| Linksys WPC11 Wireless-B Notebook Adapter |
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Model: WPC11
Brand: Linksys
Manufacturer: Linksys
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 416
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: Microsoft Windows 2000
Form factor: Plug-in module
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: IEEE 802.11b
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| Features: |
11 Mbps high-speed transfer rate
Advanced Power Management features conserve valuable notebook PC battery life
Compatible with Windows Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP
Rugged metal design with integrated antenna
Works with all standard Internet applications |
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| Description: |
| A IEEE 802.11b wireless Type II PCMCIA-type network card giving you wireless Ethernet access up to 1,640 feet away / For Windows Rugged metal design with integrated antenna Advanced power management features Compatible with Windows 95, 98, Millennium, NT, & 2000 To use with your desktop PC, add the Linksys WDT11 Instant Wireless PC Adapter |
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| User Reviews (416 total): |
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It works with some WORK!!, November 30, 2001
By unknown
OK...after a full night of beating on this card to connect and then a second night...I finally got it to work. Tech support was helpful and courteous but in the end I happened upon the problem. There were a few minor problems with install, but ultimately I attributed my link problem to a software firewall running on my laptop even after I thought I had shut it down. This didn't hinder my W2K desktop that was hard wired and had a running firewall but my 98 laptop wouldn't ping out even after it successfully grabbed an IP from the router. Zonealarm was the culprit and it took uninstalling it to figure out the problem. Should have been one of the first things I tried, anyway. As far as distance goes...not too sure. The router is on the 2nd floor and I took my laptop to the den downstairs and 40 feet away. The signal made it through sheet rock and the ceiling fine and I had no problem surfing. I did completely loose the link meter in the diagnostic program and the LED was flashing on the card, but all in all I'd say it did a fine job. I was ready to give up on this thing until I figured out what the problem was. Good luck out there. From the look of other postings it seems I'm lucky. Oh and tech support was easy to get. I waited 4 then 7 then 15 minutes on each call and they returned my other call. We'll see if it holds up to use.
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Works good only in the same room, November 29, 2001
By unknown
line quality and signal strength go poor just 20 feet away from the base station. Works great if in the same room or in line-of- sight.
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junk, November 26, 2001
By william h asper (long beach, ca USA)
will only work within 15' of the base stationlinksys says my problem is environamental we will see
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It Works....barely, November 24, 2001
By Michael J McShane (Irvine, CA United States)
I have four of these cards and the Linksys Wireless AP/4 port switch (which is great!) and my basic problem is distance from the AP. The drivers do not yet support XP. My advice, get the AP/4 port switch and Orinoco Silver cards. The Orinoco cards work great in XP, and Linux. Additionally, better connectivity to the Linksys AP/4 port switch.
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Excellent! -- IF you have the right network, November 22, 2001
By pachecod (Falls Church, VA United States)
I bought this item 6 months ago, along with a Linksys WAP11 wireless access point. It worked wonderfully for wireless computer networking, but would not connect to the Internet through my DSL, which I had shared with another computer through a Linksys cable-DSL router (not wireless). In that configuration the WAP11 was plugged into the cable-DSL router.When I got rid of the non-wireless cable-DSL router, and replaced the WAP11 with a Linksys BEFW11S4 Etherfast Wireless AP + Cable / DSL Router, everything worked wonderfully! I have no complaints. The caveat is that Linksys doesn't provide much information about how to set up your network, so it may take some trial and error. If you're thinkinging of setting up a wireless network and want to share a cable or DSL line, do your homework before buying any hardware. Feel free to e-mail me if you're stumped. at pachecod@futureforecast.com.
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Easy setup, good for most of my needs, November 20, 2001
By leofric1 (Phoenix, AZ USA)
I was able to easily set up the wireless network card. The throughput was not what I hoped for because of the distance from the base unit, but is adequate for most needs except for backups which can take all night. The protruding part of the card is the antenna, and it needs some clear space around it or it won't get any signal at all, i.e. the link light starts flashing if you bring a hand too close to it. Otherwise this product is a good alternative to running physical wires and good for laptops which need to roam about.
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XP Trouble???, November 14, 2001
By Mike Solverud (Beaver Dam, WI USA)
This product is NOT compatible with Windows XP Professional.
I found this out the hard way trying to us it. This will cause your laptop to blue screen and reboot upon detection of the hardware.If you find a way that it can be done, PLEASE let me know!!!!
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Yes the card works... and yes it installed easily but..., November 14, 2001
By neoc (Cambridge, MA United States)
I'm less than pleased with the range capabilities of this device. I have almost line of sight to my SMC access point and I continually get poor to low connection signals. Not such a big deal for using the web as I only get about 300kps download rates from my cable modem but when transfering files around from machine to machine there is a significant difference from standard ethernet. I also have an ORiNOCO Gold in my laptop that get excelent signal strength range. I can step outside the house at about 300' away from the access point and still get a fairly strong signal. I also am disapointed in the administration toolset that is provided with the PC Card. I have been using the ORiNOCO card at work and at home and like it's profile and analyzing capabilities. The Linksys card provides a minimal admin interface that only allows you to see the signal strength and link quality. If there is a way to switch AP profiles I have yet to find it. All in all it currently meets my needs and I have had no problems either with the card itself or the installation of the device in my Win2k machine. If you need to place your computer a significant distance from your access point (>50') or through a fair amount of walls I would suggest spending a few more dollars on the ORiNOCO card.
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Important! Works Great, but there is a trick to it., November 10, 2001
By vl1 (Redmond, WA United States)
We too were VERY disappointed when the WPC11 card barely worked in a range of about 4-5 ft. max. Was on the verge of returning the card/router etc. But realized we have one of those wireless TV Broadcasters in our house that broadcasts TV from one cable outlet point to another part of the house since there is no outlet there. Unplugging this broadcaster literally Unplugged the cards range!!! (It's either a 2.4 Ghz device, or a 900 MHZ device) my advice is - before you pack the card up and return it, try unplugging any 2.4 Ghz or 900 Mhz devices in your house to see if they are causing interference. Love the card now, and hope you find this info useful too.
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OK card, terrible manual, no customer service, November 8, 2001
By unknown
The Linksys card worked fine in 2 laptops, connecting the the Linksys wireless access point and then a DSL line. I then had trouble getting it to work in a Desktop Windows 98 machine. The manual was useless. I went to their web site and found I had to disable the NIC ethernet card I was using previously -- things did not work until I physically removed it from the computer. The manual suggested I uninstall the driver, without saying how -- doing so required DOS commands. I found some useful info on their web site, once I sorted out the errors in the commands their instructions told me to use. When the card did not work on reinstall, I then called tech support. Someone took the info and told me a tech support person would call me back. Twenty-four hours later I still have not gotten a return call. I eventually got it working and it seems fine -- the product is OK, but the manual and support are not. I'll try another company's product next time.
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a bit of a trick to configure, October 26, 2001
By Y. Harrington (Tucson, AZ)
I decided to set up a wireless LAN in my home. I had at my disposal 2 DELL True Mobile 1150 NIC's and this WPC11 from Linksys. I had heard very good things about Linksys NIC's and how easy they are to configure. Well, they are not easy. I count myself more than technically proficient with PC's and setting up networks. I called in my friend, a MS certified Professional... we just couldn't do it. Maybe it was us, maybe it was the card. In short, we just gave up and used the DELL True Mobile 1150 NIC.
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Lousy range, October 21, 2001
By DuoArtDude (Livermore, CA USA)
Installed almost flawlessly. Range stunk though so I returned it and bought a Lucent Orinoco which has awesome range,
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I don't know what the fuss is about - Great Device for the $, October 18, 2001
By gonate (New York, NY USA)
There are a lot of reveiws complaining about getting this device working. I've successfully installed it on WinCE, Win98, WinME, Windows 2000 (All service packs) and on every beta/RC build of Windows XP right up to the final release. I put down most of the problems described as user error, configuration error or a lack of technical know how on networking/os/wireless technology. Wireless cards from all manufacturers are a little more complex than other devices. The range is not as great as my CISCO Aironet, but at a fraction of the price what do you expect. Linksys support is not the greatest but when i bought my BEFW11S4 Wireless 4-Port Cable/DSL Router i needed 128bit encryption which was not available at that time and within an hour they emailed me a beta version of the firmware that enabled this functionility. With an infinite amount of differing system configurations i think users often expect far too much from technical support. It is impossible for any firm to validate every possible system configuration. I've seen Cisco Aironet and Lucent Orinoco have just as many issues. Its also worth noting that 2.4Ghz cordless phones can have a negative effects on 802.11 networks. Enjoy,
N.
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Is not compatible with IBM Thinkpad T22, October 16, 2001
By Peter R. Cellino
I purchased several of these cards recently and became very disappointed. Several attempts with three identical cards on several different IMB Thinkpad T22 laptops produced the same results. Placing the cards in the machines resulted in the machines suddenly shutting down. Several calls to Linksys culminated in their admitting that these cards do not function on Win 2000 machines that have the second service pack installed. Prospective buyers should be wary of Linksys tech support. I was forced to make several phone calls before I was able to speak to a competent individual. A single example of the incompetence I dealt with was a second level technician who told me in no uncertain terms that a one-gigahertz P3 was not a powerful enough processor to run their product. Perhaps my experience is isolated, however, I will be taking my business somewhere else.
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over-hyped range, October 16, 2001
By Alexandru (Los Angeles, CA)
Linksys claims almost 500 feet at 2 mbits, but it won't even work at 150 feet at 1 mbit. Needless to say I'm quite dissappointed and am going to return it and get another one.
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Hopeless situations with this, October 13, 2001
By ampherion (Pueblo, CO USA)
A new version of the card is on the shelves now (version 2.5) that has more problems than any previous version I have played with. I am a network engineer and I have had previous experience with 802.11b gear in the past.The documentation that comes with this card is incomplete. I cannot get the device to send data to either of my BEFW11S4 routers, although it shows that the link is valid. No setting change would make this better. Forget about linux support for the v2.5 card. I can't get windows to work with the card, and linux seems to have a problem with the CIS. Maybe it will change sometime, but what I get from the linux wireless development groups is that no plans are in place to make this card work. The previous versions do work. I have had this card for over a month, and have yet to get a live body on the phone, or a response from linksys via email, regardless of the number of requests I have made for simple answers to questions such as: "What configuration must my LINKSYS befw11s4 and WPC11 card have for the two to communicate?" amoungst others. My suggestion: Don't buy anything linksys. If you do, pray that it works as intended, and out of the box. It doesn't matter if you do it for a living, or if you have experience with the type of gear you are buying. Go with another vendor.
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Work or play from almost anywhere in the house, October 10, 2001
By S. Yen
I did not have any driver issues with the Linksys router or the wireless card. Everything went smoothly and I can access the Internet and my home network from almost anywhere in the house. I am impressed by the wireless transfer rate on my PIII laptop. It's even faster than a old PII machine on my home ethernet. The only thing I would improve is its range.
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This is a defective product, October 10, 2001
By J. VanOflen (Atlanta, GA)
Linksys should not even be manufacturing this POS, let alone selling it. I have gone through two of these, each lasting about 4 months before completely dying. My third one is on its last legs now. The antenna is so flimsy that normal use will make it loose, and eventually the card will stop working completely. Stay away from this at all costs, and if you bought one make sure you keep your receipt.
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Awesome Product, September 29, 2001
By michael yukevich,jr. (pittsburgh, pa USA)
This wireless access card is great. I can print, access the internet, download MP3's and other things at super high speed with a cable modem. IF you plan to get this product get the wireless access point too. Then you can connect a cable modem to it and have super fast downloads hundreds of feet away! I can access a great connection 4 floors below the access point. And with the price reduction, this thing is GREAT!
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A good wireless card, once you are past its setup, September 27, 2001
By W. Lewis (St Louis, MO)
I telecommute full-time from home and decided to get wireless network gear to allow me to work from anywhere in my house. Based on my previous good experiences with their other products, I decided on a Linksys setup. Setting up the Linksys wireless router was a snap, but unfortunately this "matching" PCMCIA card was not nearly as easy to get working. Windows ME: My first few installation attempts were on WinME. The driver installer, on the provided Linksys CD, had problems locating the necessary files it needed to install. The CD was either missing files or the installer was looking in the incorrect folders. Either way, pretty sloppy. Downloading the latest drivers from linksys.com fixed the installation problems. However, I was unable to get the card to make the wireless link with the access point. Windows 2000: Frustrated, I switched to the OS I should have installed it on in the first place, Win2k, where the drivers installed with no problems. However, again the card was unable to link with the router. User Manual: The manual supplied with the card, at first glance, looks promising. Flipping through, you see quite a few screenshots of their configuration utility (supplied on the CD) and a lot of text. However, I was disappointed and confused once I dug in. The text did little more than label the different configuration utility views and properties in each screenshot, providing little or no explanation for what the setting does and why. I could not even locate an explanation for what the LED's on the PCMCIA card indicated. The most frustrating aspect of the user manual was the section I needed the most: troubleshooting. The troubleshooting section was a whopping two pages (not front and back) and consisted of three questions. Linksys Technical Support: Linksys has 7-day tech support, so I was able to contact them on a Sunday, which was nice. The quality of their technicians is what you would expect - good and bad. I first spoke with a guy for 30 minutes who was little help and, as I later found out, actually gave me some incorrect information. I called back later and managed to get a hold of one helpful technician that took literally 2 minutes to determine the problem and step me through fixing it. I also asked a few basic questions that the manual couldn't answer and the technician acknowledged that the user manual was "embarrassing" and "missing critical setup information". Summary: The card works great! While the router sits in my basement, I tote my laptop around the house and am able to work in the living room, back patio, on the 2nd story, etc, and the download/upload speeds are as fast as my desktop, which is cabled directly to the router. Despite the problems I had, I would still recommend the card. If you have trouble configuring it, I would seriously advise skipping the manual and just calling Linksys tech support.
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