| Linksys WAP54G Wireless-G Access Point |
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Model: WAP54G
Brand: Linksys
Manufacturer: Linksys
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 154
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
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| Features: |
Supports data rates up to 54 Mbps--up to 5 times faster than 802.11b
Backwards compatible with existing IEEE 802.11b devices at 11 Mbps
Supports 64- and 128-bit WEP encryption
Wireless MAC address filtering
Router not included, so you cannot connect multiple users to the Internet |
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| Description: |
| LINKSYS WAP54G - Wireless-G is the emerging 54 Mbps wireless networking standard that's almost five times faster than the widely deployed Wireless-B ( 802.11b ) products found in homes, businesses and public wireless hotspots around the country. The best part is, since they share the same 2.4GHz radio band, Wireless-G devices talk to existing 11 Mbps Wireless-B equipment. |
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| User Reviews (154 total): |
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Its a nigthmare...., May 2, 2003
By Jorge (Miami, Florida United States)
I dont know whats the reason linksys dont upgrade the firmware of the WAP54g if it seems so inestable, I bougth a WAP54G installed and used until i tried to chance the WEP key(BIG Mistake), the AP just stop working, i tried everything and nothing seems to work until i hard-reset it, finally it work again, but if i want to chance anything and apply it then the AP just become a piece of junk.I try the Firmware upgrade and the same problem appears, Tech Support? Dont Exist...! Go elsewhere if u want to go 802.11g
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Don't Waste Your Time, April 28, 2003
By Quentin Coles (Upper Marlboro, Maryland United States)
This product never worked for me. I was fooled by the linksys reputation and the fact that I had a working BEFSR41. I wanted to keep everything Linksys so I bought this and the G notebook adapter. I could never get it to recognize the access point although everything appeared to be working. I then called support which was an absolute horrible experience. I called 6 times, waiting on hold and average of 40 min each time. I was hung up on twice, put on hold about 200 time to "check the knowledge base", lied to about being sent something in email and was told that it didnt matter to them if I returned it or not. I was also told by support that I was trying to set up a "complicated network" even though all 3 products were linksys. So after 3 days worth of headaches and horrible support I took it back and went with Belkin which setup in 5 minutes!!! Please go with them instead of Linksys. Don't be fooled like me.
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very good WAP, April 15, 2003
By David T. Kight (Vidalia, GA United States)
I have recently purchased your WAP54G. I did so becuase I have used other products like your 4 port BEFSR41 router/hub and it has worked great. Installation was a problem. I tried to install on a hardwired computer on the network with WinME OS. It didn't detect the access point. But I called and got a rep in less than 2 min and I had WEP installed and turned out the WAP was actually working with no installation at all. I popped the wireless notebook card (WPC54G) into my notebook with WinXP OS and again in less than 5 minutes, it was working. The hardest part of the install of a wireless network using your devices was actually typing in the WEP encryption key. I am very impressed. Total time to install a workign wireless network, less than 10 minutes. Hard to beat that. You won't get 54 MBPS though. Still very very fast. No problem with online games etc..
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great when it works, but... very flaky, April 15, 2003
By tim183 (Portsmouth, NH United States)
I've lost count of the number of times I've reset this unit to factory defaults - then it's the roll of the dice whether or not the setup wizard will find the thing on my network. When I've got everything configured, it will work great for awhile, but chances are that I'll have to spend an hour fooling with it before I can use it again. I upgraded the firmware to the latest on the LinkSys site, which seemed to help - but I'm singin' the blues again...
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Works as advertised., April 8, 2003
By friedland26 (Connecticut)
Got the WAP54G today along with a Linksys wireless 54G card bus adapter. Had no problems, installed in only a few minutes and it works as advertised. Be sure to download and install the latest drivers from Linksys for the WAP and network card - it makes a difference. Even works well with my Cisco VPN client. I'm using W2K on a IBM StinkPad. Good signal strength throughout my old house - mostly 54Mb - sometimes 36Mb. Didn't need phone support so I have nothing to complain about in that vain. I don't have legacy devices so I don't have anything to report on there as others have.
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Works great, April 5, 2003
By unknown
I purchased this WAP since I already had a Linksys 4-port router. This WAP is the perfect complement to the router, and it works well.I followed the quickstart guide and the setup went as described, including configuring WEP from the start. No reset was required after using the configuration tool on the CD. Next, I installed the separately purchased Linksys Wireless-G PCI card in a PC across the house without problems. The PC's orientation is worst-case, directly in line with the WAP and NIC antennas. But signal strength is "good", and it's getting 18Mbps connection rates. Not bad for being totally blocked. In half an hour the wireless network was running, and had WEP protection from the get-go. I've used Linksys products for a few years, and while their support is lacking, the products work very well. Also, I have cordless phones also on the 2.4GHz range. They have not been affected, and others I have talked to said their 2.4GHz phones have coexisted with this particular WAP.
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WOW! Another great Linksys product!, April 3, 2003
By unknown
30 minute to set up & be online... while watching a one-year old! Fast and easy setup and very fast internet speed. Can't tell any difference between my wireless and wired connections. Very pleased and a great addition to my wired network.
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Excellent WAP -- 802.11g Linksys Rocks!, March 15, 2003
By Ben Green (Charlotte, NC United States)
I plugged this WAP54G into my existing home network, slapped the Linksys PCMCIA card into my laptop, and I was up and running in unsecure mode immediately. I then had no problem enabling MAC address filter, 128-bit WEP, and the SSID Change for security. It was a piece of cake. I flashed the firmware to the latest version and have had no issues. I consistently link up at 36 Mbps to 54 Mbps.
The thing screams. I can't tell the difference between file transfers across my 100 Mbit home network and file transfers across this wireless network. The speed and range are fantastic.
I read the other reviews and I am surprised that this is the same product being reviewed. I have been in the I/T industry for almost 10 years and I researched wireless security for a year before buying -- and this product is fantastic.
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CAVEAT******CAN'T USE WITH AOL DSL, March 15, 2003
By leighann ross (Wine Country , CA United States)
Let the buyer beware. The 802.11g is incompatible with AOL DSL. There is no disclaimer on the box alluding to this fact. Considering AOL is the largest ISP in the WORLD, you would think we would be told this little tidbit. I love my 802.11b by Linksys, i just wanted a faster speed. I think the support at Linksys is awesome. They are always very nice, even when I am screaming!!!
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junk, March 6, 2003
By rjbs (Bethlehem, PA USA)
I guess it was greed that made me want an access point based on technology that isn't ready yet. Despite the fact that I just wanted wirelss for ssh and maybe a little web browsing, I had to have 54Mbps.Well, it isn't ready. When I received the first unit, I couldn't get it working. Its web interface didn't play nicely with Mozilla; using MSIE worked better, but even with the simplest of settings, I couldn't find it through the air. Finally, a call to tech support revealed that the pattern of its status lights was totally unnatural and that the device was defective. I got a replacement, and within seconds of plugging it in, the same pattern of lights came up. I wasted hours on this piece of junk, and ended up with nothing. At least I got a refund. ...
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Don't buy this!!, February 19, 2003
By unknown
This product is at the bleeding edge. I have spent HOURS on hold trying to reach Linksys tech support, spent more time talking to their first level support then gotcut off after reaching second level support. They were never able to help me get it working.
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Good product..., February 19, 2003
By slideri812 (Prattville, Alabama United States)
I like it. It was easy to set up and get working right out of the box. Think about your network changes before you buy. Had i have spent more time doing that I would have spent a little more and bought the model that has the router (I already have a router, I could have doubled my connection options.) The only down side is that I would like to see a lower price point for this item considering it's mono functional.
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Better Wait On 802.11g, February 15, 2003
By - (Los Angeles, CA)
Had it running for a short time with not much luck. 802.11g has the same interference problems as 802.11b, as it will fight cordless phones, etc. I had the WAP in one room and the PC in the other. Connections would take a long time and would fail periodically. The fastest speed it would connect at, only two rooms away was 24Meg. Sometimes it would connect at 36Meg but quickly drop back down, sometimes to 10Meg. Someone around my house is running an unsecured WLAN as the card in my PC would get a week signal and pick up in IP address from somewhere else. Oops. I had to configure the PC end to look for my network only. If you follow Linksys's instructions, it will us the default configuration, which is wide open, and leave your network assessable to anyone around you. I soon tired of messing with it and got an RMA and shipped it back. I'll wait for 802.11a's prices to come down or see what new wireless protocol comes out next week.
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Screamin Fast, February 8, 2003
By marykay (Florida, USA)
I bought the WAP54 G Router with 2 Linksys wireless G Notebook PC Cards and I am very pleased. I am upgrading from Linksys' BEFW11S4 Wireless Router and the WPC11 Wireless PC Card. The increase in speed is definitely worth the cost of the upgrade. I am getting excellent signal quality compared to poor quality with the old system when using laptop in the same location. My DSL connection seems noticeabley faster and I am able to work with shared files on my desktop PC upstairs - old system it was just too slow to do that. The only reason for 4 instead of 5 stars is that configuring the router was tricky. The Win XP setup instructions made it look very simple, but getting all the settings correct, especially for WEP, took some time. It could be just that my ISP required that I enter more settings than most. But now that it's set up, it's wonderful. Highly recommend. But keep your old 80211.b system for awhile just in case you have any problems.
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It's the specification, February 5, 2003
By unknown
Some other reviews are complaining that if there are 802.11b and 802.11g cards in the area, the access point drops to 802.11b speeds only. This is NOT the fault of the router or access point. The 802.11g specification requires that behaviour. The Apple AirPort Extreme does the same thing according to the fine print on their web site.So...if you want g speeds you need to convert all of your equipment to g cards...or maybe have a b and a g access point.
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Buggy configuration interface, lousy support, February 1, 2003
By Nelson Minar (San Francisco, CA United States)
If I were you, I'd wait before buying this or else look to another 802.11g vendor.The problem I have is that if I reconfigure the device via the web interface (say, to change the password or SSID) then the WAP dies. Wireless seems to still work but I can no longer connect to it via the LAN port. Hard reset is the only fix. I suspect this is a simple firmware bug (v1.05), but it's a good reason not to buy the product. The other problem is that Linksys support is awful. The website doesn't even have support pages yet. Calls to the 1800 number indicate "heavy call volume" no matter what time of day or night. Their email support guy in the Phillipines ignored my detailed request for confirmation of this bug and just gave me the generic "reset your device" instructions. Not helpful.
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Buy the AirPort Extreme instead, January 26, 2003
By Scott Lamb (Mountain View, CA USA)
Connecting a single 802.11b client drops the entire network to 802.11b speed, according to CNet's review of the item (which another person here mentioned). That's disappointing, to say the least. Most people buying 802.11g probably have some 802.11b equipment already. So without the ability to support mixed networks well, this is just an overpriced 802.11b access point.In contrast, an AirPort Extreme base station will continue to give 802.11g cards faster connections than 802.11b ones, according to Apple's knowledgebase document 107372. This difference is more than enough to justify the AirPort Extreme base station's higher price.
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Backwards compability is a joke, January 21, 2003
By unknown
CNet reviewed it and found that, if you had any 802.11b clients, the access point forced everybody into 802.11b mode. I'm not touching this puppy until it can have b and g running simultaneously (just like having 10Mbps and 100Mbps devices hooked up to the same Ethernet switch). It ought to be possible, after all, even if it has to run them on separate radio channels.
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Interface is a bit flaky but so far so good..., January 17, 2003
By a2058 (Chapel Hill, NC)
I just got this for my work, and have set up using the web-browser based setup interface. It's a bit flaky user interface, but gets the job done and is straight forward. Also, it seems to have lower sync rate than SMC 802.11b Barricade wireless access point I have used before with my Netgear MA401 card. It takes a while for the computer to recognize (like 20 seconds instead of instantaneous) that it is receiving a good signal after waking up from a standby. The signal strength is excellent, though I will be increasing that with their optional signal booster WSB24. Tech rep said that 802.11b signal booster also works fine with this 54G access point to increase the signal strength because both protocols use the 2.4GHz range, which is a definite plus if you need good coverage. I will be getting their 54mbps card within a couple of days, so this will be interesting, as I am using the Netgear MA401 card right now and experiencing this slight delay in re-synchronizing after a wake up from standby. I've had problems making Macintosh to access with the WEP enabled (both 64bit and 128bit), but may be likely that is a Mac problem. All in all, it is so far an excellent value, should be interesting to see what the signal booster and a 54G card should do in addition to this access point...
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It should have been increased to 5 GHz, January 16, 2003
By Marco Tassara (San Diego, CA USA)
Although the new 802.11g 2.4GHz is backward compatible with 802.11b 2.4GHz it is NOT compatible with any 802.11a 5GHz network. Even though it is 5x faster at 2.4 GHz its range is still 100-150 feet.
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