| Netgear WGR614 Wireless-G Router |
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Model: WGR614
Brand: Netgear
Manufacturer: Netgear
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 791
Operating system: Windows
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
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| Features: |
802.11g router offers an easy way to set up a network with wired and wireless connections
Delivers up to 54 Mbps of wireless throughput
Four RJ-45 Ethernet ports allow for wired connections to the network
Enhanced security includes a double firewall, and WPA and 128-bit WEP encryption
Device measures 6.9 x 1.1 x 4.7 inches (WxHxD) |
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| Description: |
| Netgear WGR614 802.11g Wireless Router with 4-Port Switch - The amount of homes with high-speed Internet access and multiple computers is growing steadily. Wouldn't it be nice to share that high-speed Internet connection with all of the computers in your home? Wouldn't it be great to also share files between your computers? And wouldn't it be amazing if you could do all of that wirelessly!? Well you can, with this 802.11g Wireless Router. Just add optional 802.11g, or 802.11b, adapters to each computer, connect your modem, run through the easy installation process, and you're ready to go. It even supports the slower 802.11b wireless protocol for increased compatibility. VPN pass-through |
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| User Reviews (791 total): |
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Supports WDS, Stable and Fast G Router, August 13, 2008
By A. Lasam (Burbank, CA United States)
As of writing this review, there are nine different versions of the WGR614 router. I have two version 9s, the latest version to date. If you want good value for the money, this router is it.
Setup is very easy, I didn't use the setup wizard. I did the manual setup and was able to setup wireless internet within five minutes. I have ATT DSL and use the router's PPPoE to login to my internet service. With the latest firmware, WDS is now an available option. For those who do not know what WDS is, it is "Wireless Distribution System" which allows you to setup the router as a bridge or a repeater to extend your wifi range. If you have two of these routers, one router would be your base station, your dhcp, nat, or simply put, your internet router. The other router would be the extender to increase the range of your wifi.
I don't understand why so many people report trouble with this router, as its been in the market and well proven along with the Linksys WRT54G. I have had setup these routers for many clients and have not had any problems with them.
The Netgear WGR614 is certainly a very stable, and fast 802.11g router and I highly recommend it.
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Avoid this terrible router, August 8, 2008
By Ian Cleere
In the 18 or so months I've had this router, it has given me nothing but trouble. Almost every week it will simply freeze and stop working, requiring a reset. However, there is no power switch on the unit, so you have to unplug the AC adapter every time you need to turn it off or reset it. Very inconsiderate and totally lame.
Port forwarding rules often simply disappear from their list, preventing you from ever editing or deleting them, but continue to be in effect, causing port conflict errors later on. Sometimes they disappear as soon as you create them. Worse, Netgear refuses to acknowledge this problem any further than recommending a hard reset to factory defaults, which only delays the problem rather than fixing it. Even if you can get the settings to stick, the forwarded ports often don't work at all. UPnP is the only feature on this thing that actually works. This is the last Netgear product I will ever own.
Don't buy this router because it looks like a bargain. There's a reason it's cheap: it's complete garbage. Save your money and put it toward something better.
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Gets the job done, July 30, 2008
By Average Joe (Philadelphia, PA)
It was slightly tricky to set up, but a call to the customer service center was all it took to get it working. They were pretty helpful and the wait to talk to someone wasn't that long. We have two Macbook computers and it works fine. I only really use it for email and basic web browsing so I can't attest to how well it works for downloads and stuff. So far, so good.
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Not worth it...., July 30, 2008
By Piglet
I ignored the bad reviews and decided to get a cheap router... it worked great for about 30 days, until it couldn't be returned anymore and then it just started crapping out. Every few days, I couldn't connect to the internet... like the other reviews, the router would connect just fine to the modem but the signal would just die for both the wired and wireless connections. Piece of junk, do not buy, really.
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Has all the basic needs of a wireless router ..., July 24, 2008
By Mr. Meticulous (New York, NY)
It was very easy to setup and was done within minutes. The actual router itself is very small and compact so it doesn't take up any space at all. My apartment is not very big, so the signal strength is always "Excellent" no matter where I am in the Apt. This wireless router is great for the price that I paid and it serves the purpose. I would recommend this to anyone who needs a wireless router that is user-friendly, provides good security, and a strong signal to get you on the Internet.
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If you set up wireless routers professionally, this might work for them, July 20, 2008
By Blue Eyes (MD)
Unless you're an expert with setting up wireless routers, I implore you to not buy this. I have done everything regarding following the instructions, however it's still no use. I have seen professionals from Comcast and Cox cable come in and somehow magically get theirs (just like mine) to work without following any of the instructions that come with the product either. I don't know what that's about, but it's annoying. I can't keep spending two hundred dollars to have someone set this up everytime I move. The instructions that it came with should be good enough, but they are absolutely useless. I've wasted five hours one afternoon just trying to get this thing working. I'm not a computer novice either, which tells me you seriously have to be an expert, like working for the cable companies.
Now I'm just going to buy a Linxys and pitch this P.O.S. More waste for the damn landfill...ugh.
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Works great, July 19, 2008
By afdhadfhadsfg (New York, NY US)
This product works great for me. I bought it to replace an old wired router I've had for probably close to 10 years, which is also a Netgear Product.
However--
I was actually almost about to send this back at first. Like some of the other reviewers, I experienced dropped connections constantly on my PC. My 802.11g Skype phone and Playstation 3 were connecting fine, but I figured it was interference in the 2.4Ghz space around the area of my PC that the router just wasn't strong enough to handle. As a last ditch effort, I booted into Windows XP to see what happened there. My wireless card connected just fine. It turns out that certain wireless cards that worked fine under Ubuntu 7.10 stopped working fine after an upgrade to 8.04 because of issues with ndiswrapper and the kernel not playing nice. There is currently no fix for this except 8.10 alpha (not recommended for most people).
Since obviously not everyone uses linux, I don't think this was the cause of the headaches for everyone who has posted here about trouble with dropped connections, but it may have affected some since many wireless cards use drivers that require ndiswrapper to work properly in linux. So if you are transitioning from wired to wireless, even if you tested your wireless card before and it worked, if you are running linux and have upgraded your kernel to 2.6.24, beware of this issue. I "solved" it by simply putting the router next to my PC, connecting it with an RJ45, connecting all my other devices wirelessly, and waiting for Ubuntu 8.10. For those who can't wait, you can compile a custom 2.6.25 kernel, which I understand has this problem resolved.
After figuring out the issues above, this router works great. I live in apartment building and can see about 10 other SSIDs in range when I scan. No problem with interference. It's a lot lighter and seems flimsy compared to my old Netgear, but it's much faster and was definitely worth the upgrade for the price.
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Works Great, No Problems, July 15, 2008
By Sean Mclaughlin
I've used this router for over a year and a half. It was easy to set up and we have had very few, if any, problems with it.
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MISTAKE! Do NOT Buy This Product!!, July 9, 2008
By Janell H. (Scottsdale, AZ United States)
This router worked for just over a year; I just spent almost an hour troubleshooting with them on the phone, only for them to tell me that it has "gone bad" and there is nothing they can do about it!!! I asked to speak to a supervisor, and they still refused to help. They acknowledged that their product went bad but said because it had been more than a year (2 months over a year), they are not liable.
I will never buy another Netgear product again, and I am filing a claim with my credit card company (GO AMERICAN EXPRESS! At least THEY were sympathetic and are going to refund my money).
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Cheaply Priced Rock Solid Router, July 9, 2008
By Lotto (Texas, USA)
Team,
After suffering through Linksys Router Freezes and wired/wireless dropped connections, I decided to give Netgear a try. Sure glad that I did! The router I got is version 7 and it has been rock solid. All my wireless devices work without drops and the wired works just as well. I'm so happy that I don't have to spend my time troubleshooting home routers anymore and more time doing other things.
If you are tired of the buggy routers most vendors have put out and just want a stable router to give you peace of mind, run out and grab this.
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Works great out of the box., July 7, 2008
By Jon Bufkin
Plugged it in and ran the wizard and walla! It works great compared to the refurb I bought from T Direct.
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Love it, June 30, 2008
By Sara Jo Ter Beek (Holland, MI United States)
I had a Linksys wireless router previously which I could never get to work. When I had to replace my laptop, I also opted to replace my wireless router, and chose this Netgear WGR614. I was able to get it up and running immediately, and have NO problems since then. It was easy to install and set up. I love it!
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It gets the job done, great firewall and traffic filter, not much more., June 29, 2008
By IT extraordinaire (Craig, CO)
This router did a fair job. I frequently used it for Xbox Live/Playstation Network/online multiplayer games. I also frequently streamed extremely large media files across network as I have a collection of movies and tv shows on my HD/iTunes libraries that all share across the network to all the computers. I also used software to stream movies from my desktop's HD to the Playstation 3. Heavy network traffic with media files, and the router seemed to do decently but it wasn't spectacular by any means.
To the router's credit it never choked or reset under heavy load. When I had multiple computers (sometimes 4 clients) all aggressively pulling data down from visiting high bandwidth websites it seemed to handle the 16mbps internet connection ok. It kept things straight except when you were doing things like browsing large collections of pictures online (like say a Myspace photos page). In this instance it ground traffic to a halt until it internally reconfigured the routing tables. It did this quite often and all the clients in the house were just left with a connection hitch.
The firewall however was very useful and was more robust than most routers. You could specify keywords to a domain and easily block entire domains for the whole network. You could route ports and services to specific clients and reserve an IP but leave DHCP on for certain systems. For example all the Xbox Live services ports I could just leave open and reserve an IP address for the Xbox 360, and leave the 360 configured via DHCP. This would give you an "open" confirmation on your Xbox Live NAT status, which is the best way to go. It's more difficult on any other router to configure this, even more intuitive than the Apple Airport Extreme router.
I gave it a 3, however, because of the stability and hitching issues. If it weren't for those two problems I'd have given this a 5. Those two issues are just such a headache I was able to switch to a different router. If you want a cheap router that gets the job done though, this was a competent one for me.
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nice little unit, June 20, 2008
By J. Markas (FL , USA)
price point for value, replaces a d-links 2 antenna router that died after 2 yrs, works fine in my 2000 sq ft home. very happy after 1 month of use.
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Just one thing missing, June 12, 2008
By Brian Flanagan
The lack of a Cat5 cable forced me to run out and buy one unexpectedly. Then again, price was well below that of new off the shelf, and the router itself is as advertised.
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Behind the curtians, June 11, 2008
By Cynthia Raxter (BYNUM, NC USA)
I put electrical tape all over the front of this router to cover the many lights that blink and pop. I still woke up in the night thinking the living room (which I can see from my bed) was on fire. A test button which would show all the pretty lights for 5 minutes and then turn them off would be very appreciated for us that like the dark.
Other than the light pollution, this router has worked like a champ for 3 years. I set it up w/o an owners manual in < 10 minutes. (I got the router for free when a neighbor was moving.) The Netgear website has many helpful guides. Just search the website for this model number if you lose your manual. The guide I found most helpful was "Using WPN824, WGR614, or WGT624 Routers as an Access Point." My mistake: I had to hook back up the cable modem with an Ethernet cable to get specs I needed!! SO! It would probably be helpful to print out this page while you are still connected to the Internet.
For an error free set up, shutdown everything: modem, router and computer. Use an Ethernet cord to connect the wireless router to your computer. (Yep that is right - to set up a wireless router, the first time you connect to it you need to run a wire from it to your computer.) Leave the cable modem unconnected. Now power up the wireless modem. When it stops blinking, start the computer and open your Internet web browser. Enter the router's default IP address in your web browser - as discribed on the guide from the Netgear website.
From here you'll have to figure out your needs (DHCP, WEP, IP settings for laptops, SSDI setup, etc.) and customize it for your network. There are general directions on the guide from Netgear website. Configuing routers is not rocket science but it can be confusing. I recommend you set your router to the lowest security levels - and write the settings down. Create the SSDI (or Network Name, Location Profile, WLAN Settings, or whatever euphemism your wi-fi connection software calls it) on your computer using similar settings. If your router had the IP address 192.168.1.10 then your computer will need a different number in the same neighborhood: 192.168.1.20. It can't (repeat: can not) have the same IP address as any other piece of equipment on your network.
Once you have the computer and the wireless router talking to each other wirelessly, then shut down everything again and now connect the cable or DSL modem. The following sequence is important forever: boot the modem. When its lights stop flashing, boot the wireless router. When its lights calm down, then try to connect to the network and then the Internet with your computer.
Once you know the network and its Internet connection is working then you can add WEP, no broadcast mode, etc. -- to give you the sense of security you think you'll need. You'll have to make the change on the wireless router and on the SSID profile on your computer. Do these changes one at a time - and test, then reboot modem and the router and test again. Yes. It is important to go through the full reboot protocol each time: changes on your network may be not compatable with the cable company's network. If your modem is not able to latch on, it is easier to fix one thing than figure out twenty what-ifs.
OK That is some of the better things I have learned about wireless networks by trial and error. Oh! Interference! If your neighbor has a wireless router and you live in an apartment complex, you may want to run the router on a different channel than them. I run on channel 6 - my neighbors run on 2 and 11. For best results, don't plug routers or modems on the same circuit breaker as a light switch with a dimmer nor things with electro-magnetic motors: fans, blender, vacumm cleaners, elevators, garage door openers.... Stay at least 6-8 feet away from your electrical panel. Keep the wireless router 5-6 feet away from Bluetooth devices or wireless phones to avoid interference with your phones. Mirrors and metal (steel doors, tin roofs, i-beams, cast iron bathtubs) reflect the signal back. I keep my router and modem plugged into a surge suppessor - but I am the last house on the power line on my street and we get bad storms here.
That's about it. I have not called tech support or tried to roast marshmallows on the fire. The router is small - about the size of a good beach book. I have it stuck on the wall in the living room (in the center of my house) with "Command" double-sided tape. I live in a small house but do not have any interference from this device or with this device. But it is purposely located away from the wireless doorbell, my cell-linked-with-bluetooth to DECT wireless home phone base station, the electric litter box and the many small yet powerful kitchen appliances. I stuck it on the wall near a window and bought drapes wide enough to cover it. It is still on fire but muted enough so I can sleep.
I use it for a bit of gaming, but mostly work and websurfing. I have a Thinkpad laptop and a Time Warner Cable modem and Road Runner Max. I download and upload many large blocks of data and graphics. It works very fast and I get a very good to excellent signal, inside, on the deck, out in the back yard.
Best of luck to you.
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Excellent!, June 11, 2008
By K. Stephens (New York, NY USA)
Not only does this wireless router does what it's supposed to do (and does it well), it's aesthetically pleasing to boot.
I just upgraded from an ancient 1 gig desktop to a 320 gig laptop. Of course I had to go completely wireless! I live in a small studio apartment so I don't need much range. Just a reliable connection, which the Netgear gives me.
The Netgear WGR614 Wireless G router has met all my expectations. It was easy to set up. Especially so since I'm going from Windows 98 to Vista! I've just added a Lexmark Inkjet Printer (Z1420) today and my network is solid. For a novice, I can't recommend this more highly.
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Pretty good little router, May 31, 2008
By MacChick (Chicago, IL)
Overall this router has been great. We had a little bit of trouble setting it up because they don't make a set up wizard for macs, but the phone help people were nice and very helpful. Once it was all set up though we have had very little trouble. I would recommend this router for sure.
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Better get this one now, May 21, 2008
By redpoppy (USA)
This does the job perfectly, and the newer models have unneeded features and are three times the expense. One can no longer get this model at the major computer big box stores, I found. So if you know this has what you want, get it quickly. Mac and pc compatible. My previous one blew out in a surge, so I also got (elsewhere) a super surge strip for my surge strips. The better surge strip has saved several other delicate computer appliances. So, sorry this review is so untechnical, but what I am trying to say is, this is an excellent, sturdy piece of equipment that if you protect carefully will work better than the new ones. I don't understand why others say it is unreliable. The first one lasted years, and this one is going strong, 24/7.
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great router, May 19, 2008
By yamburgler
Easy hook-up (to mac), works great- been on for over a month now I think and haven't had to reset it once (the ativa I had before this had to be reset every few weeks). Not that it matters much, but it's nice looking too. Great price. It's still early, so who knows what I'll be saying in a few months, but so far, so perfect!
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