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
Summary: 5 Stars
First of all, I woould like to commend Amazon.com on their fast delivery. I ordered it on Monday morning and I got the package delivered to my front door the next morning. That was with the free shipping option, which was suppose to take about five days.Now about the Netgear WGB511 802.11g wireless networking kit (which includes a WGR614v4 and a WG511)...I was able to get the router running with default settings in less than 10 minutes after I took it out of the box and that includes the time that I used to figure out how to use my old Linksys HPRO200 router as a bridge to my HPNA network. Upon inspecting the firmware version, I noticed that the version posted on Netgear's web site is newer and includes WPA-PSK so I quickly downloaded it and burned the new firmware. Except for the slow download from Netgear the whole process went very smoothly, however, the instruction for setting up WPA-PSK is minimal and it took a bit of guessing on my part to set it up (had to guess what needs to be done on my Windows XP, but only took couple tries.) The range of the wireless network is good and I was able to get excellent strength readings throughout most of the house. Over all, I am extremely pleased with the Netgear router so far, I just hope it won't quit on me prematurely as my Linksys wireless AP did right after warrenty expired.
Customer Review: Cheap, Quick, & Reliable
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently purchased this item along with the Netgear WGE111 54 Mbps Wireless Game Adapter and I can honestly say, the product is great. You'll be hard pressed to find a Router that is as easy to use while still being reliable and affordable.
The actual router itself is quite small so it doesn't draw any attention to itself. You have the option of sitting it on it's bottom, or stacking it with the bracket-stands boxed with the item. The dimensions are a little under 12"x10"x4", which in real life terms is about as thick as two DVD cases stacked on eachother.
Setup was as easy as running the CD software and plugging in the wires. The setup took around 10 minutes altogether, and the software itself doesn't force you upload any unnecessary programs. I was actually amazed that I ran into no problems on the setup.
The room in which this device resides is filled with many other high tech devices that might interfere with the reception: cordless phone, networked printer, home entertainment center, home pc, wireless keyboard, wireless mouse etc etc, and I've had no signs of lag, nor have I been disconnected once.
I was really worried about my first endeavor into the wireless online front, and thanks to Netgear's great products, I can play & surf with peace of mind.
Customer Review: Easy To Set Up, Secure
Summary: 5 Stars
I have installed this wireless router twice in home networks and had no problems with the router itself. I did have a little trouble connecting it in my friend's house because they have AOL and it took several calls to get the correct information from their tech support. Setting it up for comcast cable internet was a breeze, as the default settings for the router work.
What gives this router five stars is how easy it is to add security measures to your wireless network. You gain access to all the settings through your web browser by going to a special IP address. This allows you to add WEP encryption and MAC address filtering so that only the people who are supposed to get internet access from your access point are able to do so.
The firewall capabilities of the router are a little weak because it doesn't allow you to configure the ports that specific activities occur on. I don't know enough about other routers to say if that's actaully a weakpoint or if it's about standard, though.
This router does allow you to log the web activity of specific computers on your network, which could come in handy to monitor your child's internet habits. It also allows you to block keywords and specific websites to protect your children.
...and it looks nice too.
Customer Review: That's IT?
Summary: 5 Stars
I've gotta say - the router is great. The box it comes in is quite big, and I was worried where I could put this without it being obvious and ugly. But once I actually saw the router, I stopped worrying. This thing is SO small - you could stack two of them beind the new Harry Potter book! And evem if it was large, I wouldn't mind displaying it, it's just so darn cool!Setup was a breeze. I plugged it into the modem and into the first computer, and it installed itself. I was having some trouble accessing it's configuration settings from my main computer, and tech support was NOT helpful with the situation, but if I used Mozilla instead of IE, it worked fine. Oddly enough, I can use IE on any of my other computers to change settings.
I currently have three computers hooked up to this, and they can all get on the internet without slowing each other down. I'm using Linksys's PCI 54g card on one desktop, and that computer is having trouble being seen on the rest of the network. It might mean a firmware upgrade on the router, or it may just be because that comp's running Win98, and I'm too lazy to make it work right;)
Overall, this router is awesome. Only weak point is customer service, but hey! I can't think of a company that scores highly on this anyway.
Customer Review: Outstanding
Summary: 5 Stars
I was torn between this and the Linksys WRT54G. I read some of the reviews and the Linksys seemed unstable and had a lot of complaints (having to download a patch wasn't in my agenda). Also, the linksys seemed too big and bulky. I was going to go for the Link because I thought bigger was better and since it was more expensive, would perform better.I finally settled for this and the Netgear WG511 Wireless 54g PC Card because it was cheaper and had lesser complaints. Plus, it was a lot smaller.
Installation with WinME was a breeze and I couldn't be happier. (Took no more than 15 minutes) I thought it was going to be a hassle but it wasn't. I think having optimum online was part of it (no need to configure ISPs and domain names). The bulk of the 15 mins was the restart and plugging all the cables in.
The range for my laptop is excellent. 78% signal strength and the wireless router base is upstairs (I'm in the basement) and two rooms to the right.
Now I can surf anywhere in the house!
Oh, and here's the kicker... you know how big and bulky that linksys looks? This one has a stand so you can stand it up. If I had seen that, I would've bought this the first day that I had looked at it.
First electronic purchase that I didn't regret.