Wireless-Network Reviews

I have bought this card together with the 11g wireless router (3crwe554g72). The combo is great as long as you use WEP or non encrypted.

When ever I use WPA, the connection establishes, works for an hour or so and then drops for 5-10 minutes. I need to reassociate with the router again. Sometimes I need to pull out the card and even (rarely) restart the router.

This WPA problem may be related to the router (supports WPA), the card (supports WPA ONLY trough the OS), or the OS-drivers them selfs (Win XP PRO). However it seems, that some products do not have this issue under Win XP, so this indicates that the problem is either the router or the card.

When the WPA issue will be resolved by for instance a firmware upgrade, I will give this product 5 stars.

Please note: alla the newest (/6 april 2004) relevant updates for Win XP, the newst drivers for the card and the newest firwares updates for the router was installed!

As you can tell with my review of the 11g base, I'm completely sold on this 3com configuration. I've used this card in my laptop, and it's been smooth as butter, plugging in, pulling the card, going on standby, roving to other rooms, firing it back up, it's solid.

CD installation of the software was the only minor trouble spot... and it's simple... the Windows plug-and-play hardware wizard will ask you for folder locations of drivers (the folder it tries to look in by default doesn't have the drivers... they're in sub-folders)... you may have to open up a Windows Explorer window, and look thru a few folders on the CD to find the right file, then copy the folder location to the wizard. Took only an extra minute. And it might have been because I'm using Win98.

After installation (which was still incredibly easy, compared to any other hardware install), the thing has been perfect. If it ever glitches or causes me a headache, I'll come back and amend this review pronto, promise. Also, don't forget to check the 3com website to get rebate money back.

I highly recommend this product, which can be used with their other NetGear connectivity products (PCI cards, etc) as well as Centrino-based laptops seamlessly.
Everything works right out of the box, first time!

Works very well.
Although it's a little slow for intranet transfers.
I use it with long (152 and 128 bit) WEP keys and maybe
that explains why local transfers are a bit slow.
SSID broadcasting can be turned off for both the A and G
APs which is a very desirable.
The radio signal is strong unlike other APs I've used before.
Highly recommended.

I'm not sure what the other reviewers are basing their comments on, I found that I can use AP's that nobody else can even see with their cards. It's a bit pricey, but if you need range then this is the card to get.

Range is not significantly better than my previous Linksys USB Wireless - speed is somewhat faster. The range is certainly not over 10 times other systems (don't believe the fantastic claims in the ads).

Can't say enough about this Product. Out of the box and working in 10 minutes, WOW. Easiest net work setup I've ever seen. This is better than Chocolat Ice ceam with whipped cream. If it's available used, like the one I purchased, you'll save enough to buy lots of ice cream, the expensive stuff.
Eli Arnot

Good for WiFi/Ethernet hoockup. Product is basic, compact-- one port. Everything seemed fairly easy until the documents would go to cue but not print. I eneded up on the phone with tech support (which was very responsive) for hours that, after exhausting every other caveat, told me that the problem was with getting the right IP from the print server. NOWHERE in the enclosed instruction or the CD-ROM manual is there a note of the little resessed button labeled "Diag" on the server which, once pressed, prints out the damn IP address. Once I had that, everything worked fine. So four stars for the product and tech support. BIG ZERO for the manual.

With respect to range, throughput, WEP and MAC security, this card was right up there with my Linksys WPC11v3 and Orinoco Gold cards. It would not, however, stay connected to my WAP when SSID broadcasting was disabled. Friends' Netgear, Siemens and Proxim cards don't have this problem.

Beta drivers from TrendWare did not resolve the SSID issue. Techs there claim the card works without SSID broadcasting using their WAPS.

My WAP is based on Atmel v1.1 hardware running 1.4h.3 firmware which is basis for many WAPs from Linksys, Netgear, D-Link to just name three.

For a price in the $...range, you will not go wrong with this card. It's a screaming deal; 1/2 to 1/3 the price of cards with similar performance. It was up there in the 11 mbps range even at 100' from my WAP, even with WEP enabled.

But keep in mind that it may not communicate in WiFi networks that don't broadcast the SSID. If you know what that means, you should be concerned. If you have no clue as to what SSID broadcast is, buy this card and save some bucks.

I bought a Linksys router in October 2003, and still have not gotten it to work wirelessly. The box did not include the installation CD, and I was told by Linksys that I could BUY one if I wanted. I have emailed, faxed, wrote, and of course called, with no help. I have asked for an RMA, and was told "I think that has something to do with returning the product". Linksys tech support is terrible. Buy at your own risk.

This unit accomodates both hard wired networks (up to 4 devices) and wireless networks (use the Linksys cards - others may not be compatible) and serves as a router and access point. Setting it up was incredibly simple (I updated the firmware right away) and the default settings worked perfectly with my cable (Road Runner) ISP. I did implement MAC cloning on advice from the Linksys website (a great source for info on configuring this for various DSL/cable ISPs) later just in case. This was easy with the web-based configuration software.

You do have to know how your ISP works. I'm assuming I could not disable DHCP because Road Runner uses it. Since I couldn't give my machines static IP addresses, I sometimes have to change the port forwarding configurations depending on which IP address the router assigns each machine (we turn off the machines at night). You also need to reconfigure some of your internet software to work behind a firewall if they haven't been set that way all ready. And in some cases, I had to disable my personal firewalls (we use Sygate, AtGuard or Zone Alarm) for internet software to work (particularly FTP clients).

The wireless range (we have 3 hard wired computers and a couple of wireless laptops) is not spectacular (50' radius) but adequate for our purposes. Would have appreciated some input from the manufacturer about effective placement of the unit for optimal wireless performance.

If you're willing to do a little tweaking now and then and don't need extensive wireless range, this is a great all-purpose device.

I am not sure what all the others had problems with but my Linksys worked great out of the box. Setting it up I had an issue that was easily fixed by calling tech support,(only 5 min wait and worth it, the technician was very good). My laptop which will be connecting wirelessly was not connecting no matter what I tried. It turns out that you can't run wireless cards and ethernet cards (mine was built in} at the same time because the machine will always default to the ethernet card. Which is exactly what was happening. We removed the driver for the ethernet card and it began to work great right away. Everything else about the setup was fairly simple and went very smooth the directions were easy to understand. I especially liked the quick installation sheet which is what I used to setup with.

I highly recommend this product and would buy it again if I had to do it all over. The distance of the wireless machine is really dependent on terrain. But for my two story house it was great. The only weak spot being downstairs in the opposite direction of the linksys base as far as I could go. However it still worked and was quite able to handle downloads even at the weakest point. You just can't go wrong till they come out with a new beakthrough in technology. But even then the prices will be to high in the beginning. For instance the new 802.11a is several hundred dollars more expensive then this machine. And for what you get I just don't need it.

This is a winner. The newest version of the product is BEF11S4 VER 2. Many of the reviews done in this section were about the
BEF11S4 its the same model number but lacking the ver.2 after the BEF11S4.

The newest version has fixed most of the bugs of the previous version. Good Luck!!! A very satisfied consumer

This product works for a couple months and you "think" its the best thing since sliced bread... HOWEVER as the months go on, it starts having problems... such as rebooting itself at random times disconnecting you from the internet, and not allowing you to view certain web sites. Technical support is very slow and couldn't resolve my problem. After several WEEKS they issued an RMA and sent me a refurbished model with the same problems. So I wouldn't recommend this product, or any D-Link product if you want something that's going to last and work for more than a year.

I read alot of the reviews here, and half of them say they plug it in, forget about it, and love it. The other half say they have difficulties with it in one form or another. I know, though, for a fact, that trying to fix problems you MAY have is a pain in the ass. D-Link's tech support has solutions to offer you, but as I and half the internet community can attest, they very often don't work.

There is also the fact that OLDER versions of their firmware are more stable than newer versions. One of the things I've seen very rarely on their own webpage, and constantly from other users on the internet, is that -downgrading- your firmware is the solution to many problems.

My reccomendation, if you must buy this router, it so download Trendware's firmware - You can make the DL 614+ accept the foreign firmware(Google it, if you must ask), and Trendware's actually WORKS. The 614+'s firmware is worthless, and even their tech support don't know how to make it work.

Worse yet, their tech support don't seem to know what they don't know.

I've been running the D-Link AirPlus DI-614+ with a D-Link DWL-650+ wirless card for about 6 months.

The good:
Easy install (READ the instructions FIRST!)
Good connection quality and decent speed.
Worked great for sharing my cable modem for Internet access, file sharing across computers, printer sharing.
The utility that comes with the DWL-650+ card allows you to setup separate profiles for different wireless networks, a great convenience if you want to switch easily between home, work and Starbucks!

The bad:
The DWL 650+ PCMCIA failed after a few weeks.
Tech support was really bad, blamed everything but the card. After about a dozen e-mails & phone calls I finally got a tech to admit the card wasn't working since the indicator wouldn't even light up.
Replacement card required securing with my credit card and signing / faxing a 'cross shipment agreement' so they could ship immediately while my old card was being returned. Well they got my old card in a couple days but didn't ship the replacement for several weeks!
After finally getting the defective card resolved (2 months!!) everything worked again fun until ..
It wouldn't support my company's VPN connection through the wireless. (Wired connection does work though!) They're documentation says it supports PPTP VPN Pass through but after several more calls to their tech support, a bunch of configuration changes, the last tech finally said I 'had to understand that VPN requires too many packets for a wireless connection'. So why do my coworker's Linksys systems work fine then?!

Bottom Line:
It's fine for setting up a home network and sharing a broadband internet connection. But be wary if you need to do anything more sophisitcated, especially if you ususally need support. Me? I'm buying a Linksys and selling the DLink stuff!

My ultimate review (Final update to "Free at last") showed my experience with the latest edition of this access point, the infamous V2. It's NOT good. The V2 has problems with WEP, that is, wireless encryption.

I found the latest Linksys product is crippled (I tried 2 of them) and the SMC product is the better alternative (I'm using it now).

So, for all you who chose to purchase based on my old review (of an obsolete model) - I apologise.

I gotta admit, my favourite thing about the WAP-11 is the cool stylish look. With the cute little antennae sticking it up it sort of looks like a blue version of the Great Gazoo.

Bought the WAP-11, a WPC-11 PC card, and a WUSB-11 to attach a laptop and a Windows PC to my home lan. No real problems setting things up, including configuring wep encryption. Things don't always match up with the documentation and other linksys products 100%, but close enough that it isn't too tough to figure things out. For example, the wap-11 and wpc-11 let you enter the encryption key using a pass phrase, but the wusb-11 makes you type in the actual keys in hex.

I find the range to be perfectly reasonable - at least I can work all over my house. Even when the link quality and signal strength meters drop down to below 20% I get fine performance.

The install and configuration is Windows centric - this can be an issue if you are (like me) mostly linux. You need a windows box with a usb port to do initial configuration - fortunately I have one (whew). Once you have this done, you can use snmp for subsequent configuration, though even then by far the easiest approach is to use the provided windows based client software. It would be nice if the unit picked up an IP via dhcp and had a linux client for lan access - thus dispensing with the need for the usb/windows hokiness. From their site, it seems that this may be coming.

All in all, the blue gazoo has me writing this review from the comfort of my living room where I get to hang out with my wife - instead of trapped by a wire in the office. What could be better than that?

The wireless access point is an outstanding product. Previously I had tried Home Phoneline products, but did not have good success. In fact, I returned the Intel Anypoint Home Phoneline cards because they were not reliable on my phone wiring. I would not recommend phoneline networking unless your computers are fairly close together (rooms next to each other).

The Linksys wireless access point is proving very reliable and was a breeze to setup. I am experiencing excellent wireless transfer rates for internet access (I have DSL and the pages load in a flash), Streaming media works great too. I was worried that I might experience interference from my 2.4 GHz cordless phone, but I have had no problems, even when talking on the cordless phone while I surf the net. My access point is on opposite ends (ground floor) of the house from the desktop PC I have the wireless card in (second floor). It does help to elevate the wireless access point to improve the signal strength within the wireless network area, although mine simply sits on the desk with the downstairs PC. As an added note, our house is old with very thick plaster walls and ceilings, but the signal gets around fine throughout the 3500 sq ft.

My wireless access point is connected to the Linksys DSL/Cable router (4 hub model). The combination makes a very reliable network.

If you are looking for a wireless network product, I strongly recommend trying this one.

I was forced to buy this thing because Tivo is too cheap to make a box that can use 80211G. Adding a 80211B to your network forces the wireless hub to work at B speed. For you techno-whizzes, you can set up separate networks, but for plug and play people, this thing is a square peg in a round hole.

I purchased this to work with the BEFW11S4 Wireless Access Point & Cable/DSL Router w/4 Port Switch. It was very easy to install. Simply plug in this usb device, install the included software, type in the necessary info in the config window, and you're set! I gave it only 4 stars instead of 5 because I was not able to get the full 11mbps speed. I got at the most 3.5mpbs speed, and that's when I was only directly upstairs, approximately 20 feet away. Actually I'm not sure if the result was because of this, or the access point. But it does advertise 11mbps at 100ft indoors. I don't transfer files back and forth much between my desktop and server, so it's not too big of a deal. A plus is that there is no latency when I'm on the wireless network.

Ever see a movie where everything works just like it should? No rebooting when the hero tried to go online with the alien motherships's mainframe? Just connected right away....

Well, here's a device that works just like that. I received this Wireless adapter, along with a Linksys BEFW11S4 Router (See my review and setup for that item) for Christmas. While I may have some issues setting up the router, this Wireless adapter worked right out of the box.

I installed the software, plugged it into my daughter's computer in the kitchen and, Boom, it found the wireless router upstairs in my office. I set up Internet Explorer to use the LAN and she was up and surfing in no time. She is getting about 5mbps in the kitchen when connected to the router upstairs and across the house.

I've got to say this was a great gift, and easy to set up.