| NETGEAR WGPS606 54 Mbps Wireless Print Server with 4-port Switch |
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Model: WGPS606
Brand: Netgear
Manufacturer: Netgear
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 78
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
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| Features: |
Print wirelessly and connect to more than one printer
No need to add print servers, wireless adapters, or unsightly Ethernet cables
Two USB ports and a 4-port 10/100 Ethernet Switch
Easy setup via Smart Wizard configuration assistant
Works with all standard 802.11g and 802.1b wireless routers and access points |
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| Description: |
| Would you and the other users in your network like the freedom to print wirelessly? And, to connect to more than one printer, without having to add print servers, wireless adapters, or unsightly Ethernet cables? With NETGEAR's 54 Mbps Wireless Print Server with 4-Port Switch, now you can! In seconds, you can connect two printers and four PCs to your wireless network - all with one simple device. NETGEAR's 54 Mbps Wireless Print Server has two USB ports, as well as a wireless Ethernet bridge mode with a 4-port switch. That means you can connect your computer to your high-end color printer for your business use, and send the kids' documents to your older Inkjet printer - all without wires! Best of all, more than four users can use the printer, without adding any additional wireless adapters. |
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| User Reviews (78 total): |
Page 1 2 3 4 of Total 4 Pages
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Works well, but BAD instructions, January 14, 2008
By nopcbs (Midland, MI United States)
I bought this to use to wirelessly connect my Toshiba HD-DVD player to my wireless router. Also to use with an HP 1000 inkjet USB printer. Works well for both, but installation was a huge pain because of really poor installation Wizard. It has you first establish communication with a hardwire ethernet line, then you detect your wireless network, then you immediately get an IP address conflict message because you have the same device on your network wired and wirelessly and that is a no no. Trick is to simply disconnect the hardwire ethernet, but the Wizard does not tell you this. Dumb.
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great product, January 12, 2008
By big v
i was glad to receive this item to link my ps2 to the internet. my main wireless modem is located in another room and this "wireless bridge" effectively let me connect to the internet without running wires to the other room plus it has 3 other ethernet ports to connect other computers, laptops, etc and 2 more usb ports (on top of that)to hook up 2 printers if needed. i have fairly new equipment(computer about 4 years old) so i did not have any trouble setting up this product with my computer. i love this product!!!!!!
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Unstable, January 3, 2008
By Unknown
Setting the unit up was fairly straightforward, and it printed fine to the two attached HP printers. A couple of days later, people were reporting they couldn't print. I noticed that the printer server couldn't be pinged. I power cycled it, and all was well. But this wasn't a one-time event: it locks up every one-two days. I updated to the latest firmware which didn't help. A great idea that just doesn't work.
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Pro's and Con's..., January 1, 2008
By bridgenet (Franklin, MA United States)
Have it working with a Dell Inspiron 9400 and HP Pavilion laptop, Canon Pixma Pro9000 and DLink 2XR 108G MIMO Wireless Router. Also an IP Phone to a PBX on the dedicated switch of the WGPS606. Old HP LaserJet 5P with USB/Parallel converter cable would not work.
Pro's: Works, sort of... Nice to eliminate cables and setup remote wireless access to your main wireless router.
Con's:
- Very poor documentation for people who know what they are doing. They figure simple is better but what they give you is too simple. There is a slightly better manual online but you have to go look for it.
- Would not recognize my old HP LaserJet with a parallel to USB converter on it (there should be a generic printer mode you can select) even though works fine from the laptop. Can't fault them too much on this but still should be a default generic/raw mode you can try.
- Printing is much slower over the network that via direct USB to the photo printer.
- No bidirectional support for the PRO9000, can print but not check ink status nor do any management functions.
- Must perform firmware update prior to using.
- Web interface is only for wireless setup and not print server and not documented.
Overall: If you have an older PC you can setup as a print server you will probably be better off. Nice idea of smaller space/lower cost but still needs some work.
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Perfect for Bridging LANs Physically Separated, December 29, 2007
By Caffeinated IT Developer (Allentown, PA USA)
Let me paint a picture for you - a cape cod, lots of brick, lathe and plaster. A cable modem and wireless router on the 2nd floor with a desktop hard-wired into it, a laptop wirelessly connected.
Enter the basement with a PS2, Dish receiver and XBox 360 and no feasible way to get a switch hard-wired via ethernet to the upstairs. The solution is the WGPS606, into which I plugged not a single printer but was able to attach three network appliances to my network through this outstanding wireless bridge.
I've been using Netgear products for ~10+ years now, so I bought on reputation. I won't lie, the user interface and documentation doesn't speak to the effect of bridging so much as it does the print serving. If you're comfortable with administering your own wireless router through its GUI already, then I say have at it - PERFECT for gamers or anyone else with multiple ethernet devices they don't feel like dropping ~$80 a piece on bridging equipment for separately.
Got an existing LAN you want to attach and 4 ports on this switch won't do it for you? No sweat - just add your switch to this one and make sure you've got crosstalk properly configured on your chaining port on the switch (or use a crossover cable). Just add your switch to this one and let DHCP dole out the IP's.
Gamers and broadband fans unite, this IS the bridging solution you've been looking for.
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Too many problems--unreliable, December 25, 2007
By C. F Higgins (Warrenville, Illinois United States)
I purchased this print server to work with my Canon and HP printer. After a somewhat counter-intuitive setup, I got it to work with the Canon, but it wouldn't work with the HP Laserjet 1012--which is a very common laser printer. I tried different drivers, configurations, settings, etc. The printer would either print gibberish or fail to print altogether.
The product doesn't include software to work with Apple computers, but it would be possible to set a printer up through Windows and share it out to the macs.
I returned this and bought a Linksys printer server that worked fine with the HP printer.
Unless you are very technical and want to work through a frustrating setup, avoid this one.
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No AES support - Does not work for me, December 25, 2007
By Alex N. (USA)
I have a Linksys WRT330N router which supports a mix of Wirless N and G. Unfortunately, I had to use AES encryption with WPK which is not supported by this device. I had to return the device.
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Getting it to work...ohh the fantastic Joy!, December 25, 2007
By All bets are off... (NY USA)
I will keep this simple because its taken me this long to get this working properly, thus I'm exhausted.
When I initially got the wgps606 it was twice the price but damn near the only one of its kind; that is, a wireless printer server and a ethernet wireless bridge..A truly one of kind product that if it had worked 100% from the get-go, it would have been product of the year.
2 years later I finally got this thing to work 99% of the time and man does it work.
Initially it worked beautifully with my Epson printer and Di624 router, connecting printing and such. The problem right from the get-go was that it would randomly disconnect and then hopefully reconnect at some point without having to unplug and plug back in(chronic issue with many users). It would also take time to find the network again, when it would eventually reconnect.
I used WPA security and from all the forums I read this was an issue. I doubted that however because it had worked so well in the very very beginning despite my use of the WPA. Plus, I refused to lower my security for the benefit of having this POSSIBLY work.
In any case, I have had it connected now for a year to a PS3, Dish DVR(new feature), printer and a Slingbox; and I must say it has always worked effortlessly(despite the dropping of random signal).
Approximately 1.5 months ago I spent the day(and I mean the day) trying every conceivable configuration and setting(s) that I could think of to get this to not drop signal anymore. Now it has worked flawlessly(100%) for the past 1.5 months..
I will gladly share my settings with anyone who asks here on the forums..and yes that was keeping it simple..trust me.
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setup no snap, November 17, 2007
By dip791 (keys)
Took forever to setup!!!! I have 1 mac 1 pc with vista and cd would'nt find anything!!! Buy only if you are a techie!!!!
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Very Satisfied, August 26, 2007
By Sam Clemens
This works great with HP Laserjet 1320 (already on the printer compatible list) and the Kodak Easyshare 5300 (not on ANY Netgear list). There is no bidirectional support of the Kodak printer, and you can't scan from the Kodak printer wirelessly, but printing works very well.
The setup wizard made things easy. The only setup issue I had was with a Vista computer - the firewall settings had to be adjusted.
An XP computer set-up perfectly.
This device even came with a printer cable - a nice touch when you consider many printers don't come with one.
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Just finished installing print server #2, August 19, 2007
By beanerspace (Rockville, MD USA)
Weekend projects included: finalizing kitchen tile job, mulching the garden beds, and setting a second Netgear WGPS606 Wireless Print Server connecting the upstairs printer with the downstairs computer, just as the first server connects the computer upstairs to the printer downstairs. Moreover my work laptop can now print to both even from the back porch ...
... which took some doing the first time around (as I explain in step-wise detail on HealYourChurchWebSite.com). So-much-so I almost returned the first unit out of frustration until I realized that it wasn't a faulty device, just incomplete installation instructions.
Once I got past that, it appears to me, and I could be wrong - that just about any USB 2.0 printer can be served from this device; which is what I wanted having a 5 year old laser printer and a 2 year old color printer.
I also noted that both printer servers made excellent wireless receivers, to the point I turned-off the wireless cards on my PC's and opted to connect their built-in Ethernet adapters into the servers as a means of getting to my somewhat anemic Netgear WGT624 Super G 108 Mbps Wireless Router.
Your mileage may vary - but I'm very happy - now that I've gotten over the document-induced install hurdle.
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Works Fine, July 18, 2007
By C. Wyatt (Phoenix, AZ)
+Easy to set up.
+Acts as wireless repeater.
+Supports two printer.
?Does not have bi-directional support, but then again, no print server does.
?Sometimes my printer says printing but never does. Not sure if this is the print server or the printer.
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Compatibility issues, June 13, 2007
By Crash (NJ)
This server didn't work with my HP psc 1209 so you can chalk that up to the list of printers it doesn't work with. You can get the server set up but when you try to print to it the driver for the printer just dissappears, I thought it was a Windows 2000 issue because it kept happening to my work laptop but I tried to set up my home pc that had been printing to this printer for over two years and as soon as I tried to print it uninstalled my driver. Netgear didn't give any compatibility lists.
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Printing to Canon MP780 from Mac OS X, June 5, 2007
By William R. Lanni
I was finally able to get my Canon MP780 to work using this router. It was a pain to have to set it up from my old crusty Windows machine, as I couldn't get my Intel Mac using Parallel Desktop to recognize the router (though I had NOT power cycled my wireless modem/router and this netgear, and my pc didn't work until I did that as well. You may be able to get your intel mac to work using parallel desktop). Once I had the netgear set up using my windows machine, I went into my actiontec modem/router and reserved the netgear to a specific IP address. I did NOT assign the MAC address as another reviewer had to. I downloaded the Mac OS X Tiger instructions from the Netgear website (under "other useful documents"). I began following them on my Mac. As I followed those instructions I hit a point where I had to select the printer manufacturer and printer model from a drop down. They did not exist, as it seems there are no CUPS drivers natively installed on the Mac for this printer, and you need CUPS drivers to print over a network. I downloaded and installed a free 30 day test license of CUPS drivers from www.printfab.com (49 euros or so per license at time of this review), which took seconds, and includes a built in un-installer in case it didn't work. HOWEVER... it DID work. I just printed out the Mac OS X instructions from netgear to go install this on my wife's MacBook Pro. I plan on purchasing the CUPS drivers from PrintFab as soon as this review is done.
I am pretty sure I will NOT be able to fax or scan over the wireless, but that's fine for me (if I REALLY wanted those features, I would have bought a true network Multi-Function printer for a lot more money).
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doesn't support a lot of printers, otherwise works fine, May 27, 2007
By C. Boyle (Alexandria, va United States)
Got this at Bestbuy, when I had to replace my wifi router. My HP 1020 laser printer doesn't work with it, but my Canon Pixma i4000r does. There is really no way to know if your printer is supported until you test it out. Netgear is too lazy to do the testing themselves.
The HP won't print a test page. No error message, just doesn't do anything. I have read that the bi-directional communications are the problem.
The Canon works fine from all 4 of my computers. There is an error message when the printer tries to send info to the computer. Far as I can tell, the print server doesn't support any of that info, like out-of-paper messages.
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Works as advertised, May 11, 2007
By Nicholas J. Steblay (Ramsey, MN United States)
I just intalled the WGPS606. It works fantastically as a wireless bridge and print server. Installation was straight forward and easy. I now have two printers, a Canon i950 and an HP 1210xi, accessible on the network. I had a Dell running 24 hours a day so that my family could share a printer. Now all computers will sleep in the household. I should save enough money in electricity to pay for the print server.
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Good Hardware--nonexistant support, May 10, 2007
By Gail (usa)
I never got a response from Netgear, other than canned email saying they valued me as a customer--I got about 25 of those, but newer any contact--not even on-line chat! I finally solved my problem after searching microsoft KB--Needless to say I will NOT consider another Netgear product--perhaps I have been spoiled by the excellent support from Linksys and HP.
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Great Product! Much easier to set-up than my last wireless print server, May 8, 2007
By Pinklady (Michigan, USA)
This print server was very easy to install. I bought a D-link wireless print server about 2 years ago that was a real pain to install (which later broke after a power surge). I have been putting off getting a new one because I thought that walking to the printer to plug in my USB cord was easier than installing another print server -- I was wrong.
This one couldn't have been easier to install! I would definitely recommend this print server!
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Check Printer Compatibility, May 6, 2007
By Elliot Martin (Walnut Creek, CA)
I bought this server after reading the generally positive reviews not realizing that it has huge compatibility issues with a lot of printers. [...]
They have a compatibility list and an incompatibility list. My printers were on neither and after a long tech support process learned that the printers are not compatible. They must produce this list through the experiences of customers like myself. Check the list, because a lot of state-of-the-art printers are not compatible with this print server and thus do not work at all.
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Unhappy, March 26, 2007
By D. Soffer
Product was difficult to setup and didnt come with complete instructions. Had to call tech support (India?) and after 30 min. on the phone was able to complete the installation. Unfotunately after all that work I discovered that my printer (Xerox) was one of the "few" printers not compatable with the Netgear wireless print server.
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