| Linksys Wireless-G Range Expander WRE54G |
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Model: WRE54G
Brand: Linksys
Manufacturer: Linksys
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 0
Platforms: No Operating System
Operating system: Windows
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
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| Features: |
Dimensions - 1.1 x 7.4 x 6.9 in (H x W x D)
Wireless Standard - IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
Security WEP - 64/128 bit WEP |
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| Description: |
| The WRE54G Wireless-G Range Expander increases the effective coverage of your wireless network. Unlike other access points, this wireless expander doesn't require connection by a data cable. Just place it within range of your wireless router and bounce the signals off remote wireless devices. It's perfect for any wireless home or business network that requires wider coverage: Multi-story homes, warehouses, outdoor spaces and more. |
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| User Reviews (0 total): |
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Works - eventually, May 7, 2005
By 462 (APO, AE USA)
It does work as advertised. However, setting it up is NOT an evening job. No beer while you're doing it, be well rested; I recommend a Saturday. Plan on at least half the day and two hours on the phone with tech support. I'd like to give it a higher rating, but the setup software is so totally inadequate as to be fraud. Tech support was outstanding though - good thing....
Bottom line: Buy it if you really, really need it and you already have an existing Linksys router. Otherwise run away.
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Make sure you know what it is compatible with!, May 1, 2005
By yosemite (yosemite)
Make sure you know what it is compatible with! It only works with certain linksys products and they do not tell you this. Could not get it to work with d-link or netgear products!
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Forget Linksys, May 1, 2005
By syddsn (Livingston, NJ USA)
Linksys, as others have noted, does not tell you that certain versions of this device may not work with your Linksys router--and you have no way of knowing what version you will be sent. I was caught in this trap. My opinion--stay away.
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Another Weekend Waisted - Thanks Linksys., April 25, 2005
By Fooled Again (Chicago)
Should be zero stars...I tried everything - Software crashed...Now,I'm still trying to recover my notebook so that it can connect to the Internet again. If it didn't spare my wife and two kids computer connections, I would have been thrown out of the house this weekend. What a frustrating rip-off.
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This thing is a set-up nightmare - Beware!, April 14, 2005
By Music Addict, Pop Culture Guru, Tech Junkie... (Chicago, IL United States)
Let me begin by saying that I am a very computer-literate, tech savvy person... having said that, I have been fiddling around with this thing on and off for nearly two months and I still cannot get it to work properly. Linksys claims that there is one touch automatic setup - it's just that easy. Don't be fooled. This thing is nothing but an expensive little box of frustration that doesn't do anything it claims with any ease. I say, for the money, just invest in a new wireless router with more range and skip this thing. For the price, they should have included a wired ethernet port so you could actually manually configure it. Prepare to be even more frustrated if you choose to call Linksys tech support. I realize that some people have their units working after much work, I still haven't been that lucky. Stay away from this one folks! UPDATE: I spent three and a half hours on the phone with Linksys support and finally got it up and running. Though the tech support people first caused my router to go haywire and we spent much time on the phone fixing that problem first. Plus, tech support helped a bit, but it was my own fiddling around with setting that fianlly got my router to work. Don't rely on Linksys tech support to solve all of your problems. Now that this thing is actually working, it works just fine and expands my range considerably. My advice is to never believe any of the "easy set-up" claims on the packaging of ANY Linksys product.
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Got It Working, After Much Work, April 11, 2005
By S. Ford (California)
Well the box on the range expander says it works with the WRT54G. (It is only when you open the box that you find a little card that tells you which firmware versions it works with.) Well, it didn't work right out of the box for me. I have a WRT54G that had V2.0 of the firmware, so I had to upgrade that to 3.X. Then I had to update the firmware of the brand new WRE54G Range Expander that I just bought!
I cannot image a non-technical person figuring out what s/he needs to do to get things working, and then actually doing it. Cost me at least 2 hours of my time, and only then after I had spent almost an hour hitting reset and auto configure buttons that the directions talk about. Thank gawd I found all these reviews on this website giving me a good idea of what I needed to do.
To summarize: Upgrade the firmware of your Linksys WRT54G router. Then upgrade the firmware of your Linksys WRE54G range expander. All the reset button stuff and Auto configuration button stuff did nothing for me. In fact, after I upgraded the firmware on the range expander, both lights on it turned blue without me touching any of the buttons.
It is shameful that a product like this is sold without a large warning label on it telling non-techies that they should beware. That, or they should sell the router and the range expander together in one box and guarantee that they are set up to work together.
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Not worth the hassle, April 5, 2005
By JDS (New York, NY)
This item is junk. I assumed that all the other reviewers were overly critical - wrong. After a week of fiddling, downloading firmware (for this item, the new PC card WPC54GS as well as the router WRT54GS), endless resetting, then paying an experienced consultant to try to get the thing to work, I gave up and returned the junk. Several specific critiques: the range on the router is poor; the expander cannot acquire a steady signal from the router, unless it is in an unobstructed line of sight without things such as refrigerators, walls, etc. anywhere near the line of sight; for the price they should have included a direct ethernet connection so it can be configured. I found it is basically impossible to configure WEP on the expander and have it actually work with both the card and the router/access point, except when the three were in ridiculously close proximity. Even then there is an endless cycle of enable WEP on the expander, have it lose contact with the router, enable WEP on router, then it is unable to contact the expander even with exactly same keys; start all over again by resetting both. Also, the expander sometimes malfunctionsm, showing red access lights (ie supposedly no connection to access point) even when I could connect to it and actually reconfigure it. Don't waster your time.
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sooooooo easy, April 5, 2005
By Chronquistador (USA)
this was the easiest freakin thing to setup....in less than 5 min i had an expansive g network. i went from 1mbps to 54mbps instantly. id give it 5 stars if it wasnt so expensive. but it does what it says and works great. EASY INSTALL....dont know what everyones problem was
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Below Linksys Standards, March 30, 2005
By Robert V. Warde
This device has major problems (just Google WRE54G). I am a Network Tech who specializes in small LANs. One of my customers, who is fairly sharp worked for weeks trying to get one of these to work - without success.
Basically, WEP does not work with these units. I followed the diections to the letter without success. They did work without security.
THIS IS WHAT DOES WORK: Get a WET54 bridge connect it to an access point or a router configured as an access point (change the IP address, SSID, broadcast channel and turn off the DHCP server). This will allow users to choose their access point and extend your network. You can even use an ethernet cable between them to move the AP into an area where the signal is weak.
This is what we did and it worked GREAT.
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Painful to set up, but it works, March 20, 2005
By JohnB (Kansas City, MO USA)
I could not make this work (and I'm pretty tech savvy). A call to the Linksys help desk got me working, but it took a lot of fiddling with my WIN XP/Pro/SP2 TCP/IP parameters.
In the end I tested a pair of Linksys hi-gain antennae, and decided to go that route. I don't get as strong a signal, but it is really easy to install - no hassle. And no ongoing maintenance headaches.
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When it wants to work its great, March 8, 2005
By JRD (Pembroke, Pembroke Bermuda)
I recently purchased this unit and it definitely has it's downfalls in the way of setup. Most people I know who were able to get this unit up and running without a problem have all purchased the recent model of the compatible routers.
If you don't have the latest version of the routers, the first thing you have to do is download the latest firmware from linksys or you'll be pulling your hair our wondering why it doesn't work. PS the bios can only be updated via a wired link to your router, wireless is not recommended cause if you lose the link you could destroy your router.
After doing this, the product does work but for the cost of it - almost more expensive than the router; you would aspect a better setup procedure then the one giving to you in the box.
Also one point that no one seems to have mentioned here is that the expander cuts your signal to your unit in HALF. So though you are getting a strong excellent signal from your expander, the expander to your wireless nic is only 22, from your router to your expander is 54. Something else to keep in mind before purchasing this expensive but effective when working device.
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Good Product, Bad Instructions, March 6, 2005
By Network Geek (Maryland, United States)
I bought it before I read these reviews. I almost took it back after I read them. I'm a network guy so I figured I'd give it a go. I got it to work by myself in about an hour. The first thirty minutes I spent messing around with Linksys' useless instructions.
The installation CD didn't find the WRE54G but I'll tell you how I got it to work below. I hope it's not to technical. I configured it through the web interface and updated the firmware. I have 128 bit WEP running like a charm. Also I advise to really put the expander as far away from the your WAP router. I have the WRT54G on the bottom floor of a three level townhome. I was trying to boost the signal on my third level. I first tried the WRE54G on the second floor with no real difference on the third level. When I put the WRE54G on the top floor it worked perfectly. My suggestion is use this device as a true repeater at the perimeter of you network. It won't make a difference if you put it too close the WAP router.
** Start from scratch - I put my WRT54G back to factory default and give it a SSID and broadcast it. Download the latest firmware for both your wireless router and the range expander.
1. Using my laptop that has a Linksys WPC54G wireless card I searched for available wireless networks.
2. The WRE54G will show up with network SSID of something like "linksysrf74848". That is the default SSID of the WRE54G so select it to connect to.
3. Next you'll have to configure a static IP address on your wireless capable computer to IP address 192.168.1.235 subnet mask 255.255.255.0 - That is all you need right now.
4. Open your web browser and type in 192.168.1.240 just type in admin for password. To the help page on the device and upload the firmware you have on your computer.
5. Now you'll need to type the the SSID, wireless MAC address of your wireless router (on WRT54G you'll find it on the wireless status page), and fill in all the other blanks as needed.
6. No you'll need to reconnect to a wireless network since you changed the SSID of the WRE54G. When you do a search you should see two devices with your own SSID. Notice that one of the MAC addresses should match the one on the back of the WRE54G. Select it and then connect.
7. Hopefully you have two blue lights right now. Select your SSID with the strongest signal.
8. Change your wireless computer's IP setting back to dynamic, if you like.
9. Setup WEP on the WRE54G then set it up on your wireless router, and change all the factory default passwords to something stronger.
Hope this helps!
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Utter waste of money, March 2, 2005
By simpletim (Stratham, NH)
While I could get it to work, it would only connect for about an hour and then drop the connection entirely. I'm no beginner at this stuff, and I don't know where Linksys gets off charging a hundred bucks for something that doesn't work as well as the WAP54g. Save the money, buy something that works.
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Don't downgrade this product because you cannot get it to wo, March 1, 2005
By mrcisco (Arizona)
1) download BOTH the latest firmware for your WRT54G broadband router AND the WRE54G expander from Linksys's website.
2) use the web based setup on the router and make sure WEP and mac filtering is off at this time.
3) upgrade the firmware first with the router, then the expander.
4) hit the autoconfig on the expander and the red light will turn to blue, meaning it's working.
5) reenable WEP and mac filtering on the router thru the web based setup. That's it!
If any of this terminology seems foreign to you, have someone do it for you because it is not difficult and I was up and running within 10 minutes.
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Caveat emptor... and one more thing, February 21, 2005
By madqdog (Monument, Colorado USA)
To those USERS of wireless technology who are fortunate enough to know technically gifted folks who will hold their hand, let me echo many sentiments and add a new caveat:
1) Set-up is NOT far the feint of heart; it is challenging.
2) Downloads, especially backwards downloads are HARD to find; many previous reviewers give great tips on doing so, but be prepared to enter the real world of dungeons and dragons.
3)Yes, the wait times for customer support through New Dehli Linksys is reasonable; yes, the folks are very nice; yes they are patient. No, they cannot help you with this expander.
4. And new (but from my techy colleague): Other devices in your home... microwaves and especially 2.4 gHz telephones with multisearch technology (the present norm)... wreck havoc with wireless systems, so 5.8 gHz telephones ($$$) and now rare 900 mHz telephones (good luck in the search) are the way to go. My Panasonic 2.4 gHz proved to be the culprit. And, finally
5. An expander is necessary 400 feet from the base station and reception should be very good or excellent within 100 feet. Within 100 feet (folks, that is a larger home), an Expander should NOT be necessary. If you are getting poor signal strength, first disconnect the batteries from your 2.4 gHz phones for a trial and/or look at your signal strength when the phone is in use. If signal strength is better with the battery out or worse with the phone in use, do NOT buy an expander. Get another phone, and save yourself the endless headache of attempting to set up this @#$!^ expander.
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Dell Laptop users - it works put it takes some work, February 17, 2005
By Wes Perry (Methuen, MA USA)
Great product, installation process stinks. Throw away the installation disk it doesn't work and thank God Linksys has free tech support that can spend the time to help you get it working. Don't hesitate to call them. -1 star for having to upgrade firmware out of box for unit and poor installation method.
For Dell laptops you may not be able to connect to the expander, you will need to do the following A or B
A) if you have a desktop computer connected to your wireless router configure the expander from the desktop not from your Dell laptop - follow instructions below skipping steps 4) and 9)
B) if you must configure it with a dell laptop then you must use Netscape Navigator do not use Internet Explorer (IE)- classic symptoms - if you try to connect with IE you will find that you will get to the login expander window but won't be able to login after entering the password or your laptop will be able to detect that the expander is there but you won't even be able to get to the login window to even connect to the expander. To connect you will need to do the following
1) down load latest firmware for the expander v1.04.17 - you will use this later.
2) upgrade you firmware on you router before starting for me (WRT54GS) the latest version is Firmware Version: v3.37.6.
3) disable WEP on your Router or AP
4) on your dell laptop go and open control panel, double click network connections, right click wireless network connection, select properties, scroll down and select Internet protocol (TCP/IP), click on properties, select use the following IP address. WRE54G comes set to a default IP address of 192.168.1.240. Since you'll need to make a direct wireless connection to the WRE54G and it doesn't have a DHCP server, you'll need to nail down your client's IP address info. So enter in the IP address box in the 192.168.1.2, next enter 255.255.255.0 for your subnet mask. The Gateway and DNS settings won't matter for now and you can leave them blank. Hit ok and ok again. Now your Dell laptop will point to expander. (reboot laptop, after it us up and running go to step 5)
5) Hold the expander auto-configuration button for 30 seconds (if everything goes well both lights on the expander will turn blue) and unplug while still holding auto-config button. Plug back in after 20-30 seconds.
6) -open NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR and type 192.168.1.240 (default IP of expander), a window will pop up. leave the user name blank and put admin as a password (this is default password).
7) you are now in - lets upgrade the firmware, select help, select firmware upgrade, enter location of file, hit upgrade.
8) now that we have upgraded firmware lets go ahead and enable WEP on the expander, select default transmit key 1, select 64 bit WEP, type in your unique pass phrase (i.e. reddog), hit generate, write down on piece of paper the alpha numeric code in transmit key 1 that was generated you will need to input this into your laptop later inorder to connect.
9) now we need go back and change laptop IP settings on your dell laptop. open control panel, double click network connections, right click wireless network connection, select properties, scroll down and select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), click on properties, select obtain an IP address automatically. hit ok and ok again. (reboot laptop)
10) Now go into your router and set use the same settings (select 64 bit WEP, transmit key 1, same unique pass phrase, generate alpha numeric code) in your Router, save settings in your router.
11) Now your dell laptop should detect the network, but inorder to connect to your WEP enabled network you will need to set the same settings on your laptop (select 64 bit WEP, transmit key 1, type in the alpha numeric code for transmit key - the one that you wrote down on that piece of paper) save settings.
and volia - you connected your Dell laptop to the expander - hope that helps a frustrated Dell laptop user like February 13, 2005 Reviewer: L. Zarker -
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Easier than the reviews indicate, February 16, 2005
By BryanM (Windermere)
I had read all the negative reviews regarding the setup issues of the WRE54G, but based on my happiness with many other Linksys items, I purchased the unit and decided to plod ahead. One side of my house had little or no wireless signal coverage and this seemed an easy alternative to expensive wiring. I began by upgrading to the latest firmware for my WRT54G router, not the 2.02.02 backward version described in many other reviews. I plugged in the WRE54G, pressed the autoconfiguration button, pinged the device. My network recognized the device, but the link light was still red. I then upgraded to the latest firmware for the WRE54G, and the red light turned blue. Placing the device at the far range of my wireless network has boosted the signal from "low" to "very good" for that side of the house where I had little or no signal - one bar to 4 bars. I am happy with the result. I gave the product 4 stars and not 5 only because the setup instructions should speak more to the shortcomings of the setup and the need ti upgrade something right out of the box.
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Range Expander Caution Flag, February 13, 2005
By L. Zarker
I read all of the cautionary reviews and still bought the Linksys Range Expander. It did not work even with the advice I read in the reviews. Linksys technical support spent several hours with me and declared the unit defective. I was sent another one. The same problem re-surfaced: the Dell laptop knows that the Expander is there but cannot connect to it. More Linksys technical support has led to the conclusion that they don't understand Dell laptops so they cannot help me connect. They say to contact Dell. That's like telling me to call up Bill Gates for technical support on a Microsoft issue. All of the other reviews may help IF and only IF the laptop connects to the Range Expander so that you can configure it to work for you. I've given up.
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Total Junk Don't waste your money or time, February 12, 2005
By G. Randall
I had to use the tech support and spend over 1 hr to get this Expander to work. Then after about a week it stopped working. Had to call tech support again and after about 45 mins it was working. Then in about a month for no reason it stopped working this thime I was on the phone for over 2 hrs and could never get it working before I got tired of dealing with the support people that speek very poor english. I unpluged the range expander and smashed it. Felt very good to forever rid myself if this junk. I will now buy Dlink.
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Disappointing, February 9, 2005
By Gavin P. Garcia (Bolivia)
I bought the range extender to work with my WRT54G purchased in June 2003. Following the simple instructions, I plugged it in, pressed the auto configuration button for varying lengths of time but never managed to get the "link" light to turn blue. I called tech support and after several failed attempts to upgrade the router firmware with level 1 and level 2 assistance, I was told my router's firmware (the original v1.00.8) was "too old" to be upgraded. Their solution-buy the high gain antenna. According to the product description the WRT54G router should be compatible with it....nowhere are firmware upgradeability issues mentioned and flagged as potential problems.
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