Cisco-Linksys Wireless-G Range Expander WRE54G
by Linksys
Our Price: $129.00
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Category: CE
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: LinksysAudio: English (Original Language)
Format: CD
Platform: Windows
Model: WRE54G
Product features:
- Dimensions - 1.1 x 7.4 x 6.9 in (H x W x D)
- Wireless Standard - IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
- Security WEP - 64/128 bit WEP
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Cisco-Linksys Wireless-G Range Expander WRE54G
Customer Review: Typical Linksys wireless setup headaches
Summary: 3 Stars
I need to add a MAJOR WARNING to my review below. THE WRE54G IS CURRENTLY INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE LINKSYS WGA54G GAME ADAPTER! It will, in a time of between several minutes to 24 hours, cause the wga54g to lock up and lose it's internet connection, with the wireless light staying lit solidly. The lock-up will clear if you unplug the wga54g, but will reappear within several hours. I'm guessing that this problem can be resolved via a future firmware update from Linksys, but who knows when that is coming. I have no clue how Linksys missed this problem (which others have also experienced). Linksys must perform little or no quality review of their firmware.
I'm returning my wre54g. As it turns out, it's unnecessary. The signal strength problem that lead to my purchase was due to a bug in my WRT54g's firmware (2.04.3) that was resolved when I upgraded to the recently released 2.04.4 wrt54g firmware. As I discovered, the 2.04.3 firmware for the wrt54g was released with a recognized bug (from reading the usenet and forums, it seems that nearly everybody suffered from that bug) that reduced signal strength by about 75%. Again, Linksys demonstrates an amazing inability to properly test their firmware.
I'm glad I don't need the wre54g. According to the Linksys FAQ, the WRE54g, by design, reduces bandwidth by 50%. That's ok when your option is no or very low signal strength. However, with the new Linksys WRT54g 2.04.4 firmware, I am currently running at between about 36% and 52% signal strength, which provides a minimum of 36 mbps, higher than the maximum 27 mbps (54/2) that the WRE54g can deliver. And, because my signal strength is lower, my signal is more difficult for intruders to detect and is less likely to cause interference with my neighboors.
If you need more signal strength, consider Linksys's new high strength antenna. If that does not work, and you do not have a Linksys wga54g game adapter (or you are patient and trusting enough to wait for Linksys to correct the problem in a firmware update, or you are feeling lucky), and you have a Linksys router that the WRE54g is advertised as compatible with, purchase the WRE54g. Do not be afraid to spend some time getting the WRE54g configured to work with your router and your security settings. With some work and careful thought, it will serve your needs.
This product works great ONCE YOU SET IT UP. As usual, Linksys makes set up a nightmare. I guess the setup CD makes a great frisbee - it certainly does not help with setup, as it couldn't detect the WRE54g, even with WEP and MAC filtering off, and broadcast SSID on, and using a wrt54g router having the latest firmware downloaded from Linksys (2.04.3). BTW, before turning off MAC filtering, I had dutifully entered the MAC ID on the box into the allowed list for filtering.
Auto-detect (not documented in the only printed documentation, the "quick-install" guide works) sort of. I could finally see the WRE54g. The web interface for the WRE54g reported an odd truncation of my network's SSID. I wondered if that was what it was supposed to do. The on-disk documenation didn't say anything. I thought it best to leave things as they were. The WRE54g listed two MAC ID's, one for device itself and another one for my wireless devices to see on the network (At least that's what I think). I made sure that both MAC ID's were in my router's MAC filtering allowed list. BTW, the computer I was using for setting up the WRE54g is wired to my WRT54g router. My wireless pc is two floors up.
I then enabled the WRE54g's WEP set the passphrase on the WRE54g web interface. No confirmation of the password change, and I lost communication with the WRE54g. Yes, that's normal (since the WRT54g router's security is disabled during configuration), but Linksys's documentation says nothing, and, it should have been relatively simple for the WRE54g to first acknowledge the change password command on the web interface, tell you that the new password is stored and will become effective when you hit "OK" and that you will lose communication with the device until you re-enable security on the router.
Anyway, I re-enabled security on the router, and re-enabled MAC filtering. I then navigated to my web interface for the WRE54g, but the unit was not there. I check my router's setting and all seemed OK.
So, I reset the WRE54g and started again. This time, I corrected the web interface's incorrect entry of my SSID, but otherwise repeated my steps. Still, no go. Except, my wireless pc upstairs saw the device and the signal boost. The upstairs pc, however, listed two identical SSID's (later I found out this was normal, but it was not mentioned in Linksys's documentation or on their website), one with low signal strength and one with high. Unfortunately, the connection between the upstairs pc and the router was 1Mb/s.
I checked the website and noted the existence of new firmware. The new firmware's date was 6/8/04. My firmware's (ver 1.04) date was 5/8/04, so I thought the new firmware would help things. Too bad the link on Linksys's website resulted in the download of yet another useless version of the WRE54g setup utility, no firmware included. I then checked Linksys's ftp site for the mystery firmware, but the firmware was nowhere to be found.
I did another reset of the WRE54g. When I reviewed the status on the WRE454g's web interface, I noted that the MAC ID provided for my unit had changed. Earlier, it had agreed with the box - now, it no longer agreed. So, I edited my router's MAC list to add the new MAC ID, and redid the configuration routine. NOW, I even with WEP enabled, I could talk to the WRE54g using the pc wired to the router.
Back to my upstairs wireless pc. Yes, it saw the WRE54g, but could not connect to it. After several minutes of hair pulling, I had a thought. Reboot the wireless pc. It worked. Great signal strength, good wireless bandwidth. I turned off SSID broadcasting for my router and the WRE54g, and everything still worked.
Of course, the link light on my WRE54g remains red. But who cares about that? It's working. I hope it stays that way.
If you've got a network with no MAC filtering, no WEP and no WPA, and you haven't changed your SSID from the factory default, you may be a fool (if you live near other humans), but this device should be a snap to install. Just remember to reboot any other wireless pc's on the network and you should be good to go.
If you are somewhat security minded, have enabled WEP (the device does not support WPA, so forget it if you need higher security), have enabled MAC filtering, and have selected an SSID with symbols and mixed capitalization, etc., expect a nightmare during setup. But persevere, and it WILL work.
Description of Cisco-Linksys Wireless-G Range Expander WRE54G
Expand the range of your wireless network The Linksys Wireless-G Range Expander is the easy way to increase the effective coverage of your wireless network. Unlike adding a traditional access point to your network to expand wireless coverage, the Wireless-G Range Expander does not need to be connected to the network by a data cable. Just put it within range of your main access point or wireless router, and it bounces the signals out to remote wireless devices. This relay station or repeater approach saves wiring costs and helps to build wireless infrastructure by driving signals into even those distant, reflective corners and hard-to-reach areas where wireless coverage is spotty and cabling is impractical. The Range Expander is perfect to help cover large areas in multi-story homes, warehouse environments, public spaces, wireless Hot Spots, and outdoor venues - anywhere you need extra coverage for your wireless network.Digital Cameras & Photo Categories
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