| Linksys WRT54GS Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster |
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Model: WRT54GS
Brand: Linksys
Manufacturer: Linksys
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 433
Operating system: Microsoft Windows 98SE/2000/ME/XP
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
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| Features: |
Internet-sharing Router, 4-port Switch, and Wireless-G (802.11g) Access Point
Protects all wireless transmissions with 128-bit encryption
New SpeedBooster technology increases wireless network performance by up to 35 percent
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) and 802.1x
Shares Internet connection and other resources with Ethernet wired, 802.11g, 802.11b, and SpeedBooster devices |
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| Description: |
| LINKSYS WRT54GS -- The Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster is really three devices in one box. First, there's the Wireless Access Point, which lets you connect Wireless-G, Wireless-B, and other performance-enhanced SpeedBooster devices to the network. There's also a built-in 4-port full-duplex 10/100 Switch to connect your wired-Ethernet devices together. Finally, the Router function ties it all together and lets your whole network share a high-speed cable or DSL Internet connection. Easy configuration with web browser based configuration utility Linksys Parental Control Service (free trial included) keeps your family safe on the Internet, setting profiles for time-of-day and day-of-week access restrictions, and controlling which of 16 content categories each family member is allowed to see Also includes email & instant messaging filters |
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| User Reviews (433 total): |
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Linksys router loses on power drop, September 21, 2005
By James M Parks (San Saba, Texas United States)
Had a power drop, likely due to lightning in the local area.
First, all the wired network settings were discovered to be missing. Sympton is intermittent notification that PC is connected to network, then not connected. Pull the power plug on the Linksys router, re-plug, and the wired network is restored.
Second, wireless network connections are gone. For this one, had to go into the router setup and re-enter the SSID name. Wireless network restored.
Will this all be necessary every time the router suffers a power dropout? Am I going to have to purchase a uninterruptable power supply to keep the router alive?
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Works great, September 21, 2005
By Eugene (Western NY)
Bought this unit to use with my new ibook-set up easy and can hook up to the internet anywhere in my house. Very pleased.
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Didn't work with my ISP even though my ISP said it should., September 17, 2005
By BC (Indiana)
After spending hours trying to connect, I finally called tech support and after spending 40 minutes with them, I was told that my ISP was incompatible. However, my ISP said that other customers could use Linksys with no problem.
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Linksys comes through, September 15, 2005
By R. Heyman (Stony Brook, NY USA)
I had mixed experiences with this router. The wireless on first one that arrived didn't work. I quickly got through to technical support, who were methodical and considerate. After about 45 min of attempted fixes, the rep diagnosed that the wireless portion of the router was defective. I went to a local store, bought a new one, and it took literally less than 1 minute to hook up before it was working. I am pleased with the speed and range of this device. So I give the product 5 stars and give Linksys' tech support 5 stars.
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Really good choice, September 11, 2005
By mlaino (Bogota D.C., Colombia)
It works like a charm. Since I bought it I've had to turn it off and on again just one time (but only because of a power outage). I have 3 PCs connected (one wireless) and my slim PS2, and all of them work perfect! Several of my friends also have it and nobody has complained about a single thing so far.
BUT if you don't have another device with the "Speed Booster" option, you just might want to consider buying the WRT54G that should work just as good as this one (and save a few bucks in the process)...
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One of the best routers available, September 9, 2005
By speed demon (Los Angeles, CA)
I had a Motorola WR850G which broke down after 3 months of use, which then was replaced by a D-Link 524. The 1st D-Link router was inconsistent and kept dropping off packets and lose connection. I got it replaced for another D-Link 524 and guess what... broke down again. Tried a NetGear, it wouldn't work properly with my Mac. At last I got this.... Amazing result, signal power is excellent, speed is excellent, and very reliable! It has been 2 months straight without a single glitch!!!
If you have the option of buying a Linksys router, don't think twice, it make a huge difference! Glad I made the switch...
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Cheap, reliable, and a good performer., September 8, 2005
By Mojo (Charlotte, NC USA)
I've worked in IT and networking for more than ten years. It was not that long ago that a router with these features was only available from Cisco or 3Com for many times this price, and was much more difficult to set up. (Cisco has since acquired Linksys, but has thankfully resisted the temptation to mess up the design or jack up the price.)
The WRT54GS is easy enough for computer novices to set up, yet offers enough options for experienced users or moderate-sized networks that might need special considerations. Linksys was one of the first to use a simple web interface for setup, so no arcane "programming" is necessary.
Range of the wireless signal is good. As with any wireless network, the effectiveness will depend on the quality of the receivers and the building's construction, but I have been able to get a usable signal at my next-door neighbor's house. Keep this in mind when you set it up, and secure your network with the provided encription, or else you might leave it open to unwanted users.
This little router is perfect for wireless home networks, but is capable of serving a small business very well, too. Either way, it provides reliable performance, and doesn't take a network engineer to install and maintain it.
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Noticably Faster, September 8, 2005
By Bill Burns
than other routers I have used. Linksys seems to have the corner on high performance in this price range. Very easy to install, much easier than earlier routers they produced.
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liksys router wrt54gs, September 5, 2005
By Mark Maidwell
this router works very well. after reading what others said i took it out of the box and then first went to the linksys site to download the quick router connect.. dont use the enclosed cd. working well so far.
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Great Router, September 1, 2005
By Christopher (Brooklyn, NY USA)
I got this router nearly 2 months ago and I wrote a good review about the router and that isnt going to change but I had to add something so I deleted my original review so I can add this I had a router before this the D-Link DI-604 a great wired router and when I got this router I had tech support walk me through wiring the Wireless Linksys router into my older D-Link DI-604 wired router and I though it would save me alot of re-wiring and changing of settings and I was right for a few hours until I tried to play online video games on one of my computers that was wired into the Linksys router. There was something wrong with the wired D-Link DI-604 firewall and I couldnt adjust it correctly and it still doesnt make sense why after all the years of playing online games over it without problem it would suddenly just start causing me problems. So I called them back up, totally disconnected my D-Link router, wired all my other wired computers into it, set up my laptop to work with it through the router wireless and adjusted the routers settings and it worked. Now I can play video games on any computer thanks to the features on the router and I use my laptop from the basement and other areas that are fairly far from my router. My router being on my top floor. I can even use my PSP on it and its compatible with Xbox live. I also plan to use the WIFI feature even on more things when I get my Xbox 360 which uses WIFI. Anyway I never had a dropped signal or any other problem since I re-wired everything into the Linksys router. Signal loss was my biggest worry when I made the switch from wired to wireless since I had no experience with wireless routers before this one but thankfully this router hasnt let me down. The people that complain probably didn't have the router setup properly, had a defective router, a wireless card that sucked or was defective or due to the distance or materials of their house affected the signal to the point where they kept on getting dropped or had a weak signal or poor distance. But I seen these devices that your suppose to setup inbetween your router and laptop or other devices that extends the range of the router and those people might want to invest in those or those bigger antenna's since that might fix the problem. Anyway great product and in the future I will consider other Linksys products for my networking needs. Also I decided to get this router due to many good reviews found on this website since I review many things before buying them but I wish I got it from the website instead of Best Buy because the prices are better but the thing is I wanted the router right then and there so I could set it up as soon as I got my laptop home. If you consider buying anything this website is a great place for researching and buying the item.
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Dropped signals, August 30, 2005
By L. Chang (California)
After spending 30 minutes to set up, its range was very short and dropped signal in the bedrooms. After setting up a second time, the same problems. I was told Linksys has quality problems out-of-the box since the Cisco acquisition. I returned the unit and bought a Belkin wireless router. It worked the first time and the range was much longer and the singal was twice as strong.
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Much better than-Link. This one works perfectly, August 29, 2005
By auart (Auburn, Alabama USA)
I bought the dlink brand and had trouble with it keeping connections... I exchanged it for this model and it installs easy and works perfectly with two desktops wired to it and one laptop wireless!!
This is the best!
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Works great, but update that firmware!!!, August 26, 2005
By Deborah Brooks (Pittsburgh, PA)
I've had this router for a little while now, and have had no problems. Setup was easy, I get pretty good range in an old brick house, and I like all of the new security features available with it...
On that note, make SURE you go to the linksys website and download the new firmware. There is a serious security issue with the version that is shipped (version 4.50.6) which allows wireless clients that are not using any encryption to access the wireless network even when WPA Personal/TKIP wireless security setting has been enabled. They fixed the issue with firmware version 4.70.6.
(see the documentation that comes with the router for more info on how to update the firmware)
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Good product but......., August 15, 2005
By Dutchman (North Carolina)
Product works well after installation but not easy to install on windows other than XP. They don't mention their install website. www.linksys.com/easy to make non-XP installations. Watch the encription selection and how many letters your pass code has. It makes a difference. Signal from one room to another is low, but does work well.
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Nice product Great Performance, August 12, 2005
By Dr. R. G. Love
Excellent router. Wireless network in the house works nicely using the range expanders.
Still having trouble with the AOL browser on the hardwired machine. The wireless laptops don't seem to have the same hang problem with browsing that the central CPU does.
The Linksys folks tried hard with support to resolve it but they claim it is in the AOL software. This is something the AWOL folks deny again and again and again.
I'd get this router for any of my network designs. Good luck
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Weak sign, August 12, 2005
By Antonio Grassano
Excellent equipment, but the sign it is necessary to improve her with an additional antenna
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Best wireless router for the price, August 11, 2005
By eau (USA)
I have the Linksys WRT54GS router for a year now and it's been working very well. It offers a wealth of security features such as WEP, WPA-PSK using TKIP or AES, MAC address filtering and the ability to disable SSID broadcast. It's been running solid without the need to reset it for any reason and it recovers itself even after a power failure.
Setup is a breeze. Just make sure to follow the security guideline that comes in the box - changing the admin password, SSID, WEP or WPA, etc. The newer versions of the firmware allow the configuration to be saved in the file, which can be loaded later to restore the saved settings. It is a good idea to go to linksys website and check for the latest firmware.
I'm very glad that bought the WRT54GS router and I am using WPC54GS and WUSB54GS with it with very good results.
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Reliable router., August 9, 2005
By A. Steinman
I replaced a D-Link DI-524 with this one to improve distance and reliability. The Linksys did both. The Parent Control feature would not allow Tivo to access the internet via wireless adapter.
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Linksys WRT54gs wireless router, August 9, 2005
By Not a techie (California)
I am not a "techie" so I don't know the range of choices on the market but I would research a more powerful router before buying this one again. If there is a wireless phone, a microwave, etc. in the vacinity it doesn't work. The tech support is extremely spotty and it took approximately 8 calls to set up the system for two computers. Only one support person realized that my Windows system was in conflict with their software and helped me circumvent the problem. This was after multiple calls and several hours of frustration. Yuk!
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Linksys rocks, August 6, 2005
By Erik G. Peterson
Now that is powered with cisco it is a very good product and cheap
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