TRENDnet 54Mbps Wireless G USB Adapter TEW-424UB by TRENDnet
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List Price: Our Price: $8.53 You Save: $28.46 (77%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $6.99 (click here) Category: CE See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of TRENDnet 54Mbps Wireless G USB Adapter TEW-424UB
Digital camera Review: Gets crazy hot!
Summary: 4 Stars
So far, works pretty well. The utility that comes with it sometimes acts flaky, and doesn't start or doesn't connect right away.
For this type of solid-state device, it gets incredibly hot! Almost too hot to touch! Given that, probably not going to last long.
The range is ok, nothing special. Of course, the greatest thing about these is the price.
Digital camera Review: Getting what you pay for, no more
Summary: 3 Stars
First off, it LOOKS very cool, and feels good to roll around in your hand, flip the antennea up and down, etc. Secondly, I have another Trendnet inexpensive card in an old desktop, and it runs just fine. But for the TEW-424UB, I have to agree with the mediocre level of enthusiasm that seems to be the consensus. It works, to a degree, but it does drop out and doesn't seem to pick up signals as strongly as my other cards throughout the house. I was glad to have read the reviews prior to running for any length of time; lots of different wierd things happened. I am using this on a Linux OS, and at one point the dongle (or ???) had managed to have the entire connection alive and well, but had lost connection to the dns address in my router. NEVER had that happen, but being aware of the different flavors of how this might roll over made it easier for me to debug. I am using this just as a backup until the Linux world figures out how to make the chipset in my laptop work correctly (Realtek rtl8185), and the price makes it worthwhile as a temporary solution.Digital camera Review: Good Adapter
Summary: 5 Stars
This adapter is working good for me. I bought it for my desktop PC (wondering why manufacturers don't offer wireless internet feature in PCs), plugged it, read the manual that came with it (I received it in a brand new box) and installed the driver. BUT I found that the yellow LED light (on top of this adapter) was not blinking or not turned on either so I have to call their Customer Service and they help me install another driver that you can find on the manufacturer's website after you select your adapter's mode number, etc. Then the LED light start blinking. Before I called Customer Service I was using Windows Vista driver (I have Windows 7 on my PC) and their Customer Service helped me to install Windows 7 Driver. The User Guide (or CD - don't remember much) that came along does not have Windows 7 Driver though, for that you need to call Customer Service or you can install Windows 7 Driver from their website, just need to enter the right details like Model Number, etc. It works good.Digital camera Review: Good for the price
Summary: 4 Stars
I was looking for a new wireless USB adapter for my 2nd computer downstairs. The price at Best Buy was like 40-60$ for other brand like Cisco. But I found this one from TrendNet at only 20$ and it works fine, took maybe 5 Minutes to install, pretty easy.Digital camera Review: Good, though a little tenuous to setup WPA2
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased the TEW424UB so I could upgrade to the stronger WPA2-PSK (aka WPA2-Personal) encryption. This unit replaced a D-link adapter running WEP-64.
The setup was an arduous task, so learn from my experience: do not try to immediately upgrade your network to WPA2. [If your netowrk is already upgraded to WPA2, it may automatically enter a "mixed" mode accepting the WEP or older WPA connection during setup as my Linksys did.]
First install the driver from the Trendnet software that arrives with the unit. The software CD in my case was an older version than even the included user guide, and the installation screens did not match instructions. The installation took a couple of runs to appear error free. Setup in WEP and then download the updated software driver and user guides from Trendnet. Run the new driver installation (which almost matched the paper guide). Follow instructions from your Access Point on how to setup your network with WPA2-PSK.
Once I did get this setup, it has run flawlessly. My old D-link regularly became unstable and needed to be un-plugged and replugged to reset the connection. The Trendnet has no such behavior and I am very happy with my upgraded wireless security.
Minus 1 star for shipping old software on the installation CD, but otherwise a solid product.