Routers

15 Responses to “Routers”

1. Sigivald Says:
   August 11th, 2005 at 1:48 pm

   Well, “better” depends on what you want; what’s the Linksys do/not do that causes issues?

   I have an old BEFW11 that doesn’t cause me any problems, but people in general seem to think that D-Link and Netgear products are quite good, so whichever of their product families meet your requirements ought to be a reasonable starting point.

2. Xrlq Says:
   August 11th, 2005 at 3:01 pm

   It locks up regularly, often several times in a single day. It almost never runs a full week without a need to reboot.

   What I’d like is a router that does what my current one is supposed to do, which is exactly what it does do when it isn’t busy locking up on me.

3. Russ Says:
   August 11th, 2005 at 6:26 pm

   Before consigning the Linksys to the ash heap of technology, I would recommend that you try loading the latest version of the firmware on it.

   Having spent a lot of time working with wireless networking devices for a living, I’ve seen many problems resolved by that simple action.

   If it works, hurrah. If not, well, you’ll be in no worse a situation than you are now.

4. Spoons Says:
   August 11th, 2005 at 7:32 pm

   After installing routers for family and friends — and using same — I’m a confirmed Netgear guy.

5. Xrlq Says:
   August 11th, 2005 at 7:32 pm

   Already did, but thanks. I picked up this router on the way home from CompUSA tonight. I’ve never heard of Hawking before, but at $5 after rebates it’s a pretty cheap experiment.

6. McGehee Says:
   August 11th, 2005 at 7:38 pm

   My Linksys WRT54GC has been working just fine for … about a week. To be fair, that’s how long I’ve had it. Got it at Circuit City because after rebates it was $20 cheaper than the one Ethernet-only router they had.

   I’ve got it set up with 128-bit WEP and once we get a WiFi card for my wife’s desktop system we’ll be able to lose the 30-foot Ethernet cable we’ve got straggling down the stairs.

7. McGehee Says:
   August 11th, 2005 at 7:41 pm

   Obviously I need to refresh the pages about every two minutes when I drop by here.

   CompUSA isn’t an option hereabouts, though, so I don’t feel but so bad about paying $40 after rebates for mine.

8. Xrlq Says:
   August 11th, 2005 at 8:10 pm

   Ah, but you should. Anyone can purchase from CompUSA online.

9. Les Jones Says:
   August 12th, 2005 at 6:49 am

   I’ve used a Linksys WRT54G for a year and a half with no problems.

10. Xrlq Says:
    August 12th, 2005 at 9:44 am

    Come to think of it, neither did my last (pre-WiFi) Linksys router. Maybe it’s just this particular model that’s a dud. Judging by the Amazon reviews, my problem is common with my model, but not with yours. Still, my experiences with this one hunk o’junk is enough for the name “Linksys” to leave a bad taste in my mouth.

11. Michael Angier Says:
    August 12th, 2005 at 1:34 pm

    I upgraded to an SMC 2804WBRP (4 port, b/g, usb print server) about two months ago and have been very happy with it over my old D-Link. Reboots are very rare and may not even be needed (still getting over old habits from the D-Link). I also like the fact that the MAC address filter is applied to EVERY device on the network and not just wireless. I bought my unit from newegg dot com.

12. McGehee Says:
    August 13th, 2005 at 8:08 am

    Ah, but you should. Anyone can purchase from CompUSA online.

    Ah, but I needed the router immediately, not four to six days later.

13. Kevin Murphy Says:
    August 13th, 2005 at 10:45 am

    Linksys was bought a couple years ago by Cisco, and rumor has it that their post-merger stuff has been less robust.

    Except for one time when about 12 people were each pounding of 6 open windows, I’ve not had a problem with my WIRED Linksys BEFSR81 router.

    I have had numerous dropout problems with a Linksys WAP54G access point and a WUSB54G PC adapter. I also got a recent model Linksys PCI WiFi card that absolutely did not work (drivers would not install under XP — almost like they hadn’t been updated since the merger).

    My solution? Extend my wired ethernet to more places. Wireless has its place, but that place is mostly outdoors.

14. Xrlq Says:
    August 13th, 2005 at 12:34 pm

    Sounds plausible enough. My BEFSR41 worked flawlessly, so I naively assumed its WiFi equivalent would, too, or at least that it would do everything the BEFSR41 did when relying on the wires.

15. pst314 Says:
    August 17th, 2005 at 8:16 pm

    I’ve had my BEFSX41 for about a year, and it’s worked flawlessly.

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