Wireless-G PrintServer for USB 2.0, 802.11g
1 Incompatable with many newer printers
The linksys device looks good, but it doesn't support multi-function printers. The only way to use the print server with an all-in-one printer, is to disable the copy, scan, fax capabilities. Sort of defeats the purpose. Linksys did say that they'll update the driver eventually, since 80% of printers are now multi-function, but they had no idea when.
2 NO WPA ENCRYPTION - only WEP
The unit worked well but was a bit difficult to get setup. I needed to call Linksys and they walked me through the setup. I have better than average networking knowledge but that didn't help me install this on my own. Once setup however, it worked very well but in the end, I decided to return it because of poor security. The print server does not support strong WPA encryption. It only supports weaker WEP encryption. Linksys said they do not have a time table to upgrade the firmware of this unit so I decided to return it. No sense in taking chances with your personal data.
3 works like a charm.....finally
I was apprehensive when ordering the Lynksis server, having read the previous reviews.
When the item arrived, I did spent quite bit of time setting it up, and it still wouldn't work. I began to wonder if my printer was one of those incompatible with this server. After resetting the server and starting all over, I realized that if the server was connected to the USB port of my printer it would not work, but when I connected the parallel cable (not included) to the server, it worked fine.Check the light on the front of the server to see if your connection is recognized, by being lit up. Had I tried this from the beginning it would have been a breeze.
I found the other reviews helpful.
Yes connect the server to your router from the start,let your router configure your address via the enclosed CD "Set Up Wizard".You can type your address in your Internet Explorer address, and configure the server that way. Unhook your router from the server and go wireless, but keep the printer/server close to your pc and keep configuring,so you don't have to keep running back and forth. Let the Windows XP configure your firewall via the Control Panel.If you have other firewalls, turn them off. I have a Sygate and Zonealarm running, and they both allow the server to function once configured. Don't give up. It works like a charm.
Shop around, the price range offered on the net is quite wide.
4 No problems, prints beautifully from 3 different computers
I experienced no problems with installing this print server by following the directions included to the "T". It prints quickly and beautifully using the wireless from 3 different computers (all running XP Pro) to a Brother HL-2030 and a Canon i860.
I haven't had it long enough to know if it will require frequent resets, but right now I am tickled to death!
5 Worked exactly as advertised
Money well spent. Set up was straight forward and worked the first time. I am pretty good at setting up consumer electronics (e.g. TVs/Stereos/PCs); if you are too you should have no troubles.
I have an older HP 6P (parellel) and an HP scan/copy/printer/fax (USB) in my upstairs office (my cable modem and wireless router is in the basement - Linksys wireless B). I have computers on all three floors of my house. I run both XP and Win2000 Pro on these machines. As you can see, I needed a wireless printserver and this device has worked out great.
One reviewer says the ethernet cord is required for install - not true for me. I set up without connecting the cord and was succesful going through my wireless router (although the instructions tell you to connect the ethernet cable, I didn't have to...which was good because my printers were upsatirs and my router in the basement).
Sometimes I see critical reviews of Linksys products on Amazon. I have learned to ignore them as I have had 100% success with Linksys products...and I have 6 Linksys devices now. (I have no affiliation with Linksys).
6 Worked for me, but broken AC adapter
Works for me with one complaint: one of the AC adapter's prongs wasn't connected to anything within the AC adapter; the prong was loose and actually slipped into the adapter "black box" leaving an empty slot and only one prong! I had an extra ac adapter around, with a close enough match in volts and amps, which works well.
Installation was fine, I followed the directions and everything connected as indicated. I unplugged all, setup the printer and print server in their permanent location, turned all on, and everything works.
Tip: Directly connect each PC to your printer, install necessary print drivers, so printing works. When, during installation of the print server software, it's time to connect the PC's printer entry to the print server's port, the printer entry will already exist.
I ran across this problem when installing my second PC, as I had never used it to print to my printer. When it was time to connect the PC's printer entry to the print server's port, I had no printer entry on my PC. I had to manually connect the second PC to the printer, add the printer, disconnect it, then was able to connect the PC's printer entry to the print server's port during the print server driver installation.
My setup
* Comcast cable internet
* Linksys cable modem (BEFCMU10)
* Linksys wireless router (BEFW11S4)
* Windows XP Pro on one PC, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition on the other
If not for the broken ac adapter, I would have given 5 stars.
7 I am sure it works, but not for me.
I've had relatively good luck with Linksys equipment in the past (we'll ignore the first three 4-port Linksys routers that bit the dust ofter working for only three months, but I digress). This Linksys print server, however, really disappointed me. My entire network is Linksys and I could never get the print server to do it's job.
I have a multi-function HP printer, and I just saw some other reviews with my same issue. The least Linksys could have done was provide a list of supported (or unsupported) equipment so I didn't have to waste a weekend trying to get it to work.
The only piece of networking equipment that has never gone bust on me has been my little 4-port hub that comes with me when I am travelling for work and visiting customers. Oh, wait... that's a Netgear hub I own.
8 Multifunction Printer Owners Beware!
I suppose this product might be good for those of you who have non-multifunctional printers, i.e., printer/scanner/copier. However, I (like many of you) have a multifunction printer - a Lexmark X83 to be precise - and this print server is not compatible with this model of printer. This was verified by tech support at Linksys. The tech rep even told me that most multifunction machines are not compatible with this. Needless to say, I returned it. You have been forewarned.
9 This item is not compatible with Multifunction Printers...
Hi,
Purchased this for a great customer. Worked for 5 hours in their home, then for 4 more in mine to try to get this beast to work. What an embarrassment. Will not work with their Dell 962 multifunction. Broke my customer's Windows printing installation, so after I left he could not print to his connected printer. Tried System Restore and completely broke XP...need to reinstall.
WORST LINKSYS PRODUCT I'VE EVER WORKED WITH.
MS
10 great product, easy set up
I have been seeing a lot of complaints about this product, however, as a big fan of linksys, I still went ahead and made the purchase, which turned out to be a great investment.
Installation is straight-forward:
1. Install printer drivers on your computers
2. Plug the ethernet cable to print server
3. Without using the wizard, try to find the ip address of print server. If the server is hooked up onto a wireless router, usually if the IP of your router is 192.168.x.1, then the IP of the print server is going to be 192.168.x.2-4, mine was 4. You can try to ping, if it goes through, then it probably is the right IP.
4. On a computer that's connected to the LAN, type the IP address you just found in your favorite browser, login and configurate.
5. After you've done everything, unplug the wire, and now the wireless should work. I assigned a fixed IP to the print server so that it won't change thereafter.
6. Now hook up your printer(s), and browser to find the printers in windows or linux.
Total time estimated: 15 minutes.
Okay, I know it's more like a set up instruction, but I feel pretty good about this product. The set up was easy, and it's quiet stable, I had no issue after printing couple files.
The downside is it doesn't support WPA, so that I had to downgraded the security of my wireless network to 128bit WEP, linksys hasn't update firmware since 2003. Other than that, the only thing you got in print is the easy set up instruction, which is not a big issue for me, but might be annoying to others.
Overall, it's a good product from a company that you can trust.
11 Incompatible
No incompatibility list from the vendor... it just never worked.
It did not work with any of MY printers, multi-function or single-function, ink jet or laser jet per Linksys.
They need a compatibility list. Worst Linksys product I have every attempted use.
12 Avoid this print server and you'll be happy
if what you have is a desire to print on a wireless network, that is.
I bought this product for a Lexmark single-function printer. It never worked. It never indicated an incompatibility problem; it just never worked.
I bought an HP multi-function printer recently and tried again. Was able to get my GF's W2K PC to print, once, and then she lost her association with the printer. My XP PC never worked.
Called Linksys and spoke with a nice woman who, although she was monolingual Hindi-speaking, did repeatedly and courteously read from her script and was unable to assist me in any way before thanking me for my 45 minutes on the phone and ending the conversation.
This print server is a POS and Linksys never mentioned anything about compatibility issues... apparently my print server is incompatible with printers.
13 No problems so far - recommended
I feel the pain of the several folks who complained about this not working. But I suffered none of the issues cataloged in those reviews.
I did follow the tips kindly suggested by others, and had only one minor glitch: the Setup Wizard initially did not see the PrintSever. The simple fix was to exit and restart the Setup Wizard. Then everything went very smoothly. I installed the printers beforehand; shutdown my firewall; disabled WEP, etc. No problems, and all my usual configuration is back to normal within an hour. ZoneAlarm did not require any tweaking, and I am printing without having to temporarily disable ZoneAlarm.
I've a DSL connection, and for the setup, I simply detached my access point from the DSL modem and relocated it temporarily while I configured the printserver, for convenience. Lifting the bridge over the moat, as it were, also made me feel better about disabling ZoneAlarm for the installation.
The Linksys documentation isn't explicit about this: Once the PrintServer is configured, you install the PrintServer driver on other network computers using the Setup Wizard's "User Install" option. You can do this wirelessly, using the Setup Wizard CD. Be sure to have installed the printer driver(s) on those other computers, before installing the PrintServer driver.
My Linksys PrintServer has Firmware Version 6032, dated 11/17/2003 - which is what's available on the Linksys web site as of 2/5/2005. I'm using Win XP Pro SP 2 on an old Gateway CPU; Win XP Home SP 2 on a Toshiba laptop; ZoneAlarm Pro version 5.5.062.004, and a Hewlett-Packard Laserjet 2420dn, a nice machine with duplex printing built-in. I leave the Microsoft XP firewall disabled. I have a mix of Linksys and Netgear wireless cards, and a Linksys BEFW11S4 ver. 2 access point/router/switch.
14 Important Quick tips!
I spent about 8 hours trying to get this device to work. It was all configured correctly and print jobs were going to the queue, but nothing was printing. I tried this on 2 different printers. Including the QMS 1250W and a Dell A960 printer.
Frustrated, I eventually called Linksys support.
The first thing the support agent told me was to hold down the "Reset" button for 3 - 5 seconds. It should print out the configuration details including the IP address. If this does not print, it indicate the device does not support your printer!!!
How easy is that?
Why does Linksys not include this very helpful and simple tip in the quick start???
However, if you are trying to print a test page, you probably have already bought the device.
I would strongly recommend avoiding frustration and call Linksys prior to buying the item. That way you will avoid having to return the item when you find out your device is not supported.
Come on Linksys, you have let me down this time around!!
15 It is somewhat tricky, but it does work!
Ok, first off, i did get this to install and it is working fine.
I am running Windows XP with sp2. My printers are an Epson c80 and a Samsung ML-1740. My wireless router is a US Robotics 8054.
Please look through the other reviews, there are many helpful hints. I will try to summarize them here. A note for those of you using multi-function devices: Print servers may allow you to print to your multi-function device, but they most likely will NOT allow you to operate the other functions. It is a PRINT server, not a scan/copy/fax server. Again these functions may work, but be aware, that the device you are reading about is not designed nor intended to be used in this way due to the nature of communications (bi-directional) required for scan/copy/fax activities.
To the setup:
You MUST physically connect the print server to your network via ethernet cable to initially install it. The print server has no way of knowing what your network setting are, and will NOT even attempt to find them out.
I would advise you to turn off firewalls, to prevent those types of problems.
I went through the setup program on the cd, and followed along in the instruction manual that came with the unit. Take your time, and be patient. It does work.
The utility will look for the print server on the network, if it is connected by ETHERNET CABLE, it should be able to be found.
I suggest assigning a static IP to the print server. This will help with two problems. 1. It makes it less likely that the print server will become "lost" on the network as computers log on and off and IP numbers are released and assigned. 2. It makes it easier to administer the print server as you always know what the ip address is for it.
Set the Print server's password, use something strong. Printer ink/toner is expensive, don't less rogue users waste it.
Wireless settings screen - VERY IMPORTANT (this is what tripped me up for a while). (I am adding this to an infrastructure network.)
1. The SSID is CaSe SeNsItIvE
2. Check the channel on your wireless router, no really check it and make sure they match.
3. Make sure you set the print server to the appropriate network type. Either Infrastructure or AD-Hoc.
Wireless Security screens - also VERY IMPORTANT
First, no this print server is not cabaple of WPA, but 128-bit WEP is better than nothing. I do wish that Linksys/Cisco would have changed that particular feature, but still.
So use 128-bit.
Enter a passphrase or click next to enter the HEXADECIMAL number manually.
NOTE: The key is HEXADECIMAL, if your router is set up using ASCII, you must change it to HEX.
This may go without saying, but all the wireless and security settings MUST BE THE SAME between the print server and the router.
Next you have to install the print server driver. And yes you have to set this up on all of the computers that will print on your network.
On the install CD splash screen it is the "User Install" link.
Install it to the location of your choice. Then run it.
Your ethernet cable should still be hooked up.
Ok, it asks if you are ready to begin, click ok.
Select a port and click "ok". One thing also to note. The first port is the parallel port, the second port is the USB port.
It should add the port succesfully, and tell you so.
If your printer is already installed select it from the list and click "connect". If not, (i deleted all mine from my "Printers and Faxes") then select "Add new printer".
i recommend replacing the print drivers even if they are the same, this makes sure your driver files are uncorrupted. After the printer is added, you should return into the Port setup screen. The port you just setup, should now be yellow and have an "x" next to it. Repeat the procedure for the other printer (if applicable). Make sure you hit "connect" (with the printer highlighted), for BOTH printers.
Install the drivers on all computers on your network. And try printing from all the computers use wordpad or word or notepad in addition to doing test pages.
Once all the computers are set up, then you can switch over to wireless mode. As the other reviews say, unplug the print server's power, then unplug the ethernet cable. Wait 2 or 3 minutes before plugging it back in. You do NOT need to hit reset. If all the wireless settings (most importantly security) are correct, it will log onto the wireless network and you will be all set. ENJOY!
If it still doesn't work, go back though the guide step-by-step and rad through the reviews of people who got it to you. Be patient, and in most cases you should be able to figure it out.
If you are hesitent, buy it locally, and you can take it back if necessary.
Good Luck! and be patient, mine works fine!
16 Wirlesss Print Server Consistently Unreliable
Twice a month the server lost its programming. There is very little in the manual that could help. Calling for support meant an around the world conversation which was not helpful or the support worker did not know what to do. I finally disconnected the server and gave up. It was a waste of money.
17 Not stable
I purchased this print server to be used with a Samsung laser printer (via USB). I do not need the wireless capabilities, but I opted for it for future expansion.
I find that the print server is flakey in my setup. Half the time, the printer cannot be found on the network. To fix this, I have to unplug and replug the power cable. This seems to reset everything and I'll be able to print a few things before it happens again.
Note that this is using the simplest of all possible network setups -- static IP address through ethernet, and I still have problems!
I have been hoping that Linksys would fix the quirks and release a new firmware, but since it's been over a year, I suspect any future Linksys support is unlikely.
18 Works Great
I was able to configure my Canon MP780 with the wireless router with no problems. Eventhough I have seen other reviews that state that this product will not work with multifunction printers I have found this not to be the case.
19 Setup is Tricky, but it Works as Advertised!
Thanks to the tips posted by other reviewers, I got my WPS54GU2 up and running with both my old Laserjet 4MV and HP DeskJet 970 on the third try. I needed a solution to be able to print to my Laserjet from a laptop with no serial printer port & this PrintServer seemed like a great solution, since it enables me to print to both my printers. Like others, though, I found the setup process frustrating.
Here are a few additional tips that you might find useful:
- You should be able to print a diagnostic page by holding down the PrintServer's reset button for two seconds. If nothing prints when you release the reset button, your printer might not be supported. The diagnostic page contains the PrintServer's current configuration--I found this very helpful when I was trying to figure out why the PrintServer wasn't talking to my wireless network.
- When I switched over to wireless mode, the PrintServer couldn't talk to my wireless router to get an IP address, so it defaulted to an IP that was completely bogus for my network. Following the reset procedure in the manual failed to reset the IP & I could no longer talk to the router to administer it. Argh! I used the Linksys LinkChat web support, and apparently got lucky, because the person seemed to recognize the problem & told me how to reset the PrintServer: hold down the reset button for 30 seconds, and then unplug it. Wait for about 30 seconds, plug in the Ethernet cable, and plug the PrintServer back in.
- Tech support recommended using the Web configuration utility to configure the PrintServer, but I ended up using the BiAdmin Management utility & that worked fine. From my experience & other comments, I'd avoid using the setup wizard to configure the PrintServer.
- Giving the PrintServer a static IP enabled me to debug the problems with my wireless configuration, but it's working fine now with DHCP.
- The SSID is case-sensitive. That's why my initial attempts at getting the thing to work in wireless mode failed. There are lots of other minor errors that can have the same effect--not having the channel number set correctly, entering an invalid key, etc., etc.
In the end, most of my problems stemmed from user error. Good docs would have made the process less painful, but configuring any wireless device on a secure network is a pain given the current technology--that's not just a Linksys issue.
20 Does not support multi function printers
The manual nor tech support seem to know this until you get to level II tech. That's when they informed me the server would not work with multi function printers.
21 This is a piece of junk
DO NOT BUY THIS PIECE OF CRAP
ALL OF THE BAD REVIEWS ARE TRUE.
THE DIRECTIONS ARE WORTHLESS AND THE CUSTOMER SUPPORT IS WORSE.
IT WILL NOT WORK WITH THE NEWER MULTIFUNCTION PRINTERS.
THE SET UP IS HORRIBLE.
THIS IS A DISGRACE TO LINKSYS, PRODUCING A PRINT SERVER LIKE THIS.
I HAVE MANY OTHER LINKSYS PRODUCTS, BUT NOT ONE OF THEM, DID I HAVE ANY OF THE PROBLEMS i HAD WITH THIS.
BACK TO THE STORE WITH THIS WASTE OF PLASTIC AND PARTS.
I HAVE NEVER EVEN CONSIDERED OR COME SO CLOSE TO JUST TAKING THIS PIECE OF CRAP OUT TO THE BACK YARD AND BLASTING THE LIVING SNOT OUT OF IT WITH A TWELVE GAUGE SHOT GUN.
STAY CLEAR
STAY CLEAR
STAY CLEAR.
DO NOT BUY
DO NOT BUY
do you think I got my opinion accross?
Too bad you cant give out 0 stars rating.
22 poor documentation - outsourced indian tech support
ok folks here is my experience with this print server.
IT WAS A PAIN TO SETUP - but once I got it working it worked fine with no troubles so far.
I read the poorly written documention ( doesn't make any suggestions for trouble shooting ) as I followed it to a tee. My router could not even find the darn print server at all.
When calling the outsourced techsupport I had a hard time being patient with them as they answered my questions as if they were dancing around them. I don't expect tech support to know everything and I caught one not admitting he didn't know the answer. after I made a few more calls I got someone who actually spoke english well enough and knew what was happening. She was a much more pleasant experience. if you're having trouble with your router I would suggest doing the following before calling tech support.
1. turn off printer
2. unplug power from print server
3. (first time setup) Plug in an ethernet cable to server and plug in the power.
4. turn printer back on after about 10 seconds. (gives a little extra time to acquire an IP from the router, it helped)
5. run setup wizard from CD and follow your documentation from this point on.
6. after you tested the setup with your ethernet cable, turn off printer, turn off print server, unplug ethernet cable, plug in print server, turn on printer, test print, and Viola all should work fine.
if you have WEP settings be sure to have it handy before going through the process of setting up the print server.
if you need info about the print server itself (like the mac adress). while the printer is on you can hold down the reset button on the back of the print server to get additional info. the info will be sent to your printer and printed out.
Last, even though tech support sucked they all managed to slip me more info about problems with their hardware. I would suggest calling them if you don't get your product working within a reasonable amount of time.
my setup worked with WEP 128 and no trouble so far. Though I should point out that tech support did mention they are having trouble with multi function printers ( as in those that take pictures from your cameras and/or memory cards to print from.) and linksys is aware of it. She could not give me an answer as to why and pushed me to find current drivers for the printer.
I took the whole after noon to rebuild a wireless network for my parents. ALL linksys/cisco products. Personally I would go with a competitors products next time. Though I will give cisco a thumbs up for trying hard at staying in the home market.
I hope this at least helped a few people after readying this.
TTFN
23 Not functional
This item does not work with multi-fuction printers. The manual does not say that. So i thought it would work so i tried it out and it did not work. So i call ed Linksys and we went through some steps to fix the server which took 30 mins. then she said that she will transfer me to level 2 support what ever that is i was on hold for an hour. then the man on level 2 said that the linksys print server is not compatible with multi-function printer. he also said that Linksys does not make Print servers for mult-function printers.
24 Incompatible with many USB printers
I purchased the Linksys WPS54GU2 Printserver for USB 2.0 because it advertised compatibility with new USB printers and because it would accommodate both a parallel and wireless G printer connectiion at the same time. I found the documentation to be meager and disappointing. It took two phone calls to Linksys to get the thing installed. The second call concluded with the tech telling me this printserver will not work with a new Epson Stylus C86 and he "gave me the impression" it will not work with many new USB based printers! Once installed, I have only been able to print maybe 3 pages out of 30 attempts due to "Printserver Connect Failure"! I will be returning this product tomorrow!!!!
Information note if the shoe fits: From this experience, I found I don't even need a wireless print server. I need wireless to connect my notebook to my network, hence, I need and have a wireless router. Wireless on the print server is not needed because it connects to the network by connecting to the router by Ethernet!! Lesson learned.
PGJ
25 Great Product!!! It works!!!
This print server actually rocks if it is setup correctly. Installation and setup for my wireless printing was just a breeze. I didn't encounter any problem at all. It print from the main computer and my laptops without problem at all....Thanks for the helpful reviews guys...It helps a lot. Linksys didn't provide adequate setup instructions for the wireless setup....Anyhow just make few changes to the default settings and it works.. Just give it trial and it will surely work for you... I took a chance on it and it pays off. I do not understand why some people are having problem with this equipment. My installation was easy as 123...It also works with my multifunction printer. So far I am using it on Samsung ml 1430 and sharp al 14 series and have not encounter any problem at all. I think it a great piece of equipment to have if you have more than one computer.
26 A few little tidbits...
If your computers keep dropping the Linksys network every five minutes or so, go to the authentication tab and uncheck the Ieee authentication box. This seems to clear up the dropping issue. This tab is two levels deep, first go to wireless adapter properties, then to preferred network properties for the network you are using. You should then see an authentication tab.
Configure the print server with a fixed IP; it does not seem to use DHCP well.
After you configure the server wired to the LAN, you have to unplug the power cord AND the LAN cord for a minute or so to get it to forget the LAN and switch to wireless. Don't press reset. Just plug the power cable back in after a minute and it will come up using the fixed IP you gave it and be accessible to your wireless network. Perhaps not obvious: don't plug the LAN cable back in.
27 Works fine - just install using these tips
After reading the mixed reviews for this, I still decided to try the Linksys Wireless Print Server. Although this is more expensive than the wired print server, I thought that it may be nice to locate my printers (one is USB and the other is parallel/USB) and wireless router in different locations. Neither printer is multi-function. I first tried a "wired" Linksys print server, but was unable to connect (2) USB printers using a hub - plus the price of the print server and the hub was nearly the same as the wireless device.
So far so good, but there are some things that I suggest you do when installing this device. These are based on personal experience, which has been a process of educated trial and error. An IT professional may do things differently, but if you were an IT professional, you probably wouldn't be reading these reviews. My network is almost entirely Linksys components (wireless router, wireless adapter, and print server), although I am using the network cards that were pre-installed with those computers that are hard wired to the router.
First, disable your firewall. This will allow you to test the compatibility of the printers, the network, and the print sever without the extra component to worry about. Once everything is up and running, you can enable your firewall and tweak any networking restrictions at that time.
Secondly, when configuring the router (which is the first step), you will need to have this "wired" to your router. This is part of the instructions, and should not come as a surprise. However, make sure you leave this "wired" until you have installed the print server drivers and software on all your networked computers. The install utility seems to have trouble finding the print server if you have disconnected the hard wire connection, even if the print server lights indicate it is already on the wireless LAN.
Thirdly, if you are using MAC address filtering, temporarily disable this. One you get the print server set up and running, you can find its MAC address using the web utility or the BI-admin utility, and then restore the filtering after adding the print server. However, if you want to use the web based configuration utility (like you use with your router), please follow the instructions in the following paragraph.
Fourth, once you have installed everything per the instructions, I recommend the following: give your print server a fixed IP address on your network (e.g. 192.168.1.171). My experience is this: If your router uses DHCP to assign IP addresses to your networked computers and servers, the print server does not always communicate back to the router, and your print server will sometimes "disappear" from your network after computers have been turned off and on. Something to do with the order the computers and servers are turned on. Setting this to a fixed address has cleared up those problems for me. Also, because the print server's address is fixed, you can access the web based configuration utility by typing in the same IP address each time.
Fifthly, find the MAC address using the web based or BI-admin utility. Now, if you are using these, reinstate your MAC address filtering, adding your print server's address to the allowed list.
Sixth, test and test again. Reboot your computers and unplug and re-plug your print server. Send documents to all your printers from all your computers - not just printer test pages. Print actual documents from a "Wordpad" or similar program.
Seventh, enable your firewall, remembering to enable access to your print server at the fixed IP address used above.
Eighth, test again just to make sure. If it doesn't work now, you know it's the network settings of your firewall.
This has seemed to work for me.
28 What a great product!!
I have a Linksys Wireless-G router running two Wireless-G laptops and a desktop (ethernet cable connection).
I followed the instructions thouroughly and breezed through the installation. All three computers were linked with my printer in less than half an hour.
After reading the bad product reviews I expected the worst with this installation. Now I'm telling all of my tech friends to go out and get one.
A couple of installation tips:
- make sure any firewalls are disabled for installation
- make sure your printer is installed on all computers before installing the print server.
29 Shame on you Linksys
I wasted alot of time on this product. I bought it because I wanted to detach my laser printer (Brother) from the family desktop computer (Sony VAIO) so I could print documents from my laptop (Toshiba Satellite) without having to turn on the desktop. I also use a Linksys wireless router as my access point to the Internet. Setting that thing up was its own horror story.
First of all, the directions that came with the product are terrible. You have to first connect the wireless print server physically in order to install it. Fine. But then nowhere in the directions does it tell you what to do in order to begin using it wirelessly. I had to look it up on a FAQ on Linksys' technical support website. I guess others had the same question.
The directions also don't tell you how to get your print server to communicate with your computer if it has a personal firewall installed (I use Norton Security). Not addressed on the Linksys website. I had to fiddle with the Advanced Options in Norton's firewall software. I only knew this because I went through the same pain setting up the Linksys wireless router.
Lastly, the print server doesn't yet support WPA encryption. It supports WEP 128-bit but WPA is much more secure. My Linksys wireless router is setup to use WPA. Linksys technical support said that I'd have to downgrade my encryption to WEP in order to use the wireless print server. They admitted that WPA was much better than WEP and recommended that I return the print server to the retailer.
I can't tell you how much time I wasted. Shame on you Linksys.
30 Excellent Product - 20 Minute Install - No Problems
I'd just like to start off saying that I've read all the reviews on this page. I usually base most of my online purchases from online reviews, but this time I'm glad I didn't. Here are the specs:
Me - 3rd Year Computer Engineering Technologist
Print Server - Linksys WPS54GU2
Printer - Lexmark E232 (Laser), USB
Computer 1 - Dell Latitude C600 (Laptop), 750MHz, 384MB RAM, Win XP Pro, Linksys WPC54G (Wireless)
Computer 2 - Compaq Presario (Desktop), 200MHz, 256MB RAM, Win 98SE, DLink 100MB NIC (Wired)
Router - Linksys WRT54G, 128bit WEP, MAC Filtering
All I did was take it out of the box and hook it up. Here is the first thing, YES, this IS a Wireless Print Server, BUT as you see I have a WEP key and MAC filtering. Any person in their right mind will be using some kind of security on their wireless network. If your not, then you've got worse problems. How could you possibly expect a device to connect to your wireless network right out of the box? Is it just going to KNOW your WEP key automatically? I don't think so. So you need some kind of hard wired way to configure it initially. So your options are for Linksys to put a RJ45 connection so you can hardwire it to your LAN OR put a USB connection so you have to install it as a device, configure it, then disconnect it and hope you got it right. PLUS, the wired connection allows you to use it as a wired print server, and allow the wireless to be used in AD-HOC mode for visiting wireless clients. This is not only cool, but it makes sense. So all of you that got upset because you had to hardwire it to your LAN, oh well. How about reading the product specs before buying something next time. Second, this unit is a PRINT server. Not a SCAN server or FAX server. So if you have a Multi-Function Printer, and you want to use the other features other than the printer, DON'T get a PRINT server. This isn't a Linksys, HP, Lexmark, or any other manufacturer defect. If you buy a print server, you want to use it for printing. If you want to scan and what not, hook it up to your PC and share the printer. You just need to understand that a DEDICATED PRINT SERVER is just that. It's not a PC; it's a little box that your printer plugs into. YES, there may be driver issues and stuff like that, but if it's that big of a problem, buy a dedicated printer. That's what I did. We've got our Lexmark X75 Multi-Function hooked right up to a PC, and the Lexmark E232 hooked up to the print server. It's quite easy to comprehend. Well I'm done my rant, here is my set up.
I plugged it all in. Ran the setup CD, entered my Static IP, WEP Key, and other specs into the print server. Tried to save the settings for a few minutes, and couldn't get it to work. Needless to say I wasn't happy. I almost became one of the many reviewers that gave this item a bad review. Then it came to me, I recalled seeing a note mentioning to disable your firewall. I shut down XP's firewall, and BOOM, the settings were saved. I then unplugged the print server and plugged it back in, both the Wired and Wireless lights were lit, and it wouldn't connect. As I soon figured out, if the wired connection is plugged in, it will get the Static IP and the wireless connection grabs a DHCP IP. So I unplugged the wired connection, unplugged and plugged in the print server again, and only the wireless light was lit this time. Still couldn't connect. This time it was my fault. I didn't enter the MAC of the Print Server into my router. Where did I get the MAC you ask? Well it's not on the bottom of the Print Server, it would have been nice, but it does come out on the test page that prints out when you press the reset button. Reset button?? YES, prior to doing anything you should have press the reset button down for a few seconds after your printer was plugged in. If it's compatible it spits out a page with various TCP/IP info and stuff. This should be your first step before trying to configure it or load drivers. After I got the MAC taken care of it was fine. So I already had the printer set up on my Laptop, so I ran the Driver Utility, it finds my printer, assigns it a port, and then you select the printer you already have installed (already has the right driver). Then it was all good. I turned my firewall back on and it printer fine. A test page and some other stuff. Next was off to the Desktop. This computer didn't have the E232 previously installed. So here's the process. Install the Linksys Driver utility, when it comes to the part to select the printer, add a new printer and use the driver for your printer, voila!!!, you get a port and your all set. I was able to print the test page and other stuff as well from this machine.
AND yes, you can print from wired and wireless computers when the print server is in wired or wireless mode. I'm not sure where somebody got this from, but I've tested both and they work fine. So here's the deal. I'm your typical, gotta have the latest technology, computer geek. So this was obviously something I 'needed' *lol*. If you're looking at this product, but are scared about these reviews, then do the following:
1. Buy it local, because if it doesn't work it's a lot easier to return.
2. Try the test page first. If you can't get that then talk to Linksys support.
3. Follow the directions. Don't try and pretend you know it all and mess up the install by skipping steps.
4. Read the reviews carefully. The ones that did get it to work had some very helpful hints that you won't see in the Linksys documents.
Also on another note, Linksys support is FREE. You can't expect them to be perfect. You get what you pay for. Yes they are outsourced to a call centre in India. So I definitely suggest the Link-Chat. I use it all the time and they are normally quite helpful, a little slow responding but helpful.
And this concludes my review. A Great piece of latest technology that make life easy. No dedicated computer for the printer, and no need to have it near a network jack.
John
Computer Engineering Technologist
31 Won't work with a Mac
This equipment won't work with a Macintosh. Linksys Support told me that an agreement between Linksys' parent -- Cisco -- and Microsoft prohibited Linksys from supporting Mac computers. Whoa! I am still looking for the part of the product description which tells that Apple isn't supported. Didn't Microsoft learn their lesson? I guess not....
32 NOT plug and play
After MUCH effort I have gotten this print server up and running...I set it up with an HP Officejet 6110xi. The main issue here being the print drivers...for some reason it doesn't like the all-in-one drivers so you have to use the generic. At first I was told that I needed a print only driver but once I downloaded it I couldn't add a printer and get it to use the downloaded driver. Much easier to use the generic. I called HP and found out which driver in a matter of minutes and then it was rather easy. Use the installation tips provided by others...emphasizing the following...1)ensure that the SSID is the same on the printserver and router 2)per linksys print server support, the standard static ip address they use for print servers is 192.168.1.78 - change it later for security reasons but for set up I used their standard. 3)Once set up right click on printer icon; select properties; on ports tab select the printserver port and click configure port; ensure that the device port is correct - for some reason everything was set up correctly but it was trying to print to my paralel port rather than usb 4) selecting the "print directly to printer" rather than spooling option corrected a compressed printing problem
Once set up - working flawlessly. Print server is inside a closed cabinet in another room away from the router and works great even when I have laptop at other end of house. Finally - I can work in peace wherever I want.
33 Great - Easy to setup and to use.
I don't know what some of these people here are talking about. I had the print server up and running in wireless mode in under an hour (start to finish).
I think that most people expect this product to do what it is not intended to do - this is to be used to just print (communication from computer to printer) - not to be used for other multi-function jobs (that require communication from printer to computer). This is a limitation of the current technology not this product The user manual clearly states this product does not support multi-function jobs that require communication from the printer to the computer (such as scanning, etc).
I use the printer with a Sony GRT170 laptop and a Canon MP730 multifunction printer. I have the printer and print server in a remote location in my apartment (so I don't have to look at the big bulky printer). I only use the print server for printing and in order to use the printer's other functions (scanning, etc) I use a USB switch (approx $20) and connect the printer directly to the computer.
34 INCOMPATIBLE WITH MULTIFUNCTION PRINTERS
This product is impossible to install with multifunction printers like the HP PSC series. I spent two hours on the phone with Linksys tech support. They were unable to get this print server working and finally concluded that their product didn't support multi-function printers. Note that Linksys did not indicate this limitation in their advertisement for the product, in their spec sheet or in their requirements.
Don't waste your time with any Linksys product. Try another networking company and make sure that you ask BEFORE YOU BUY whether the product works with your printer.
35 Very disappointing
I have been attempting to configure pair of WPS54GU2s on a small hybrid (part wired, part wireless) ethernet network for about 4 weeks. I am attempting to configure the print servers wireless. The 'Quick installation guide' is useless, which, to be fair, is often the case with any device, but this time even the first activity doesn't work. None of the documentation, either on CD or on the site is any good and LinkSys support have not deigned to respond to my request for advice. Now I find out that these WPSs don't even support USB properly (if at all) anyway. I'm looking for an alternative. Avoid.
36 Steep Learning Curve
My conditions: I am new at networking, but have significant experience in computer program, hardware and electronics. I do not otherwise have a home network. Wanted to set up ad-hoc - 2 computers (1 wireless, 1 ethernet) and 1 printer. Took a long time to learn how to set up but much of this is my inexperience in this area. First problem, which customer service could not figure out, is that I needed a cross over cable for the ad-hoc setup. No mention in quick or long version manual either. Then problem printing wireless when online (dial-in). Turns out to be Windows XP firewall (SP 1). Turned it off and got Zone Alarm - major improvement. Finally, everything works and works great! Good luck!
37 Great server, easy to set up and configure
My desktop PC runs Windows 98SE and my notebook PC runs Windows XP (SP2). They are connected through a Linksys WRT54G wireless router (desktop direct cabled to router, notebook via wireless). I followed the instructions and setup was a snap. My printers are HP Laserjet 4 Plus (parallel), and HP Deskjet 970Cse (USB). After insuring everything worked while the print server was directly cabled to the router, I then followed the instructions provided in this newsgroup. I disconnected the LAN cable, and unplugged the print server, waited about 1 minute, then re-plugged the print server. When the server came back up, it was now wireless. Everything continued to work flawlessly.
I highly recommend this device.
38 Linksys wireless G printserver WPS54GU2 inconsistent problem
I had high expectations to using the Linksys
Wireless G print server WPS54GU2 only to be
let down by its inconsistency and incompatibility
with my other wireless G devices with regard to
the WEP encryption.
The printserver does not generate keys 2, 3 and 4
using the 128-bit WEP encryption menu. In addition,
even if one manually enters the hexadecimal key
generated in positions 2, 3 or 4 from a wireless G
router (WRT54GS) into the appropriate key position,
the print server cannot choose any other default
transmit key other than 1.
The bottom line is that I could not connect this
printserver to my network when using a key other than
the first (1st) one (2, 3, or 4).
The only way to get this print server to work was
to change my keys for my router and any other
computers on my wireless network to using key 1.
I do not like to use key 1 as it simple to generate
it from other legacy linksys products of software
in the event the passphrase is compromised.
I am very disappointed with this product due to
the obvious inconsistency with Linksys' other wireless
G (and wireless B) products with regard to the WEP
encryption (128 bit). In addition, there does not
seem to be any support for the other encryption
algorithms (WPA, RADIUS, etc.) that the other Linksys
Wireless G products offer (WRT54GS, WET54GS5, and the
various Wireless G Utilities for the adapters).
The Linksys technical support is not good as it assumes
I do not know what I am talking about and support
tells me that I have to use key 1 despite that it is
inconsistent with the other wireless G devices that
can use keys 2, 3 or 4. That is the way it is and live
with it Linksys support tells me --forget full
compatibility with the other Linksys devices.
This wireless printserver is a pure hack, and something
Linksys pushed out the door in haste. I am going to
return this print server and go with Hawking Technology.
I forgot to add, Linksys confirmed for me that the 128 bit WEP encryption only generates 1 key (Key 1) and the rest will be all zeroes (0s). Although one can enter the key of one's choice into the Key 1 position (non-generated key, e.g. Key 4 generated from the router), the printserver will not be able to have connectivity to the network wirelessly because that key is out of position.
Linksys needs to get its act together. It would also help if Linksys technical support engineers could speak English better. It is a shame this type of work is outsourced to Asian nations. They are not helpful whatsoever. They assume the customer is the problem and does not know what he or she is doing when the issue is Linksys has developed a poor quality and inconsistent product.
I am returning this WPS54GU2 wireless G print server today and hopefully I will have better luck with the similar Hawking Technology wireless G print server(s) (2 USB and 1 parallel ports and 1 USB port for another type).
Very Disappointed,
Terrance
39 Great server once you work out the quirks
Really this is very easy. Plug and play - almost. Just as long as you connect by wire to do the setup, disable all firewalls and follow the instructions. Make sure you have installed the printer driver BEFORE you set up the print server. Truely, it is a great system. I run a small home office with a PC and laptop so this frees up the need of having to run both at all times.
Great set, used with WCG200 combined Cable modem & Router - wonderful!!
Linksys Tech support is great too...if you can wait 20 minutes or more!
40 Beware of this printserver, hard to configure!
Server does not work with Compaq r3000t laptop with Broadcom 801.11g integrated wireless setup. After 4hrs. over two days with Linksys senior tech, it does not print from the Compaq. Linksys has no clue. Server is being returned to Best Buy.
41 Print queue problems with the WPS54GU2 wireless pr. srv.
Ongeveer een week geleden heb ik de WPS54GU2 aangeschaft. Na alles correct geinstalleerd te hebben, ben ik overgeschakelt naar de draadloze functie van de printerserver (stond overigens niet beschreven in de handleiding!!!, maar dat terzijde). Na ook alles draadloos werkend te hebben gekregen, heb ik een printjob uitgevoerd. Deze werd direct door de printer (HP Deskjet 5550) uitgeprint, maar nu het probleem:
Voordat de printjob daadwerkelijk uit de printer queue verdwijnt, duurt ongeveer 2,5 minuten! Met andere woorden: de printer kan pas met de volgende printjob beginnen nadat de vorige afgerond is, wat dus 2,5 minuten duurt. Dit is behoorlijk storend.
Voorbeeld: Ik zend een MS word bestand van 1 pagina naar de printer van 2,89 kb groot. De printer start direct met printen en is dan ook naar enkele seconden klaar. Echter in de printer queue staat bij de 'size' 2,87kb / 2,89kb. Na ongeveer 2,5 minuten is de size 2,89kb / 2,89kb en verdwijnt de opdracht uit de printer queue, en kan er pas een volgende printjob uitgevoerd worden!
Ik heb echt alles geprobeerd: alle WEP 128 bit encrypties uitgeschakeld (in zowel mijn router als PS). Alle firewalls uitgeschakeld, ook die van WinXP. Ik ook de printerserver via de bijgeleverde CAT5 kabel (netwerkkabel) op mijn router (WRT54G) aangesloten; exact hetzelfde probleem!
Ook heb ik al automatisch een IP adres laten toewijzen aan mijn PS, evenals een statisch ip adres (wat nu nog steeds het geval is). Ik kan de PS ook gewoon benaderen (via de web-based interface), ook draadloos. Dus de communicatie is goed zou je zeggen.
Het protocol wat ik gebruik is het TCP/IP protocol. Via netbeui heb ik ook hetzelfde probleem. De printer is overigens via USB op de printerserver aangesloten.
Overigens: als ik de printer direct op mijn pc aansluit middels een USB kabel, dan werkt alles prima!
42 How to setup this great Printer Server
I agree, the documentation of the WPS54GU2 is a too little.
First of all, thanks to everyone on this forum. It helped me to solute my problem.
The technical support of linksys isn't that bad, you can reach them via chat: http://www.linksys.com/support/TechSupport.asp and then click "LinkChat". Now you can contact a support engineer which can be very helpfull.
FIRST OFF ALL: THE SSID, THE WIRELESS CHANNEL AND THE WEP ENCRYTION OF THE PRINTER SERVER MUST BE THE SAME AS YOUR ROUTER!!!!!
Here is my solution (It costs me about 2 hours to find out...):
1) Connect the printer directly to your PC. Install the printer drivers / software. 2) Disable all firewalls (WinXP firewall included) and WEP encryptions in your network. 3) Now follow the Quick Installation Guide (Before running the wizard: Connect printer to WPS54GU2. Then connect ethernet cable, one end in your Printer Server and the other end in your router. After that power on the WPS54GU2. If you are planning to use the device wireless I suggest to set a static IP address for the WPS54GU2 which is out of the range of your routers DHCP server. Example: DHCP range: 192.168.1.2 - 192.168.1.15. Printer Servers IP: 192.168.1.20). 3) Now run the 'User install' to install the Printer Server Driver (You must have installed a printer first!). 4) Try to print out something. You should be able to print now. 5) To switch over to wireless operation: Power off the WPS54GU2. Disconnect the (wired) Ethernet cable. Wait approximately 30 sec - 1 min. 6) After waited about 1 minute, power on the Printer Server (This will set the Printer Server from LAN to WLAN). Don't touch the reset button. 7) Restart your router and PC. 8) You should be able to print wireless now. 9) Use the web-based utility to set all the settings of the WPS54GU2 (In my case: open the internet explorer browser and type 192.168.1.20 -> IP adress of the Printer Server). 10) Reset all you firewall and encryption settings. Also set the encryption for the WPS54GU2 (via web-based interface). WARNING: THIS MUST BE THE SAME ENCRYPTION AS YOUR ROUTER!!!
Good luck!
A satisfied WPS54GU2 user
43 Buyer beware- No WPA security
How sad that after all the talk about the necessity of WPA security for a home wireless network, Linksys only shipped this print server with rudimentary WEP security. This is despite the fact that linksys's other wireless products DO support WPA security. As far as I know, users using WPA on their networks are out of luck as no other brands seem to be offering print servers with this feature. I spent 5 hours trying to configure this piece of hardware, only to find that it was uncompatible with my network. I will be returning it immediately.
44 Decent product but terrible technical support
I purchased this wireless print server because my current home network is also Linksys. My initial setup left me in total confusion. The included setup software didn't work right away. I contacted Linksys technical support and they had me push the reset button on the print server to conduct a test print. After there was no response they concluded that my Apple Pro 600 was not compatible with their product. I inquired what printer manufacturers are compatible and I was put on hold for over 5 minutes. I plugged up my Brother 3800 Fax Machine and Linksys also concluded it wasn't compatible, and suggested I return the print server and purchase another brand....wtf??? What kind of suppport is this??
I hung up and did a series of shutdowns and restarts until a IP address was assigned to the Print Server. Once an IP address was assigned the Setup Utility worked and I was able to configure the Print Server to be recognized on my network.
With WinXP you will also need to setup new Print Drivers through the TCP/IP option. Be sure to select "Print Server" as the gateway.
Don't trust Linksys Technical Support if things don't work out right away. Either call again and ask for further support or play with it yourself if you feel comfortable doing so.
So far this product is working fine.
Bad Points: there is no WPA encryption and it doesn't print when you are connected through a VPN.
45 Linksys WPS54GU2 Works, But .......
Setup goes very well until you try to unplug the Ethernet cable (required to do the initial setup). At this point, the instructions are unclear or non-existent. This seems strange because it is a wireless print server. You would expect almost everyone to use it in wireless mode. Based on the response from tech support, I suspect they get a lot of calls during the setup for wireless. Having to install the printserver driver on every PC that is connected to the network is a pain if you have visitors using the network. It would be nice to at least have the driver available on the network. Anyway, the 15 minute installation turned into two hours, but it does work well.
46 Works for me, too
I almost did not buy this, because of all the reviewers who could not get it to work, especially those with "unsupported" multifunction printers. All I can say is that I'm glad I gave it a try, because it works fine for me and does exactly what I needed it to do. I have a multifunction HP 5510 -- I don't expect to be able to use the scan, fax, or copy functions via the print server, but printing works well.
I only had a couple of installation issues:
1) The first print jobs I tried to send to the printer after initial setup stayed in the print queue until I rebooted my laptop. As soon as windows (XP Pro) reloaded, the jobs printed and all was well, except...
2) I realized that my laptop was connected to my router with an ethernet cable (I had been transferring files earlier in the day and wanted the cabled speed) but I wanted to be able to print wirelessly. After disconnecting the cable, the printserver no longer worked because I now had an IP address in a different range. I had to reconfigure the print server, then reconfigure the printer port settings on both laptops I am printing from. It took several reboots on each laptop to get all the new settings to stick properly, and I had to go into the printer port settings, but now it is working just fine.
I will say that had I not been able to troubleshoot on my own, the documentation would have been pretty useless. Still, I'm glad I gave it a try.
47 The unprovided list of compatible printers
I'm disappointed after trying to install this print server to my Canon S750. Why can't Linksys just list all compatible printers on their homepage? My S750 didn't even print the test page!
I finally got good help from Linksys support, but they where also disappointed on Linksys ("we can't help this, we don't decide what is published on Linksys homepages") for not providing better instructions and list compatible printers.
Don't buy this item before you're sure that it's compatible to your printer.
48 Works for me!
Not exactly sure why everyone hates this product so much. I suppose there are many different installation situations where problems arise. My setup works fine.
I followed the instructions outlined by the reviewer erunners(thanks!), and I was up and running 15 minutes out of the box. Also, during setup, I chose to assign an IP address to the print server instead of having one dynamically assigned. This seemed to be logical because I would be easily able to get to the internal configuration utility built into the server.
The only hitch, and a minor one, was that after the installation of the print server drivers, I had to put my printer back online: START>SETTINGS>PRINTERS AND FAXES> right click your printer and select> USE PRINTER ONLINE.
My printer is a Canon i-550 hooked up via USB and my network hardware is all Linksys. Perhaps this is why everything plays nice with each other.
Not sure others have reported problems in the event of a power outage.I have unplugged this unit 20 times and have not once had to re-configure anything.
ISSUES:
1).Quick Install guide does stop short of telling you how to go wireless after the initial wired configuration. (Follow erunners MYSTERY STEP).
2).Past experience with tech support is mixed. First guy was an idiot-illiterate,,, Second was very helpful, persistent and understandable. Now when I call, I just curse at the first guy and call back with hopes of getting the second guy. That's easier than wasting time with someone who, in the end, hangs up on you because he can't resolve the issue.
3).Print monitor always reports that the it cannot communicate with the printer. But the printer functions fine
BOTTOM-LINE:
If your borderline on picking one of these up, my suggestion is to buy it locally and return it if you have significant trouble. If it works for your setup, it will work well. Print process is much faster than having the printer connected directly to the computer. 3MB Buffer is the highest I was able to find in this price range.(...)
Good Luck
49 Impossible to Install
The instruction that came with this are far from complete in getting you to a working print server. Even with three hours with technical support (call was dropped twice), they were unable to set this up. As soon as they hear of a netgear router they were all over that (even though the linksys box was unpingable and the router pinged and worked fine). The technical support personnel went down there list (I'm sure a hard copy list since they had no experience or knowledge of the equipment or even that a re-boot is not a instantaneous thing). I am returning this product, I honeslty believe the one I got was defective but even if it wasn't - I wouldn't want it in my network.
50 Better Install Guide would get 5 stars
Yes, it's true, the Linksys documentation is lacking some the important details that many users will need in order to be efficient during product install. Now that I have my mini-home-network up and running, though, I am really quite pleased.
Here's my set-up: Windows XP, HP PSC 2110 USB printer, HP LaserJet 1100 parallel printer, Linksys WRT54GS Wireless Router, and Linksys WPS54GU2 Wireless Print Server.
Let me share some hints for those of you who buy the Linksys Wireless Print Server (WPS54GU2).
(1) Make sure print drivers are already installed on your PC before adding PrintServer. (2) Get your WirelessRouter up and running. (3) Turn off WindowsXP firewall. I left the Router's firewall on. (4) Add your PrintServer to your network as described in Quick Installation Guide. Yes, you need to set it up with it connected to your Router with a network cable. (5) Follow instructions for "Infrastructure" type. (6) Leave Security settings disabled. (7) Follow instructions to install PrintServer's drivers. This creates the ports to which you will print. If you don't have the printer(s) already installed then you cannot match the ports to your printers. (8) NOw, you should be able to print to your printers. (9) THIS IS WHERE LINKSYS SET-UP GUIDE CONGRATULATES YOU FOR COMPLETING THE INSTALLATION. BUT WAIT! YOU'RE PRINTSERVER IS STILL CONNECTED WITH A WIRE! YOU'RE NOT WIRELESS, YET!!! AAARRRGGGHHH!!!
(10) THE MYSTERY STEP: Go over to the PrintServer and disconnect the its network cable AND disconnect the PrintServer's power supply AND wait 1 minute. This resets the PrintServer from wired to wireless. Do not push the "Reset" button. Now, reconnect the PrintServer's power supply. Give the network a minute to see itself. You should be up and running wirelessly.
Note: Once it's all running, go back and add security settings. Also, the HP PSC 2110 is a multifunction printer with a scanner that I do not use, so I do not know whether the scanner works via this PrintServer.
51 Please don't buy this item
Our wireless network consists of two laptops with Linksys cards and a B/G wireless router. The cards were easy to install, the B/G router was hopeless to install by the instructions given. But worked out of the box as is..plug and play. After I got that hint it is up and running on defaults. (Safe for me in the high rise that I live in).
But the wireless print server was impossible to install. I had twoXtwo hour calls to Linksys guys in Chennai, India. They did their best(I could understand them because I just spent 5 years living in Bangalore, India). They followed the book, but it just doesn't work.
I will try and return to Linksys service provider..maybe in exchange for another wireless router to boost speed in far corner of the apartment.
This is the last time I will buy something of this price range without checking with Amazon reviews..
Just don't buy this item.
52 Linksys Should be Ashamed
This product is a disgrace. It's going back to Amazon with prejudice, and it is the last Linksys product I will ever buy.
I have owned a couple of other Linksys wireless products, and struggled to get them to work. Usually it was just trial-and-error and luck to get them working, but this time was just a no go.
Why 1 Star?
1. I am a technologist and I couldn't get it to work.
2. One and a half hours on the phone after waiting forever to get a live person. Nothing worked. An occassion test page here and there, but I suspect I was going to be on the phone for another hour to get it to truly work.
3. No Macintosh support. (I used XP to try to install it, but it was no help, plus Windows is a train wreck to configure anything on, especially network related things.
4. I'm not going to get into the whole outsourcing this, but let's just say a good 30 minutes was wasted with language issues. "Parallel port" took me about 10 tries to hear correctly.
5. Three (3) hours of my life gone due to sloppy engineering, poor quality and utter cheapness to provide little documentation.
So, I spent more money, bought a Airport Extreme, and had my printer running in 8 minutes out of the box. Yes, Apple products cost more, but only at the store. The time savings, lower stress, etc., more than pays for itself.
Linksys has lost a customer for life. Not that they care about me, but given the comments here, this is a trend, so maybe they'll wake up sooner or later.
53 choose convenience or security
very disappointed in this product. i have a linksys based home network which was easy to install but this was a nightmare. the install documentation is not that good - you really have to use the user guide. but there is no mention anywhere of having to disable xp firewall to install. and then once you do figure that out (if!) you have to choose between keeping the firewall off or being able to print. or else disable and enable the windows firewall every time you print. i'm returning mine also! what a colossal waste of time....
54 DOES NOT WORK
Wanted to setup a wireless server for my HP5550 (parallel) and my DELL ALL-IN-ONE A960 (USB). Tried running SetupWizard.exe to install the software. Setup program crashed with "SetupWizard MFC Application has encountered a problem". Tech Support was poor (called twice got two different answers). The second Tech told me that the PrintServer does not work with multifunction printers (scan/fax) unless the printer manufacturer can provide a "printer only" driver. RETURNING!
55 User-enemy instructions & tech support
I have an old HP LaserJet 6MP and a new HP OfficeJet 5510 Multifunction. The 6MP is parallel, and the 5510 is USB. So, of course, when I saw the WPS54GU2, I was psyched! Not long afterwards, however, I became psychotic.
The bottom line is, it didn't work after ten hours of due diligence on my part. I spoke with Linksys tech support twice for quite some time (an EXCRUCIATING experience, by the way.) And, I spoke with HP tech support twice (they, surprisingly, delighted me with their level of assistance.) As I understand it, both Linksys and HP outsource their tech support. Linksys' tech support is a NIGHTMARE (you get the sense that they are told to get you off of the phone as quickly as possible because they talk but do NOT LISTEN), and HP's is an absolute dream (spent more time with me than I thought I needed.) So, it's not whether or not you outsource, it appears to be how well you MANAGE your outsourcing.
I agree with other reviewers that the instruction sheet that comes with the print server is worthless. There are a number of options in the wizard - something about user install, bi-somehtingoranother install, and some other option that I don't remember. NONE of this is covered in the instructions. And, the instructions don't make it clear as to whether or not you need to install printer drivers first, or print server driver first, or if it matters. And, there is NOTHING about any of the configuration options available for both the print server and the printers.
The bottom line is that either you need to be:
1. A Linksys product engineer
2. An HP product engineer
and
3. A networking GURU
OR
INCREDIBLY LUCKY
in order for this thing to work.
I'm gonna' go buy an A/B switch...
56 Printer Server doesn't work with Firewalls
I have to disable my firewall every time I print. This is a huge pain. I was told by customer service that it's a "product limitation". This product is useless to me if I have disable my firewall to print.
I asked them this question up front because of the reviews I read and I was assured this would be OK.
Linksys (Cisco) should have some kind of fix for this. If not, then an alternative product.
I'll be returning this product shortly to Amazon.
57 Great...when it works.
Linksys WPS54GU2 was the second wireless print server I tried. Previously returned a DLINK (they at least have a list of compatible printers on their website, but their tech support NEVER answered the phone EVER after HOURS of calling and calling).
So I did a live chat session with Linksys tech support to find out what printers ARE compatible with their product. Tried same with Brother and HP. Only Linksys would actually test the printers with their print server and tell me if it worked or not with their equipment. I bought a Brother printer that worked with the Linksys print server. Don't ever call Linksys (I waited on hold for them forever); live chat is worth trying though if you have a compatibility question.
My (Linksys!) wireless router started dropping every 5min once I had the printer/print server up and running. I called a pay-for tech support service called Dial-A-Tech (www.dialatech.com, 877-777-TECH) and they told me to reset my router channel to something higher than the default. I did this. I can now have on the print server AND my router at the same time & not get repeatedly thrown off the internet. I got my answer a LOT easier than trying to deal with the Linksys directly, and wasn't on hold hardly at all. And the guy who helped me had a New England accent. Native speaker of English. :)
But I have to call Dial-A-Tech back and get them to figure this one out: I had to disable firewall to install initially. Fine. Well, I've NEVER been able to use the print server SINCE if the firewall is enabled. That's right. I have to disable the firewall *every* time I want to print, then turn it back on to protect my computer. (Win XP Pro)
It's kind of nice being able to print from any room in the house, but I question the value relative to the aggravation and money I have gone through. I think I'll really like it once it's ever working seamlessly and a few months have passed. I've been really unhappy with all of the "free" technical support from the manufacturers & only seem to get good, fast troubleshooting when I go to a pay-for-tech-support service. I'm not scared of technology, but this is not a product I could set up myself with only the paltry documentation Linksys provides.
58 Horrible problems and support for this product!
I was informed by 5 different sale people this would work with my microsoft wireless network and HP officejet 6110 series printer before I bought it. 3 days later and several support calls to linksys and HP it still doesn't work. Linksys's setup manual is worthless since it only has a one step approach to installation, leaving out troubleshooting steps and known problems(of which there are many I later found out). If you are plugging this into anything other then an existing linksys WLAN you have to plug the print server into an ethernet port first to configure it and pray to god it works. It took 2 support calls to find this important info left out of manual. I must point out that linksys hung up on me all 3 times so far I have called them asking for help. They would help me for a few minutes telling me to install some piece of software or update firmware then disconnect me when I informed them I wasn't really sure how to do what they were asking. I strongly recommend anyone looking to by this not do it unless you are using a complete linksys wireless network with out a server of any kind in it. HP wasn't much better. They kept refering me back to linksys and microsoft. With the extremely poor documentation and support from linksys(at least it's american based though) I strongly recommend everyone not to buy this product. Maybe they will work out there problems sometime soon, we hope.
59 Works even with Multifunction Printers
Ok so here's the scoop. I have a Dell laptop running XP Pro & a Linksys WRT54g Router & a Canon MP730 Multifunction Printer. I also have a port replicator attached directly to the router via ehternet cable. In order for me to use my printer both wirelessly & through the port replicator I had to also buy a USB switch (About $30). I downloaded the drivers twice and called one "wireless Printer" and the other MP730. I usually use my laptop in another room so I set the "wireless printer" as my default and the USB switch set to the Linksys printserver. It works flawlessly. HERE ARE THE EXCEPTIONS: When going through the printserver the only feature that works is the print feature. All other functions of my printer do not work through the print server. Also be advised that if you lose power to the print server you will have to reinstall the wireless part of it. To eliminate this simply connect an ethernet cable to your router and you can still print wirelessly. Customer service is useless so dont even bother. All & all it works great. The installation is a bit tricky but follow other peoples recomendations from these reviews. Also, if you mess up the easiest way is to uninstall the printserver & start over
60 I am happy with my decision!
I purchased this print server because of the Linksys name and because of the variety of ways to use it. I have it hooked up to a HP 960c printer and it works great. Granted, the instructions are as basic and they can get. But the installation software installed with no problems and it was up and running in no time. The price for this server was a few dollars more then the Jetdirect print server from HP.
61 Like most Linksys products, the configuration is a pain
These steps are what I needed to use to get my Epson R300M to work:
- Turn your firewall off when installing the print drivers
- You will have to hardwire the print server to your router to make the initial configurations. After a successful installation, turn off your printer, unplug power from the print server, detach the network cable, wait 30 seconds and turn the print server back on. The WLAN light should now be on.
- After successful print server installation, you might need to install the printer drivers as a local printer (as compared to a network printer). Select the Printer Server port as the location for the printer and load the drivers directly from the manufacturer's disk. At this point, I could print, and the Epson monitor was showing that printing was occurring.
- You might need to set the print spooler to print directly to the printer (on the Advanced tab under printer properties).
- Printer Processor should be Winprint/RAW
62 Decent product, shameful instructions
Instructions are only included on how to initialize the server wired. It does not tell you how to add a printer port (most people would not know a print server port in windows is a local printer). Instead Linksys arrogantly instructs you to check the Windows help system. It would also be helpful if they actually mentioned you have to unplug the print server when switching from wired to wireless or the wireless will not work. Also when wired the PS erroneously reports it's wireless channel as "0" making it look as if it is not set correctly. Took me a couple of days to figure this out. It also has no ability to automatically discover wireless access point. Again Stinksys gives you no instructions on how to track this information down yourself and this is yet another avoidable challenge for a novice installer. They do have toll free support but I managed to finally get everything straight about 2 seconds before I called it.
63 Good-bye Linksys
I wish I had read these reviews before buying a Linksys WPS54GU2 alleged wireless print server. Apparently if you are lucky enough to have one of the supported printers, this product gets five stars. Unfortunately, I have one of the printers (HP 6110) that is unsupported, a fact that appears to be a closely-guarded secret, since I had to go online and read customers' blogs to find that out after talking to four of their so-called support staff, each of whom asked the same series of questions over and over again - operating system (XP), router (also Linksys), printer, internet connection, etc. I've spent at least ten hours trying to get this thing to work before finding out that it just doesn't work with some printers and you can't find out which ones without CALLING LINKSYS (or reading online customer reviews). Oh, and don't bother with their tech 'support' - unless you already speak Hindi. You can't understand them and even when you can, they don't have a clue - the best I can figure is that they get the same user manual that's available online, the same FAQ's and don't actually have access to the list of banished printers. Next time - Netgear. They seem to be highly respected - at least in the blog community - although they also have apparently outsourced their tech support. (Is there anybody who hasn't?).
64 A great value!
March 31, 2004
Jeremy Lawson
The Linksys WPS54GU2 print server has the option of either connecting to the network via a network cable or wirelessly. If you have a wireless network, then you can put the printer wherever there is a power source. If the print server is connected (wired) to a hub or switch, then no clients can print wirelessly.
My experiences with this print server have all been with Windows 2000. I had no problem with getting it to talk to the network. I have two laptops, both with a 3com 3CRWE154G72 PC-Card, a desktop with a 3com 3CRDAG675 wireless PCI adapter, and a 3com 3CRWE454G72 access point. I use the print server to print to a HP LaserJet 1012. All the clients in my network print just fine.
Linksys is a business partner with Cisco Systems, which builds world class networking equipment. The included software is used to configure the IP port. If you look in the settings of a printer, one of the tabs is for specify which port to print to. The included software configures a port to use. If you are currently using a printer with your desktop, and you move it to this print server, then you change the port to the one created by the Print Server Utility. Most of this is automated and you won't have to worry about it.
Here is a list of the places I saw quality:
1) Good web site
2) After the Print Server Utility establishes a port, a redo of the same thing will change the existing port, not create a new one.
3) You can specify the name of the printer hooked via USB cable and via parallel cable. After you are done installing the port, the Print Server Utility will try and match the correct printer to this port. In other words, if you have the drivers for the printer already set up, it does a good job of matching up the driver with the name you put for the printer.
Here are the places I saw value:
1) $100 less! All I wanted from a Print Server is to be able to print! This was the cheapest I could find, that did what I wanted. I paid at least one hundred dollars less, expecting I might have trouble with the setup. I had no trouble with the setup.
2) The Print Server has never done weird things for me.
3) I didn't expect to find well written software that would automatically try and match the port with the correct printer.
4) To view or change the configuration for the Print Server, you browse in Internet Explorer to the IP number of the Print Server. The configuration web pages were well laid out, and easy to understand.
My gripes:
1) There has got to be a better way to reset all the settings back to factory.
65 Linksys Failed
As another reviewer noted, Linksys does not provide a list of compatible printers. I have both a Canon S750 and a HP PSC 1200 multifunction machine, and neither one works with this server. Nothing in the specs indicated I would have a problem with either machine.
I'm an optimist in dealing with electronics. Effort usually pays off with success, at the cost of a lot of time. I will keep trying because I want this system to work. The HP has produced one test print page with the server hard wired to the LAN, but the printer disappeared when I switched over to the wireless state. Maybe there's a fix, but no one at Linksys is calling to provide one..... The techs are pleasant, but they just read the trouble-shooting guide you can find yourself on the web. The final step in the trouble shooter is, "Try another printer."
66 Outstanding
I received this product and within 5 minutes of it being out of the box, I had 2 networked wireless printers hooked up to 2 different wireless laptops. This is probably the easiest print server install I have ever done. It actually took longer to unpack than it did to get it up and running.
67 Wonderful, Reliable Product and Very Easy to Set Up
Backed by the technical know how of Linksys and Cisco this is one piece of kit you can rely upon.
It took me less than half an hour to configure this with an Epson USB Photo Printer - not bad for *ANY* printserver, even the wired variety.
To make it work, add these steps:
1. Turn off Windows XP Internet Connection Firewall, and then run the install wizard.
2. To fire up the WLAN : After installation completes, power down the unit & remove the LAN cable before repowering up.
Linksys have the BEST technical support I have ever experienced. Friendly 24/7 Internet Chat / email help. Great Site with software/Hardware Updates. And its all free. Amazing.
Great Price , features and performance! Highly Recommended as the final solution to any Home/SOHO wireless network. Don't hesitate!
68 So far so good!
After reading all the negative reviews, I was really hesitant on purchasing this device. I bought it locally at a premium just to assist with returning it if need be.
It took about 30 minutes but it worked just as expected. I have a Canon i960 connected to the USB and HP LaserJet 6L on the Parallel port.
The only problem I ran into was going from wired to "wireless". Keep an eye on the TX/RX from the print server (via the admin utility). If you don't see the values changing, there might be a configuration issue. Mine turned out to be the print server was not set to use "Shared Key" (I have WEP enabled). I believe it defaulted to "Auto". After making the change, all worked great!
I'll keep you posted on any issues I come across.
69 Watchout for power outages
The WPS54GU2 Wireless-G Print Server for USB 2.0 by Linksys installed effortlessly. If you are running Windows XP you will need to disable Firewall protection for both the local area connection (wired) and the wireless connection in order to reach the print server.
Plug the print server into your network, run the setup program, and then install the print server utility to each computer, and you are up and running.
If you wish to use the wireless portion, assign the print server a static ip address outside of the DHCP range that your router assigns. Be warned that the unit only provides for WEP encryption; if you use the much better WPA encryption you are out of luck.
If the unit should happen to lose power (e.g. the power switch is flipped, bad weather, whatever) the unit will need to be reset to the factory defaults, plugged into the network, and re-configured. ...
70 Piece of Junk
My configuration:
Dell Inspiron 8500
Windows XP Pro
NetGear WGR614 Wireless Router
NetGear WG511 Wireless PC Card
Printer: HP PSC2210xi all-in-one
I had read the reviews here on Amazon and was a bit leery of buying one of these things, but I really needed a wireless printer setup without having to keep a dedicated print server computer on all the time. The concept sounded good so I decided to try it out and see if it really worked. Well, after following the instructions to the letter, I was quite disappointed. The printer would not print anything except for the diagnostic test message from the bi-admin software provided by Linksys. It's been a week with fiddling with the software, uninstalling/reinstalling drivers, updating firmware, etc. but the thing still doesn't work. The Linksys website has sparse information on troubleshooting too. Didn't bother with Linksys tech support since their reputation is pretty bad here. I am returning this product.
71 Works great with PC and Apple iBook sharing a network
I was very skeptical after reading a couple of reviews and peoples bad experience. However, the print server was up and running within 15 minutes without any problems. I connected it to the 10/100 Ethernet port and used a PC running Windows to do the initial setup. I followed the setup procedure as described in the quick installation guide and I could print immediately.
The Apple iBook (running OSX Panther) was a little trickier. There are no drivers to install. You need to setup IP printing. Because of my printer, a HP LaserJet 1100, is not officially supported for Mac, I used gimp print 4.2.6 (for OSX). http://gimp-print.sourceforge.net/MacOSX.php3 It comes with very detailed step by step instructions and it worked. One thing to keep in mind - you have to select Laserjet4 as model b/c of the HP LaserJet 1100 is not officially supported and use lp as the print queue.
I also own a SMC router with build in print server. The Linksys appears to be much faster and has a lot more features. I am very happy with my purchase.
72 Great idea, terrible product
Linksys had the idea. A USB port, parallel port, AND wireless to boot. Just wish it would have worked. Their USB design is simply non-functional. Its broken and that fact was verified by their support staff through an email (after a wait of 2 days). I guess if you're lucky enough to have a printer that they support (there is no list, you just have to be lucky in the one you buy), then its a great product. Never even made it to checking out the wireless connection. I can't believe that Cisco/Linksys would let a product out that was this bad. I own several Linksys products and have purchased dozens of products at work but had to take this one back. I hope Linksys gets the word that their product stinks. Hope they get a version II out soon, and Linksys, if its not too much trouble, could you get it to work?
73 Junk
Nothing works properly on this gadget. The wireless function is a joke, the USB connection simply does not work and the printers that are incompatible is huge, Linksys will not even release a list. Read the rest of the reviews below this one and know exactly what all those one star reviewers went through, as I did. Stay away, not ready for prime time AT ALL!!!
74 Outstanding Performance
I am running the wireless-G PrintServer with 128 bit WEP encryption. It is attached to an HP LaserJet 1100 printer via the parallel port. Setup was easy (I didn't have to disable my firewall as other reviewers have mentioned). The router (D-link DI624) is located on the first floor of my townhome. My office (as well as the PrintServer)is on the third floor. The connection between the PrintServer and the router is excellent and has not dropped since I purchased the PrintServer 3 months ago. I purchased the PrintServer because it supports 80211G Parallel and USB 2.0 (I plan to buy a photo printer soon). The other PrintServers I compared included a USB 1.1 port.
75 There Are Not Many Choices to Have Both Parallel and USB
I don't think this product deserves so many negative reviews posted here. It works!! I admit that the Quick Installation Guide is no good and the wait on the tech support phone line was extremely long. But at the end, I was able to make it work. There are two printers, HP Laserjet 5MP and Epson Stylus C60, connected to this printserver and I can successfully print from them whichever I choose from the computer screen. I bought this for parallel and USB port together in one printserver more than its wireless feature. There are not that many printservers in the market that are equipped with both of these ports. Most of them have similar difficulties during set-up. So, if I were to rate this product, I would compare this printserver among only the ones that come with both parallel and USB. If you are shopping for a printserver, buy this printserver for being able to connect both parallel and USB port printers together at the same time and consider the wireless capability as bonus. If your emphasis is on the wireless capability and single port, there are better cheaper alternatives in the market. Be patient during set-up and expect to spend some time with the tech support because you don't have many other choices out there in the market. In the end, you will end up saving money by avoiding to buy multiple print servers.
76 back it goes...
Attention Amazon shoppers: DO NOT MAKE MY MISTAKE! Don't buy this thing thinking it might actually work in some way. Wireless print server? Ha! A pencil is a more efficient and reliable peripheral than this piece of trash.
Terrible documentation, ineffectual tech support, no support pages to speak of.
This is pure junk. Releasing this thing was a great idea, Linksys/Cisco...
77 Funny name for a product that doesn't work with USB
Just spent many hours working on my brand new WPS54GU2 print server install. Installs, re-installs, firmware updates, software updates, Linksys phone support hanging up on me after being on hold for a long time...
Conclusion: It just plain doesn't work. The really funny part is that I can get the ethernet communication working. I can get the parallel port working but, of all things I CAN'T GET THE USB PORT TO TALK! Didn't bother with the wireless connection. I have a wireless-G system but the box is no good to me without my USB (and parallel) printer working. Print servers kinda need that capability.
I guess it's back to CompUSA for a refund. I double checked the name on the box just to make sure I didn't buy the wrong product. Sure enough, the name on the box is " Wireless-G PrintServer for USB2.0"
Funny name for a product that doesn't work with USB...
78 Flaky
I was able to get it working fairly quickly while physically connected to my network. But when I tried to get it running wirelessly things went down hill. Spent too many hours to count including a couple of them with tech support who was - to be fair - patient and competent. At the end of that call, the device was working properly. The conclusion was that my 128 bit wep key had to be a valid hexadecimal number including some letters?! After I got off the phone, I unplugged it and moved it to another location and was unable to get it working again. Various operations (like setting the encryption key "incorrectly") routinely crashed the wlan connection on the device forcing me to reset it. Waste of time.
79 reviews here helped me a lot
I owe a lot to the people who wrote reviews here so I would like to contribute some.
For me it worked flawlessly. Installation was easy for my HP LaserJet5/5M wirelessly. One of the biggiest advice here was that the explorer firewall should be deactivated. In my case, Norton Internet Firewall and Zone Alarm was giving me a little problem. So, I deactivated them, and later activated them again after the server was installed. Other than that, installation was done in no time. I believe it was the worthy investment on the server.
80 Wireless print servers are like a box of chocolates...
I bought two of these wireless print servers (Linksys WPS54GU2) so I could print wirelessly to two printers in different locations. One is a new Canon i960 photo printer and the other is a brand-new HP Photosmart 7960 (I liked the LCD screen and picture card capability). They are both USB-only printers. Once I configured both print servers for my wireless network (they MUST be connected first via Ethernet in order to do this), I was able to print wirelessly to the Canon printer with no problem. However, I cannot say the same for the HP printer. I was unable to get either of the print servers to recognize a USB connection to it! I highly suspect the problem lies with the new HP printer since I was able to print wirelessly to an older HP printer I have, which is also USB. Based on the number of complaints I've read on the Internet regarding HP's newer Photosmart printers not being compatible with these print servers, I am going to return the new HP printer and go back to using the older HP printer since it worked fine. I heard from someone that the newer HP printers may only work with HP's high-priced wireless print servers...this is totally UNACCEPTABLE to me! Before you buy this print server for printing wirelessly, be sure the printer you want to connect to it is NOT a Photosmart printer since it will most likely not work wirelessly.
81 Almost ready for prime time
I have a mixed environment of Mac and Windows systems and want to consolidate all on an HP all-in-one 7100 series printer.
From my Windows environment, it was not clear that I had to first install my print drivers before I could make a logical connection between my defined printer and a port created for the print server. This was a problem because the only way to accomplish this was to physically attach my printer to all my Windows systems, install the drivers then reconnect my printer to the print server. From there is was easy to connect my printer to the print server port and it has worked quite well since.
The real down side is that Linksys advertises that this printer supports appletalk but the company provides no assistance in getting a Mac to communicate with the print server. So far, I have been unable to get my Mac to talk with the print server. According to Linksys, it is not supported and that is all they will say or do to help.
82 Lacks compatibility
After two weeks of trying to get this unit to work with my HP 7750 printer - without much useful help from Linksys Technical Support - it turns out that the Linksys unit is not compatible with the printer! Why doesn't Linksys make it clear on their packaging or literature that their unit does not support many higher-end printers??
83 Works Great
I installed the wireless print server and it was working within 45 minutes when connected to the router via an Ethernet cable. I couldn't get it to work in the wireless mode so I used the online chat support via the Linksys web-site. They told me to do a power cycle and bring it back up with the ethernet cable disconnected. It worked!! The support was good and the print server is now working great. I have a new Cannon i860 connected to the USB port. Great investment.
84 Works well, once you get it configured correctly
I've got this unit to finally print from both a WinXP and Mac OS X machine, to a parallel port HP-6L and a USB port Canon i850. It's fairly straightforward to follow the manual to print from Windows, but if you want to print from OS X, you need to specify "L2" for the USB port server, not "P2" as in Windows and the manual.
85 The King of Problems! Save Your Money
I did try over and over again to install. The product is a failure and just doesn't work well with HP laser printer. I have tried it with Dell printer and still doesn't work. Technical support is a joke: the kid on the other end of the line just don't understand basic installation procedures and can solve nothing. Don't waste your money and time. Look for another solution.
86 Very unsatisfied
After spending several hours trying to install a HP 4050 PS (parallel) and an HP G85 (USB), I could get the 4050 to work, but was finally told by Linksys tech support that the print server does not support the G85. I find it inconceivable that they did not design the print server to handle recent HP printer models. It would help if the website tech support simply listed printers that the server does not support, because then I would not wasted my time.
87 It's cool.
Thanks to the review from Mark T. Erickson who mentioned to disable the firewall before install. I did that, and cruised through the install. After I had everything working I was able to enable the firewall again with no problems. I have an HP Laserjetp6 on the parallel and an HP7350 on the USB and three XP laptops on the wireless network able to print to both printers fine. I'm very happy with the product.
88 Great Product to Date
I was reluctant to purchase the product due to the negative reviews. However the print server was more economical (for wireless printing) than other alternatives offered by HP. Since I was trying to connect two printers (HP Laserjet 2300 and HP OfficeJet D145) via the USB port I encountered some problems. I called Linksys customer service (not technical support)and requested assistance from a US based technician. A technician called back within the hour and provided the best service I received from any technical support personnel in a long while. He assisted me through the process and was extremely helpful. I had problems configuring the multifunction (D145) but a call to HP resolved that issue - for the multifunction to work I had to select another compatible printer - the HP Deskjet 990C.
Initially I was told by another linksys technician that multifunction printers would not work with the print server. However, that is generally not the case. The linksys technician who asssisted me advised me to perform a simple test even before configuring the print server - connect a USB port to the print server and the printer and press the reset button on the print server, if a test page prints, then the print server will work with the printer.
The only down-side is that WPA does not work with the printserver so I had to resort back to WEP.
I am currently using the linksys modem, wireless g router and wireless g print server and I am happy with the performance to date. The set up may take a few minutes but with the right personnel from linksys the problems will be resolved.
07/25/04 - I have been using this print server since January 04 and I have not encountered any problems to date. It allows me to place my printers out of sight (in a closet).
89 Works Great -- no problems installing
I had absolutely no problems installing and configuring this print server. The only think that is not mentioned in the Linksys instructions is to make sure that you disable the "internet connection firewall" or ICF in the /control panel/network/properties area. After doing that, everying proceeded as stated in the instructions. I'm connected to a HP7350 photosmart printer (usb only) with three wireless notebook computers.
Disabling the ICF is the only instruction that is not stated in the Linksys documentation. I had read it in one of the previous reviews and followed their advice.
90 Don't Waste Your Time
This product is a joke and you should not waste your time even trying it. It is a shame that such poor quality hardware and software is being allowed on the market by Linksys (now owned by Cisco...what is wrong with you Cisco?)
Three very sharp and technically experienced people spent a full day trying to get it to work and failed. As I said in the title...don't waste your time.
91 Not for everybody
Probably a great product if it is compatible with your printer, it wasn't with mine (HP6100). After 4 1/2 hrs on the phone with Linksys tech support, they said it must be a printer problem. Printer works fine if it is plugged directly to computer, go figure. I guess I'll try another brand or give up on the wireless thing for now!
92 Don't get ripped off by Linksys or it's "non" printer server
The first printer server I received was bad out of the box - unfortunately it took about 8 hours of hit and miss troubleshooting to figure out that I was doing everything correctly, it was the poor documentation and the bad hardware that were the problem.
After being placed on hold for an hour, I was connected to a neophite - it's tough on the consumer when you, a neophite yourself to the company's product, know more about the product then the ding-a-ling that is assigned to assist you. Then I receive the replacement 5 days later - and I HAVE TO PAY SHIPPING TO RETURN THE DEFECTIVE PRODUCT THAT I ALREADY PAID SHIPPING FOR !!! THIS AFTER THEY CHARGED MY CREDIT CARD FOR THE REPLACEMENT PRODUCT ( I find it ironic that they pre-charge you for a product prior to shipping it to you, but you can't receive a credit for a defective replacement product, oh no - you have to be pre-charged again to get a replacement for a bad-out-of-the-box product) - WATCH, THEY'LL SCREW UP MY CREDIT TOO !!
In any case, I hooked the replacement, and it failed again. After two 1/2 hour oh-hold waits on the telephone support line and subsequent hang-up's prior to speaking to a living being - I've had it. My recommendation: buy a wireless product (not Linksys) from a local company that can support you (and more importantly-you can drive over to them with problems and complaints).
93 Deosn't work as advertised; Very disappointed
First of all, I have to say that I am NOT a tech/hardware newbie. Far from it; I'm the first guy people call when their computers need servicing. Each of the computers in my house was assembled by me. So you can understand that it was quite frustrating when I coudln't get this thing to work, even after a good 3-4 hours of fidgeting with it and even calling their tech support (I have never, ever, had to call tech support for installation help in my life for any other piece of hardware I own).
This product simply does NOT work as advertised. Wanted to connect a Canon S520 color printer and Brother HL1440 Laser. Seems that if I have the parallel plugged in, the USB refuses to work. Both printers have parallel and USB, so I tried each on parellel and each on usb to determine whether the problem was the printer or the print server. No go.
My other complaint about this product is that it doesn't auto install drivers...it's not user friendly. You have to install the drivers for the printer AND the drivers for the print server on every computer in order to send print jobs to the printer.
In any case, after quite a bit of frustration in trying to get the print server to work as advertised, I'm gonna return it and go back to previous setup.
94 Doesn't Work Well w/ HP or Dell Printers - Many Problems
I have very bad experience w/ this product. It just doesn't deliver. I called customer service to get help but was left on the line for too long, just music over and over again. Save your bucks and wait for a better model. Installation instructions are unclear and complicate things. You Know, it just too early to buy this product.
95 Works on HP V40(USB) and very old HP 722c( parallel)
Works like a charm. All my network gear is linksys wireless g. Total setup time was 45 min with wep etc. Did not experience any of the problems mentioned in the other reviews.
96 Works well on my S630 (USB) and Laserjet 6P (parallel)
With the XP firewall enabled, the software setup software was unable to find the printserver. There is no mention of this being a problem in the Linksys instructions, and I would never have thought of this. Fortunately I had just read the earlier review by banifa: "Beware however that you may encouter difficulties if you are using Windows XP: disable the XP firewall in network property otherwise you will not be able to setup the PC to print."
Once I fixed this everything else went smoothly, and the drivers are now running on all my household machines, including an older Windows ME machine, for both my Canon S630 and HP Laserjet 6P.
97 Works well on my S630 (USB) and Laserjet 6P (parallel)
With the XP firewall enabled, the software setup software was unable to find the printserver. There is no mention of this being a problem in the Linksys instructions, and I would never have thought of this. Fortunately I had just read the earlier review by banifa: "Beware however that you may encouter difficulties if you are using Windows XP: disable the XP firewall in network property otherwise you will not be able to setup the PC to print."
Once I fixed this everything else went smoothly, and the drivers are now running on all my household machines, including an older Windows ME machine, for both my Canon S630 and HP Laserjet 6P.
98 Works fine w/ my HP printers (parallel & USB)
Due to the problems mentioned w/ HP PSC series printers (USB only), thought I would add a review of my own. This print server is working like a charm with the following configuration: HP LaserJet 4M (parallel connection to print server)and a HP PSC 2210 all-in-one multifunction printer (USB connection). I am writing this review on a ThinkPad (Win2k) w/ the 54G laptop wireless card and print without any issues to either printer. The only advice I have to others is to be *sure* to have the printer drivers installed on your computer(s) prior to running the Print Server Utility (mentioned in the instructions). I was worried about buying this print server after seeing the reviews here, but I have to say that in my home office, it works as advertised.
99 Not ready to be sold
This server does not work with an old IBM 4019 nor a new HP Photosmart 7960. Their support was terrible, very hard to understand their broken english and did not seem to understand wireless networking issues. I returned it quickly...
100 Doesn't work with HP G85 all-in-one printer
It doesn't work with HP G85 all-in-one printer. I was on the phone with linksys tech support for 1/2 hr trying various things. nothing worked. i returned it. tried again with a new one. same thing. this time i'll just get my money back.
they had no compatiblity list. i asked.
