|
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.
Please Please.follow the instructions carefully and you will be so happy with the final outcome. After a typical guy approach to setting this product up.in other words I skimmed through the directions and then spent about 12 hours trying to figure the error of my ways. This product replaced my 5 year old Netgear router.
Buy a WGR614v8 and save some money. I couldn't even find any example of stable firmware ready to go for new users to get started that provided a minimal chance of converting a router to a paperweight. I am by no means an firmware coder and installer, so the 'fix the code yourself' argument really doesn't work on me. It's a "work in progress" at best and confusing chaos at worst. Given all the difficulties of locating, installing (and not nuking your router in the process) or building the firmware from source code, I ended up just running the v8 firmware from Netgear on this router for now.
If you are already familiar with firmware hacking, compiling, and flashing a home router via a serial cable soldered to the board, you would feel right at home digging through forum posts to find the firmware type and version you might want. Even switching from Netgear firmware to open source firmware is a complicated process from my understanding.I like that Netgear is giving the open source community a product to tinker with and do cool things with, but it (the firmware situation) is definitely not there yet. Documentation is usually the last phase of an open source project or release. I am interesting in learning, but like an overabundance of open source projects, good 'getting started from ground zero' documentation (beyond 'read the forums') if you are completely new to the scene is not even really on the radar. And if the project is by nature never ending like firmware hacking. That site is very confusing for the uninitiated. This means that this router is more expensive because it has 'can run open source firmware' on the box.
Even the open source software images when you can find them for this router are usually listed as being supported for both this router and the WGR614v8.The second issue is the open source software situation. If you are somewhat familiar with Linux and looking to get your feet wet with what open source router firmware can offer in terms of a learning experience as well as interesting home router features, this isn't really for you. Netgear standard v8 firmware is OK for now, I'm just hoping the open source community picks up this router (even if it doesn't have the cool factor of a certain other brand) and runs with it to do great things -- and document the 'how to' of it all to encourage new learners to come on board. This is something else I really hope will improve with time.In summary, my issues are mainly squared at the open source firmware situation rather than the router hardware itself. A couple of things:First this router appears to be the same as the Netgear WGR614v8 according to the label on the router. The documentation in the box gives a web site (www.myopenrouter.com) to look for firmware. I plan to keep this router and wait a year or two to see if the availability, polish, and ease of finding firmware gets better with time.
|
