I ordered this device and went home on lunch to hook it up. When doing so my wireless signal went to zero. I disconnected and reconnected it twice thinking I must have done something wrong. Lo, after calling their technical support and verifying my information, this product is not compatible. Shame on Linksys.

If I could I would give this product zero stars as Linksys has made no effort to state the limited compatibility. The phone rep cheerfully told me to "Take it back to the store." Nice strategy, Linksys.

Hello Dlink!

How can Linksys get away with this? I have a $30 cordless phone that has better reception than my $300+ wireless system!

Before buying this I was having problems with signal strength. Sometimes I'd have dropouts despite there not being a great deal of interference or distance between my router and my machines.

I have to give Linksys credit: this booster *did* improve the quality of my network signal. Just not by much. I tried other positions and moving the antenna, but there really wasn't anything to write home about in the upgrade.

If this booster were about half as expensive as it's listed here (currently $81), I'd say it's almost worth the money. However, unless you're really having a lot of trouble with your network, you do a lot of file transfers from one machine to another, or you simply insist on tweaking things, you might want to pass on this product and consider waiting for a better wireless standard to upgrade to, like 802.11g.

Well, I agree, it boosted my signal.

My problem was that I live in an old building with dense walls (and maybe lead paint), so two rooms away from the router I was only getting about 15-25% signal. After I installed the booster (very easy), I'm getting 70% signal.

If you just have one access point, this is the best way to increase your signal.

But I bought the WSB24 to see if I could improve it. The installation went fine, except I found I had to push back the rubber "boots" on the antennas so that they could be screwed onto the WSB24 antenna connectors. No big deal. Installation took about 5 minutes.

With the booster, download speed was much improved, from 300-400 Mbps without the booster to around 600-700 Mbps. I don't have a laptop, so I could not tell if the range had been extended or if simply the signal quality was improved within the same range. Since the MS signal monitor still reported 4 out of 5 bars in signal strength even with the booster operating, I'd be inclined to assume the latter. That's fine with me, since two floors of coverage is more than enough range.

So, the improvement in range/signal quality, while it didn't knock my socks off, is what I expected and seems reasonable for the price. The unit stacks right on top of the router, which is a real strong point for me. It keeps things tidy. I give it 4 out of 5 stars. If it gave a little more performance it would have gotten 5, but I am happy with it.

I found a company that makes replacement antennas for Linksys routers, and bought a pair that work with the WSB24. I gave this product 3 stars because it is not being marketed properly. There needs to be a warning that this product does not work out of the box with all models of the BEFW11S4.

I emailed to Sales of Linksys asking if WSB24 can work on Version 3 of BERW11S4. The reply is as follows:
"The new Router has a very strong antennas which do not require the Signal Booster."

Problems with my house was construction. 2x6 construction with 3/4 inch drywall is a little hard for the signal to punch thru. This doesn't really extend range too much maybe 25 yds but it does give better signal strength for the area already covered.

Thought about daisy chaining another WSB24 to the one I have to see if that helps too...

Initially I set up a Linksys BEFW11S4 Cable/DSL Wireless Router, and was getting only fair reception at the periphery, about 50 feet through walls from the BEFW11S4. The WSB24 installation took less than 60 seconds It sits on top of the router -- same footprint. The signal strength improved to good to excellent at the periphery. Eight computers, both Macs & PCs, have excellent internet connections through a single router and DSL interface.

PRO: Small footprint, works as advertised, easy & fast to install.

CON: Cost, another power brick, it probably won't boost reception through walls with high interference if you don't have some reception to start with (see Tip #2, below).

Tip # 1, for router placement: Place the router as high as possible in your room or structure--it will significantly improve signal strength.

Tip # 2, It's a two-way street: The wireless adapter in each computer acts as a transmitter back to the wireless router. Poor placement of the computer or antenna results in poor reception, even with a signal booster like the WSB24. Try repositioning the computer, or get a Wireless USB Adapter (like the Linksys WUSB11), which can be placed closer to the wireless router because of its USB cable. For poor reception on a laptop with an internal wireless card, replace it with a PC slot wireless card. The antenna extends out of the PC card slot for less interference. In my experience, the best is the Cisco Aironet 350, which has 100mW of transmit power (the average laptop card has 30mW) and a diversity antenna, which aligns to the router in any postion.

I do not know if it'll work with b networks or make any difference. I just wanted folks to know that it is not and is not intended to work with 54G equipment.