| Linksys WPS11 Wireless-B Print Server |
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Model: WPS11
Brand: Linksys
Manufacturer: Linksys
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 80
Platforms: Windows NT, Macintosh, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows NT 3.5, Windows NT 4, Windows NT 5, PowerMac, Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows 2000 Server, Mac OS X, Mac OS 9 and below, Windows
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Parallel, IEEE 802.11b
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| Features: |
Share a printer with everyone on your network
Integrates seamlessly through both Ethernet and Wireless connections
Remotely administered through your network connection
Supports a high data rate up to 11 Mbps
Stand-alone print server--no dedicated print server PC required |
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| Description: |
| The WPS11 EtherFast Instant Wireless PrintServer makes it easy to add a printer to your wireless network. Preserve system resources and avoid the bottleneck headaches that are almost inevitable when you attach a printer to a network node. Instead, place a printer anywhere in range of your wireless devices using this compact, precision device. Runs with virtually all Parallel port printers Supports multiple simultaneous print jobs Integrates through both Ethernet and Wireless connections 256KB RAM buffer 512KB flash memory Free tech support - 24/7; North America only System Requirements - Microsoft Windows 95/98/NT/ME/2000, Parallel printer, Ethernet connection for configuration 1.18H x 5.91W x 8.66D Includes AC adapter |
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| User Reviews (80 total): |
Page 1 2 3 4 of Total 4 Pages
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worked for me, January 15, 2003
By consumer in socal (southern cali)
I had a very easy time connecting this through my wireless system (Linksys wireless router, AOL DSL service, Gateway desktop and new Dell laptop). The quick-start worked for me without changing anything from the way it was configured from the factory. I know from past experience that setting up new devices, especially wireless, can be hit or miss- one small thing not quite right can lead to hours of frustration (as per other reviewers who were not quite so lucky). I had no problems this time and did not need to call Linksys technical support although I would not have hesitated to do so because they have been very helpful in the past.
Good Luck!
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Once again, don't believe everything you read., January 13, 2003
By unknown
After setting up the Linksys USB wireless print server, I decided to compare it with the parallel-port version. Set-up and configuration were even simpler, as the administration and add-port utilities are the same, and it also works just fine with two different laser printers. I see no significant difference in performance and so will go USB because of the smaller size, thinner cable, lower price, and better compatibility with current and future printers.
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at first it did not work, January 12, 2003
By Daniel Tang (Columbia, Maryland United States)
I tried to set up the unit but the WLAN would not light up. Returned the unit because Linksys thought I might have a defective unit. ... Again it did not light. After some time with another Linksys technician, we figured out that the unit must be at least 6ft away from the wireless access point for the WLAN to come on. Otherwise the only way things would work was hardwired. This is not stated anywhere in the manuals. ... Since I had a short hardwire cable the unit had to be close. Now it works great and I'm pleased.
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Hardly plug-and-play, January 11, 2003
By M_Six (Charleston, IL United States)
I finally got this to work on my wireless network. My entire network is Linksys and until I bought this server I had been mighty impressed with the easy set up of most Linksys products. Not so here. I'm a professional network analyst and I still had major hassles getting this thing to work. It finally does, albeit without WEP. After all the hassles so far just to get it working, I'm not sure if I want to risk messing it up by setting up WEP. Beginners or non-experts should look elsewhere.
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WPS11 - Be sure to Reset it to Default Factory Settings, December 24, 2002
By Microsoft (CA United States)
Before you do anything else ..... read the bottom of page 4 of the User Guide .... this description will tell you how to reset the box to the factory settings .... do NOT assume that the box is set to these, my brand new unit WAS NOT !1. Hold the reset button (with one hand)
2. Plug in the power (with your other hand)
3. Now this is the important part .... CONTINUE to hold the button for at least 10 seconds ....
4. Now the box is set to default IP 192.168.1.104 on my box, DHCP, gateway of 192.168.1.1, mask of 255.255.255.0. You should unplug and re-plug in (power cycle) your WPS11 to ensure that it is now set to the default values. Symptoms of issue for me included: 1. The Linksys Print Server Driver and Print Server Admin software could not "see" the box.
2. I could not "ping" the box prior to this reset procedure.
3. The BEFW11S4 router that I was using could not "see" the WPS11, even with a CAT5 cable attached. Why does Linksys send out a brand new device without it being set to the defaults (as indicated in all of their documentation) ... I cannot tell you (it's a secret). Perhaps they want everyone out there to call their support line, so they can have someone to talk to ..... otherwise, their products work so well that they would never get any phone calls (kinda like the Maytag repairman :>) Regards
Mark "Doc" Dochtermann
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Great Product, December 24, 2002
By unknown
This is a super unit! 10-minutes start-to-finish setup and it's working just great. I held off ordering for a couple of months because of the extremely mixed reviews, but with the ease of installation I had, I wish I would have bought it months ago. If you have a Linksys router, all you need to do is follow the "Quick Installation" guide and CD included in the box for a quick and flawless installation. If you even remotely think you want or need a print server and the rest of your network is Linksys, then don't hesitate -- buy it today!
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Setup Not Simple; Linksys Support Pulls Through, December 18, 2002
By Enthusiast (Rochester, NY, YouEssuvA)
The final flexibility I needed in my wireless network was to free me from the constraints of printer placement. I could share a printer with other users in the house by simply adding a wireless printer server. And there it was, the Linksys WPS11.Small and light, connection is a snap. Disconnect your printer's parallel cable from its current host and connect it to the printer server. Connect the power cable from the adapter. Hook up an Ethernet cable to effect setup. Put in the CD-ROM, follow instructions, ditch the Ethernet cable, and go wireless. Right? Well, not quite. The manual doesn't deal with a lot of issues. Being an "old hand" (or so I thought) to home wireless networking, I figured that the best bet was to go straight to the Linksys support number. I did, and three hours (yes, that's right) later, I was off the phone, with everything finally functioning. And I learned a lot. Virtually none of the steps we went through appeared in the manual. Nowhere is it written that you have to install the printer as a local device on every computer from which you want to access the printer. Knowing a fact like that is kind of important. The time spent in setup aside, I have to give high marks, in general, to Linksys support. I've talked to maybe 15 differnet folks there over the last year and a half, and, with one exception, all have been polite and knowledgeable. It has to be a tough job stepping legions of numnutz like me through problems that could be avoided by a better constructed manual. Anyway, enough. In my experience, wireless networking takes patience. Generally, once configured, my components (Linksys wireless router with 4-port switch, Linksys wireless printer server, and four or five wireless adapters and PC cards) communiccate flawlessly. The ability to move components about wihout concern regarding placement or the decor factor of cabling is very freeing. To those contemplating wireless networking for themselves, one comment. There is a value to a single-vendor network, and htat is you can get all your problems addressed by the vendor's help line. A multi-vendor network runs you the risk of someone at the other end of the line saying to you (at a critical time), "Sorry, that's not our fault." Believe me, that won't help you.
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Works Great!, December 17, 2002
By des111 (Jacksonville, FL)
Set this up without any problems (no tech support!) and have been using wirelessly for over one week without any problems.
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Solid Product, December 2, 2002
By unknown
Solid product, but it was difficult to get set up. Spent around an hour on tech support to get it working correctly, but it has been great since then - only required one reset in 5 months of daily use.Using with a DeskJet 720c
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Printer Alert, November 16, 2002
By unknown
Just to save many of you time, I found out via Linksys tech support that this product does not support multi task printers (fax, scan, printer, copier).
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Great Product, November 10, 2002
By unknown
I got my Linksys Wireless Printserver yesterday, and had it up and running in less than 5 minutes, following only the instructions in the "Quick Installation" guide. This compact little box replaced a bulky old PC that I had been using as a print server for an old HP Laserjet IIP printer and works great.
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Poor instructions, won't configure..going in the trash!!, October 30, 2002
By sdobson7 (Woodstock, GA United States)
I have a Linksys wireless network with 3 computers and a cable modem/router. The WAP's were easy to set-up and work very good. HOWEVER, this WSP11 is BAD NEWS. After reseting the unit 3 times I was finally able see in on the network in the admin tool, however after that one time, it was gone for good. The instructions are confusing and complicated. I can run a cable faster than the set-up time required for this device. I do not recommend.
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Very good, complicated, product, October 24, 2002
By Michael (Atlanta, GA United States)
I bought the WPS11 to use with my Brother 1440 laser printer. I wanted to be able to print to the Brother from three computers (2 desktops and an Apple notebook). The WPS11 setup is a bit confusing as there are two sets of installation routines to run and for a networking novice it can be intimidating. However, after stepping through the required installation instructions I did get the printer to work. I can now print to the Brother from my two desktop PCs using the supplied wireless driver. I can print to the Brother from my Apple iBook using Appletalk. All in all I'd say that it is a very good product. I love being able to put my printer anywhere there is an electrical outlet and being able to print to it from all my computers.
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Not so easy to set up, October 18, 2002
By Ken Arneson (Seattle, WA USA)
Unlike most Linksys products that I'm fond of, the printserver was difficult to set up. Once configured, it worked as advertised, but as a person significantly more experienced with Wi-Fi than the average consumer, I was disappointed by how much networking knowledge was required.Also, it's important to know that each computer from which you intend to print, must have a new Linksys software driver installed. Once installed, you must run a configuration routine to handshake with the printserver (on each computer). I happen to also have an Adobe Distiller print driver installed on one of my Windows XP laptops, and it rendered it inoperable. I will still use the Linksys printserver because the alternative of running cable is not a pleasant one, but be prepared to spend some time setting it up. Better yet, find a knowledgable friend and ask them for help.
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Good but...., October 17, 2002
By B. Talton (Milwaukee, WI United States)
Pretty good print server. The response time is great. I've used it with both my Brothers Multifunction machine and a lowend Canon inkjet. Both worked great. The setup it simple on my wired/wireless networks ... my only complaint is of its strictly parallel interface. These day, being forced to buy/use a printer with that interface(as opposed to USB) will greatly limit your selection and therefore the usefulness of this device. But if that's not an issue... this machine is great!
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Wow - what a frustrating experience, October 14, 2002
By A Frustrated User (San Francisco, CA)
I just purchased one of these - thinking it would be easy to install much like the Linksys Router and separate Wireless Access Point/Router that I had purchased previously.To date, I have not been successful in making this thing work with my network. On top of it, this unit has an annoying high-frequency tone (defective?). The instructions are totally useless and using instinctive steps doesn't really get you anywhere. It sounds like from reading other reviews that this unit has trouble establishing an IP, I will attempt to force an IP using my DHCP settings. If that does not work, I will have to get assistance from one of those "helpful" phone tech support folks at Linksys. I am not sure this product is ready for prime time!
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Not Wireless, September 27, 2002
By D. Cybulski
I just got off the phone with tech support. The person told me that this could not be used as a wireless print server?! I was trying to connect this to the Wireless Access Point (BEFW11S4) as shown in the documentation that comes with the product. Don't buy this for the technical support.
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Doesn't work with Multi-function devices!, September 10, 2002
By Grey (Arlington, VA USA)
Hello,I bought this product to use with an HP OfficeJet G95. The product does not support such printers, but that fact isn't written anywhere for a consumer to read. Also, the product was defective. It wouldn't have worked with any printer right out of the box. It seems from other reviews many of these get shipped defective. Customer support on this product was also lousy, and the written documentation was confusing and incomplete for all but the network savy. I'm a systems administrator, and I found the installation to be a real pain. Perhaps the defective device skewed my opinions, for I had to troubleshoot problems when you'd think the process would be easy and clear. Work on your QC please Linksys. You have great ideas, but your quality of products is very poor.
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hit or miss, July 30, 2002
By wjam3 (Tuckahoe, NY United States)
I ordered the Linksys Wireless PrintServer (WPS11) along with the 4 port router (BEFW11S4) and wireless network card (WPC11). The router and wireless card were easy to setup and work great, but I've had nothing but problems with the print server. After spending 90 minutes on the phone with Linksys support (very helpful and they tried very hard to help set it up) I was told the printserver was defective and to return it. I recently received the replacement and once again received another defective item. As I said previously the router and wireless card work great, and the tech support at Linksys spent a considerable amount of time on the phone with me trying to get the items to work, but I'm 0 for 2 with the print server. Looking back I would have probably purchased a router/printserver combo.I hope this helps.
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Poor documentation, buggy software and firmware, July 29, 2002
By amazon5815 (NY)
Suddenly I had a need for a wireless print server. After having excellent out of the box experiences with Linksys products in the past they got my purchase. Reading this, keep in mind I'm a former network admin and have installed many real (HP, Lexmark, etc) network print servers in the past. It took me a bit more than three hours to finally get this one operating.Most Linksys products have good to excellent documentation and a painless configuration - even if you need to change options or have a non-"Linksys" network. This is not a typical Linksys product. The documentation doesn't properly describe the setup process and the factory configuration. The instructions were written so that if something went wrong the instructions were useless. In order to find out what the factory configuration was you need a non-Postscript printer. Chances are when you set this up, something will go wrong which makes the documentation less than useless. What went wrong for me? First the configuration software did not see the print server either over the wireless connection or plugged into a network cable. It appears to have undocumented compatibility issues with Windows XP. In an effort to bypass configuration I tried to determine what the factory configuration was. I could not because I only had a PostScript printer. After taking it to another house with a non-PostScript printer I found the default IP address was 0.0.0.0 (which you can't connect to) and that it didn't obtain an IP address from my DHCP server. Fortunately I also have a Windows 2000 computer. The software was able to see the print server from this computer and I managed to configure it to my liking, or so I thought. When I installed the print driver software I found that the name I had given the print server didn't matter - it still used the factory name when I "browsed" for it. The configuration software saw it as my given name and the driver software saw it as the factory name. The disconnect between these pieces of software is just another example of how immature the drivers and firmware are. Another example is having to browse to a subdirectory on the CD to install the driver software. The configuration software installed by autoran from the CD. The installation is not integrated. Once running it appears to do the job, if you like the name Linksys gave it! Bottom line:
o Compatibility issues with WinXP and configuration tool
o Factory configuration is very difficult to work with
o Immature installation process of the configuration tool and drivers
o Driver and configuration tool don't "see" the same settings
o Non-PostScript printer highly recommented
o Documentation is exceptionally poor
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