Linksys WET11 Wireless Ethernet Bridge

Other products by Linksys

Product Details

Product Manual [632kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 3.7 x 4.9 x 1.2 inches ; 1.9 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000066JQU
• Item model number: WET11
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (146 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 29, 2004

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description The versatile wireless Ethernet bridge from Linksys can make any wired Ethernet-equipped device a part of your wireless network. At home, use the wireless Ethernet bridge to connect game consoles, set-top boxes, or computers to your wireless network to share your high-speed network connection. In the office, convert your Ethernet-wired printer, scanner, camera, notebook, or desktop into a wireless networked device.

It's completely driver-free, so it works on any platform and with any operating system. Because there are no drivers to load, setup is a snap--just plug it into your device and configure the network settings through your Web browser.

You can also use the Linksys wireless Ethernet bridge as a kind of "cableless cable" to connect remote areas together. Maybe the Shipping department is all the way across the warehouse from Receiving. Or maybe you want to set up a home office in your detached garage. With a wireless Ethernet bridge in the garage and an other one (or a wireless access point) in the house, you're connected--without the hassle of cabling.

See a comparison diagram of the different wireless technologies.

Wireless networks are rapidly becoming more popular and coming down in price. Since they don't require cables, you can use the devices anywhere in an office or home, even out on the patio. There's no need to roll out an Ethernet network cable to each room of a house; you can network anywhere--without wires. Outside the home, wireless networking is available in hotspots at coffee shops, businesses, and airports--great when you're on the road and need to get some work done. For convenience, wireless networking is the answer. Which Wireless Standard Is Right for Me? Now that you've decided to create a wireless network, the next step is to figure out which wireless standard to use. Basically, a standard is a set of specifications for a device. All devices that follow a specific standard share operating characteristics, such as the radio frequency used and maximum data transfer speed. For wireless networking, there are three standards to choose from at this time: 802.11b 802.11a 802.11g To learn about the differences between the standards and select the right one for your network, click here for an easy-to-understand chart.

Product Description

The versatile Wireless Ethernet Bridge can make any wired Ethernet-equipped device a part of your wireless network. At home, use the Wireless Ethernet Bridge to connect game consoles, set-top boxes, or computers into your wireless network to share your high-speed network connection. In the office, convert your Ethernet-wired printer, scanner, camera, notebook or desktop into a wireless networked device.It's completely driver-free, so it works on any platform and under any operating system! Since there are no drivers to load, setup is a snap - just plug it into your device and configure the network settings through your web browser.You can also use the Wireless Ethernet Bridge as a kind of "cable-less cable" to connect remote areas together. Maybe Shipping is all the way across the warehouse from Receiving. Or maybe you want to set up a home office in your detached garage. With a Wireless Ethernet Bridge in the garage, and another one (or a Wireless Access Point) in the house, you're connected - with no cabling hassle.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars When you get one that works, it's wonderful..., February 19, 2005

By	M. Nichols "fan of beer, motorhead and zombie... (West Chester, OH United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Seems like many other reviews here ring true. Spent the better part of two days trying to configure this item in vain with at least four calls and three hours wasted with tech support just to end up with a bridge stuck in eternal boot mode (seems like a failing hard reset is not uncommon). Sent back to Amazon for a replacement and the new one worked like a charm after two minutes of hassle-free configuration (I would suggest linking it straight to your ethernet after setting a static IP on your pc and working via the bridge's IP address - skip the setup CD-ROM altogether - for detailed instructions, see Linksys' tech support website articles 304 and 534).

I use the bridge to connect a PS2 in our basement with our pc on the second floor (and opposite end) of our house and have a flawless connection with the BEFW11S4 router. I am very pleased with our final result - but very dissatisfied with the work it took to get here. My suggestion - if you follow directions and it doesn't work (i.e., stuck it boot mode, won't save your changes), don't mess with firmware, don't waste time talking to India, just return it for a replacement until it does work.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very pleased with the WET11, September 15, 2002

By	"lsawit" (California, USA) - See all my reviews

After reading the specs on the Linksys WET11 and downloading the user manual from their website, I decided to purchase a unit. I am very pleased with this product and it works as I had expected.

Setting it up was a breeze. The antenna is screwed on to the right side of the unit (which is surprisingly small). Plug in the power supply. I then hooked it up to a PC laptop with the supplied RJ45 cable and ran the setup program. I have an SMC Barricade 7004AWBR router with a built in wireless access point. The WET11 was configured to use the same SSID and channel as the SMC and then set to DHCP. All done.

The unit can then be connected to your ethernet device in one of two ways. One is directly to your desktop or laptop, for example. The other is to hook it up to a hub or switch and from there wire it up to one or more desktops or even laptops. There is a switch on the unit to select which mode will be used. While I do have a wireless card for the laptop, it's nice to have the flexibility of going wired for desktops.

The icing on the cake is that I now have wireless connectivity for my Mac Beige G3. I've been looking for a solution and the WET11 solves it. Before, I had to run a long RJ45 cable to it from the router. Now I can connect it to the WET11 through either of the two options mentioned and get on the web as before, except it's now wireless. One tip - set the Mac to a manual IP address. For some reason, setting the Mac for DHCP does not work. For me a very minor issue.

I have not seen any dropped connections for the few days I've had it and it sure runs cool. All in all, it has met my expectations, perhaps more so with the Mac. For the money, I see no comparable product out there. Check it out.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Connect different networks cheaply with any access point, October 3, 2002

By	Glenn Fleishman (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This tremendous and inexpensive piece of gear has two great features: one, you can plug any Ethernet device into it and thus attach it to a wireless Wi-Fi network; two, you can take a network of 30 or more devices connected in a wired configuration, and bridge all of their traffic to any access point within range. This lets you hook pods of computers together without wires, bypassing expensive or difficult drilling operations or wiring configurations. It's not perfect, as the full connection is the equivalent of less than the original 10 Mbps Ethernet, but it's an awful good solution for computer labs, homes that are too large for a single access point, or building small office networks. It's also worthwhile for community and neighborhood networks trying to extend their range.