Cisco-Linksys Wireless-G Range Expander WRE54G by Linksys
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Digital camera reviews of Cisco-Linksys Wireless-G Range Expander WRE54G
Digital camera Review: A great signal repeater
Summary: 5 Stars
I have to agree with the other reviewers that the intended way to set this up is a pain. You actually need a computer with a wireless card to run the setup program and it will mess with the configuration on your computer. In the end it refused to configure the box because it said that my AP was not compatible... (I think officially only Linksys APs are supported.) However - you can just use an Ethernet crossover cable between your computer and the repeater (or hang them both off the same switch), set your computer to 192.168.1.100 and browse with your Web browser to 192.168.1.240. There is no login and default password is "admin". The setup is straightforward and real easy this way. Enter your SSID and the WPA password and change the IP to fit into your wireless network. Do not forget to change the password first. Hit save. Done. Success is shown by the blue link light. If you screwed up, you can factory reset the box by pressing the reset botton for 5 seconds and start over. The auto-config feature is useless.
One note is that this is a repeater not an access point. This means it will send and transmit on the same channel and therefore your throughput will be somewhere 40%. I am still getting about 3 Mbps, which is plenty for Web surfing. An interesting obserservation is that the Ethernet port can also be used to bridge the wireless network to another Ethernet cloud and this way there would be no BW loss. On a side note, your AP needs to support WBS (Wirelss Distribution System), many do but not all.
On a final note, this is not a commercial solution where you can daisy chain multiple of those repeaters to cover a large area. This product is thought to cover bad spots in a residential home such as an outside area where few wireless users are active at the same time. If you want to cover a large space with many users you need multiple APs and probably should look into a commercial AP solution.
Digital camera Review: A major PAIN to install
Summary: 2 Stars
I like the idea of this product, but it is just not executed well. I consider myself intermediate/advanced in home computing/networking and I had the hardest time getting this to work. I did have to directly plug it in to my existing wireless router to configure it and it seemed to do the trick. I would skip over the auto detect as it never seemed to work/stick. Hopefully something better will come along... :/
UPDATE May 2009 - I still have not gotten it to work consistently - so I would have to say skip it.
Digital camera Review: A major source of frustration.
Summary: 1 Stars
When our Linksys ranger expander did work it was great. However, 9 times out of 10 it didn't work, and it became a major source of frustration and disappointment. I've had dozens of "discussions" with my wife about the poor, or lack of wireless coverage in our pre-war co-op. I think the most frustrating part of owning the Linksys range expander has been dealing with my son after he's been playing with his online Webkinz or Nick Jr. online and the expander simply stops working. The look in his eyes when "Daddy can't fix the internet" is truly heart breaking.
Our apartment is about 1300 sq. feet yet its almost impossible to get full wireless coverage from my Linksys wireless 54g router from end to end(forget about videos or large email files). As a result, I went out and got this range expander a couple of years ago and have been sorry I did ever since. Everything that the "1 star rating" reviewers said is true.
The in-box directions are terrible, and the support is horrible. I've spent hours on the phone with their customer service trying to get this thing to work, as well as countless hours on the linksys web site dealing with software updates (which are difficult to install) trying to figure out "what I was doing wrong." Turns out I was wrong for buying this piece-o-junk. I would have dumped this thing a long time ago, but after plunking down over one hundred dollars for it I was stuck, and determined to make it work.
I think the most frustrating part about the whole thing is that although the Linksys router worked fine most of the time, when the Linksys range expander was connected to it and failed, it blocked total access to the router even though the router was broadcasting ok. I can't tell you how many times I had to stop what I was doing to reset that range expander or even completely defer a family activity with our son because the coverage of the expander was so unreliable.
I hope the technology has improved since I purchased this so called range expander, and based on a previous review, I'm going out today to pick up a Netgear WGXB102 54Mbps Wall-Plugged Wireless Range Extender Kit or the latest and greatest, and hope it will work as advertised.
In conclusion, if you're looking to avoid a major source of frustration, DO NOT BUY THE LINKSYS WIRELESS G RANGE EXPANDER!
CK
Digital camera Review: A shame dress like Linksys
Summary: 1 Stars
As a Linksys user by years ago, i cant understand how Linksys released this product to market. Configuration is a nightmare, software simply does not work.
And worst of all, the product is not as reliable as you migth expect. Also, it slash speed transmisions and make MAC security useless.
Beaware, don buy this. Instead, use WAP54G and configure as a repeater.
Regards,
Rafael Arvelo
rafaelarvelo@gmail.com
Digital camera Review: A total failure of a product..
Summary: 1 Stars
I have used a range of Linksys products over the years but I've never encountered anything like this WRE54G Wireless-G Range Expander. Before purchase I noted the polarity of the reviews regarding this item, but based on prior experience and satisfaction I thought it was worth a try. How wrong I was! Though I used the WRE54G with a Linksys wireless-G router, planned the placement of all network gear carefully according to the Linksys instructions, and even tried the automatic setup, no connection could be established. Hours of manually attempting to get reliable communication between the router and the WRE54G resulted in a completely unreliable signal--now strong, now missing altogether. I finally gave up attempting insrtallation on my own and started a chat with a Linksys agent. That person displayed hardly any familiarity with the range expander and its possible problems. After spending 3/4 of an hour going around in a circle, I closed the chat.
The very poor documentation for this item leads me to suppose that Cisco really could't care less about the more unusual equipment Linksys offers. I think in future I'll think twice before purchasing from this source. They aren't the only game in town.