Customer Reviews

Cisco-Linksys WAP11 Wireless-B Network Access Point

5 star:		(73)
4 star:		(54)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(26)
1 star:		(32)

 

 

The wireless access point is an outstanding product. Previously I had tried Home Phoneline products, but did not have good success. In fact, I returned the Intel Anypoint Home Phoneline cards because they were not reliable on my phone wiring. I would not recommend phoneline networking unless your computers are fairly close together (rooms next to each other).

The Linksys wireless access point is proving very reliable and was a breeze to setup. I am experiencing excellent wireless transfer rates for internet access (I have DSL and the pages load in a flash), Streaming media works great too. I was worried that I might experience interference from my 2.4 GHz cordless phone, but I have had no problems, even when talking on the cordless phone while I surf the net. My access point is on opposite ends (ground floor) of the house from the desktop PC I have the wireless card in (second floor). It does help to elevate the wireless access point to improve the signal strength within the wireless network area, although mine simply sits on the desk with the downstairs PC. As an added note, our house is old with very thick plaster walls and ceilings, but the signal gets around fine throughout the 3500 sq ft.

My wireless access point is connected to the Linksys DSL/Cable router (4 hub model). The combination makes a very reliable network.

If you are looking for a wireless network product, I strongly recommend trying this one.

After reading all the reviews here, I bought a Linksys Wireless AP and the Orinoco wireless pc card for my laptop. I wanted to have more range, and it sounded like the Linksys pc card was no good. I had a hard time getting things to work. The terminology between Lucent (the Orinoco card) and Linksys isn't the same. The "Network Name" field in the Orinoco setup is the same as the ESSID in the Linksys access point, but it doesn't say anything about ESSID in the Orinoco setup. After setting those equal, I constantly had solid green lines showing good connection with the access point, but I still couldn't get online. The Orinoco card kept giving the same error about not being able to communicate with the access point because of an IRQ error or encryption error. I got through to Lucent's support line in about 3 minutes which was cool, but they couldn't help and suggested reinstalling Windows. I knew that wouldn't fix anything, so I ordered the Linksys wireless pc card, and everything looked good right off the bat, but I still couldn't get online. I finally realized I had two problems. 1) The Linksys access point does not have a DHCP client in there to talk with the DHCP server in the Linksys router I already have at home. You have to manually enter an IP number via the USB cable. 2) The laptop I used to connect to the port on the router has an internal ethernet card built in which still thought it was the same IP address as the access point (which was not connected to that same port on the router the laptop used to use). After I put in the right IP address on the access point and 'released' the IP address on the laptop (winipconfig on Win 98), everything worked great.

I went back and tried the Orinoco again with the fix to the access point, and it too worked great, except I still get the same flashing error message that it can't communicate with the access point, even though it was. I put the access point in the middle of a 2500 sq. ft. two-story house and both cards worked in every single room, although the Orinoco seemed to have a stronger signal. Both cards produce a lot of annoying noise in the laptop's speaker when they are communicating, but it's not unbearable. Since both cards worked as well as I needed them too, I returned the Orinoco since it cost more and because the flashing error message in the task bar is really annoying.

I think the Linksys access point combined with the Linksys wireless pc card (and the Linksys 4-port router), is one of the cheapest, most reliable wireless home solutions you can buy. I'm very satisfied with their products, and they all have a very professional, snazzy look which helps since the access point is working in our living room (in the corner).

If you DON'T have a router already and are just getting into building a home network, it looks like the new combination Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless Access Point & Cable/DSL Router w/4 Port Switch would be a great investment with less hardware to maintain. I like having the configuration I have at home because I have several computers all running on fixed ethernet lines for more stability, but my laptop is running off of the wireless pc card for mobility. Hope this information helps!

I don't know why people always bash the linksys WAP11 but it is truely one heck of an access point! I use my WAP11 with 2 cards: the WUSB11 (USB wireless card) and the standard Linksys PCMCIA wireless card.

Being someone who is a licensed HAM radio operator and a network administrator, I know that any radio device can be modified to increase it's range and reliability. I found out that Linksys builds these units with 100mw radios! (they're only set at 20mw at the factory). The radio is controlled by software and all you need is an SNMP manager to do the tweak. I offer more information on my website on how to tweak the WAP11. I also offer a link to download a SNMP manager that runs on windows, which will enable you to increase the output of your WAP11. HINT: since the antennas are removable and feature standard TNC type connectors, one could mount external high gain antennas and connect them to the WAP11 and triple the coverage area of the WAP11!! (a friend of mine has done this between two buildings in Boston, both 5 miles apart but within line of sight with each other)

Since this mod doesn't affect the hardware I would assume that doing this has no effect on the warranty, but check with linksys first!

After setting the radio to maximum output, I was able to increase the range to about 5 houses down the street in all directions and still stay connected to my LAN!

(HINT: I now sell wireless internet to my closest neighbors!)

The WAP11 also allows you to control who can access the WAP11 through MAC address authorization. This enables the WAP11 to reject signals from cards who's MAC addresses aren't in the MAC Address table within the WAP11!!!

Overall well designed product! Grab your today! and visit my site to increase your range!

Keep up the good work Linksys!

~ A very satisfied WAP11 owner

I've used the Linksys WAP11 since it had no version number, and I've used the 2.2 version. Both perform excellently (relatively speaking, that is, no product lives up to the manufacturer's claims). And better yet, the NEW version 2.6 can be used in 5 (five) different modes, including Repeating mode (which makes the Linksys WSB24 Signal Booster obsolete (which is why Linksys has discontinued it). Many similar products out there are limited to one or two modes. Amazon and most other sites are unclear regarding the version and might sell you an older model, so be sure to get version 2.6.

Download the User Guide .pdf and see pages 18-21, which describes all 5 modes. Ok, twist my arm, here's a quick summary; note: for all of these descriptions, think of the device as having 2 sides to it (perhaps In and Out; maybe Left/Right).

(1) Access Point: this is the original mode which allows wireless devices to connect via the device to a wired network; so from your laptop's point of view (here assumed wireless), the device takes wireless Input and turns it into wired Output.

(2) Access Point Client: in this mode the device takes a switch (or a hub, or a single computer) which is hardwired to the device and connects it over the airwaves to any Access Point (that is, a Linksys in Mode 1 or any other standards compliant access point); the hitch is that it CANNOT also act as an Access Point itself; in other words, it cannot also accept data from a nearby wireless computer. Basically, this mode is great for attaching a LAN in one part of your office to the main LAN which has an Access Point (or a Router/Access Point combo device).

(3) Wireless Bridge: this mode is of limited use. It is using 2 of these devices for connecting 2 LANs together when you don't need to connect any other wireless devices to the LAN. It's an older mode; the same result can be achieved by using the 2 devices with one device in mode 1 (as the main Access Point) and the other in mode 2, which would connect the two LANs AND allow you to connect wireless computers to the main device.

(4) Wireless Bridge Point to Multipoint: this mode is also of limited use, since you can do the same thing with more functionality with devices in modes 1 and 2, so I won't provide any example.

(5) Wireless Repeater: this is the newest mode; it can be thought of as a range extender. Here the device has wireless as both the Input and the Output. It is sort of the complement to mode 2. Say, for example, you already have a mode 1 device attached to your LAN, but at some distance away (30 feet, 100 ft., 300 ft.??) the signal gets too weak to be useful. Instead of buying the now-discontinued WSB24 to boost the power of the mode 1 device, you setup this device in mode 5 near the edge of the signal strenth (not the far edge, or else the bandwidth will still be terrible), and now your wireless computers can properly connect.

Note that there is no device out there that can do all modes at once. For example, if you have a main LAN in one part of your house or office, and at the other end of the house/office you have a bunch of computers, printers, etc., some of which are wired together with a hub/switch and some of which are wireless (that is, you'd like to be able to take your wireless laptop around the office as you see fit, without having to be hardwired in the far part of the office), then you'll have to buy 2 of these WAP11 ver2.6 devices to put in the far office: one in Mode 2 and one in Mode 5 (which is still cheaper than stringing cable through the walls!!).

I hope the above makes sense because I'm not going to scroll up to edit it. :-)

There are a considerable number of wireless networking options available. As a result, I did a lot of casual research before choosing the Linksys Wireless Access Point (model: WAP11). My existing network consisted of one Linksys 4 port Etherfast Cable/DSL Router (model BEFSR71), one Toshiba cable modem, three wired desktop PCs (two running Windows 2000 & one running Windows XP) and one Apple Titanium Powerbook G4 running OS X 10.1.2 that I desired to connect wirelessly via an Apple Airport Card. Presently, I don't have a PC I want to connect wirelessly to the network.

Installation of the Linksys WAP was relatively painless. I hooked up the Linksys WAP to our wired router via Ethernet patch cable and to my desktop PC via USB. The USB connection to the WAP is temporary -- it's only needed to configure the WAP via USB. There's an SNMP configuration utility included if you don't have USB or are running Linux or UNIX and there's a configurable Management Information Base (MIB) file included on the WAP's setup CD. I didn't really research how someone with access *only* to Macs would configure the WAP, but I didn't have trouble finding a number of Apple users talking about the Linksys WAP11 and their Airport cards, so it shouldn't be too difficult.

As a precaution, I left the WAP connected via USB to my PC desktop until I had my Titanium Powerbook with its new Airport card talking successfully with the WAP. For awhile, I was very concerned that the Airport connection status was always reporting: "Status not available" on my Powerbook, but then I discovered on a deja.com discussion thread that is the normal response for an Airport card connected to a non-Airport base station. The most important thing to getting an Apple Airport card to talk successfully and securely with the Linksys WAP is to properly enter the passcode when connecting:

If you use either 64 bit or 128 bit WEP (Wireless Encryption Protocol, if I remember right), you have to enter the passcode/password on your Apple in HEX (not plain text). If you configure the WAP to use 64 bit WEP security, your password will be translated to a 10 digit HEX code by the WAP's configuration utility -- write this down somewhere, and enter it within quotation marks (such as "C04D64E9D2") when prompted by your Mac's Airport card. If you configure the WAP to use 128 bit WEP security, your password will be translated into a handy dandy 26 digit HEX code by the WAP's configuration utility -- write this down somewhere (please!) and enter it preceded by a dollar ($) sign, such as: $C04D64E9D2C04D64E9D21E4D7B. I can't begin to tell you how many times I entered my plain text passcode or mis-entered my 128-bit HEX encoded key, or forgot the $, before I discovered my error while researching online.

After successful configuration of the Linksys WAP and wireless card, I was surfing wirelessly (and giddily) on my Titanium Powerbook G4 with Airport card while sitting downstairs and on the opposite side of the house from my WAP, and I still had a little over 50% signal strength (1.5 walls and 1 floor between the WAP and card). The range is such that I can connect wirelessly from my backyard deck, as well, though at obviously degraded transfer speeds. Experiment with the location and height of your WAP for best results. Mine is located in a doorway at about waist level, overlooking a half-wall that leads to an open stairway and vaulted ceiling.

Apple owners should note the Linksys WAP is a fraction of the price of an Apple Airport Base Station, and allows Mac & PC users 128 bit WEP security. It doesn't support AppleTalk and some of the other things the Airport Base Station does, but for my needs and my money, the Linksys WAP is a definite good buy.

As the title says, this product comes with a decent manual for
a great price. Based on reviews in amazon and elsewhere I took
the safest combination of Orinoco (Lucent or Avaya) PC card, and
the LinkSys WAP11 (since I has already installed the LinkSys
DSL router with 4-ports - otherwise I would have purchased
the DSL wireless router). This combo worked fine most of the
time. However, every two days, my wireless card complains that
it is not getting the network signal (there is small icon in
the bottom - comes with the orinoco network driver that indicates
the network strength). Through trial and error I found that it
the LinkSys WAP that was having the problem and not my network
card. The WAP will simply hang if it runs non stop for a couple
of days! I usually resolve it by visiting my basement where my
WAP is installed, by manually unplugging the power cable, wait
for 4 or 5 seconds and plug it back (since there is no on/off
switch in this WAP unit). Interesting, my LinkSys DSL router
had the same problem (router hanging - resolved by restarting
the router by power off-on). Once I upgraded that router to the
latest firmware (which I installed recently), this problem went
away in the LinkSys DSL router - now my router has been running
for weeks without hanging! I assume for the WAP11 too
we will soon get a firmware that will resolve this problem.

Until then, I don't recommend this product for industrial uses
like an office. But it is certainly a nice product (for this
price) for home users or soho users like me - I don't think it
is a big deal to power off-on the WAP every couple of days.

To give you a better picture, this is how I set up my WAP:

[internet] <--> [cable modem] <--> [LinkSys DSL Router] <--> [LinkSys WAP11] <--> {Laptop with Orinico PC card]

You definitely can't beat the price on this unit. It's completely 802.11b compatible. So, just drop an access point on your lan and the rest is engineering magic. I purchased the access point along with a wireless ethernet pc card for my laptop. It couldn't have been easier to set up. Now I'm reading my email no matter where I am in the house.

First off let me me say that this access point is great. All the range problems people experience are related to using the Linksys wireless card. I am using this access point for a desktop system that is in an inconvenient location to get an ethernet cable too. So I decided to make that desktop wireless. I am also using it with a Dell Inspiron laptop with a 2nd wireless card as this access point supports up to 32 users. The two wireless cards I am using are the D-Link 650, and the Orinoco Gold Card. They are both great cards. The D-Link is used in the desktop system while I use the Orinoco Gold in my laptop.

The range is great providing you orient the antennaes first to get maximum signal strength. I get well over 50% signal with the D-Link card after I have arranged the signals. This is also going thru two walls, and is diagonally opposite from each other. This is more than enough signal strength to effectively operate at the full 11Mbps rate.

I have also sucessfully configured 128 bit WEP protection, as well as MAC address authenticate feature so that only my two wireless cards are the only ones that can access the access point.

I had a little trouble getting WEP, and MAC authenticate to work at first, but you definatly need to have at least v. 1.4f.8 firmware or later, as well as the latest software.

To get WEP working the encryption keys must match exactly on both the wireless access point, and the wireless card otherwise the units will not communicate.

To get MAC authenticate to work you have to open up NotePad and make a regular .txt file of your MAC addresses that you want to enable access for in this format without using dashes. For example (00-01-12-FB-7Z-04) needs to be entered in NotePad as:

000112FB7Z04

You need to use a seperate line for each card's MAC address.

When you are finished save the .txt file and you can easily go into the configuration tool for the Wireless Access Point, and upload this .txt file of MAC address to allow access. You will not see the list of MAC addresses present after you upload it, but it does work.

I am using this access point with a Linksys BEFN2PS4 Cable/DSL, and Voice Router, and it works well with it. I also have the Linksys EFSP42 Print Server. All 3 Linksys boxes are excellent products, and integrate well with each other. They also look nice as they conveniently stack on top of each other. The Voice Router is also a great product as it allows you to make cheap phone calls over the Internet using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) using any regular telephone. These calls can also be made when your computer is totally turned off. It is totally independent from the computer.

In conclusion, the wireless acess point is a great product, and I am definatly glad I purchased it. Just make sure you do NOT use the Linksys wireless PC card with it as I have heard nothing but BAD reports of poor range. Use a D-LINK 802.11b card, or the Orinoco Gold which are both excellent cards. It will work with any card that is WI-FI compatible.

FUNCTIONALITY

I installed the WAP11 and a Linksys Wireless Adapter/Card on our home computers. I received tech support help that was ok for the intial installation. With all the equipment in the same room, the products worked fine. I then moved the computer with the wireless card to a room 15M away.

This product is essentially useless for any applications involving computers in different rooms. The product literature suggests indoor applications have a range of 100M. In my home, with wood construction, this product does not function at a distance of 15M. In fact, I connected the WAP11 to a 10M cable and roamed other rooms with the unit to a distance less than 10M from the computer with a wireless card. The best signal quality I received was 6%, which alternated to 0% with any slight change of position. (With the WAP11 in the same room, the signal quality was 85%). I tried a number of different channels with the same results.

TECH SUPPORT

I called tech support about this problem at 5:00pm, and was told I would receive an expedited return call. I called again at 7:30pm, and was told if I did not receive a call within 45 minutes to call again. I attempted calling the toll-free number several times that , but it was always busy. I never received any call from tech support.

First, do get this product. Once you've got it up and running, it's an amazing thing, and totally hassle-free. Just turn on your laptop nearly anywhere in the house and you're online. Works fine with laptop suspend and resume, too. You'll never get off the sofa again!

But a few reminders. First, make sure that the SSID for both card and access point are the same; mine weren't. (It doesn't matter what they are--"linksys" or "wireless" or something--just that they agree). Second, don't sweat the IP config too much. I left all the AP values at the default and it worked more-or-less fine (I can't access the AP with the network utility [although I can with the USB one], but it seems to nevertheless do its job as promised. Go figure).

Also, don't expect much from Linksys tech support. They've got nothing useful on their site, they don't answer email, and I couldn't hang on long enough for phone support. But it may not matter: this is not a product that you're going to tinker with once it's up and running.

Finally, on range: it's not great, but should be okay for most purposes. In our 3,000 ft house, I can reach most rooms but not one on the other side of the house, one floor up and five walls over. I would think that 100ft and/or 4-5 walls/floors would be a reasonable rule of thumb for a wooden home.