| SMC2632W 802.11b 11Mbps Wireless PC Card with integrated antennae |
 enlarge
|
Model: SMC2632W
Brand: SMC Networks
Manufacturer: SMC
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 64
Platforms: Windows NT, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows NT 3.5, Windows NT 4, Windows NT 5, Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows 2000 Server, Windows
Form factor: Plug-in module
Hardware platform: PC
|
|
|
| |
| Features: |
11 Mbps Wireless lan
2.4 GHZ frequency band
Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)
64-bit or 128-bit WEP encryption
LEDs monitor network activity |
| |
| Description: |
| The wireless LAN solution is the easiest alternative to a traditional wired network. The solution connects your desktop PC instantly with an existing Ethernet installation to support mobile users, temporary work sites, and other applications ranging from the classroom to the boardroom. Wireless technology provides the maximum user mobility, simple and flexible installation options, a reduced cost of ownership (no cabling costs or maintenance) and excellent scalability in supporting additional PCs. True 11 Mbps wireless is ideal for use with cable modems, DSL or SOHO applications. |
| |
| User Reviews (64 total): |
Page 1 2 3 4 of Total 4 Pages
|
SMC suck!, October 9, 2004
By E. Arthadi
Bought this card due it's price...but now I regreted it. Buy more known brand like Linksys, D-link or Netgear. This card range is trully a dissapointment. I tested again my Linksys....well u can guess what...my linksys still picks up the signal, while this peace of crap is getting the signal on and off.... In short...buy something more expensive, but well deserve. SMC should not sell peace of crap!!!!!
|
Couldn't get it to work, September 13, 2003
By unknown
My Thinkpad G40 crashed whenever I plugged in this card (the
Cardbus version). I tried updating the drivers, and even updating
the Thinkpad BIOS, but nothing worked.
|
Worst 802.11 card I have used, July 5, 2003
By David Grootwassink (Tampa, FL)
The range on this card is by far the worst of any I have in operation at my site.DO NOT BUY THIS CARD!! Go back and get ANY other card.
|
Wireless Workhorse, June 13, 2003
By jeep4x4enthusiast (New York, New York)
Nothing fancy about this card. But is does exactly what you would expect of a good quality product. I have no problems keeping an excellent signal strength no matter where I am in my condo. And thats saying alot living in a high rise located in manhattan, where there are zillions of signals to interfere and dilute signal strength. I've had friends experience overheating of there cards after a short time using them. I use mine for hours and hours and have never had any issues at all. I highly reccomend this card, as well as a SMC router. I was able to setup my home network in 30 minutes, got awesome signal strength and have no problems if I ever need to have customer service troubleshoot my system. Often customer service centers will fault the one piece of equipment that is not theres, and then your online for hours with another service rep. So get all SMC.
|
Tough time with Windows 2000, May 1, 2003
By Alfiedude (Juneau, AK United States)
I tried installing this adapter into two different laptops running Windows 2000 and was mostly unsuccessful. The first was a Compaq and I never could get it to work at all. The second was a Sony Vaio, which went well at first. It installed nicely and started working right away and worked well and was fast, connecting to my Linksys WAP. But when I brought the laptop to another location and tried to connect to a differnt (Aironet) Access Point, it wouldn't connect and then it wouldn't connect to the previous site either.
I will take the other reviewers' advice and try it in a laptop running Windows XP next time -- sounds like they didn't have any problems.
***UPDATE: I did try it in laptops running Windows 98SE and also Windows XP with no problems at all. Works reliably and with no problems. Still not much luck running with Windows 2000.
Also, this card works with netstumbler! A bonus in my book!
|
Good piece of wireless gear for your laptop, April 14, 2003
By http://TuDiabetes.com & http://EsTuDiabetes.com (Orlando, FL)
This wireless card for laptops worked just as well as any other I've worked with. I guess this is the part of a wireless network that you just CAN'T have problems with. It was quick to set up and it picked up the signal from the access point as soon as it was set up, so I can't complain.
|
Very Pleased...., February 22, 2003
By Rick Steinbauer (Kapolei, Hawaii USA)
Just received and installed my 2632W PC Card. I installed it on a Dell Inspiron 8200 laptop running WINXP Home. I am using it with a SMC7004AWBR Barricade wireless router. The setup was very simple, using the installation CD that came with the card. The driver worked flawlessly first time and I was able to communicate immediately. I have tested the range of the card, going "upstairs" and the other end of the house and the signal strength is better than my SMC PC wireless adapter in my desktop. I would definitely recommend this product.
|
Great card, works with Windows2000 and Linux!, February 17, 2003
By nagappa (Houston, TX United States)
I bought this card mainly because of the low price. I must say I am pleased with the performance so far and never had any problems. The install was a breeze and the bandwidth is very good.I am using it to connect my Dell Inspiron laptop, running Windows 2000, to a SMC Barricade 7004VWBR Access Point/Router. The Network utility program is neat. It displays signal strength grapically and allows for channel and SSID selection, WEP encryption (with pass phrase-based encryption key generator), and a search feature for the best channel/bandwidth. I am using 128 bit WEP encryption which has been perfect so far. One important note about installing the driver from the CD that came in the box - the driver is located in the CD under D:\SMC2632W_SMC2602 folder. The Windows "New Hardware Found" wizard will *not* automatically find the driver, because the driver is in a ZIP file. You have to UNZIP this file onto a folder in your hard drive and then specify the path to the driver. Once you do this the install completes perfectly and the card should begin working immediately after reboot. The Linux drivers are found in SMC's website.
|
terrible reception, January 29, 2003
By unknown
i own this card and the reception is horrible. i had to purchase a 3com card to replace it. works fine if your access point is very close but i would just recommend going with something like 3com for just a few bucks more.
|
It's a great card, sort of., December 21, 2002
By mitchw52 (Chicago, IL United States)
I bought this to use with a Dell Inspiron 3800 laptop and the SMC Barricade Wireless router (which is FAB, btw.). I have yet (after many google searches, downloads, emails with customer support, etc.) to get the drivers for this card to load on the inspiron (win2k). However, I popped it into my Lattitude (work laptop) and was on the network in a couple of minutes. Go figure.
The range is great--I have an 1100 sq ft condo--and I can take the laptop anywhere and the signal is strong. If it works for ya, hooray!
|
|
|
An Excellent Product, October 24, 2002
By J. Lin (San Jose, CA United States)
I recently wrote another review for the Linksys wireless pc card, and I can say that the SMC product is by-far a superior product.I got both the SMC Router and SMC wireless PC Card, and I'm completely satisfied with both. Set-up was a breeze and the drivers and software are rock solid. I was completely disatisfied with the Linksys combo. Read my review of the linksys wireless PC Card for more details. I've been using the SMC card and router for over a year, and I have not had a single problem with it. I've even dropped a soccer ball on the antennae, and cracked the casing (it's now bent at a 5 degree angle) and it still works like perfect. I think the product is terrific.
|
It does work with Windows 2000 !!!!, October 11, 2002
By volverine (NJ, United States)
I bought this card along with SMC7004AWBR thinking that they shouldn't be having problem with each other. The router got installed within 5 minutes but this card installation on W2K took more than 3 days and 2 phone calls. As everyone is complaining it does not get installed in W2K right out of the box. It keeps complaining "Driver could not be loaded (Code 31)". So I called tech support and got a reply that he will send me new drivers but never received them. Wrote an email from their site. No response. So yesterday after waiting for 40 minutes to get connected to their tech support, I got the answer that the Code 31 is a common problem and he is going to send me drivers. Fortunately I received the drivers and was able to install the card with no problems. Once installed everything is easy. I get 70% connection around the house. The drivers which came on CD do not match with the manual. Also the drivers which are on the web site will not work for W2K. If anyone needs them, I have it. Let me know. .A simple question I would like to ask SMC is that if you know the Code 31 problem and have drivers for them, then why not load them on your web site. It will save headache for users....
|
Easy setup, October 10, 2002
By Alexandre Scherer (New York, NY)
This my first attempt of going wireless at home. I chose this product because price is cheap and it had good review from other customers.
Good product. I have a IBM Thinkpad T21 running Windows XP Home Edition and a verizon DSL connection. I bought the SMC router and this card. I was able to set up my wireless connection in about half an hour. I live in a 2 bedroom appartment. The router is in my bedroom. When I am in the living room, the signal is 4/5. Driver installation was nicely handled by Windows XP.
|
Doesn't Work with Windows 2000 Professional, September 25, 2002
By Carl Bennett (Fairfax, VA USA)
Bought this card and could not get to install on Windows 2000. Called tech support and they emailed me an updated driver but it did not correct the problem. The computer recognizes the card but there is the dreaded yellow exclamation point by the device with a Code 31 error. After spending a few hours, I threw in the towel. I think I'll try a DLink or Orinoco.
|
Didn't ever work, terrible tech support, August 25, 2002
By unknown
I could not get the (unsigned) driver to install on Windows 2000. I called tech support, which sent me to a call center in India. They said that they would email the correct driver and never did. I have downloaded the driver from the web site, and that doesn't install either. Unfortunately, I bought it at Microcenter, and I don't know if I can return it.
|
Great Wireless Product - Small installation Problem, August 23, 2002
By D. McNamara (Bellingham, MA USA)
This is a great wireless product. Only had small issue with installation, in that SMC had not put updated drivers for Windows 2000 on the web yet (the dirvers on the install DC did not work). When FREE tech support was contacted, they instantly diagnosed my problem and e-mailed new drivers. Once the new drivers were installed, it worked like a charm. I am using it in conjunction with a SMC 7004AWBR.
|
Garbage card, July 20, 2002
By Gil Batzri (Oakland, CA USA)
I got a Card/AP combo. the access point configuration is '93 web graphic design in a relatively new product. I am not using WEP so no issues with that. The PC card itself is garbage, out of the box it worked for about 20-30 mins then lost the connection. I thought initially this was a problem with my laptop (Dell CPI-A it runs rather hot) So I borrowed 2 cards from IT at work, a Sony Vaio card and a Lucent/Orinoco Silver and they both worked for over 2 hours with no problems. I sent an email to "support" a while ago and got an autoresponder that said someone would contact me (it has been a month since then) I am not inclined to spend 3 ours on hold with these people (I have a job and not enough free time for that nonsense) They offer (from what I understand) AOL support (800# and a long wait to talk to an incompetant) I don't think that is acceptable. I am replacing this card with the Orinoco which I have read a lot of positive reviews of. As a side note the reported signal/link speed is not always accurate, and I had problems with the drivers making a WinXp home laptop from toshiba unstable. (big no no) DO NOT BUY THIS CARD. It is GARBAGE
|
Will not work fully with Win2000, poor customer support, June 17, 2002
By Anton Skorucak (Long Beach, CA USA)
I am an IT professional and have a Master of Science (MS) degree in physics (so these observations are not due to lack of knowledge or experience on my side). This card will function fine if you don't want to use the encryption, however if you don't use the encryption you are probably a bit naive since that means that anybody with the wireless card in your neighborhood can use your connection, and what is worse can hack into your computer. So, you must use the encryption; however this SMC product will not function if you do it on a Windows 2000 system. The drivers and utilities for the wireless card that come with the product will not support it, and the drivers you need are NOT on the SMC website. I spent about 1.5 hours on hold waiting to talk to their obviously overworked support technicians. Finally when I did make the wait, Bryan the tech there told me that he will email me the driver I needed. Well, it has been now two weeks and I still don't have this device working! He did try to send me drivers but apparently THEIR email system doesn't allow them to send over 1MB so the attachment never got through. Imagine that: they don't give you the Win2000 driver with the product, they don't provide it on their web site, and they can not email it to you because their server has a 1MB limit built in (and the driver is bigger than that). Also, the configuration interface to this router is at best very, very amateurish. It looks and functions like a 5 year old put it together. I have seen freeware that works better. BTW, we bought [several] of these SMC devices for the whole office and are now kicking ourselves! We will never, ever again buy anything from SMC ... will you?
|
Great for a wireless card, May 23, 2002
By R. Cash (Cedar City, UT)
I work for an IT department and just installed this type of smc wireless card in a computer, and set up the access point about 20 feet up on the second floor and about 500 feet away from the pc using the card, and it is working very well so far with very few problems. If you have windows XP Professional it will recognize the wireless card as a plug and play device, and install it automatically which is very nice. As of right now the card is transmitting and recieving very well, and the only problem that we are having with it is the fact that we have alot of wiring, and other wireless devices that are transmitting in the same area that the computer is located, and therefore ocassionally have problems with a weak signal, but we haven't lost it yet. The card has a transfer rate of 11mbps which is not the fastest, but it is still fast for what we are using it for. Overall it is a great wireless card, at a great price, and is fairly stable with few problems.
|
Worst electronics ever, April 13, 2002
By unknown
I bought this one in January 2002 along with a SMC Barricade. Since then I had to reinstall the drivers maybe 200 times. Very poor range. You can do what this does with 5 meters of cable. Because after that range you lose the connection and the drivers require to be loaded again. I sent 3 e-mails to the technical service. No reply. If you have 3 hours you can call them because that is the time that you have to wait to talk to someone. With XP it is even a worst experience. Don't even want to talk about it... Stay away from this one. Actually stay away from SMC.
|
Page 1 2 3 4 of Total 4 Pages
|
|
| Copyright 2001-2007 WiFiReview.com |
|