Customer Reviews

Netgear WGB511 802.11g Wireless Networking Kit

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

This router replaced an older Netgear 802.11b router which had served our network well. The web-based configuration utility is easier to navigate, and the signal strength and data rate were improved even with our older 802.11b adapters. One complaint: the MAC filtering option (which limits access to your network to specific physical adapters as alternative or adjunct to signal encryption) is deeply hidden, under the Advanced Wireless Settings | Setup Access List settings.

Nice small footprint, excellent price (especially with the rebate) and good functionality..


The bundled PCMCIA adapter for a laptop was up and running immedaitely on a Toshiba laptop..no issues with the computer's Windows XP SP2 upate (not true of Netgear's WG311 PCI adapter).

I bought this WGB511 Networking Kit just this week (compliments to Amazon.com for fast shipment, BTW) after much consideration of different companies (Linksys, Belkin, etc.) and models (like the 802.11b wireless networking kit from Netgear). In the end, I decided buy this product because it seemed to give greatest bang for the buck (and reviews were up and down for all the products--for some people it worked great, for others, not at all). So far, it works great. My roommate has a Belkin 802.11g wireless card, and the router works just great with his computer--no spotty connections, and Internet connection as fast as connecting to the modem directly. As for me (with the included Netgear WG511 wireless card), the connection was somewhat spotty at the beginning. I think the problem was XP's (I'm not a great fan of M$) automatic wireless network configuration. It must have done something that increases (apparent) signal strength but makes the connection unstable. But, after configuring the router channel to the one with least interference (you can see which channels are in use by other wireless networks using Netgear's configuration utility--Site Survey) and setting up everything using Netgear's utility, it's working fine. So, five stars for working as expected, no points lost for the failings of the other company (er... M$?)

Let me say that I know absolutely nothing about home networking. I had dial-up for so many years because it wasn't available in my area (and I live in Silicon Valley!). When our cable company started to carry it, we signed up immediately.

I found the Netgear router and card to be very easy and simple to use. I just plugged the router in, followed the instructions and off I went. The card was just as easy to set up. My desktop is running Windows XP and the laptop has Win98.

The only problem I had was running the "test" button after logging into the router's setup page. After inputing the router's settings on the setup page, you're supposed to hit a "test" button to see if you're router is setup correctly. It takes you to a Netgear web page where is says you're successful and you're now protected. For me, the success web page would never appear. After surfing the Netgear web site (and several tech support articles), you have to disable any popup blockers you have. When I did that, the success page finally appeared.

For research, I went to www.practicallywired.com where there's a lot of good, basic info for newbies like me.

Good luck!

After purchasing this kid I had read previous reviews and I also needed to download the latest drivers and firmware, before the suplied manuals showed the screens and config steps to get the router, cable modem connection and wireless card working. After that I discovered that there was a cover missing on the wireless network card and I could see inside the resistors and other details of the wireless card. I tried twice to report the problem but the outsourced service support was not interested in the missing cover and wanted to troubleshoot the device - no exchange so I consider returning the product to Amazon even though I like it but without cover sooner or later dirt and humidity will reduce the lifetime of the wirless card.

i have had this netgear router and the laptop card for over a year now. over all it's been doing good so far. i had to reset it about 4 times in the past year but besides that it's a good solid product.

UPDATE (march 10, 2005)

Well, I take back the 4-star rating I gave a few weeks ago. I now have serious doubts about Netgear's quality control. I say this because 1) my Netgear router (from this kit) stopped working after just two weeks, and 2) my web search revealed that this is a *common* problem.

I wish Amazon could let me revise the rating. I'd now give this kit a 2-star rating. The PC Card, which I have been using heavily, still works fine, although the end plastic (where you hold the card) is coming off loose. At least it still works and does a good job at pulling in and maintaining wi-fi signal.

But the router's poor quality pissed me off. It stopped working exactly two weeks after I set it up. All of a sudden I just couldn't get on the Internet. I hadn't done a thing to provoke this. I tried connecting to the net using my old Linksys and D-Link routers; both worked fine. Once I switched back to the Netgear WGR614 router, once again I would lose Internet altogether. I repeated this a dozen times on two different days, resetting the router seven or eight times total in the process, all to no avail, so my conclusion was my router broke.

I dialed Netgear's tech support, which is a toll-free number, but I was on hold for too long that I gave up. I'll try again tomorrow, but right now (3/10/05) I'm not hopeful.

Given how commonplace this "not-working-out-of-nowhere" problem seems, I caution anyone against buying Netgear products, until they improve their quality. BTW, the box of my Netgear kit says "made in Taiwan," but the router and PC Card are both labeled "made in China."

I have an "ancient" Windows 98SE laptop. The setup and configuration for this device could not have been simpler. I was astounded by how automatic everything was. The only problem (not Netgear's fault, really), that I encountered was that I already had a machine on my home network that I statically gave 192.168.0.1 and so there was a conflict. That was easily resolved.
I haven't had much chance to play with the security features of the router and haven't tested the range yet. So far, so good.
I was also pleased that I got a 4-port 100-Mbps switch in the deal, too. I had been thinking about retiring my 10-Mbps passive hub, and lo-and-behold the wireless router has 4 100-Mbps ports on it. How cool is that!

I recently purchased this router to replace the Netgear MR814 802.11b Wireless 4-Port Cable/DSL Router I had before for over a year now. The MR814 started to die on me last month - at least the wireless part is. I could be sitting next to the router and the wireless signal still says "low". I must mention that I never really turned off this router pretty much since I got it, may be the electoincs just had enough...

I really mulled over buying Linksys router as the Netgear MR814 died on me. Linksys router has two antennas and I was ondering if that somehow improves signal strength... But two things swayed my decision to Netgear - 1. Netgear has Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) and Linksys does not. 2. I also install small networks for my customers - a recent installation with the Linksys Wireless router and PC Card did not go very well - PC Card installation crapped out on my IBM Thinkpad midway. Coupled with the fact that I have experience with Netgear, I went for this one.

Installation was simple and thankfully there were not many changes to the router configuration program from my old MR814. It took just a few minutes and I was up and running. My router is in the basement (I know, I know...) and the old setup did not work on the second floor of my house, the new Wireless G works fine, though at a lower transfer rate as can be expected. Once more thing, from the pictures it may seem this router is identical in size to MR 814, it is not - the new router is much smaller - less than half the size of the old one I would say. I have enabled WEP and MAC address filtering with no trouble at all, SPI and VPN pass through work fine with default setup.

Now my boss (wife) is happy that she can browse the net from the kitchen again. If you are thinking of getting this, go for it. My wired desktop is a newer DELL and my laptop is an older IBM Thinkpad (600X), both running Windows XP Professional... Best of luck!

I've had my wireless router for a year. I bought this because my college-age kids had wireless connections in the dorm and I thought they might want to use there laptops anywhere in the house when they come home on vaction. That was a good plan and they are able to use it in any room. My problem is that every time the electricity and the cable internet go out, my router has to be reset. You have to do it in exactly the right order or you have to start the process all over again. I finally wrote the order down on an index card so that I wouldn't keep having to get the orginal box up from the basement. I have honed my techique and can reset the router in less then 10 minutes. It is still annoying and I'm dreading the summer thunderstorm season.

CODE 10 ERROR folks, ***** READ THIS ******

They finally fixed it. Details about the fix are on their product support page. I did all that and used their new (beta) 2.9 drivers finally fixed the code 10 problem on my Thinkpad and gave me WPA.

Updated Review:
Their tech support is super dumb. If you have a real technical issue, don't call them, they won't know how to help. The hardware itself is quite good, the signal strength is very good.

Basically, if you manage to get it to work, you'll be happy. Getting there is mostly your luck! (Though to be fair, after almost 6 months later, their drivers seem to be better now)