| Linksys WUSB11 Wireless-B USB Network Adapter v4 |
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Model: WUSBF54G
Brand: Linksys
Manufacturer: Linksys
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 368
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: Windows
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: IEEE 802.11b
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| Features: |
Product Type - Adapter
Warranty - 3 Years Limited
Transmitted Power - 18dBm (Typical)11Mbps, 16dBm (Typical)54Mbps
Receive Sensitivity - -84dBm (Typical)11Mbps, -73dBm (Typical)54Mbps |
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| Description: |
| If you've been searching for an easy way to integrate any PC or laptop into your wireless network, you'll find just the solution with the Instant Wireless USB Network Adapter. The Plug-and-Play Wireless USB Network Adapter connects directly to any USB-ready PC - just plug it in and you're ready to share data, printers, or high speed Internet access over your existing wireless network. For desktop installation, you don't even have to open your PC's case. And user-friendly software makes it simple to set up. Not only is the Instant Wireless USB Network Adapter easy to install and use, it's also powerful. You can send and receive data at speeds up to 11Mbps and a new higher-powered antenna provides greater ranges than ever. The increased sensitivity helps filter out interference and "noise" to keep your signal clear. Improved error correction keeps you operating at higher transmission rates over longer distances. It's also versatile. Need to use it temporarily on another PC? No problem. Plug it into the USB port, set it up, and you're ready to go. So for full desktop and notebook PC flexibility and wireless convenience, the Instant Wireless USB Network Adapter provides an all-in-one solution! |
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| User Reviews (368 total): |
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Works great with my XP computer, October 5, 2003
By J. Strong (Lindenhurst, IL United States)
I have the WUSB11 (v2.8) on a XP Home v5.1 machine in the basement of our house (533 Mhz, 512 mb ram). The other computer connected to the Linksys BEFW11S4 router on the 2nd floor is also on XP. The WUSB11 replaced a Microsoft MN-510 USB wireless adapter, which I decided to swap out since I changed my router to Linksys and I'd heard that the Linksys wireless USB adapter had better range than Microsoft. The MN-510 worked fine, i was just hoping for better speed.So I detached the MN-510 and uninstalled its software. I then followed the directions that came with the WUSB11, including setting up all the network parameters like SSID, workgroup, etc. It worked. I haven't experienced the problems other XP users have reported. It immediately did what it was supposed to, and has ever since I installed it. I don't know if the range is any greater, but the signal quality is definitely better. With the MN-510/BEFW11S4 combination the best download speeds via wireless I got were about 70% of what the computer connected directly to the router was getting. With the WUSB11 instead of the MN-510, I can get better than 90%! And that's through 2 floors and a wall or two. Works great, quick install, couldn't ask for more.
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WHY NOT MUTI FREQ, September 30, 2003
By unknown
THIS IS A GOOD PRODUCT BUT YOU NEED TWO OR MORE FOR IT TO WORK . THEY SHOULD MAKE A PACKAGE DEAL LIKE FOR 4 OR MORE SO YOU CAN CONNECT TO MORE THEN ONE COMPUTER.
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not working on XP, 2000, 98SE, September 25, 2003
By unknown
i tried to install this USB wireless adapter, but i could not make it. i exactly followed the instruction, and also tried installation on many different machines (Compaq "new" presario w/ windows XP, eMachines celeron old one-win98, and Intel-MB w/P4-win2000pro i assembled). After following all steps in the instruction, i plugged in the USB cable, but no machine acknowleged this device. But this device is cute, so use it as a toy. I recommend d-Link USB adapter(it works fine.)
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Good connectivity, good product, September 10, 2003
By generichal (Houston)
I recently bought the wireless G router but didn't buy any cards for my laptop or desktop. I borrowed a laptop card to test the range in various rooms and was pretty dissapointed. I finally bought this USB device and the difference was huge - great signal everywhere, even the garage. I installed it on a desktop running Win98, laptop running XP Pro, and another XP box that had beed upgraded from 98 and it works fine in all cases. Installation wasn't supersmooth, but mostly it was my inexperience - once I did one, the others were quick. Updating the firmware to the router and downloading the latest drivers were key steps. Setting the adapter device properties in control panel takes some writing down of router settings first, but it's pretty straightforward. Very happy with performance to date.
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Did Not Work, September 9, 2003
By unknown
I was attempting to set up a desktop comptuer running Windows XP in a room separate from my office. I originally bought the Linksys PCI adapter and it never installed properly. After 6 hours on the phone with text support and 2 PCI units, I was recommended to try this unit by a sales person at the store. I brought this home and installed it. It was very simple to install and detected my router. However, it would not connect to my router. After another 3 hour with text support (who were clueless people and had very poor customer service) with this unit, I decided to return the WUSB11 and decided that maybe wireless was not going to work with this particular computer and decide to go with the Netgear XE102 Powerline Adapter. Which, I highly recommend if you are setting up a desktop or a computer that does not need to be mobile. Linksys puts out poor products and equally poor customer service. I will never buy another Linksys product if I do not have to.
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Very small, works fine, September 5, 2003
By tomjordahl (Arlington, MA United States)
This adapter is smaller that I thought it would be. I am using it for my Tivo DVR and it seems to be working fine.I had some trouble with the initial setup, as Tivo (and my Win XP laptop) refused to recognize the device at first. But (and I know this sounds crazy) when I *reversed the included USB cable* everything worked like a charm. I know this sounds crazy, but what can I say. With a ten dollar rebate, this is a good value for the price.
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Check the Cable!, September 5, 2003
By unknown
I am using this with Windows XP and a Linksys wireless router. The adapter works great, as long as you connect it properly. What Linksys doesn't tell you is that you have to push the USB cable into the adapter until it CLICKS. If you don't hear a click, the computer will not recognize it. Calling Linksys tech support won't resolve this problem either. They'll tell you it's dead and to send it back. But trust me, just push until it clicks.
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it works, September 3, 2003
By Charles A. Cooper (Jacksonville, Florida USA)
This adapter works very well, after a very simple installation process. (I am running Win2K. Results might be different for other operating systems.) I really like the software monitor that comes with this item, which allows you to visually locate and select the access point. Nices adapter, painless setup.
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Not XP compatible, buyer beware!, September 1, 2003
By Jon Doe
I grudgingly use Linksys Instant Wireless series products for my wireless b/g network. This adapter worked fine on my Dell Inspiron laptop running Me, but that was not the computer I purchased it for. The whole point of a USB adapter is to be able to easily move from one machine to another. With different operating systems and this adapter, that is impossible. And Linksys' "tech support," don't even get me started on that nightmare...
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XP, August 30, 2003
By unknown
won't work with Windows XP
installs on 2000 pro without any problems
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DOA--practically from day one, August 30, 2003
By Michael Sturgeon (Portland, Oregon United States)
This adapter was great when I first got it and installed it. However, after about 2-3 months, I started having problems with it. Imperceptibly, I started getting slower and slower connections to the Internet--especially when switching pages. We tried everything: moving and relocating the wireless router and the wireless adapter, changing channels. You name it, whatever Linksys asked me to try, I tried. Soemtimes the problem seemed to go away for a brief while but it always returned.Tech support was superb when it came to giving advice trying to fix the problem. Tech support was NOT superb when it came to recongizing (or at least advising me) that I might have an intermittent problem and/or a failing unit. After thinking I had a OS problem (Win 98 SE) or software conflicts, I finally re-formatted my hard drive and installed Win XP. In the taskbar, Win XP showed me that my adapter had excellent signal strength but it alternated in also showing me that a "Network Connection is not available". The tech representative today first advised me that that means I have a defective unit and the symptoms I was describing were classic "defective unit". And guess what? I think that I'm now just out of the warranty period. Long and the short of it: If you experience ANY problems with this product, insist on an RMA IMMEDIATELY. Don't assume that the problem is OS-related or "signal strength" related or being caused by an RF signal conflict or is being caused by a popular web site's server is being overloaded with viewer requests. I'm very disappointed in my experience with this product and the Linksys support since it was obvious from the start that I probably had a defective unit and Linksys did not suggest an RMA anyway along the way.
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Good Product, August 25, 2003
By gara56 (Colorado)
I just bought my second WUSB11 (ver 2.6) network adapter becuase the first installed without any problems on a Windows XP machine. The second will also be installed on Windows XP machine. The only issue you really have to worry about it using XP to load the drivers for the adapter. The instructions actually tell you not to use XP to recognize the hardware. If you do, you have to make sure you use the drivers provided by the CD and the ones from XP. Once you've loaded the drivers, I made sure the eithernet card and modem were disabled (to avoid any unexpected conflicts with XP) and the security features set up. I Made sure my wireless router (WRT54G) was broadcasting and the adapter so it quickly. I consistently had excellent connection status from the adapter. The tricky part is making sure you actually have a connection with your router before trying to play with the security settings. The WEP security setting can also be tricky because you force the user to put in the access code to access the network. Many people don't play with it because its more trouble than it's worth. I also found that the adapter works even after I have gone back to my router and disabled the SSID broadcast. I went ahead and added the adapter's MAC ID to my router so it could recognize the computer when it tried to access the network. The only thing I have to figure out is out to allow the computer (with the adapter) to access my network without having to broadcast the router's SSID.
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Connection Losses, August 24, 2003
By unknown
Every 5 minutes or so, the connection just ends and starts. It works as advertise but these disconnections are annoying, i cannot download anything at all. Does the same for all my friends.
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Seamless, August 24, 2003
By unknown
I had this adapter installed in about 10-15 minutes and after testing for speed on the net, found it just a tinch slower than my wired connection downstairs. I pull in about 1.6 mbts downstairs (wired to wireless router) and I'm pulling in about 1.4 mbts upstairs (distance about 80 feet). I recommend it highly.
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Excellent and easy for windows users, August 19, 2003
By computer nerd (Kelseyville, CA USA)
The Linksys WUSB11 is a singularly unassuming-looking device, but it actually works very well. Since it is not a USB 2.0 device, even if you get an 11Mbps connection - unlikely if you have even one wall between you and the AP, even a Linksys AP like the WAP11 - you will not be able to fully exploit that connection. On significantly older systems, like my K6/2 300MHz test system, the connection is quite slow, as the machine just can't quite keep up with the load from the USB controller.
On my Windows 98 and XP systems the device worked quite well, but I had only limited success with the device under linux. The primary driver does not play well with SMP, so those users with SMP turned on in the kernel for whatever reason will not be able to use it. The alternate driver does not support most of the extended status information, and as such is not able to roam well between APs.
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USB Flexibility, August 18, 2003
By unknown
I use it on both my desktop and my laptop. Its nice because you can move the antenna around to get better signal strength...which can't necessarily be done with a PCMCIA card. The plastic antenna arm recently broke at the hinge, though. It still works, but its hanging by the antenna wire.
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A cheap and quick way to take your desktop wireless., August 12, 2003
By F. A. Soares (Modesto, Ca USA)
I bought one of these for my neighbor so he could connect to my DSL and I was very pleasantly surprised how well it worked. Since he was using Windows XP the setup was completely configuration free. Just plug it in and Windows does the rest. As for the range it was going past 4 walls and a breeze way; 3 apartments down with barely a loss of signal strength. I would seriously recommend it.
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no problems here, but..., August 3, 2003
By Ara Anjargolian (Glendale, CA USA)
I had to set this up work with one Windows 98 PC via wire, and a Windows XP Laptop, via wireless card.
It all worked probably within 20 minutes, and my laptop gets very good reception clear across the house.
4 stars though because the manual/setup guide is very sparse and so any problems and you pretty much need to try different things until it all works, or struggle through technical support calls.
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Not Compatible, July 28, 2003
By joshua_pan (Philadelphia, Pa United States)
Linksys is a famous company in the network world. They have good routers, good wireless pc cards, but.. This product is a very good choice if you want to use it with windows 2000, me, or so. If you have Xp or 2003 server on your computer, then you got a problem. This product is born to be incompatible with windows xp. I bought this product recently and it used to work fine with my Windows ME. Last week, I upgraded my system to xp, and my problems started to show up! This product shuts down the whole network down. I had to turn off my Netgear router and restart it again in order to get any kind of connection! I did it over 20 times.I thought My router was something wrong with it so I replaced it with Microsoft's one. But the problem still remains. So I changed this one, and my network is working like a charm. Be ware! If you have Linux or Solaris on your machine, look somewhere else. This product is good(?) if you have win2000 or Me. If You are Using Windows Xp or Linux or Mac OS you better forget about this one, and buy a more flexible one! I personally recommend Microsoft Product Mn100 and so for Windows users.
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TiVo Issue Resolved, July 27, 2003
By unknown
If you plan to connect your Sony SVR-3000 TiVo - please be warned and save yourself the frustration I went through - replace the cable that comes with the adapter - IT DOESN'T WORK!
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