| Linksys Wireless-G Ethernet Bridge with 5-port Switch WET54GS5 |
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Model: WET54GS5
Brand: Linksys
Manufacturer: Linksys
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 23
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11g
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| Features: |
Provides high-speed cable-free bridging between remote workgroups
Built-in 5-port 10/100 switch with auto MDI/MDI-X cable detection
Converts wired-Ethernet devices to Wireless-G network connectivity
Wireless communications protected with 64- or 128-bit encryption
Operates in the 2.4 GHz frequency spectrum with throughput of up to 54 Mbps |
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| Description: |
| The Wireless-G Ethernet Bridge with 5-port Switch from Linksys opens up exciting new possibilities for your wireless network. It provides high-speed, cable-free bridging between remote workgroups -- and converts wired-Ethernet devices to Wireless-G network connectivity. Any wired Ethernet can be made into a wireless network device. Auto-speed negotiating through the built-in 5-port 10/100 switch creates a faster wireless connection. Your wireless communication is secured, with 128-bit encryption. All this power, plus it's incredibly easy to set up through the browser-based configuring tool. |
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| User Reviews (23 total): |
Page 1 of Total 1 Pages
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Buy the WETG54G Bridge and switch seperately, September 26, 2006
By P. Weyzen (Lompico, CA USA)
When my WET54G bridge died on me, I thought I'd get this version of the product...
Very disappointing. This version of the product was unreliable, as compared to the bridge-only version. It was unable to keep connections, and seemed slow to initiate connections. I rebooted it frequently in order to get connections...
The WETG54 product never had a problem -- until the day it died. It served me very well.
The moral of the story -- sometimes seperate components are better than combinations. Stick to the components.
The WETG54S5 is not worth the trouble.
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If you like WEP you are in luck - with WPA - stay away!, July 16, 2006
By Ralf Loserth (USA)
This thing is great with WEP but flaps when you enable WPA with a pre-shared secret. I purchased this in the hope of connecting my Tivo to my WLAN since it doesn't support WPA at all! It was an expensive mistake. Everytime I want to update Tivo, I have to power cycle the device. It works for a bit then drops and reconnects. I have used it with a D-Link and with a Checkpoint Safe@Office with the same results. If you use WPA, don't buy it.
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Stable as hell with firmware v.4.85 using WEB, June 5, 2006
By James Chan (Anaheim, CA United States)
i love this little bridge have had it for about 2 years and has never failed, although i haven't tried using WPA the wep on this has never dropped a connection. i use this bridge to connect my office equipment that has a network hard drive, computer, xbox to the rest of my wireless AP under the bed... and it has never fail me yet. according to some other post if you need WPA security the latest firmware is stable. the driverless web interface also makes it easy to administer. btw this lets you conn. several wired devices to a wireless network. not just one like several ethernet bridges advertise. very useful device!
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Very easy setup. Works fine., April 27, 2006
By wick retired (Mechanicsville, MD)
I know a little about networking and sometimes get a little concerned when attaching devices that I've never used before, to the network. This, however, was very easy to intall and setup. No problems at all.
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This bridge works perfectly with the firmware upgrade, November 11, 2005
By unknown
There was a glaring problem with this unit and WPA security until they released firmware version 4.9.1 recently. It has been running stable in my home network for 2 months now. The AP its connected to is a D-Link DGL4300 with an antenna booster (they are separated by a floor and 30 feet). I have our email and web server connected to the bridge and it works great. Until the 200mbit HomePlug devices come out, this is the best solution this side of CAT-5 cable runs.
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Great product, October 12, 2005
By A. Adams (San Francisco CA)
To date, I have never lost a connection through the bridge. Quite impressed based on my experience with DLink
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A fair bridge, September 19, 2005
By jknoy36247 (Dolton, IL United States)
Before I purchased this product, I was aware of the problems with WPA and the latest firmware that corrected the issues. Still, after installing the latest firmware, I had IP conflicts. Some resets later, it worked, but not with WEP or WPA. I checked the firmware version to make sure I had installed the correct firmware. It checked out ok, so I reinstalled the firmware. Two resets later, it worked with WEP and WPA TKIP. WPA AES is not supported. I did not check if WPA Radius worked. My AP is using WPA2. I cannot recreate the problem I experienced. Maybe it was just a glitch. This unit runs very warm so make sure you place it away from other heat sources. A small fan may not be a bad idea for any electronic device. I have an Xbox and two computers connected without any problems.
I have not tested the switch, as far as features and speed is concerned. As long as the ports function, I am happy. If you need a manged switch, this might be more important to you than I
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Wireless bridges, September 16, 2005
By Stanley A. Nelson (Roswell, New Mexico)
Easy to set up and works great. I have installed 3 of these and find it the great way to extend a wireless network to a cluster of wired devices. Surprised I can't find them in the Walmart's and Office-Max's.
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Works great, but read my setup advice first..., September 15, 2005
By JohnK (Kirkland, WA USA)
Before configuring, you should read this important piece of advice first:
After you've finished configuring the bridge, disconnect the ethernet cable and verify you can still connect to its admin web page wirelessly. Do this before going on to anything else, and until then DO NOT refresh your router's administration page that displays all of your connected devices!!!
OK, that's it. Sounds like a minor detail but depending on your setup, not doing that could cause alot of stress and wasted time. After I set mine up (but before disconnecting the cable), I made the mistake of refreshing my router's admin page to see it now in the list of connected devices. But for whatever reason (this could be the fault of my router, an older Microsoft wireless-B base station that otherwise has always worked perfectly), I suddenly got inundated with Windows system error popups telling me there was an IP address conflict. But every time I closed one, another one immediately popped up. I also lost my internet connectivity and couldn't even connect to my router or ethernet bridge admin pages. As if that's not bad enough (I still didn't know the cause yet so I thought I might be screwed), the wireless LED on the router was flashing like crazy, like it was stuck in an ON position (it's never flashed like that before). I'm guessing the reason was because the bridge had both its wired ethernet connection and its wireless-G connection active simultaneously, and even though the bridge only has one MAC address, the router got confused. Who knows...but once I disconnected the cable from the bridge, everything worked fine.
One other note: after you set it up, remember its IP address (whether you specify a static IP or let your router assign a dynamic one), because you'll need it to connect to the bridge's administration web page. However, if you forget it, or for whatever reason you can't connect to it, just re-run the setup program from the installation CD, and it will find the bridge on your network and let you re-configure it. Very simple. Unless it's a problem with the wireless connection, in which case you may need to re-connect the ethernet cable to it until it's working (but again, remember to disconnect the cable once you finish the setup program).
I read about other people having problems getting it to work wirelessly, but I didn't. I have 128-bit WEP, along with MAC address filtering and no SSID broadcasting, but it was recognized right away.
I bought this bridge along with 2 Netgear FA120 USB ethernet (wired) adapters to use with my 2 Tivos. It works great, both Tivos immediately recognized the new wired connections. I had problems before with occasional dropped connections with the wireless adapters (especially when trying to play music through the Tivos), but now they work flawlessly. The music hasn't interrupted at all (used to interrupt at least once every song). I still don't have a wireless-G router so it may be even better then. I don't think Tivo supports 802.11g wireless adapters yet, so using a bridge like this is the best way to get wireless-G speed and never have to worry about wireless USB adapter compatibility again (which can be a pain...sometimes certain version numbers of a USB wireless adapter won't work, even if the model number is shown as "valid" on the Tivo website).
Aside from the problem of having the wired and wireless connections active at the same time, the setup and configuration went very smoothly. I really like this bridge and think it's worth 5 stars.
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The Real Deal!, July 9, 2005
By Tyrod (Florida)
Put away those silly game adaptors you're trying to get to work as a bridge for multiple ethernet devices. This is the genuine article. I first attached it to my laptop with an ethernet cable. Ran the CD configurator. I set the IP address to one that I wanted. Uploaded the latest firmware that I had already had downloded from the net. Entered the web interface and finished seting up a few minor things including the site survey.
Then I put the bridge in place to serve a ethernet enabled Tivo and ReplayTV. I was able to immediately able to access both the Tivo and ReplayTV. I setup WPA-PSK and it has been operating 5x5 ever since. One of the thngs I like about this bridge is that it supports QoS which is important for streaming media and VoIP. The bridge seems to be fairly simple to get setup and running, but has multiple menus which control things which are way over my head. One tip is that the default user name and password is admin and not just the password as implied in the manual. Now I just gotta figure out what I'm gonna stick in the other 3 ports.
Update 7/13/05 WPA gave up the ghost after 3 days. I had to reboot it a few times to get it to work after disabling WPA.
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Doesn't work out of the box., June 23, 2005
By R. Pond
I had high hopes for this product, the Linksys WET54GS5, ethernet bridge with a 5-port switch. I use a Linksys wireless router, and have used their products before, with great success. It seems my luck has run out.
I wasted an hour trying to get this thing to connect. I have a secure wireless network, using 64bit WEP. I know the network works, because I've using this network to write this review.
However, after several hours of configuring, rebooting, toggling the bridge's power, toggling my pc's power, and even the router, nothing works. I configured the device using the web app, but it still wouldn't work.
I have to give this one a big thumbs down. It doesn't work.
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Linksys WET54GS5, June 14, 2005
By System Integrator (Seattle, WA)
I run WPA security and this has been the only product that offers a removable antenna, buit-in switch, and WPA security - and works. I admit I had the same connection loss trouble that others have experienced. This is due to the on-board firmware being a year out of date (shipped with 04/2004). Once I upgraded to the 03/2005 firmware the unit worked flawlessly.
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This product gets 0 stars. I should have read the reviews, February 3, 2005
By Jason C. Gogela (Fort Collins, Colorado, USA)
Where to start? This product claims to support a myriad of encryption techniques. It does not. Though WPA and its variants are selectable, if you are using this bridge to extend to a wireless G router, you will find the ONLY encryption technique supported is 64 and 128 bit WEP. The customer service is abysmal... I called them 4 times and spent about 2 hours on the phone. Few of the technicians even knew what a bridge was supposed to be used for. One guy told me you can't connect a wired router to a wireless router AT ALL with this device. He said I should go out and buy an access point. If you understand the function of a bridge, you understand how ignorant that statement is. An access point was not what was needed with the network topology I employ on my network. The support staff also tends to have only a very rough handle on English. In the end, I was able to make this bridge work. The transfer times are actually pretty good, but I had to change the security settings on most of the computers on the network. Go to the Linksys website and see what kind of documentation or FAQs are available. Besides a very basic user guide, there isn't ANY. Generally speaking I'm a big fan of Linksys. My other wired and wireless routers have served me well for years. They are really easy to set up and maintain... however THIS product falls far short of that standard. I am a network administrator with a fair amount of experience, and I'm telling you, if you're looking to use this bridge for anything even remotely more complex than an AdHoc network, you should look elsewhere. This product simply isn't worth the money or the headaches.
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This is a great product , a little bit pricey., January 11, 2005
By J. Giordano (Bellmore,NY)
I initially had the wet11 bridge which worked flawlessly attached to a hub and then I had 3 other computers attached to the hub. When I upgraded my router; I wanted a new solution that would support G; but the WET54G was recieving terrible reviews. So I went with this one even though the reviews are not great. I couldn't be more pleased; the range is great. The setup was easy, there are many options for advanced switching that I don't use but are there if needed. I would definatley recommend this as oppoded to buying an adapter for multiple machines, no drivers no security on the actul pcs. Set up the security with the bridge and that is it.
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give this one a pass, December 14, 2004
By Scott Peterson
This unit seemed to fit all the specifications for what I wanted. It wa a bit pricy, but it was available so I bought one.
In order to set it up, you use the network cable to plug it into the existing router. In my case, one of the more expensive Netgear ones.
After configuration was complete, I immediately started noticing odd network activity. Turns out that you have to immediately disconnect the wired connection as it broadcasts the same mac address on both the wired and wireless connections.
It went downhill from there. While the unit seemed to remain connected to the router, the laptop I was testing with could not remain connected for more than 5 minutes from the room next to the router. Trying to interrogate it from the router drove network activity nuts and seemed to lock it up for several minutes. Other wireless devices had trouble connecting while it was in use.
Trying to get help through the Linksys web site also proved to be next to impossible.
I finally gave up and returned this unit. It's a shame as I really wanted it to work. I plan to try the Netgear WGE101 as an alternative.
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WPA does NOT work, September 16, 2004
By George Wallace
WPA-PSK does not work properly on this unit. Despite upgrading the firmware to the latest revision on the Linksys website, the machine will not hold a WPA-PSK connection for more than about 10 minutes despite 100% signal. Load does not seem to be a factor, nor do any of the settings on the unit or the APs tested, despite being set to the most conservative levels. Caveat Emptor!
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Works fine, no fuss, September 7, 2004
By Greg Broiles (San Jose, CA United States)
Plugged it in, ran the setup disk, it worked fine. No problems. It does seem to run a little warm to the touch, but haven't noticed any heat-related problems, even with temperatures in the 90's the last few days.
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WEP ok, WPA stinks, August 30, 2004
By Bob (Seattle WA USA)
On the released firmware, if using WPA security, it doesn't hold a connection. Backing off to WEP security seems to help this.
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Great - but watch the heat, August 19, 2004
By tech junkie (Walnut Creek, CA USA)
I got the Linksys wireless bridge working very quickly and with no real issues was able to establish a link with WPA-level encryption.
A day later, the unit started dropping connections left and right. I spent a few phone calls and chat sessions talking to Linksys tech support and then happened upon the solution all by myself.
AMBIENT HEAT FROM OTHER DEVICES KILLS THESE THINGS! If you're experiencing issues with this device, first make sure you've got the latest firmware. Then, check the temperature of the case. I found that setting it on top of my TiVo was enough to cause it to go haywire in a little over an hour. I took it off and placed it on the entertainment center shelf and, voila! no problems. Steady connection.
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Small, easy to set up, works like a champ, June 25, 2004
By Eric D. Tooley (San Jose, CA USA)
I use this compact Wireless G bridge to connect my ReplayTV and two laptops in my home office to a Linksys Wireless G router (WRT54GS) in the living room. Installation was easy and it works beautifully, even when streaming video between my two ReplayTV units.The Bridge itself is quite small: about 5" wide, 4" deep, and 1" tall--about half the size of my wireless router. The case is metal, not plastic, and seems built to last. If you just need to add wireless connectivity to a single component, a wireless G adapter would be cheaper. But to network several co-located components (and leave USB and PC-card slots free), this Ethernet bridge offers a great alternative.
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