Microsoft MN-700 Wireless 802.11g Base Station Router
by Microsoft
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List Price: Our Price: $11.93 You Save: $46.06 (79%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Microsoft MN-700 Wireless 802.11g Base Station Router
Customer Review: Very Easy setup, If u've problems, reinstall the software.
Summary: 5 Stars
MICROSOFT HAS PULLED OUT THIS PRODUCT. So, I don't think this review counts. Anyways, unless you are getting this one for FREE, DON'T BUY.
Well, I read all the reviews on Amazon and was almost on the verge of concluding that ONLY LINKSYS is the real wireless router and the others are just cheap imitations. Thankfully i didn't rush to buy a $100 router and bought this cheap router from "unreliable" microsoft as many would put it. Its nice looking too instead of looking like an alien with two long antennae. The setup is easy if you read the instructions first!! I hooked to the ethernet connection of my computer for setup. i think its just better that way. I had a hiccup in the beginning coz the software probably didn't load correctly. happens, its Microsoft. so i uninstalled it, rebooted and reloaded the software where in the options it showed me the basestation setup option. it wasn't available on first attempt. i think my compy had a grudge then. anyway, the setup is easy, asks you what you want to do, how to setup and all that. I had the mixed mode default for wireless. It has MAC Filtering (is that an option??) and 128/256 bit encryption that i use from my notebook to the basestation just in case some peeping tom wants to see what i do. A thing to note though, when you try getting that key from the base station utility, the textbox doesn't show the whole damn key so i fought for about an hour on my notebook blaming everyone and everything around me and in this world for the mess till i read that the key is 26 characters and the one i had was smaller. Now i started blaming myself and yes, Microsoft. anyways, i connect perfectly. even when you run that utility, it will tell u your IP, your base station, whether you are connected to the internet and yes, any other network shared devices. i have two desktops on the ethernet connections and a laptop and i share the printer on one of the desktops, fax software on the other. so am pretty happy and content with the setup. the speed is pretty good too. i copied a huge file, about 600MB from my laptop to my desktop and it was pretty fast. I use an Asante FriendlyLAN 802.11G card for
my notebook FYI.
Update: I had dropped connection problems too but then i found them to be with my wireless card since I use it at work too sometimes. I figured that i have to use its own software to choose the profile instead of allowing windows to automatically connect since Windows tries to be oversmart and disconnects often.
Customer Review: Firmware Update Resolved Lost Connections
Summary: 5 Stars
ALL PROBLEMS RESOLVED - RECOMMEND PRODUCT - I was about ready to return the MN-700 because I could not keep a connection for more than a minute or two. With a Customer Support person on the line, the connection problem was completely resolved once I was able to stay connected long enough (with the base station utility running) to download and install the latest firmware update. I earlier had used my broadband connection to download the update, but bypassed the router because of the connection problem. However, it turns out that in doing that, only he MN-700 Broadband Software utility was updated and not the firmware. Secondly, prior to resolving the dropped connections problem, Customer Support was very patient and persistent in also helping me to resolve the preliminary issue of my network adapter card not being recognized by the MN-700 installation utility which it turns out was my problem and not the MN-700's because the "winipcfg" command (Windows 98 IP Configuration viewing command) also was not showing it even though it was installed and I had been using it for 6 months with my DSL connection. The recognition problem was resolved by completely uninstalling my network card as well as the dial-up modem card and reinstalling them. Regarding Customer Service, I had mostly very good experience. In the 5 or so calls I made to Customer Service, I was never on hold for more than 1-3 minutes and the calls were very professional, with a case number being assigned on the first call. The only negatives with Customer Service were that one time a representative was to call me back, but did not and another time a telephone connection was lost while talking to a representative. However, I am glad that I did not return the product!!Customer Review: Nice features, easy install, 2-yr tech support
Summary: 5 Stars
Got it 2 weeks ago, from amazon.com for under $44...looks like it raised the price already.I was very careful in following the instruction--knowing that the order of installation is paramount in making installation go smoothly... and it all worked well, nearly the first time.
1) make sure cable modem is first working.
2) then install router, then make sure all still works,
3) then install software to each wired and wireless clients,
4) then install the wireless connection, WEP key.
All went fairly smoothly....if you follow the directions, carefully....
The wired connection 100Mbps is obviously good, and the wireless connection is stable, and fairly fast...I get 54Mbps when I am nearly the router, and even near top speed when I am on second floor, have not tried from the basement; From outside the garage, about 50 feet away from the router, the speed decreased to about 1/2, which is still good enough, given that the cable modem gives me max 2Mbps anyway.
I finally was playing around the configuration and messed up the configuration, so that my wireless connection was lost....called MS, and was told I have 24-hour support for 2 years... and talked to an 'offshore' tech support.... At first he tried to pass me off as HW problem, and ask me to talk to PC vendor...but after some convincing, he stayed on and tried several other fixes, and finally fixed the problem....(I had accidently changed my laptop to act as a brideg instead of just being a client). So, so far so good....the price is great. The product works, the connection is good, and support is there.... Recommended!
Customer Review: Trouble-free installation
Summary: 5 Stars
This router (bought bundled with the wireless laptop card) was purchased to replace a D-Link with which we weren't satisfied because we were never able to network our two home computers.The documentation that came packaged in the Microsoft box was outstanding. Detailed and easy-to-follow steps were laid out in a straight-forward manner. Anyone who is only minimally familiar with computers and computer hardware/software can navigate through the instructions with realative confidence.
The device came with its own setup wizard which, of course, was perfectly compatible with Windows XP! The wizard, in conjunction with the instruction manual, explained exactly what to do and when to do it. It was never ambiguous. The wizard detected and used our original ISP settings/information by itself. It instructed us when to disconnect our previous router and connect our new router. Microsoft even included a blank floppy to be used for saving our connection settings and then transferrring these same settings to our other computer to be networked. The instructions stepped us through setting up the home network on all home computers.
As said before, installation was quick and easy. The instructions were clear and detailed. Our two computers were wirelessly networked without a hitch. It also seems that the wireless adapter card maintains MUCH better connection with the base (I haven't noticed any interruptions in the connection).
Microsoft is big because they've earned it! I'm more than happy to give them my money when they give me products like this in exchange!
Customer Review: Seems as "You Luv it or you hate it"
Summary: 5 Stars
I replaced a wired homenetwork of 4 PC's running Win98se on 2PC's, Win XP and Win2K on dual boot machine(connected to cable modem), and finally a WinXP Pro box with MN-720 adapter. I only run wireless on the one XP Pro box but setup was easy and all machines works fine.One reason that I believe DSL connection problems with this base station and the occasional cable modem problem is the quality of the broadband connection. First off DSL is flakey in my book and dependent on a lot of factors hinging around phone lines. Cable is superior conduit for data depending upon reliability of cable provider. That said, I have had zero lost connections for the two months of operation and connection at 54mbps 95% of the time. It is true that the software interface with the base station takes a pretty long time refreshing network components, but this is only a minor inconvenience. I was astounded at how easy the dual boot machine configured. I was initially worried that after install in the XP partition that booting into the Win2K partition was going to be a nightmare, but no problem! I suggest for those who give bad reviews to check the status and reliability of their broadband connection before blaming the hardware. I left a wired network primarily due to the Linksys router having tremendous difficulty with port forwarding setup to facilitate netcam sessions in MSN Messenger. I now regularly netcam with family all across the country without a hitch! I love it!