I attemped to contact SMC through their website, but no luck, I never recieved a response. SMC seems to have poor service and is not addressing this reoccuring problem. If I did it again, I'd pay twice as much and stick with the reliable NetGear, or at least LinkSys. I won't be buying an SMC again.

I have not used the serial (dial-up/ISDN) capability for primary (!) or backup service (when my broadband is down, let's face it - I'm down!) nor have I tried the Print Server (but I will this weekend.) This unit comes in two "versions" which are basically totally different hardware & firmware with the same case and part number. I of course ended up with the [lousy]... one, although the lastest firmware (not released until AFTER the item was delivered and two weeks of ensuing headaches) makes this pretty stable and compatible.

I am a fairly demanding user, since I support clients with various configurations, including IPSec firewalls that I occasionally need to "tunnel" into using proprietary client software and/or MS IPSec client. The firmware update was critical in allowing this to work. Provided that the router works. Which is USUALLY does.

HOWEVER, this unit occasionally likes to go "autistic" on me. It used to do this on my Verizon DSL every 24-72 hours (not acceptable) but seems to have dropped to once or twice a month since I switched to RoadRunner Cable Modem. I think it has something to do with how my ISP host has their DHCP servers set up, because what happens is the web based administration (which is well designed though less informative with statistics that I would like) says the WAN is DISCONNECTED and refuses to release & renew via DHCP. However, if I restart the router (software or via the reset switch on the back) it syncs up just fine.

SMC, of course, pretend that this problem does not exist (if you believe their website or tech support) and that is a drag. I think they know what is wrong but do not plan to invest the resources to get the OEM they get it from to rebuild it. At least I got it cheap (after rebate) because otherwise I would be [angry]...!

Last comment: it has a average or slightly above average range, based on my experience with about 5 diff 802.11b routers I have used in and around my house. Dual antennas probably help in this area.

After one quick tech support call - it was up and running in 5 minutes and has very good speed and works flawlessly all over my home (over 30 feet away through several walls).

I still need to get the print server running properly, but otherwise all is well!

Basically, I think SMC has some serious quality control issues. I have also read on other sites that SMC products have overheating issues (thus the lock up?). So buyer beware!!

I decided to purchase the US Robotics 22Mbps wireless router and this one never gave me a problem. It has a greater range, the print server is much faster than the SMC, and the most important thing is, it just works!!

After running the device for a little more than a month I've been delighted with its performance. The integrated firewall is great and even allows users to keep out wireless visitors using the MAC # from laptops. A problem with wireless network devices is that they just broadcast the signal (making your network available to anyone with a wireless ethernet card within range), so being able to accept only 'known' users is a handy feature. Our broadband internet of choice was cable, and after AT&T hooked us up the router was loosing its connection periodically. The problem wasn't the router though, its that the cable company keeps track of the cable modem MAC #, and the router was being dropped as an unrecognized user. A quick setting change allows you to have router mimic the cable modem MAC # and its worked flawlessly since then.

The only downside is the range. The signal diminishes faster than I'd expect, we get a consistent connection within about 75 feet of the router (2 walls), I guess if you have a more open floorplan (fewer walls) it might work further. Since its hard to go further than 75 feet and still be in our house, it works great though. The print server has also worked flawlessly (although the setup varies depending on OS).

Unfortunately the device freezes about once or twice a day and in order to get your internet connectivity back you have to power-cycle it. - I've tried the usual things, such as resetting the entire device, but nothing has helped me to get rid of the freezes.

When I had to access my home machine via the internet I finally removed the SMC barricade from my setup because of the frequent freezes.

I recently purchased a notebook that can use wireless ethernet, so I decided to give the SMC AWBR another try. - I was simply using the SMC barricade as a wireless base station. I was heavily using the wireless connection (copying data from anothe machine on my notebook) and again the SMC barriade was not up to that task:

It would freeze about once every thirty minutes under heavy load and again you have to unplug the device in order to get it back to working for another thirty minutes.

It seems that the only thing the SMC barricade can be used for is as a paperweight. - But unfortunately it also looks fairly ugly...

I can tell you, some of these units work, some don't, and some are on-again-off-agan.

Overall, not even a good unit for someone who likes to piddle around with hardware as a hobby.

SMC is moving boxes with this thing; but making lots of enemies.

Stay away from SMC- they do not care about your problems.

You can skip step #2 if you want, and do the 2 minute plan.

2. Needs Reboot. Well, its been over 2 months since i've had this router, n i've hard-booted it atleast 5 times. Definitely not a good standard by any means.
Often, it just cannot assign an IP to even PCs or Laptops connected over the network Cable as well(not just the wireless). Initially, I wasted quite some time figuring out if there was any problem with the PCs. But on investigating, it seems to be a router problem. So every time my network goes down, I've to restart the Router n things start working.

Cant say which one is better than this, cuz I've not yet seen the others, but I wont recommend this one to anybody else.

Worst of all: I bought this particular product so that we (my family) could share a computer. This product does not support "low-end" bidirectional printers. We have 3 Canon BJC-4300 series printers and they are not compatible. But do a search for a compatibility chart for printers and see if it exists. I certainly haven't found one. The guy from customer service promised to send me a copy of the list, but I'm not holding my breath.

So, I have two choices. I can set the printer so that the laptops can use the desktop as a print server (which kills the reason I bought this product as we tend to use the laptops more often for daily work but I use the desktop for occasional production work) or buy a new printer. The kick is that if they don't send me the list, then which printers will work with this? How many of those will I go through before I find one that works? With the web at their disposal, there should never be guess work with anything like this.

*The 7004 is very fast: I just transfered 70 3-6MB MP3s from my desktop (which is wired to the 7004) to my laptop (SMC2632W) in <20 minutes.
*The 7004 has never crashed, locked up, hiccuped, or otherwise.
Basically, fast, flawless wireless access. I bought my girlfriend her own 2632W card and she goes online when she comes over, as does my brother (he uses a lucent card).

My only issue would be range... I sometimes lose signal in my backyard. But to be fair, my access point is upstairs in the front of the house, and I haven't spent the time to optimize the positioning either.
Come'on folks, this is a great product, esp. when you consider you get a firewall and print server as well!
Jim