|
I couldn't get the router to recognize the modem since I didn't do a full power down at first. Start with everything powered off and unplugged and you will be ahead of the game. Once I powered down everything and followed the sequence of powering up the modem for 2 minutes, the router for 1 minute and then the computer, it was super easy.
I did only rate the features 4 stars instead of 5 for the simple fact that I have not tried to modify the firmware on this router yet. I hope to find out what kind of range I have with this router soon as I will be starting a new job and will be issued a company laptop. I am using the WPA security and had no problems getting anything to run properely. Hooking everything up was easy and I had the internet and phone service back on in a matter of minutes. Installation was a breaze. My wife and I have had this for about 2 months now and couldn't be happier. We have Vonage internet phone service and replaced an old router that Vonage sent when we signed up with this and a new phone portal. I even hooked up the Nintedo Wii to this and it was a snap.
The router comes with an installation disc, but I haven't actually ever needed to use it (using Windows XP).The only issue I can complain about is the configuration set-up screen. The installation is probably simple enough for most people to quickly figure out, but even if you are new to routers, this Netgear router comes with a quick start guide that should help you out.I have a Linksys router in use at my home which occasionally goes out and needs to be reset, but so far I have not had any problems with the signal going out on this Netgear router. Also, if you exit the configuration screen without clicking the 'log off' button, and then try and get back in shortly after, the router gets confused and won't let you back in right away. Fortunately, I was not disappointed. It features easy set-up, reliable service, and a pretty good range which are probably the three most important things to look for when choosing a router. Also, the range is pretty decent.
Both of these problems aren't really a big deal, though, unless you are reconfiguring your router all the time.Overall, though, this is a pretty good router. I've dealt with several different types of wireless routers, so I wasn't expecting a lot of problems with this Netgear router. The set-up and configuration was a snap, and I had wireless internet ready to go in just a couple of minutes. When I make changes in the configuration screen over the wifi network, sometimes the router disconnects from my computer and I have to reconnect again, which is slightly annoying.
I had done some reading on the DD-WRT forum before ordering the router and planned to swap the stock firmware for DD-WRT. No luck there either. Go figure. So I tried IE despite warnings not to do so.
It's a great solution for adding a Tivo to an existing wireless network and having some spare ports for a Blu-Ray player and/or an Xbox. No reboots have been needed; the thing just works.In summary, this router works great once you get it set up. That was about 6 weeks ago and it has worked flawlessly ever since. The price was reasonable ($59) and I didn't have to worry about 47 different versions of firmware and production dates and series numbers, etc. I also plan to add a Blu-Ray player in the future and wanted to have some extra ports available.The router arrived in 2 days and in perfect condition. Firefox kept hanging up on some obscure naming error. Finally, I downloaded Safari for PC (my wife is a Mac fan) and got a successful flash on the first try.
I would not recommend this for someone who is expecting plug and play, but it is perfect for anyone who is reasonably tech savvy and doesn't mind doing a little manual setup. I bought this router to use as a wired access point for a Tivo HD. I dutifully followed the instructions for the DD-WRT flash and got--nowhere. It only took another 15 minutes to get the router on my home network and configure it as an access point.
Just be aware you'll need to download an alternate version. Tomato firmware is a bit iffy, but there is a release on the above site that works for most people with a few minor.
We used it for about a day. Don't expect any other linux firmwares to just work.
Openwrt in source form is availble as well. (I've got no idea what this actually runs).
This router is very good out of the box with DD-WRT. See the download section of http://www.myopenrouter.com.
As far as the firmware that comes with this router it seems pretty serviceable for normal use.
|
