| NETGEAR WG302 ProSafe 802.11g Wireless Access Point |
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Model: WG302NA
Brand: Netgear
Manufacturer: Netgear
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 8
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
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| Features: |
High-speed networking with IEEE 802.11g
Powerful RF management and control with AutoCell technology
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) security support
Wireless Distribution System supports bridging and repeater modes
Two detachable 5 dBi antennas |
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| Description: |
| NETGEAR's ProSafe 802.11g Wireless Access Point sets the standard for next-generation high performance, secure, manageable, reliable wireless local area networks (WLANs). This powerful device provides the ultimate in continuous industry-standard 54 Mbps access to corporate network resources, e-mail, and the Internet for a wireless workforce. Fully compatible with IEEE 802.11g (2.4 GHz), it also can be set for dynamic 108 Mbps 802.11g. In addition, it is backward compatible to preserve your 802.11b-based investments, providing a migration path to higher performance networking. Wireless Distribution System (WDS) supplies wireless point-to-point bridging, point-to-multipoint bridging, and repeater functionality for deployment over large areas. Advanced security features include up to 152-bit Wireless Encryption Protocol (WEP) data encryption, Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), 802.1x and Virtual Private Network (VPN) pass-through support, and Medium Access Control (MAC) address filtering. NETGEAR ProSafe Wireless Access Point is rated for plenum air spaces. |
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| User Reviews (8 total): |
Page 1 of Total 1 Pages
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Good, reliable, sturdy wireless option., March 8, 2008
By tela (UT, USA)
Not quite sure why the other reviewers had so many issues. I have no formal training in wireless networks and had no real problems with the access points themselves. Maybe because I didn't use WPA. I used two of these AP's to bridge two apartment buildings and several apartments connecting a total of somewhere around 16 PC's. The only issue I had was one of the power supplies was bad on arrival.
These units have removable antennas so you can add larger antennas or even amplifiers.
I used one of these AP's with the Netgear ANT24D18 which even though I got a good deal was a slightly expensive option. The other I used with a much cheaper (live and learn) rooftop antenna that looks more like a microwave antenna. I attached the Netgear antenna to the access point on a balcony of the apartment building across the street. Total distance between the antennas was probably only 300 feet.
Once I aligned the signal of the two antennas, the signal quality was outstanding. Both AP's connected at turbo '108 mbps' speed. I was able to easily watch a streaming video from one computer in one building to a computer in the other. We also played LAN video games between buildings with no issues.
Because of the remote outdoor locations of one of the AP's (in a waterproof box but still exposed to extreme temperatures and humidity) and a shortage of expensive antenna wire, I ran the power over two of the unused ethernet wires and still had zero issues and rarely lost packets. The only issue I had was during severe windstorms that would misalign the antennas which would lower signal quality and strength. Oh, also the connection between the two AP's was WEP encrypted 152 bit. I also had another AP (DLink) running at the same time and had no interference issues. The Dlink however has it's own set of issues, big surprise though. Quality-wise Netgear has always been above DLink and Linksys for me. A Linksys AP I use at work can barely transmit through one wall without dropping signal like crazy.
The only other bad thing I can say is that in a very, very quiet room, sometimes you can hear a tiny buzz from the AP.
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They work well for me, January 14, 2008
By Veijones (Utah)
I have six of these installed in my main office and three outdoors to connect several buildings. I'm not sure why the other reviews are so negative. On the indoor six units I'm running RADIUS authentication on a Windows 2003 network and it works flawlessly. I've had to adjust the power output for each unit so they don't over-reach. Users can roam the building and stay connected with no problems. The outdoor units are running in AP/Bridge mode and have been trouble-free. I'm not convinced the external 9db antenna really adds much more range. Be sure you're using the latest firmware which resolves a DHCP error.
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Warning - Unstable Product, May 12, 2007
By Nicholas J. Steblay (Ramsey, MN United States)
I bought two of these for my church. I struggled with these products for 4 months before finally convincing the VAR to let me return them. There are severe bugs in the firmware and possibly the hardware. I went through 4 RMAs with Netgear before giving up on the product. Technical support was great but engineering just couldn't come through with a fix. Look at the forums before purchasing to make sure that the issues have been addressed.
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Mistake!, March 7, 2007
By E. Duncan (Knoxville, TN United States)
I purchased two of these units in December. This model seems to randomly stop routing traffic to the internet on random wireless attached computers (local network is fine). Three months later and numerous emails and phone calls to Netgear they sent me a replacement; SAME issues with the new model! Not all Netgear products are bad, this one is. Don't ever try to work with Netgear support, just not worth the stress.
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Not worth it, February 8, 2007
By Ed (San Francisco, CA)
Just about the only thing good about this unit is how easy it is to setup.
This AP is not worth paying extra for. I have personally demoted this "business class" AP to home use...which sadly doesn't even perform well in such conditions where multiple wireless stations are present in the environment (as with all multi-dwelling unit/condos)...even when it is literally less than 20 ft away. Contant constant connect/disconnects make it extremely unreliable.
The "auto-cell" feature, which was a major reason for purchase, is deprecated. New firmware doesn't even have it (non-existent in the v2 release of this product).
I'm not saying this unit doesn't work, it does, but it offers nothing more than a standard AP costing much much less. There are some features such as VLANs and maybe if that's a key requirement, then it can work for you (v2 models).
However, if you're looking for performance/reliability basics in "harsh" environments, you will do just as good, or poorly, with any other "standard" home use AP.
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works, but lots of trial and error due to poor documentation, May 18, 2006
By P. Edstrom (Cottage Grove, MN USA)
Got 2 of these to make a local area network between myself and neighbor down the street. We have what I think is a fairly simple network (router to ap to remote ap), and between the awful documentation, terible support (besides language issues, they just won't answer the questions you ask), and a web interface issues, I am quite disappointed. 2 stars because it took my friend (a guy with multiple network certifications), and myself (with a bs in computer science), many evenings to get it to work. Would have done 1 star if we never got it working. Even now, we don't have the house-to-house thing inplace due to needing a better antenna. My advise: go straght to the forums for support if you can't get it working on the first 10 tries. This might be a good piece of harware, but without good software and good support, it is not worth buying.
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This unit is terrible, February 23, 2005
By Andy Choi
I've concluded that while they advertise heavily that this unit supports WPA-Enterprise with RADIUS, it does not. It doesn't even support WPA-Personal. Netgear says it has something to do with TKIP.
Further, Netgear has the cheapest tech support for product that is at least somewhat known.
Therefore, they sell you something full of lies and they don't provide support worth squat. I even tried "level 2" support and they weren't able to help me.
Don't waste your money on this unit.
I'm getting ready file a suit in civil court to recoup my loses from this product. (about a week and half from writing this review)
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Poor setup, terrible support, good range, February 19, 2005
By J. Macfarlane (California)
I purchased 3 of these APs with the expectation to replace 3 Cisco "b" APs and drop in. The setup used Radius for authentication which is claimed to be supported in both the online info and docs. After config (the web UI constantly has problems with cookies and forced you to re-login) the system would work. One quark was the IP address field for the radius server wouldn't accept more than one character in the forms. Up and running. However, upon reboot, the WG302 loses it Radius info and then cannot authenticate a client again. SHOWSTOPPER. After logging this with Netgear support - their response is this is an unsupported config and requires premium support. While this would be fine if it was a config issue, it's not ok given they claim support for these features and this was a required feature for purchase. They give no further support now.
I would HIGHLY recommend against the extra cost of this unit given it's buggy and has poor support. Config is difficult (I had to learn how to use the command line config), the upgrades are not well documented (they imply you have to import some obscure file with tftp - you don't but...), however the unit does have good range and works (No RADIUS of course) in a basic config.
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