Cisco-Linksys Wireless-G Range Expander WRE54G
by Linksys
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Our Price: $129.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $29.98 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Cisco-Linksys Wireless-G Range Expander WRE54G
Customer Review: read remarks by a taylor, don't bother with linksys manual!
Summary: 5 Stars
works great if you ignore the CD software and install manual that linksys send with this device which is a WASTE of ink, paper and plastic. device works fine in WEP & open mode but the linksys people have no clue on how to write manuals or install SW. the SW CD won't even work properly on my standard XP machine. 5 stars for device and hardware guys, 1 star for linksys tech writers & tech staff Is a repeat of Anthony Taylor (Sherman Oaks, CA) remarks-
If you're having trouble setting it up, definitely call the 800 number as opposed to going online. I tried with three different people through their website online and none could help. Right before I sent it back I decided to try phone support and it got the expander a reprieve. I've copied some instructions that Y.A. Escalante was kind enough to leave in his review, but corrected and elaborated some of the items based on my experience. I would've given this 4 stars, but I deducted 1 for it not having clear enough instructions with its initial shipping. (Would've saved Linksys some headaches)
Here goes:
1-Disable WEP on your Router or AP
2-Hold the auto-configuration button for 30 seconds(if everything goes well both lights on the expander will turn blue) and unplug while still holding button. Plug back in after 10-15 secs.
3-open your Internet explorer browser and type 192.168.1.240 (default ip of expander), a window will pop up. leave the user name blank and put admin as a password (this is default password).
4-make sure that the default gateway and subnet mask settings are identical with your Router or AP,change password on the expander if desired & save settings. (all settings should be correct due to auto configuration)
5-Enable WEP on the expander, once again remember use same settings as in your Router or AP, save settings again.
6-Go to your Router or Ap settings and enable WEP. Bang you're DONE. Enjoy
Customer Review: Terrible setup, decent product...once it gets going!
Summary: 3 Stars
As some one who considers himself highly technical I read the reviews of this product and the problems people had with little concern....I thought I would have no real issues getting it going. Of course, I was wrong.
It is not a complicated product in itself as the config is more basic than a regular wifi router....but the documentation is pretty much useless. I wanted to use the setup utility that comes on the cd rather than the auto-config, but that would not even see my wifi network whether I was using an ethernet cable or the wifi. So I HAD to use the auto-config and eventually got it to work that way after probably an hour of messing around.
The key for me was to follow these steps:
1) Disable all security on your regular wifi router. Enable SSID broadcast. At this point your wifi is wide open.
2) Plug in extender close to your regular router, press auto-config button. After a few seconds both lights should turn blue.
3) Get into extender by typing 192.168.1.240 in your browser.
4) At login screen there is no username, pwd is 'admin'.
5) Change all security settings to how you want them on your regular router. Save settings
At this point your extender will lose connectivity and the link light will turn red.
6) Change security settings on your regular router back to what they originally were.
Router & extender settings should be the same.
7) Power off extender for a few seconds. Power it on again.
8) Extender SHOULD come back with both lights blue.
9) Power off extender again and move it to eventual location.
If the documentation had been clearer about powering off & on once config had changed I would have been fine....but instead it indicates that all you need to do is make the changes and you're good to go.
Anyway, the extender is now working well and does exactly what it says it is supposed to do, that's the main thing. But it could have been easier.
Customer Review: Works great -- once you manage to get it configured
Summary: 3 Stars
In line with many other reviews, the range extender was a major pain to get installed to my network. The reason I purchased the purchased the extender from Linksys (aside from the obvious to boost range) was because it was from Linksys. My G router is also from Linksys and on the compatible list so I figured setup could not possibly be as bad as descibed by others -- I was wrong; they are right.
I followed the directions from Linksys to the letter, including their setup program, quick setup sheet, the manual on the CD, and the one FAQ on their site. I dropped WEP from my network and attempted "naked". All to no avail.
The review by Anthony Taylor is very good; his recommendations for getting things configured are more or less what I ended up going through. The installation program from Linksys is among the prettiest I have ever seen, but it's crap all bells and whistles and would not get my extender to install; maybe you'll have better luck.
For those who are not technical, if you have any problems whatsoever call Linksys. I'm a very technical person and have little patience for these types of things, but still like the challenge and eventually figured out the setup on my own much the same way Anthony did. But if you don't have the time, patience, or experience with networks, do not bother - call Linksys or consider another product.
Having said all of this, once I got the extender to work it does perform exactly as marketed. I'm "green" everywhere in my house with signal strength ranging from 90 to 100%.
Explanation of my rating this a 3... The setup and instructions I would rate a 1. While this is basically a one time event once you get things working, the experience is so bad that I suspect many would throw their arms in the air and return the product. However once the product is up and running I would say that it performs with 5 stars. It's very unfortunate that the set up is so bad because once you get it working it's a champ.
Customer Review: My Experience Was Great
Summary: 5 Stars
Like the reviews of all things technology, the reviews of this product are quite varied. I am not a tech geek, but have been around the block enough that I understand how things work. And like most people, I am often frustrated that the term Plug and Play is usually an oxymoron! And yes, like you, I hate what off-shoring has done to tech support. Tech companies could care less about the Customer Experience.
Nevertheless, I LOVE THIS PRODUCT!
Here's my experience with this Range Extender.
Our Family computer is located in a no coverage zone on the opposite side of the house on a different floor from our main computer. It is a 3 or 4 year old computer that we have networked to a Linksys 80211.B/G router-WRT54G v.1. The family computer is a celeron, connected via an 80211.B PCI adapter. Because of the age of the computer and router (installing new firmware proved ineffective/also perhaps the Family pc couldn't properly run the included firmware in a new Wireless G adapter that I picked up with the Range Extender). (much time spent with tech support who couldn't make it work. Agree on comments of heavy accents)
Setting up this range extender was easier than easy. Plug it in. Place next to wireless router. Hold the auto configure button. Wait for blue lights. Unplug and move to edge of the wireless coverage. Plug in. Instant broadband speed! No 'searching for wireless connection" notices, no 'Aquiring Network Address' messages. Always connected. I did not have to enter into any of the routers set up screens.
I would like to run with a G adapter, but the speed is good enough that I don't feel the urge to buy a new router or to upgrade to a new computer. This one works great for the kids-homework, email and games.
Results-Kids Love Me, Wife Loves Me, and I retire from the Daddy IT Dept. Wish I had found this device a long time ago!
Customer Review: A great signal repeater
Summary: 5 Stars
I have to agree with the other reviewers that the intended way to set this up is a pain. You actually need a computer with a wireless card to run the setup program and it will mess with the configuration on your computer. In the end it refused to configure the box because it said that my AP was not compatible... (I think officially only Linksys APs are supported.) However - you can just use an Ethernet crossover cable between your computer and the repeater (or hang them both off the same switch), set your computer to 192.168.1.100 and browse with your Web browser to 192.168.1.240. There is no login and default password is "admin". The setup is straightforward and real easy this way. Enter your SSID and the WPA password and change the IP to fit into your wireless network. Do not forget to change the password first. Hit save. Done. Success is shown by the blue link light. If you screwed up, you can factory reset the box by pressing the reset botton for 5 seconds and start over. The auto-config feature is useless.
One note is that this is a repeater not an access point. This means it will send and transmit on the same channel and therefore your throughput will be somewhere 40%. I am still getting about 3 Mbps, which is plenty for Web surfing. An interesting obserservation is that the Ethernet port can also be used to bridge the wireless network to another Ethernet cloud and this way there would be no BW loss. On a side note, your AP needs to support WBS (Wirelss Distribution System), many do but not all.
On a final note, this is not a commercial solution where you can daisy chain multiple of those repeaters to cover a large area. This product is thought to cover bad spots in a residential home such as an outside area where few wireless users are active at the same time. If you want to cover a large space with many users you need multiple APs and probably should look into a commercial AP solution.