| Buffalo Technology AirStation Turbo G High Power Wireless Ethernet Converter ( WLI-TX4-G54HP ) |
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Model: WLI-TX4-G54HP
Brand: Buffalo
Manufacturer: BUFFALO
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 86
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
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| Features: |
Buffalo AirStation Turbo G High Power WLI-TX4-G54HP - Bridge + 4
BUFFALO TECHNOLOGY |
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| Description: |
| The Buffalo Turbo G High Power Wireless Ethernet Converter is an extremely versatile wireless client adapter. Use it to wirelessly connect gaming consoles, desktops, laptops, media players, printers, UNIX workstations, and any other devices with Ethernet ports. With a built-in four-port switch, up to 4 devices can be simultaneously connected to the Ethernet Converter for instant wireless connectivity. The Ethernet Converter supports AOSS, allowing you to configure a secure wireless connection with the push of a button, and offers the advanced security for WPA (TKIP, AES). Once the simple browser-based setup or AOSS is complete, the Ethernet Converter can be moved from one device to another without reconfiguration. |
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| User Reviews (86 total): |
Page 1 2 3 4 5 of Total 5 Pages
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Works but..., July 6, 2007
By user (Palo Alto, CA USA)
Works well. WPA is a great feature that I really needed.
Sometimes drops signal (I know, it is still wireless!) which can be annoying.
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Works as advertised, value looks to be quite good, July 4, 2007
By user (Ellicott City, MD USA)
This item works as advertised. I found the setup to be simple and painless - just followed the instructions. My new HD-DVD player connects to the internet seamlessly using this product.
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Must have, July 3, 2007
By user (Bolingbrook, IL United States)
This is a must have if you can't put a modem near your desktops. I had to make one call to get it set up, but it was pretty painless. It has work 100% without a single hicup. Perfect.
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Great Performance, but... Poor Installation Instructions, June 27, 2007
By user (Mendenhall USA)
After spending several hours trying to decipher the cryptic instructions, I finally found the 'magic' words I needed on the last page in the last paragraph in the last sentence bracketed within paratheses. At that point I was not in a sane mood to rate this product as I was seriously contemplating using the converter for target practice. But after finally succeeding in getting this product installed, it has been great!! No problems whatsoever. Wonderful! And a very fast wireless connection I might add. So, if you purchase one of these converters, I would advise lining up a techno-geek just in case you run into problems during installation.
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My WiFi Connectivity Problems Solved!, June 10, 2007
By user (Viera, FL)
I've been stubbornly fighting to get Linksys routers and adapters to work well for some time. This great product from Buffalo Technology has put my WiFi problems to rest.
I use the Ethernet Converter for my desktop PC because I wanted the Buffalo Wireless-G MIMO Performance Router & Access Point (WHRHPG54) to be centrally located in my home for great laptop connectivity throughout the house. (The desktop is located at a far end of the house). The real beauty of this device is that it does not depend on the desktop to be active to remain connected (as PCI or USB adapters do), ending the reconnection problems that occurred when the desktop woke from standby or hibernation in XP.
Great signal strength and Web-based control, not to mention their (AOSS(tm)) security setup (as well as easy manual security settings) makes this a terrific product with reasonable pricing. I don't see any good reason to go with "N" stuff when this works so well.
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Solid Operation - A link to another access point, June 1, 2007
By user (Georgia)
I bought this as a way to link my current wireless access point on one side of the house to link another access point for improved coverage. I set the unit up without installing software, just using the web page configuration. I was worried that this link would block access to the router side of the linked access point, but it translates all IP addresses as it was directly connected to it. Unlike a wireless bridge, it is cheaper and easier to set up. I connected one of the ethernet ports to an extra Linksys wireless access point, on a different channel. Had to connect via the switch ports, rather than the WAN port, and it works great. Now my wife and mom can use the computers on the far side of the house. Could not be happier.
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VOIP Use, May 25, 2007
By user (Fallston, MD)
I was in need of some kind of Wireless Ethernet bridge for use with my new Vonage VOIP telephone service. My cable modem and Linksys wireless router (WRT54G) are located in the Family room. But my Home Office is where I needed to place the Linksys PAP2 Phone Adaptor. Linksys had a couple Wireless Ethernet Bridges, but none of them got a good review.
Then I found the Buffalo. It got very good reviews, though again some people seemed to have trouble with the setup and nobody mentioned how it would function with VOIP, I decided to give it a shot.
Setup was a breeze. I simpley used the Web Browser interface as outline in the documention. I did not bother with the supplied CDROM.
It took me longer to read through the 4 page document then it took to configure the Bridge. It took me longer to run the cables between the Linksys, the Buffalo and the VTech phone then it took to connect the Bridge to the Linksys wireless router. This product is solid. Works great straight out of the box.
If you are in need of a Wireless Ethernet bridge that will provide your peripheral computer equipment with CAT V interfaces in an otherwise wireless network, buy this product. You'll be happy you did.
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Wonderful product, May 14, 2007
By user
I bought this to work with my XBox running XBox Media Center and it works flawlessly. Great product!
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Great product, May 13, 2007
By user (CA)
Works very well with my D-Link AirPlus Extreme router. I did not have to install the software, did not have to tweak anything.
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Great for Slingbox, May 12, 2007
By user (Tuscaloosa, AL USA)
I use this to connect my Slingbox to my home network and it has worked seamlessly. Previously I tried a wireless game adapter by linksys (recommended by slingbox), but it would frequently "fall off" the network, meaning I would have to go turn it off and back on to get it back onto the network. I've had the Buffalo for several weeks now, and that problem hasn't recurred at all. Setup was easy. I'm very pleased with it.
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Nothing else like it so far..., April 19, 2007
By user (Illinois)
I recently purchased the Buffalo WLI-TX4-G54HP Ethernet Converter and must say that I'm thrilled with it. It is one of those rare products that fills a niche in the market and offers additional features that only make the deal better!
In this case, the niche is that of converting wired Ethernet devices to a wireless network. A few devices that do so for just one wired Ethernet device do exist, such as the Linksys Wireless Gaming adapter. But this is where the Buffalo Ethernet Converter really stands out above the crowd. Not only does it let you connect wired Ethernet devices to a wireless B/G network, it also includes a very handy four port switch built right into the unit. It does this for roughly the same amount of money as the competition, where only single devices are supported.
Setup is extremely fast and easy. I was up and running with this unit five minutes after I unpacked everything. All I had to do was plug it into a computer, run the Buffalo setup assistant to configure it and finalize some operating settings with the unit's built in web page. From that point on, it has been working flawlessly.
If there were a complaint, it would be centered around the fact that Buffalo Technology USA doesn't seem to acknowledge even producing this device. I can't find it on their web site or support section. It seems awfully silly to produce a device whose functionality is unparalleled by anything else on the market so far and then to hide it. Other than this, the unit is excellent and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who has a number of computers to network but doesn't want the hassle of pulling cable to each one.
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Own it almost a year., April 16, 2007
By user (Portland, OR)
Has worked great. Easy setup.
Give added range. Reach downtown cafe that are 3 blocks away from patio.
Highly recommend.
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Exactly what I was looking for., April 10, 2007
By user
I was looking for a solution for my home network, and this solved my problem. I had my router upstairs with my PC and cable modem, and downstairs was the entertainment center with the xbox 360, and a few other Ethernet devices. Rather than buying individual wireless adapters for each, I picked up this wireless hub, and it works great, Plus I saved a ton of money....
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Easy Setup and Works WIth Lynksis Router, March 31, 2007
By user (CA)
I got the Buffalo Ethernet Converter WLI-TX4-G54HP today to wirelessly connect to Xbox Live through my LINKSYS WRT54GL router. Though the Linksys automatic setup is not compatible with Buffalo's AOSS, the configuration CD and instructions worked with ease. WPA encryption was no problem. The Xbox connected to the internet through the Wireless Ethernet Converter immediately. The connection appears strong even though the Xbox is in a room that normally has problems with wireless signal strength.
It is not my normal practice to provide reviews before I have really given a product a thorough test over a lengthy period, but this setup was so smooth compared to other wireless configurations, I wanted to tell the world.
For those of you who have done their research on reasonably priced wireless converters, you undoubtedly found the same lack of consensus I found. Customer reviews on the Linksys and Netgear wireless converters were alarmingly horrible. The D-Link game controller I purchased and returned doesn't tell you that it will only work with a Linksys router if you lower your encryption standards. The customer reviews of the Buffalo product were the only ones that were consistently favorable.
For a price less than you would pay for most single port game controllers you get 4 ports. You get WPA encryption levels, connectivity with other brand routers, and some of the most favorable reviews you will find in wireless.
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A Slick Piece of Work, March 28, 2007
By user (San Diego, CA USA)
I bought the WLI-TX4-G54HP because I run a dual-boot, dual-use machine. Every peripheral I buy has to be usable with Linux, FreeBSD, and XP Professional. Before I upgraded my tower from a Pentium III to dual Opteron 64 dual-core processors, the Buffalo AirStation (WLI2-USB2-G54) worked fine with all three using ndiswrapper under unix/linux. After the upgrade I needed a more transparent solution. The Buffalo Tech Wireless Ethernet Converter fills that role perfectly. To get maximal signal strength I added Buffalo Tech AIRSTATION HIGH-GAIN ( WLE-AT-DACB ), a replacement 6 dBi directional antenna.
Because it's an Ethernet device, no OS-specific drivers are needed. It acts as an Ethernet bridge so that the connected machines (up to four) appear to be locally connected to the upstream router. Thus I can setup port forwarding on that wireless router to redirect inbound ssh connections to my tower on the internal NAT network. So while I share my neighbor's Internet connection through their cable modem, I can securely reach my home machine from anywhere on the Internet. If this device was a router instead of a bridge the same thing could be done, however it would require replicating much of the setup in the secondary router. This approach was simpler to setup and troubleshoot.
One thing to keep in mind is that anytime host addresses are changed, or the address of the product itself, resetting the product is required for it to notice the changes. This can be done with the button on the top (same side as antenna connection) or power-cycling it. Paying attention to this would have saved me about 30 minutes of troubleshooting. Keep track somewhere of the address you assign the device. Since it's a bridge it maintains a low profile on the network.
PLEASE CHANGE THE DEFAULT PASSWORD! Write it down somewhere, too. Memory is frail, but a password written on the user manual can save you a lot of headaches. Don't use a high-value password like your ATM PIN. You should also change the default router password. Do a google search on "pharming" to find one reason why.
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Solid hardware, solid performance, March 21, 2007
By user (TX USA)
This was the only bridge I could find that combine a WLAN bridge with a 4-port switch. I had no trouble setting it up and it worked flawlessly.
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Great product. Weak documentation., March 17, 2007
By user (New Jersey)
This is among the one of the cool gadgets, I have acquired recently. Those of you who do not know what this device does, here is a brief explanation. This device will let you connect any device with an ethernet port to your wireless hub/access point, without using any wire. For example, I have a Brother printer/scanner which has a built in Ethernet port. Such printer can simply be connected to a networking hub. I can then print on this printer from any computer, which is connected to this network. The problem comes, in a home networking environment. Most of the time the only networking hub available is on your wireless router/access point. Wireless router, in my case is sitting in my basement. So, my networking printer could only be installed using an ethernet cable in the basement, which is a major inconvenience. I want to have this printer close to my kitchen and the living room, where I spend most of my time. Buffalo Airstation made that possible. It picks up the wireless signal from the Access Point in the basement. It converts the wireless signal to an ethernet port (RJ45). There are four ports on this particular model. I connected my printer to the ethernet port with a small network cable. Now I have a great printing/scanning station right in the smack middle of my kitchen without a wire. That is cool!!
Buffalo does not provide a good documentation, if you want to configure it in a different way, other than the default settings. You will have to configure it differently, if you had a requirement like mine. I figured it out myself, while I was enjoying the hold music on Buffalo's so called 24 hr tech support. For me, it was necessary that the printer used the same I/P address range as rest of the network. The default settings for the device will work fine, if you were using the device more like a hub to connect several computers to access the Internet. I was expecting that the device will have its own DHCP server. I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't. The DHCP assigned addresses are passed on to any devices connected through Buffalo, from your main wireless router. This little fact is extremely important in the printer's context, and it is NOT documented anywhere. You will need another ethernet hub to configure this device. Don't connect your laptop to the ethernet ports of this device and expect it work instantly. At least that part is clearly mentioned in the documentation.
Some final thoughts: I would highly recommend this device for small offices. Put this device up, and you got yourself a network of up to four computers without running four separate network cables all the way to the phone closet. I did not test in, but if I know my networking, you can connect another ethernet hub to any of the ports of this device, you can have that many ports available to you. Since you, Mr. Network Administrator will be configuring this device, you don't need to share your wireless secrets (WEP Key etc.) with anyone. You will love that huh, me too! I wish a model was available in higher speed, but considering most of the employees surf the web during work hours, this will do fine for now.
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Flawless Setup, March 9, 2007
By user
I bought this unit to connect a networked Tivo to a wireless network. I used a USB ethernet adapter to connect the Tivo to the AirStation.
It just worked when I turned it on. Found my network right away, and configured itself. I never opened a manual.
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Exactly as advertised, March 8, 2007
By user
This product took 5 minutes to set up and has worked ever since. Great speed, great product. My home network uses a Netgear 802.11g router which it connects to flawlessly.
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Works great, but possible compatibility issues with other brands of wireless routers, March 6, 2007
By user
My goal in buying the Buffalo WLI-TX4-G54 Ethernet Converter was to enable wireless network printing to my HP laser printer (with JetDirect card) and provide Internet connectivity to a desktop PC, both located in the basement (wireless router/switch upstairs).
The first Buffalo Ethernet Converter I bought could not connect to my SMC2804WBR V1 wireless router (firmware version 1.18) if I used any level of encryption (WEP64, WEP128, or WPA-TKIP -- the SMC doesn't support WPA-AES). The Converter would connect to the SMC router only if encryption were disabled. It still isn't clear to me if the problem lies with SMC, Buffalo, or both. My Toshiba notebook using an SMC2835W V1 802.11g wireless network card works fine with the SMC router using WPA-TKIP encryption. The SMC card also connects fine to a Linksys BEFW11S4 V1 802.11b router (firmware 1.44.2z) using WEP128 encryption. A Dell Latitude D600 notebook with Intel PRO/Wireless LAN 2100 3A Mini PCI Adapter (an 11b mini PCI card) also connects to the SMC router with WPA-TKIP encryption.
Assuming that the problem was a compatibility issue with the SMC router, I decided to get a matching Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 router. Unfortunately, the Buffalo router, converter, or both must've been defective. The router would not connect with any of my wireless devices (Buffalo converter, Toshiba laptop, Dell laptop) unless encryption was disabled. The router and converter wouldn't even connect using Buffalo's own AOSS auto configuration feature.
I tried both ASCII passphrases and HEX passphrases for WEP and WPA, but nothing worked.
Both Buffalo router and converter had the latest firmware versions installed. I worked with Buffalo tech support to no avail.
I decided to exchange both Buffalo products for replacement items. I then did a simple test with the WLI-TX4-G54 converter and the 802.11b Linksys BEFW11S4 V1 router. Happily, the converter connected to the Linksys using WEP128 (the highest encryption level supported by the Linksys).
Unfortunately, the converter still would not work with my SMC router with encryption enabled. But the success with the Linksys gave me hope that the converter would work with the Buffalo router, and sure enough, that was the case.
I set up the Buffalo router in place of my SMC router, following the manufacturer's instructions. Had just one glitch -- the router was unable to connect to my Comcast Cable Internet service until I switched from Easy Setup to Acquire an IP address Automatically from a DHCP Server. Then I used AOSS to configure the Buffalo converter, unplugged the converter and moved it into the basement to connect an HP laser printer and a PC to the network, reconnected everything, and everything now works fine (2 PCs wired to the router's LAN ports, a Dell laptop connecting via 802.11b WPA-TKIP, the Buffalo converter, and the printer and PC connected to the converter).
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