| 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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Average, August 6, 2005
By Leo Jereissati (Sao Paulo, SP - Brasil)
Signal is excellent and then goes to no signal and then returns to excellent in 1 minute.
should have a better performance. Maybe the wrt54gx is better......
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Satisfied Customer, August 4, 2005
By Red In CT
I am very happy with the product. The service was great! I will definately order again. Thank you for a great buying experience.
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This router is not compatible with AOL Broadband, July 30, 2005
By L. Beebe
According to both Linksys and AOL this router is not compatible with AOL broadband. Of course, I only found this out after hours and hours of talking to people who apparently did not know.
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Speed, July 29, 2005
By thetoltec (Tucson, AZ United States)
I purchased this product about a week ago and have to say that I've had absolutely no problems with either installation nor performance. I have a cable broadband connection and at a 20' distance (and through a wall and a door)the performance seems to be identical to a direct cable connection. Great product in my book!
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Major disapointment., July 28, 2005
By Celt (Arkansas)
I had high hopes for this router. I purchased mine from Radio Shack, but found that at least with Windows XP, the included software is unusable. Linksys, apparently aware that the software was problematic, offers an online "check" that would at least let you use the router, however without any benefit of encryption or protection of the included utilities. If the disc fails to load the software as mine did, you cannot access the other utilities that make using a wireless router safe. The other disapointment came when I discovered that even with the router positioned up high on a bookshelf and away from reflective walls, that it's ability to transmit and receive was at best poor to mediocre. Linksys (Link-sucks if you ask me) wants $50 more for a "+7dB Gain antenna system", which I also tried. It had absolutely NO EFFECT on improving performance.
Several calls and e-mails to Linksys yielded no solutions to the problems from their clearly inferior product and at one point I had a customer rep on the phone who could barely speak english.
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Wireless Router, July 28, 2005
By J Roach (Detroit, MI)
The router works as expected and was easy to install with the exception of an inconsistency between the Linksys installation instructions and those supplied by the computer manufacturer. One call to Linksys resolved the problem. The Linksys set-up disc, distributed with the hardware, could easily be modified to provide the instructions supplied over the telephone.
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Mediocre, July 27, 2005
By Matthieu Hausig (Brooklyn, NY)
I purchased this router along with the associated NIC cards so that I could take advantage of SpeedBooster. I had three computers sharing a wired connection in one studio but was about to move to a larger apartment where wiring would be a pain. Even in the studio the signal strength was inadequate. The computer furthest away from the router would default to my neighbor's WAP because it had a stronger signal. I also had problems in connecting between a computer that was wired into the router and a computer that connected wirelessly. Ultimately, after moving, the signal strength was simply too insufficient to create a reliable connection and I opted to run wires. As a side note, the software for the recommended NICs is very clunky especially for WEP using XP SP2. I am now using the router as a wired router only and it works fine and is very easy to configure.
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Good one, but distance-wise is probably not the best., July 24, 2005
By Honesty (Omaha, NE)
Signal strenght is excellent within the house but as soon as you get out , signal almost disapear. Closed doors probably is not a good technique with this machine. Speed is very very excellent and it works with multi-media very well. Moreover I did not use Linksys wirless card with speedbooster and yet the speed looks excellent. PcMag review recommended the use of linksys wirless card with speed booster to enhance funtionality however I did not use their recommedation.....Good luck
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Good but still seems slow (wireless side), July 22, 2005
By T. Eagan
Wired connection delivers standard 10/100 speed but can't get faster than 54 on wireless or even tell if/when the magic speed-booster is working with my wpc54gs at a range of 9 or 10 feet. Never have dropped connections but of all the wonderful security options described as available I could'nt find MAC anywhere and had to settle for wep on wireless modes.
DON'T USE THE CD, GOTO 198.162.1.1 OR LINKSYS.COM/CHECK AND USE THE ONLINE CONFIGURATION ! OR DOWNLOAD THE NETSET PKG FROM THE SITE ABOVE. Happy Trails
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Wired networks are for chumps!, July 16, 2005
By RTB
This is an awesome router, once you get it working. Using the enclosed CD did not set it up properly. I had to go to their website for support, and download a quick little program that did everything. Why that program isn't part of the included software is beyond me... I gave 4/5 stars because the setup was such a hassle.
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I've had bad luck with this company..., July 14, 2005
By M. Nikolic
Linksys products seem to be either a hit or a miss. One of my friends swears by them, and never has problems, but I've had nothing but nightmares with them.
I owned the wired 4-port router before this one, and even that one was unreliable. The connection would drop for no reason, and I would call Linksys and they would blame it on my ISP (which it wasn't). I swore that I would never buy another Linksys router, wired or otherwise, but this one was recommended to me by many people, so I took the plunge. Big mistake.
To be fair, it worked extremely well for almost 2 months. Then, all of a sudden, for no reason, the connection would sporadically drop. At first it only happened 2 or 3 times a day. Ok, no big deal, no wireless connection is perfect. But it started to get worse. As the weeks went on it would drop more and more often. And it wasn't the range; I had one computer about 5 feet away from it that would drop at the same time as the one in the basement. I tried changing it to every channel that was available, yet the same thing would happen. At it's worst, my connection dropped about 20-30 times a day; to be connected for an hour was little short of a miracle.
Then one day it simply died, out of the blue. I called Linksys tech support and was on the phone for close to 3 hours, at which point they realized that the firmware software was corrupted on the router. Their explanation was "Oh, it happens sometimes, whoopsies!" I was so fed up with Linksys that I decided to get the D-Link DI-624. So far it's been working great, let's hope it stays that way.
I don't know exactly what is up with Linksys, but their products seem to last only for a few months and then get totally fried. I have never owned one of their routers that has lasted more than 6 months. That's pretty damn annoying if you ask me, since I don't have the money to keep replacing a router every few months.
For those looking for a wireless router, it's really difficult to recommend one which works perfectly for everyone. It's sad to say, but most people will end up buying a bunch of different routers and seeing which one works best for them. Good luck everyone!
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Pretty Good, July 14, 2005
By iPod Specialist (New York City, NY, USA)
This router is a very good router, perfect for the first time networker. The installation is very easy and basic, something that i had feared after researching routers. The router is very easy to use, and is compatible with a Windows 98 computer.
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WRT54GS Model, July 5, 2005
By Jeff (Atlanta)
What version number of the WRT54GS is shipping? I heard there is a new v3 with a Broadcom chipset. Not sure if that's a better chipset or not.
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Nice upgrade., July 4, 2005
By Rheumor (New Orelans)
I had been using a Linksys 802.11b wireless router for my mixed (wired and wireless) network for the last 3 years. The old router was suffering from frequent lock-ups and required rebooting almost every week. Software upgrades helped not at all.
I decided to upgrade to 802.11g and I'm glad I did. I simply disconnected the old router and plugged this one in and presto! I was up and running. As I don't use encryption (too far from the street to be worried), setup was about a minute.
Happily, my Linksys Wireless Signal Booster (WSB24) works fine with the WRT54GS, as do my Linksys 7 dBi TNC high gain antennae.
Those devices in the house that are 802.11b-only compatible work fine. The only exception has been my Kingston wireless Internet finder, which doesn't see this network at all.
Folks around the house have noted much better speed and unexpectedly, better range. Our previous problems with stalling have vanished.
I would add that since going to a 100% Linksys system (modem too), life has been much better. I think this approach makes sense for whichever brand you prefer.
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Excellent improvement over the old 802.11b model, June 29, 2005
By Joel Ipe (East Windsor, NJ United States)
I purchased the WRT54GS, along with a SpeedBooster PCMCIA card for a laptop, after my previous Linksys 802.11b router began acting erratically. My one concern was that my Tivo was on the network using a Linksys 802.11b USB device, and this would slow down the network to 802.11b speeds, negating the entire purpose of purchasing the SpeedBooster model.
So far, it appears that while the Tivo is still working at the slower throughput, everything else is transferring data at or about 30-40Mbps. So the SpeedBooster technology will work in mixed b/g mode.
Another plus is that the web-based config interface is much improved. My favorite feature is where you can easily restrict the wireless users on your network to a specific set of MAC addresses. I can't enable WPA, since my old Tivo/802.11b network adapter doesn't support more than WEP, but restricting based on MAC address does the trick for me.
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Parental Control sevice is awesome, June 24, 2005
By Neil (Northern Virginia)
First off, spend the extra few dollars to get the WRT54GS compared to just the "G". Another reviewer said that all you get is extra memory. What he doesn't say is that the extra memory allows you to use the Linksys Parental Control software-- the "G" unit cannot support the parental features.
I can go on an on about how good a wireless router this box is, but I want to focus on the overlooked, and incredibly powerful, Linksys Parental Control (LPC) system. The first thing you should know is that the Linksys Parental Control system is an optional for-pay service. You get to try it out for 30-days for free to see if it meets your needs. After which, I think it costs something like $30 a year. Let me tell you it is worth every penny if you have young kids or worse--a teenage boy in your house.
What separates this system from others I've used is that LPC is completely ROUTER based. You don't have to install any crapware on your individual PCs. This is really the way Parental Control software should be implemented. I had a horrible experience with one PC-based parental control vendor. To make a long story short, the software during one of it's online updates completely, and I do mean completely messed up the PC in my son's room. It was no longer able to access the Internet. After weeks of daily tech support with the vendor I had to format the hard drive to remove the crapware. So, take this lesson to heart--the only surefire way to stop a teenager from accessing the Internet in an unrestricted fashion is to secure the Internet via Parental Controls thru the router (Linksys).
You really have a tremendous amount of control over what you permit your children to access. There is an online database that is updated daily with content updates. So you don't have to configure your own "black lists" and "white lists" although the software allows you to override the defaults with your own permit and deny lists. Each member of the family can have their own profile. Another feature I like is that I can also administer the system from a remote location. I log onto the LPC website and I can view reports of past and current activity and I can change settings on the fly. So if your son calls you at work and says he needs to reach Acme.com for example, you can "white list" that site from work and it immediately downloads the update to my Linksys router at home.
The reporting function is very strong. For one of my sons I want to see every site he goes to or attempts to go to. The reports allow you to do this which is very important with teenagers. Anyway, I think you get the idea. This is the absolute best method for implementing Parental Controls at home. With this router-based system it doesn't matter if someone sneaks a laptop into your house-- there is no way they can talk through your router without first signing into the LPC system.
A few negatives to keep in mind. First, everyone in the family has to "log in" to access the Internet. (But this is configurable to some extent.) Also, if the Linksys PC website goes down you are not permitted to access the Internet. You can over-ride this by disabling the LPC on the router temporarily, but it can be an issue. I've been using this for about 3-4 months now and only once was the LPC website down so it's not like it happens frequently.
Bottom line: if safe web surfing and Internet use (email, chat) are important to your family, you really should buy this router and pay for the optional Parental Control service. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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So Far So Good, May 16, 2005
By Al
I bought this yesterday and it's been running consistently at 54 Mbs with no noticeable interruptions, the setup was fairly easy as well. I'm new to Linksys and felt the need to go wireless, so I got this to go along with the wireless-G PCI adapter for my desktop and the two seem like a match made in heaven. Pretty soon I'll add a laptop in the wireless mix, but as the title says....so far so good.
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Great device., May 12, 2005
By N. Santos (USA)
It has been working flawlessly since I received it. I already had an earlier non-wireless linksys router which still working after several years. Replaced it because of need to go wireless. After reading about disconnects, reboots, pricing and poor quality on other routers decided to stick with Linksys. The company was taken over by Cisco Systems which is the premier router manufacturer in the world that is definetely a plus. Easy to set up. No reboots, disconnects or any other problem of any sort. Working with 2 wusb54gs at home. Have done backups of 23 Gigs without a problem. Recently set up a wrt54g at the rectory and connected a windows 98SE pc with a wusb54g. The priest has been very happy to be able to share the dsl connection. You can't go wrong with these products on price, features, quality and company stability. I wish you luck if you decide on another brand.
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Great Router with a Very Effective Firewall, April 13, 2005
By Rizano (New Jersey, USA)
I finally decided to jump on the wireless band wagon because I wanted to have the ability to use my laptop anywhere on my property. The router was easy to setup right out of the box. It was also easy to enable WPA encryption. WEP is also supported by this unit but WEP is much less secure. Because the router has 4 ethernet ports, you can setup a wired and wireless network to work together. You can also just use this for wireless internet access if that's all you need. Range is very good if you use this with it's partner adapter WPC54GS which also has speedbooster. You can see how good the firewall is on this unit if you test it by going to www.grc.com and using the SheildsUp program.
Whatever you do, make sure you enable some sort of encryption, either WEP or the stronger WPA. You will also need to make sure your other wireless equipment supports the type of encryption you decide to use.
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excellent IF and ONLY IF sveasoft firmware used, April 12, 2005
By join PureLoveClub.com (SoCal, USA)
Thanks largely to Cisco the WRT54GS *becomes* a great appliance when one uses the GPL licensed Sveasoft Alchemy firmware. The default firmware is so-so. Since Linksys released the firmware under GPL license the Sveasoft firmware is also GPL. This means anyone can distribute the Sveasoft firmware, and anyone can use it without paying anyone else a dime!
Google for: sveasoft individual
to get your legally free copy today!
This appliance works well as a MULTIPORT wireless bridge. Use it for your Xbox! It's waaaay better than the junk microsoft is pushing. :D
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