Customer Reviews

Microsoft Wireless-G Notebook Kit

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I had no problems at all with the computers that were connected via wires to this router. The wireless connection, on the other hand, was HORRIBLE!!!! The signal strength was great throughout the entire house, but the connection would just drop (every minute or so) for no reason.
I was hoping the firmware update that the other reviewers mentioned would fix the issue, and unfortunatelly it did NOT. The connection just keep dropping. Hopefully there is a fix out there. If there isn't, I will be returning this kit. I will let you know how this turns out!!!!!

EDIT-12/12/03. I found the issue. The channel I was using was the problem. I was using channel 5 instead of the default channel 6. Once I swichted it to channel 6 everything was fantastic (maybe something in my area was causing interference with channel 5 - there are no other visible wireless networks in my area). The signal strength was strong. I even tried blocking the signal as best as I could, but no matter what I did the signal remained strong and download speeds were unaffected. Its a great buy!!!

I upgraded our router/notebook card from the MN-500 to the MN-820, after our notebook card was damaged. (Never leave the computer leaning card side down against the furniture around small children!)

We were happy with the 500. However, the 820 is a dramatic improvement. We are noticing even better reception around the house and much faster data transfer, going from 802.b to 802.g. Only one little speed-bump with the installation wizard. An error message popped up, but after closing it, the wizard seemed to continue on its own. It finished the job successfully.

I noticed that Microsoft included multiple stickers/warnings in the packaging instructing you to install the router & notebook card ONLY AFTER the wizard tells you too. We had some trouble installing the original mn-500 because we jumped the gun and plugged in the hardware before we were supposed to. Microsoft will probably get far fewer service calls thanks to all the stickers.

You could have two computers connnected with 128 WEP encryption in about 20 minutes after opening the box. Don't skip the encryption section of the wizard. Without WEP, anyone with a wireless card could view your shared directories and use your internet connection. Someone in my neighborhood is using an unsecured wireless network. My laptop can see it! With one click, I could be on it.

I would recommend this product. It's my second Microsoft router/card system and I'll probably go with Microsoft for another future upgrade.

I purchased the MN-820 Wireless notebook kit recently and had no problems with installation and operation of the wireless system. However, I live in a condo in a major city. It appears other people also operate a wireless network system in the building. When other wireless networks are operating at the same time as I am, I will be unable to connect and operate my wireless network because of a WEP security interference with the other wireless systems. I will have excellent signal strength, but will be unable to connect to the internet because of a mutual security interference from other wireless units in the building. It appears Microsoft has not encoded the WEP security key in such a manner as to avoid mutual interference from other wireless systems that operate on the same default channel as their wireless network. It is frustrating to be "knocked off" your wireless network with an error message of an "incorrect security key" when that is not the case. I will have to talk to Microsoft technical people to see how to reduce the interference problem. Wish me luck

What East Hartford said. I had/have the exact same problem. Loss of connection for approximately 10-20 seconds every minute or two. Not a real problem if you're a casual surfer. Real problem if you require a constant/reliable connection.

I was set at channel 6, switched to channel 1 (planning to run through them all 1 by 1). Channel 1 appears to be working well. I'll know better in a few days. If not, I'll start working through them all. Like E.H., I show no other networks, but something is causing interference.

If you have this problem, start changing up your channels.

As for setup and operation (aside from the above glitch) it was amazing. Very, very, very easy. I believe I was up and running in 15 minutes with my desktop, laptop and WPA encryption.

Edit 01/07/04: Nevermind. Been through all the channels and still having the same problem. Going to scrap this unit. Too bad too, because otherwise it was near perfect.

We purchased this product largely based on the positive reviews of Microsoft tech support that we read on Amazon. One of the main differences between the major vendors of notebook cards and routers is tech support. A pivotal factor for us was the quality and availability of tech support because this is our first wireless system. When we experienced problems with the installation we tried to access tech support and reached inexperienced, off-shore techs who were unable to diagnose or solve the problem in over three hours.

Not only did the installation go poorly, but it crippled our system and has made it impossible to access the internet at all. Quite a disaster for us. They refused to escalate the case and couldn't seem to find anyone who spoke English clearly enough to communicate effectively with us. We finally gave up and are returning the product.

Save yourself and don't buy this product unless you have an experienced in-house technical support team. Microsoft clearly isn't going to be there to assist you.

I had to return the router because the wired connection to my desktop dropped the internet connection every few minutes and I had to reboot the computer/dsl modem/router everytime to reset the connection. Apparently, this was a common problem of people who connected to the internet via PPOE. I do not understand how Microsoft delivered this product without proper testing; I guess it is just like their operating systems and other software: Just rush them out to the market and the fixes will follow.
The wireless PCMCIA card worked just fine, I must admit. But since I wanted a complete set of hardware, I returned both.

I mistakenly rushed to get the 802.11g kit from Microsoft because I liked what they'd done with the 802.11b notebook kit and wanted a higher data transfer rate on my wireless network.

As usual, set up is a cinch. Installation and initial configuration takes about 5 minutes. I would like to have seen Microsoft provide some more advanced installation options like selecting non-default gateway IP address, a wizard for selecting which ports to forward, etc.

Then the problems start. Basically, my network and internet connection drops every minute or so requiring a restart of both the router and my DSL modem. I've been through the manual a million times, nothing works!!!

This is completely substandard considering that early reports showed the 802.11b kit suffered from similar problems. I've figured out that the problems are related to the firmware which the kit ships with. I hope Microsoft will come out with an update very soon, otherwise I'm returning this thing!!!!

Wait to buy the 802.11g until they fix the bugs otherwise try the Linksys.

The router is neat, and software installation is straightforward.
Then the problems start. It connected to the internet, and proclaimed it was in desparate need of a software and firmware upgrade. I told it to do the download, but it hung half way through. Every time I transferred data from the internet, the router would go AWOL after a page or two (I couldn't even ping it). I had to power cycle the router.

Eventually, I re-installed by old router, downloaded the upgrade, then went back to the MS router and upgraded it. It has worked fine since.

BUT, the wireless range is underwhelming. When I tried 802.11b a couple of years ago, I had a blind spot in my house, in the room I used the laptop. I had assumed that this blind spot would be gone in a much more recent 802.11g product, but it's still there.

I'll probably be returning it.

To recap: reasonably nice unit, works fine once you update the firmware, but too buggy to use initially to download the firmware upgrade.

Microsoft will support Networking Hardware for another 2 years [countdown from summer 2004] and will not indulge in any recall of this [these] Wireless-G product(s). Nevertheless, Microsoft has decided to get out of networking hardware which is one reason why the price on this product is sinking.
I have tried almost every other competitive Wireless-B/G and Wired Network Base Station and PCMCIA Network Card products on the US market and absolutely nothing comes close to the elegance of setup, clarity of network management and simplicity of use. It is a thorough shame that Microsoft is exiting Networking Hardware.
If you buy this, you'd be very satisfied and just plunk the savings [$100 in some cases] in price-difference in a simple 2-year bank savings and you can easily afford to replace it in a few years with far faster technology, microsoft or not.
It is one of the few things from the entire Networking marketplace that could have hammered Apple Airport and its nifty music reciever, but alas... Bill Gates does not tolerate simplicity and well-working products just to maintain his "buggy-technology" image he has so well honed over the decades!

This thing is driving me crazy. I can't maintain an internet connection once the base station is connected. Apparently this is a problem for PPPOE connnections. It doesn't make sense. I am going to try to find an upgrade on the net, but it is looking like I am going to return it. The only positve thing is that it looks nice and can connect at 54MBs.