Expand The Range Of Your Wireless Network!The Linksys Wireless-G Range Expander is the easy way to increase the effective coverage of your wireless network.
Unlike adding a traditional access point to your network to expand wireless coverage, the Wireless-G Range Expander does not need to be connected to the network by a data cable.
Just put it within range of your main access point or wireless router, and it "bounces" the signals out to remote wireless devices.
This "relay station" or "repeater" approach saves wiring costs and helps to build wireless infrastructure by driving signals into even those distant, reflective corners and hard-to-reach areas where wireless coverage is spotty and cabling is impractical.
The Range Expander is perfect to help cover large areas in multi-story homes, warehouse environments, public spaces, wireless "Hot Spots", and outdoor venues -- anywhere you need extra coverage for your wireless network.
The Wireless-G range Expander is compatible with the Linksys WAP54G, WRT54G, and WRT54GS routers.
So, expand your wireless network's effective coverage the easy way, with the Wireless-G Range Expander.
- The easiest way to expand your wireless network's coverage
- Save on wiring costs -- no wired connection to your network necessary
- Extend your wireless signal into hard-to-reach areas
- Compatible with both Wireless-G and Wireless-B networking devices
1 Works fine with compatible equipment
I found the setup and installation for the Linksys Range Expander was fairly simple when connecting it to a secured Linksys router. My speed at the periphery of my router was running at about 38Mbits and jumped immediately to 54Mbits once the Range Expander was installed. I had spent a good bit of time earlier making sure the router was configured and security enabled while replacing the older 11b equipment I had been using. If you aren't familiar with networking, I would suggest getting help from the outset. It may save on some of the frustration folks experience. Use the Linksys utilities rather than those proffered by the operating system. Mixing the two up in the process of installation can definitely cause problems.
2 linkstinks
Do not waste your money on this piece of junk. I never ever got it to work even after numerous attempts. I struggled through the cryptic online instructions and wasted hours with the useless phone support personal who spoke an unrecognizable form of english.
3 Watch Out for Compatibility Issues and POOR Linksys Support!
I purchased this product after a discussion with Linksys tech support concerning signal strengh problems encountered after switching over to a router model that had included phone ports for broadband phone service. The Linksys tech was from India, somewhat lacking in English skills, and DEFINITELY in technical knowledge- symptomatic of the effort to drive American tech jobs to the lowest possible bidder.
The tech assured me that the range expander was compatible with my router after keeping me on hold for a few minutes. Needless to say, it was not compatible with my router, and refused to connect to my wireless network. Linksys acknowledged the error of the technician, but refused to switch mine for a compatible product.
Sooo, take this as a warning and double verify compatibility before buying this product, and DON'T take the word of a Linksys technician. Do otherwise, and you may also become a victim of outsourcing.
4 Works - eventually
It does work as advertised. However, setting it up is NOT an evening job. No beer while you're doing it, be well rested; I recommend a Saturday. Plan on at least half the day and two hours on the phone with tech support. I'd like to give it a higher rating, but the setup software is so totally inadequate as to be fraud. Tech support was outstanding though - good thing....
Bottom line: Buy it if you really, really need it and you already have an existing Linksys router. Otherwise run away.
5 Forget Linksys
Linksys, as others have noted, does not tell you that certain versions of this device may not work with your Linksys router--and you have no way of knowing what version you will be sent. I was caught in this trap. My opinion--stay away.
6 Make sure you know what it is compatible with!
Make sure you know what it is compatible with! It only works with certain linksys products and they do not tell you this. Could not get it to work with d-link or netgear products!
7 Another Weekend Waisted - Thanks Linksys.
Should be zero stars...I tried everything - Software crashed...Now,I'm still trying to recover my notebook so that it can connect to the Internet again. If it didn't spare my wife and two kids computer connections, I would have been thrown out of the house this weekend. What a frustrating rip-off.
8 This thing is a set-up nightmare - Beware!
Let me begin by saying that I am a very computer-literate, tech savvy person... having said that, I have been fiddling around with this thing on and off for nearly two months and I still cannot get it to work properly. Linksys claims that there is one touch automatic setup - it's just that easy. Don't be fooled. This thing is nothing but an expensive little box of frustration that doesn't do anything it claims with any ease. I say, for the money, just invest in a new wireless router with more range and skip this thing. For the price, they should have included a wired ethernet port so you could actually manually configure it. Prepare to be even more frustrated if you choose to call Linksys tech support. I realize that some people have their units working after much work, I still haven't been that lucky. Stay away from this one folks! UPDATE: I spent three and a half hours on the phone with Linksys support and finally got it up and running. Though the tech support people first caused my router to go haywire and we spent much time on the phone fixing that problem first. Plus, tech support helped a bit, but it was my own fiddling around with setting that fianlly got my router to work. Don't rely on Linksys tech support to solve all of your problems. Now that this thing is actually working, it works just fine and expands my range considerably. My advice is to never believe any of the "easy set-up" claims on the packaging of ANY Linksys product.
9 Got It Working, After Much Work
Well the box on the range expander says it works with the WRT54G. (It is only when you open the box that you find a little card that tells you which firmware versions it works with.) Well, it didn't work right out of the box for me. I have a WRT54G that had V2.0 of the firmware, so I had to upgrade that to 3.X. Then I had to update the firmware of the brand new WRE54G Range Expander that I just bought!
I cannot image a non-technical person figuring out what s/he needs to do to get things working, and then actually doing it. Cost me at least 2 hours of my time, and only then after I had spent almost an hour hitting reset and auto configure buttons that the directions talk about. Thank gawd I found all these reviews on this website giving me a good idea of what I needed to do.
To summarize: Upgrade the firmware of your Linksys WRT54G router. Then upgrade the firmware of your Linksys WRE54G range expander. All the reset button stuff and Auto configuration button stuff did nothing for me. In fact, after I upgraded the firmware on the range expander, both lights on it turned blue without me touching any of the buttons.
It is shameful that a product like this is sold without a large warning label on it telling non-techies that they should beware. That, or they should sell the router and the range expander together in one box and guarantee that they are set up to work together.
10 sooooooo easy
this was the easiest freakin thing to setup....in less than 5 min i had an expansive g network. i went from 1mbps to 54mbps instantly. id give it 5 stars if it wasnt so expensive. but it does what it says and works great. EASY INSTALL....dont know what everyones problem was
11 Not worth the hassle
This item is junk. I assumed that all the other reviewers were overly critical - wrong. After a week of fiddling, downloading firmware (for this item, the new PC card WPC54GS as well as the router WRT54GS), endless resetting, then paying an experienced consultant to try to get the thing to work, I gave up and returned the junk. Several specific critiques: the range on the router is poor; the expander cannot acquire a steady signal from the router, unless it is in an unobstructed line of sight without things such as refrigerators, walls, etc. anywhere near the line of sight; for the price they should have included a direct ethernet connection so it can be configured. I found it is basically impossible to configure WEP on the expander and have it actually work with both the card and the router/access point, except when the three were in ridiculously close proximity. Even then there is an endless cycle of enable WEP on the expander, have it lose contact with the router, enable WEP on router, then it is unable to contact the expander even with exactly same keys; start all over again by resetting both. Also, the expander sometimes malfunctionsm, showing red access lights (ie supposedly no connection to access point) even when I could connect to it and actually reconfigure it. Don't waster your time.
12 Warning to Macintosh users
I had a lot of trouble setting up this range expander and ultimately failed. When I called tech support, I waited 24 minutes to hear them tell me that, since I have a Macintosh computer (running OS X)--which, by the way, is not so uncommon any more--tech support was not able to work with me. (To me this indicates that Linksys is falling a little behind the times.) Linksys _assured_ me that the WRE54G is 100% compatible with my computer, only that Linksys does not train their tech support on Macintosh computers. Indeed, their online database of Q&A lists nothing about this product and Macintosh computers. So, as far as I am concerned, this is product is a not-very-attractive wall decoration that serves no purpose other than to blink pretty red and blue lights. Back to the store with this one.
13 Buyer Beware: Linksys Compatibility Misleading
Buyer beware: Linksys is misleading regarding this product, it says that it supports the wireless router WRT54G at the 2.02 firmware level, but this WRE54G does NOT support WPA encryption, which the WRT54G does. I contacted Linksys tech support on 2005-03-30 and they told me that the WRE54G supports ONLY WEP encryption, that I need version 2 of the WRE54G (WRE54Gv2), which amazon.com does not carry as of yet. My wireless network runs WPA encryption and cannot revert to WEP encryption so I cannot use this paperweight called the WRE54G. I gave the product 3 stars because it has potential.
14 Below Linksys Standards
This device has major problems (just Google WRE54G). I am a Network Tech who specializes in small LANs. One of my customers, who is fairly sharp worked for weeks trying to get one of these to work - without success.
Basically, WEP does not work with these units. I followed the diections to the letter without success. They did work without security.
THIS IS WHAT DOES WORK: Get a WET54 bridge connect it to an access point or a router configured as an access point (change the IP address, SSID, broadcast channel and turn off the DHCP server). This will allow users to choose their access point and extend your network. You can even use an ethernet cable between them to move the AP into an area where the signal is weak.
This is what we did and it worked GREAT.
15 Plug and Pray
I won't go into the details as to why it never worked. The short version is after upgrading everything on my Linksys wireless router and on the Linksys wireless card, trying to install it for two hours, calling Linksys support and their failing to get it to work, returning it on their advice, and trying to get the replacement unit to work, complete failure. It simply can't connect to the laptop in order to get configured.
16 Painful to set up, but it works
I could not make this work (and I'm pretty tech savvy). A call to the Linksys help desk got me working, but it took a lot of fiddling with my WIN XP/Pro/SP2 TCP/IP parameters.
In the end I tested a pair of Linksys hi-gain antennae, and decided to go that route. I don't get as strong a signal, but it is really easy to install - no hassle. And no ongoing maintenance headaches.
17 Wait for it to work!
I had to upgrade the firmware to 1.04.17 before I could follow the instructions on this website, in addition I had to wait 5 minutes before it worked completely.
It was so frustrating that I could connect to the repeater, ping yahoo.com but other websites such as ebay and amazon would be unreachable. So I walked away for a couple of minutes, without changing anything on my side. The repeater suddenly worked fine with all the websites. I believe that although both lights turned blue, it takes a while for the system to be in sync.
18 When it wants to work its great
I recently purchased this unit and it definitely has it's downfalls in the way of setup. Most people I know who were able to get this unit up and running without a problem have all purchased the recent model of the compatible routers.
If you don't have the latest version of the routers, the first thing you have to do is download the latest firmware from linksys or you'll be pulling your hair our wondering why it doesn't work. PS the bios can only be updated via a wired link to your router, wireless is not recommended cause if you lose the link you could destroy your router.
After doing this, the product does work but for the cost of it - almost more expensive than the router; you would aspect a better setup procedure then the one giving to you in the box.
Also one point that no one seems to have mentioned here is that the expander cuts your signal to your unit in HALF. So though you are getting a strong excellent signal from your expander, the expander to your wireless nic is only 22, from your router to your expander is 54. Something else to keep in mind before purchasing this expensive but effective when working device.
19 Good Product, Bad Instructions
I bought it before I read these reviews. I almost took it back after I read them. I'm a network guy so I figured I'd give it a go. I got it to work by myself in about an hour. The first thirty minutes I spent messing around with Linksys' useless instructions.
The installation CD didn't find the WRE54G but I'll tell you how I got it to work below. I hope it's not to technical. I configured it through the web interface and updated the firmware. I have 128 bit WEP running like a charm. Also I advise to really put the expander as far away from the your WAP router. I have the WRT54G on the bottom floor of a three level townhome. I was trying to boost the signal on my third level. I first tried the WRE54G on the second floor with no real difference on the third level. When I put the WRE54G on the top floor it worked perfectly. My suggestion is use this device as a true repeater at the perimeter of you network. It won't make a difference if you put it too close the WAP router.
** Start from scratch - I put my WRT54G back to factory default and give it a SSID and broadcast it. Download the latest firmware for both your wireless router and the range expander.
1. Using my laptop that has a Linksys WPC54G wireless card I searched for available wireless networks.
2. The WRE54G will show up with network SSID of something like "linksysrf74848". That is the default SSID of the WRE54G so select it to connect to.
3. Next you'll have to configure a static IP address on your wireless capable computer to IP address 192.168.1.235 subnet mask 255.255.255.0 - That is all you need right now.
4. Open your web browser and type in 192.168.1.240 just type in admin for password. To the help page on the device and upload the firmware you have on your computer.
5. Now you'll need to type the the SSID, wireless MAC address of your wireless router (on WRT54G you'll find it on the wireless status page), and fill in all the other blanks as needed.
6. No you'll need to reconnect to a wireless network since you changed the SSID of the WRE54G. When you do a search you should see two devices with your own SSID. Notice that one of the MAC addresses should match the one on the back of the WRE54G. Select it and then connect.
7. Hopefully you have two blue lights right now. Select your SSID with the strongest signal.
8. Change your wireless computer's IP setting back to dynamic, if you like.
9. Setup WEP on the WRE54G then set it up on your wireless router, and change all the factory default passwords to something stronger.
Hope this helps!
20 Utter waste of money
While I could get it to work, it would only connect for about an hour and then drop the connection entirely. I'm no beginner at this stuff, and I don't know where Linksys gets off charging a hundred bucks for something that doesn't work as well as the WAP54g. Save the money, buy something that works.
21 Don't downgrade this product because you cannot get it to wo
1) download BOTH the latest firmware for your WRT54G broadband router AND the WRE54G expander from Linksys's website.
2) use the web based setup on the router and make sure WEP and mac filtering is off at this time.
3) upgrade the firmware first with the router, then the expander.
4) hit the autoconfig on the expander and the red light will turn to blue, meaning it's working.
5) reenable WEP and mac filtering on the router thru the web based setup. That's it!
If any of this terminology seems foreign to you, have someone do it for you because it is not difficult and I was up and running within 10 minutes.
22 address unknown- returned
be aware that this "expander" is only compatible with three router models. My router is one of those but still the software was unable to detect the expander. I too spent 2 hours with India to try to solve this but with no luck. Not worth the effort!
23 Caveat emptor... and one more thing
To those USERS of wireless technology who are fortunate enough to know technically gifted folks who will hold their hand, let me echo many sentiments and add a new caveat:
1) Set-up is NOT far the feint of heart; it is challenging.
2) Downloads, especially backwards downloads are HARD to find; many previous reviewers give great tips on doing so, but be prepared to enter the real world of dungeons and dragons.
3)Yes, the wait times for customer support through New Dehli Linksys is reasonable; yes, the folks are very nice; yes they are patient. No, they cannot help you with this expander.
4. And new (but from my techy colleague): Other devices in your home... microwaves and especially 2.4 gHz telephones with multisearch technology (the present norm)... wreck havoc with wireless systems, so 5.8 gHz telephones ($$$) and now rare 900 mHz telephones (good luck in the search) are the way to go. My Panasonic 2.4 gHz proved to be the culprit. And, finally
5. An expander is necessary 400 feet from the base station and reception should be very good or excellent within 100 feet. Within 100 feet (folks, that is a larger home), an Expander should NOT be necessary. If you are getting poor signal strength, first disconnect the batteries from your 2.4 gHz phones for a trial and/or look at your signal strength when the phone is in use. If signal strength is better with the battery out or worse with the phone in use, do NOT buy an expander. Get another phone, and save yourself the endless headache of attempting to set up this @#$!^ expander.
24 Range Extender Doesn't
I have just gotten off the phone after a frustrating 3 hours with Linksys technical support. I called them because the brand new Wireless-G Range Expander (WRE54G) from Amazon was not providing a strong enough signal for my wireless laptop to pick up, even when they were side-by-side and in the same room as the wireless router.
It took 3 hours for Linksys technical support to finally admit that maybe, just maybe, the problem was with their product. The conversation was not helped by the fact that Linksys has apparently outsourced their technical support offshore to either India or Pakistan, and everyone I talked to had such a thick accent that it was very difficult to understand them. At the end, they reluctantly authorized the return. But then I found out they wanted me to pay for the return shipping!
Fortunately Amazon has an excellent return policy which includes free cross-shipping the defective device and the replacement. Never having had to return a product to Amazon before, I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was. So my appreciation of Amazon and its return policies is just as high as my opinion of Linksys is low.
*** FOLLOW UP ***
I received the replacement, and after trying for another 4 hours I have given up on the range expander. I have tried all of the suggestions for getting it to work posted in these Product Reviews and everything suggested by Linksys Tech Support. Nothing helped. So I plan to take the advice of T. Myers (another reviewer of the WRE54G) to get a WAP54G and configure it as a wireless repeater instead. The price seems comparable, and this will also let me use the stronger WPA security standard instead of the weaker WEP. This last is a real plus ... if it works. I'll post a review of that product once I have had a chance to try it.
25 Dell Laptop users - it works put it takes some work
Great product, installation process stinks. Throw away the installation disk it doesn't work and thank God Linksys has free tech support that can spend the time to help you get it working. Don't hesitate to call them. -1 star for having to upgrade firmware out of box for unit and poor installation method.
For Dell laptops you may not be able to connect to the expander, you will need to do the following A or B
A) if you have a desktop computer connected to your wireless router configure the expander from the desktop not from your Dell laptop - follow instructions below skipping steps 4) and 9)
B) if you must configure it with a dell laptop then you must use Netscape Navigator do not use Internet Explorer (IE)- classic symptoms - if you try to connect with IE you will find that you will get to the login expander window but won't be able to login after entering the password or your laptop will be able to detect that the expander is there but you won't even be able to get to the login window to even connect to the expander. To connect you will need to do the following
1) down load latest firmware for the expander v1.04.17 - you will use this later.
2) upgrade you firmware on you router before starting for me (WRT54GS) the latest version is Firmware Version: v3.37.6.
3) disable WEP on your Router or AP
4) on your dell laptop go and open control panel, double click network connections, right click wireless network connection, select properties, scroll down and select Internet protocol (TCP/IP), click on properties, select use the following IP address. WRE54G comes set to a default IP address of 192.168.1.240. Since you'll need to make a direct wireless connection to the WRE54G and it doesn't have a DHCP server, you'll need to nail down your client's IP address info. So enter in the IP address box in the 192.168.1.2, next enter 255.255.255.0 for your subnet mask. The Gateway and DNS settings won't matter for now and you can leave them blank. Hit ok and ok again. Now your Dell laptop will point to expander. (reboot laptop, after it us up and running go to step 5)
5) Hold the expander auto-configuration button for 30 seconds (if everything goes well both lights on the expander will turn blue) and unplug while still holding auto-config button. Plug back in after 20-30 seconds.
6) -open NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR and type 192.168.1.240 (default IP of expander), a window will pop up. leave the user name blank and put admin as a password (this is default password).
7) you are now in - lets upgrade the firmware, select help, select firmware upgrade, enter location of file, hit upgrade.
8) now that we have upgraded firmware lets go ahead and enable WEP on the expander, select default transmit key 1, select 64 bit WEP, type in your unique pass phrase (i.e. reddog), hit generate, write down on piece of paper the alpha numeric code in transmit key 1 that was generated you will need to input this into your laptop later inorder to connect.
9) now we need go back and change laptop IP settings on your dell laptop. open control panel, double click network connections, right click wireless network connection, select properties, scroll down and select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), click on properties, select obtain an IP address automatically. hit ok and ok again. (reboot laptop)
10) Now go into your router and set use the same settings (select 64 bit WEP, transmit key 1, same unique pass phrase, generate alpha numeric code) in your Router, save settings in your router.
11) Now your dell laptop should detect the network, but inorder to connect to your WEP enabled network you will need to set the same settings on your laptop (select 64 bit WEP, transmit key 1, type in the alpha numeric code for transmit key - the one that you wrote down on that piece of paper) save settings.
and volia - you connected your Dell laptop to the expander - hope that helps a frustrated Dell laptop user like February 13, 2005 Reviewer: L. Zarker -
26 Easier than the reviews indicate
I had read all the negative reviews regarding the setup issues of the WRE54G, but based on my happiness with many other Linksys items, I purchased the unit and decided to plod ahead. One side of my house had little or no wireless signal coverage and this seemed an easy alternative to expensive wiring. I began by upgrading to the latest firmware for my WRT54G router, not the 2.02.02 backward version described in many other reviews. I plugged in the WRE54G, pressed the autoconfiguration button, pinged the device. My network recognized the device, but the link light was still red. I then upgraded to the latest firmware for the WRE54G, and the red light turned blue. Placing the device at the far range of my wireless network has boosted the signal from "low" to "very good" for that side of the house where I had little or no signal - one bar to 4 bars. I am happy with the result. I gave the product 4 stars and not 5 only because the setup instructions should speak more to the shortcomings of the setup and the need ti upgrade something right out of the box.
27 Range Expander Caution Flag
I read all of the cautionary reviews and still bought the Linksys Range Expander. It did not work even with the advice I read in the reviews. Linksys technical support spent several hours with me and declared the unit defective. I was sent another one. The same problem re-surfaced: the Dell laptop knows that the Expander is there but cannot connect to it. More Linksys technical support has led to the conclusion that they don't understand Dell laptops so they cannot help me connect. They say to contact Dell. That's like telling me to call up Bill Gates for technical support on a Microsoft issue. All of the other reviews may help IF and only IF the laptop connects to the Range Expander so that you can configure it to work for you. I've given up.
28 Total Junk Don't waste your money or time
I had to use the tech support and spend over 1 hr to get this Expander to work. Then after about a week it stopped working. Had to call tech support again and after about 45 mins it was working. Then in about a month for no reason it stopped working this thime I was on the phone for over 2 hrs and could never get it working before I got tired of dealing with the support people that speek very poor english. I unpluged the range expander and smashed it. Felt very good to forever rid myself if this junk. I will now buy Dlink.
29 Didn't Work For Me
I have a Linksys wireless network in my home and three computers, all running Windows XP. I bought this Expander because the computer in the farthest part of the house drops the signal from time to time. I almost always get a "good" to "excellent" signal, but sometimes I get no signal at all with this computer. I thought an Expander would help. It didn't.
First off, this expander has an "automatic configuration" button that is supposed to find your current network and connect to it as long as you have WEP disabled. This didn't work. The little light stayed red (instead of blue) indicating that it couldn't find an Internet address even though it was well within range of the signal.
The next step was to try to configure the product using the enclosed CD-ROM. Everything started off fine. The installation found my existing Internet Address, identified it as having WEP disabled and then attempted to configure the Expander to accept it, but instead just kind of stopped at that point. It didn't freeze, just stopped and completely disabled all Internet access. I had to restore to a previous date to fix it.
I tried the installation twice and then just gave up after the software refused to install.
On top of that, the Expander didn't improve my signal. Even though I couldn't get an Internet connection through the Expander, my computer could see the Expander and find the empty signal. In most cases during my attempt at configuration, the Expander's signal was one "bar" less than the original Access Point in the basement.
30 Want to know where to get firmware 2.02.2?
I found many of the reviews here stating how to get this expander up and running helpful with one exception - nobody says where the heck you can get the 2.02.2 firmware! Well I understand you cannot post links in these reviews, but here's a helpful tip: do a web search on linksysinfo firmware 2.02.2 and you should find it pretty easily. Once I installed the firmware and pushed the auto-setup button, I was getting two blue lights. I am using this with the WRT54G.
Further, here's another tip that some of you may need to take advantage of. I was only able to modify the expander's settings (turning on WEP, etc.) when I DIDN'T have my routers settings opened up in my web browser. For some reason, I couldn't do them both at the same time. So I thought it wasn't working, but then I closed the browser that had my router settings page opened and everything else was smooth.
So, like everyone is saying, somewhat shaky set-up, but now I am getting 88-92% where I was lucky to get 40%. It works great, but I'm dinging it 1 star for obvious set-up hassle. I mean hello, it doesn't work with the latest firmware? Sheesh.
31 Disappointing
I bought the range extender to work with my WRT54G purchased in June 2003. Following the simple instructions, I plugged it in, pressed the auto configuration button for varying lengths of time but never managed to get the "link" light to turn blue. I called tech support and after several failed attempts to upgrade the router firmware with level 1 and level 2 assistance, I was told my router's firmware (the original v1.00.8) was "too old" to be upgraded. Their solution-buy the high gain antenna. According to the product description the WRT54G router should be compatible with it....nowhere are firmware upgradeability issues mentioned and flagged as potential problems.
32 returned to sender
Like many, I found the 802.11g range of my home network just not quite enough to get reliable SNR in the living/dining/kitchen from my downstairs office. So I took advice from the linksys ads and added their range extender.
Waisted 2 hours trying to get it to join the network - no dice. Called Lynksys, listened to their choice in muzak for a good fraction of an hour. Very knowledgable fellow on the other end informed me that it would not work with MY linksys router - says so deep in the pdf doc file. So, be sure you check it will work with YOUR router. Check first, do not waiste YOUR time.
In the end, I invested in $100 of cable and moved the router to a better spot in the house. Just not exactly the solution linksys would have advertized.
33 Of Limited Value
What is not clear from the product description is that it is ONLY compatible with the Linksys Routers listed. Have a different Linksys router? Forget about it. Unless you are using a Linksys WRT54G or WRT54GS router don't waste your money.
34 will not work with dl524 d- link
if anyboby has hooked up the lynksys extender with a d-link 524 please let me know because ive been working on it for three weeks
cid207@yahoo.com
35 Not a bad product but could always be better
It comes with a setup cd and an auto configure button, both of which are useless dont even bother with either. Make sure you have a wap54g, wrt54g, or wrt54gs linksys router, since only they are compatable with the wre54g. Make sure your router has the latest firmware version, it can be found at www.linksys.com under support in their knowledge base. When it comes to installing it follow the directions found at http://www.tomsnetworking.com/Sections-article90-page1.php after you have set it up and it is functioning you will probably notice that the link light is red, meaning that your firmware is not up to date meaning, another trip back to linksys to download the latest firmware for the wre54g. This should turn that light back to a pretty blue for you. TIP: to set a static IP address right click on your wireless connection and click status, then properties, then on the general tab scroll down to internet protocol (TCP/IP), highlight it, then click properties, then click "Use the following IP address" and type in the IP address that the site I mentioned before gives you. Also before you start make sure to turn off any WEP and MAC address filtering. This is somewhat involved to setup and can be frustrating at times but if you can follow directions very well it shouldnt be too hard.
36 Works Great but Setup is a Little Tricky
I had one dead area in my house. Bought the Range Expander and I'm now surfing the web in the dead zone. I would follow Anthony Taylor's 08-01-04 instructions (which are great) with a few additions.
First plug in the Range Extender near your box that's hardwired to your router (if you have one). Hard wire your laptop to the router if you don't. Use your hard wired machine for the following steps:
1-Disable WEP on your router.
2-Do the auto configuration thing. Mine never had 2 blue lights. The Activity light was blue, but the Link light was red.
3-While WEP is disabled, go to Start - Run - type in CMD - and then type "ping 192.168.1.240" (default IP of Expander). If you see replies that's good.
4-First enable WEP on the Range Extender and then your router. See Anthony Taylor's instruction for this. Make sure the WEP keys are exactly the same. Write down the WEP key on a piece of paper.
5-Make sure all you other settings, like channel and default gateway are the same.
6-Leave the SSID on the range extender the same as you router.
7-After your have saved your settings (on both the router and extender) go back to step 3 and ping again. If you get a "timed out" error, unplug the range extender for 30 seconds and plug it back in. Ping it again. You should get a reply this time.
8-Now move your range extender where you want it.
9-Fire up your wireless machine, connect to the wireless network using your WEP key that you wrote down.
10-You should be surfing the Web in no time.
37 WRE54G Red Link Light Fix
After doing a search with Google for WRE54G problems, I found [...] which then provided a URL for a firmware update for the WRE54G Range Expander. Before update, my WRE54G was running v1.04 firmware and my WRT54G v2.2 was using the latest v3.01.3 with the dreaded Red Link Light on the WRE54G. After upgrading the WRE54G firmware to v1.04.17, the Red light turned Blue without any need to reset. [...] It appears to be working normally since I'm using the WRE54G link to write this review.
Good Luck!
Arnie
38 Works Fantastic...after you go through the nightmare install
Anthony Taylor's review is on the mark! I would just add one more insight. Make sure you do the firmware upgrade prior to setup or you will have to start up the install process from the begining. Tech support will tell you if the connection is working then don't worry about the blinking red link light. I did not like the fact that my router (WRTg5g)link light and the wre54g link light(red)kept showing activity (blinking)when no one was on any of my systems. After I did the firmware upgrade the link light on the WRE54G went "Blue" and all the activity on the link lights (router also)stayed solid until there was real activity within my network. Once I got the unit lined out the thing screams! Be ready to spend some time with linksys tech support. I spent about a couple hours over two days with the tech support folks. The ones I delt with were very good and could talk though most anyone though the proper setup.
39 DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY ON THIS PRODUCT
When i bought the range expander, i could not get it to work. I called the tech support people and no one could help me. They even transfered me to a senior tech person and she could not get it to work. So I returned the product, and I went to the linksys website and learned that the WAP54G could be used as a repeater. Not only is it cheaper but easy to set up. in less than 30 minutes i was able to set up all the computer in that part of the house and It works fine. What's good, also is you could use multiple WAP54G to work as multiple repeaters so if the area you want to cover is big you won't have a problem.
Plus it is very easy to set up WEP encryption.
40 Do Not Purchase The WRE54G
I should have read these reviews prior to buying the range extender. Fortunately, however, I DID read everyone's input prior to trying to install the product with my WRT54G router. Why? Because I upgraded to the G rougter from the slower B router a week ago and of course the first thing I did was to visit the Linksys website and download the most current firmware for my new router (3 point something). I thought I was doing the prudent thing but little did I know that Linksys would sell me a supposedly compatible product that would not run with anything but a specific, not to mention somewhat older version of the router's firmware.
However, prior to taking the steps necessary to send the WRE54G back, I gave Linksys one shot to redeem itself and I signed onto their live chat and contacted a techy. I explained I was having problems with my WRE54G working with my WRT54G adding that I had been told by several people that I had the wrong firmware on the router. The tech asked what firmware version I had and I told him whatever the most recent version was on their webste, 3 point something. He assured me that was the correct version, adding that any version equal to or above 2.02.2 was compatible with the range expander. I again told him that several people had reported problems by using any version of firmware other than 2.02.2 and that once they found a way to downgrade to that exact firmware version the expander worked fine. Again I was told any version equal to or newer than 2.02.2 would work fine. I thanked him [...]
So, not only is Linksys selling a product that is a pain [...] to install but they haven't educated their own tech support people on what is necessary to make the WRE54G compatible with the WRT54G.
41 Should have listened to others that had problems!!!!
Tried to install the extender as the directions state for WEP. Simply would not work. Performance on the network dropped to limited instead of getting better. I would not purchase this product. Poor documetation. Tech support barely speaks English. Responds inadequately to email. This is not my first problem with a Linksys product. They can and should do better.
42 Very difficult to configure and setup
Although I still have never been able to configure this item, it actually appears to function based on tests performed around my house with various wireless devices.
I have tried all the suggestions I have found and I still cannot get this device to see my access point.
If I had not been able to verify that it was actually still functioning I would have returned it.
43 Get a WAP54G instead!!
That's what the Sr. Tech from Linksys support told me after 90 minutes of trying to configure this POS. Here's the problem: the WRE54G is marketed for the idiots of the world who don't use any encryption, don't want to and don't care who share's their bandwidth. Its a rich market, to be sure. The instructions say you can configure the unit with WEP enabled, but the Sr. tech admitted to me that you really can't. My unit ended up being defective, the reset button (which is one of those recessed holes that you poke with a straight pin because a typical ink pin is too large) didn't work, so I could not remove the autoconfig settings, which were wrong. Now I'll learn if Amazon's return policy lives up to its claims! Also, the range expander may increase the range of your wireless network, but according to the Sr. Tech, it will cut your speed in half.
On the positive side, the Level 1 Tech and the Sr Tech, who were from India, were absolutely professional and should be given an award for patience in dealing with me. The Sr. Tech informed me that the WAP54G was far superior, cost less, did not cut speed in half and would be completely configurable with WEP enabled. Linksys support is awesome (if you call during the day), but the guy who wrote the isntructions for the WRE54G should be fired. Don't be lured by the shiny silver cover and the "plug it in the wall and forget its even there" claims for this dog.
44 Failed to connect, poor documentation, linksys unhelpful
What a waste of time this turned out to be. I was connecting to an existing network, through a brand new linksys router (WRT54G). This expander never linked, though it (the expander) was being located by my laptop, identified the network name, etc. but just wouldn't link. I returned it for a refund.
First, you should know that this range expander halves your connection speed to any device that connects through it. That's right. If you have a 54 mbps router/access point this device bounces that signal but only at 22 mbps. Perhaps helpful in specific situations but since it's broadcasting broadly you may inadvertently downgrade your wireless connections.
Second, the documentation is a joke. Extremely unhelpful.
Third, the linksys website is also very unhelpful. Nothing specific to assist. No troubleshooting tips, no better guides.
Don't waste your time too.
45 Easy setup unless you are security-conscious
If you're not savvy enough to have security set up on your network, this is an easy install. If you want to set up the security, however, it can take a while. One problem I ran into was that, after I entered a new (non-default) password, I couldn't log in! I believe the problem was the inclusion of an ampersand (&) in the password. No error message, though!
Another issue is that it does not support WPA, only the less secure WEP. I had no problem using the full 128-bit version, however. The trick appears to be to select 128 bit BEFORE attempting to enter the keys.
It took a couple hours to set up with security, but everything is now working well, and the range now extends throughout the house without problems.
46 Save yourself the hassle of returning it and DON"T purchase!
I should begin by saying that I like Linksys, I've owned a WRT54GS for about 5 months and use their subscription blocking service and have been very happy with it. Backed by Cisco, I think they build solid products.
That is, with the exception of the Wireless Range Expander. Last week, I purchased the Linksys WRE54G. We have a 802.11g wireless network and we wanted to expand it to a second building on our property. In order to do this, I realized I would need something to expand the range and also an ethernet bridge because I wanted to be able to use some wired ethernet devices without stringing wires. For the range expander device, I had been looking at different solutions for some time and, despite some negative reviews, I thought the WRE54G was worth a try.
I brought it home and opened up the packaging looking for the documentation. After looking through the box twice, I realized that one of the little two page brochures enclosed was all the documentation enclosed! This made me a bit nervous right off, but I had hopes that maybe the setup really would be that easy.
I was wrong.
I put in the setup CD and clicked the setup button. Simple so far. Clicked next, and next again. Setup was now going to locate my Linksys router to establish a link. Sounds good and since the WRE54G only works with three Linksys products, how hard could this be, right? Click next...a few seconds pass...NO WIRELESS NETWORK IN RANGE. What? I'm only a few feet from my router. I'll try again. It was surely just a mistake. So I tried again, and again, and again to no avail. OK, so now I'll disable the encryption (even though it is supposed to support WEP 128 bit) and try again. Nope, didn't work. OK, how about the auto configuration button. Nope, that didn't work either. So I went online to try to find more information. Linksys.com didn't help. Google...there we go. But the info I got really wasn't very good news. Several people had lots of trouble setting this range expander up and though I am not a novice on computer issues, I didn't understand the settings they were saying I'd need to change. Boy, this was taking awhile and it still wasn't working. OK, resort to calling Linksys. I got a customer service rep without too much of a delay and went through my problem. I tried to explain what steps I had already taken but in typical patronizing form, they dismissed all the information I gave them and started from scratch. OK, I guess I handle that. So we went through various settings, tried the auto config button (again!), reset the device, changed more settings...and on...and on. Finally, after an hour of work, the rep said that I would have to upgrade the firmware and she would transfer me to the senior tech support rep. OK, maybe we're making progress. So I get the senior tech and we start the process and hello, hello, are you there? They disconnected me! OK, start over. Call in again, explain (quite frustrated) what happened and I need to speak to the senior tech. OK, they'll transfer me. Finally. After being on hold for 15 minutes, as they are transferring me, they disconnected me again! This can't be happening. Try one more time. So the third call to tech support. I explain everything again and ask to speak to the senior tech. He refuses and says I can't speak with him. What?!? I explained everything again. No, he reiterated, you cannot speak with the senior tech. OK, so now what? The tech would help me. So even though I had done all this once, he went back to the beginning and made me redo everything I did with the first tech. After 45 minutes, he finally was able to get it up and running. OK, two hours with tech support and two disconnects later, it's finally working. So, I asked for his help turning encryption back on and here comes the blow, "The wireless range expander doesn't work with any encryption, in fact, if you turn encryption on, it will screw up your entire network. We know that it's published that it works with encryption but this is a known issue and we'll have new firmware out soon" WHAT! That one floored me. They are selling a product that says it works with WEP encryption when it's a "known issue" to Linksys that not only will it not work but in all likelihood will mess up your entire network. I pressed the tech rep for a date on the firmware release and he wouldn't answer. I said that if they hadn't gotten firmware released in the 6 months since the product came out I wasn't sure that "soon" would arrive very quickly. I then asked to speak with a manager and, after putting me on hold for another several minutes, the tech returned and promptly hung up on me! Very bad customer service, Linksys! (2+ hours, 2 disconnects, 1 hang up and a product that doesn't work).
The wireless range expander was returned the next day.
OK, so now you're disappointed that a product you thought would solve all your problems, doesn't really work after all. But here comes the good ending. In my online searches find info on how to get the Linksys Wireless Range Expander to work, I came across another solution. I purchased a Linksys WRT54G router and loaded third party Sveasoft firmware onto it (available at www.sveasoft.com). After some tweaking and getting settings correct (the people in the Sveasoft forums were a great help), I have the router set up as a repeater (via WDS) WITH ALL 4 ETHERNET PORTS WORKING as a wireless bridge!!! This cut my costs by two thirds. In my original plans, I thought I'd have to pay $99 for the Linksys Wireless Range Expander and another $100 or so for a wireless Ethernet bridge but by going with the WRT54G router w/Sveasoft firmware, it only cost me only $49 (router) and $20 (Sveasoft). It's been a rock solid connection with my main router, dramatically increased my wireless range, given me usable Ethernet ports without any additional wiring, and I can still use the subscription URL/parental control service from Linksys since my main router has original Linksys firmware. I couldn't' be happier.
Just stay away from the Wireless Range Expander (WRE54G)...
47 Excellent product, bad initial configuration on WRT54G
I bought this having read all of the reviews on this page and having bought a number of Linksys products before. Summary:the product works great when the right firmware is installed. I now have extremely fast wireless access to all points in my home using this product.
It is very disappointing to have a product (the WRT54G) shipped with firmware (v2.04.4) that clearly does not work with this range expander and that therefore requires you to contact Linksys. If you recognize that, until Linksys upgrades the shipped firmware version, you will have to call tech support and will spend appx 1 hour with them and will have a great product by the end then this is the box for you. (By the way, the firmware was changed to 2.02.7...NOT the latest version listed on Linksys' website...the .7 version was only available after the tech had given me an ftp address for access to the historical files).
Also - I was very pleased with the tech support from the company - 24x7?, limited waiting? Compare that to any support you ever get from our friends in Seattle. If anything, the techs were a little too quick (I am reasonably tech-savvy) but were happy to go slower. I got the impression they were all on a time-spent-per-call metric.
Overall - great product, great service, bad initial shipped configuration in the product its supposed to work with. Linksys will presumably fix this when they see the call volumes come in.
48 G Expander is the answer
Pros: Expands the range of my wireless G access point. This allows it to cover even the weak spots in my house. Also boosts the stronger spots even more. Easy to set up out of the box. Just plug in, insert CD into any computer connected to wireless network, and it all worked with little problem. Setup can even happen while WEP is enabled on wireless access point (contrary to other reviews).
Cons: Would not let me manually enter in 26-digit 128-bit encryption. Weird. It only let me enter 10 digits. So I kept it at 64-bit encryption (and 10 digits) and it works fine.
I debated how to fix the weak spots in my house. Now that I've used the expander, I would recommend this device to anyone expanding their Linksys wireless G range. It does not require anyone to be an expert at network language either. When I configured it, I just plugged it into the electrical jack in my office near my computer, then I configured it. Once configured, I moved it to a jack half-way across the house. Easy as that.
49 Not Compatible
Dear Valued Linksys Customer,
Thank you for contacting Linksys Technical Support.
I regret to tell you but the WRE54G is not designed to work with BEFW11S4 or WAP11. The WRE54G will work with the following Linksys devices: WRT54GS, WAP54G and WRT54G
If you have further questions, please contact us at (800) 326-7114 or send us an email at support@linksys.com so that we may further assist you. Please use this phone number given as reference for future support calls.
Sincerely,
Carmela Sy
Linksys - A Division of Cisco Systems, Inc.
Product Support Specialist
800-326-7114
support@linksys.com
50 Increases range and blood preasure
I recieved the range expander at 12:30 this afternoon, It's now after 4 and I have finally got the darn thing working. I read in the instructions that all you have to do is dissable WEP and press the expanders "Auto Configuration" button. This failed miserably, resulting in just red blinking lights on the expander. After monkeying with this for a little while, I tried the CD. Everything went fine untill the end when I got this very obtuse error: "Can not get the confirm response information." After trying everything in the troubleshooting section of the manual I finally called Tech support. The first question the guy asked was if my wireless router was broadcasting it's SSID, it doesn't for security reasons. He said this was my problem. It was my problem. Now everything works great. My machine which had a signal strength of 1 bar now has 5.
51 Great!
I read the reviews and with great reservation bought this. Much to my surprise, I had no difficulty getting it to work... in about 10 minutes. I just plugged it in, pressed the auto configure button, and walla... My laptop bars went from two red to five green almost instantly. Now I have a the best connection available in a remote room in my house with 54 mbps. I will say, however, I do not use a secure network so I didn't have those issues that others have run into...
52 work well, but has issues
I was able to quickly setup this device, but only with the instruction presented in these reviews. I downgraded the firmware to 2.02.2. I did encounter problems while trying to enable WEP. Once it was enabled on the extender, the link light went red, then I would enable WEP on the router and the link light remained red. Finally I tried the auto configure button after enabling WEP, and it worked. If you are having troubles with WEP, follow the posted procedure with the addition of performing an additional auto configure after WEP has been enabled on both devices.
53 Fails to Work with WRT54GS
When considering the Expander, be careful if you have a WRT54GS rather than the WRT54G. I had all the problems described by others, but unfortunately the 'GS' version adds another level of complexity, probably because the firmware between the "G" and "GS" differs. Even tech support had me try firmware for the "G" version without success.
The Expander also introduces another level of complexity if the DHCP Server is disabled on the router because the existing network has its own DHCP server. There is a work around for this problem (basically setting the TCP/IP to a static address and using 192.168.1.x settings for IP and Gateway), but you'll never find the explanation in the Linksys database.
Installation of the Expander can be almost as difficult as installing a network. Moreover, if you purchased the WRT54GS for added capabilities, you may have purchased 3 pieces (router, laptop adapter & expander) that are virtually useless because of the greatly reduced functionality without the necessary range.
This review is written after having spent 4+ hours with persistent, friendly, and unsuccessful technical support.
54 What a waste
I don't know what made me think this product would work. I purchased the WRT54GS and WUSB54GS. Had to return one WRT54GS because it could not be configured. Spent the good part of five hours getting the WRT54GS configured (half on the phone). Spent another hour or two on the WUSB54GS. The signal was so weak that I could not turn on the encryption (could not get internet connection with encryption WEP.) Purchased Expander. Spent 3.5 hours on the phone to get Expander to work. What a waste of time. Finally got the Expander configured (I still see red and blue dots), the performance was poor. At times, the rating (percentage) I got from the wireless router was better than the Expander. Worst of all, the level 2 support guys I talked to was rude, made me explain everything I had done with level 1 guy, and would only give me a brief explanation of how to set the encryption. Needless to say, I could never set the encryptions. I don't know why I worried. The signal was so weak it could barely get downstairs. Product was returned. Even on sale and with rebate coupons this stuff is too expensive for what it does.
55 Very Nice, Once It Is Set Up
Just a bit of background first. My job is working with computers and trouble shooting network issues. I am responsible for keeping track of and configuring all our wireless networks. This device setup should have been "no problem". I was actually excited that Linksys had a repeater device that could cover a range beyond the one of the AP. I had set up many wired/wireless networks based on Linksys hardware for friends and family. I had not had many issues until I purchased the WRE54G.
I purchased a Linksys WRT54G wireless base station along with the Linksys WRE54G Range Extender on Dec 14. I spent two hours trying to get the repeater to talk with the AP. I gave up for the evening. No success, I wanted 2 blue lights and could only get one. Figured I was doing something wrong and would do some research the next day.
Today I did my research and found many, many people had problems. The reviews here at Amazon were the most helpful. In the end here is what solved my problem:
MAKE SURE YOUR FIRWARE VERSION IS 2.02.2 ON THE WRT54G
As soon as I downgraded (my AP came with 2.04.4) it linked right up with the repeater. I then set my WEP on the repeater and then connected my laptop into one of the ports on the AP and set the WEP there. I rebooted the AP and then rebooted the repeater. I was then connecting through the repeater with full WEP. I have been testing tonight with my pc (win xp) and mac (os X). Both connect just fine. I did find it easier to have different SSIDs so I could tell which device I was connecting to.
Hope this helps.....It will work.....Don't give up
56 Frustration Expander
This may be the most frustrating piece of electronic equipment ever encountered. I read the reviews and tips but was convinced I could overcome the lack of customer insight from Linksys product managers. Unfortunately, I ran into the same type of problems as everyone else - firmware problems, speed reduction, complete loss of internet capability from my wireless computer - you name it. I eventually got a signal, but the speed was actuallly slower. I'll now invest in wiring my home with ethernet cable or paying for another DSL or cable broadband access point. This range expander is really just a frustration expander, and it went back to Amazon. Bottom line - this product doesn't do what it is supposed to do. Don't waste your money, but more importantly your time.
57 Firmware compability problems
I had to upgrade my WRT54G router to v3.01.3 to get the bug fix for long domain names (common in corporate networks). Now I can't use the WRE54G because of the router firmware incompatability - the extender is unstable and basically useless. And there's that red light that won't turn blue. Back to Office Depot/Amazon it goes...
58 This unit will NOT work with WAG54G or BEFW11S4
I have a Linksys access point model BEFW11S, which the WRE54G does not support. Although this product is advertised to work with 802.11b networks, that only applies on the adapter side (the wireless network card in your computer), not the WAP side.
59 Works great - a potential pitfall in installation
The instructions immediately below work well, except:
I was unable to get the "blue light" when autosynchronizing with my WRT45g Linksys wireless router after disabling WEP encryption. I ended up calling Linksys support - very prompt, but it was midnight after several frustrating hours - and it turned out after just a few basic facts were exchanged that I needed to "downgrade" the router firmware which I had previously upgraded to version 2.02.2 which, as instructed, I retrieved from a Linksys ftp site (actually he told me to get 2.02.4 which I coudn't find. The instant the firmware downgrade was completed the hated red link lite turned blue.
Thereafter I re-enabled WEP on first the expander (although it didn't seem to want to save the settings page after saving the WEP settings window - telling me to "set a WEP key" which I had already done. I ignored that and closed the browser window) and then on the router. Since then, all working well and the end of the house now has good reception.
Be aware that the expander does not support WAP encryption, which I had been using because of friendlier setup of some Apple components of the network. Nevertheless, everything working well now.
60 works great!
although I had some trepidation about buying this wi-fi range extender given the other reviewer's installation experience, I found it to work almost as advertised. I took it out of the box, plugged it in an outlet in a room where my laptop had very spotty, if any, coverage, and hit the "auto configure" button. lots of colors and lights later, I had full signal in the room. I did have one hitch but it was an easy fix. I had full signal but no internet access. I accessed my router and looked at the numbers to make sure they were identical to the extender's. the "default gateway" had a different number. I changed it in the extender and got perfect functionality. given that a router now costs $50 or less, I think the wre54g is very pricey at $90 or more, but for me well worth the price fo expanding the network without additional wiring.
61 Linksys phone Tech Help needs help
Installation and operation will go well IF YOU DO NOT UPGRADE YOUR ROUTER FIRMWARE past version 2.01!! Nowhere in the instructions do they post that caution, they should and in BIG RED LETTERS.
If you screw up, as did I, and upgrade the Firmware to a new and higher version, you are in trouble and don't think LinkSys Tech Support will come up with a solution, they will not even understand the problem.
What you do is to re-install the Firmware version that came on the CD with the Router. All will go well thereafter and the Range Expander will preform flawlessly.
Don Jenkins
62 srit
I rate this a 5 in terms of how well it does what it claims to be able to do. As the other reviewers have noted, set-up can be quite simple (not my luck) or time consuming and frustrating. After my attempts to do it myself were unsuccessful, I called support and learned that the firmware on my router was not new enough. (The router was purchased less than 6 months ago.) It was first necessary, then, to upgrade the firmware. This could not be done automatically because the newest firmware, I was told, would not work with my Linksys router. A marathon event followed. Telephone support was adequate to excellent depending upon the particular individual I was lucky or unlucky enough to get. All said, the result was worth the effort.
63 Easy Install, IF you've read the reviews
Follow the instructions in the October 16, 2004 review by S. Hing. There is also a note I saw somewhere about NOT having Ver.3.x of the firmware for the Linksys Router WRT54G.
I took off one star because of the firmware issue and beacuse it should work out of the box.
I downloaded the firmware from Linksys, but had to "live chat" with them to find out how to download firmware ver 2.x. The web site automatically wants to give you 3.x firmware.
After loading the firmware and following the S. Hing note, it connected and works great. The router is in a corner of the finished cellar and my laptop is on the first floor in the other side of the house. Before installation I had to bring the laptop to the top of the cellar stairs to download email. The laptop now has a strong signal in the office.
64 Linksys -- Fix Your Firware or Fix Your Instructions
Once it is configured, it works. But configuring the device can become a major headache. I own a WRT54G linksys router. Anticipating firmware issues, I updated the firmware in my router. Big mistake! Turns out that the range expander has "stability problems" (to quote Linksys tech support) with all but one version of firmware for the WRT54G. I had to install an old version of the WRT54G firmware that could only be accessed through Linksys' ftp web site. This is bad enough. However, what really has me steamed is the three hours I spent on the phone with Linksys tech support before I was referred to a tech specialist who finally came clean about the firmware problems with their products. Shame, shame Linksys.
Update your online knowledge base with detailed directions for installing the older firmware on the WRT54G--and instruct your tech support people regarding the problem.
65 Poor instructions -- Difficult Configuration -- Not worth it
I tried one. After much messing around with it -- searching the web for lessons learned -- upgrading firmware on my Linksys WAP -- I did manage to get it working without the WEP turned on. However, by that point I was so disgusted I did not move on to the additional steps to get the WEP turned back on with it. I noticed the "used and returned" bin of my local computer store full of these things the other day.... Now I know why. I was so disgusted I returned mine. I am now using other products (like high gain antena and another WAP) to handle coverage issues. This is a bad product design, with bad instructions. Not worth the trouble. I have many other Linksys devices that work great. This one is just a stinker.
66 Tough to get working, expands range at speed and stblty cost
Be aware - This device will expand the distance away from the router/AP you can go and that is it. It will not help the problem with loss of speed due to increased distance from the router. You lose connection speed as you get farther from the router/AP as we all know. This device will not help that problem, it will simply expand the range of the speed available where the expander is placed. IF the range expander is placed at the edge of the reception area as recommended in the install guide it will connect to the router/AP at the slow connection speed available in that location and then expand THAT slower speed. It may actually slow down your connection if your laptop is between the expander and the router/AP. You can speed it up by moving the expander closer to the router/AP, it will then expand the connection speed available from THAT new location but this then decreases your overall range. Tradeoff but no perfect solution.
It also took days and many, many phone calls to tech support to get this to work including firmware upgrades to both, endless reconfiguring and trying different settings on both the router and expander. For a day of two the whole network was dead while the linksys guys tried various things/settings. VERY,VERY tough to get going...Not really worth it in the long run.
After a few more days of use I rerate this product with zero stars. I would definitely not buy again and am returning this one. The new problem that I have found is that the expander is very touchy about where you are relative to your router/AP and the laptop. If your laptop is between the router and the expander you will have major problems, constant loss of connectivity, it freaks because there are two equal strength signals. I had to set it up as two different networks and choose manually which one to use at any given location, otherwise it quit working repeatedly. This is ridiculous to say the least. I had to keep moving the expander to the room I was in to get a strong enough signal for it to clearly be dominant and then manually choose which two sources of the same network to use. No this is not a PC problem, the linksys guys confirmed.
Bugs, poor design, compatability problems with itself and the routers/APs it is supposed to support.
Not at all as expected or as needed, more trouble than worth even after I got it configed correctly (which took days on the phone with the linksys guys)
67 Works flawlessly if set up correctly
I used Anthony Taylor's review to set it up and ignored the printed instructions. It worked like a charm the first time and total setup time was about 10 minutes. It changed a PC from only a 50% signal (barely usable with frequent disconnects) to a consistent 100% signal. One feature I like is the multiple AC connectors, letting you plug it in with the standard cord or right into an outlet on the wall (which I chose).
There is a sheet included in the box that tells what firmware version your router needs, so pay attention to that. Also, it claims to be compatible with Linksys devices, but I saw nowhere where it claimed to be compatible with anything else. I use it with a Linksys Wireless-G broadband router (WRT54G) and have no problems. In all, it works for me and does exactly what I needed it to do.
68 Works Great ... But read this first ...
I have a WRT54G. My wireless computer is some 80+ ft away and gets a signal that swings wildly from 1Mbps to 24 Mbps. At 1Mbps to 12 Mbps the internet connection is bad, slow, and sometimes just won't load bigger internet pages.
The WRE54G was and is the absolute perfect answer for expanding your wireless network coverage area and signal strength.
Now the signal stays between 24 Mbps and usually approaches 54 Mbps (It's perfect). The WRE54G is also located 80 - 100 feet from my WRT54G.
That said ... the WRE54G is only compatible with the original WRT54G firmware of v2.02.7 (using internet explorer type 192.168.1.1 and use no user name and "admin" as password to view) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do Not - upgrade your firmware to v3.01.3 or any other number beginning with 3 !!!!!!!! Doesn't make since but that's the way it is. Cost me an hour on the customer service line.
Also as everyone else says on this board, you must disable WEP security (from the above 192.168.1.1 page) if you have it turned on.
With Linksys you just have to plan on a call to custiomer service. Best to call at like 1am.
Heck, I should have just bought this thing to boost my neighbors internet signal and then canceled my ISP.
Love it.
69 Read Richard Garcia below to install
The product works great, but I agree with all reviewers ... don't read the manual!
Richard Garcia's instructions below on Amazon are clear and they work flawlessly. I originally went to www.experts-exhange.com and found no help.
You also don't need to put the extender "halfway" between your end point and the base. Put your extender at the end of the wireless range and you will have a full signal.
70 Pretty Slick
I installed from a WRT54GS linksys router. It was pretty easy to get up and running. I disabled WEP security in the router and then did an autoconfig, went back in and set up the WEP on both. Took maybe 15 minutes OOB. However the Red link light always stayed Red. After 4 Linksys techs, one told me the router firmware needed to be at 2.07.1, I had just installed new firmware for the router at 3.14.7...but the firmware downgrade did the trick. Then I used MAC Filtering to isolate my linksys video camera to only be able to use the expander and all is well. The worst part was linksys tech support. I was "left on hold" 3 times and was disconnected 3 times.
71 Setup can be simple with this advice
Before you begin to configure the Expander you should... make sure you have the latest firware upgrade on AP Router and on your Adapter card. I guess that was a key to my simple install. besides disabling WEP.
A) Reset Router to factory setting without wep make sure you disable it.... if you don't the expander will never install. This can be done by using the using the quick setup installion cd. Once the router is set and you can access it, logon to the the router edit mac filtering there you can add the Expander mac address and save the setting. Once this is completed you can begin to installing the Expander
B) Installing the Expander use the quick setup instructon and follow them as directed. The setup will detect you AP Router and copy the same information and use it to install the Expander. Once that completes your Expander lights should stay blue. save your setting and exit.
C) Now logon to the expander using the IP address given 192.168.1.240 the password is admin. Now you can set WEP on the Expander make sure you use the same setting and keys that your AP Router will be assigned. Now you can save the setting.
D) Now logon to your AP Router and enable wep. Thats all to it.
The key is to disable WEP on the AP Router then install the expander...enable wep on the expander....enable wep on the router. It took me 30mins to figure it out. Linksys should have added it to the documentation. that why I give them a 4 Star rating. Beside that it works great. I was receiving poor signal three rooms away now I have 95%. Not bad for a $100.00.
I will be even better if when they support WAP.
Hope this helps it really simple.I read horror stories about configuring the expander seem simple. Good Luck.
72 Great when set up right
If at all possible, get this at the same time you're setting up your wireless network. That will give you the chance to make sure you're buying all compatible components from the outset. I recently moved, and the changed setup made the range expander a necessity.
My old setup:
A two bedroom single story apartment where my Netgear wireless router was in the far bedroom from the living room. I had little problem with signal and functionality, unless I went a little further away to the balcony.
My new setup:
A two story house where the router was in upstairs bedroom farthest from the downstairs living room. Signal strength became a real issue when going through the walls and floor.
I got the Linksys router and played around with it some to no avail. I called customer service twice. As some have commented, Linksys customer service seems to have been outsourced to a far away land, which posed problems. My first called left me baffled, and the only good my second call did was to give me the impression that the Expander was not compatible with all routers. With both calls, language was an issue, as it seemed the techs knew enough English to pick out key words in what I was saying and then read the canned solutions associated with those words, but they were not able to answer any specific questions I had, or expand on their canned answers to any degree.
So, with the vague idea that it might be compatibility between the Linksys expander and Netgear router, I went and bought a Linksys wireless router that was specifically mentioned on the Expander's box.
Problem solved. I had it up and running in about 10-15 minutes and have had nary a hiccup since then. Now with my expander tucked away nicely atop some bookshelves downstairs, I have very strong signal strength anywhere in the house.
Summary:
Don't expect in-depth, detailed customer service (unless you're fluent in the other language) and try to set up your network with the expander and compatible components in mind if at all possible.
73 Really, really tough to configure but eventually works.
I finally got this thing working but it consumed days of my time.
I have a Linksys WRT54G router. The Range Expander is supposed to work out of the box with that router, but this was not the case, even with the latest WRT54G firmware (3.01.3).
Here's what I had to do:
My WRT54G router was originally set to use WPA security. The WRE54G Range Expander does not currently support WPA (allegedly there is a firmware update to fix this but good luck finding it).
I first disabled WPA on my router left my network open. The next thing I did, though optional, was to write down the MAC addresses of all my clients (including the Range Expander - you should see it on the back) and enable MAC filtering in the WRT54G router admin tool to only allow devices with approved MACs on the network. I also assigned my clients a static IP and narrowed the range of DHCP addresses assigned by the router. This isn't required for compatibility with the Range Expander, but is good practice.
I tried using the Auto Config feature of the Range Expander at this point but that didn't work. I next tried to follow the WRE54G setup tutorial at Tom's Networking. Unfortunately that didn't work either.
What I ended up doing was installing alternative open source firmware on my WRT54G router (this is legal because the Linksys firmware is GPL'd). Right now I am using Satori-4.0 v2.0.7 by Sveasoft. Do a search for "satori firmware" and you should be able to find it. [Note: by doing this you will probably not get much support from a Linksys tech hotline - however, you can always do a hard reset on the router to restore the factory settings.]
Next, update the firmware with Satori using the web administration tool on the router and then use the web admin tool to reset the router to factory settings (make a note of your MAC filters, SSID and any other information as it will be lost when you do the factory reset and you will need to re-enter it).
Once the router comes back up find the connection (it will be called "linksys" by default again), and open the admin site (192.168.1.1, password is "admin"). Re-enter any information from your previous setup, but don't enable security yet.
Go to Wireless > WDS. Select "LAN" in the first pulldown, then enter the MAC address of the WRE54G. Then go to Administration > Management and disable Loopback and 802.1x.
Once this is set up, I'd recommend going back to the WRE54G setup guide at Tom's Networking and following the instructions there. In a nutshell, you reset the WRE54G (using a paperclip or something), locate the WRE54G with your wireless configuration utility (Wireless Zero on XP, or Airport on OSX), fire up the WRE54G admin page (192.168.1.240, password "admin" by default), and set Access Point MAC address to be the correct MAC address of your router (you can find it in Status > Wireless in the WRT54G admin site). Then just make sure the channel on the WRE54G is the same as your router and it should work.
Good luck. Now that it's working, it seems to be doing what it's advertised to do.
I'm still in the process of working on securing the whole thing now. Hopefully Linksys will release that firmware upgrade with WPA support, but I may have to settle for WPE for now.
74 If you have the time to burn and really need it
A little history on me. CCNP/CCDP and a CISSP. I have configured over 125 Aeronet/Cisco/Linksys wireless APs using both GUI and IOS. Let me tell you that this little device is a nightmare with lights. I was shaking it to see if a gremlin would fall out of it.
Some lessons learned. If you are on a different SSID and turn this baby on, your entire network gets hammered. It has a strong signal and will dominate your devices. As was said before, turn your router and other wireless devices off and hit the repeater (extender) direct.
For me, this unit didn't work as promised. Every time I tried to save my WEP configs it blew up and went back to its default SSID and erased my WEP settings. It isn't that it's not configurable, but it's a consideration of how much time do you want to invest in something that should work right out of the box. If it gets configured by luck, meaning, you kept working on it and by magic it just worked. You may be forced to repeat the entire painful install again if it loses its config. I'm not a beta tester, I'm a consumer.
I am sure you can get it to work but I can't see investing the time (in some cases 3-6 hours) needlessly. I get paid to work on these devices and I will not sit home and figure it out on my clock. Linksys (Cisco this week) needs to look into real life usage and not lab scenarios with this device. This is NOT typical of a Linksys product but definitely typical of a Cisco product; which the logo is stamped right on it. If you want me to be a beta tester, my AIM is right above as my nickname.
75 Impressed by the range improvement
Had a XP Home notebook and a Xp Home desktop that were using Internet Connection Sharing via Starband(ISP) with Linksys 802.11g adapters in each. Had problems getting connectivity more than 25 feet away so I ordered this Linksys Range Expander and it free me up to surf the internet in every room in the house. I never dropped below 2 green bars in signal strength. I had to uninstall the wireless notebook adapter first before it would work correctly, otherwise I would give this product 5 stars. A config tip if you are not using a router: It saved me time by assigning static IP's to the wireless devices because then I didn't need to wait for IP addresses to be obtain dynamically.
76 Nightmare to setup - - but, nice once it works
This thing IS a nightmare to work with. The documentation is pretty to look at; but there is so much missing. Anthony and others gave some good suggestions here, but I also wanted to add what finally amounted to 3 hours of figuring out how to work with this device and what I had encountered:
- I connected my access point to a Netgear router that had DHCP enabled that could not go into the address that the repeater had required (198.168.1.240). Once I discovered this, I realised that there was no way that I could ever connect into this in its default state -- but, figuring that part out took so many tries and failed attempts at restarting and pushing reconfig buttons that I finally figured it was my router holding back the default IP number.
- Turn WEP off your Access Point while configuring. Print out your keys and configuration, etc and keep them on hand so you can turn it back on later.
- I ended up temporarily removing my router (which connects the Access Point) from the cable modem and just plugging the access point into a very cheap Intel 10mps hub that I had from years ago (maybe ur cable or DSL you can plug direct into the AP, but I could not).
- I UNPLUGGED everything. Then, hooked up the temporary router and the AP. I got into the original access point's admin screens and turned off filtering (MAC address) and the WEP security. This also validated that I could connect to the original access point.
- Now, time to add the repeater -- I pushed the reconfig on the side of the box and also did the 30-sec auto-config pull out while it was plugged in. After a minute or so, I plugged it back in and let pushed the autoconfig again.
- Now, I could get to the default IP address of the repeater. Once I was there, I set it to a hard-coded IP address that my router could handle (for instance, 192.168.0.69); I could also turn on the WEP and its settings and rename the repeater here also.
- Turned off repeater and access point.
- Restarted cable modem, full-blown router (got the cheapo original out of the picture), once that was all setup I turned on the original access point and then the repeater.
Voila! That all works now. It carrys WEP, you can setup the security, SSID, etc and filtering etc back into your original access point if you want.
I met some guy at the BBuy here in LA last night that was confused over these same things. He ended up buying one with me, and I kept thinking that someone had to be really techie to finally figure out the secret of this router rather than an average consumer.
These products are nightmares. Its almost as if the illusions of "ease of use" (in this case, the autoconfig button) create problems when things like WEP security or IP ranges cannot be accomodated -- which I feel is pretty unusual to have such for a modern or newer Internet device.
Otherwise, it works beautifully --- would have been given 5 stars if it wasnt so time consuming to do the work that Linksys should have done in designing this product correctly.
Updated: IMPORTANT ---- If you make it into the admin of the range expander, make sure that everything is on the same subnet -- so, set the IP address to something: 192.168.0.69 THEN, set the GATEWAY back into the original access point on the same subnet: 192.168.0.(your IP of your ACCESS POINT not router) Once I did this, it worked WONDERFULLY!!!!
FURTHER: You may have to change your IP on your configuring computer to the subnet 192.168.1.xxx so you can originally ping the autoconfig extender. Once you do the changes I mention above, then you can switch everything back to the settings of the subnet that you want. This might not be a device for those not very clear on these concepts -- or, if you dont run security, etc. Also, contact Linksys to get the latest firmware to update the extender -- the updated one supports security better.
77 Buy Netgear Products Instead!!!
Don't waste your time or money! I bought the Netgear WGT624 wireless router and I get FULL signal, thats right, 99% signal where I only got 50-60% (if I was lucky) using my "Expanded" Linksys network (with the Linksys high gain antennas too!!!). Learn from my mistakes. After dealing with Linksys, except for some quirky tech support requirements, Netgear is amazing...absolutely amazing.
78 Simple setup - very quick
This was very easy to setup, however I based it on using these instructions and ignored everything else that came in the box.
1-Disable WEP on your Router or AP
2-Plug in range expander and hold the auto-configuration button for 30 seconds(if everything goes well both lights on the expander will turn blue) <and unplug while still holding button. Plug back in after 10-15 secs.> I did not have to do the unplug but I have left it in for reference.
3-open your Internet explorer browser and type 192.168.1.240 (default ip of expander), a window will pop up. leave the user name blank and put admin as a password (this is default password). Also open up a second window for your router config settings as well.
4-make sure that the default gateway and subnet mask settings are identical with your Router or AP,change password on the expander if desired & save settings. (all settings should be correct due to auto configuration).
5-Enable WEP on the expander, once again remember use same settings as in your Router or AP, save settings again. Here is the only hitch - make sure you edit the security settings so that the WEP settings match your router WEP settings. You may need to jot these down prior to disabling WEP on the router in step 1. Save your WEP settings on the range expander. You may not get a confirmation box back until you have enabled WEP on your router.
6-Go to your Router or Ap settings and enable WEP. Bang you're DONE. Enjoy
79 Does what it is supposed to do but.....
Well if you ever wondered if Amazon reviews were worthwhile, wonder no further. The best instructions for setting up your Linksys Range Expander come NOT from Linksys but from Amazon reviewers.
The Range Expander works as advertised once you have it hooked up but the Linksys directions and software for setup are about the worst I've seen for an electronics item to date. Follow the instructions in other reviews and you'll have no problem and a product that actually performs.
The Range Expander will up a signal most anywhere within a 3,000 sq. foot house, boosting a weak or low signal to excellent but you must have the Expander placed nearby your farthest laptop or work station for it to work. Linksys instructions say to place the Expander at the "edge of your wireless network" (huh?) which means - plug it in in the room farthest away from your wireless network and wherever your laptop/pc is located.
I am really floored as to how bad the set up instructions are (if you're using WEP security which you should) and the setup disk is
useless (you will receive a message that no range expander is located on your system.) You must set up your exander through the web interface.
Great product once working but Linksys really is falling down in the product instruction department.
80 Works great -- once you manage to get it configured
In line with many other reviews, the range extender was a major pain to get installed to my network. The reason I purchased the purchased the extender from Linksys (aside from the obvious to boost range) was because it was from Linksys. My G router is also from Linksys and on the compatible list so I figured setup could not possibly be as bad as descibed by others -- I was wrong; they are right.
I followed the directions from Linksys to the letter, including their setup program, quick setup sheet, the manual on the CD, and the one FAQ on their site. I dropped WEP from my network and attempted "naked". All to no avail.
The review by Anthony Taylor is very good; his recommendations for getting things configured are more or less what I ended up going through. The installation program from Linksys is among the prettiest I have ever seen, but it's crap all bells and whistles and would not get my extender to install; maybe you'll have better luck.
For those who are not technical, if you have any problems whatsoever call Linksys. I'm a very technical person and have little patience for these types of things, but still like the challenge and eventually figured out the setup on my own much the same way Anthony did. But if you don't have the time, patience, or experience with networks, do not bother - call Linksys or consider another product.
Having said all of this, once I got the extender to work it does perform exactly as marketed. I'm "green" everywhere in my house with signal strength ranging from 90 to 100%.
Explanation of my rating this a 3... The setup and instructions I would rate a 1. While this is basically a one time event once you get things working, the experience is so bad that I suspect many would throw their arms in the air and return the product. However once the product is up and running I would say that it performs with 5 stars. It's very unfortunate that the set up is so bad because once you get it working it's a champ.
81 Works like a charm!
I was almost scared off by all the bad reviews I read on Amazon, but decided to roll the dice and give the expander a shot anyway. I was prepared for the worst, but was pleasantly surprised to find that it took me about 1 minute to get the expander working perfectly. I already had WEP disabled, so I just plugged the expander in, held in the auto-configure button for 30 seconds, unplugged while still holding the button, and plugged back in after 10-15 seconds (advice courtesy of anthony taylor's 8/1/04 review). That was it...works great, and I haven't had a problem yet.
82 What a PAIN!
Painful, painful, painful. I ordered this, even though I read the bad reviews. After all, I'm a computer professional, well-versed in the little idiosyncracies of software. I have a WRT54G router, which is prominently listed as compatible. Heck, I can work miracles.
I spent 5 hours configuring this. I didn't call the 800 number after all the comments I'd read about it. Bottom line, the online documentation (yeah, nothing in the stuff that comes with it) indicates the minimum version of firmware for your WRT54G should be 2.02.2. WRONG!! It must BE EXACTLY version 2.02.2. I was initially on a 1. version, so I wasted a lot of time before I went to their website looking for upgrades to the WRE firmware, which is where they indicate the minimum version required. I upgraded to version 2.04.4 and the thing still wouldn't configure. I tried everything under the sun. As a last resort, I went to the LinkSys FTP site (ftp://ftp.linksys.com/pub/network) and downloaded the 2.02.2 version. Loaded it, pressed the autoconfigure button on the WRE and presto - it connected.
I still had to follow the rest of the suggestions you find here, and found one more to suggest. I use a WPC54G adapter card in my laptop. The encryption for the passphrase for the 3 products (WPC54G, WRT54G & WRE54G) is different. Instead, I had to cut & paste the hex codes from one to another.
Still, I'm now connecting from the other end of my house with 128-bit encryption activated. Yes, it seems to be slower than when I connect directly to the WRT. But I'm on my couch drinking a Coke & watching TV, so I can afford to wait a little longer.
83 Definitely not plug-and-play
If you can ever figure out how to setup this piece of junk, feel free to buy it. This is the first time I'm extremely disappointed with Linksys product at this level. Knowningly I use WRT54GS for router, and even bought HGA7T for "supposively" stronger signal strength.
I've returned mine to the store. Have you?
84 AGREE- DO NOT BUY THIS
I am a systems designer and I couldn't get this piece of cr&p to work. I have several other Linksys products that have worked great for years. Don;t even bother with this - I have had the same troubles as the folks who have the red light blinking.
85 Deception
A total pile of junk! When I got it working it cuts my speed by over 1/2...... give me a break. The reviews were correct. Save your money and get a WAP54G. It works great and won't bring your network speeds down to nothing. The manufacture doesn't play fair in that they don't clearly tell you that speeds will be cut in 1/2 or more. Who needs to do that with a WYFI?
86 hard to set up and poor performance
Like everyone else, I had problems setting the expander up. The instructions are so poor. Thanks to the notes from previous reviewer that I got the unit working. However, found this on linksys.com knowledge database searching "WRE54G speed":
"The Range Expander will reduce the transmit rate to approximately half of the original source data rate transmission.
For example, when the WRE54G detects a 54 Mbps connection with a WAP54G, WRT54G or WRT54GS, it will relay approximately half of the transmission rate to the wireless clients that are connected to it. In this case, the wireless client will connect at a speed of approximately 22 Mbps."
Oh well, the unit is going back. This performance degradation is unacceptable.
87 Not Good, buy WAP54G Instead
This device does not work that well. The setup is not bad, but the signal strength is weak. You can buy a WAP54G from Linksys for less money, get much better signal strength, and get the same functionality. The WAP54G has been updated so that it can be configured just like the WRE54G (e.g. expand the network as a repeater).
88 DO NOT BUY THIS!
All these negative reviews are actually right! I really like LinkSys products (wired and wireless routers specifically), but this "range extender" just does not work. I spent over an hour on the phone with tech support in India (not fun), and they had the nerve to tell me the product works just because I could ping it! But the LED's should both be BLUE, yet they are not. The LINK light is RED -- this is an indication that something is not working properly. Not to mention the configuration software is a joke. It never worked, and always ended by saying "The setup utility was unable to locate a Wireless-G range expander...". So the lights are RED, the config software says it cannot find the range extender -- but Tech Support has the nerve to tell me its working? Please, save your own precious time and money and do not buy this junk.
89 Only works well with default settings, otherwise.....
I purchased one of these a few days ago. It has to be the most frustrating piece of computer equipment I have ever come across, and that's putting it mildly. In order to get the unit up and running you *must* configure your access point to factory defaults settings (disable WEP, etc). The WRE54G only supports WEP, not WPA. Broadcast SSID must be enabled before you can configure the unit (it can be disabled after initial configuration). I was unable to change the default IP address range of my WRT54G, otherwise the WRE54G would stop working. The setup wizard on the supplied CD does not run on either of my wireless PCs, both have Linksys cards installed, and I have found no trace of any firmware upgrade on the Linksys site for this product.
90 Have your phone and plenty of time
I had high hopes for that auto-config button, but no luck. It took me 3 calls (a total of 6 hours) to support to get the range expander set up. One rep tried to convince me that my DSL just happened to go out immediately after we re-enabled WEP; another disconnected me when she had to transfer me after I hit the maximum amount of time they're allowed to spend on a call. I had to upgrade the router firmwear, then downgrade it to another version. The third rep knew the secret: turn off WEP, enable it on the access point FIRST, then on the router. Now that it's connected, it works fairly well. I get a signal in the front of the house (generally "very good" strength), which I didn't before. However, it does seem to drop the link now and then -- I've unplugged it and plugged it back in again a couple of times to get the link light to come back on. Overall, it was worth it, but if I'd had more options, I probably would have gotten a different product.
91 Easy Install, Works Exactly as it should...no probs here
Not sure what the deal is with people who could not get it to work, but I suspect it is because they work for a competitor of Linksys or they are just not computer savvy. Had the thing setup, working, encrypted and running in less than 20 mins. Boosted my networking so my entire home (both floors-- router upstairs, expander downstairs) gets excellent connections. Pretty simple folks -- I glanced at the manual, popped in the CD, followed along and poof, 20 mins later, it was working with both my linksys cards and my belkin 54g cards (again, encrypted).
92 What's the friggin' problem, people?
I have a NETGEAR wireless router and I got this repeater working with it in less than an hour. I don't know if the directions are helpful or not because I didn't read them. The CD that comes with it has a setup wizard.
93 IGNORES MAC ADDRESS FILTERING WITH NO WARNING!
Works OK once you get it configured...
The product does work once you get it configured, but to get it configured watch out for not only what is documented by Linksys (WEP must be disabled at the access point) but also know that if you are using MAC address authentication at your access point, adding this range expander totally ignores that and will allow anyone to connect to your network, even the access point that had MAC address filtering turned on. Also, if you have disabled the SSID broadcast at your access point, the range finder auto-configure will not work nor will you be able to get into the firmware to set it up manually. Set your access point's SSID to enable broadcasts before you try to configure this range expander. I have reported the MAC address security issue to Linksys and I hope they are working it (Case ID: 3711695). It really is a bad security issue. I would rate this product high if it were not for this MAC security issue.
94 don't buy if you need 128bit security
how come you can't give less than 1 star?????
i waited several weeks for the wre54g to arrive. when it finally arrived, it looked really pretty. however, having spent a couple of days trying to get it to work with my network, using 128 bit security, i've decided to send it back and continue using multiple APs instead.
Basicallly, the setup utility doesn't allow you to enter 26chararcter security keys to generate the 128bits required for that level of security.
i spent a wasted hour on line with Cisco's help desk and eventually just terminated the session because the support guy was obviously working on dozens of sessions at the same time and asking really helpful questions like "is the extender set up for 128bit security?"... derrr.
95 Excellent Product - Does the Job Effectively
I live in a 2 story house and a router in 1 of the bedrooms - I add the expander downstairs on the opposite side to my router - it basically expands the strength to the entire 1st floor so I can browse either out in my backyard or kitchen while I'm munching on cookies. Product took about 10 minutes to setup and runs fine - just make sure you have the latest firmware.
People who couldn't get it working: please be patient, as it takes a little time to get it up and running if you're not computer savvy, but it WILL work! This is the most useful product besides my Linksy WRT54GS w/Speedbooster router!
96 Forever to hook up...Tech support horrible...Does not work!
DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT! IF YOU DO, DON'T PLAN ON GETTING GOOD TECH SUPPORT FROM LINKSYS.
I have some dead spots on my patio so I wanted to extend my network. The tech folks at Best buy told me that this Linksys extender would work with any 802.11g network including my Dlink. It didn't so I called Linksys and they said I had to buy a Linksys router. I bought the router they recommended and still could not get the extender to work.
The next tech I spoke to at Linksys was out of the Phillipines, spoke fast and had a strong accent. I asked him to slow down and he just ignored me. After about 30 minutes on the phone I gave up, took my case number down (CASE NUMBER 3591401) and hung up. I called back minutes later a got another tech in the Phillipines who stayed with me on the phone for 2 hours and was extremely helpful but felt it was a firmware issue and said he would send me firmware updates via email. I had to get off the phone but about an hour later got the firmware and was finally able to see the extender as an available network.
I called Linksys again and got a tech in India. This tech ran me through all the same steps I ran through before even when I told him I had already gone through this. After about 45 minutes he said he would transfer me to a "senior tech". He refused to discuss the fact that I was finally able to see the extender as an available network. He placed me on hold for about 15 minutes and then the line dropped. I called again and was again transferred to hold for a "senior tech".
After another hour I gave up and emailed linksys with instructions to call me. About 24 hours later they emailed saying I had to give them a time and including some walkthroughs that might as well have been in Japanese. I emailed back a call time and number. I never got the call back.
I called a local tech company the next day who came out and got the extender working in about an hour and a half. They downloaded a stumbler program and found that the extender did not add any strength to the system. In the spots where I had weak signal with the router the extender was intermittent at best.
At the end of this process I returned the Linksys router and extender, had spent nearly 10 weekend hours working on it and spent $90 on tech support with a local firm. WHAT A WASTE!
97 Exelent... but....
This product works great, Its exactly like having two acces points in your house. Set up was easy and quick, barely took me 5 minutes. But let me point out i dont encrypt my connection, I really have no need. This device wont let you encrypt your acces so... if you encrypt your wireless network DONT get it, at least not yet. They will probably fix that in a few months. But it does work as advertised. Range is slightly lower then a regulas Acces Point, but since this is just a complement to an existing network I see no problem there...
98 Great range, but KILLS your bandwidth! (do not buy)
I had an older Belkin 802.11b WAP that worked fairly well, but left us with dead spots in certain portions of our house. So last night we bought a Linksys WAP54G access point and the WRE54G Range Expander. Set up the access point quickly and without any issues. It is definitely an improvement over our Belkin and provides better range.
So far so good. Then I set up the WRE54G Range Expander. I agree with the various comments about being complex to set up with anything beyond the basic autoconfiguration. But we did get it up and working and confirmed that it did a GREAT job of expanding our range. We were initially quite pleased with the results.
But I did notice my web pages seeming to be slow. So I checked the internet reviews and saw comments about how this unit slows your bandwidth. So I used the www.pcpitstop.com bandwidth test and confirmed that this expander KILLS my bandwidth!! Without the expander, my bandwidth (DSL) averaged about 855 kbps. With the expander turned on (and with my wireless signal indeed showing much stronger, as advertised), my download speed was down to less than 100 kpbs!!! From 855 kpbs down to less than 100 kpbs!! (as low as 43 kpbs, as high as 138 kbps) I had to try this many times to confirm, as I couldn't believe it myself. Wow. I'm taking this unit back to the store today.
Be forewarned -- What a bandwidth killer this is. Very disappointing.
(P.S. I am using 802.11b cards in our laptops. I did not upgrade to the newer 802.11g cards yet. But I can't imagine that this would matter. My 11 Mbps cards are plenty fast enough for my 1 Mbps DSL line.
99 Run screaming
Other than the fact that it just didn't work, there's the little things, like selecting 128 bit encryption mode to be compatible with my home network and finding out you can only enter 10 characters instead of 16 making it impossible to configure.
I hope they didn't pay the monkey they used for testing this product very much.
100 Do not buy!
I should say first that I've been very happy with LinkSys products and support. However...
Why would LinkSys put a product on the market that doesn't use WPA encryption? Why did I have to disable security on my network entirely to install it, then enable WEP, then repeatedly reboot every machine in my house connected to my wireless network? Why did the Setup utility finally say, repeatedly, "Cannot associate with this AP in repeater mode"? Why is this message completely undocumented? It turns out that the RE is *not* compatible with my WRT54GS, contrary to the claims on the box.
Most of all, why did a LinkSys technician finally suggest to me that I run a cable up the stairs from my router, attach it to a brand new WAP54G, and return the Range Expander? Because that would probably work, unlike this device, which consumed oh, about 3 working days.
