Customer Reviews

Cisco-Linksys WGA54G Wireless-G Gaming Adapter

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(31)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(51)

 

 

This took me about 2 hours to set up, after about 20 attempts. The hardware works fine, but both the setup utility and the operating manual are poor and only handle connecting to simple networks. I have a non-standard (read: I didn't let Microsoft set up my network automatically) network and a Linksys Wireless G router, with 128 bit WEP (encryption) as well as MAC filtering set on. (My neighbor across the street also has a wireless network, which I didn't know until I started fooling around with this one.)
In essence, if you use a router gateway to the net (which you absolutely should for its inherent hardware firewall capabilities) and you use wireless encryption (which you absolutely should to make it difficult for a techie neighbor from eavesdropping in on your network) you must set this device up manually. Not only that, but you have to set up your game machine network settings manually as well.

First, routers usually also act as DHCP servers (meaning that they'll automatically give an IP address to anything logging onto the network). That means that unless you give the device a static IP address you're never sure which address your game machine will have when it boots up. The same thing is true of the WGA54G. Unless you specify a proper static IP address and netmask, it won't connect. So you have to give both the game machine and the WGA54G (different) static addresses within the range of your local network and which don't conflict with any existing devices.

Secondly, if you do MAC filtering, you need to realize that the WGA54G has TWO ethernet adapters: the wired one (which you stick the cable plug into) and the wireless one (that connects to the antenna). The MAC address of the WIRELESS device must be included in the filter settings of your router, or it'll be blocked. Linksys doesn't make it clear how to find that address (it gives you the wired MAC address on the label), but the wireless MAC device is one of the two MACs you've got to include in your
router's filter list. (Hint: it's one digit higher than the wired MAC address -- just add 1 to the last two hex digits). The other MAC address needed is of the IP adapter contained in your game device (or attachment). That you have to obtain from your game network setup screens. I'm not completely sure why the WGA54G's wired adapter address isn't needed, my guess is that since it doesn't make any packet requests of the wireless router (interacts only with the game machine) it's not "seen" by the router.

You'll have to all of this by logging into the WGA54G's built in HTTP (web) server interface and your router's interface, not with the setup software on the disk.

Finally (on the Xbox, anyway), you've got to specify another static IP address for the game adaptor AND specify the router address as the DNS server (remember it allocates IP addresses for connected devices and stands between you and the internet, translating your network requests to the outside world.

If this sounds like Greek to you, well you're in good company. But this device is not inexpensive and is promoted as being easy to use.

It may be that Linksys can't tailor its software to every situation, but they can certainly write better documentation to help novices cope with the issues raised by slightly more complicated local networks. I also think that its odd that a wi-fi "G" device doesn't support the newer and more secure WPA encryption standards (which Linksys certainly includes in its wireless routers). That means that you will have to run your whole network on WEP encryption if you have this device set up, because WPA devices can't coexist with WEP encryption. WEP can be hacked, and WPA basically, cannot (unless you're a lot spookier than the average wardriver).

Yeah, it runs kind of hot, and yeah its LED lights are kind of strange, but who cares about that? The problem with this device is that it seems to have been shipped too early and because it's a game device is not being seriously supported or updated by Linksys in the same way that they'd support a "serious" device.

Like I said, the hardware seems to work fine (haven't experienced any of the dropped signals others report here), it's the software and documentation that's lacking.

Is there a better alternative? I don't know, I don't have the money and time to find out and I got this puppy running, so I'm movin' on to other things. I do know that Linksys is a decent manufacturer and can do better.

Ok, several other people have left reviews here on troubles configuring this device and I ran into the same. After hours and hours of searching the web, I found a tip here and a tip there and eventually got it configured. Hopefully this will help someone who is having some trouble configuring this device.

First I have the WGA54G v2, however, I believe these should help anyone who has v1 or the AG devices.

1) Plug the adapter into your CPUs ethernet port with the RJ45 cable that comes with it and the other end into the game adapter.
2) Since the game adapter will default to 192.168.1.250, you will need to configure your ethernet port to work with the above address. I set mine to 192.168.1.249.
3) Plug in the power for your game adapter and give it about 30 seconds to boot up and configure itself. Open your browser and go to 192.168.1.250 (may want to run the setup on the CD first), but some people may be able to go directly to the game adapter without running the setup CD.
4) Once you are logged on the game adapter, be sure to set up your WEP settings, if you want to use it. Sorry WPA or WPA2 security doesn't work, so you have to configure your whole network to use WEP.
5) On the advanced page you need to be sure you are using a Mixed Mode even if all your devices are 'G band', also don't forget to set the router to mixed too. Cloning should be disabled and don't forget to set the gateway.
6) After changing the settings on the game adapter and you can test your device by pinging 192.168.1.250 on your network. If you get a response your are set, if not, you should start over and make sure you set up everything correctly.
7) Once you have the game adapter working, unplug it from your computer and plug it into the game console. You will need to set your game console to use a static IP as well. Configure your game console to use a static ip as well. (at least I had too, I used 192.168.1.251)

Linksys tech support is hopeless, don't even waste your time calling them. IMPORTANT: if your wireless light doesn't stay on, don't worry about it. Mine doesn't and it works fine, I spent hours trying to get it to turn on when it was working all the time. As long as you can ping it you are fine.

I hope these directions helps save someone the hours I spent figuring this out, and I really, really, really wish Linksys would do better with their documentation.

I didn't read all of the reviews so some of this information is probably repeated. Although some people have not had any problems, I feel I should walk through a good method for setting up this device with most security features, i.e. WEP, disabled SSID broadcast, and MAC filtering. I also use DHCP, so I will talk about this as well.

1) Log in to the web utility and perform all of the following manually (don't use the setup disk). If you are unable to log in to the web utility, this may be due to an issue which Linksys has conveniently left out of it's technical documentation. On some computers, you must set your IP address and Default Gateway for your wired adapter. IP: 192.168.1.100 and Default Gateway: 192.168.1.250 Now log in to the utility as suggested by Linksys

2) As far as entering all of the necessary information, I recommend disabling the SSID and MAC filter (on your router) first. Go ahead and enter the WEP key and SSID into the WGA54G's web utility. Save the information and then proceed to the advanced tab. If your router uses DHCP, click on the appropriate button, then save the settings. (You probably won't be able to access the WGA54G after this using your PC). Follow the correct device startup sequuecne discussed below and you are almost good to go.

3) Now you can worry about the MAC filter and SSID broadcast. Changing either option does not require you to re-access the WGA54G. Change the appropriate settings on your router and you should be good to go.

Note: Don't worry if the Wireless-G LED isn't lit. This does not mean anything. The device could be working perfectly and you wouldn't even know it because the LED is rarely solid. Nice of Linksys to mention that, huh?

Note2: Make sure you follow the correct startup order of devices. Router on, WGA54G on, XBox on.

Note3: I found patience to be the most important thing. If you are like me, you require instant network gratification. I am using this device to play Halo with some friends on a LAN at home. When the XBox starts looking for a multiplayer game, give it time!!!!! Give it up to 30 seconds (the first time) to connect to the router and find the game. After the first time, it should find games right away.

Fianl Note: The router I used was the Linksys WRT54GS, although the use of a different router with the same capabilities should not affect (ideally) the above process.

First off, for those that had the blessing of getting this beast up and running in 15 min or less, congrats and glad that you didn't have to go through the misery of Linksys tech support. But this does not mean that those who couldn't get it working on first shot had failed to read and follow instructions that came with the box. In fact, the document contained false information (i.e. the wireless G light should stay on when working properly... garbage!).

I spent over 4 hours trying to setup the adaptor on my XBOX, and after 2 calls to the tech support (got dropped after an hour on the phone with the first guy whom I probably spent 30 minutes just trying to understand what he is saying and the second guy eventually shifted the blame to Microsoft... how convenient?). Thankfully, I was able to got it to work after piecing together all the information I had gathered.

Below is a brief descripttion of what I did to finally get it working. I have broadband through Comcast Cable so hopefully this will help most of you comcast folks out there. Remember, patience is the key.

First of all, you need to upgrade the adapter to firmware 1.10 and if you use a Linksys wireless router, upgrade to the latest firmware. Both can be downloaded from Linksys web site.

Don't bother with the CD. use the browser configuration program. But you can't do this with a laptop, so connect the adaptor to a desktop. It may take a minute or 2 for the desktop to recognize the adaptor, so give it about 1 minute or so before typing in the IP address(192.168.1.250 by default) of the adaptor in the "address" field of the browser window.

The adaptor WILL work with WEP, but there is a bug with the setup program. Note that if you enter a passphrase, you should get 4 different keys generated but it returns 4 identical keys. You can work around this by cutting and pasting from the router setup window.

Follow through with the setup, the setup page will keep refreshing itself and eventually the status should show "Connected". At this point you should be able to ping the adaptor (with the hardwire still attached to the desktop) and you should even be able to get Internet connection for your desktop through the gaming adaptor.

Now bring the adaptor to your XBOX, power up the adaptor and connect it to the XBOX with the XBOX powered off. Turn on XBOX and go to setting -> network.

Forget autodetecting the IP Address, it didn't work for me at all. Go into IP Address, and manually assign an IP address to your XBOX, I used 192.168.1.107, the subnet mask should be 255.255.255.0 and the gateway should be the ip address of your router (192.168.1.1 if you have Linksys router). Now go to the Advanced -> Wireless option and XBOX should at least be able to find your wireless game adaptor. Initially it may ask you for some additional information to further configure the wireless adaptor (i.e. if the wireless finds multipled network available, it will ask you which one to connect to). Go back to the Network Setup menu and select "Connect", you should be able to at least get through the first 3 items. Initially, it may drop you a few times, make sure you don't get in the way between the adaptor and your router.

If you can't get through the last item and the error says something about set the MTU value on your router to at least 1356, you need to make sure that your cable modem can do so. I had this problem when I was using the cable modem from Comcast, but it went away after I replaced it with my own cable modem from Linksys (which I had to mail back to them when the modem stopped working after one month of usage... grrr) You do want to make sure that the cable modem you are using is compatible with XBOX Live!, you can find this list (which in my opinion should be updated more frequently by Microsoft") on "www.xbox.com/connect".

So you can see, it was a long and painful process for me to finally get this monster to work, and when it does work... it's a keeper :) I have no doubt that Linksys makes quality products. But with my own experience, they have failed to pay adequate amount of attention to their support service, and this is a huge blow to the overall rating I would give them. I don't have a problem for them to outsource their entire support department to the moon, but the quality of their service should not be sloppy. Support rep should not be telling the customer that "you must submit a RMA request over our web site" when the defective item is a cable modem... or "comforting" a customer by saying that you can always get around by using a VERY long ethernet cable to connect your XBOX to the router!?

Ok, that last paragraph is just me venting. But my hope is that the tips I have provided here will help most of you to get this baby up and running as painless as possible. Happy gaming!

I bought this because I have a house full of Linksys equipment and I figured this would make installation and setup a breeze. My wireless router is the WRT54GX2, with 4 wired ports to go with the wireless. The setup and install of the game adapter was no problem, even with WPA encryption.

To make a long story short(er), both my Xbox and Xbox 360 worked great with Xbox Live ... and then I could not get Xbox live on the Xbox 360 to work with Xbox games. Xbox live kept insisting that I needed an update, yet the update would always hang. After 3 calls to Microsoft (and about 4 hours of tech support) a support supervisor told me that this adapter is NOT on the compatible list, but is also not on the incompatible list. (Notice how the product description does not mention Xbox 360.) Anyway, once I moved the TV and Xbox 360 across the basement and was able to use a wired Ethernet connection, the update completed and I was back on to Xbox Live with Halo 2.

For me, this game adapter was not 100% compatible with the Xbox 360 and Xbox live. I could play on line fine, but updates and free downloads did not work. I'm now deciding whether to run a 70 foot Ethernet line to my Xbox 360 or go with the Microsoft wireless game adapter.

I originally got this device because it looked like it performed the same function as a wireless bridge. I have a Tivo and Xbox that I wanted to connect to my existing wireless network (MS MN-700 Wireless router). I did the initialization of the WGA54G and then hooked it up to a hub and then hooked up the Tivo and a laptop to the hub. Worked great - Tivo could get his program info and the laptop could surf the web. I then hooked up the Xbox to the hub and it would not connect. Nothing I could do (static IP, etc.) would make the Xbox connect. I even tried a switch instead of the hub but it made no difference.

I then hooked the Xbox directly to the WGA54G and, after cycling power on it, the Xbox was able to connect. Online searches found posts indicating that I could hook multiple ip address-based devices to the adaptor but only one mac address-based device to it. Now, I know what IP address and MAC address are but the whole thing doesn't make sense to me. Ultimatley everything is MAC address-based so I don't know what that distinction really means.

At any rate, this thing works for me as a game adaptor but does not appear to work as a true wireless bridge. Currently, I have to move cables from Xbox to Tivo when either needs to connect.

Hope this helps someone

Just like the title says people. If you want uninterupted gaming, run a wire. I got this product very early on when it was first brought to market so I have alot of time logged with this thing. Performance is at best, spotty. Conection to the router is dropped fairly often.

I've used the CD and web utility to connect. Even called Linksys support on the other side of the world and on two occasions I was told that they recommend you use the product with WEP disabled. What? Why would I want to do that? I live in an apartment complex with a lot of wireless connections from what I can tell from the web based utility so WEP is a must. Maybe if I lived in the middle of nowhere this would be an option.

I tried it with WEP disabled, briefly, and performance did improve so do so at your own risk. Often times to get the thing to connect with my router, I would have to hold the adaptor at different angles and heights until it could establish a connection. The router is in the next room to it's not like I'm in the attic and the router is in the basement. I just purchased the high gain attenae for the router so hopefully performance will improve some. I also find it interesting that no firmware upgrades have come out for this since inception.

If you are reading this, you have probably read the other 30 plus reviews for this product. You have also probably gathered that people have had a wide range of experiences with this product. YMMV.

Wow! What can I say about this product?

History:
I've been using Linksys products since 1998, and have had nothing but great experiences. I've referred many folks to spend the extra money on a Linksys, as it was the "Cadallic of home networking gear." To my shock and surprise, I can unfortunately say this no longer.

I purchased the WGA54G adapter, along side with a Linksys wireless broadband router. From the start, this piece of junk looked like trouble. The packaging and instructions were poor. I plugged it in, and after 5 minutes, the unit becomes uncomfortably warm. Plus, there's this faint "hissing" noise it makes when fully powered on. After an hour of repeat attempts, I eventually get the unit to "see" my broadband router, which is only 20 feet away. It connects fine, transmits data, and then at a COMPLETELY random period of time, the unit disconnects from the basestation, and is unable to transmit data, connect to the Internet, grab an IP address, nothing.

(Non)Resolution:
After much frustration, I call Linksys 24x7 "technical support." It reaches an outsourced call center in a foreign country. After two hours, here are my new impressions of Linksys new customer support:

* They speak very poor English
* They have very basic/poor product knowledge.
* When I asked for technical help from a level 2 technician, I experienced hostility
* I told them that I needed WEP privacy. They advised against this, as there are "problems" with WEP on the unit. Not acceptable-I'm not opening up my home network to the rest of the world.
* They insisted that my router was working, when I told them five various times it was still not working.

Conclusion: Junk
In conclusion, Linksys poorly designed a cheap product, and they only back it up with terrible customer support. I left this with an absolute customer experience. Until the folks at Cisco (who own Linksys) catch up with these problems, BE CAREFUL!!

So what to do?

Some say try another vendor. What do I do? Funny enough, someone gave me a second Linksys WRT54G router. I added the Sveasoft firmware hack to boost output to 84mW, and then threw it into "client" mode, and WEP encryption works (no WAP yet). It's worked flawlessly. If you'd have to pay for this, you'd end up saving money over the WGA54G purchase, and see dependable results.

Ok, after going through 2 of these adapters with the Amazon return department (Linksys informed me the first one was defective) and hours on the phone with Linksys customer support, I finally got it working. I have the Linksys WRT54G wireless G router and this game adapter DID NOT work right out of the box. After troubleshooting just about everything and anything what finally did the trick was found in the game adapters web based utility program found by going to 192.168.1.250 while the adapter is connected to your computer by ethernet cable. Leave the username blank and enter "admin" in password. Click on the advanced tab and make sure that static IP is selected. The Ip address should be 192.168.1.250 and the Gateway should be 192.168.1.1 (which comes blank by default) That one change got me up and running... GOOD LUCK!

The device *works*, but not to my expectations. I bought the WGA54g as a complement to my LinkSys WRT54g to add my XBOX to my home wireless network, along with my other 3 personal computers. This thing was a headache to setup and troubleshoot; my 4 main gripes are:

-documentation had incorrect information (definitely not an out-of-the-box, plug-and-play unit)
-LinkSys technical support was less than ZERO
-device has no way of displaying signal strength of received signal
-device has poor range

I found this device to be very temperamental; that is, it's very sensitive to received signal strength. I found that it needs to rest in the same room as my router to work as I would expect. I had been trying to get it to operate in the next room (only 25'-30' away from the router, separated by a wall) but that location was just too far out of range... even though I have near-perfect reception in the same location on my WPC54g wireless notebook adapter.

I would love to try Microsoft's solution to compare ease-of-use, range, and overall setup/config time. Bottom Line: there are other wireless gaming solutions out there; don't try this until all else fails.