I am giving it 4 starts because I would like to have the option to add an external antenna to be able to get a better range.

Besides that, it's great!

The unit is of decent quality and a very sleek design. It is a little larger than I thought, being very thin at the expense of width and length. Good thing that it comes with a vertical stand, or else it will take quite a bit of desktop space. Set-up was quite easy, and it starts working without much effort for both my PC and Macs on the network.

The unit worked well, until I noticed that the port forwarding feature did not seem work reliably. It only provides for TCP connection forwarding, and thre are no forwarding provided for UDP connections. There are quite a few applicartions I use that seem to use UDP ports, and those will never work. Even the TCP port forwarding sometimes failed to enable applications to work through its "firewall". Applications that are widely available that had not worked well: Yahoo messenger with video resetting once in a while, and MSN messenger's/Netmeeting conferencing features all but ceased to function. Even setting the computer to a default DMZ did not solve the problem. The unreliable and sometimes apparent non-existant port forwarding forced me to remove the router in the chain of connection. This has been nothing but headache, and I am typing this sans the router.

I hate to bash on a product, and I am trying hard not to. However, I am just an average consumer without professional demands, and the router comes short even for my needs. I do not know what else is missing, but the lack of UDP forwarding feature and the sometimes unreliable TCP forwarding seems like a grave issue, as it effectively eroded my computing experience. I don't think it would cost much more to implement such features, and it would have been a real winner with such a low price and pleasing design. As of now, I'm looking for something that has more network settings. MR814's controls are pretty bare, and while it may have been good at stifling confusion, it also meant trouble with connections for me.

1. The install is pretty simple. It's ready to roll once you have your DSL hooked up. Basically, plug in all the cables and get ready to set up the details.
2. The only challenge I had was when the internet page starts up on the netgear support page. There you set up your encryption settings if you want to. I expected a utility on my desktop to run, but that is not the case.
3. Every now and then I have to unplug the router because my DSL gets interrupted but the router always works.
4. I use the MA401 Wireless card for a WIndows 2000 laptop and it works excellent. It started to pull down the internet before I even installed it. That simple. I recommend both products.
5. You must keep the router in a good location. I had it hidden behind my PC and that did not generate a good signal. Just experiment.
6. The router does get somewhat hot, so keep it in a place not in the sunlight, but not underneath something.

gave up. bought linksys. plugged it in and it worked. no configuration. linksys interface is slightly better. still no idea on why the netgear router gave me so much trouble.

bottom line:
linksys---up and running as soon as i plugged it in
netgear---2 days and i gave up, tech support no help

So... the product works great but remember to connect to it via ethernet first and update the firmware available on Netgear's site. Then it will work flawlessly with great range and speed.

I gave it 3 stars because of the problems it gave me during installation, but it works great once you finally set it up.

So, compared to the Linksys router, the Netgear is definitely lacking. The range on this router also does not seem as good as I what I had with the older Linksys router.

Needless to say, neither Dell nor Netgear have been at all helpful, and it seems this problem cannot be resolved. And, as was the other reviewer's experience, I found this out too late to return the router. Do some due diligence beforehand and you will be pleased with this product, otherwise you may be stuck with a cool-looking paperweight.

I say this because the NAT is braindead. I happen to run a Virtual Hosted web server behind the router. The router can't handle it (refuses the connection immediately), you have to use a public web proxy or muck up DNS just to see your own site ! Netgear support confirmed this problem but have been dead silent since I asked them when they intend to fix it. Likely they do not.

If you can get this router cheap and are strapped for cash, go for it, but be prepared for troubles if you ever want to run a public server through it. If you're looking for reliable home networking products without any misfeatures, stick with Linksys. There's a reason Netgear is giving rebates and the retail stores are dumping inventory. It's an also-ran.

I was attracted to Netgear by the rebate, and now I regret it. I should have bought a Linksys wireless router/AP instead, I think.

My wifi-ready laptop is about 50 feet away from the Netgear router. There are about 4 walls in between, and reception is poor. About 20% of the time it's fair, 30% of the time poor, and 50% of the time (when I try to use Internet) it's unavailable. This performance is just not acceptable.

The manual set is also poorly written. You get two pieces of printed materials: a confusing starter sheet, and an ISP information sheet. Get this: on the printed "get started" sheet it asks you to refer to the manual on the CD-ROM before you should turn your PC back on! What kind of genius wrote this? Luckily I'm a techie so I had no trouble deciphering the non-English guide.

The router's major strength is its cool design, but its poor signal strength means you should probably go with a more established brand like Linksys or D-Link.

The first thing I noticed out of the box was its unusual shape. It's not nearly as elegant or simple as my old AirPort, but the large slab is better looking than most routers. It includes a nice prop stand to set it on its side.

Setup was a breeze. Mac OS X automatically recognized the new router and connected me to the internet. I didn't even have to use the web interface, but I poked around for a while and it's not glamourous but it certainly gets the job done.

With a built-in 4-port LAN router and an amplified antenna, the Netgear is a strong performer. The range is significantly better than my AirPort of yesteryear, and speed is up to par. The MR814 has a large memory buffer and fast processor to keep data pumping without delay.

All in all, I'm very happy with my purchase. It was inexpensive, yet powerful and easy to set-up. My only negative comments are its large size and the silly mail-in rebate system. Otherwise, I wholeheartedly reccomend this system.

I used it for cable connection. It works perfectly, didn't have a single problem.

My friend uses it for DSL. I have configured it for him. Since DSL goes through a connection process (which is not as simple as cable), there's a need for the router to be robust enough to recover from temporary problems, instruct the DSL modem to re-connect, and re-configure the connection properly. This router performs very poorly in that environment, and must be recycled regularly in order to recover. If you have DSL, this router is not the right product for you.