| Netgear WGT634U 108 Mbps Wireless Media Router |
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Model: WGT634U
Brand: Netgear
Manufacturer: Netgear
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 44
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, 802.11 Super G
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| Features: |
Back up, share, and access your files wirelessly & remotely
USB disk drive or memory stick connectivity
Smart Wizard install assistant for easy setup
Supports both USB 1.1 and USB 2.0
Compatible with Windows 98SE, Me, NT, 2000, and XP |
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| Description: |
| Netgear WGT634U 108 Mbps Wireless Media Router - Experience blazing-fast wireless speeds, enhanced degree of security and impressive wireless range with the NETGEAR WGT634U 108 Mbps Wireless Media Router. You can have convenient access to your media and other files wherever you go. Just attach a USB hard disk drive or memory stick to your router and store all your files from any computer on your home network. From then on, you can remotely access your MP3s, photos and other stored files on the USB disk or memory stick from any wireless LAN notebook or desktop PC in your home or office, and from any Web-connected PC away from your home or office. The router features dual firewall with SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection) and Network Address Translation (NAT) to secure your network, PCs, files, and protect them against malicious attacks. It also supports multiple VPN pass-through tunnels that provide secure Internet connections for simultaneous multiple users. In addition, you can seamlessly share files with your friends and family members by using the Windows click commands, ?File>Open' and 'File>Save As' or by using the 'drag-and-drop' icon method. The WGT634U Wireless Media Router comes with Smart Wizard setup and install assistant that makes setup quick and easy, guiding you through installation in minutes. Connectivity Technology - Wireless/Cable Data Transfer Rate - Up to 108 Mbps 128-bit Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) Encryption Dimensions (WxDxH) / Weight - 6.9 x 4.7 x 1.1 / 0.7 lbs |
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| User Reviews (44 total): |
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Hardware great, June 17, 2008
By Robert Keyes
The reviews here are old. It's true that Netgear did release a product with lots of bugs - in the software (a.k.a. firmware). You can easily upgrade it from netgear's site, or even better, use dd-wrt, openwrt, or roofnet on it, for superior functionality. You can even make your own mesh network, as I have done.
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Worst Netgear Router ever, very disappointed in Netgear., January 16, 2008
By Aaron
Well, the new year has came and past and netgear has stopped supporting this router. That's right, after 3 years and a few firmware upgrades, this router is still junk. Netgear refuses to RMA and replace it for a newier, different model. We all got scammed by Netgear on this one.
Hardware issues:
The router's processor overheats constantly. This is what causes a lot of the freezes and manual reboots for people. I myself have to manually reset it 3-5 times a week, not that this is a lot, but it seems to want to freeze during the times I need it the most (like VoIP calls). I even drilled a hole in the case and mounted a fan to cool it, this worked for a few months but eventually the fan crapped out and it started overheating again.
The wireless chip has 2 connectors for 2 external antennas yet Netgear only used one of them, so the range is crap. I had to solder on another antenna just to reach my bedroom (which is at most 50 feet away).
This router can only take so many connections at a time. Typically most home routers support around 2000-10000 connections, this one craps out at around 1000 (and sometimes less).
Firmware issues:
The thing likes to crap out when conntecting to VPNs. The only solution is to manually reset it (by unplugging, waiting 10 secs, then plugging it back in).
Similar to what others mentioned, it has remote connection turned on by default (leaving a few ports opened to the router) and has no option to disable outside pinging.
The router's webserver does not like Vista. I either have to boot into linux or Windows XP in order to view the router's website.
Wireless issues:
It takes me at least 5 tries to get a wireless IP from this router, and that's with every wireless card I have. No other router has this issue.
It drops my wireless connections all the time. This gets annoying, especially when I'm downloading at the time of the drop. I talked to Linksys's support and they suggested to move closer to the router for better range and I told them I was only a few feet away from it. They couldn't give me a straight answer after that.
Conclusion:
Do not buy this router, not even on ebay or at a garage sell. You will be disappointed, even as a Netgear fan, it's not worth the money. I eventually went out and bought a newier router, this time a Linksys. That's right, I was so disappointed in Netgear that I had decided to switch to Linksys. How could I trust them after such a bad experience.
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Poor equipment, August 2, 2007
By C. Papan
1.The wireless signal doesn't seem to be all that great.
2. the internet access controls do not work or work only when the router is in a good mood.
3.Quite frequently (1-5x per week) the router drops the LAN for no obvious reason, so that it has to be turned off and on. Takes about 2-3 Minutes, before the connected computers are then online again.
Conclusion: Stay away from this alpha-version.
And yes- I did upgrade to the latest firmware 1.4.1.13. Of course, the "automatic" function, which is supposed to find firmware upgrades, did not find it. Had to download it and then install it from the local file...
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When "Reset" Means Reset, June 11, 2007
By BIGGSTR (Virginia)
I experienced progressive deterioration in the performance of my WGT634U over two years and through perhaps three firmware updates. When the router finally would no longer access certain secure sites and continually dropped both secure and non-secure links, I delved into the instruction manual and discovered the caution to be sure to "reset" the router to default values after a firmware update. I had never done this before (I thought "reset" meant unplugging and replugging the router into the power source). After looking for and not finding a reference for resetting the default values inside the web-based interface, I reset the router using the "push" button on the back of the router. Now, the router is working perfectly!!!
Since it is typical to update firmware right out of the box when installing a router, I can only conclude that my installation problems with the WGT634U started when I first installed the router with a firmware update without resetting it to the default values two years ago.
"My Bad" for not reading or taking the time to understand the instructions. "Netgear Bad" for not being clearer in the instructions for so critical an item ... or, for not including an automatic reset to default values as part of a firmware update.
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This thing is awful..., April 20, 2007
By Mr. Gadget (Louisville, KY USA)
I should have listened to the warnings on the other reviews before I bought this, the worst router I have ever used (I install routers as part of my job). I saw the reviews telling how many problems they had, but I thought maybe those people didn't know what they were doing or they had not upgraded the firmware properly, etc. They were right...I upgraded several times to the latest firmware and still, it has to be rebooted at least daily, sometimes every 2 days. The wireless signal is awful...and I didn't even try using it as a network attached storage because of all of the other problems, and that is the entire reason why I bought it in the first place!
I finally gave up after a week or so and went back to my Linksys WRT54G wireless router, the defacto standard for wireless home networks (and small busines).
Netgear, this router should be recalled and replaced.
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Not my favorite router, February 28, 2007
By G. Coltellaro (Washington Twp. NJ USA)
I do not have any favorable comments to make about this router. The USB Connected drive is extreamly slow accross the LAN, In order to read and write to the drive it must be formatted as FAT32. NTFS drives are read only, it took some time to figure that one out. I tried changing the network from the standard 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.5.1, the router stopped working, Once I got beyond 13 forwarded ports they stopped showing up in the list, yet they were still there and you could not edit or delete them. I had to do a factory reset and start all over. I constantly have to reset the router to get my Internet connecton working again, sometimes outbound Internet works but no inbound therefore no VOiP or inbound mail to my email server, once again I have to reset it. I have updated the firmware 4 times since owning the modem, no luck there. I have had similar issues with the WGT624 V3 router. Netgear used to be my favorite manufacturer back when I had the RT314. It is now time to move on.
Jerry from NJ
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Netgear Wireless Router USB Hardrive, February 26, 2006
By P. Parrie (NOLA)
I purchased this router specifically for the ability to attach a hard drive to the router and have access to this hard drive via ftp. This router has worked great! Instructions were suspect (as they always are).
The biggest caveat is that the drive can NOT be formatted NTFS. Other than that, it's great!!!
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Nothing but problems with Netgear WGT634U, January 28, 2006
By B. Sanders (Champaign, IL United States)
Ok, I'm done with Netgear. For many years, I bought Netgear devices because they were cheaper than other big brands. I had problems with Netgear devices; but usually got them working after some driver hassles, etc. Annoying, but not too bad. My latest Netgear purchase was a WGT634U Wireless Media Router. Since Day 1, I've had but problems with it. It will go a week or so without problems, then it starts dropping signal at unspecified intervals. It dropped signal just now, while I'm writing this review. My 3Com Wi-Fi (802.11b) access point never did this - it was solid as a rock, set and forget. I *never* had to reboot the 3Com in over 3 years of continuous service. I've spent large amounts of time trying to figure out what's wrong with this WGT634U Netgear wireless media router, including scouring the web for tech advice from users, upgrading the firmware, etc. I've probably rebooted/reset it 100 times in less than 1 year. It does seem to be more reliable when standing vertically. I've read that the Netgear power supplies are marginal, and that Netgear routers run hot and are temperature sensitive. I don't know if any of that is true; but I do know this Netgear router is unreliable, for whatever reason. Life is too short for me to spend it diagnosing poorly engineered devices. I'm switching to Linksys or D-Link or anything but Netgear. I'm done.
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No NTFS formatted USB drives - not even using it as wireless router, January 20, 2006
By EmptyOne (Houston, TX)
Well, I thought I would write a review to help anyone else out who might have the same problems as I did. I orignally purchased this router and two of the wireless cards to set up a wireless network at home. Both of the netgear wg311 cards caused my computers to become so unstable that I ended up going back to wired interface. Strike one. The router itself seems to work fine as a wired interface though. None of the heat issues or crashes reported but, I am not using it as a wireless router now. (Strike Two)
The problem I would like to address is the poor documentation (none at all) that is (not) provided with the unit or on the website. Nowhere could I find anything that said it only works with USB drives formatted to FAT32, but when I formatted a 250GB to NTFS, the disk was read-only and could not be changed. After formatting to FAT32 (with lots o' tiny drives) it could be accessed, but only one disk was listed in the browser. Not wanting that nightmare, I was able to discover that 1)Win2k/XP won't format FAT32 above 32GB 2)it is darn hard to find a free program to format correctly. BUT - I did find one.
FAT32FORMAT from Ridgecrop Consultants is free, well documented and works just as advertised. I now have a 250GB FAT32 formatted drive. Now if I could just get the Netgear WGT634U to recognize that it is 250GB (it reports 13MB) everything would be great! (Strike Three, yer out)It does not appear to affect the storage capability of the drive though.
As to the support for this product, if you don't know what you are doing and often need technical support, DO NOT BUY THIS ROUTER. It is seriously not for the non-techie and customer support will make you want to shoot something. Another router is mentioned in these reviews, from D-Link. I have not owned one but beware that the same NTFS issue is present there. At least D-Link states that it does not support NTFS in anything else but READ-ONLY. Of course you have to download the manual and read every page to get that.
I hope this helps! And if the FAT32FORMAT works, please be sure to email Tom and say thank you!
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Unreliable, Drops Signal, Lousy Customer Service, January 18, 2006
By Scott Lanin
Avoid this at all costs! What a waste of my money. Customer service is no help and refuses to acknowledge that there is anything wrong with the product. I have tried this in my old home with Time Warner Hi speed cable and now in my new home with Optimum Online his speed cable. Signals are dropped. When it works it is fine. The problem is that I frequently have to reboot it in order to regain a signal. Since the same problems occurred w 2 different providers, I attribute this to the router. I have no such problem with a different router in my office when I use the same laptop there. This one causes problems for a wired or wireless connection. Wireless signal was poor and I even paid more money for a signal booster from netgear that you plug into the wall - didn't work. Well, ok it worked a little. Very little. But what good is that? Buy another brand. Save yourself some grief. Based on the other reviews there appears to be a major defect or bug w this product and the manufacturer will not acknowledge it. There should be a recall.
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One of the worst, January 2, 2006
By Stephen Bray (Maryland, USA)
This has to be one of the worst routers I have ever dealt with. Please don't waste your money on Netgear products. You will end up frustrated and angry most of the time. This product just looses connectivity at a whim. It can go for hours and not send out any signals to the computers on my network. Spend your money on a different brand. I recommend D-Link far and above Netgear.
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For me - it works like a charm! I love it!, October 9, 2005
By Peas on Earth (Boston)
I know people wrote some negative reviews, but I was so taken with the idea of being able to access my external hard drive with my laptop from anywhere in the house, that I figured I'd try it. I read online that some of the problems were firmware upgrade related, so when I first logged into the router, and was given the window asking me if I want to upgrade my firmware, I selected "no".
10 seconds later I was connected to the internet!! No need to even reboot! Set up the wireless - trivial. Worked immediately. I was thrilled. But then to the real test - it said to read the manual on the CD before connecting the USB device. I could not find it, so I just connected my Western Digital 250 GB external hard drive to the USB port, and turned it on. For about a minute, it seemed nothing was happening. But then it occured to me to look at my "network neighborhood". IT WAS THERE! There was my hard drive, and I was connecting to it wirelessly from BOTH my computers! It is apparantly easy to access it from anywhere using ftp and the modem's address, but I haven't tried THAT yet.
The connection, so far, is fast and stable. So my advice - GET IT, and DO NOT upgrade the firmware unless something doesn't work. Enjoy :)
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When it works, it's fine, but this is a buggy product., October 7, 2005
By davidsco38
My initial review for this product was a good one. When it works, it's a nice router, and the USB feature is useful. Two problems though prevent this from being a smart buy or a reliable product.
1. There is a bug in the configuration that prevents you from automatically seeing the Mac addresses of attached wireless devices. This makes it difficult to add them to your Mac filter if you use one. You have to manually type in the addresses. A Pain.
2. After 3 months of using this product, and suffering random repeated loss of Internet requiring reboots, we finally traced it to this router. The drops, both wired and wireless, only happen with this router in the picture. Didn't happen with my old WGR614. This is apparently a widespread problem that Netgear has yet to admit to or resolve. Perhaps a class action will jar them into reality as this is obviously a faulty product. Faulty in design
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Avoid Netgear At All Costs, September 2, 2005
By DBH (VA)
This Netgear Media Router was the fourth Netgear Router that I had purchased (previous ones being for myself or members of my family). The initial experience is usually okay. Everything seems to work. Then, after a few months, you have to start rebooting the router every once in a while. At some point, often well within a year, the router just gives out and becomes completely unreliable. This has happened with three of the four Netgear routers - and the Media router was NOT the exception.
Indeed, I found the Media router to be incredibly sluggish (especially now that I compare it to my recently purchase D-link, which is fantastic). The USB functionality worked acceptably well, and allowed me to stream my music from an external hard drive to my laptop. But the frequent connectivity problems rendered the router useless.
I've set up numerous wireless networks - this is definitely a problem with the router. More specifically, it is a problem with Netgear.
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BAD for advanced users, August 28, 2005
By Steven M. Arndt (Westminster, CO)
I already own the Netgear WGR614v4 and I bought this router for the usb drive port so that I could share files across my network and I was going to convert my 614 into an access point. It appears that there are all sorts of bugs with the 634U that don't let you to configure the advanced IP settings regarding it's own IP and DHCP LAN assignments. I tried 3 versions of the firmware (1-8, 1-9, and 1-10beta) all with no luck, even though netgears site said they would fix the problems I was having. I finally had to go back to my old router for my DHCP assignments and change it's IP to match the 634 so that I could then convert the 634 to an access point and use the file sharing option. I'm guessing, but haven't tried, that the 634U would work just fine as a regular router with no IP assignments and as a file share point. Don't expect to use many advanced features when it comes to networking on this. Also, I haven't had time to test it fully, but I guess the USB port is rated at USB2.0 but barely runs over USB 1.1 speeds due to the lack of processor speed in the router itself. I have read many complaints about this feature and how it doesn't transfer files even at network speeds (100MBits/s (network) vs. 480MBits/s (USB2.0)) but rather it transfers at a rate of more like 15MBits/s which apparently does wonders if you want to stream or run audio/video from the networked drive. Do your reasearch before purchasing this product to see if you will have any problems in your network setup/plans.
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good RF, but the rest are horrible, freezing issues, August 18, 2005
By matt.mingkee (Brooklyn, NY United States)
I bought this router, and configured as wireless ap (and NAS adaptor)
how poor is it used as NAS adaptor
I attached with LaCie (Seagate) external USB HD, nothing but problem:
extremely poor Asian Language support (some files with Asian Characters can't copy)
requires ext3 format HD (FAT32 and NTFS often fails, but there's no disk format utility) to work properly as NAS
frequent freezing issue (I even connect it with pda and a laptop, and use it as wireless AP, and still have freezing issue, requires power cycle)
if you'd like to use it to attach USB HD to use as NAS, please buy Linksys, this one will make you have nightmare!!! (not mention you're unable to configure the access limit)
if you'd like to use it as wireless AP, buy WGT624 instead (same RF performance, but a lot less problem)
the only good thing is good RF (20dBm TX, -94dBm max RX at 1Mbps), but WGT624, WG102, and WG302 can do same job, and a lot more stable
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Setup Quickly and Easily, August 14, 2005
By Plane Guy (Anaheim, CA)
I purchased this router to upgrade my 802.11b system. The router setup quickly and easily. However, I did find that the "online firmware update" does not work. It said that I had the latest firmware, when there were about 6 upgrades available... I upgraded the old fashioned way (download to my PC, and uploaded to the router) with no problems. The newer firmware supports WPA PSK.
I hooked up a 320 GB hard drive that works with NO PROBLEMS.... I just wish there was some built in security to control user access to different folders, unfortunately this is not available in FAT32. I decided to forgo using the web-based FTP because it leaves a wide-open FTP port on the WAN side of the router! I had no problem mapping the hard drive as a network drive for each user on my network, In fact, I gave each user a different file, and mapped their "network drive" directly to their folder.
Overall, it works well and was cheap.... If you want more file security, you may want a regular router with a NAT device that supports file security.
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Custom firmware, August 12, 2005
By FnH (Belgium)
I bought the Netgear WGT634U not to use as my primary router, but as a toy to play around with. The firmware is linux-based and easily modified. I'm currently in the process of replacing the existing firmware with a custom-built one (You can follow my progress here). I must admit the original firmware wasn't really good, but who cares if you're not using it?. It's at the very least a great toy for the technically inclined :)
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WGT634U hangs, drops connections, times out. Must be rebooted repeatedly., August 6, 2005
By MicroSerf
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I am due 3 rebates from Netgear. The rebate company in Texas that Netgear uses for rebates is trying to not send me the money due me. They are pretending that not enough time has passed, that they now need to expedite the process. The rebate company is allegedly called Parago, is unwilling to provide it's legal address, or the name of its leader or responsible party. The rebate company uses phone number (888) 214-9109.
Don't buy this router.
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Good product..., August 2, 2005
By D. Daley (East Coast, USA)
It works fine, no problems, love the Fixed IP settings for when the power goes out and you don't have to turn your computers back on in a certain order to get the same local ip, but the only probelm I have with this router is the Firewall takes forever to restart, I have used other models and when I would change settings and I didn't have to wait that long. Otherwise than that good deal!
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