Put your desktop computer wherever you wish. The Linksys Instant Wireless™ PCI Card allows you to share printers, files, and more within your wireless LAN infrastructure, increasing your productivity and keeping you on the network.
The Instant Wireless™ PCI Card gives you the freedom to work your way, from wherever you want. A high-powered built-in Diversity antenna means that you’re covered at distances of up to 457 (1500 feet) meters.
Ready to run in any PCI-equipped desktop PC and compatible with virtually all major operating systems, the Instant Wireless™ PCI Card from Linksys is truly a must-have for all PC desktop users.
FEATURES- Up to 11 Mbps High-Speed Transfer Rate
- Compatible with Most Major Operating Systems
- Plug-and-Play Operation Provides Easy Setup
1 works for me
I just installed this card on my old Dell 4100 and works like a charm. I followed the instructions and was surfing within minutes. The radio reception is good and no problems with the link dropping for far. I almost had buyer's remorse when I saw how many negative reviews on this board but I guess I got lucky. So far so good.
2 Do not use WMP11 with HP Pavilion
After wasting an *enormous* amount of time (over a week), I found that the Linksys WMP11 causes my HP Pavilion with AMD CPU to freeze hard and neither HP nor Linksys were able to resolve. I even tried returning the WMP11 for a replacement in case it was bad, but the replacement did exactly the same thing. I just changed to a TRENDnet TEW-228PI wireless PCI card that works great! The problem with the WMP11 was complicated to diagnose because it connected fine. If no data was transferred, no problem. But once you start transferring data thru the WMP11, it would crash (hard freeze) the system within a small random interval (2-5 minutes). Buyer beware.
3 It works well in Compaq Deskpro P500 Windows 98 SE if ...
After trying several 54Mbs cards, none of which worked or worked perfectly, this was the only card that the computer recognized, didn't freeze up during boot, and that connected to the wireless router the first time.
I had to remove the Compaq Ethernet Wired LAN card which apparently took over the TCP/IP connection before the WMP11 driver loaded.
I then removed and reinstalled the software from the supplied CD, and then the internet connection via my Linksys high speed wireless router and Comcast cable Motorola modem was made.
A way to check what is connected to TCP/IP in your computer is to RUN winipcfg and see what is in the dropdown box. If the WMP 11 description isn't there, then the computer can't use it to connect to the internet.
The dial up modem is still installed and enabled. That did not stop the WMP11 from working.
It appears that the older computers, especially Compaq, have unique charateristics that preclude using newer cards (read: cards with higher speeds). It might be in the BIOS that recognizes cards, it might be bus speed, it might be the use of PCI connector pins, it might be the operating system, it might be the incompatibility with the cards driver. I don't feel compelled to diagnose what is wrong. After 3 weekends trying to get one card to work, I bought and simply tried major brand cards (Linksys, D-Link, Netgear) for 54 Mbs and 11 Mbs until I found one that worked. (The rest are being returned - sorry about that AMAZON.)
And another surmise, it would appear that the newer wireless lan cards are throughly tested on Windows XP and Windows 2000 computers (the install is usually much easier according to my wealthier friends) and minimally tested on Windows 98 SE and Windows ME computers.
And now the reason for 4 not 5 stars: there was nothing in the documentation or the linksys website that said the computer shouldn't have two ethernet cards (wired and / or wireless) at the same time.
Linksys apparently spent the time debugging the drivers and the resident modules on Windows 98 SE so it knows how to handle an existing dial up modem. For the super high speed D-Link card(the only high speed card for which the computer booted up successfully) I had to disable the modem (entry in network and modem in My Computer - Devices)to get it work at all.
By the way, my Dell Dimension XPS 400 Windows 98 SE has the Linksys WMP54GS card in it and it works perfectly. (The first time I installed it!) This computer has a modem and didn't have a wired ethernet card.
4 Do not use with HP Pavilion/AMD CPU
After hooking up this card to my brand new PC, Windows XP started to freeze within seconds of loading up. If I disable the wireless network, the computer works fine. I've looked around on the web, and other people with HP and/or AMD chips running their computer have the exact same problem when they install this card. Tech support couldn't help me at all. I'd stay away from this one.
5 Use Something Else
Below is the actual live-chat transcript with a Linksys "tech" regarding a problem I am (was) having with the card. BTW - I am an IT pro with over 18 years experience...
Me: I installed a WMP11 and its software on my Dell Dimension desktop which runs Windows ME. The install was successful. At the end of the configuration utility when I save my changes, my mouse freezes AND I don't get a connection to the internet.
Me: hi
Linksys: have you tried reinstalling the card?
Me: twice
Me: The acces point I am trying to connect to uses WEP.
Me: Its on channel 7, yet the utility will not allow me to specify the channel. It defaults to channel 6.
Me: I did put in the correct WEP key.
Me: My first concern is my mouse freezing, then not being able to specify the proper channel.
Linksys: One moment please...
Me: no problem
Linksys: One moment please...
Me: ok
Linksys: One moment please...
Me: ok
Linksys: One moment please...
Me: ok
Linksys: One moment please...
Me: ok
Linksys: One moment please...
Me: ok
Linksys: One moment please...
Me: ok
Linksys: One moment please...
Me: ok
Me: Forget it. I'll just return the card to WalMart and buy a product from your competitor.
Conclusion: Netgear or even DLink has great products. Think of them first.
6 Worked once on XP; never again
The PCI card worked well when I installed it on XP. Once I rebooted, it never reconnected again. I kept getting an error that it was seeing multiple wireless connections. I spent hours with Linksys tech support -- they were always accessible -- and changed the channel, reinstalled the driver, slowed down the settings. But have been unable to get it working. Now thinking of uninstalling and getting a Netgear instead.
7 Linksys WMP11 - easy setup-works well
Bought this PCI card for my daughter's 5 year old Compaq running Windows 98. Bottom line; it installed easily and works well. Just follow the directions. The router is in the basement and my daughters room is on the first floor at the far end of the house.
The signal strength is 87% and the signal quality is 93%.
One minor hitch. Although the hardware was working, I could not get any web pages to load until I went into the Device Manager and disabled the internal dial-up modem. (r. click My Computer > l.click properties > l. click Device Manager > l. click plus sign on network adapters > l.click on your internal modem > l.click on properties and check box - disable in hardware profile. Do the same with Dial-Up Adapter.) After that - no problem - works well.
8 Not worth the trouble
Despite everything I have tried, this unit crashes my XP system. Linksys tech support is no help....they eventually said (in almost unintelligble english)..."Well, there is something wrong, but we can't help you".
I went out and bought another brand, popped it in and it worked perfectly. I threw this one in the trash.
9 DO NOT USE FOR ONLINE GAMING IN WinXP
The configuration utilities that ship with Linksys wireless products will not install/run properly on WinXP, Linksys requires you to use the WinXP Wireless Zero Configuration (WZC) service. One feature of WZC is that once every minute it will drop the current signal in search of a better one, resulting in constant, annoying interruptions to your online play. Thus, if you try to use Linksys wireless products for online gaming, prepare to be VERY annoyed. Otherwise, the card seems to work fine for normal web browsing.
10 Decent card at a decent price.
This card is very easy to work with. Just plug the card in setup the drivers and you're good to go. I'm running an all Linksys setup so compatibility isn't an issue. My only nitpick is with the antenna, it will only stand straight up or down, there is no way to keep it from dropping if you mount it sideways. My VGA cable is right above the network card so the antenna won't stay up. I lose some signal strength when its facing down, so I have to tape the antenna off to the side to get the best signal.
11 No Linux support
i just got this card installed. It rocks on windows 2000 and works well with Netgear router. But it is based on broadcom chipset. Broadcom has not released drivers for Linux. so this card does not work on linux :-((.
12 Finally finished my wireless network with this card
I was about to give up on trying a wireless network when I came across the PCI card. I had already tried some wireless UB adapters and found I could only stay connected for 30 minutes tops! The first time I installed the card into my computer I was online for 6 hours. I've only had the card for about a week now, but I've never experienced it disconnecting me from the conncetion, which is what I was looking for all along.
13 Does not work with NETGEAR Access Point
Tried two WMP11b on both XP and W98SE. they both could detect the existence of my Netgear access point with very Strong signal but just could not get connected. Spent 3 hours on phone with linksys tech support which was totally wast of time.
My Netgear Wireless pc card works perfectly with the access point.
I strongly recommand you buy access point and network cards from the same manufacture when build your wireless network.
14 Disappointed - twice
I had one of these cards in my kids computer and have fought each time I reboot to connect to my wireless gateway. When I put another computer in the house I purchased the same card "thinking" that it must have been improved. NOT!!!
I have downloaded the latest firmware on these cards and they still have trouble connecting to the gateway. My laptop with built in wirelss works great...just not these cards.
My gateway is all Linkysis products and for some reason I stayed with this brand and am disappointed.
15 could not install on W2K
I simply could not get my W2K machine to consistently recognize this card. The Linksys configuration utility would tell me that the device was not installed. On those few occassions that the card was recognized, trying to change the setting would lock my computer. Linksys support was very difficult to reach, and the only useful advice they gave was to, "send the card back!"
16 What can I say...I like it!
Bought this with a linksys wireless router. After getting the router up and running (which took only a few minutes) I threw the card in my machine (XP), rebooted...and installed the little utility that shows signal quality. Next thing I knew, I was goin wireless. Its 11 Mbps, just as advertised, but the 4 ports in the router work great when I need to maximize my broadband connectivity. For a home network...quick and e-z!
17 Fantastic
I love our Linksys products, especially this one. I would give it 5 stars if it didn't break the connection when I used my Uniden 2.4GHz Digital Phone. They don't seem compatable and I have to reset the switch after I am done with the phone to get the connection back. Other than that I have had no problems with this at all.
18 Great easy to install 801.11b PCI network card
I am an IT consultant and I have installed the WMP 11 on numerous PCs running Windows ME, 98, XP, 2000 and on several networks. I found this card to be among the most reliable PCI 801.11b cards. The drivers are well designed and if the card is set up properly, you can open "Site Survey," and it will detect any wireless router/access point within range. This card also also works with wireless routers by Netgear, D-Link and SMC.
The only time when I have seen problems with this wireless NIC is when folks don't bother reading the manual and install this card BEFORE they install the drivers. Unlike standard CAT5 network cards NICs, every wireless PCI card that I have ever installed (this includes cards made by SMC, Orinico, D-Link, Linksys, Netgear, and 3Com) requires the software to be installed first and then pop the card in the PCI slot.
Performance-wise, I have also found the WMP 11 to be very good. I have installed it in basements and it has been strong enough to reach second floor bedrooms. Of course, your experience may vary depending on the type of building.
Now thanks to the introduction of the 801.11a and 801.11g standards, the WMP 11 has gotten cheaper. I have noticed that Linksys has lowered the price considerably and from time to time, even offers rebates. For most budget-minded home and small office users, 801.11b works fine. Simply put, this is a great card.
19 Installed and running in under 15 minutes
I had previously tried an alternate card that gave me significant problems. The Linksys WMP11 was easy! After installation, signal strength has been excellent from day one(350-400 ft. separates the access point from my desktop.) I highly recommend this product if you're looking for good quality and excellent value.
20 Don't Try to Use with Linux!
I bought this card specifically because I found it listed as compatible on the Linux-WLAN project website ...However, Linksys has changed chipsets from the Prism2 to the Realtek chipset (as have most of the manufacturers) without updating the model numbers or packaging, so I couldn't even figure out it wasn't going to work until I plugged it in and discovered the switch! Luckily I have a Windows machine I can use it with. If you want a reliable card for Linux, try the Netgear MA311 instead.
21 Does not work with NT
Linksys network builder pages recommend this for NT4 PCI machines. Do not believe them, this card will not work with NT4 machines. The installation reports a successful installation, however there is nothing installed.
22 Do you really need it??? Think Twice!!!
You may be better off running a Cable to your PC than using this as a PC is not as extremely mobile as your laptop. Connecting your server with WMP11 to the network is a bad idea. As you will be suffering with low data transfer speeds and your whole network kind of seems to be slow...
Not much of a practical use!!!
23 Avoid this product!!!
I bought a Netgear 814 router which came right up once connected: didn't even need to configure it. I bought two Linksys WMP11 cards b/c I was told wireless PCI cards are about the same: WRONG!! After spending ALL DAY with Linksys tech support, I ended up buying a Netgear MA311 PCI card instead and that came RIGHT UP!! I STRONGLY SUGGEST that you avoid the Linksys WMP11 card like the plague. I wasted a whole day on trying to get this garbage to work.
24 Like all Lynksys stuff: Light Duty
I have LOTS of Lynksys gear, and I have had lots more. Lynksys stuff breaks, dies, and mis-behaves regularly. It is, however, some of the most useful, minimally proprietary, and easiest to use consumer-grade equipment out there.
I am on my third WMP-11 on my server, in 4 months, but Lynksys tech support is pretty good and they are prompt to send replacement hardware.
25 Linksys driving me insane
I have had absolutely no trouble at all with my 2 Linksys Laptop wireless adapters and they work great but the WMP11 PCI card is driving me nuts. On the two occasions when I have managed to persuade the Linksys configuration software that the card is in fact installed I have not been able to get any throughput from my wireless router. Now the configuration utility absolutely refuses to acknowledge the fact that the PCI card is in the machine and uninstalling software and taking out the card and redoing the bizarre installation procedure doesn't help. JMP
26 Ugly
This was a really ugly product, it stopped transmitted when I was on the phone near by it, slow connection speeds, and it was not realible. Altough all those things it was a first generation product so you cannot expect the best rite away.
27 WMP11 and BEFW11S4 Combo
I just finished installing the WMP11 on a Win98 computer using the BEFW11S4 router. My other computer (win2k) is WIRED to the BEFW11S$ router. I followed the quick install for the router and it worked PERFECTLY. I did not even have to reboot my computer at all. The next computer (win98) that is using the WMP11 had a little problem. I followed the directions of installing the software first which ran smoothly. Hardware installation was also fine. But after I turned on the computer, it would not recognize the connection. I opened the program and had to REFRESH a lot of times before it would say i have a 72% signal. And once in a while the connection would drop and i would have to go back and refresh and even go back to change the settings to the exact same settings for it to work again. I read other post where they upgraded their firmware. I have not done so yet but I will keep you guys updated. Internet works fine w/ the WMP11 but it doesnt feel reliable.
28 Great card for the money!
I had an old PC and I didn't want to put a lot of money on it to add it to our home wireless network. I bought this card and installed myself in minutes. My son is very happy with the performance of this card and it has worked just fine since day one. By the waym his room is on the second floor and the signal quality is excellent.
29 Not as good.... Stick with USB adapters
This wireless network card is somewhat okay compared to a lot of wireless network products. The LONG antenna in the back of the card is hard to adjust since it is in the back of the computer tower. Sometimes the wireless ethernet card seems to lag or pause while i use the internet.
It doesn't seem to have a good range compared to the Linksys WUSB11 Wireless USB Adapter.
I recommend the Linksys Wireless USB network adapter (WUSB11) more although it has a long usb cable. And i also recommend the Linksys Wireless PC card (WPC11) and they both work for PC's and laptops.
If you hate USB wires or do not have a pc card slot, then get this wireless ethernet card. Other than that, don't get it.
30 No trouble Installation
I have used this card for over a year and I have had no trouble with installation or setup. I have upgraded 3 times in different computers and if the instructions are followed the card works wonderfully. I have had no connectivity or signal strength problems which others have suggested. I do agree that the antenna should be a portable kind so to place it where you want but I didn't need to relocate mine. Hope this was helpful to some.
31 XP Users: This works great.
I tried the WUSB11 (USB adapter) first, which XP did not recognize at all. Linksys tech support was no help.
I was online 10 minutes after opening my computer to install this card. The Linksys driver disk wasn't even necessary.
This gets excellent reception a few rooms away, though I haven't tried it upstairs yet. My WAP is a BEFW11S4 V.2, for reference. It runs a little warm, which may pose a problem in a few months - we'll see.
5 stars can't be justified, however, do to the lack of Linux support. If you're too lazy to learn about the technology you rely upon (using any Microsoft OS) then I'd go with this card.
32 Mismatch of information
Amazon[.com] says Windows 95 compatible, Linksys box says not. Linksys does not list Windows 95 on the box and it will not work with Windows 95. If you use an old Operating System, your pretty much restricted to ethernet card and cable.
33 Doesn't work for Linux
The title says it all--if you're trying to WiFi a Linux box, go with a different vendor (D-Link or Lucent would be a good bet).
RedHat 8 doesn't have any drivers, and none can be found on the web. ***Note: you will see reference to Linksys drivers, but they only work for the first generation of this card. The one sold here (and probably everywhere else as well) is version 2, and it has a new chipset that doesn't have any driver support.
Unless you consider yourself a Linux guru, enjoy hacking kernels and writing custom drivers, look elsewhere.
34 did not install, returned it
I just could not install the drivers. It would blue-screen during the installation when it appeared to try starting the driver.
PC: Compaq Deskpro 900Mhz running WinXP
35 Linksys Lacks Support
Although the product itself may good, the support for it atrocious.
After 2.5 hours with a tech who could not get my wireless router working, and after asking four times to be connected to a supervisor or senior tech, the tech put me on hold for an additional 30 minutes after which the connection was dropped.
I called back, on hold for 30 minutes, and finally got to a team leader, who got my router running in 10 minutes. However, when I went to install the WMP11 V2.7 wireless PCI card, I had a worse experience.
All was going well, the software installed, and seemed to connect to the router, only I could not connect to the internet. After waiting 40 minutes on hold a tech came on, and told me I had the incorrect software, inspite of the fact it was the one which was packaged with the card.
He told me to uninstall the software. I did, but the uninstall was not clean, and he could not guide me through manual deletion when remnants were left in the registry. He really did not understand what was going on. The newer version of the software which I had downloaded was missing data.
The tech was clearly at the end of his knowledge and by what he was telling me to do, I could tell he did not understand the problem.
I asked for him to escalate 4 times and each time he put me on hold for 25 to 30 minutes and then it was he who came back on the line. I finally gave up.
I wrote an e-mail to Linksys, but have still not received a reply.
BUYER BEWARE!
36 Avoid anything from Linksys that is wireless
I was amazed at how poorly this product is support, especially on Windows2000.
I think Linksys needs to expand their R&D and customer support efforts so that they may realize that wireless networking is more than just slapping an antenna on.
Avoid Linksys wireless products, or if you have already purchased one consider your investment the entrance fee to the 24/7 Linksys customer support comedy club (no drink minimum).
Try D-Link, anything from Orinoco, just don't try to go wireless with Linksys.
37 No linux support & disconnects frequently under windows 2000
This card is one of the worst purchases I have ever made for my computer. Even the version of the card is still unknown to me (they have released many different versions of the card under the WMP11 model).
Under windows I lose the connection very often (even though singal strength stays at a constant %47 (another computer using a DLink card keeps its connection) and must resort to disabling the device and re-enabling it to restore the connection.
When I asked about linux drivers for this card I got this letter from linksys' support:
"Currently we don't have drivers for our WMP11 for linux operating system and we do not support linux OS. You may want to keep posted on our site for further updates."
I'm not buying anything else from these novices. I'm going to stick with serious companies like DLink and Netgear, whose products do work.
38 Antenna should have been separated - Part II
I wrote a review about this product a year ago complaining about not getting good and reliable wireless connection because the antenna was in the back of the card and hence, shielded by the metal case of a PC. The connection would work most of the time but slow. What's most annoying was any minor change in the environment, say a person stay close by or humidity change, would make the card lose connection because signal strength was not strong and link quality was not good to begin with.
I had been searching for an external antenna to solve this problem since. Did not find any here or at any of the local electronic stores. Now the search is finally over. I just bought a TrendNet IA040 ominidirectional antenna that has a 3.3 ft cable that can be connected to the antenna connector of this card.
What a day and night difference. I can now download at the full 3 Mbps speed promised by my cable ISP through this wireless card with the TrendNet antenna. For those of you who have been struggling with the range and link quality of this card because of its bad antenna design, an external antenna is definitely worth it
39 Almost impossible to install on Windows 2000
The most obscure installation procedure I've ever seen. You install the software then you install the hardware. You can try any permutation of the installation process, it will work on some machines but not on others. the .inf file appears to be corrupted or has incorrect data. finally, I gave up and retuirned the whole thing. there are much better solutions out there. D-Link was easy to install & just worked fine.
40 easy to set up.
I had it set up and going in 5 min. the (install) disk let me get up and running in 5 min. I purchased the wireless because i didn't want to run all the cables.Both my kids love it. Me Too
41 Don't try to use it indoors across a brick wall
I try this and the signal strenght was not enough to reach the router located at mere 40 feets from the WAP11. Like reviewer "Swimmer79" I think Linksys should have separated the antenna from the card and allowed users to put the antenna somewhere else via a cable. With the antenna mounted on the back of the card directly, you have to orient the PC with the back (the antenna)pointing to the router to get better signal which is not always possible. Under this conditions (brick walls) I would recommend to use a Wireless USB Adapter (WUSB11 or similar)or a Wireless Access Point (WAP11 or equivalent)which is separated from the PC, so you can place it in the best position to obtain a good link.
42 Linksys WMP11 Is A Timesaver
Sick of the slow download and page load times with a dialup connection I wanted to give myself the speed boost of a cable modem connection. The WMP11 saved me the trouble of having to run an additional Ethernet cable all the way up to the second floor. My wireless router and cable modem is located in the basement which is connected (via ethernet cable) to another PC.
I installed the drivers then the hardware that came packed with the card. Physical card installation and driver installation were both easy. I had a 80% signal strength right out of the box! To be sure I had the latest drivers I checked the Linksys site and there was an updated driver (just released about Nov. 9, 2002). I Downloaded and installed the new driver... now my signal strength is consistently at 100%!!!
The only problem I encountered was of my own doing. I misconfigured a network setting which caused my system (Windows 98 SE) to become unstable. After re-reading the card and router configuration instructions I fixed the problem. So far I've been quite satisfied and there's been nothing but smooth surfing since.
43 Backward configuration
This PCI card works only if you install the software first before inserting the card to the PCI slot.
44 Unfinished Product
I'm not a networking neophyte. I've run wireless networks at home before, without a problem. In this case I attempted to install the WMP11 on a Windows 2000 Professional system connecting to an Apple Airport Base Station. Previously this had worked fine with an Orinoco Wavelan PC Card and an IBM Thinkpad laptop.
The WMP11 almost worked, but appeared to have serious trouble with the DNS entry. This proved to be a symptom for a greater, undiscovered, problem that allowed no traffic out to the Internet. So, while I could use the card on my network, it couldn't get out to the Internet.
Linksys support attempted to resolve the problem but very quickly recommended returning the card in favor of one of their USB products which, in their words, "doesn't have the problems the PCI card does".
I am returning it, but will not replace it with another Linksys product. I plan on spending my money wisely this time and buying something like an Orinoco.
45 This isn't a finished product!
I couldn't get the Linksys WMP11 to install on my Windows 95 PC. Evidently, according to Linksys tech support, version 2.7 of the WMP11 installation CD-ROM doesn't have all the necessary drivers, despite the fact that the Linksys technical documentation says that Windows 95 is supported. The necessary drivers "should be ready in a few days" according to Linksys technical support. They suggested returning the product to the retailer and getting the version 1 WMP 11 product instead. Only problem is, you can't tell from the box what version of the software it contains. Oh, and yes, the instructions that came with the WMP11 were in French. Hope you've brushed up on your French recently.....
46 Great Wireless with a little work
I own the Linksys WMP-11 PCI card and a Linksys Wireless 4-port Cable/DSL router. I had a 10/100 ethernet card in my machine and was running off of the router for a good long time, so I knew the router settings were correct before I went to install my wireless card.
When the day came, I disconnected the wired network, installed the wireless software, and put the card in my machine. I powered back up, and although I had 100% signal strength and 100% signal quality, the link was terrible - I could only download a few KB of data before losing a link, and I couldn't even connect to my router's configuration page.
I made a quick call to Technical Support and they suggested that I upgrade my drivers and firmware in both products. I was skeptical, but I did anyway, and it worked just fine. Since then, I've moved my router to the basement, two floors below my computer, with floors and walls in the way, and you'd never even know. I run with good signal strength and quality, and I never notice loss of connection or errors on downloads. I've been very, very pleased with this purchase!
47 Bad Antenna placement, Confusing installation, But it works.
Everything about the bad antenna placement is true! I have the computer in normal position, the reception is ~10%. If I turn it around with the antenna facing out, the reception suddenly goes ~85%. That is how much blockage a steel box can make. You might as well get the USB one instead, if you haven't buy it yet.
But if you already did, don't worry, it works. But make sure you install it right. If you are using Windows XP, DO NOT USE THE DIRECT INSTALLATION ON CD. You want the system to detect it and search for driver in the disk. What happen is that if you install the driver first, the software that come with the card and windows default wireless software will be competing for the card and the connection keep dropping after a few minutes. For other windows system, you want to use the software because there are no wireless software build in.
After hours of installtion and trying different placement. I finally decided to place my mail server inside-out on the highest shelf of the kitchen, which give me ~100% signal.
Finally, you might want to check one more thing before setting up a 802.11b network- any 2.4GHz phones. I have a Panasonic 2.4GHz phone and whenever I turn it on, the network is immediately offline. I eventually disconnect the Phone and use only a 900MHz one.
48 Does not work with Windows XP
Contrary to what Linksys state and say on their packaging this product does not work with Windows XP.
I am currently pursuing legal action against Linksys as they will not refund the purchase but only replace it with the same product. This has already been done and it's the same problem.
Do not purchase any Linksys wireless products as even though you may be lucky enough to get some working, there technical support is useless and they continuously lie to you.
49 Windows XP Compatibility
The signal strength is not very strong and other products have better and many of the firmware upgrades have bugs in them when being used with Windows XP.
50 Hot Tip--call Tech Support VERY EARLY IN THE AM
I've read the other reviews stating that Linksys tech support is less than stellar. I've had great luck calling on a Saturday morning, very early
. Got thru in about 3 minutes and was on the phone w/ a woman located in the Philapinnes. After about 25 minutes I was up and running . Signal coverage is awesome. I highly recommend Linksys products even though I've needed tech support help.
51 Two Cards Installed Effortlessly
I installed these cards in a 200mhz IBM and a newer Compaq. Each install was quick and effortless. I had no problems with adding encryption, and speeds are fast and reliable. I originally tried the USB version of the Linksys product in the Compaq, and after two USB units would not work (and after talking with a patient Linksys tech for 90 minutes, with minimal hold time), I tried the PCI Card and it worked perfectly. I would buy more of this PCI card in a heartbeat, and the price has gone down to the "after-rebate" price. Amazon was great in adjusting my original purchase price when there was a price drop after 7 days (on my router, my PCI card, and my USB unit), and shipped a replacement USB Linksys wireless unit next day air when the first one failed, paid for return shipping, the whole nine yards. Overall an A+ experience with this card, twice.
52 Hold off on going wireless if you have not purchased one yet
The 2.4 GHz wireless adapter works great, but beware of using it with 2.4 GHz cordless phones in your house. The cordless phones interfere with the 802.11b signals and you frequently lose connections or connection speeds are real real slow. I suggest that you wait for the 802.11a 5 GHz wireless products to get a bit cheaper. Dlink, Netgear, and Linksys are starting to come out with these products, just wait for a good deal before buying them as they are a bit pricey right now.
53 Corrupts NT
If you are considering using this product with a Windows NT computer be sure to back up your data and your Emergency Repair Disk! Twice I installed the card and driver only to receive the "Blue Screen of Death" during NT's boot process (i.e. I could not log on to NT in order to uninstall the product.)I was able to successfully install the card and driver under Win98, but not without problems.
54 Changing the product without changing the name.
This product has recently (as of 9/2002) changed to a Broadcom chipset. Despite this relativly major switch the company decided not to change the name, this has caused major headaches. As you can imagine, the firmware update for the old chipset refuse to install on the new boards (as it would ruin them), there is driver problems and inconsistencies, and if you intend to run this card in linux forget about it. The broadcom chipset doesn't work with any of the latest linux-wlan-ng builds. In windows XP this board was alright but still problematic; tech support was courteous but MUCH less than helpful.
55 Works well, tough install, bad support.
In the end, it works well. Annoying install problems...the firmware had to be upgraded before it would work at all! And the configuration utility regularly reports that the firmware is out of data and must be upgraded. Linksys Tech Support said NOT to do this under any circumstances. ??
56 Does not work in XP, and encryption does not work period
This card is terrible. Encryption will not work in XP, signal strength is horrible, and documentation is non existant.
Linksys tech support told me that they consider this product "unstable" and that encryption does not work properly on any of their PCI wireless products in Windows XP. The product's box does not mention any conflicts with XP though. This card should be recalled. Shame on linksys.
57 Easy, almost painless, installation
I have these cards installed in two of my computers. The first one installed in about ten minutes flat, and that included opening and closing the computer case. It made a connection immediately and has been working fine ever since.The second is installed in an older computer, that "shouldn't" be able to use this card as the computer runs with a clock speed under 200 MHz. However, after consulting with some knowledgeable people, I decided to try installing the card in this computer, rather than buy a new computer. The installation was more difficult, but probably had more to do with the computer rather than the card. It took about 30 minutes to get the card firmly installed and I had to break off the metal end of the card to get it seated properly. However, that aside, the card works flawlessly - I got a connection immediately and have had no problems since then.
Overall, I would highly recommend this product.
58 Warning: Needs firmware update / placement a problem
Just in case you didn't see the first review with this heading, I'm saying it again. The card "worked" right away, giving me Internet Access as well as PC-to-PC connection, but it ran painfully slow, worse than a 300-baud modem if anyone can remember what that's like. Like the other reviewer noted, I wasted hours and hours of searching for the problem - moving the base station and PC, network settings, router config, browser settings... - and I called a friend. He told me to get the new firmware and driver, which I did with another PC. That did the trick.I can't believe I had go to the Amazon.com reviews to find documentation on this problem - the LinkSys website mentioned nothing about this problem. Effectively, LinkSys is shipping a product that doesn't work as is, and they offer no help on their website or installation software and documentation.
Placement problems really [stinks] with this card. I'd recommend you get the external wireless unit with USB connect to your PC; this allows you to leave the PC on the ground, but place the antenna where it needs to be.
Hours and hours later, now that the PC is sitting 8 feet in the air, and the card has new firmware, it works as it should have within minutes out of the packaging.
59 Not compatible with Windows XP
I might be a bird brain, but I didn't notice this product wasn't compatible with windows xp. I purchased their router which was operational out of the box. However, the wmp11 wireless pci network card won't work. when i called linksys the tech support told me flat out that i needed a different card. too bad for me i already discarded the original packaging. it should be directly stated on their packaging WON'T WORK WITH WINDOWS XP.
60 Excellent performance - but setup was strange.
I'm very happy with the Linksys WMP11 PCI Wireless NIC. It has an actual real antenna that sticks out of the back of the PC and which can be adjusted to get the optimum signal strength. The only problem I had was with the Windows XP wireless networking setup utility doing battle with the utility provided with the one that shipped with the card. I suppose I could have let the Windows-provided utility handle the card but, in the end, I unchecked the box that allowed it to manage the card. This let me use the Linksys utility to handle the setup and things were smooth from then on. Signal strength is excellent - much better than from the SMC PCI card I'd been using earlier. Whether this was a function of having the antenna, rather than SMC's back plastic PC-card type protrusion, I don't know.I would like to see better instructions from Linksys on how to set these cards up in Windows XP, but I have absolutlty no complaints about the card itself.
61 Works great read about my setup though...
The Linksys WMP11 works great. I am using it in conjunction with the Linksys 4port wireless router running DSL. After some configurations on the router that included resetting the routing table (hitting the reset button) and setting up the PPOE account (Linksys could help you out with that along with your internet service provider), the whole system worked fine and has been trouble free ever since.If connection issues ever happen I would recommend resetting the router as a first step. After that you should be good to go...
62 Great buy!
I bought 3 cards, put one in each of three computers: Win98, and two Debian GNU/Linux boxes (one 300mhz, one AMD 1800+). The old linux box is working wonderfully as my access point and the other two machines are working great in managed mode. I haven't tried the firmware upgrade yet, but from all the other reviews, it sounds like it could only make things better. My download speeds from my DSL via the access point to the other two machine are just as fast as when they were wired. This is an excellent buy if you need a reasonably priced desktop solution with high compatibility.
63 Great performance
This PCI card was simple to install. Had one minor conflict with my system but was able to resolve it. The performance is better than expected with 100% signal strength to the wireless router and maximum speed. I am very satisfied and would recommend this product to anyone considering a wireless network in their home.
64 Installing your WMP11 Wireless PCI Network Card
The installation was a pretty smooth process, but you have to install the software before installing the card. This procedure is okay since I've just purchased the card but in the long run, it makes it difficult if you have to restore or rebuild your OS. Other than that the card works great.
65 WARNING: NEEDS FIRMWARE UPDATE
Had incredibly high packet loss, couldn't communicate, downloaded firmware update from linksys, works like a champ. I get 100% signal quality and 86% signal strength to my NetGear ME102 wireless access point through 2 walls at 30 feet with all kinds of electric devices within the perimeter, including a sony cordless phone. I'm also utilizing the 128bit WEP with my own keyset, and the transfer rates have not suffered by my estimation. So it's a good unit by me, but if you buy it, install the firmware update right off the bat, or you will might be led down a 9 hour path of checking everying under the sun BUT the firmware by the wonderfully rude and lackluster intelligence McDonalds, ahem I mean LinkSys employees, like I was. If you think you will need tech support, try another brand. All my NetGear products far exceed my expectations. The only reason I bought this LinkSys is because NetGear does not offer a full PCI WLAN NIC with antennae. However with the firmware update, my LinkSys WMP11 is working like a champ now, so I am happy. Cheers.
66 Beautiful
I'm connecting to the BEFW11S4 wireless router with this card on a PC with windows 98 and one with windows xp, and they both work great. Setup was very easy, taking only a matter of minutes, and from 200 feet away, I get a signal strength of at least 80 percent, which is more than fast enough for my 3mb Adelphia cable internet connection. This card even supports WEP encryption to keep your network completely safe from hackers. I definately recommend this card to anyone interested in wireless networking.
67 Works great. Easy Setup. Great way to get into Wi-Fi
From the time I opened the box of the companion wireless access point and router, to the time I was up and running with a fast connection was about two hours. It would have been a half hour had I not run into a snag. After getting the two cards to communicate, which was simple, I was unable to get more than a trickle of information through--in other words I was slower than dial-up ... way slower. Because someone posted a review here (thank you whoever you are), I downloaded a firmware upgrade and new drivers, installed them an I'm good to go. Even though my signal strength is listed by the software as poor, I get a reliable 11Mbps, which is simply fantastic. While I'd really like to not have installed the firmware upgrade, I'd still recommend this product and the companion Wireless access point and router.
68 Seriously flawed with Win98
Having successfully set up another machine with a PC card/PCI adapter a couple of weeks ago, I thought I'd try the new desktop version on a second machine. Out of the box, the card was a failure. While I could address the card, and the signal indicator said I had an "excellent" link, I couldn't move any reasonably sized data through the card (e.g., web pages took 6 minutes to load). Reviewing the Linksys web site pointed me toward a driver and firmware upgrade, but how are you supposed to download a 6mb file without a functioning broadband link? I returned it and bought another PC card/PCI adapter combo, and I'm running fine.Bottom line: if you don't have a lot of time to mess around with tuning the card, be very careful before purchasing if you're installing with Windows 98.
69 Improved!
I upgraded from the PCI card / PCMCIA card combination and my preformance more than doubled!
I'm using Windows XP Professional and the installation took all of 10 minutes.
I'd buy another one without hesitation.
70 Firmware upgrade is a must !!
I brought my Linksys WMP11 on 5/5/02 and installed on a 4 year old computer running Windows 98 on 166 MHz and 96 Mb on board. At first it does not work. But after upgrading the firmware, it works perfect. The procedure is to run the firmware upgrade software, then remove the card and put it back again. The computer will flash the card at this point and afterwards I got very fast and stable connection.
71 Make sure you use the the right installation software.
I bought a Instant Wireless(tm) Wireless PCI card Model No.: WMP11 at Staples. When installing the software MAKE SURE you use the folder whos name matches your operating system. If you can't find the right folder on your CD, call technical support and try downloading it from their Website(i.e. if you're running Windows XP, DON'T use the Windows ME or Windows NT folders).
Following this advice will save you hours of frustration. Apart from that I'm quite pleased with the product. The technical support is good and the throughput is excellent. When playing online I often have the lowest ping and am often first to show up. If the installation CD included Windows XP support then I might give it a 5 star rating.
72 Does Not Work
I purchased this card and the WAP11 Wireless Access Point to connect my ethernet network with a machine I placed upstairs in my home. Even at no more than 40ft from the A.P. the card could not connect (supposedly works up to 300ft indoors). When I called Linksys, the rep told me that the card does not work well when it is between the computer and a wall, and may not work well near the computer's power supply. (That defeats the purpose of having a PCI card.) I decided to return the card and A.P. I purchased Home Phone Line Netwoking equipment and it works fine.
73 50-75 feet max range
This product is an adaptation of the popular Linksys instant wireless network card for laptops. Laptops are subject to greater
flexibility of positioning than PC's. I pushed this product to the max. In a large mid tower case, on the floor, in an armoir, facing away from the access point, through several walls,closets, bookcases,appliances and about 100 feet away from the access point, I got a signal strength of about 0-6% at best.
When I moved the PC to the living room, 50 feet away,no armoir, still on the floor,oriented towards the WAP11 I got 70% and a good Internet connection. So I returned the WMP11 for a WUSB11
usb adapter. It is easier to install, requires no power cord. It can be elevated to the ceiling if you wish, while leaving the PC "in the armoir where it belongs"-wife talking. I set it on top
and got a 26-40% reading -enough to go! So I would only recommend this card for PC's at desktop level less than 80-90 feet away from the source.
74 Horrible throughput
Tech support (reached after 50 minutes on hold) told me to upgrade the firmware when I was getting almost no throughput. Tried it--didn't work (even after physically removing the PCI card). Firmware wouldn't update correctly. Second call to tech support (30 minutes on hold) said the firmware upgrade was only for WinXP (I'm using Win98SE). Finally sent the card back.
75 Don't even think about ...
... using this with the WAP11 access point WITHOUT upgrading the firmware first (on both of them!). Unless of course you would like a wild ride through hell during installation. Linksys support for their wireless products is near non-existent. I was on hold for more than 3 hours and then I gave up (good thing I have headset phone!). I tried again the next day waited on hold for 1 hour and then gave up. I was about to return the WAP11 and WMP11, when I decided to upgrade the firmware on the WMP11 (I had already upgraded the firmware on the WAP11). After hours and hours of frustration, and finally, the firmware upgrade, it worked! I have the WAP11 in my basement and my computer with the WMP11 on the main floor, I get 73% signal strength and link quality.
76 reliable product, easy install
I've been working on my home network for several weeks. Initially I tried the D-Link 500/650 combo -- with the rebate, it was half the price of the Linksys. After a horrible installation experience (even the most recent downloaded drivers couldn't be installed, hour-long waits on tech support, all ultimately to no avail) I purchased the WMP11 but was dreading installing the wpm11. Following advice found online, I first installed downloaded drivers, then installed the device and upgraded the firmware. There were no hassles during installation, and I got 70% signal strength through 80 feet of (wood & plaster) walls and ceiling without any adjustment. I'd highly recommend this card over a PCI adapter / PC card combo.
77 Thanks SO Much for the Advice!
I just read the article called "Update Firmware and Drivers" and upgraded my WMP-11. Man, what a difference! I could barely get ANY throughput on my card and was just about ready to send the thing back. I installed the new firmware and drivers (then unplugged / re-plugged the pci card) and rebooted and now I'm zipping around just like it was wired!Thanks again for the advice!
78 Antenna should have been separated from the card
I bought this card last December. Opened my desktop PC, installed the driver, put the card in one of the PCI slots, had the desktop connected to the network in less than 20 minutes. Then I spent the next 7 hours trying to get good, reliable wireless connection. The major complaint I have with the card is that the Linksys should have separated the antenna from the card and allowed users to put the antenna somewhere else via a cable. With the antenna mounted on the back of the card directly, it is completed shielded by the PC's metal case, which makes the wireless transmission and reception poor. With all the cables and connectors in the back of a PC, it also makes it hard to adjust the antenna at all (I had to move the wireless card up and down the slots to find the optimal location). My wireless AP was only about 60 ft away and I was only getting 20 - 30% signal strength and link quality. From time to time it would lose the connection completely. Linksys should really have thought through this antenna issue. After all the hard work and time spent, I finally got the optimal antenna position. I am now getting 40 - 60% of signal strength and link quality. It now runs reliably at 11 mbps speed.
The second problem I had was that this card interfered with my daughter's favorite music player Winamp. Whenever she played music using Wimapm, the wireless card would lose connection and stop working completely. This problem was fixed after I downloaded the latest driver and firmware for the card. Not sure if this is related to the Creative sound card interference problem reported by another review. My desktop does have a Creative sound card.
79 Update Firmware and Drivers
Installed fine but was getting very poor throughput rates. Downloaded the new firmware (12/13/01) and everthing worked great. Also updated the software and drivers. I would recommend downloading the updates and installing from there and not the CD because upgrading required me to shutdown, remove the card, reboot, unistall, reboot, install new drivers, shutdown, install card "a real pain".
Firmware
ftp://ftp.linksys.com/pub/network/wmp11upgrade.exe
Driver
ftp://ftp.linksys.com/pub/network/wmp11.zip
PS
I have a creative labs sound card and have no problems. Perhaps the driver upgrade is the issue.
80 Great card (if you can get it working)
Buyer Beware! The WMP11 doesn't work very well with Creative Labs based sound cards. You won't get any conflicts in the device manager but connection speeds drop very low (~2400 baud). I tried this card on 2 computers of different manufacture, the sound cards were different models of creative labs. The WMP11 had the same issue with both. I pulled the sound card and got instant full speed access, blazing fast. Put the sound card back in, back down to zero speed. I tried allocating IRQ's and memory resources myself, but still got the same results. Upgrading BIOS and drivers throughout the system had no effect. If you have a creative based sound card I would recommend waiting for a driver upgrade for the Linksys card before trying the WMP11. It's a shame, because outside of that issue the card was great, fast connections over my whole apartment. Check Deja for more info on the incompatibilities as some people were able to get it to work, and some people were not (lucky me!). Another downside to buying a linksys card is that their technical support website is quite bad, with phone support making the website look like an attractive alternative. I am going to try the SMC2602W next, you can see my report there on how it went.
81 Couldn't get it to work with Win98 and SMC Access Point
I bought this wireless PCI card to connect a Windows 98 desktop machine to an SMC Wireless Barricade Access Point/Broadband Router. After getting a solid signal (66%), and updating all sorts of settings in the Windows Registry (MaxMTU), I still couldn't get it to work reliably -- web pages would load increibly slowly and almost never finish. I turned the WEP encryption off and even called Linksys Tech Support, but to no avail. I would not recommend this product unless you have a Linksys Access Point. I returned this product.
82 range may be a problem
It's a good card. The software it comes with is also good. However, I needed more range and had to spend ...extra ...on a larger external antenna. Now my card works great.
83 Linksys holds true
I bought this without reading another review then read the last guys review. I was really worried that it would not work. I got it, followed the directions to install software before installing the card, installed the card and it works perfectly. I am also using the Linksys Access point. Made a few security changes, uploaded the changes to the access point and it works. I had a little trouble with signal strength but I moved the access point up a few feet in the closet and got much better results. The only problem with the antenna on the card is that if it is not in the top slot, it has limited motion because of all the other cables. All in all though it works well on my NT box, 2000 box and 98 box. I tried all three after reading the other review.
84 hours of frustration
This product may work fine on Plug and Play systems (9X, 2000), but I couldn't get it installed under NT. Worse yet, I got the NT blue-screen-of-death at startup and couldn't even boot my computer until I removed the card. Linksys tech support in the after-hours had an estimated 40 minute wait, so I called back during regular hours when they should have more technicians, and I just got an answering machine (they still haven't returned my call). I thought I'd save a few bucks by going with this product and have really regretted it.
