| NETGEAR WMB521NA 802.11b Wireless Kit for Notebooks |
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Model: WMB521NA
Brand: Netgear
Manufacturer: Netgear
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 21
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b
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| Features: |
The NETGEAR MR814 3-in-1 Router + Switch + Wireless Access Point -- Connect your Cable / DSL modem to this Wireless Router with 10/100 Mbps Ethernet Switch, and enjoy wired or wireless Internet access for all your computers
Share your broadband Internet connection with all the computers in your home wired or wirelessly
Easy to install and setup (in fewer than 5 clicks) with NETGEAR's Smart Wizard
Highest-level WEP encryption
Compatible with Windows 98, Me, XP, NT, 2000 and other operating systems running a TCP/IP network |
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| Description: |
| NETGEAR WMB521NA -- This convenient, affordable kit contains everything you need to integrate your Windows notebook PC into your home or office network. Contents include: OS compatibility - Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP |
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| User Reviews (21 total): |
Page 1 of Total 1 Pages
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Good Router till it works, September 15, 2007
By PKN (CT USA)
I have had this router for almost over a year now and its still working. The router has a wireless option and 4 wire-connecting ports. It was a bit difficult to configure the router initially with the security provisions but after a bit of toiling it started working. And don't expect Netgear to provide any help on any aspect of the router. The help documents are obsolete and absolutely meaningless. You can find more details about the router on the internet than on Netgears' support site.
The wireless connectivity is a bit sluggish at times and the connection keeps dropping after about 5 months of usage. The wire-connected connectivity is good and provided consistent connection for a long time but off-late, I observed that, it too resists internet connections. Netgear's solution of turning off everything and starting again didn't work. My observation is that, the router sometimes becomes hot and something inside tells it not to allow connections. I switched off the router and allowed it to cool and tried connecting again and it was back to normal. I have used this trick since then to get back to the cyberworld.
If you are a home-user and has a bit of patience to search the internet to fix problems or try your own knowledge, this router is for you.
-Prashant.
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works well -- I recommend it, June 5, 2005
By I'd rather be hiking (Redwood City, CA, USA)
I've had this router for a month now, and am very happy with it. I use an IBM T41 laptop with a built-in wireless card.
The installation was quite easy and took about 10 mins. Everything needed is included in the box.
The signal strength thoughout my (1000-square feet) home is always 'very good' or 'excellent', even through a few walls. Like some other routers, I haven't experienced dropped connections when the phone/microwave/other electronics is turned on.
Earlier, the connection was being dropped every 10 minutes or so. This is a very common problem with some routers. I disabled the IEEE authentication to fix this. Now, the connection never drops, even after 24 hours. (This doesn't mean there is no protection, you should use WEP to protect your network against hackers). I strongly recommend that you use a good firewall like ZoneAlarm (their free version is also decent) with any internet connection.
It looks sleek too. You also have the option of mounting it on a wall for a clearer signal, although I didn't need to do this.
(...)
Update, 6/16/2005: I had a minor problem today (the router lost the connection to the internet). Customer service was helpful and solved the problem in some time. For some reason, the connection settings were lost and I had to re-enter them.
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Great wireless investment., January 16, 2005
By R. Wright (Mass.)
Great product! Easy installation! I was surprised as to how easy it was to set up 4 computers 3 wired and 1 wireless. I had Linksys in the past and was happy to find that NetGear was as easy to install. Reminder: Secure you wireless system from War Drivers by following instructions found on website.
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Not a long lasting product, January 9, 2005
By J. Gulati (Pasadena, CA United States)
Easy to setup and use. Good connections _initially_. However, product quality is low and support is horrible. After 4-5 months of use with this router, I am going back to my old Belkin router. The reason being dropped connections and expensive support options with the Netgear router.
Recommend this for short term and experimental usage.
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Works great, December 7, 2004
By wiggledbits (Portland, OR United States)
Has anyone who bought this received as part of the package the GPL source code for the router and NIC?
Thanks
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Works with Windows ME and Compaq persario 1700T, October 9, 2004
By Network Guru (USA)
I would like to share my thoughts about this kit. Before this I bought NetworkEveryWhere (CISCO/Linksys) product kit. That kit wireless adapter did not work with Windows ME and Compaq persario notebook computer. That adapter have a hardware conflict (memory and I/O)
This kit works perfect and I installed it in 30 minutes. Make sure to load the software (wireless adapter) before you insert the card. Step by Step instruction card is good. However, it is better if you use the software CD to install the access point.
It has very good step by step things that you can do to install the access point.
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Works great, price is right!, October 2, 2004
By M. Harding (Lafayette, Colorado United States)
For such a cheap package, I did not have high expectations that it would work. I have now been using it for 5 days, and so far so good. Installation took a couple of hours - due in large part I think to my Arescom NetDSL 800 modem and its funky settings than anything to do with this product. (Last time I set that modem up with a wired router, it took just as long).
Range of wireless access seems to be good - I can use my laptop down in my basement, 2 floors away from the router.
One negative - that stops it from getting a 5 star rating - is the fact that the NetGear configuration utility which monitors your connections, seems to arbitarily stop working. It doesn't affect access to the LAN or WAN, but it's a small irritant nonetheless.
Good product, great price (...)from NetGear.
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Great, easy to setup, October 2, 2004
By S. Dunn (San Diego, CA and Germany)
I have setup 10 WiFi systems and the Netgear WiFi Access Point (AP) and PC Card both worked flawlessly out of the box. The AP has automatic search for an existing DSL/Cable setup and automatically configured itself.
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not a quality product, September 26, 2004
By J. Scaria (MA, USA)
i got 2 units from netgear and i was unable to get either of them working. the first one wouldnt power up correctly and the second one would not work for more than an hour at the most.
i have been unable to get this router working correctly for more than an hour. the router fails after an hour. an immediate re-start of the router or resetting did not help. for some reason, if i wait for about 2-3 hours before i power it back on, i can get it to work again.
the web interface is easy enough to use and all, but if the base product doesnt work well .....
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Good features; may have quality issues, September 13, 2004
By K. Fong (CALIFORNIA)
The wireless router/ap include good logging features. Many entry level units of this type do not have these funtions. This is very easy to setup for the novice.
I am partially convinced that these units have quality issues. The wireless portion on a friend's Netgear MR814v2 stopped working. The router that I purchased was returned due to a similar problem; there was definately a malfunction as some LED lights stopped working after several days. The switch portion remained active, however. If the units did not have any problems, I would have given this 5 stars.
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Works as advertised..., August 26, 2004
By DrainBrainToday (Albany, NY)
Having just bought this combo package on Aug 20, I can tell you that both the router and the notebook adapter work as advertised. The setup took about 15 minutes, but only because I wanted to customize my wireless settings. I am giving this package a rating of 4 stars because occassionally, I do notice a slowdown in the wireless network. Have not looked into it as yet, but it's not something that could be characterized as a "show-stopper" (at least till now). I have a older Dell CPx notebook with 128 MB and a 500 MHz processor and was concerned that the notebook card might not work with it - but had no issues at all there. I also have an HP Pavilion and a Vonage (Cisco) ATA wired into the router. Couldn't ask for more for the price (check out the rebates being offered currently by Netgear).
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Great wireless router, August 20, 2004
By gsowa (NH, USA)
This router offers a lot in a small, good-looking, easy to use package. There are countless security features (MAC address filtering, WEP, Firewall, etc.) and it has VPN passthrough, allowing you to telecommute.
I have not had any problems with this router crashing in the 2 years that I've had it. The only problem was once it seemed to be running very slow because all of my network traffic was crawling along at only a few MBPS. But after resetting the router, everything worked fine and I haven't had a problem since.
Overall, this is a SUPERB router at a SUPERB price. I highly recommend it
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Not only works great it also looks nice, August 12, 2004
By The Critical
I have purchased one for my office since the first one I have at home was so good. I recommend this to every one. Specially the PC card has a low profile and does not stick out 2 inches like some other brands. Setup was a snap butI ended up using the Windows XP wireless setup vs Netgear's.
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Great Range for a great price, August 7, 2004
By S. Bukhari (Wilmington, DE)
Great Price! Great Range. It works all the way on the other end of my house.
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0 star if i could..., August 7, 2004
By J. Lin
Bought this at Staples a few weeks ago (...). It worked fine for about 4 days before the router started crashing (yes, apparently routers can crash just like Windows). The setup utility is a snap, but the connection doesn't last long. Every few hours, I have to unplug and power cord and in some cases hard reset the router in order to have connection back again. Flashed its firmware to the latest version 5.3 posted on Netgear's website, but the same problems persist. I would give it a 0 star if I could, but don't take my word for it, just do a search for MR814 on the net and you'll see how many people see the same issues. (...)
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works great, July 24, 2004
By tulipox (San Francisco, CA)
no trouble at all hooking this up to give my laptop wireless access in the house.
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Awesome and easy, July 17, 2004
By unknown
I have to say, I was a little concerned about this product after reading about some of the difficulties other buyers have experienced. I was also a bit nervous about installing it myself, since I am not what you would call a computer expert.From Day One after installing it, though, I have been impressed. It gets fantastic range throughout my entire house, even through walls and heavy, metal objects. Signal strength on my computers is almost always between 90-100%, and has NEVER dipped below 73%. As for the network installation itself, it was easy and took a total of about an hour (and that includes installation and configuration of wireless cards on 2 computers). And you can't beat the price on this thing. I highly recommend this and other Netgear wireless network products.
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do not buy, July 6, 2004
By unknown
The router has not worked since the day I bought it. Technical support sucks! Don't waste your money.
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great product at this low price, June 26, 2004
By Shirley (Houston, TX United States)
It's easy to set up. Works perfectly for me.
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good buy!, June 19, 2004
By anclewu (usa)
I bought this a few days ago, it is easy to setup with the instruction, and works fine. Also the range is good for me.
anything we can ask more for this price?
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