| Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless-B Cable/DSL Router |
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Model: BEFW11S4
Brand: Linksys
Manufacturer: Linksys
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 1078
Platforms: Windows NT, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows NT 3.5, Windows NT 4, Windows NT 5, Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows 2000 Server, Windows
Operating system: None
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b
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| Features: |
Connects to a broadband modem, a 10/100 Ethernet backbone, or wireless network
Long wireless operating range supports 300 feet indoors and 1,500 feet outdoors
Provides roaming, best access-point selection, load balancing, and network traffic filtering
Configurable through your networked PC's Web browser
Can act as a DHCP server for your existing network |
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| Description: |
| The Linksys BEFW11S4 is your all-in-one networking device This wireless router features support for the 802.11b protocol, which lets you wirelessly access your network and the Internet from up to 800 feet (outside), or 300 feet (inside) away |
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| User Reviews (1078 total): |
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power to week, November 24, 2007
By Dm Web LTD. (N.E Ga.)
This is a great unit with some extra money spent to upgrade it. This unit needs better range it has rptnc connectors and 1 to 2 dbi power and rang killers on it. Try to order 2 5 dbi or 8 dbi anntena to get a all around better unit. great value for 25.00 to 30 .00 then add the 30.00 to fix it out preformes the 54g as far as range and lets get honest in a office yor still cang get more than 5 meg downloads spread that out over 5 comps and theirs no gain with a 54g system the modem limits you to what ever speed you pay for at he line. Enjoy
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third, October 24, 2007
By James M. Joyce (Florida)
Excellent transmitter, good security, user friendly. Any problems have been with cable provider. regards Jim
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its all about using the right firmware.., August 2, 2007
By Ben S. (Utah, USA)
I first bought this router for 10$ brand new, and quickly found out why! After a few weeks of hell with this thing, i realized that its all about Firmware Version: 1.50.13
If you get the firmware version, you cant go wrong. I DO hafto power-cycle it like every 3 weeks or so(which could be unacceptable to some folks.) This is not a major problem for me, afterall.. it was only 10$.
I have been using this for about 2 years now and i've never attempted to update the firmware since 1.50.13 was installed.
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Everyone else is crazy! This router rocks!, June 10, 2007
By Joseph A. Kaufman (U.S.)
I've used this product for over a year now and it's been the most reliable router I've ever owned. I suspect that most everyone who's having a problem with it has hooked it up themselves, with no prior experience doing so, and has not configured it properly. Take the time to contact Linksys to set it up correctly, and you'll have a worry-free wireless network for years to come (see caveat below).
The only reason I'm giving it four stars is because it is not compatible with my new laptop, which is running Vista Home Premium. If you're running XP, do not hesitate to get this router.
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Simple and Quick, April 25, 2007
By Christopher Bergeron (Middleton, NH United States)
Simple Quick and Easy to use.. Half the time I forget it's there. A nice piece of equipment you will forget you own because you'll never need to look at it or touch it.
I even went with the default config just to make it that much easier.. I just opened the box and added electricity.. DONE.
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Did something go wrong with later versions of this model?, March 4, 2007
By Bruco (Kalamazoo, MI)
I've had a v4 of this router for several years. It's actually been quite solid. I've gone months without having to ever reset it, and I was using both wireless and wired connections.
Most of the more recent reviews are negative. I'm wondering if the last generation of this product was manufactured differently? Over the last few months I HAVE had to reset this router once ever few weeks or so, because it stops handing out DHCP addresses wirelessly sometimes. I haven't been too concerned, as I have a Buffalo WHR-G54S on the way and it's gotten rock-solid reviews. Nonetheless, this Linksys was a great router for me for years.
A word of advice: AVOID FIRMWARE VERSION 1.52.02 (which I believe is the most recent). From everything I have read, this causes the freeze-up issues when streaming video! I recently upgraded to 1.50.14, which is as high as I will go, and we'll see how that works until my new Buffalo shows up.
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This never operated correctly from Day One...and the manufacturer doesnt want to fix it., February 12, 2007
By Writesoon (NJ)
Why are dozens of people selling this router on Ebay for as little as $2? It has serious flaws. Dont use this router, even if someone gives it to you for free. I bought it for my office a few years ago and attempted to use it as a wireless B router. It didnt work, so I went out and bought a wireless G router and that was fine. I then brought it home and put it back in the box and forgot about it. Recently I tried to use it at home as a wired router, thinking that since it was not being used as a wireless router, it would work fine. It still had problems, even with the newest firmware update. I soon discovered it wasnt the wireless feature that was the problem. It was the entire unit. It frequently loses the Internet connection regardless of wired or wireless, especially when streaming video. Once you try streaming video (which this router wont let you do), you lose your connection and are forced to reset it, over and over and over. Very frustrating.
There are posts all over the Intenet about this unit, but Linksys has not done anything about the problem.
I have an easy fix for the problem. Toss the produce in the garbage. See how easy that was.
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Do not buy this router, February 10, 2007
By PURE- (MOM'S BASEMENT)
This router is TERRIBLE, I've had this piece of crap for over a year and it is incredibly glitch and buggy. The latest firmware update causes even more glitches and the worst part is that the reset button on it is broken. Linksys seems to have discontinued their support for this horrible device and I'm sure you can figure out why. Do not buy this.
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Are you kidding? No streaming video!, February 4, 2007
By James Newton (Escondido, CA USA)
As other reviewers have pointed out, this unit, with firmware 1.52.02, will lock up every time you go to e.g. msn and try to watch a video. The unit appears to be functioning, the lights blink just as before, but no data makes it to the PC and pointing a browser at the router or pinging it results in nothing but time outs. The only fix is to power cycle the unit (reset button is ineffective) and then the video will load and play.
As others have pointed out, this has been known (not to me until after I purchased the unit) in the community for quite some time and Linksys has not updated the firmware since 2005.
What does that say about other products they sell? If they won't even admit that there is a problem, what other bugs exist that you don't know are being caused by your linksys router and that they will not admit or fix?
They don't even have the option of loading the older firmware in order to re-enable the video.
Best of luck, an ex-linksys fan.
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BEFW11S4 Drops DHCP connections, February 3, 2007
By Iceage (Hayden, ID United States)
As others noted below this router drops local connections constantly (2 to 3 times daily) I did not have this problem until I updated the firmware to the latest release: 1.52.02
If you have this router do not update the firmware...
If you do not have this router don't buy it...
I called linksys techsupport and they pretend to not know of the problem that a simple google search reveals.
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Crashes when trying to view streaming video, January 11, 2007
By S. Srivastava
This review applies to version 4 of the BEFW11S4 router. I do not know if older versions have the same issues or not. The latest firmware does not support streaming videos!!! Turns out, this is a very well known issue with this router in the on-line community. If you try to watch videos from web sites like cnn.com, roadandtrack, etc. the router will crash and have to be re-booted. The older firmware revisions did not have this problem. However, only the latest firmware revision correctly supports UPnP (a very usefull feature for file-sharing software). Linksys has not come out with a any new firmware version since middle of 2005 which really goes to show their commitment to customer support.
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Usually reliable, reasonable speed., December 12, 2006
By Owen Sanders (Portland, OR United States)
I've had this router for several years now and it's served admirably. Occasionally I have to reset it, but it's infrequent enough to be OK. The speed is quite good for a B router, but these days with G and even early versions of N standard available, you should only buy this router if you're REALLY on a tight budget.
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Hunk o' Junk, December 3, 2006
By Alexander B. Plain (Mustang, Oklahoma United States)
I have had the Linksys BEF11S4 v.4 (the one compatible with Xbox Live) for over 2 years now. I can't believe it as I am writing this, but I have put up with having to physically power cycle (forcibly reset) the router at least once every two hours! The only reason I have not rushed out and bought a replacement router is because I have spent forever trying to make the best decision and don't want to be in the same shoes in another year or two. I don't know what to do at this point. I have read reviews, guides and visited forums. This is common problem with almost all routers at one time or another but seems to be overly common with this brand/model. I am truly bummed about this product as I have liked other Linksys products in the past but I can't lie this things stinks and was not worth a penny!
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How to Spell Junk -> BEFW11S4, December 1, 2006
By Junk Allergic (Miami, Florida United States)
I have had the same problems with this router as described by other reviewers here and elsewhere, namely, cease functioning in its role as wifi access point and router as much as twice to three times daily, requiring a reset of the device.
Its undeniable, this is the worst purchase I can remember making, I have flashed firmware (so many times now its a joke), done resets, combed the internet for help and can only conclude that this is a seriously under engineered time waster, sorry, after 10 months, I have had my fill. Verdict -> JUNK, p.s. it should be a zero star but was not allowed here
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Outstanding B wireless, November 30, 2006
By T. Whatley
I used one of these for years, at my companies recommendation, until moving up to "G" with my new labtop. I loved it and had no problems. I passed it on to my dad when I got the new one and still us it when I visit.
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Low quality networking solution for low budget., November 25, 2006
By Techie (Old South)
I initially chose this router because of its low price. Sometimes, you get what you pay for, and that is exactly what happened to me. As a wired router, this works well enough. It connects four computers to the internet. Just don't do anything to intense with it, and you should be fine. I noticed that when I view video media, the connection totally freezes. But for basic internet and downloading, it works.
I generally find, however, that no one buys a "wireless" router not to use wireless, and that is where the problem is. The receiver is so painfully finicky, it does not keep connections. The configuration of this router is about as easy as brain surgery. The linksys support team tries to be helpful, but I can't seem to make this router reliable. It drops reception all the time. Many times my laptop won't even detect a signal. The wireless performance of this router is abysmal.
I sincerely hope that if you have this router, it is working flawlessly for you. I can't get it to work well for me not matter what I do. The difficulty that I am having with this equipment is so bad that I am going to replace it as soon as I can.
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Reliable, low price, but a bit slow., October 9, 2006
By Michael A. Kinsella (Wilsonville, Oregon USA)
I have been using this for 2 years. It was as easy to set up as any other wireless router I have used, such as those from US Robotics. I have 2 computers linked directly to the router by Ethernet, and two by WiFi. I also use the router to link into a Vonage Linksys RT31P2 router used to support 2 VOIP phones.
One of the WiFi computers uses WIN 98, all others run Windows XP. I have never experienced problems with laptops accessing the WiFi system. All have used XP.
The Internet connection comes via COMCAST cable, using a Linksys cable modem.
One computer is 60' and 2 walls away, at ground level. I usually get a 5.5 Mbyte/sec connection.
The other remote computer is upstairs, about 40' away, but usually only manages 2 Mbyte/sec. I previously used a US Robotics WiFi router that was faster with the upstairs machine and vice versa. So in a given location the individual quirks of a particular router's antenna can make quite a difference, but I do not know any way to predict this, you just have to try the router in your own home and see how it works.
The actual data transmission speeds you get are quite a bit lower, especially if you use 128 bit encryption, which is way slower than 64 bit.
I can not comment on the tech support of Linksys, as so far I have never needed it.
I have had to restart the router, perhaps 2-3 times per year.
The default channel is 6, and the default name is Linksys. It is worth changing these, as otherwise there is a fair chance your neighbors will use the default channels and you will suffer from interference.
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No problems with mine..., August 20, 2006
By W. Mattus (Atlanta)
A lot of hateful reviews on here. Hopefully I can offset this a little..
I've had this wireless router for about 3 or 4 years and never really had a problem.. I've left it powered on 24/7/365 and maybe had to cycle the power on it once a year.
At this time I have 2 laptops that use wireless connections to it, a pc that is plugged in, and my Xbox 360 that is also plugged in to it.. No problems..
Linksys has some great tools on their website that configured my wireless laptop connections, so I never had to call support for help with that.. The only time I had to call for support, was when my Xbox 360 was having difficulty networking in to my PCs for media. This turned out to be an issue with McAfee Privacy Director, and had nothing at all to do with my Linksys router..
I've thought about updating to the G series router when seeing it in stores, but then asked myself why, when I have no issues with the B series..
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Good in theory... major issues in practice, August 19, 2006
By M. Hockenheimer (Dayton, Ohio, USA)
I've been using my BEFW11S4 for a few months now. The little thing has its good points - a nice, unobtrusive little box I can just plug in and hide on top of some piece of office furniture, allowing my rather over-laptop-equipped household some nice convenient net access, while still allowing the home office systems a wired connection.
Sounds nice, if it only worked. Howver, BEFW11S4 has a MAJOR problem, and a rather common one at that. Specifically, it locks up. It does so frequently. I have to unplug the router at least once a day, and frequently twice, to deal with it locking up. Can't even access the administrator screen, and even hitting the reset button isn't enough to fix it. Wireless isn't too useful when you have to physically walk to the unit multiple times a day, is it?
The problem seems to lie not in the hardware, but in the firmware (the software that runs on the router). If Linksys would release reliable firmware for this router, I'd give it 4-5 stars. But until they resolve the issue that wires down their wireless modem, I can't possibly justify giving the BEFW11S4 more then two stars.
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A load of rubbish, July 31, 2006
By Mr. Robert I. John (UK)
Wish I had read these reviews. Couldn't get it to work at all and the customer support (sic) was useless! Taking it back tomorrow
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