Customer Reviews

Iogear Wireless-G Notebook Short Card (GWP512)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I bought this to connect to my university wireless network. It connects for 2 minutes and then suddenly disconnects. The signal, even when connected to the network is either "low" or "extremely low". This card sucks! It's a waste of money.

I purchased this item based on the idea of having a PC card that would not stick out like a sore thumb. I've been using a Linksys 54G card that works great but I always knock off the end cover when I slip it into my computer bag.

After installing and using for a couple of weeks I decided to ditch this thing. The reception is worse than bad. The ability for it to keep a connection is also substandard. I/O should offer all of it's customers a refund or offer some kind of fix.

Unfortunately I sent in the rebate form and now I'll have to wait 10-12 weeks for a check.

If your familiar with 802.g or are new to wireless networks save yourself the aggrevation and purchase something else.

The previous wireless PCMCIA card I had stuck out about an inch from my laptop. It was broken in an accident, severly disabling its reception. My laptop has two PC card slots, and I have been wanting to put a USB 2 card adapter in the other one. However, all the other wireless network cards have antennas that prevent putting two cards into the slots.

This Iogear card is very small, solving my problem. It only sticks out about a quarter inch from my computer, and does not get any thicker on its protrusion. If you are looking for an inexpensive (I paid $8 for mine after a $20 mail-in rebate), low-profile wireless G card and don't need a super-strong antenna, go with this one. My experience seems to confirm the other reviewers' comments: a shorter antenna equals relatively weak reception. Otherwise, the card works fine. It is backwards compatible with 802.11b networks, as well.

I had a Dell TrueMobile card in my Dell laptop, but my wife kept bending the big antenna sticking out, to the point of it almost breaking. I saw this card and thought "what a great idea!" and ordered it. My signal strength went from EXCELLENT to POOR. And get this, my router is about 6 feet away through a wood floor. If I move the laptop off my lap and out around my knees, I get a GOOD signal, but a laptop is made for, well, laps.

Well made card but lousy implementation of design. I doubt you will be happy.

This wireless card works great and is super fast... as long as you are using it within 30' of a transmitter. I work in a building that is completely Wireless-G, and only when I'm in a room with a transmitter in it or when I can actually see the transmitter sticking out of the ceiling, does it work fine. Otherwise, it picks up a weak signal intermitantly and never allows you to connect. Spend a few more dollars and get something that actually works reliably.

I liked it very much, after I get it to work. It looks cool. and it works cooler than other pcmcia wireless cards(I am talking aobut temperature).

Never reading the manual, I put the card in first and installed the driver. Driver was installed but the card was stuck with a yellow ! mark on it. I spent two hours playing with it. In the end I deleted everything from the driver cd and restalled it as the manual said. It worked right away.

I can't tell if the card really has a short range when compared to other pcmcia cards, but it probably has a shorter ranger than the USB cards(as I used USB cards previously). I could sit in my car to get on the internet using 802.11G and WEP128 or WPA encription. That's about 50 feet and three walls away. The singal bar in the config utilily program dropped a lot but the browser is still very usable. I have a few routers in the neighbourhood and I see them all the time.

Some users experience the situation where one can't connect even when it is a few feet from the router. I think those cards are definitely bad. It's conceiveable that the factory can only do cursory power-on test, instead of full tests on all cards. So I am lucky to get a good one.

Read the other reviews. This card has horrible reception range. Mine is going back today. I even tried it inside a Starbucks and could only get reception in one seat in the place. My Wireless B card allows me to even go outside...

The range/ signal strength is as short as the card. About half of my other G card. I called IOGear tech support and they said it is because it has such a small antenna. So, don't expect much signal. Mine is going into the drawer.

I have been using a NETGEAR wireless PC card for my laptop for over two years. I used to leave the card in the slot most of the time, and guess what, the antenna thingy started cracking. Now it is almost dying, unable to get signal sometimes. I guess I was not alone. Most of the cards out there in the market are about 119mm long, which means you are *supposed* to take the card out before you put the laptop in a bag. Can't they make these cards any shorter?

After some patient searching, I found IOGEAR GMW512. It turned out be a full 10mm shorter. Now I don't have to take the card out. It works great.

Small, good looking and very inexpensive (I paid $29. Now, it's only $9!) However, as the other reviewers noted, the range is very poor. Also, the transfer rate becomes extremely slow when power save mode is used. The card causes small but annoying noise from my laptop speaker, too. Some of them might be due to my old laptop. Having all said that, if the reception range is not an issue for you, the $9 sounds very attractive. (Bottomline - the card works just fine.)
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Up-date:
The card is still working fine. I don't use the software bundled, use only XP's wireless network. Somehow, the speaker noise disappeared.
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Up-date 2
Six months have passed. Now, the card has started bahaving a bit strange. The card works fine for an hour or so, then it suddenly refuses to connect to the router. Indicaters blinking, the wireless connection says "excellent" (which is actully strange), but there is no connection. I'd like to try warranty. Let's see.
By the way, I don't understand why there is no mention of GWP512 on the IOGear web-site. I can only find GWP514.
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Up-date 3
After one e-mail and one phone call, I've got the RMA number, and I ship the card back to IOGear. After waiting for a month and sending two e-mails, IOGear replied that they would replace the card with GWP514. Fine with me. The replacement card has not arrived, yet. Hope it works
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Up-date 4
GWP514 has arrived after waiting for two more weeks. The reception range is far far better than the previous GWP512. Power save mode is also working fine (I don't know how much power is saved, but at least it's not slowing down the connection under max power save mode). So far it's working beautifully with my old Toshiba 3110CT.
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