadically drop. At first it only happened 2 or 3 times a day. Ok, no big deal, no wireless connection is perfect. But it started to get worse. As the weeks went on it would drop more and more often. And it wasn't the range; I had one computer about 5 feet away from it that would drop at the same time as the one in the basement. I tried changing it to every channel that was available, yet the same thing would happen. At it's worst, my connection dropped about 20-30 times a day; to be connected for an hour was little short of a miracle.
Then one day it simply died, out of the blue. I called Linksys tech support and was on the phone for close to 3 hours, at which point they realized that the firmware software was corrupted on the router. Their explanation was "Oh, it happens sometimes, whoopsies!" I was so fed up with Linksys that I decided to get the D-Link DI-624. So far it's been working great, let's hope it stays that way.
I don't know exactly what is up with Linksys, but their products seem to last only for a few months and then get totally fried. I have never owned one of their routers that has lasted more than 6 months. That's pretty damn annoying if you ask me, since I don't have the money to keep replacing a router every few months.
For those looking for a wireless router, it's really difficult to recommend one which works perfectly for everyone. It's sad to say, but most people will end up buying a bunch of different routers and seeing which one works best for them. Good luck everyone!
Customer Review: inept support and lousy product
Summary: 1 Stars
I am on my third LinkSys wireless-G Model WRT54GS. The first one didn't work out of the box. After 2 hours with LinkSys tech support telling me the problem was my computer or my DSL modem, I gave up, exchanged the router for a new one and amazingly the new one worked.
Two months later the router ceased to function. Again I called LinkSys, spent 2 hours with their tech support and got the same run around as the first time that I had called. Again the problem could not possibly be with their product. According to them the problem had to be my computer, my DSL modem, my ISP/DSL provider. LinkSys tech support insists that no other customers are experiencing failures of their routers.
Tonight, my third router died and I cannot connect to the internet through the router either hard wired to the Ethernet port or with the LinkSys wireless card. As a matter of fact the wireless card does not even gat a "link" light. I tried to connect with another notebook computer using the built in wireless antenna and could not detect the router. I then tried to connect through the Ethernet port without success.
I spent 2 hours on the phone with LinkSys tech support again tonight. After hours or changing settings and not being able to connect through the LinkSys router, the LinkSys tech again gave me the party line. "The problem has to be my computer, my DSL modem, my ISP/DSL provider. LinkSys tech support insists that no other customers are experiencing failures of their routers.
I told the Tech that I was working with that I was sure that if I were to go out and buy another LinkSys router that it would work. I asked him if it did work would he agree that the one I currently have had died and is defective. I was told no; It would only prove that the problem is with my computer, my DSL modem, or my ISP/DSL provider. When I asked him to explain his reasoning, he couldn't.
I give up. Doesn't any company provide support anymore or do they just try to push their problems back off on the consumer? Purchasing a LinkSys router has been the worst choice that I have ever made. I will not make that mistake again.
Customer Review: Installation for dummies
Summary: 4 Stars
Decided to go wireless. Reviews sounded great! How hard can this be. I am a Test Pilot, so this should be no challenge. We also ordered the wireless WPC54GS notebook card to go with the router. My son, being a typical 20 year old know-it-all decides to configure the notebook card first (against my wishes). Every time we put the card in the notebook, it locked up. The Linksys tech support people said "oh yeah", you need to download new drivers! The ones on the CD ROM won't work. OK, back to my original idea, lets do the router first. Put in the CD ROM, followed instructions and WA LA. We were on the net (hard wired) through our cable modem in less than 5 minutes!!! My recommendation on the WRT54GS - BUY IT (but DO NOT let your know-it-all teenager or 20 year old, install it. Do it yourself). One major problem! Back to the notebook card. The second Linksys tech support person told us "the card is bad, send it back to Amazon.com to have it tested" What??? How can this be??? The dang card is brand new!!! Lets try other options. Card still locks up computer! Third Linksys tech support person helped, but the computer still locks up on start-up. WOW the card is bad! Amazon.com, you guys are great! Within 5 minutes we had the return information, and about 10 minutes later we were notified by email that another card would be sent out tomorrow. Great!!!Ok lets review - Buy the WRT54GS router!
DO NOT buy the WPC54GS notebook card - even the Linksys tech support people seem to think it is junk. I guess the quality control guy in that department is always out to lunch!
Read all the reviews that are shown on Amazon.com under each piece of equipment. There are some very good tips there that you will not learn from the installation information (like turn off the Windows XP fire wall before you start installation or you will get a lot of nasty windows "Hey idiot, you can't do that" messages.
AMAZON.COM You guys are great as usual. We also ordered our print server this morning. Keep up the good work.
Linksys - You guys have a lot of work to do. First thing I would do is fire the Notebook card quality control guy.
Customer Review: best wireless broadband router i have ever owned
Summary: 5 Stars
well 1st let me say setting up this was the most fast & eazy router ive ever had to set up. i ran the disk that came with this router it doesnt install drivers or programs all the disk does is help you set it up with your pc's/laptop's & modem.
on a side note you might want to go to linksys website & look up the firmware to check out if it has the latest ver. of firmware. (mines was out dated by a year.) & updating the firmware is just as eazy as setting up the router. (make sure you look up this info only after you have recived your router) all you do is save the firmware file to you desktop (or a folder of your choise) & once your in your router settings page 192.168.1.? just browse to it & wala ;-)
yes it does have a firewall built in it also very eazy to config.(to turn off if your using windows firewall) you can also set up what ports to have open/closed witch i dont have to config sence im on a DHCP connection by default there all open & my windows firewall manages thos ports on what i want open or closed for what ever program i want to have access to the net for ( aka online pc games and such)
also the wireless settings is very eazy to set up & is blazing fast. the range is also very good depending on what wireless reciver your using.
another side note is that if your on a static ip address make sure you know what your ip address is. if your not sure just simply call your isp. most cable/dsl isp's use DHCP connections (aka your ip address changes from day to day or week to week) a simple way to check on what your connection type is to check the local area connection status window witch is normaly near where your pc clock is at or by going in your networkplaces section. then clicking on details botton. if your still unable to find it just google "local area connection status" and im sure you can find a guide on how to find it. also another grate thing about this router is that you can get bigger antana's slaped on it for even greater range.
over all like the title say this is the best router i have ever owned.
Customer Review: Technology is good but support and administration are awful.
Summary: 2 Stars
The good? Wireless speeds are in excess of the 802.11g spec, so I am getting 100-110Mbps (12.5-13.5 MBps) from the basement to the living room easily. Once the initial horror of setup was over, I've been happily connected ever since. And you can't beat the price: Linksys gear is dropping in price, likely due to a ramp-up of pre-N gear on the horizon. (That's the new 802.11n standard which promises 6x the g-rate, and pre-N Belkin gear is delivering triple the speeds, so 150Mbps, or nearly 19 MBps).
The bad? Customer support, or lack thereof. I had a problem with the client not seeing the router. The *real* problem was the firewall on the basement machine. However, mention the words "Workgroup" or "file and printer sharing" to a Live Chat Specialist and watch how fast they come back with "we don't support configuring Windows" and a link to a knowledgebase article that will not give you a step-by-step diagnostic.
That's a shame, because a troubleshooting map would come in real handy. I fixed the problem myself -- I usually do with rare exception -- but for the non-IT professional, I fear for you. It's Belkin or Netgear for me next time.
The ugly? Router configuration. It has almost all of the tools you'd expect, and some tools you wish it had. A Netgear router will show you current connections from a single link; not so with Linksys. Their configuration pages ask you to drill a few clicks and manage a popup window (don't forget to shutoff your popup blockers!). The help links don't correlate 100% to the actual configuration pages (apparently the help wasn't revised with the product), and you're eventually frustrated enough to pop over to the website for in-depth explanations. The last straw? No direct download of patches to firmware. Linksys makes you visit the webpage, download it locally, then load it locally. Dumb.
I have companion reviews for the WMP54GS and WUSB11, also Linksys gear. They won't be very flattering, either, but it's XMas time, and readers should not be giving bad gifts.
Fred