This product worked fine for about 11 months.
After that it would drop the connections (cat5 & WAN)
with increasing consistancy. We had to perform the "reset trick"
(hold reset button for 60 sec. [30 sec doesn't work] and
disconnect the power cord) more and more often.
Now the unit won't connect at all. Updating to the newer
firmware is of no use as the router won't connect.

This seems to be the norm. Look to "DSL Reports.com"

and you'll see that humdreds of others have had very similar problems.

From the posts over there, sometimes updating firmware works but
often doesn't.
When it gets to the point of this one your only recourse
is to replace it. And if it's over one year old forget
any sympathy from Linksys.

Did I mention the EXTREMELY poor customer service at Linksys?
Not even worth the trouble. The person on the phone
always had a VERY hard time speaking/understanding English
and they would keep repeating the same old stuff and ignore what
you say as if they are just reading from a book.
This all too common an experience it seems. :(

Only reason we gave it two stars is because it did work
fine for a while. How do they perfectly design these to
go bad just after the warranty has expired.
Absolutely uncanny!! :(

I've had the router set up for a couple of weeks now and everything is working like a dream. I have an iMac and a PC connected to it with ethernet cables, and then I have my iBook with an Airport Extreme card. Setup was fairly easy -- it's done through your internet browser (I did not install any of the included software). My iBook immediately recognized the network when I fired it up, and reception appears to be fine throughout my 2-story house.

A word of caution: the router runs on a 2.4Ghz frequency, so there is interference with cordless phones that run on the same frequency. I've given the product four stars because a day or two ago none of the computers were recognizing the internet connection, but plugging and unplugging the ethernet cable out of the back of the router seemed to fix that problem, oddly enough. It's not a huge inconveniece, but I hope it doesn't happen often.

I'm also thinking about purchasing a wireless USB adapter (the Linksys WUSB12) for my TiVo to add to the fun -- no more slow phone downloading of program info!

First, the router. It never installed correctly and did not find the internet signal. Both of us spent 3 hours trying to get it to work with no luck - AND we updated the firmware. The Linksys tech help line was unavailable, and then had a 45-minute wait. The technical help on their website had dead links, and their FAQs did not help. I finally decided the router hardware was defective and returned the unit. We then bought the Microsoft wireless rrouter and it installed without a hitch.

Now the Linksys wireless adapter... It also would not install on my wife's PC and when she tried to uninstall the software, it did not clean out the registry and caused the system to crash. After 4 more hours she managed to get it booting again, but still with a contaminated registry that was looking for files that had been cleared. I hate software that does not really uninstall itself and clean up its registry entries.

Needless to say, neither of us can recommend this product, despite a good reputation for Linksys in the past. Apparently, they are having lots of problems. A friend who works at a big retailer return warehouse indicated that a large percentage of their return problems were from Linksys.

After a frustrating weekend, I was not able to get my Linksys unit functioning at all for a consistent period. The wireless status kept flickering between available/not available. Checked the firmware version, it's up to date. Messed around with the all the settings, nothing worked. Ran a [ping -t] test for about 5 minutes to the gateway, 94% Loss!!!! And when it did get through the TTL was always over 150. On the Netgear MR814v2 TTL was a consistent 64.

I've had many other Linksys products and have never had any trouble with them, I'm hoping that this is just an anomaly.

But anyways, I went to store and purchased the Netgear MR814v2. After 10 hours of use, not one unavailable message popped up. Unfortunately, this is a Linksys product I cannot recommend.

I installed the router to the cable modem, installed the wireless adapter in the computer and connected the wireless print server to the printer.

I now have a completely wireless apartment. The technology worked exactly as I expected and the result is a great improvement in the way I use my technology. The total installation time couldn't have been an hour. No options, not much software: everything just worked and I got exactly what I wanted.

I highly recommend the whole setup. I wouldn't ever go back to the old wired way of doing things. Ever.

P.S. "B" speed is perfectly adequate; "G" is faster, but since it's also faster than the cable modem, there doesn't seem to be much point for a small home network. The printer works just fine at "B" speeds, as does the computer. Why pay more, particularly when the standard isn't yet fully approved?

Setup instuctions were clear and concise. I used the web-based setup interface, and had everything up and running in less than 15 minutes. My knowledge of wireless networks is limited, but I was able to tweak the more advanced settings after reading the user guide from Linksys' website. I definitely recommend enabling "Block Anonymous Internet Requests" on the Security page of the setup interface.

Also, users should test the security of their setup using Gibson Research Corp.'s excellent website at www.grc.com .

If you're looking for a wireless router from a major manufacturer that will work right out of the box, this one should be at the top of your list.

I will break this down step by step:

Installation:
Couldn't be easier. Had the whole thing setup with my Cable Modem and my desktop in less than 30 mins and was surfing the net. in an additional 30 mins or so had my wireless laptop going and didn't have a single problem. Switching from an Orinoco or a Cisco wireless card on the laptop was easy and no problems there either.

Initial Usage:
It had problems. It would keep stopping and requiring a reset or a full power down/power up. I updated the firmware (keep on top of firmware updates) and this problem went away. Updating the firmware is very very easy.

Performance:
I will review only the wireless part this. For internet browsing and basic stuff, it performs great. No complaints here. It was a little slow on some of the more heavier network utilizing applications but its wireless you can't expect the speed of a Lan line.

Range:
I didn't have problems with ranges in my townhouse. It worked everywhere without any degradation. When I moved to a two story colonial, I started to see some range problems. It would work fine on the floor where the router was. On the ground floor however it would move from excellent/good to fair frequently. Sometimes just turning the laptop a certain way would do miracles. I never had a complete dropoff though. Never did try the basement :-)

Features:
I couldn't have asked for a more easy to configure and more featured router for my usage. Supported all the protocols (IPSEC/PPOE) for me to VPN to work. Had nice control over ports and traffic. The control of DHCP and static IP addresses was nice too. Didn't use much of the other features.

Now with all that said here comes the BAD part:

about a month ago, the wireless part stopped working. I was surprised at first. I checked the router. Lan activity Lights were on but not the wlan activity lights. I hit the reset button no go. Checked my desktop.. the lan connection was fine. Did a full power down and power up. Still nothing. Checked the website for firmware updates (in case I missed one that fixes something).. nope I had the latest firmware. This was on a friday so I just let it be. Saturday.. still no luck. After going nutz on Sat, I finally emailed Customer Support on Sunday. They responded fairly quickly (within hours) and after a couple and back and forth emails.. the response: "This can happen if you are under warranty we can replace it" Well the warranty is a bleak 1 year and I had had this router for 2 years...soo.. bottom line.. I am getting a new router and probably not going with Linksys again. A response of "This can happen" is not acceptable to me.

A few weeks ago, however, the connection to the notebook card died. I thought to myself that it was the notebook card and I needed a new system anyway so I purchased a desktop with an internal (MSoft) wireless adapter. I thought I was being smart; oh how wrong I was! Now the internal adapter senses the network, but the signal strength is so low that it cannot sign on for more than a few seconds, if at all.

After repeated calls to the terribly unhelpful "technical support" (who seemed convinced that the problem was everything BUT the router - very suspicious - and who sent me firmware that refuses to install) and a sore neck from long hold times (at least 45mins. at 12AM-3AM EST!) I am convinced that this router is a lost cause. Engineered obsolescense is understandable, but a year or less is ridiculous. I'm going to purchase a new, g-level model, but it won't be Linksys.

At this point, I just don't think that any other company (Netgear or D-link, etc...) would be any more reliable. I don't think that WiFi is reliable, period. The product reviews by CNET, PCWORLD, PCMAG are never accurate for networking products because they are not tested over the long term (ie, 1-6-months, year) when they usually break or stop functioning. No one should have to buy new networking routers/adapters every 3-6 months or even a year, not at this price. Hardware like this should last at least 3-5 years, but it just isn't the case with so many of these WiFi networking products. Seems like people go through these things like they go through toner cartridges. This should not be!