Customer Reviews

Office Connect Wireless Gateway Cable/dsl

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this product to replace 2 LinkSys pieces (router and WAP) that went bad witin an week of each other. This is a fantastic piece that far out performs the previous. It is easy to setup with a web based GUI and has the WAP serves with superior range. It includes a lifetime warranty and upgradable firmware, plus, it is from 3Com! It includes 4port switch, WAP w/ WEP Security, Routing for DSL w/ PPPOE or Cable. I would highly reccomend this product to any home user needing a router or looking to do a wireless network upgrade as well as any small office user needing the same.

I purchsed the PCMCIA 3com wireless card with the x-jack antenna specifically because of the x-jack antenna only 3com makes it(3CRSHPW196). Unfortunately I found that it would not work with my Linksys BEFW11S4 wireless router. I could not get the encryption to work. I contacted Linksys and 3com, both of whom said that the two are just not compatable, nice for a worldwide standard to be incompatible. Needless to say, I got the 3CRWE52196 and had it running in minutes. And the encryption worked on the first try with no problems. The unit is nice with a clean interface and small form factor. One problem - you can only set one remote management IP. It is nice that you can restrict remote management, but it is limited to one remote IP.

Wireless LAN for the home is going mainstream, with a wide range of compatible 802.11b WiFi products now in the marketplace there is plenty of choice and competitive pricing. 3Com are a big corporate networking player but don't be put off by the "Officeconnect" tag. This product was keenly priced and met my needs for a simple home network setup sharing a broadband ADSL connection. Neat slim design, easy setup with the online wizard, good documentation, up and running within an hour or so including encryption and printer sharing. Latest drivers and firmware can be downloaded from the 3Com support website and upgraded without a hitch. The unit will work with any WiFi card in your laptop but I particularly like the associated 3Com card which has a nifty xjack retractable antenna. Wireless range also seems to be good, with strong signals on three different floors, even with concrete walls. Highly recommended.