Netgear WGR614 Wireless-G Router
by Netgear
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List Price: Our Price: $34.96 You Save: $24.03 (41%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $14.99 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Netgear WGR614 Wireless-G Router
Customer Review: easy setup, great range, no interference so far
Summary: 5 Stars
there were four things i considered as "very important" when i went looking for a wireless router:- connection options
- ease of setup
- connection speed
- wireless range and interference
the wgr614 has (so far) performed very well on all counts. first, connection options. this router allows up to four ethernet connections so i've got my main desktop PC hardwired, as well as my work notebook whenever i have to work from home (my company does not allow wireless connections). another personal notebook PC and my wife's work notebook are connected using Netgear WG511 Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps PC Cards.
second consideration was ease of setup. i consider myself comfortable with technology, but this setup was REALLY easy using the Install Assistant, a simple, browser-based wizard. this router was out of the box and running in 15 minutes.
third, connection speed. i have no objective way of measuring this but so far, i have been very satisfied with the wireless speed connection. a caveat: i have read from other websites that in mixed-mode (when both 802.11g and 802.11b devices are running), transfer speed suffers but since i only connect using 802.11g, this has not been an issue.
fourth consideration was connection range. i have this router setup in the basement and so far, i have not had any wireless connection issues when using our notebook in the front or back porch or in the second floor. there's always the potential of interference from other devices but i am happy to report that i have yet to see evidence of such interference.
a final bonus consideration: this router has a slim design the size of a thin paperback with a rounded, silver exterior. this can be laid flat but it can also stand on edge using a little plastic stand.
all in all, a very nice package that i am comfortable recommending to anyone looking to setup a wireless home network.
i hope this helps your buying decision. peace.
Customer Review: Affordable, easy, and aesthetically pleasing
Summary: 5 Stars
(originally posted January, 2006)
Amazon sometimes groups reviews of multiple products together, so just for clarity I'll mention that this is a review of Netgear's WGR614 v6 4-port wireless router.
I needed a wireless router with ethernet ports on it so my desktop could stay connected while maintaining a home wireless network, so this was the logical choice for me. I wasn't impressed by Linksys' price and reviews, so I opted to go for Netgear's product instead. I'm glad I did. I didn't have any problems setting up this device whatsoever, despite my lack of control over the modem I connect through (an ethernet connection through my apartment complex). One of my roommates had tried to set up a similar Linksys modem to no avail, even with the help of a computer engineering friend.
The router looks great standing vertically on the hutch of my desk next to my speakers. I wasn't impressed by its appearance in the stock photos on Amazon, but seeing it in person really surprised me. I think it's a slick, elegant little design, and certainly one of the nicest-looking gadgets I own.
My advice would be to do plenty of research before purchasing computer hardware of any kind. My laptop has Centrino built in, so I don't have to worry about getting a modem card. Check your laptop. See what other equipment you would have to get to enable wireless internet on your current equipment before buying this.
edit: I looked through some of the other reviews and found some people saying their router had overheating problems. I've had mine continuously on since I got it over two weeks ago with no problems whatsoever.
edit: (December, 2006) The router was replaced for free by Netgear after it was fried in an electrical storm several months ago. The replacement router is still going strong in my apartment eight months later, rarely needing to be unplugged and reset.
Customer Review: Easy to install, works 24x7 without interruptions
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this modem in Feb'05 and it has been working flawlessly for the last year, always switched on, used for atleast 2-3 hours a day. (Sorry about being late in writing this review, but I beleive in fully using the product before writing a review)
The installation was very smooth, the installer CD comes with a auto-installer which will communicate with your DSL modem and does almost 100% of the things by itself.
Before you start configuring your wireless router, do make sure that you have the correct DSL internet username and password on hand and you have tested the internet connection with the Model ALONE before you test with the wireless router.
I am surprised that there are so many negative reviews on this wireless router. If there are installation problems with the netgear wireless router, there are very few reasons why it could be:
* Your DSL modem is not configured property
- DSL modem settings are pretty complex, if you mess it up, press the 'Reset' button to get it loaded with factory defaults
- Did you check if the default IP Address of your DSL model does not conflict with the IP address of the wireless router(http://192.168.1.1) - if it does, you can always change the IP address of your DSL modem
* Did you verify that you have provided your internet username and password correctly ?
I tried using this wireless router with two modems -
(1) Speedstream 5100 : Works like a charm
(2) Huawei SMARTAX-MT-800 : I tried using this modem with the Netgear wireless in India, but for some reason, I could never get the wirelss router married to the Huawei DSL modem. I finally had to throw away the Huawei SmartAX and swith over to the Speedstream.
After switching to speedstream 5100, the combo of netgear wireless with the speedstream has been working 24x7, without any issues.
Customer Review: Setup was a synch, worked flawlessly
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok, I did a lot of research on wireless routers and I was a little concerned about Netgear because of the issues with durability that I've seen. So, the jury is still out on that issue. But, I can say that I bought this router dirt cheap at CompUSA for $40. No stupid mail-in rebates either. And, I added a full 2 year warranty from CompUSA that covers anything that goes wrong with the router. For $3.50 a year, that added only $7.00 to the price. So, if there is a durability issue and the thing goes on the blink, CompUSA will replace the unit no questions asked. The standard 3 year manufacturer's warranty is a hassle because you pay for the shipping and handling and they do ask questions.
Anyway, getting to the setup of the router. Basically, it was a synch. I'm not sure why other folks had problems with the set up, but it literally took me 5 minutes on my XP laptop. I'm in the IT field(but not a networking person), so maybe that had something to do with the ease of setup. I don't know, it seems like even the most novice computer user shouldn't have any problems. I followed the instructions to the T, including establishing a hard wire connection to the router on initial boot up first. This may be a reason why some folks are having problems, I don't know. This range is awesome and the speed is a full 54 through most of my house. If I venture upstairs away from the router, it does drop to 36-42, but hey that's good enough for me.
In summary, easy setup, cheap price, great warranty, excellent range and awesome speed. I also purchased the USB 2.0 adapter and it works like a charm. I have it running on a Dell Windows 2000 laptop with the old USB 1.1 port and it's still blazing fast when surfing the net.
Customer Review: Great Price, Great Performance
Summary: 5 Stars
This product has worked flawlessly out of the box. The instructions were extremely easy to follow and set-up was a breeze. I was worried this router would not know how to handle PPPoE but it connected to my ISP with no problems. The router's web-based configuration program has great explanations of everything and setting up the WEP encryption was surprisingly easy.The router itself is extremely small (it fits easily atop of my computer tower, although close contact to metal is not recommended to improve signal). Even at the point in my house farthest away from the router (I live in a two story house) the signal strength was still "Good". I'm sure if I positioned the router in a better place the signal strength would be better.
I had a bit of trouble getting my Windows XP and Windows 2000 computers to recognize the shared network resources (ie: filesharing across the LAN). It turned out to have nothing to do with the Netgear router, but rather software firewalls on the computers. After several hours of searching the internet for information, (The wizard in Windows XP allows you to create a disk for use in setting up filesharing in non-XP computers.. however it doesn't work in Windows 2000 and possibly NT.) I finally realized it was my software firewalls on both computers that was throwing the whole thing off. Since the router comes with dual firewall protection I would recommend at least attempting to close the software firewalls if you are having trouble accessing shared resources. It would have saved me a lot of trouble.
Ultimately this router performs very well and is quite a bit less expensive than its competitors. It is space-conscious and easy to set up. I have been very pleased with this product.