| 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: 1079
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 (1079 total): |
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Have had it almost 1 year, September 11, 2002
By Stephen Gillett (San Francisco, CA USA)
I have it almost one year and it is working great. I have 2 machines at home (laptop and desktop) on wireless. I dot use the encryption because had some issues but no worries because of mac address reservation. Overall for a good switch/wireless/router I would give it a thumbs up.
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It Works, September 11, 2002
By Kerry Izafake (Chicago, IL)
This product performs as advertised. It extends network and internet access throughout your office or home without the hassle of hard wiring.Setup is fairly straightforward. We are using it with a cable modem, a server and 4 worksations (2 of which are wireless). I recommend the Wireless USB Adapter (WUSB11) rather than than the wireless card for laptops...the reception is much greater.
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Good Product - The Worst Tech Support, September 10, 2002
By elscotty (Renton, WA USA)
I bought Linksys's wireless router because after doing some research and from a personal recomenadation from a friend that had their four-port router (the non-wireless equivalent) I determined that they were the best. Unfortunately set-up did not go smoothly and I had to call their tech support. Calling during the day is a joke, you'll wait on hold forever, so I called around midnight, and got to a technician almost immediately. They were helpful the first time I called them, and the router worked well for a while. After several months, I noticed that the two other computers that I had connected to the wireless network would loose their connection occationally. The only way I could get them to connect again was to reset the router. I called tech support again to see what I could do to remedy this problem. The tech walked me through steps to flash the router's BIOS. As I followed his instructions, the diagnostic light, on the router, began to flash and the Linksys support determined that the router was now unusable. My router was still in warrenty, but Linksys made it such a hassel to get it replaced. After faxing them numerous times the information they requested, they would never follow up. I would call them again and again and wait on hold for 10 to 15 minutes each time to talk to somebody who would claim that they never received the receipt that I faxed them. Finally I just mailed them the receipt and forms they wanted me to fax. After over a month went by of them not responding to my letter with their requested information, I was getting ready to send letters to the BBB and Attonery General's office (I had the letters typed and was going to drop them in the mail the next day.) Suddenly the replacement router was delivered to me. Over all it took about 2 1/2 months from the time that Linksys issued me an RMA number to the time that they sent me the replacement router.
This is by far the worst support I have ever encountered for a any product. I can understand that there is a occasional "bad one" in the batch when they manufacture their products, and that I happened to get it. The fact the the router stopped working was understandable, but to cause so much hassle and to take so long to honor their warranty is unacceptable.
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EXCELLENT, September 10, 2002
By Anthony J. Julian (STEELTON, PA United States)
This is a great piece of hardware. I called tech support for assistance, they answered all of my questions. They stayed on the line to make sure that it worked just right.
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Great product, slow customer support line, September 10, 2002
By George Chang (San Francisco, CA USA)
I recently purchased the Linksys Wireless Cable DSL router. It has been working great and was relatively easy to set-up for my home network running DSL. While aware that the customer support line for any product can be a harrowing experience, mine totaled almost 2 hours. The tech stayed with the problem for close to an hour, however it was difficult to get bumped to the next level of support.Regarding the call: There was one odd issue after the router was configured. I was able to receive email and browse the internet. However, I was not able to send email, FTP, or use my weblogging software package. After exhausting self-fixes (port forwarding etc.) I caved and called customer support. 30+ minuted to get a live technician and then almost an hour to diagnose and solve the problem. For those of you that may have similar problems, adjusting the size of the MTU may fix some bottleneck problems sending data out. Overall, the product has been running smoothly since then with no complaints. Stats:
*3 machines: wired Windows 98 Desktop, Linux Server, and a wireless laptop with Lucent Orinoco Wireless Card
*I was able to enable WEP encryption fairly easily for higher wireless security.
*Port forwarding is operational to my Linux server (easy configuration)
*Sharing files and my printer has worked also
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Worked flawlessly for me!, September 9, 2002
By Page King (Lexington, KY USA)
I have two PC's, one a Pentium II/333 and another Pentium 4/1.5, both running XP. They live about 45 feet apart with a floor and three walls separating them. I bought this contraption and the new wireless Linksys USB receiver thingmabob and had my 1st attempt at a home network up and running with one hour. (I felt like a hero!) I'm not the most savy when it comes to home PC'ing but I can usually hold my own, however, I would guess that having XP on both machines seemed to make it easier for me than it could have been, but this was my first experience, so I'm just guessing here. The ONLY problem I had was that I forgot to temporarily disable my personal firewall during installation and that kept the base from configuring at all. Once I realized I needed to pop that off things, again continued without hiccups of any sort. I'd say that unless your home is HUGE then you'll be just fine with this. My upstairs signal has never been less than excellent. I love this product!!!
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Easy set up!, September 9, 2002
By gelmerb (Burlingame, CA United States)
Using router with Linksys wireless cards and cable broadband service. Was extremely easy to set up. Nearly plug and play. I get high speed access comparable to direct cable model connection throughout house and on patio. Also using wireless printserver which took an hour + on phone with Linksys tech support to get going. Excellent tech support as well.
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Linksys DSL / Router, September 9, 2002
By R. Mallette (Valley Ranch, TX USA)
Wow,
After reading some of the reviews here I purchased this Router and a Linksys wireless network card. I couldn't believe how easy this was. It worked when I turned it on - before I even configured it! Fantastic! It then took all of 10 minutes to setup the wireless card and it worked the first time too! Both are top notch, buy with confidence!
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1 Minute Setup and Running!, September 8, 2002
By Jennifer Walker (Roscoe, IL United States)
Excellent product! Since buying this one for myself, I've helped a couple of other friends purchase and then setup their own wireless networks at home and business.WOW! In every case, it took less than 5 minutes from the point of picking up the package, through unpacking it, positioning it, booting the computer and getting online! (This IS based on having read the instructions first, but they weren't needed really. Just plug it in and reboot!) Setting up the shared drives and printers, if so desired, was also easy enough for anyone that can read and follow the instructions provided. The one recommendation I'd like to offer for Linksys would be a power swith of some sorts to easily disable the wireless component. My main desktop is wired via ethernet cable while I have others setup wirelessly. I'd like to be able to simply push a button to turn off the wireless component when I know I or noboby else will be using it. I have WEP enabled, but I'd just rather not broadcast the signal when I'm not using it. Call me paranoid perhaps, but it'd be a small concession that I'd gladly pay the extra buck it'd cost Linksys. Regardless, it's still and excellent product!
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Excellent device, September 7, 2002
By unknown
This router/wireless access point installed without any difficulty and linked my desktop with 3 other laptop computers in my house. The laptop computers use the Linksys wireless network PC card (WPC11). I have had this network for about 6 months and it has worked without any problems. I highly recommend these devices.
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Surprisingly easy to set up and use, September 6, 2002
By unknown
This router is great.
I have 2 PCs connecting to cable modems for Internet connectivity, and with the addition of this router, I only need one, and the laptop is truly mobile! The set up was so surprisingly easy I nearly thought I had made a mistake, because it just couldn't be this easy, but it is!!! Follow the instructions on the CD inclosed with the Router, before doing anything, and the set up goes through without a hitch!!
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Does not work., September 3, 2002
By D. Gregory (Wayne, PA United States)
Linksys has high failure rate: see ... titled "Customers share Linksys' growing pains." Within 2 hours of installation I experienced most problems in this article. Both routers I tried were Version-B; however, even though the wireless connection showed 11mpbs, 100% signal strength (since I was only 3feet away), yet was very slow, about 2k transfer from the internet. I got the same slow speed with a direct connection from the PC to the router (not wireless). Exchanged the router, could not login to the second router's configuration screen/IP address (to configure it) until I power cycled the unit. Had to do that twice. Second unit experiences same problems as first. Returned everything. Will try NetGear next. Good write-up on ZDNET for NetGear.
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Wireless success made easy!, September 2, 2002
By ponyzrus (BH, MIchigan)
I am extremely pleased with my Linksys Wireless Router. I recently purchased a new Dell Dimension 4500 and wanted to hook up to the cable modem which is 2 floors below (installed in my brothers basement room.) I went to techtv.com to research different wireless routers and was pleased to find the Linksys products were generally positively reviewed. The prices are great and the product is incredible. I purchased the Wireless Router to install in my brother's room. This is where I ran into my first snafu. I was unable to get the router working with his Compaq computer and the cable modem. After a short wait on hold with Linksys customer service, a very patient technician walked me through setting it up on the computer, and testing it to make sure it worked. He was on the phone with me for about 30 minutes, and then gave me his e-mail address to e-mail him directly if I had any other problems, and he'd call me right back. The service was impeccable. Then I went upstairs to my room, 2 floors above where the router was, and on the opposite side of the house, and easily installed my USB adapter. I have been hooked up to the net ever since, with a connection that is always 'very good.' I highly recommend this company's product to anyone who uses PC's. It does work great with my Dell system. Customer support is excellent. Well worth every penny!
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Great Router - Easy Setup - Good Firewall, September 1, 2002
By unknown
I bought this router for my DSL connection sharing 2 computers. I used hardwire to connect one computer, and a WUSB11 to connect the other wireless.Very easy to setup, I have had NO router backround and it was still very easy, online in minutes, no hassles. Highly recomended. Thanks linksys!
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Buy something else, September 1, 2002
By unknown
I made the mistake of buying this piece of junk. The first unit was defective. After spending two evenings following the the very confusing directions (they probably are crystal clear to anyone having a Masters in Computer Science and a Ph.d. in Systems & Network programming) I gave up and tried to reach Linksys on the phone. I got the answering machine that said to wait. After over hour of waiting I gave up on that as well. I fnally broke down and hired a tech to come install it. He realized the first unit was defective. I went and got a new unit. He installed that and we thought that all was well. Then, like clockwork my internet connection now disconnects after 10 minutes on line. You can almost set your watch by it. The tech could not figure it out or fix it. Again tried to reach Linksys. Again no joy. Now I have an expensive paperweight that is great, as long as I don't want to spend more than ten mins on line at a time. Customer support is essentially non-existant. The quality control of the product is poor. And the product itself is badly flawed. By some other router. This is a waste of your most important asset, your time which you will never get back, and a waste of money as well. Doug
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Linksys Wireless 4-Port Cable/DSL Router, August 31, 2002
By M E Y (Brandon, FL United States)
We had the router set up with two wired desktop computers and one wireless laptop. For some reason the router would only allow either both wired machines, or one wired one wireless, connect to the internet at any given time. Linksys tech support figured it was a bad router, but upon replacement the new one did the same thing. Very strange indeed. One unhappy customer.
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Awesome Wireless Router/Access Point, August 30, 2002
By unknown
This router/AP is the best value out there. I installed and configured it in 3 minutes on my win2000 desktop using the CD that basically configured the router for me based on my cable/modem and connection to Cox cable. I spent another 2 minutes configuring my laptop using the Linksys WPC11. Then I took the laptop to the basement (other end of the house, several 40 years old plaster walls away) and used the wireless configuration utility of WPC11 to show an "excellent" link quality and signal strength! Then I started moving around the yard (0.75 acre lot) and walked all the way to the mailbox and still was surfing at high speed! :) It showed 100% link strength all over the 1st floor of the house(rambler). No problems, installed 2 computers in 5 minutes, it costs only ...and WPC11 ... Plus it looks great and has a small footprint. It was my first networking experience and Linksys hooked me as a loyal customer for life. Later on I decided to share my printer between the desktop and the laptop and the Linksys web site had a link explaining exactly what to do for both my win2000 desktop and my win98 laptop. Impressive!! Took 5 minutes to setup file and printer sharing. Also I added WEP 128 bit encryption for security in 1 minute. This review is for version 2 of the Wireless router/Access point and version 3 of the WPC11 card. I was so impressed I decided to write this first review of my life to share my wonderful experience :):):) Thank you Linksys!
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super!, August 26, 2002
By salvia06 (BERKELEY, CA USA)
I've had the Linksys Wireless PC Card for 3 weeks or so now on a Sony laptop with Windows XP. Installs in 3 seconds and has worked without fail. The two other computers in the house use the USB versions, and they, too, are working beautifuly. What a relief not to bother with the wires any more and have real speed. Perhaps most important, I have the Linksys router and access point unit relieve my desktop from functioning as a server for the other computers on my home network. Now everybody can use the internet whether my desktop is on or off.
Congratulations, Linksys!
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BEFW11S4 & and WPC11, August 24, 2002
By JDOT (Calgary, Alberta Canada)
Provided CD software, although simple and appearing to be straightforward, wasn't successful in getting wireless going. I called Linksys tech support and Jerwin patiently and professionally walked me through both the router and the network card installs. So far, they seem to work great....although I'm noticing a greater propensity of "locking up" on both the PC and the Notebook when using the internet.
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Even my cat could install this, August 24, 2002
By moo4u2_00 (Plainfield, IL United States)
In a phrase: stupid proof to install. The Version 2.0 of this router comes with a CD and software that walks you step-by-step through the process. It could not have been easier. It took me all of 10 minutes to setup a Win98 machine and a WinME laptop with the wireless card(WPC11) and tie them both to a cable modem.I read the other reviews before purchasing this product and frankly expected the worst since people are more obliged to make their problems public than attest to a product's ease. The range is very good; with the router in the basement, I have 80% signal strength 2 floors above. Since it's raining today I haven't checked its range outdoors. Do yourself a favor and ditch the CAT-5's and get this. I should have done it a long time ago!
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