Customer Reviews

SMC7004VWBR Barricade Cable/DSL router w/ 4-port 10/100Mbps and 802.11b 11 Mbps Access Point

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

I've been putting off the purchase of a router for a while now, but after my ISP was irked at the fact that I was logging in with two simultaneous PPPoE connections using an old hub, I really had no choice.

My college offers wireless access on campus, and I had already purchased an 802.11b card, but I didn't think I'd really have a need for wireless access at home. In fact, I was looking for a wired router at first, until I found the SMC7004VWBR on another site (before Amazon began offering it).

I had read many of the reviews about Linksys, D-Link, and Netgear products, and SMC was the one that had fewer complaints. I was skeptical at first considering I had purchased it for $98 including a $10 rebate, and figured that perhaps I would end up getting what I paid for. After about 3 weeks, I haven't had anyting to complain about yet.

The router's features include Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) and Denial of Service (DoS) protection, email alerts, parental control, integrated Virtual Private Network (VPN) pass-through support, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and hacker logging options. Turn on the email alerts and you'll see several alerts in your inbox everyday.

Setup was a breeze. I merely plugged in my desktop into one of the 4 wired ports, plugged in my DSL modem into the WAN port, and accessed the IP address specified in the manual. (The manual is provided on the included CD as well as online).

Even though the quick-start guide asks you to use the CD to set up your connection, you can go ahead and access the setup page via your web browser, as what type of operating system you're using is irrelevant and you don't need any kind of software loaded on your computer.

The setup includes both a quick EZ version (as in 3 clicks and you're done), and a more advanced version. I first used the quick setup just to make sure everything worked, but I then went into the advanced setup to set up my wireless encryption, firewall and NAT settings, etc. The setup page also includes a nice help file that will explain any terms you're not familiar with.

Performance has been exceptionally good. The signal doesn't fade too much as I travel from room to room in my house with my laptop.

Perhaps my only complaint is that there is no easy way to mount it on the wall (although aspiring engineers like myself will find a way).

Overall I think this is one of the best purchases I've made so far, and recommend this to budget-minded (read: college students) individual looking for a feature-rich router with wireless capabilities.

This is a newer version of the router if you didnt know. OK as advertised they have a 3 click install- its really that easy! I am using a d link wireless CF card with my IBM notebook. No joke - i plugged it in - connected the cable into the router , boom connected! I have another computer that is networked and that was no problem as well. Easy to network btw the computers with windows XP.
As for the wifi, the range is pretty good as well. I am connecting 65% from my room upstairs from more than 40 feet away from the router with tons of walls in btw. Connection is still good - and im able to grab divx movies, files, and mp3s from another networked computer with ease. Just in case ur researching just as i have done before, u'll see lots of good stuff said about SMC wifi routers and its true. I tested a D-link wireless + model and i didnt have the ease of setup as i did this. As for negatives, heres one, parallel port is useless and slow - we need a usb port for our printers! also no fault of the router, im having a hard time getting my pocket pc to connect!
good luck

This review is not to bash or praise the SMC7004VWBR in any way. This is ment as an FYI to potential buyers. The SMC7004VWBR has combatibility issues with the Motorola CyberSUFER Wave Modem. This is an older legacy modem so it may not apply to most. The router worked awesome for me EXCEPT when connecting to the internet. When I connect to the internet the speeds drop to almost nothing... Spoke to SMC tech support and this is a know issue with this router and modem combo. Unfortunatlly, I was disconnected before being able to ask if a future firmware release will adress the issue. On the other hand, my ISP (TW RoadRunner) is going to allow me to swap it out for a newer modem at no charge. As I said, this is just an FYI for potential buyers. Check your modem before buying this router to make sure you wont have the same issues I had to deal with.

I've had this for almost 2 years running. Used with a Win95 PC and now with a W2K. Shared access to a 56k connection via the serial port on back of router, no problems. Now share a high broadband signal 24/7, no problems at all. Haven't reset router in months. Share signal with two PCs. Dell W2K is hardwired to back of router. PC upstairs, thru 2 walls and 1 floor, using an external Linksys USB wireless network adaptor running WinME, no problems. Both get great speeds. Have noticed that friends who have WinXP and router get better speeds. Operating system makes the difference. Print server on back works well, print server may burp sometimes and the print server just needs to be refreshed in router tools. If you are in an apt building, you may want to name your wireless network and register the machines that are allowed access, or someone could tap into your network and steal bandwidth. I have the 802.11b router about 15" from a 2.4Ghz wireless Siemens phone, no problems. Also running a 900mhz a/v wireless transmitter near unit, no problems. 802.11b, 2.4Ghz and 900mhz all play nice. For the price it's a steal. I bought when it was over [money]!

I'm using this device with a Motorola SurfBoard cable modem to connect to the Internet. I'm communicating with it using a Linksys WPC11 Wireless PC Card from one laptop and a direct Ethernet connection from another. It's worked flawlessly from the moment I unboxed and set it up.

Set-up and configuration is simple and straightforward - connect to it via any browser using the default address given in the instruction manual, select your connection type (fixed or ISP-assigned IP address and Cable or DSL), and you're ready to go - using these settings I was on the Internet within minutes of getting cable modem service. However, the device has many more options and parameters that you can set to provide additional protection, to block workgroup users from certain sites, and to make services such as a web server using a private address accessible from the Internet. More importantly, you can configure it for remote administration.

There are a few minor annoyances - although part of the configuration is to set your time zone, it will not give the correct time unless connected to an outside DSL or cable model service (I suspect it uses Network Time Protocol for to keep time. Another annoyance is the fact that it logs every event even if you turn off security. These are not genuine problems and certainly don't detract from its functionality or reliability.

From a performance standpoint, mine has been so reliable that I take it for granted. I also have had no problems with it dropping wireless connections that were reported by others - it came immediately up as soon as my wireless-enabled laptop was turned on after three, and the laptop immediately connected and was communicating.

If you are considering this device for a small workgroup you should consider the SMC Wireless 4-Port Cable/DSL Router with Print Server (ASIN B00005ARK4), which works identically to this model, but includes a built-in print server.

I did a lot of research before I purchased this product. I was very hesitant at first based on all the reviews that I read about the product. I ended up getting the product because of the rebate, which made this a total steal. I did not care if I had to reset the router everyday at the price I got it for. I purchased this for doing online gaming via Xbox live. My DSL is to far away from where my Xbox is located so after much research I came to the conclusion that wireless was my only option. I looked at every available option on the market that was in the price range that I wanted to spend (anywhere between $ dollars) the problem was that I also wanted to be able to get the Wireless Ethernet adapter that I needed within that price range also. This created a real problem since the average low end router was in the neighborhood of about $ dollars.. and the wireless Ethernet adapter was running any where from 79-120.... I had to make a decision. I looked at both the Linksys and the SMC brand wireless routers. Both had OK reviews but the SMC had less speed loss when you activated you security and on the average was better priced. The big problem was the reviews that stated that the SMC SMC7004VWBR Barricade Wireless 4-Port Cable/DSL Router was very unreliable. I took my chances any way since I could get the Wireless Router by SMC after the $ dollar mail in rebate for about $ dollars, and I could get the SMC Wireless Ethernet Adapter for about $ dollars.. Now that was in my budget. Like I said earlier I did not care if I had to reset the router every day for the savings that I would get. Once I get the equipment I went to work setting up my gaming network. The Xbox work wit the SMC SMC7004VWBR wireless router but not right out of the box you have to do a little work around, which I could have done myself if I could get my computer to recognize the router. I tried for about 10 min on my one to get my computer to recognize the router but to no avail. So I call SMC's tech support, which in all the reviews have gotten a bum rap. It only took me about 10min on hold to get a live body on the line. Which is great being that I call at the beginning of the week an at peak hours. The tech had my computer recognizing the router with in a couple of minutes on the phone. Then the tech went above and beyond his duties and walked me through the setup of my complete gaming network. To say the least SMC's tech support Rocks!!! I was up and gaming twenty minutes later. One of the thing that made me hesitate in snatching up the SMC SMC7004VWBR was all the review that I read. Most of the reviews pointed out the same problem over and over again. It seems that the SMC has a problem with losing the connection between the router and the wireless bridge, which causes the owner of the product to have to do a hard reboot of the router. I also experienced this very same problem after having the network on for about 13 hours. I had to reboot the router by powering it down before the wireless connection would be restored. This happened about 3 times in the first couple of days. Now in all the review they stated that it would happen about every 2-3 day, which at the price would have been fine, but I was now rebooting ever few hours. I was ready to return the product and buy the more expensive Linksys. I decided to take a real good look at SMC's web interface that controls the router and found under tools a link that allows you to do a Soft reset. So I tired this and ever since the router has been working like a champ. I have not had any other wireless disconnects since I found that button. So if you plan on getting this router make sure you have a way to access the web interface and reset the router once you get your network setup. This router Rocks!! And for $ bones it is a total steal.. I really hope the story about my experience help you in you search for the best wireless router, which is SMC at $ dollars after rebate... Oh yeah I never do review but I really thought that this product was getting a bum rap..

~I've dealt with many brands of routers/switches/wireless gateways/APs before. Names like Linksys, Netgear, Agere/Orinoco, and a couple others. I have never had a problem with SMC Ethernet adapters or even SMC Barricade Routers/Switch (without the wireless part).

I recently bought this piece of [junk] and all I've been getting for the past two days is totally unsatisfactory performance. The problems I've encountered so far (even AFTER a 1.20a latest firmware update):

CONS:

1) WIRELESS.~~ My top of the line Orinoco/Lucent Gold PC CARD for my laptop stops finding the SSID of the SMC overnight. As previously stated by other users, a "simple" reset of the router will fix that. But come on, every single day??? What kind of [junk] is that?

2) SWITCH. The switch does not seem to use an efficient algorithms to transfer data on a full load from the cable modem to different computers. Also, the maximum data transfer from 10mbps to a 10/100mbps computer was 200KB/s. Usually,~~ it's supposed to be around 400-500. ALSO, I've heard that if you are transfering large volume files from a 100mbps to a 100mbps computer, the switch will CRASH after a little while and you have to manually reset it.

3) SUPPORT. What support??? SMC != Support.

PROS:

1) It was .... But ..., you sure get what you paid for.

2) I liked the web-based configuration options. Plenty of control for port forwarding and other admin-based checklists.

3) Did I mention it was ...?~~

I'm giving this product two out of five stars because of its price. Unfortunately, it does not perform anywhere close to what a wireless router/switch is supposed to do. Unless you don't intend to use it for wireless (why would you even buy it in the first place?), you can consider buying something like this -- if you don't mind resetting it a lot.~

----

UPDATE: After more use (over a week), the router seemed to stablize. It does not appear to randomly reset itself and data performance *seemed* to have increased. The wireless portion of this router stopped randomly disappearing after one night of inactivity. Also, my technical problems were finally answered by a real technical assistant over at SMC and responded to my inquiries (although they didn't really help... but isn't that the truth about all tech companies? :)). I am now upgrading the score of this router to four out of five stars. It performs like a router should.

So a word of advice: give hardware time to "adjust" to its surroundings and warm up a little bit before giving the final verdict.

As long as you have a wireless client running, the router/AP runs well.
But if there is no wireless client, after 1 night, the Access Point stops providing wireless access.

Every morning I turn on my laptop, the Cisco wireless card of my laptop just keeps searching... without connected, until I restart the Router. (unplug/plug power)

Will go to ask for a replacement to try, then decide to keep it or return.

I've had this SMC7004VWBR running for over a year on my home network. I share a DSL broadband connection with several home PC's. The Windows XP and Windows 98 PC's have worked very well connecting thru the router.

This is not a perfect product but the value and features it offers for the price is hard to beat. I am impressed with the ability to configure the firewall. I use the browser based console to disable my son's internet access by time of day. I also use the URL blocking feature to filter out domains that I don't want access to. The time-of-day feature could be beefed-up to provide more flexibility, but again, this is a feature that use to be in firewalls a few years ago that cost thousands of dollars.

Make sure you upgrade to the latest version of the firmware before you spend any time configuring the device. Generally speaking I can go months without having to reset the router. I haven't had problems with the wireless range or interference from cordless phones, but YMMV.

If I were to purchase a new wireless router I would consider the "g" version since that gives you Wifi Protected Access (WPA) as opposed to WEP (which can be hacked). If you are very concerned about security and someone stealing your bandwith or hacking onto your network, then you want a product that offers WPA. Then restrict access to the MAC address of your PC's and you'll be virtually hack-proof.

This unit has been great. I've had it for almost a month and waited to see how it performed before I wrote a review. Here are a few of it's positives:

1. It's cheap! After rebates, I got this unit, plus the matching PCMCIA wireless adapter for only [...]!

2. It's simple! You just plug your Cable modem into the WAN port, power it up and run the configurator on the CD included. Any idiot can set this up. I had a DHCP allocated IP address and was browsing the web in under 10 minutes.

3. It's secure! With 802.11b, I was worried about security. I mean, anyone could drive up with a notebook and tap into my LAN to get an IP. But this baby has a built in MAC Address filter. You log your home computers on once, then copy their MAC addresses to an 'allow' list using a web form. It takes about 2 minutes and now, nobody gets access to my lan (wireless or otherwise) without having their MAC address on the 'allow' list.

4. Range is good. I can go anywhere in my two story house and never get worse than a 'good' connection (3 bars at the worse) and I keep this unit in a closet with the cable modem at the farthest corner of the house. Don't expect to take your notebook next door to the neighbor's house, but I can go sit on the back deck or in an upstairs bedroom no problem.

In conclusion, this is a good unit and I got it because my last firewall was also a barricade (sans wireless) and it worked great too. I was a tad sad to see they dropped the printer port for sharing a printer on the wireless model, but I like that they still have the serial port for hooking up an external modem. If your cable goes out, or if you only have dial-up, you can still use this thing to get on the net and share your connection! The ONLY thing that I have noticed about this that I wish was different is that you can't set the IP address of the NTP Time server that it will access to sync up the current time. It tries to find one automatically at boot time, and if it can't for some reason, it just won't sync. But it doesn't really matter that much, it just means that it is like a regular clock and will lose time a second a day or something. I'm really happy with this thing.