| Netgear WGB511 802.11g Wireless Networking Kit |
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Model: WGB511NA
Brand: Netgear
Manufacturer: Netgear
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 63
Platforms: Windows
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
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| Features: |
Kit includes both wireless router and wireless PC card for laptops
Wireless router provides basic wireless networking and up to four wired connections
Touchless WiFi Security makes securing your wireless network easy
Delivers wireless reach to your desktop anywhere in your home
Wireless laptop card provides mobile access to wireless router, office network or public hotspots |
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| Description: |
| Netgear WGB511 802.11g Wireless Kit - This wireless kit gives you everything you need to get your notebook computer up and running on an 802.11g wireless network. It includes an 802.11g router that has 4 Ethernet ports for regular wired connections, as well as a built-in firewall for online protection. The included 802.11g PC card gives your notebook the ability to access the network for wireless file transfers, printer usage or Internet access. 128-bit WEP Encryption MAC address authentication |
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| User Reviews (63 total): |
Page 1 2 3 of Total 3 Pages
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crap, September 25, 2004
By shopper
worked fine for like a week, then breaks down everyday. need to turn the router off and restart it DAILY. takes at least 10 minutes to get connected EVERY TIME! and then breaks down as often as it pleases! stay away from netgear!!!
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I replaced my old MR814 router with this WGB511 kit, September 16, 2004
By Networks and Websites (Philadelphia)
I recently purchased this router to replace the Netgear MR814 802.11b Wireless 4-Port Cable/DSL Router I had before for over a year now. The MR814 started to die on me last month - at least the wireless part is. I could be sitting next to the router and the wireless signal still says "low". I must mention that I never really turned off this router pretty much since I got it, may be the electoincs just had enough...
I really mulled over buying Linksys router as the Netgear MR814 died on me. Linksys router has two antennas and I was ondering if that somehow improves signal strength... But two things swayed my decision to Netgear - 1. Netgear has Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) and Linksys does not. 2. I also install small networks for my customers - a recent installation with the Linksys Wireless router and PC Card did not go very well - PC Card installation crapped out on my IBM Thinkpad midway. Coupled with the fact that I have experience with Netgear, I went for this one.
Installation was simple and thankfully there were not many changes to the router configuration program from my old MR814. It took just a few minutes and I was up and running. My router is in the basement (I know, I know...) and the old setup did not work on the second floor of my house, the new Wireless G works fine, though at a lower transfer rate as can be expected. Once more thing, from the pictures it may seem this router is identical in size to MR 814, it is not - the new router is much smaller - less than half the size of the old one I would say. I have enabled WEP and MAC address filtering with no trouble at all, SPI and VPN pass through work fine with default setup.
Now my boss (wife) is happy that she can browse the net from the kitchen again. If you are thinking of getting this, go for it. My wired desktop is a newer DELL and my laptop is an older IBM Thinkpad (600X), both running Windows XP Professional... Best of luck!
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Product is Fine, Support is crap, September 15, 2004
By F. Carton (Tampa Bay, FL USA)
Were it not for the horrible support Netgear provided, I would have given this product 4 maybe 5 stars. It works just fine, speed and connections are good, setup was easy enough. Just try to have 1 simple question answered by tech support and you will see why I will never purchase another Netgear product. You have to jump through some very annoying hoops just for the opportunity to struggle to be understood and understand what the person is trying to tell you(and I spoke to 3 of them, all pretty much incomprehensible,... and all of them located in India). Maybe the other brands suffer from the same outsourcing problems, but Ill just keep buying from different manufacturers till I find 1 who speaks english.
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Happy that I bought this, September 13, 2004
By Vikram Belapurkar (Hillsborough, NC United States)
I was a little skeptical about buying this kit since I have an IBM ThinkPad working on windows XP, the `so called' doomed combination as per some reviewers. But I had good experiences with other NetGear products in the past and so I decided to take this risk, and guess what? It was worth it. Setup was easy and no error code on card installation, thankfully. The range is great and speed is excellent. We have a 2 storied house and the router in on the 2nd level and still I can sit on my porch and connect to my office network. It's inexpensive (especially with the rebate) and does exactly what it's supposed to do. I don't see any reason for giving it less than 5 stars.
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Fast setup, easy configuration, September 11, 2004
By 8-tracks to 802.11 (Central Maryland, USA)
This router replaced an older Netgear 802.11b router which had served our network well. The web-based configuration utility is easier to navigate, and the signal strength and data rate were improved even with our older 802.11b adapters. One complaint: the MAC filtering option (which limits access to your network to specific physical adapters as alternative or adjunct to signal encryption) is deeply hidden, under the Advanced Wireless Settings | Setup Access List settings.
Nice small footprint, excellent price (especially with the rebate) and good functionality..
The bundled PCMCIA adapter for a laptop was up and running immedaitely on a Toshiba laptop..no issues with the computer's Windows XP SP2 upate (not true of Netgear's WG311 PCI adapter).
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A better wireless router, August 1, 2004
By A. Giacomucci (Philadelphia, PA)
I live in a congested area. For many months I have suffered with my Dell wireless router - which would lose the wireless connection quite regularly. I had come to believe that interference was unavoidable in a densely populated area with an 802.11g wireless router. It was an act of desperation that caused me to buy a new wireless router from Netgear and lo and behold - no more losing the connection.
Yet, I do not give this 5 stars. The wireless card is not Windows XP compatible and while it works on Windows XP, the interface is simply not as nice as the Dell wireless card.
But the bottom line is that this kit works reliably in my home - whereas the Dell equipment does not. That is the really important thing!
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Simple to use and hookup, July 18, 2004
By Neal (Silicon Valley, CA United States)
Let me say that I know absolutely nothing about home networking. I had dial-up for so many years because it wasn't available in my area (and I live in Silicon Valley!). When our cable company started to carry it, we signed up immediately.I found the Netgear router and card to be very easy and simple to use. I just plugged the router in, followed the instructions and off I went. The card was just as easy to set up. My desktop is running Windows XP and the laptop has Win98. The only problem I had was running the "test" button after logging into the router's setup page. After inputing the router's settings on the setup page, you're supposed to hit a "test" button to see if you're router is setup correctly. It takes you to a Netgear web page where is says you're successful and you're now protected. For me, the success web page would never appear. After surfing the Netgear web site (and several tech support articles), you have to disable any popup blockers you have. When I did that, the success page finally appeared. For research, I went to www.practicallywired.com where there's a lot of good, basic info for newbies like me. Good luck!
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Very Easy Setup--Up and Working <15 minutes, July 8, 2004
By MPP (Texas)
I have an "ancient" Windows 98SE laptop. The setup and configuration for this device could not have been simpler. I was astounded by how automatic everything was. The only problem (not Netgear's fault, really), that I encountered was that I already had a machine on my home network that I statically gave 192.168.0.1 and so there was a conflict. That was easily resolved.
I haven't had much chance to play with the security features of the router and haven't tested the range yet. So far, so good.
I was also pleased that I got a 4-port 100-Mbps switch in the deal, too. I had been thinking about retiring my 10-Mbps passive hub, and lo-and-behold the wireless router has 4 100-Mbps ports on it. How cool is that!
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Worked at first, now not., June 11, 2004
By sternforpres
Not sure what happened, but it suddenly started needing rebooting every day. With the router in place, I was getting failure to find websites, but it would suddenly find them after three or four tries...unacceptable. Also noticed huge slowdowns, even while wired, and most websites would come up incomplete. Went back to the modem with my software firewall.
I even updated firmware and reworked the settings, no luck. Would not even try support based upon the lousy reviews of Netgear support.
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Dell Inspiron 8000 Windows 2000
Got this very cheap at 53 bucks with rebate. Got it working in about an hour, because setting up the router was not quite right. Everything worked out when I added the userid and passwords and waited for the router to figure out the settings (it took about 30 seconds). The pc card would not talk from one of my slots (and I think killed it), but worked first time on the second. The router speed was also compromised if the computer was hard wired and wirelessly connected...once I removed the hard wire, the speed went back to normal. I would recommend doing some bandwidth tests on CNET to figure out what your original bandwidth is before using the router.
Did not get a stand with it, and the router runs like 110 degrees, so I think the stand would help.
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Easy setup, Great Performance, Cool Deal, May 23, 2004
By Aseem Mal (Los Angeles, CA USA)
This piece of equipment is a piece of pleasure. Took me a total of 15 minutes to set up the router and install the card on my laptop.
The 802.11g range is much more better than the 802.11b, Speed is amazing, Nice Security features. Definitely recommended A+++.
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WPA does not work for a lot of people, May 20, 2004
By Wendy E. Gauntt (SAINT LOUIS, MO USA)
I bought this combo because I wanted to upgrade my wireless network with faster speed and higher security. The speed is no problem, but the security is. After upgrading firmware on the router, I was able to configure WPA security (the best wireless security) with no trouble. The same did not hold true for the PC card...I got installation errors on the software upgrade for the card (you can't use WPA without the upgrade), and apparently for certain computers, especially those with AMD processors, the upgrade software simply doesn't work. Tech support was a big waste of time so far.If you want WPA security and you have an AMD-based laptop, you might want to think twice.
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Excellent performance, and it's now Wi-Fi certified, May 14, 2004
By unknown
Got the wireless router/PC card bundle last week. I had visited the Netgear website a couple of days before my purchase to download the latest Firmware (F/W) for my version of the router(WGR614v4) and the latest configuration s/w utility for the card (2.5).As it turned out, my router already had the latest F/W for WGR614v4. The latest F/W adds the badly needed WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) encryption protocol, since WEP is pretty useless and can be easily cracked by a determined hacker sniffing your wireless network transmissions between wireless client and the router. I set up the router, configured WPA and was good to go in about 8 minutes. I then installed the PC card s/w on my toshiba tecra laptop, plugged in the card, and set up WPA on the card. I connected my
laptop to the network with ease. In conclusion, I'm very pleased with the performance and reception I'm getting throughout my entire house.
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Great Product, May 8, 2004
By unknown
I got this earlier this week and I have it all set and running. The configuration CD has all answers that you need for advanced set up. I have WEP enabled laptop and router working smoothly. I also have a PC connected to the router. This is great value for the $65 since you are getting the highest speed, with lotsa security and it all works without any call to tech support!! I am very satisfied with this so far. Will keep posted if anything unexpected happens.
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