Customer Reviews

Netgear ME101 802.11b Wireless Bridge

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

This has got to be one of the worst wireless products to come out of Netgear.
If you want a reliable unit, buy something else.
If you want something easy to configure and install, buy something else.
If you want something that won't get confused when it starts seeing your neighbor's wireless access point, buy something else.
If you would like to be able to call technical support and get a meaningful response, buy something else.

This thing locks up all the time. Sometimes it lasts 15 minutes, sometimes you might get 30 minutes of use out of it. Then you have to power cycle it to make it work again for another 15 minutes. I have tried to mate it to wireless access points made by Netgear, D-Link, Linksys, Adaptec, Cisco. I have tried having only one AP "visible" in its pitiful range; having multiple access points; upgrading the firmware. Nothing changes its behavior of random locks after a relatively short period of time from the moment you turn it on.

Finally, if you don't want to end up like me writing reviews on here, BUY SOMETHING ELSE! Anything.

It can not possibly be any worse than this utter failure and ripoff.

I also own a Netgear wireless router. Configuring ME101 to work with my Netgear router wasn't an issue. However, the wireless bridge only works for several hours and hang. Sometimes it only works for mintues. I've updated the firmware and it's not helping at all. It's a piece of crap.

I think this is a very good product. However, I do have two complains:

-You need to know what you are doing to set it up correctly since the instructions aren't a lot of help. If you are not familiar with networking terms, seek a friend that does, get another product that has a friendlier manual or prepare yourself with a lot of patience and trial-and-error.

-It won't "connect" to my wireless network if my access point does not broadcast the SSID. It finds it, but it never locks on it even if you enter the SSID in the bridge configuration.

First of all, you need the firmware upgrade. Don't try anything without upgrading first. I connected the cross-over cable included to my computer, installed the utility program included in the cd and upgraded the firmware (you also have to upgrade the utility program).

Once that was done, I had 100% signal strenght across the room (lets say 8 feet.) It was about 70% before the firmware upgrade. The 64-bit encription takes it back to about 84% however. I then took it to my basement (1 floor down, about 20 feet away through 3 walls) to its final location where my Playstation is. It worked without any problems. I've had it on for days now and it doesn't lock up or loses signal strength. I used to run a network cable all the way down there and I can't tell that I am using a wireless bridge instead of an ethernet cable. It is just as fast and reliable.

I also was curious about how the bridge was going to work with access control by MAC id (I have my wireless access point set up this way). It worked great. It locks on the network but it will throw itself out if the device you have connected to it is not in the MAC access control list.

Overall I am very satisfied with it, but I can see how it would get frustrating if I didn't know about networking.

Just to let everyone know: the ME101 now comes with firmware v2.0 and configuration utility v2.0 out of the box, so there's no need to download and install anything when you buy it.

I bought this wireless bridge for the sole reason of hooking up my PlayStation 2 to my home network for online games without running 50 feet of Cat5 cable down the hallway. And, for this purpose, the ME101 is perfect. Simply: this thing just works.

I configured the bridge with another computer, but found that it actually works best with the default settings. I plugged one end of the cable into my PS2's network adaptor, and the other into the ME101, and a few minutes later I'm online! One of the great things about this device is that it just "disappears" on the network when another device is plugged in (when checking my attached devices on my router, only the PS2 and my other PCs show up, not the ME101). Throughput is great, no lags, and my wireless router is two rooms and 30 feet away.

Granted, the signal strength is lower than my other wireless devices on the network, but it's speed that's important to me, and this thing delivers.

In conclusion: if you need to hook up a device such as a PS2 or Xbox, and don't want to run yards of ethernet cable thru your house, this little number does the trick. It's simple to set up, and does what it's supposed to do. I recommend it for this purpose.

Plain and simple, this item does not work. I fought with it for about a day trying to set it up as a bridge. Whenever anything connected to the eathernet port tried to access the network wireless through this "bridge" the bridge lost its connection with the wireless network. Buy a Linksys WET11 before you buy this.

I bought this little bridge to connect to my D-Link 614+ access point. During setup, it immediately found the D-Link and I was connected without issue. Unfortunately, this would only last for a random amount of time, usually a few hours, but could go for a day before disconnecting. The only solution was to power cycle the bridge. I returned it and bought a D-Link 900+ AP and it works flawlessly. My advice: Use the same vendor for all of your wireless equipment if you can. So far, if I don't, I usually have irritating problems like this.

The netgear ME101 is a compact wireless client mode bridge and a competitor to the Linksys WET11.

It is about the size of a pack of cigarettes and includes a removable antenna, power and an ethernet port. The ethernet port is not auto-sensing so you may need a crossover cable (included) and a standard ethernet cable.

The setup menu is web based and includes standard (SSID, fixed WEP keys, and preferred network). 802.11x security is not supported.

Setup was straightforward. My problems were with functionality.

I am using a 802.11b Intel/Symbol 2011 access point with WEP and Mac address filtering enabled with a wide variety of 802.11b equipment including Cisco, Intel, Orinoco, and Linksys client cards and bridges. The netgear ME101 was unable to lock on to my SSID for more than a few seconds at a time. Netgear tech support was unable to resolve the problem beyond suggesting to flash the firmware (did not help). Support also had long (30+ minutes) hold times during which I was disconnected twice and had to wait an additional 10-15 minutes to be reconnected. When I did get through to level 2 support the engineer was courteous but was unable to resolve the problem.

For now, try the Linksys WET11. The Linksys units work pretty well but are subject to loss of setup information without a UPS. I'm still waiting for a reliable and inexpensive bridge.

The first thing wrong with this device is how you interface with it. You have to install a configuration program first to set it up. A web-based interface would have been far easier. No serious user wants the clutter of yet nbother configuration program on their computer.

The second worst feature about it is you have to enter your own IP address. This means you've got to ask your cranky network administrator what address is available to you and key it in manually. Being to obtain an address automatically via DHCP is ESSENTIAL for the visitor who only wants to use your wireless temporarily.

The worst part is the set up program itself. I installed it in XP. At one point it prompted you for the password but it never accepts it! It's right there in the skimpy documentation what you have to put in the password field and then it refuss to take it!

I can't remember a device that has ever inspired such total contempt from me. This device is a complete waste of money. I boxed it back up and took it right back where I bought it the next morning.

As with the other posters, I have little good to say about my experience with this device.

I spent way too many hours trying to set this thing up. To no avail.

How badly does the ME101 [stink]? Let me count the ways:
1) The instructions are terrible - and in my case they were plain wrong. I spent way too much time trying to access the bridge via the web console only to later discover that the enclosed instructions were OUTDATED. Sure enough, there on the Netgear site was an updated version of the user guide with a completely different set of information (specifically the defaul IP address was different). Gee, thanks Netgear.
2) I bought this device because I already have a Netgear wireless router. You'd like to think that they'd make the devices easy to use out of the box given the same make. Of course not -- the stupid IP address doesn't even conform to the standard Netgear router IP. Not a big deal, but it's little details like this that are so annoying.
3) Netgear's tech support. AWOL. The first night I tried to call these guys I got the phone tree of death. Had to go through 5-6 levels of menu to get to the right queue. By the time I did, I got a message saying my call is important to them, blah blah blah, followed by a prompt that indicated a 30 minute waiting period. 30 minutes later after Vivaldi's Four Seasons, I hear a ring. Yes - help is on the way! Only to hear my line be disconnected. I call back - now the voice says 40 minutes. I try again an hour later -- now we're at 80 minutes.
4) Second night of Netgear tech support I call back. After another 30 minute wait, the tech tells me I'm in teh wrong queue. Before I can respond, he transfers me - ring followed by nothing (I'm cut off AGAIN). So now I'm [ticked]. I call back yet again (glutton for punishment). After another interminable wait I get a live human. From the start he tells me that since I have a Mac I can't use the ME101, I need an ME102 OR, get this, I need to configure the ME101 with a Windows machine and THEN use it with my Mac. He then insists that I need "drivers" for the device which arent' compatible with the Mac and when I press him on why this information is not present in any of the user guide materials, he patronizingly tells me "you wouldn't understand". In any event, a short argument ensues in which I ask the tech if he's ever read the manual they've packaged with the unit, because everything he's tell me is constradicting the friggin manual. After hanging up on the guy, I later manage to access the web console which only furthers my assertion that Netgear tech support folk are morons (turns out I had to reset to the factory settings b/c for some reason the thing wasn't even set to the factory defaults to begin with!!!)
5) The range - the range on this thing stinks. I had it literally NEXT to the router and the signal strength was at 50%. 15 feet away? Nada...nothing. On top of that the unit couldn't even keep a consistent connection and kept dropping out.

In any event, I bought a Linksys WET11 to boost my flagging spirit (and for the need to convince myself that I wasn't a moron). As with the other reviewer, the Linksys was easily configured, worked almost immediately and had great range.

Let me end by saying I was in the local Fry's yesterday and noticed they had a bunch of ME101 boxes on display. On closer inspection I noticed that almost ALL of the boxes had been previously opened and then returned. A couple of them clearly had been returned not once, but MULTIPLE TIMES. All this tells me that I'm not the only that has had problems with this piece o' garbaggio.

In the future, I'm sticking with Linksys. Forget Netgear. Save the tylenol for a better headache.

I was hesitant to purchase this bridge due to the poor customer reviews, but I'm glad I did. I had my old Bondi Blue iMac, running Mac OS 9.2, on the Internet within five minutes. It only took that long because my wireless router's set up with shared key encryption, MAC filtering, and no beaconing. This little unit does what it's supposed to do right out of the box, and it's easily configurable, if needed, using the Web browser of any machine you plug into it. I haven't even opened the CD.

The only drawbacks--which are all minor--are 1) it doesn't seem to get as good of a signal as my other devices, but since it has a replaceable antenna and comes with very long cords I can fix that; 2) its form factor and LED displays don't match other typical Netgear products' style (like their routers and access points) so it looks kind of odd; and 3) whenever you click Apply in the Web configuration screens, it requires the bridge to reboot, which takes a minute or two, and if you switch from a static IP to DHCP, you'll probably lose your connection entirely and have to figure out what the bridge's new IP is to get back to the configuration page.

None of the complaints I have are a big deal, and I'm very happy with this product. I just wish it was a little cheaper, since it's basically just a wireless "card" for PCs that can't use a real wireless card.