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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
84 of 96 found the following review helpful:
 Crummy tech support and Byzantine install offsets solid tech Dec 12, 2004
By Christopher Wanko
"-C"
The good? Wireless speeds are in excess of the 802.11g spec, so I am getting 100-110Mbps (12.5-13.5 MBps) from the basement to the living room easily. Once the initial horror of setup was over, I've been happily connected ever since. And you can't beat the price: Linksys gear is dropping in price, likely due to a ramp-up of pre-N gear on the horizon. (That's the new 802.11n standard which promises 6x the g-rate, and pre-N Belkin gear is delivering triple the speeds, so 150Mbps, or nearly 19 MBps).
The bad? Customer support, or lack thereof. I had a problem with the client not seeing the router. The *real* problem was the firewall on the basement machine. However, mention the words "Workgroup" or "file and printer sharing" to a Live Chat Specialist and watch how fast they come back with "we don't support configuring Windows" and a link to a knowledgebase article that will not give you a step-by-step diagnostic.
That's a shame, because a troubleshooting map would come in real handy. I fixed the problem myself -- I usually do with rare exception -- but for the non-IT professional, I fear for you. It's Belkin or Netgear for me next time.
And even more: the DHCP server on these routers are apparently very flaky. I could never get mine to give up an IP address to my WMP54GS card, so in the ened I configured it for a static IP and was connected. Woe to the inexperienced customer who tries to get an IP from one of these automatically. This issue is known throughout the Internet, but good luck trying to get Linksys to admit the problem and fix it.
The ugly? Try installing it. IF you manage to see your router on the first shot, your karma is perfect and heaven awaits you. Sinners like myself are forced to install the Linksys drivers only after the failed promise of Wireless Zero Configuration fails. Yes, you'll be switching between the Windows config and Linksys config a few times until you get it right. My suggestion would be to ensure you can see the router first (channel selection being the biggest 'gotcha' here), then worry about encryption and such.
Also, don't be surprised if the DHCP server on the WRT54GS router doesn't give you an IP address. It's a known issue to the outside world, which is waiting for Linksys to admit it and fix it. Configuring your WMP54GS with a static IP will get you fully connected in every case.
I have companion reviews for the WRT54GS and WUSB11, also Linksys gear. They won't be very flattering, either, but it's XMas time, and readers should not be giving bad gifts.
Fred
37 of 40 found the following review helpful:
 Works great once you resolve signal drop problems Apr 09, 2007
By S. Bush
Frankly, I was ready to throw it out the window. Followed their instructions- installed Linksys software first, then installed card. Card would work at first, then intermittently lose signal / not connect to internet. I called tech support (3) times- first 2 calls were useless- same redundant tests / questions. I must have plugged and unplugged it 4 times. Finally- I paid the $30 for advanced support (after working on it for 5 hours and screaming at my kids) and got through to a girl named Sonali working for Linksys in India. Here's the deal:
Windows XP and Vista (I have XP Pro)have their own wireless adapter software that doesn't get along with the Linksys software that Linksys insists you install prior to installing the card. So.. to resolve this, you need to:
1: Delete the Linksys software for the Adapter- Programs /Linksys / Wireless adapter / UNINSTALL
2: Leave the adapter in the computer and reboot. Ignore the Windows add Hardware routine and let the hardware go as unresolved (the yellow question mark in device manager)
3: Find the Adapter Drivers ONLY and install them in a directory you can find later. The driver file should look something like wmp54GS.inf. I went to the linksys website and downloaded the most current file- then created a folder c:\linksys drivers and pasted the inf file there.
4: Go to Device Manager (My computer / properties / hardware / device manager- right click the unresolved device and update the driver. Follow the steps - don't let it search.. specify location.. and point it to the right file.
5: Now, after the drivers are read and XP id's the adapter, you'll get a wireless icon on the taskbar. Double click- find your connection (your router is broadcasting) and you're in. If you have WEP enabled, then you'll have to enter the key. Remember if you're using a LinkSys WRT54G, you enter a passphrase that generates a WEP key. enter the actual generated key, not the passphrase.
Now you should be set--- Windows wireless will log you on when you boot up and not drop you.
To tweak a little further-- if you have a Linksys WRT54G router- make some settings changes:
Changed the channel on the WRT54G wireless connection to 11 (works better than 6)
In Wireless Advanced Settings-
Changed beacon interval to 75
Changed fragmentation threshold to 2176 and RTS threshold to 2176
Disable Secure Easy Setup
The concept makes sense to me-- and now everything works like lightning.
34 of 39 found the following review helpful:
 Trouble-Free Installation Aug 03, 2004
By citan-uzuki
"citan-uzuki"
I installed this card on a Dell Dimension 8200 desktop PC. I am running a network using equipment from various manufacturers. The router is made by Netgear, that is compatible with both 802.11b and 802.11g standards. In all, I have four dekstop PCs and one laptop sharing a DSL connection. My intention is to eventually upgrade to a router with higher speed. Most likely the Linksys with Speedbooster.
The installation itself was quite easy. My only complaint is that the long antenna of this adapter gets tangled with all of the other wires/cables that are connected on the back of my computer. Perhaps the best installation technique is to put this adapter on the top-most PCI slot. That way, all of the other wires and cables will be underneath the unit and will not tangle with the antenna above the adapter.
This PC is the farthest one from the router. Therefore, it receives the weakest signal. This adapter is no better than my older D-Link 520 adapters at receiving the signal. With a weak signal, the adapter is running at 5.5 Mbps. However, when it is getting good signal, it does run at the highest speed that "standard" 802.11g is capable of. With a router upgrade, that speed should increase.
For your information, my computer system has a Pentium 4 processor, 512MB of RDRAM, and Windows XP Pro. The device driver that came with the adapter is working fine with this system. Users with Windows XP and Windows 2000 will get the most benefit from this adapter. The Speedbooster capability is only available to those using these operating systems. Soon, I will upgrade my router to a Linksys unit with the Speedbooster ability.
13 of 14 found the following review helpful:
Not as bad as people say Jun 25, 2004
By M. Fritz
All I wanted to share with you all is that the range is really on par if not better than others. I initially purchased the wmp54gs with the wrt54gs and the signal strength was low or very low. I read another review that said to buy the wg311t from netgear...I did...low or very low. I decided that maybe it was the access point and not the card. I moved the wrt54gs about ten feet to the right and presto, good, very good on both cards. I guess the moral of the story is that wireless is pretty much hit or miss anyway; avoid the cycle of buying and returning products and try changing one of the 850 variables that affect wireless performance:)
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 Just wouldn't connect Oct 20, 2006
By M. Kelley
"mpkelley20"
I have some tecnhical abilities when it comes to computers due to the many times I have basically fried my own home computer. By doing so, I have rebuilt machines and operating systems from scratch and have learned how to fix my own issues rather than rely on technial support.
I bought this linksys wireless card to go along with my current linksys router. Installation was a snap. The CD installed the software very quickly and I then installed the card. Here is where the fun begins. Like a lot of other people here, the card could not identify my IP address using the auto detect. I said fine, I'll just set a static IP address. Great, that seemed to work and I was finally "connected to both the network and the internet". Yey! Let's test the connection....wait a minute, it dropped the connection. Oh, its back....no..its gone again...And when it was connected, the signal kept going from full bars to half bars (and the computer is less than 7 feet from the router!).
This basically went on for about an hour or so as I tried various "fixes" that were on the Linksys site. Nothing on their site worked so I decided to call the tech support. After 30 minutes waiting for a person, I decided I should probably go to bed as I had to get for work the next morning and didn't feel like waiting any longer. So the next day, I went back to the store, picked up a D-Link card for $25 and went home to install that card to compare to the Linksys. 5 minutes after installing the D-Link, I was up and running. No fuss, no problems, just a fast wireless connection.
I am returning the Linksys today and I urge people here to rethink their purchase options before buying this or any other Linksys card that uses that awful software/driver. I believe the issue is well known with Linksys but they have not fixed the problem. I had a very similar problem with a Linksys USB adapter I bought for my father's computer. It basically wouldn't maintain the IP connection. I guess I was hoping that an internal card wouldn't have those types of problems. I was wrong.
To summarize:
Easy installation
Never was able to actually connect to the internet
Bought different brand that was cheaper
Much happier now
Will be returning this piece of junk
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