Cisco-Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless-B Cable/DSL Router
by Linksys
|
List Price: Our Price: $16.45 You Save: $53.54 (76%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
|---|
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Cisco-Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless-B Cable/DSL Router
Customer Review: MAJOR DISCOVERY THAT FIXES AD-HOC DISCONNECTIONS
Summary: 5 Stars
Wow... this is an easy fix that most people would love to know. I have been a wireless user almost from day one and at all times LINKSYS has been my best choice.I have been reading articles and problems all along and up until last month, I never had any problems. But funny enough, like the most user I started to have the same disconnection problem all of a sudden for no reason at all. I had this machine for almost a year now.
I have tried everything that was "said and heard", asked linksys support 4-5 times on the same day for over a week but no luck.
It would just drop connection and would pick it up after 3-4 hours or sometimes longer or shorter. Power on and off, all types of current or previous firmware upgrades would not fix the thing. But NOW it is working just fine for over 3 weeks no problems. I have around my house 7 different wireless devices working (all neighbors) most of the time. I thought it was one of them that was causing the problem but not so.
FIX :
1. make sure you backup your configuration to your PC (must learn that)
2. while power is ON press and hold reset switch at the back for almost 90 seconds
3. while pressing and holding disconnect the power with your third hand (!) and keep holding for another 30 sec
4. while pressing and holding reconnect the power back again and keep reset switch pressed at all times
5. wait another 60 or 90 seconds while power is on and reset button pressed
6. no you can let go the reset switch
7. connect to your BEFW11S4 using 192.168.1.1 and your password is again back to the original "admin"
8. once you are connected, restore from your backup (step 1)
9. never experience disconnection problems again (I hope)
Note: This is technical food:_ After programming the EPROM that is on the mainboard, linksys manufacturers must do a hard reset on the device. That will clear the stack buffer and some registers. But it looks like they don't do that and even you switch off the thing, stacks don't get initialized and cause stack overflow (DHCP is most likely). Machine will still pump packets out but packets are all messed up you can not connect. Well, if you don't have the problem, you or someone must have pressed reset more than 60 secs at some stage. It doesn't matter what firmware you use, HARD RESET is a must after programming the EPROM.
Customer Review: A breakthrough product - flawless execution
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a 3-in-1 product: an Ethernet router and four-port switch combined with an 802.11b compliant wireless access point. It connects to your computer's Ethernet card (another other computers' NICs) on one side with an RJ-45 plug and to your cablemodem on the other side with coaxial cable. I am using it to connect to two other computers in the house with Category 5 Ethernet cable and to my IBM Thinkpad laptop, which has Linksys' WPC11 wireless network card.Configuring the device to work with your cable ISP and computer is very easy. The instructions are straightforward, and the basic tools you need to get up and running in minutes are easy to find in the browser interface. (A stroke of genius). A hookup video is included on CD-ROM. I ran the CD from my laptop while hooking up the desktop.
There is alot more that this device can do than most average users (like me) with probably need.
Since the router part uses network address translation to split your cable feed into multiple other data streams, it works as a firewall. Other computers can't see the network addresses "behind" the router. I dumped BlackIce Defender as a software firewall for incoming intrusions is not needed. You will probably still want a firewall for out-bound traffic (sent from cookies, snoopware, trojans, etc.) like Sygate personal firewall 4.2.
At this time, Linksys wireless card does not come with XP drivers, but Windows 2000 drivers seem to work fine.
The antenna's range is pretty good. There is only one spot in one room at the opposite end of the house where I loose the connection. The speed is slower than direct cable connection for transferring files over the LAN, but Web page speed from a cable modem is just as fast over the wireless link as over the cat 5 lines. I would be careful using wireless devices INSTEAD of cat 5 cable to hook up desktop PCs, though -- make sure you can get a strong signal path to the transmitter. Laptops' antennae don't have the same directional sensitivity issues that desktop wireless antennae do.
All in all, the device works great. You can dump your secondary IP address and save money from your IP. If you have a cable modem and two or more PCs and a laptop and want to share printers, files and high-speed internet access, this is truly a must-have product.
Customer Review: Perfect and Painless (and Affordable) Wireless That Works
Summary: 5 Stars
I love the BEFW11S4 from Linksys. I recently bought it, along with a wireless USB adapter and it's worked perfectly and painlessly for me. I use it in wired and wireless modes, have been very pleased, and unconditionally recommend it.I did quite a bit of research before settling on this model. Linksys seemed to be the wireless solution that most people have had success with; three friends also gave it personal recommendations based on their experience. I wasn't disappointed: I had it out of the box and working with three PCs in less than an hour. After noting my existing settings (I use it with DSL which provides a static IP), I installed the connections noted on the set up card, ran the software provided, and it correctly configured my PC (using DHCP). Setting up a second PC, this one using a static IP, was also simple.
I did have some questions about the exact configuration for what I wanted to do, which included placing an http server on my network, something I knew next to nothing about. The Linksys tech support page was fantastic: I was able to locate instructions for exactly what I wanted to do in a knowledge base that contained directions for dozens of scenarios. I understand that there is phone support available, but I haven't had to use it, despite having no networking experience whatsoever.
Configuring the wireless USB adapter was even easier. The default settings worked well, and clear and concise instructions showed me where I needed to set custom settings to sync the wireless unit up with the router and establish security. I get perfect reception (100% connection quality, and the full 11MBPS speed) from everywhere in my house (a small two-story). The 11MBPS speed is more than enough to push all my DSL bandwidth, so I didn't seriously consider the newer 54g models from Linksys, which would have been...more. I haven't had either the router or the USB/wireless adapter stall, fail or lock up a single time in the first two weeks of use.
I'm extremely happy with this unit. If you're looking for a reliable wireless solution for home networking or internet sharing, I'd say this is the unit to get. I've been pleased with price, reliability, flexibility, ease of installation and total performance.
Customer Review: Great Hardware, But Know What You're Doing First!
Summary: 5 Stars
Linksys is highly rated in assessments I've seen elsewhere, so I bought one of these devices. However, as I found out the hard way, setting them up is not for the technically challenged. If you're a beginner, before you start, either get a networking guru (friend or professional) to help you, or get a copy of "Wireless Home Networking For Dummies" ..., well worth the price for getting up to speed on devices like this as well as for a reference for any troubleshooting later.Many of the reviews here describe typical problems inherent in the TCP/IP networking protocols everyone has to use, or in radio interference problems inherent in wireless connecting. There are numerous different possible networking situations requiring different combinations of settings; using the correct ones takes only a few mouseclicks, but can be terminally frustrating if you don't know what you're doing and what to look for. After my hopeful first efforts failed, as happened to some of the other reviewers on this site, I took my own advice and found some more information. A little more knowledge and a few changed settings produced quick success.
The product information (including CD-ROM) in the package was some help, but was not enough for my needs until I learned some more basics first. (Your local DSL or Internet cable service representative may be a good alternative choice here, sepecially if they're coming in to install your Internet access line at the same time.)
Networking protocols were designed for network administrators, whose job you're volunteering for when you try to do it yourself at home or in a small office. This stuff is definitely not PlugNPlay (or Pray), and there is no software program to make all the suitable setting choices for you automatically. I didn't try contacting the manufacturer; all hardware and software companies skimp on support because it is a cost center rather than a revenue center for them, and more people are gradually becoming savvy enough to know how to navigate this technology on their own.
This is a good hardware product, if you or someone helping you knows the basics first. (Otherwise, prepare to be humbled.)
Customer Review: Awesome Product
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this router about 2 months ago. I hardwired two desktop pc's to 2 of the ports, and I use a laptop with a linksys wireless pcmcia card. For the people who are having problems setting this product up, they probably don't know what they're doing. The router's signals go straight up and out, so placement of the router is important. I live in a 3 story townhouse, so I placed the router down in the basement and it's been working fine. I ran cat5e cable to two of the rooms that have the desktops (up on the third floor).I set up one of the desktops as a domain server (windows 2000 advanced server) and the other systems with windows 2000. I did everything, implemented active directory, ftp, web server, certificate server (issued myself my own certificate for the web site to make it https), dhcp server. My client pc's are obtaining static ip address from my server, however you don't have to set your pc's up to use dhcp issued by the router. To give your pc's static ip's from your router, you can use any ip address, just disable dhcp on the router and hard code the ip configurating on the pc to use any address from 192.168.1.2 through 192.168.1.254. Also, if you're using a wireless device, use a WEP key, and also SSID, and change the default channel from 6 to another channel. With dhcp service stopped on the router, NOBODY will be able to connect up to your router using a wireless pc card other than yourself. I'm pretty confident that nobody (unless someone looks over my shoulder and sees my wep keys, channel, and ssid) can connect up to my router. For users who are having problems staying connected, have you ever thought that it's not the router, that it's probably your ISP or your cable/dsl modem? To ensure that it's not the router, plug your cable/dsl modem directly to your pc and don't use your router. If you stay connected for a few days, then it possibly could be the router. Also, I like the port forwarding feature. It allows me to run services from my server and just forward the appropiate port to that machine. This product has been outstanding! From someone that knows.