Customer Reviews

Cisco-Linksys WRT54GS Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster

5 star:		(318)
4 star:		(133)
3 star:		(40)
2 star:		(39)
1 star:		(106)

 

 

I love the WRT54G which I have bought for my home a year ago. I am a college student and just bought another one since I moved off campus. At first, I had trouble deciding between the WRT54G or the WRT54GS( with speedbooster). From first glance, the speedbooster tag seems enticing since everybody wants fast wireless transfers that would hopefully come close to wired networks. After reading some reviews and speaking to my best friend who works for Linksys , the only difference between the WRT54G and the WRT54GS is the flash and Ram memory. It is an upgrade from 4mb to 8mb for the flash, and 16mb to 32mb for the Ram. Basically you wont surf the internet any faster. The benefits of this is just transferring files from one computer to another will increase. For those who just want to share an internet connection, stick with the WRT54G and save the extra 20 bucks for a 30 pack of beer. If you like to transfer files between computers, spend the extra dough.

I recently purchased the Linksys wrt54gs router upon the recommendation of our firm's IT manager. We use this same router in our business office. I am using this one in a 3000 sq ft home and the router covers the entire house with an "excellent" to "very good" reception (54mps). It does take a little while to hook up. AND, this is important - it is much easier to hook up the router using a program download from the linksys.com web site. The program will walk you through the set up process and program the router for your system. I figure Linksys created the program to reduce all the time their technical people were spending with people like me. In fact their technical support recommended the program instead of the cd. So skip the cd that comes with the router and don't mess with the "easy set up button"; just use the free download. Also, if you're a novice like me you need to know that you program the router using your internet browser. The address is in the manual. Finally, be sure to set up the security features otherwise your wireless network will be open for anyone within range to connect.

I have nothing but good things to say about this item. I can't believe that there is not one review on this item yet. After struggling with the D-Link DI-624 & all of its included problems for about 3 weeks I decided to return it. Those were the worst 3 weeks of my life. The router would reboot every few minutes, & would disconnect every time the phone rang. The very worst part of all was that the D-Link PC Card would freeze my notebook with no way to properly shutting down. I even tried the new Netgear card with the same results. At this point I had given up on wireless, & switched back to using cables. About a week ago, my girl showed up at my doorstep with an Amazon box. When I opened it & saw what was inside. I said to myself, oh boy here we go again, & to my surprise it was nothing like that. Everything went smooth as silk, from beginning to end. The best experience I have had in a long time. The router it self is very well built & sturdy, unlike the D-Link. I guess it's true what people say, you get what you pay for. For anybody in the market for a wireless router, I would highly recommend you spending a few dollars more & getting a quality product from a well known company like Linksys / Cisco. The installation was a no-brainer, & the configuration process was just as easy. The configuration wizard walks you step by step & explains what each setting does. Till this day, I haven't had any problems with reboots or disconnects when the phone rings. The best part is my Linksys PC Card doesn't freeze my notebook, & does have slightly better range than the D-Link. Another thing I love about the router is that it has all the bells & whistles for those who like playing with the advance settings. The transfer speeds are slightly faster than the D-Link's, but I really doubt they even come near of what they claim. All in all I'm very satisfied with this Linksys combo, & the 3 year warranty is a big plus.

I had an existing Router and Wireless access point from Linksys, the router started acting up so I decided to replace both of them with this wireless router.

The key is to get an Internet connection from your DSL modem directly to your computer, once you can get online the rest is cake.

I unplugged my main computer from the old router and plugged it directly into the Verizon DSL modem. Turned on my computer and was able to get online immediately. Once you can, insert the CD that comes with this router and follow the instructions. It checks for the Internet connection, and instructs you to then plug in the router. It took few seconds for it to recognize and configure the new router, it then installed some basic security setting for me.

It automatically let my computers that are hardwired to the router access the Internet also. The wireless devices that I have had to be changed to the new security settings, unless you use your old security settings again.

The thing that bugs me is that it doesn't tell you how to log into your router from the web browser. I know from experience so I did it automatically. This is important because you should always change the default password, or anyone could log into your router and change it. Becuase the default is widely known. To change it, go to your web browser, type in 192.168.1.1 in the address field (without the http://), when a box pops up the log in is: admin and the password is admin. CHANGE THE PASSWORD. Even if you do not set up wireless security, you should, but if you don't at the very least change the password and write it down so you don't forget it.

When you are logged in it is a good idea to set up the security settings for wirelss access. You can find some good intructions on the Linksys website. If you don't do this anyone in your neighborhood may be able to log in and use your Internet connection. A friend of mine had this problem and someone had also changed the default password.

FINALLY got the wireless network going but not without help from many of the reviews listed, a long call to Linksys tech support and then stumbling on the Windows XP Network Setup Wizard. This wizard was able to resolve the last of my issues!

Being BRAND new to networking and especially wireless networking here is what I have learned in the past 24hrs that helped get my router/wireless network up and running, but note my experience listed below was to get my desktop which was plugged into Port 1 on the router to access the internet via SBC Yahoo DSL. Once this was FINALLY sorted my wireless laptop was easily connected as soon as I entered the security settings mentioned below into the wireless card software AND THE SIGNAL/SPEED IS EXCELLENT!!

The hard part was connecting the wired desktop below:

-On your desktop that you wish to be wired to the router, first close/disable your virus/firewall software and/or Windows XP firewall

-Do NOT use the CD that comes with the WRT54G. Instead while your computer is still traditionally plugged into your DSL got to www.linksys.com/easy and download NetSet software to your desktop (so you can find it easily). While on this page also download NetUpdate to your desktop also - this program will check if you need a firmware upgrade (ie router software upgrade) - but you have to have your router connected before running this program. So once you have downloaded these 2 programs run the NetSet program and it will guide you through plugging in the router.

-Once the router is plugged in, run the NetUpdate program to check if you need a firmware upgrade (note: my version 5 router did not need an update according to this program)

-If during this entire time the little box saying "Dialling SBC Yahoo DSL" continuously keeps popping up followed by "Error 678 - Remote computer did not respond", and opening Internet Explorer does not result in your home page coming up - well this is what I spent an hour on the phone with tech support about!! They eventually fixed it, but the next morning the same problem still occurred!! This was FINALLY solved by going to My Computer/My Network Places (under Other Places on left side)/Set up a home or small office network and then the Network Setup Wizard pops up. Follow the wizard (there is a requirement saying Connect to Internet - continue on even if the error 678 boxes keep popping up as in my case I WAS connected to the internet through the router despite the error boxes!!) Select the option about sharing the connection through a gateway and once the wizard is done, power down DSL modem and router, then turn on DSL modem first, then router, then restart your computer (as prompted) Once restarted, try to open Internet Explorer....hopefully your home page comes up and the "Dialling SBC Yahoo DSL" followed by "Error 678" is gone....

-If not, right click on the Internet Explorer icon and select Properties/Connections and check "Never dial a connection", then click on LAN settings and make sure all boxes are unchecked, then click OK to exit and try opening Internet Explorer again...

-If still no home page, then close Internet Explorer and double click to open My Computer then go to View/Toolbars and check Address bar and you should see and address bar (may have to drag things around on the tool bar to see it fully). Type the router's default IP address (without www) into this bar - it is listed on FAQ's slip in the router box and looks like ###.###.#.# and hit enter. A box should pop up - leave username blank and type default password listed on FAQ slip in router package and hit OK. Now a new page should come up, click on Setup/Basic Setup and for SBC Yahoo DSL select PPPoE from the drop down menu (different selection req for cable modem). Enter SBC Yahoo DSL username and password and click Save Settings then Continue.

-While you are here, you'll want to change the security settings, so click Wireless/Basic Wireless Settings and make up a new SSID network name that you can remember that contains numbers/capitals. All computers connecting to this wireless network will need to know this SSID, so write it down as well as the wireless channel selected (I was told to select Channel 11 by tech support). Then check Disable SSID broadcast so that your SSID network will appear without a name on a wireless computer's scan. Knowing what channel your network is broadcast on will help you find your network later from your wireless computer. Click Save Settings then Continue. Then click Wireless/Wireless Security and then select either the super secure WPA2-Personal with AES algorithm or the still secure WPA-Personal with TKIP algorithm. Both are acceptable and way more secure than nearly useless WEP. You will need to type a >8 character "password" or WPA Shared Key into the box - again all computers connecting to your network will need to know this so write it down, it should contain capitals and numbers and all computers connecting to your wireless network will need to be compatible with either WPA or WPA2 security and have your network SSID and WPA Shared Key (password) entered into their wireless connection software.

-For extra security, you can ensure that only listed computers can connect to your network. To do so, write down the MAC (basically ID#) printed onto the wireless card of any computer you want to connect. Then on the router set up screen mentioned above, click Wireless/Wireless MAC filter and check enable. Check "Permit only listed PC's having access" and then click "Edit MAC filter list". Enter MAC (ie ID#) from the wireless card of any computer you wish to access your network, then click Save Settings then Continue. Before exiting, click Save Settings then Continue and then close program.

-Now try to open Internet Explorer - if it doesn't work, you will have to call tech support....

-To configure wireless laptops, open the software on the laptop for the wireless card, scan and select your network - it will have a blank area under SSID anme and should be on the channel you wrote down above. Select it and then enter in the SSID network name you created and select either WPA or WPA2 security and enter WPA Shared Key (password) to EXACTLY match whatever you selected on the router configuration page. Hopefully you should be now be able to connect!

-The last problem I had was with Outlook email, as when click Send/Receive it also tried to dial! Click Tools/Email accounts/View /Change existing accounts/Change/More Settings/Connection/Connect using my local area network(LAN)/OK. Then click Test account settings - should work fine. NOW click NEXT to save settings, then Finish and hopefully all "Dialling" error boxes should be gone!

-Once configured and connected you should be able to turn your virus/firewall software back on - GOOD LUCK!!

I had trouble installing one of the PC cards. Tech Support must be in India and there was a serious language barrier going on when I called. (At least three times I said "I'm sorry sir, I can't understand what you are saying!!!). After I described the problem several times (setup wouldn't run to install the card), he still was having me troubleshoot the router. I got frustrated and hung up. Long story short, removing and reseating the card fixed the problem.

The router was fairly easy to set up and the only major problem I had was getting decent signal strength to a PC that was fairly far away. The PC housing is actually in the way of the signal, since the antenna is somewhat "hidden" behind the PC, so I kind of expected it. Might need an antenna extension to increase the signal strength a little more, but repositioning the router and antennas seemed to help a little. Our laptop works all over the house and my PC (same room as the router) is fine too. No problems with the laptop card.

WARNING: The default router settings leave you pretty open to hackers, so change your SSID to something less obvious than "default", turn off SSID broadcasting and use MAC address filtering as soon as you can change those settings! Write down your MAC addresses before you install the cards; it will save you some time trying to get them using Windows.

I don't have any data to support this, but the reliability seems to be better after I installed SP2 for XP. I can't remember the last time I had a problem connecting and it happened many times before I did the upgrade. I either couldn't connect when I booted, or it would just drop during the middle of something. I think I remember hearing that SP2 had better wireless support.

The parental controls feature works great when it's actually working (and it's nicely priced), but it was flakey during my free trial, so I didn't sign up. When Parental Controls are turned on, it appears that all Internet traffic gets redirected through their Parental Controls server. Guess what happens when that server goes down? You either have (1) no access or (2) unlimited access. When I emailed Tech Support, they said they had never heard of that problem (yeah right, even a popular Internet reviewer mentioned it in their review). One more thing, you either have Parental Controls for everyone on the router or no one. So, Mom and Dad have to log in on their PC's if you want your kids to surf safely. A smarter move might have been to use a MAC filter to only have Parental Controls on certain PC's.

The reporting options outside of Parental Controls are next to nil. You get a weak outgoing log that only lists IP addresses. It doesn't even appear to be accurate, from what I can see (entries missing?). Tech Support said they don't have a utility to pull better logs yet (They do have one for earlier Linksys routers).

I have never installed a wireless network before, so I can't give you any comparisons to other manufacturers. However, setup and speed are very good to excellent. Tech support stinks. Parental Controls will be very good if they get their servers to be more reliable.

***Update 9/8/2006: After about two years of usuage, I think I have figured out that my cordless phone (also 2.4 GHz) is interfering with my wireless connection!!!

DO NOT BUY THE CURRENT VERSION OF THIS *FORMERLY* EXCELLENT PRODUCT!

Linksys WRT54GS v1 through v4 were terrific products and the reason for the reviews with so many stars prior to this one.

Recently Cisco/Linksys changed internals completely, cut flash memory to 2 megs and switched OS to something called VxWorks. I don't understand why they did this. Or at least could have called it by new model number? To know if you have the dreaded v5 unit you can look on the box for serial number CGN7. Easy to do in a retail store, but you cannot do this by mail-order can you? So you will probably get the new one.

As it is the old customer reviews for this product do not reflect the current product which looks same externally. But new GS v5 unit does not work nearly as well if you try to do BitTorrent or anything beyond basic usage. Also complaints of connection speeds being way slow unless you upgrade firmware. Is Joe Consumer now expected to upgrade firmware on a device just to get it basically working? How did this get out of the factory with so many bugs?

Having read all the reviews for this product, including some not so favorable, I decided to upgrade my wired router to wireless.

Setup couldn't have been more straightforward. I didn't use the setup CD, but followed the setup guide. Within ten minutes, I was connected. The router is connected to a custom built P4 and my laptop is a Sony Vaio. I used the Linksys WPC45GS to connect my laptop to the network, another easy and flawless install.

After the initial install of the router, it is strongly suggested you do the following:

- Change the SSID
- Disable SSID broadcast
- Change password for admin access
- Enable MAC filtering
- Change SSID often
- Use highest encryption possible
- Change encryption keys often

For me, this router has been working flawlessly for the last week. Installation and configuration was simple. With my laptop, I can go anywhere in my 1800 sq ft. home and get a strong signal with no dropouts.

Excellent product. Highly recommended.

This router is basically the WRT54G, with the addition of Linksys' Speedbooster technology. It can service all 802.11g, as well as the older 802.11b, based networks. Or it can serve a network consisting of a mixture of those two standards. In short, this is a very versatile router to have.

The Speedbooster technology provides an additional increase in network speed over the typical 54mbs of the 802.11g standard. This is very useful if you like to transfer large files between your computers. The extra speed should help things move along just a little quicker. But keep in mind that this will probably not give you any additional increase over the internet. Probably because the wireless connection between the router and your computer is not the bottleneck. The Speedbooster capability can only be fully utilized if your operating system is either Windows 2000 or Windows XP.

Setting up this router was easy. My PCI wireless desktop adapter is also made by linksys. The ethernet card on my older computer is a standard issue IBM.

I highly recommend this wireless router to anyone who frequently transfers large files from one computer to another. I have had the router in operation for over a week, and so far, it has not dropped my internet connection.

For your information, my current network consists of two desktop computers (Dell 8200 and an IBM 300PL). The Dell is connected wirelessly, using a Linksys wireless adapter with the Speedbooster capability. The IBM has the original IBM network card. Speedstream DSL modem. The Dell is running on Windows XP Pro and the IBM has Windows 2000 Server.

I've owned several wireless routers. (SMC, Belking, Netgear, and Linksys to name a few). Hands down this is the WIFI router a techie should get. Now someone who don't care about security and just wants to plug and get things done, I've found Netgear to be more frienlier but lacks features. So why 'THIS' WIFI router?

1. Linksys has stable releases of firmware. Especially if you like to do things like port forwarding, and so forth you want good support.
2. Linksys has provided the source code to the firmware. And there are several open source firmware codes for this thing. Some provide few additional configurations while others are compltely new firmware. It's a geek's dream come ture.
3. If you use VOIP. (telephone service running on top of your internet), this router is one of the very few who provides QOS. QOS (Quality Of Service) can put higher priortiy by physicial port, or network port. I just plug my VOIP to the port and prioritize it. My calls are substantially more stable then before.
4. Reputation (Solid hardware.) I bought Linksys's first home router back in 1999. Linksys has always made reliable and good routers.
5. So do you need the GS? Actually no, but they are pretty much identical hardware with GS having more memory. Besides the speedboost thing (which I never used), it doesn't matter. Which ever is cheaper and more readily available, you should pick it up.

I have to repeat that this is a great techie router. A beginner will be fine too, but I found 'Wizard' like menus of other WIFI router to be more 'consumer' friendly. But for someone who wants to configure the router to do a lot of things and require something that can take heavy abuse, this is THE router.