NETGEAR HD/Gaming 5 GHz Wireless-N Networking Kit (WNHDEB111)
by Netgear
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List Price: Our Price: Calculated in a shopping cart Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of NETGEAR HD/Gaming 5 GHz Wireless-N Networking Kit (WNHDEB111)
Customer Review: Great Wireless Bridge
Summary: 4 Stars
SO I bought this almost a month ago and wanted to review it after a good testing. First let me tell you what I paired this with - the netgear WNR3500 (wireless N Gigabit router). And although the setup of the router was a bit akward using a cd-rom it worked out decently. But I digress. After the set up of my router I attached these 2 bridges and it was pretty simple. Almost as simple of pushing buttons but setup may neccesitate logging into the router to establish the initial connection... With that in mind the performance has been awesome! I have not had any disconnections and it provides amazing coverage throughout the house upstairs and downstairs. No deadspots in the house and connection to my laptop is consistently 300 mbps. Definitely worth the purchase.Customer Review: Great. Fewer wires...more footprints...Hmmm...
Summary: 4 Stars
Anyone who has had the *pleasure* of setting up a wireless network with a Netgear router will probably have a bit of reluctance about jumping into the fray again with another product from that manufacturer but this kit is at the other end of the spectrum, as long as you ignore the supporting material.
These little boxes which by the way, offer a nice contrast to the Netgear 834B router (I'm into symmetry in my work area) have a great deal of flexibility and utility, even if streaming video and gaming are not priorities. I have one unit configured as an access point linked by Ethernet to my router and the other unit installed two floors below as a bridge via Ethernet to another desktop. My primary PC has Vista; the secondary employs XP Pro and both work nearly flawlessly with these units. I also have a laptop with a wireless adapter and thus far, I haven't found any dead areas anywhere in the house. I have noticed a slight reduction in processing speed on the XP desktop compared to a hardwired connection directly to a cable modem but for most applications, and I would surmise home-based users, the difference will not be significant. The units communicate under 802.11n draft standards and are backward compatible. The documentation claims speeds up to 270Mbps but since my wireless adapter is under the 802.11g standard, I can only accept the representations. I also tested the bridge capability on a digital cable DVR via Ethernet and I was able to identify the box on the network but that's not a use that is critical to me at present.
The kit comes with two access/bridge units, two power adapters, two Ethernet cables and a setup CD. The setup wizard is where any problems, you may incur will commence. The units have to be configured for the individual network but the configuration assistant interface makes it more difficult than it has to be. Each unit has a unique security pin that has to be recorded for the network but each unit can be hooked up by Ethernet to a router and configured as access points rather than trying to initially install one as a bridge. There is a switch on the back of each unit that allows selection of AP, bridge or auto. If a unit is set to auto, once it is in place, it will determine functionality based on the devices in communication with it. That said, configuration on the router login site can be accomplished in one of three ways: (1) By push button, (2) by entry of the security pin or, (3) the units can be powered up and discovered under the wireless network device manager. A manual in PDF format can also be found on the setup CD.
Any upgrades to firmware can be automatically downloaded when the user signs on to the website. I noticed another reviewer apparently encountered some difficulty with customized security designations but in my case I had already established a security-enabled network with my Netgear router so my pre-established security keys were automatically transferred. Supposedly, these units are compatible with most routers. As noted my system is already under the Netgear platform so I can't address the validity of that pronouncement.
Customer Review: I wouldn't bother.
Summary: 2 Stars
After spending a fair bit of time on these boxes, I decided they were pointless and not worth the time and the money. The speed advantage is not apparent: I compared between this connection and a regular wireless (54Mb) connection, the latter was in fact a tad faster.
If it requires some clever configuration to get the speed to be better, as some reviewers have implied, I still wouldn't bother. If it's that fussy, at this price, I'll wait for better wireless technology.
I spent quite a bit of time configuring these boxes and troubleshooting connection problems. Let me just say that it isn't trivial, unless you like using default settings, AND if everything works right the first time.
Even after that, inexplicably I couldn't get the bridge side to connect to my XP machine (wouldn't get an IP address), although it worked without trouble with my Vista machine. This was the last straw. Although I'm a technology professional, I find myself getting less patient with poorly made, user-unfriendly products. The documentation is atrocious (sketchy trouble-shooting information), and the boxes themselves don't provide much information.
(I also find it annoying that you have to count blinking lights to figure out what's happening. Hey, that was acceptable in the 1970s perhaps.)
So I wouldn't bother.
Customer Review: Fantastic
Summary: 5 Stars
Easy is the word! The networking kit takes only minutes to set up and you're on your way. Lightning fast speed with both Wii and XBox. Very strong signal. Great video. This is my first wireless router, so I have nothing to compare it to. But suffice it to say that even a beginner like me found this system easy to use and was amazed at just what all I could do with it. Highly recommended!Customer Review: Fantastic and easy to use
Summary: 5 Stars
After opening the package from Amazon it took me three minutes to unravel the power cord and begin surfing the net using my new Netgear HD/Gaming Wireless-N Networking Kit! I simply plugged in one of the towers to my wireless router and it was ready to go. Then I plugged the other tower into my Apple TV and I was instantly sending video to my HD TV. I carried my MacBook out into the street and I was able to surf the net from my network about a quarter of a mile from my house. Using my regular router I used to have a few deadspots in my house where the signal was weak. Now I have full-bars wherever I go! Also, my Wii has been accessing the network much faster than it used to.