The Wireless G USB Network Adapter easily connects your USB-equipped desktop or notebook computer to your wireless network for Internet and file sharing.
Desktop users can now join the network with the ease of a USB plug-in, without opening their PC cases; laptop users can enjoy the benefits of staying mobile-while connected to the Internet.
Advantages - Adds 802.11g wireless capabilities to desktop and laptop computers, for faster wireless networking available for home or office
- Fits any standard 1.0, 1.1 and 2.0 USB slot
- Provides 3 times the wireless range of 802.11a adapters
- Offers backward-compatibility with all 802.11b network devices
- Features wireless 64- and 128-bit WEP Encryption
- Keeps notebook batteries running longer with advanced, low-power consumption chipset
- Works with Windows (R) 98 SE, Me, 2000 and XP
1 Don't buy this item
I was on a business trip and decided that I wanted to use wireless instead of a RJ45. I bought this item and spent about 2 hour trying to get it to work. No dice. I have A LOT of experience setting this type of stuff up and never got stumped before. I got a Code 10 Error. I still got it after I updated the drvers and opened up some IRQs. I returned the item and bought a linksys wusb54g v 4. I was up and running in 5 minutes. Buy the Linksys
2 Honestly, this adaptor is bad.... REAL BAD.
Installed drivers, plugged it in, nothing. Uninstalled, rebooted, installed drivers, NOTHING. Googled it and found tons of stories you have read here.
I like what a couple other people have said.
"Buy this for someone you hate." It's terrible...
I've had other Belkin products in the past and I'm surprised at how bad this thing is.
The few people on here that gave it 4-5 stars will probably win the lottery next week because they are the luckiest people I know.
3 A budget card, you get what you pay for
A cheap and dirty 802.11g adapter, but then you get what you pay for. Have had problems with range and the radio seems to fail when it has to travel through a single wall. My connection also constantly drops, and then re-connects after a few seconds. Although sometimes i have to reboot for it to reconnect.
I also use Linux, and this thing refuses to work full stop. No drivers no support no nothing. If you use linux dont buy this card. If you use Windows, buy this card if you're on a tight budget, but if you can afford that little bit more, your time is worth those extra dollars.
4 Best 54g USB adapter I can find
This is the best 54g USB adapter I can find.
1) Easy to install on my XP.
Follow the instruction and a piece of cake.
2) Good Range
Most of the cardbus wireless adapters have poor range
because they don't have enough antenna to external exposure.
This adapter can be extended to the window by its external
USB cable.
3) Good management software.
The included software is very good to manage the connection
and monitoring the signal strength.
4) The only drawback is that adapter is too big to fix to my
notebook connector. I must use the external cable.
I earlier tried to buy Linksys USB adapters but they are
too costly. I also wanted to buy either Microsft or Buffalo
but they were both out of stock. Anyway I am very happy with
this Belkin.
Last tip: Buy only Broadcom chipset 54g based adapters and
the Atheros chipset based adapters are best to avoid.
5 good performance, runs hot, sort of cheaply made
I've been running these adaptors on my home network for a few months now:
Pros:
1. setup is very easy and pretty idiot-proof. It even comes with warning labels so users don't screw things up. as the in-house "network manager" this is important, people don't come running to me with problems.
2. the built in software is quite good and shows all the options easily (encluding WEP encryption)
3. speed is fast when used with a belkin wireless router (haven't tried with other brands)
Cons
1. this thing runs hot. I usually have it hooked up to a USB cable/stand (included) to keep it away from my laptop, i am concerned about the heat.
2. It's big; on certain laptops you can't use it without the cable/stand because it blocks adjoining USB ports and/or the power, which is annoying.
3. one of my original units literally fell apart, but belkin sent a new one very quickly. I was quite impressed with customer support, but less impressed with the 1 hour wait for service on the phone.
6 Works great on my home network
Bought my young daughter her first PC and wanted an easy way to get her on our home network and sharing our high speed internet connection. This was a perfect solution. Drivers installed on Win XP without a hitch. The adapter picked up our network instantly and after entering my routers security settings, she was online within minutes. Great product, especially with the lifetime warranty and mail-in rebate.
7 Still not work after 4 hours of my work
Bought one in Compusa at only 10 bucks after rebate. Went back home and started installing software by following the instructions in the manual. The driver is not certified by MS and this is mentioned in the manual. That's fine, hit Continue Anyway and installation went on. At the end, I was asked to plug in the device. XP searched driver for this new device automatically and again I had to click Contniue Anyway. Then it reported a Code 10 error.
Uninstalled the driver and reinstalled it. Still not work. Disable Ethernet card and tried. Same result. Called the technical support on Sunday and was helped by a lady. She instructed me to do the same steps that I have already done: uninstall, disable, restart, etc. She asked me to use the driver on their website instead of the one on the CD. I used the newest one on their website at the beginning, which has a time stamp of 11/2003 -- they have not released any update for more than a year.
Finally she asked me to go back to the store and make an exchange. But no thanks, I did a return. Think $10 a wireless-G USB adapter a good price? I wish they could pay me $10 an hour to figure out how their crappy driver works.
My case is not the only one that upsets Belkin customers. My friend bought the same thing on the same day -- for the same reason of course. She did make it through the driver installation step. But the Belkin Wireless Network Utility always froze while searching for an available network. After killed most processes this application still did not respond to a mouse click. Too bad that she couldn't use the device even though she did not get a driver problem.
I gave her a ride to the store to return the product so she can at least save some gas. Like the guy said in the other post: buy this for someone you hate. hehe....
8 Doesn't work with Tivo
My husband bought this item to work with our Tivo and it doesn't work with it.
9 Rubbish
This device has wasted hours of my time because of its useless and completely un-intuitive software and interface. This offers, to beginners at least, a completely mystifying series of menus and titles that tell you nothing about how the device works or how to get it going. It looks cheap when you buy it but the real cost comes later - when it sucks away the hours of your day without working and without giving any clue as to why it isn't working. Buy it for those you hate.
