NETGEAR FM114P ProSafe 4-Port Wireless Firewall

Netgear's ProSafe 802.11b firewall delivers everything you could want in one mega-capable unit: router, switch, print server, Wi-Fi certified wireless access point, and firewall. This fully equipped, broadband-capable firewall is a true firewall and provides you with the utmost in business-class security--Denial of Service protection and intrusion detection using Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI), URL access and content filtering, logging, reporting, and real-time alerts. VPN pass-through maximizes network security. And a built-in print server lets you share a printer on your network without leaving your PC on. With four auto sensing, switched LAN ports and Network Address Translation (NAT) routing, up to 253 users can access your broadband connection at the same time--including as many as 32 wireless users, which avoids the hassle of running additional cabling. Smart Wizard and Install Assistant get your network up and running in minutes. There's also a complete antivirus software bundle included at no extra cost to shield your network with additional protection.

Could there possibly be a more complete office tool than this? NETGEAR's ProSafe 802.11b Firewall delivers everything you could want in one mega-capable unit: router, switch, print server, Wi-Fi certified wireless access point, and firewall. This fully equipped, broadband-capable firewall is a true firewall and provides you with the utmost in business class security - Denial of Service (Dos) protection and Intrusion Detection using Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI), URL access and content filtering, logging, reporting, and real-time alerts. VPN pass-through maximizes network security. And a built-in print server allows you to share a printer on your network without leaving your PC on. With 4 auto-sensing, switched LAN ports and Network Address Translation (NAT) routing, up to 253 users can access your broadband connection at the same time - including as many as 32 wireless users, which avoids the hassle of running additional cabling. Smart Wizard and Install Assistant get your network up and running in minutes.

1 So far, so good.
Just bought from EBAY a re-furbished unit, but came in a complete new package. When I saw the 2002 date code I was worried. But once its set up, its working better than my older Linksys. I bought the FM114P for the wireless printer server. I loaded the Printer server software from CD and load the HP officejet, then up it worked. I am amazed. Also got on Netgear.com and downloaded Version 1.5 firmware, it took a while to come up, its also working.
So I would rated a solid 5 star. Check out the Ebay prices. I got it for $35. Can not beat this price for wirelss, router and printer server.

Bob

2 Look elsewhere first...
I am currently on my second FM114P, the first one just stopped working with TEST and ALERT LEDs on. The offshore call center support was not great. 4 of the 5 people I spoke with were rude and abrupt -- one person was very nice but, unfortunately, that phone connection was interrupted and lost, the person did call back within the hour to apologize, which was very considerate. The FM114P product has great features but is unacceptably unreliable. It has a great 5 year warranty -- you'll need it! My first failed after about a year, but it never really stayed up for long, requiring the too occasional reboot. The wireless portion is extremely finicky and often would not work even when no problems were experienced with the hard wired LAN connections. The replacement sent to me by NETGEAR remains problematic in the same manner -- I still have 3.5 years left on the warranty but will probably search for a better solution. As one of the reviewers mentioned previously the FM1144P does run very hot, which is a concern. You are best to seek a different option when shopping for a wireless, for now I would steer clear of NETGEAR until they get their act together.

3 Print Server doesn't work
I've had a Netgear FM114P for over a year. It works great as a wireless access point & firewall. But the print server function is so unreliable that we've given up on it.

I have the print server driving a garden-variety HP printer. I have one old Win95 desktop and 3 recent Windows-XP laptops using the print server. I got them all printing fine through the print server, but I found that the server hangs up quite often. Symptom: all PCs say that the printer is not available, but nothing comes out on the printer. Fix: clear the print queues on all machines, then reboot the FM114P. Gets very old after the first half-dozen times. Basically, the print server function is not useable.

I also had one total machine failure -- the unit failed to complete power-on, with an error indication in the LEDs. Netgear replaced it on warranty without much fuss, but did charge $10 or so for shipping.

My net: if/when I need to replace the FM114P I'll look around for something else with the same combination of function on the hope that I'll get a working print server.

4 broke down the 3rd time. I give up (although under warranty
I have mine broke down 3 times. Twice before Netgear replaced it for "free", since it still under warranty. But each time they charge $10-12 for shipping. At this rate I could have bought a new one instead of putting up with the inconvenience. I think this box is very sensitive to power on/off cycles. It broke first time during the east coast power outage.

5 Not a bad product, but...
Netgear has some issues with this product's reliability. The first one, I had for about 6 months. One night it just died. All the lights were on, and it wouldn't talk to any of the ports.

Calling Netgear's support line was an adventure within itself. The call center is located in India. Don't call this place if you're on a noisy phone or don't have lots of time to waste. The first person I reached could barely speak english. He was obviously reading from a script, because when I explained that the router did not work, I had followed the troubleshooting guides and this was the result, etc, etc, he still started reading questions and asking me to connect it to a network and do silly tests. That's hard to do at work on your lunch break. He hung up very abruptly with the classic "Thank you for calling bye bye now. " Call #2. Another person, who could speak marginally better english. I went through his troubleshooting script, connecting my "router" to an "air" network. He decided that it was indeed not working (duh!) and gave me an RMA number. Ok. What, exactly, is a doofulfife? Well, it's 55 (double five.) He did explain to me that the dash (in the RMA number) is the little line on the keyboard, you may find it beside your number 0. O-kay!

Got the RMA (I think.) Returned it and received a refurb unit and stuck it aside. In the meantime, router #2 was in use. It died one day, about 3 months after purchase. Started forgetting IP addresses and not communicating with the printer. It got returned to the store it was purchased from, and Router #3 went into service. So far, it's worked for about 9 months. Router #4 is waiting, and will be the last one.

This is really a good piece of technology, it has just about everything you'd need to set up and protect a home or small office network. It runs extremely hot, which may be the reason it dies so quickly. Now, if only it was more reliable.

6 Requires Frequent Rebooting - Not acceptable
I had one of the first home Wi-Fi systems using an Intel 802.11b access point that cost about $1000. (Yup, this is how much they cost for early adopters. Of course, it was worth every penny as Wi-Fi changes your life.) The Intel access point was incredibly difficult to configure, requiring several calls to tech support, but the range was excellent and the unit functioned continously until it finally died after a couple of years. I decided to replace the Intel access point with the Netgear FM114P, assuming it was at the top of the Netgear line and I thought Netgear was a reliable manufacturer. How wrong I was. This unit is simply unacceptable. It will stop working every day or two for no apparent reason and require rebooting. Obviously, this is an irritation if you happen to be in another part of the house. Also, I have the impression that the range isn't as good as my previous Intel unit since I have more dead zones in my house. (The Intel access point had two antennas -- I don't know if this is significant.) Overall, I am really disappointed. I suggest you stay away from Netgear until they improve their engineering.

7 awful product, awful tech support
I bought one of these when I got a laptop because I thought it seemed like a great idea to have a firewall, print server, and wireless router all in one unit. I still think it's a great idea, but I with I hadn't bought this router. I use the router with two laptops, and the wireless connection drops pretty regularly. I have to reset the router at least two or three times a week (sometimes two to three times a day). When I call Netgear's off-shore tech support, I rarely get a helpful response. They did replace my router for me after I called enough times, but the new one has the same problems the old one had, so I think the firmware is just buggy. I wouldn't recommend this product. I've owned good Netgear products in the past, but I don't think I'll buy another Netgear product after this experience.

8 2 routers = 2 failures
I have had two of these routers both of which have failed shortly after the warranty expired. I kept the router on 24/7 but for some reason if the router gets unplugged from the power outlet it is difficult and finally impossible to get the router to come back up after plugging back in (after the warranty expired no less). The test light stays on continously now on both routers. No amount of resetting/unplugging has brought them out of the test mode. I'm guessing that they are using poor quality components to keep the price so cheap. I also use a very expensive line conditioner that it is/was plugged into to no avail. Will be looking at a SonicWall device for a replacement.

9 Good till it last
For the private/small office this unit has good features but defenitely lacks on RELIABILITY. It would be the third unit I get replaced in over a year. If you need something that's reliable this is NOT the firewall / router you want to buy. Unless you like calling Netgear tech support, and getting frustrated over and over. Let me give you an advise. When reding reviews, check for how long the person has been using the unit. Good luck to anyone out there who still wants to try it or go with Netgear.

10 Overheats
I had this product for almost a year with no problems, except that it was hot to the touch. But then came one major problem. Somewhere between 8-9 pm, different time every night, the internet would slow down to a impossible crawl. It would start working correctly after 1 am. I tried everything to stop the problem. Nothing worked. So I gave up, bought a new router and the problem disappeared. The odd thing was that when it was not working correctly it was not hot. So my guess is that it was over heating. Seems that it is a problem with this model. By the way I bought the Netgear MR814v2 and so far it works great.

11 I am worried this thing will let me down.
I have just read every review and comment on this product and I am a little worried. I spent my whole Friday night last night on Long Island (I live in the Bronx, NY), replacing a Linksys BEFW11S4 v.4 with an FM114P. I had to foot my own money for the replacement because I am the consultant who went with the Linksys in the first place. I also had to pay for my travel out there. I also have recommended similar Netgear units to other clients, namely the FR114P (non-wireless). In effect I've spent or gotten other people to spend a lot of money on Netgear hardware. I think I have something to say that Netgear needs to listen to.

1) There's a hole in the ground where the natural resources for your product come from. If you are going to use steel, paper, plastic, and other metals to build something, don't squander those materials building junk.

2) Please respect people's time. After all, it is time out of lives that we spend trying to get your products to do what we need. (Research time counts too, so your website makes a huge difference.)

3) Please note that there are a lot of people like me, who when time comes to spend our money or do our job, we want to get the most out of it. I genuinely like your routers because they are smarter than the rest of the stuff out there (though built-in diagnostics and config backups are becoming more common). Linksys annoys the hell out me. They make routers that can't give me a heads up with a simple e-mailing of the log, they make routers that can't be mounted on a wall (I do a lot of closet installations) unless I drill a whole in the legs and void the warranty. Yes, I could *order* their mounting plate, but I am adamant about respecting natural resourses. The less junk and packaging the better.

Now onto performance and other design comments.

Your website is very helpful and easy to navigate. Your website helped me locate your products at a CompUSA where I could just walk in and it for that days work. No online ordering and no hassle waiting and scheduling. Thanks. The frequent firmware release online are a boon. It shows us that you support your product post purchase.

The wireless funtion of this router does not let me see what machines are connected to *it*. I have another wireless access point and I'd like to make sure which WAP is servicing which machine. I can get a little info with Netstumbler, but you should enable client management features. Troubleshooting a wireless connection or lack thereof needs this feauture desperately, as does the SECURITY aspect of knowing how many and what machines are on your wireless network.

Thanks for the generous memory on the unit. But how much is used to process print jobs and how much is used for routing? I imagine it is used for the task at hand as needed, but that's my guess. Of course the print server is a great boon. I replaced an older external HP Jetdirect EX Plus (J2591A), so I was a little worried about a clunky third party software printer port that would make WindeXP crop out. It worked fine on WindeXP Pro and Windows Meep machines. I did forget to go into the port properties and change the IP address of the Port *after* changing the default IP of the FM114P.

Your newer units have auto MDI-MDX. Yes, we complain about wanting solid devices but we don't stop asking for features. But that little button can cause trouble if a user picks up the unit and toggles it inadvertently. I know not to do that, but the lady on Long Island does not. Dump the switch, please.

If this thing is indeed burning out due to overheating, then you guys and gals have totally ignored one of the basic tenets of computer hardware design. Please put heatshinks or a fan in your units. Don't get your great product bad mouthed on Amazon because you got sloppy. The rule about heat is: if you can't keep your finger on a chip for 30 seconds, but a sink or a fan on it. Please. I don't want to go to Long Island, it's too far. And I don't feel like opening up the unit and modding it. It's not fair to me or respectful of my time.

12 Works great while it lasts.
Very pleased with the set-up and performance. Unfortuanately, it died in just 11 months of use. Very disappointed. Netgear also failed to honor rebate. Buying another brand (Linksys) and hoping for better results.

13 Broke after 10 months. Speed is 50% faster without it.
I didn't mind paying extra for the FM114P inorder to get the built in print server. I like the built in firewall. I do not like the limitation in the managing of ports (rules) where you cannot have a port number in more than one rule. I am not experienced with other wireless routers but I am not impressed with the range. It works in half of my 1300 sq ft house but if there is too much between my laptop and the router, signal is down to 0%.

I regulary monitor my bandwidth speed using DSLreports.com and with the router I get 1900 bps and 2900 bps if I connect without the router. Big difference!

Another negative is that there is apparently a design flaw. They die in less than a year! Mine just died after 10 months.

Comments from other reviewers...
"the thing broke after 6 months of light usage"
"Ran it continually for a year. Then BANG, one day it died."
"bought my FM114P 10 months ago. It stopped working couple days ago"
"However, 11 months later the router failed"
"My FM114P failed after 8 months of operation"
"My only complaint: I've had mine die on me twice, each time after about 2-3 months of use."
"The first one I own died after 3 weeks...The second unit died after 6 weeks"
"my box died after only 2 month."

14 broke after 6 months
just like a bunch of other people wrote here - the thing broke after 6 months of light usage. It's not a bad router, but kinda flaky - kept rebooting it at least 3-5 times a week under light usage (playing games and browsing web mostly). Beta bios upgrades are numerous, but very few of them worked well - although I don't mind it that much, since flashing its bios is a breeze.

I think this router is very sensitive to power fluctuations. I'll put the Netgear's replacement router on my UPS - hopefully it'll get more stable and won't break again.

Gosh! this thing generates a ton of heat just sitting there, doing nothing!

15 Move on! But consider another Netgear model.
In summary, this unit has some design problems that seem to have been solved in newer models. Move on, but consider a Netgear.

This is a great product, when it works. I purchased this unit in Septerber 2002. Very easy to set up, great browser-based interface. I have past experience with the Netgear MR314 and the FM114P is more user friendly and less flaky. No problems getting the print server to work. Great wireless signal strength with the stock antenna. Ran it continually for a year.

Then BANG, one day it died.

Called tech support, got right on (no holding!), very friendly but a bit hard to understand (from India). They did some trouble shooting. Nothing worked. I got the old "My manager will have to call you back." I thought "Great, how long will that take." Got a call back in 3 minutes. Got my Return Material Authorization (RMA) without any argument, and I hope to have a new unit in a couple days. They also have a nice feature where for a couple extra bucks, they will express mail you a new unit, with a postage paid box, and then you mail back in the dead one after you get the new one.

Unfortunately, they will be sending me another FM114P. It seems like these things are good for about 6 to 12 months then they die. Netgrear should really discontinue this model and offer an upgrade or replacement with a model that does not have the same design problems. But great tech support, great capabilities, and high marks from a user-interface and capabilities standpoint.

16 So far, so good; but support staff weak.
I bought the whole deal - 2 wireless Neatgear MA 521 PC cards for our 2 laptops and the FM114P.

I am quite pleased, so far, with how it works (granted I've only been using it for a week).

BUT - if you're using Windows XP, be prepared to figure out any problems by yourself. The support staff, via the web, could only quote the manual for me.

HINT: if you are using XP, DISABLE the XP firewall in the Network settings. Your computer won't be able to find the Printer Port on the FM114P, otherwise.

You're not going to need that Firwewall, anyway. The router IS a firwewall. I used to get upwards of 30-40 potentially harmful inbound events registered on my Personal Firewall software before using the Neatgear router. Now, I'm surprised if I see 3 to 5 (even with XP's Firewall shut off).

17 So-so performer for the price
The Netgear FM114P is easy to set up and administer via its built-in web interface. The rest is problematic.

We have had intermittant lock-ups where the router simply stopped working and we had to reboot the router to continue connecting to the web.

We have had nothing but grief from the built-in print server, which likewise has sporadic failures requiring reboot. (We are looking at buying a separate print server to solve this problem.)

The wireless works OK, although the throughput seems quite variable.

Overall, I'm unimpressed, and will not likely buy any more Netgear products. Giving it a 2 may be a bit unfair; a 2.5 would be about right.

18 So-so performer for the price
The Netgear FM114P is easy to set up and administer via its built-in web interface. The rest is problematic.

We have had intermittant lock-ups where the router simply stopped working and we had to reboot the router to continue connecting to the web.

We have had nothing but grief from the built-in print server, which likewise has sporadic failures requiring reboot. (We are looking at buying a separate print server to solve this problem.)

The wireless works OK, although the throughput seems quite variable.

Overall, I'm unimpressed, and will not likely buy any more Netgear products. Giving it a 2 may be a bit unfair; a 2.5 would be about right.

19 Simply simple to install
I had zero trouble setting up the FM114P router. I have a cable modem and the set up wizard handled it with ease. I have my main PC running off a patch cord to the router and 2 remotes, a workstation and a laptop, using the wireless connectivity. All were easy to set up.

20 Stopped working after 10 months. Still on hold for support
I bought my FM114P 10 months ago. It stopped working couple days ago. Manual advises to contact Netgear support. I have been waiting on hold for nearly 45 minutes now; haven't spoken to a real person yet. At this rate I think I am going to chuck Netgear and go to another brand.

21 Heat Warning
I had a great time with this router, easy to setup, decent WiFi range. But It is so poorly vented it burned itself out. Really this thing would be 140-150 degrees during little to no usage. I recommend the newer netgear routers, cheaper, lighter, and they don't overheat at all. I hope mine was just a lemon, I always recommend netgear over linksys.

22 FM114p BURNED out on me early this morning
My Netgear FM114P wireless Accesspoint/Print Server has been working really well for several months. Maybe 6 or so months. I went with this product because I like Netgear from the Baynetwork days. As a company Netgear used to be excellent... especially with support, can you believe that?

Last night I heard my printer on the print server reset, I noticed that I lost connection to my router, and then I noticed something horrible. I could smell electrical burn. I immediately unplugged the router.

Hoping for the best I let it cool for about 1/2 hour. Then I plugged it back in and started gently spraying air into it. I wanted to try and get a backup of the config. Unfortunately it was dead. The link lights would show, but the port was not pingable. Then it would power down. The only solace I have is that I do have a backup config that I believe is the same as the "current." I don't know what caused this. It was plugged into a surge protector, the same as my Cisco 2912 switch that's got an uptime of more that 365 days.

It's a lot like the LED lights issues that others have written about. I will replace the FM114p with another FM114p, but I will tell you that my view of Netgear has taken yet another blow. I will not confidently recommend Netgear the way I used to. I miss Baynetworks.

Given that...
The FM114p kicks butt for a SOHO AP/Router. I've used Cisco Aironet and I'll tell you THAT kicks but but it's also 5 times more expensive. But the Aironet software cannot be matched and the hardware is equally impressive. I guess I need to disclose that I am biased cause I'm have Cisco Specialization Certification for Wireless. That means that I'm indoctrinated to be pro Cisco. Even so, I think that the FM114p stacks up pretty well.

But back to the Netgear FM114P! For SOHO and price it kicks butt. I immediately eliminate other SOHO APs like Linksys because their software limits you to class A subnets... Why? I dunno. Stupid.

Ok. Performance on the FM114P was noticeably better than the MR314 that I was previously using. Either of these are way better than any D-link or Linksys (which I expressly dislike even though someone told me they're a Cisco OEM) type AP I've installed. In short. Very happy with performance. I never actually measured it, but noticeable difference usually means VERY significant difference. The FM114p is noticeably faster than APs I've implemented from the aforementioned companies as well as other's I don't really care to mention either. Wireless is actually very deceiving to measure for throughput, but others mark it near 5.8Mbs. That's pretty decent.

Software is decent too. The beta version 1.4 firmware will allow non broadcast of SSID. Router rules are easy but relatively extensive. Overall very functional. Port based IP forwarding and the whole thing. IM, P2P and all games i've tried work well with the Router without poking more holes or making special rulesets in the router. Uh... I haven't tried any h.323 which I would presume would fail because of PAT anyway. Can't get around that unless you specify a ruleset I would guess.

For people who are concerned about ease of use, pls do not read my reviews (uh too late?). Unless the particular unit is very weird, I value performance and features way above ease of use. The FM114p probably is NOT the easiest AP/Router to configure if you're not familiar with basic routing, WIFI, and how basic content groups and access lists work. But it is relatively simple and self explanatory. Because it's got more features and functions, it's probably not as easy as other SOHO products. But all SOHO AP/Routers are relatively easy. Almost all APs are web based configuration anyway. Stay away from USB configured devices! There's a help column in the web based configuration window. Besides, if you don't know what you're doing, I wouldn't recommend installing WIFI anyway. Too many systems don't implement WEP or implement it poorly, use default or easy guess passwords, and are not maintained.... same ol wep key for years... AND NO LOGGING or NOTIFICATION!! Oh yeah, the FM114p does logging and notification. Most of those other SOHO AP/Routers don't.

Overall the FM114p got rave reviews from Tom's Hardware Guide, CNET and several others. I believe it's a great product too, just don't know about why it burned. BTW, Netgear DOES NOT have print server drivers available for download, only firmware. Like I said, gone are the Baynetwork days, when I could write to them for Linux drivers, and they'd email me Beta drivers the next day.

23 FM114p BURNED out on me early this morning
My Netgear FM114P wireless Accesspoint/Print Server has been working really well for several months. Maybe 6 or so months. I went with this product because I like Netgear from the Baynetwork days. As a company Netgear used to be excellent... especially with support, can you believe that?

But back to the Netgear FM114P! For SOHO and price it kicks butt. I immediately eliminate other SOHO APs like Linksys because their software limits you to class A subnets... Why? I dunno. Stupid.

24 Little difficult getting going but now its fine
I ordered this product pretty much based on the review on Amazon.
I was able to get it up and running in very few minutes, but
I couldn't get the printserver to work.

I called tech support who told me to send it back.
But I remembered the firmware upgrade I read about
and upgraded the firmware and disabled and re-enabled the printserver (we will never know which was the magic).

Voila-works like a charm,

I am going to hold onto the RMA for 2 or 3 days and make sure
it keeps working.

25 Router failed but good customer support
I bought this router August/September 2002 (I forgot the exact date) and I loved the router. Easy installation, reliable, good features. However, 11 months later the router failed. The TEST LED was on and all of the ethernet ports were not working. I called tech support and after 10 minutes of waiting on the phone the technician diagnosed the problem and after 3 minutes of debugging the device he determined that I needed a replacement router. I should be getting the replacement router in a day or two. I'm not happy that the router failed, but the technician was helpful on the phone and did not hesitate to send a replacement router to me. I would recommend NetGear because of their customer support and product features.

26 Great product using the suerior 802.11A standard!
Good: TURBO! Very good through-put. Nice interface. 4-port router for wired network! Solid construction! Does NOT drop signals!

Not as good: Through-put falls offs and gets stronger at odd ranges with laptop. Rollercoaster signal strengths. Pricey (but there are good deals out there if you look for them!)

The reason I went with this product isn't just b/c the Linsys WRT55AG [was bad] ... rather, it is because I wanted a wireless router that:
(i) would not have to be rebooted every 5 minutes (thanks for nothing Linksys)
(ii) would operated in the (uncrowded) 5GHz band
(iii) would have a limited range (no need for the whole neighborhood to to be on my network, so I avoid the 11B standard)
AND
(vi) I wanted some healthy through-put (which Netgear delivers at 72Mbps!)

I got all this in the Netgear HR314 wireless router!

Took me about 15 minutes out of the box to get it up & running. It resides in my basement and my PC on the second floor gets very good reception.

However, I don't understand why my signal strength vacilates from low to very good....it's not like the PC or the router are moving.

Overall I am very pleased with the performance of this router and highly recommend it as a home (or even business) solution. I think the 802.11A standard is the best and we should support it.

Unlike Linksys, Netgear has yet to let me down, and this product reinforces their commitment to reliable solutions.

27 Netgear warranty procedures
My FM114P failed after 8 months of operation. Netgear makes it very difficult to get a RMA for a warranty repair. The links to warranty service are not clearly indicated at netgear.com. To get an RMA you need to talk to a technician. The wait for a techician is 30 minutes or more.

28 Happy I Switched From Linksys
I had so much trouble with my Linksys BEFSR41 and WAP11 that I decided to try another vendor. After several months, even though there have been some frustrations, I am glad I made the switch. Printer drivers are a little tricky to reinstall. Tech support, while sometimes frustrating because they are from India, has been acceptable.

29 Hands down, best box around
I have this product already, and setting up my second network with the same deal. Set up on the first one took a while, but I figured it out with the online documentation. I used to be a LAN Administrator so I know my way around a bit. Only product that I have found that has hard wire, wireless and print server all in one. The only problem I have is the range - I can't go as far as I had hoped on the wireless, I have to stay near the router. I would definitely recommend this product.

30 Great Product w/Reasonable Price
Easy to install and get it up and running!
The first time I had trouble to bring up my
2nd and 3rd PC. But I realized it was my mistake
not following the instruction closely. Second
time was a chime!

31 Excellent product!
I have had this wireless router for approximately nine months and have been nothing but pleased. I had to make a couple calls to technical support and had to download the upgrade, which is free, but for the past six months everything has been working perfectly. I get excellent reception on my laptop using a Netgear wireless card throughout our 2400 square foot house and the connection is perfectly stable. I never have to reset it or anything. I would buy this router again in a second.

32 Device should be recalled
Don't buy this device. Neither firmware version 1.3 (Release 05) or the 1.4 (beta release 22) will work for any length of time. Yes you can call support (nice guys 4 stars) and tweak it by hard coding IPs, etc and make it work for a few hours but eventually it WILL go out to lunch. The first one I purchased was returned because the print server failed to function. The replacement, DHCP failed to work for any wired connection. I waisted hours myself and on the phone with support. Not to mention... The MA401 REDHAT 7.2 driver download contains no binaries and although the make worked the device was never recognized. Netgear wanted me to pay them $...to debug and fix the Redhat driver problem. Ya right! Hope this saves just one person time.

33 Easy set-up, great price
I recently got DSL service and the set-up of this firewall/router could not have been easier. I have one Mac connected via ethernet cable to the router, an Airport-equipped iMac across the other side of the house, and two Dell laptops with Cisco Aironet cards. It was pretty much as simple as plugging it in and turning it on. The iMac automatically "finds" the network within seconds of turning the Airport on, and while the Windows machines took a little more configuring (they are set up for default use on the internal network where I work), they worked first time also. The unit also appears to be well built.

34 It works
Working 24x7 since last December. I will give 5 stars for its look and feel, easy setup, performance, functionality, product warranty, and price.

I will give only 4.5 starts for the 150-page Reference Menu. The instruction for VPN setup is nowhere to be found. The system status page is probably copied from another product, only 99% true and correct. Email notification may not work for some ISPs, but was not documented. However, it is still a very good menu, worth my time to read and keep.

Product support? Yes, but only 4 starts. Email them many times. Answered 90% of my questions or explained why or why not in about 1-3 days. I didn't try the phone support, no need so far.

35 Not perfect, but good enough for 5 stars
you get a SPI firewall, a NAT router, a 4-port switch, a wireless access point, a printer server, plus free anti-virus software. How low can it go?

And... it works.

36 No expert, but this unit is working well for me.
I am using the FM114P on a 350 MHz PII with WIN 98. But have recently added a toshiba notebook P4 (xp) with built-in Wi-Fi.

I had problems at the start installing the unit, only because I didn't know better to uninstall zone alarm. I had to call Netgear for just about every process. I think their manual is a little lame. The people at Netgear know their stuff, but you have to listen closely because of the Indian accent. I have had it up and running now for over a month with out any problems. The print server is a nice feature and have no problems with signal strangth. I have not tried to change the firewall settings, probably because I am not sure what to do with it. Overall this FM114P works well with my cable modem.

37 Great features, but unreliable
The Netgear FM114P is almost a perfect firewall, wireless access point, and print server. Good price, decent features.

My only complaint: I've had mine die on me twice, each time after about 2-3 months of use.

So the question is: What good is a firewall when you can't depend on it to work the next day?

This would be a great product if Netgear can fix the reliability issues. Who knows, perhaps my third unit will last till the summer.

Update: My third replacement unit failed after a week.

38 Did not work and had to return it
I could link up via the wired portion to my DSL and it was fine. However, the WiFi was damaged. Tech support (from India) was helpful and help diagnose the problem. It had to be returned for a new one. I just ended up sending it back for a refund.

I'll probably keep looking for something a little cheaper.

39 No good.
I've upgraded the firmware backwards and forwards but this puppy drops connections like my old switch never does. Everything seems to work fine but then a larger download and it consistently doesn't complete. I've changed the MTU size and that seems to have an effect but it's still erratic and won't complete downloads. I switch back the to switch and 'no problem'. I'm using it in wired mode so its not a WiFi issue.

40 Okay while it lasted
I wanted to jump on the wireless bandwagon and after searching around for one of the best recommended wireless, dsl-router Access Points, I found the Netgear FM114P.

I had some problems initially getting the AP up and running with the wireless side of the house. After disabling the SSID, I finally was able to get the wireless working. Then I was finally able to get the SSID working (I think this was more an inexperience on my part with how to configure the Wireless side on Windows XP).

The features were nice. I never got to try some of the more exotic features like the filtering or emailing when DoS type attacks occurred.

It seemed like once a day, I had to reset the unit due to loss of connection. This may actually in some way be related to DHCP loss of lease, but I didn't ever get to trouble shoot this one due a later problem.

When updating the configuration via the web browser, often times when I Updated or anything getting submitted, it sometimes returned back to me or other times would lock up the web browser session (partically I believe because the AP was resetting in the process, so this might not be a real issue).

I can't remember if I updated the firmware, but I believe I did.

I left the unit on 24-7 (although not in use 24-7) and it seem to work for a while.

After using the AP for about 2-3 weeks, I was trying to do a "normal" reset of the AP and found that it would not reset as it had in the past.

I called Netgear, since I wasn't able to do anything with it. They didn't give much help except to say that while under the 30 days since purchase I should return it and get it replaced.

I apparently misunderstood something in the Amazon.com return policy and was given a refund instead of a replacement, so I will have to either purchase it again or look into something newer.

41 Solid Product
I bought this router after having months of trouble with a Linksys BEFW11P1, which died one night with the fatal red diagnostic light refusing to go off.

It is everything it advertises. It gets excellent range thanks to it's detachable antenna, and I might add that it's WiFi Certified. I get 11Mb reception in places where I previously got 2. That's quite a jump.

It's firewall is tough, and solid as well. SPI is a great feature to have these days.

It comes with plenty of aided setup material to get someone with no experience with home networking up and running.

The print server is pretty zippy, just like the one in the Linksys, but more reliable.

New firmware is constantly coming out, and features are being introduced all the time. Features in the beta firmware (free download) currently not advertised for this product include UPnP support, traceroute support, improved device table, logging of sites visited, SSID broadcast can be disabled, as well as compatibility fixes. Soon this firmware will become stable and available to everyone.

It's a great product. I highly recommend it. It's good now, and Netgear seems dedicated to making it better.

42 It just works well
I got one of these on my home network. ITs a mixed network with several macs and one machine running Linux. It even lets me ssh in from outside (this you have to set up). I've not tried the wireless as I don't have a computer that does this, but everything has been rock solid so far.

43 A truly great product!
After much research, I finally found this little jewel. It has a SPI firewall, 802.11b wireless, 4 switch wired router, and print server - everything I need in one box. I got it up and running, updated to latest firmware, all features working in about 45 minutes (without calling Netgear, so can't comment on support). Yes, I am computer proficient, but I would not classify myself as a network expert. This is really about as idiot-proof as you can get.

I am still learning about how to set up a more secure firewall, and the FM114P seems to have more than what I need. The logging, port-forwarding, e-mail alerts, are all there. You can even block your kids from using Instant Messenger based on a schedule. On the wireless end, I recommend anyone setting up a wireless access point to change the SSID and password, and enable MAC address filtering as soon as you one up. The latest firmware update allows you to turn off the SSID broadcast. Turning on the 128 bit WEP will further frustrate the casual wardriver.

My Compaq notebook and Orinoco Gold card gets a good signal throughout my house, and is connected using 128 bit WEP. I can get to my office VPN, and my Compaq MC-1 music server can connect without problems. The print server is seamless - all my PCs (Win XP Pro) can print to my laser printer, and the print server will queue the jobs.

My compliments to Netgear - this is truly a great product for a great price.

44 GREAT PRODUCT!
I found this device almost too easy to set up, but then again I'm a bit technically-oriented anyway and have seen much more complex things at work. Nonetheless, the docs were pretty clear and I feel most people who can read instructions and are somewhat computer literate could do this easily enough, especially if they really want to set up a network such as this provides. I was almost disappointed that things went so well, as I was hoping to be forced to learn more about networking, but oh well. Ease of use is the /usual/ desire of most customers!

My currently connected computers consist of a p1, running at 233mhz with 32mb ram and a 10/100 eth card (forget the brand), and two self-built p3's running at 866mhz and 1ghz with 256mb and 128mb ram, respectively, each with simple Linksys 10/100 eth cards. All three sport Windows 98se. I also have a separate ethernet switch, which after initial configuration I hooked up to the uplink port of the Netgear FM114P with no issues whatsoever. So far I have not tested the wireless aspect as I have no wireless devices. That will come down the road when I have more of a need, which knowing me will likely happen within a year if for no other reason than to say I've done it.

Basically, you gather ISP information, which in my case was largely unnecessary, and then you unplug the computer from the modem and plug it into the firewall instead, also plugging the modem into the firewall. You plug the firewall into an outlet, tweak the network settings on the first computer, reboot, and reset the modem as well.

Note that by firewall I mean the FM114P, which is actually a router, wireless access point, and print server, all rolled into one.

The only "problem" I encountered was just after I reset the modem and was rebooting my computer. For some reason, I kept getting fatal exception errors when the computer came back up. However, a few more reboots and a ScanDisk run had things working again. It's very possible the two are completely unrelated; I seldom reboot this particular computer anymore so she might be developing problems I was unaware of. She is _heavily_ used.

Installation continued. At first getting into the router was a bit slow, it took several seconds for the password box and then the page. However, it was easy to set up. I chose advanced setup and it turned out I didn't need to change a thing. I tested my internet connection and slowly it went to the netgear page (which has been slow loading anyway, I've been in there a lot lately). I tweaked a few other settings (turned off the wireless aspect for instance) and logged out. I then proceeded to check other internet sites, which were all lightning fast as usual, confirming that Netgear's site was simply bogged down on their end, not my router's fault.

Connecting the other computers was merely a matter of tweaking their network settings to accept dhcp and rebooting, and before I knew it I was looking at three computers on my network, all able to be online simultaneously! At that point I switched things over to my switch and used the uplink port on the firewall, and tested everything once more. No problems whatsoever. Getting into the configuration page is much faster now, too. The dust has settled and my computers have accepted the FM114P as their new leader. Once I get ink for my printer I'll be able to test that part, too. I have a feeling it will be just as easy given what I've seen thus far.

I will eventually add a Linux box and an MS-DOS machine once I find the time to set them up.

Kudos to Netgear, my research yielded a great decision on their product and I'm so glad I went with it. (And no I don't work for them! lol)

45 Perfection
This little guy has everything I needed and more. I replaced a failing Linksys 4 port router and buggy Linksys wireless access point with one solid metal box that works better and does more than both. It was recently the recommended wireless gateway after a review of 11 competing products at P>It has a real firewall, an area that is seriously lacking in similar products. It can email you an access log at specified times or when it fills. It can immediately email you if it detects a DoS attack or a port scan. It can also block sites on your network based on keywords if that's important to you.

The wireless features are nice too. In addition to WEP it handles Mac authorization (this never worked on my Linksys). You can setup "Trusted PCs" based on a unique address that all network cards have so only computers you setup can access your wireless network.

The software is well laid out and easy to use. For new users it will run through a quick setup wizard that will get you up and running in a few minutes. When you start poking around you'll find a context sensitive help frame always open on the right that explains each setting. There's also no initial software to install, all you is point your web browser at the IP address for the router.

Of course it has all the basics you would expect like port forwarding (needed if you want to run a web server, game server, etc.). You can even setup port forwarding on a schedule.

It even ended up solving problems I didn't even consider when buying it. For example, I generally like to use Static IP addresses, but still need to run DHCP. The Netgear software lets you setup a reserved IP table, allowing you to do just that.

I honestly have zero complaints so far, this is exactly what I've been looking for.

46 So far so good
I've been using the box for a couple months now, so far so good. I really do like it and it has proved to be what it supposed to be. I don't have a big network yet, I just have one computer. Huh? Yes, I had a specific need, I use a laptop as my only computer, as a work from home consultant w/ a growing family, I spend a great deal of time on the computer. I don't mind being in the office during the day, but in the evening I like to do some casual surfing and emailing from the living room. This box allows me to hit my cable modem w/ a firewall, and also print to a standard parallel printer wirelessly from downstairs. Amazon did send me an open defective item at first, and I had difficulty understanding the 'English' of my two Netgear support people, but it all worked out, they sent me a new one. Make sure you take the time to go through your settings and activate the WEP encryption and manually enter the MAC address of your specific machines while turning off 'allow all machines' otherwise you may be at risk w/ the default settings.

47 It simply works!
I have a dual-boot Win98/Win2000 PC, an Apple Titanium PowerBook G4 and an Xbox. I also wanted a high-end wireless network in my home. I recently got new cable internet access and their enrollment CD crashed my PC. The "fix" and the work-around access setup took a long time. Once that was done, I stared at my new router in it's shrink-wrapped package and wondered what was waiting for me. To make a long story short, the NetGear hook up was a breeze! I plugged it in, connected the ethernet cable to the WAN port on my cable modem, launched a web browser, went to the NetGear site and logged in... done! ...as for my Mac, all I did was turn on my PowerBook, launched a web browser and I was online! ...to carry my PB around the entire house and have the whole internet in the palm of my hands is a wonderful feeling. The signal is strong from the basement to upstairs bedroom. I couldn't have purchased a better product and recommend the NetGear FM114P to anyone who wants an inexpensive, easy to install wireless experience in there home or office.

48 Not Recommended
I've had two of these units over the last 3 months. When they work, they work great. The feature set is nice, the wireless connection is strong throughout my house and the print server is a nice option. The problem is that the first one I own died after 3 weeks. I was able to return it to the store where I bought it because it was within the 30 day limit. The second unit died after 6 weeks. I spoke with Netgear tech support and they informed me that since it worked for 6 weeks that the issue was not due to manufactures defect and therefore was not covered under warranty. I spoke with 2 supervisors and they both seemed completely indifferent to the idea that their products may have an issue.

It's a nice piece of equipment when it works, but I wouldn't take the gamble of buying one again.

49 I would not buy it again
The 'content filter' is a useless string match within URLs and does not work for IP addresses. The FM114P does not work when connected to a micro repeater, support is not existent and my box died after only 2 month.

50 Wonderful product
After getting my PhD in computer science and moving into a new house, I wanted a good wireless access point/switch to go with the cable modem so that my wife and I could work on the net at the same time. I first tried the Linksys 4-port switch and wireless access point, but after being unable to get it to work properly despite the best efforts of linksys tech support and my networking knowledge, and taking the original back for a different one, I gave up and got the Netgear FM114P instead.

The Netgear box worked like a charm out of the box. I took it out, plugged it in, and connected to it. It was easy to configure, with very straightforward instructions, and it worked the first time I tried. Unlike the linksys box, it also includes a very nice print server, so that my wife and I can also share our HP laserjet, and I can print to it while sitting in the living room.

In addition, the netgear's logging facilities and configurability are very nice for more sophisticated users - the box can email you if it detects break-in attempts or DoS attacks, for example. I've been very impressed with this product. I have heard less-than-flattering things about netgear's technical support, but unlike when I was trying to get the linksys one working, I didn't need them.

51 Easy Setup
This was practically a plug-and-play setup. I have never used a router before and when I decided to get DSL, I needed a router to hook up two computers. I installed the router and the DSL modem at the same time, powered them on and went through the on screen setup. It was that easy. Everything was working in under 15 minutes!

This unit has adequate range for my wireless needs. I am using the MA101 USB adapter and can go anywhere in my house. I highly recommend this unit.

52 Really one of the best brands around.
Bought my just yesterday and spent the whole night trying to set it up. Couldn't get anything to work till i found out that the problem was with a faulty ethernet cable supplied by my ISP. Other than that, the set up of the router and FOUR wireless lan cards took no more than an hour. cool!

Used 2 MA401 and 2 Cisco Aironet 350 series with my FM114P. No problems whatsoever. Only problem faced was when I was trying to set a new SSID. Somehow when i tried to apply the new settings it wouldn't work. But after a few attempts at refreshing the page and re-applying the setting, everything was ok. Maybe i'll go download the new firmware. In the meantime, everyone will be enjoying the upgrade over our old 56k modem.

On the side, a friend bought a linksys WAP11 access point at the same time with me. Its almost a day now and he still can't get it to work. Watch out for that problem.

53 Easy to install-great speed!
Based on Amazon.com feedback, I took a gamble and purchased the Netgear FM114P instead of the D-Link Airplus 614 and couldn't be happier. We have two MACs at home - powerbook and imac, both equipped for wireless - and the added expense at [money] for an Airport base station lead me to search for another alternative. The Netgear firewall/router was VERY easily installed and I was up and surfing the net in less than 15 minutes. And after feeling more secure about the whole setup later in the day, switched both computers to wireless and the difference is imperceptible. The added benefit of the firewall and higher security level were worth the extra cost, too. Thank you to everyone who posted positively about this product.

54 Poor support powerful product
I'm very happy with the performance. I had a problem with the epson printer driver and the windows 98. After 2 hours and 3 calls to india support they told me that they would call me back. They never did. I did some research on the internet, and I found that if I install the generic windows driver instead of advanced epson driver it would work, and it did. Well, support didn't know that. Great product if you won't need to call support.
I used Linksys before and performance was very poor, and I returned it.

55 Up and running in just a few minutes
I looked at lots of products and read tons of reviews before selecting the netgear FM114P. Set up was no problem. My access provider, comcast.net, uses dynamic IP addresses, so I didn't have to change any of my network properities. Just remember to clear and re-acquire your dynamic IP address, I also had to shut down and re-start my cable modem.

The only reason I gave this product 4 stars instead of 5 is that I haven't gotten the print server to work yet. It dosen't "see" my printer. This may be because I have an older printer.

56 Excellent and reliable wireless performance!
I purchased the FM114P router and the MA-410 PCMCIA wireless card (see separate review) from Amazon. The FM114P worked right out of the box without any installation or configuration. I took the internet cable out of my computer, plugged it into the FM114P and the ran an internet cable (provided) from my cable modem to the FM114P. It worked flawlessly. I would recommend pulling the plug on the cable modem and then plugging it in again after about 5-10 seconds. Some cable modems require this reset action after a configuration change.

The MA-401 was installed in 5 minutes, so in less then 10 minutes after opening the boxes I had a wireless network. In addditon to the laptop running in wireless mode I had another computer hardwired to the router. No other action is REQUIRED for basic wired and wireless operation, but if you want encrytion, and other privacy features enabled you will have to configure the router.

Configuration is relatively straight forward. After bringing up Internet Explorer or Netscape you type in the router address (192.168.0.1). The router then displays a login window (defaults are admin/password). Once logged onto the router, three columns are displayed. Left=setup function selections (e.g.wireless, password, logs, etc.); middle=parameters to change for each function; right=help info for each parameter. There is a separate procedure for setting up the printer port; a little tricky, but once setup worked fine.

The wireless capabilities of the FM114P coupled with the MA-401 were great for my house (2500 sq ft plus basement). The MA-401 received a good signal from every room in the house including the basement, and worked upto about 40-50 feet outside. The FM114P is located on the first floor. I do not have any 2.4GHZ phones so I cannot tell if there would be a problem (D-Link does have a problem with this but otherwise seems fine; Linksys seems to have serious problems for wireless use). The download speed using wireless seemed to be the same as using the wired connection to the router.

From professional reviews the firewall seems to be state of the art for this price range of routers, and allows a log to be emailed to you from hourly to weekly if you want ot puruse security actions. With the new firmware (see below) you can have all traffic logged if you so wish (I don't!).

The router came with firmware version 1.1 release 0; Netgear's web site now has version 1.3 release 5 (released in Sept 2002) ready for download. I downloaded the latest firmware using the instructions on their web site. It took a couple of minutes and worked fine. I did not notice any improvement or degradation, but it is always good to have the latest version, especially if you ever need to call tech support for help.

I highly recommend the FM114P and MA-401 combination.

57 Loving it ALREADY
Just go my FM114P today and already am enjoying it. Previously had the MR314 by Netgear and while the MR314 worked it just doesn't compare to the FM114P. Needlessly to say the MR314 went immediately back to the store from which it came. What do I like about it - first price the FM114P unit was cheaper and has firewall, printserver and delivers much, much faster internet connection. This was an excellent purchase.

58 Reliable and full featured.
Great Product. Easy to configure. Extremely reliable. I have had zero issues during the 1st month of ownership.

The only complaint that I have is the exagerated range. I experience significant drop in signal strength about 80 feet away from the router. It may due the fact that there is lot of metal in and around my home, however, I really doubt that anyone could every get any signal past 100yds out of this.

Reasonable price, full featured and reliable.

59 Excellent router
This is an excellent router that offers many cool features. It supported everything I have been looking for in a router: VPN, Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI), port forwarding (Inbound and Outbound), Intrusion Detection, and it will run in "stealth mode"(doesn't respond to outside pings). It also has a wireless access point and a print server. The setup utility works well and allows advanced configurations. I would definitely recommend this router.

60 Compatibility issues?
After a miserable few days with a SMC router, I traded it in for this Netgear model. I was impressed with the Netgear device immediately -- it's much more solid than SMC's version. Setup was a breeze. So far, so good. When I took my laptop out of the room where the router was located, though, the range dropped off the table. Within 15 feet, I had no signal.

Netgear's tech support was terrible, so I called Dell (maker of my TrueMobile 1150 PCI wireless card). After 2+ hours on the phone, we had tweaked the card some and increased the range to about 50 feet with no obstructions. That's where I stand now -- OK for my relatively small apartment (although the router is now sitting on top of a kitchen cabinet with clear view of the living and dining rooms)-- but not much good otherwise. Buyer beware.

61 Solid and Fast
I've got quite a lot of experience using the Linksys BEFSR series, Netgear MR314 and now the FM114P broadband routers. Of these, the FM114P wins on just about every front.

In general I liked the Linksys line as they had some useful features, including port mapping and UPnP support, which the Netgear products do not have. On the down side, they also have occasional hang ups and don't do stateful-packet-inspection (SPI). SPI is becoming ever more important with the rise of denial-of-service attacks and port scanning bots.

After a particlarly frustrating week with the Linksys router needing to be reset twice as often as usual, I decided to try the Netgear MR314 (note: the same routing hardware is in all the xx31x models). At first, I was a bit disapppointed at the loss of port forwarding and UPnP support but at least the router was solid (no resets) and the wireless range was excellent. After downloading the latest firmware from Netgear's site I took a look at what else they offer and saw the FM114P model, which I hadn't seen at any local stores. The next morning I took back the 314 and bought the 114 at CDW for the SPI firewall features alone. I was pleasantly suprised that I got a whole lot more for the extra [money] it cost me.

The first thing I noticed is that the 114 is faster, and not just a tiny bit faster but a LOT faster. This suprised me as I didn't think that any router added a significant delay to the packet stream but I immediately noticed the pages loading faster. I can't say that there is a bandwidth increase, but latency is definitely reduced (the lag between clicking on a link and the page starting to load). I assume this is due to the 114's 75mhz processor performing its logging, security checks, and routing processes in significantly less time than the other brands/models's unspecified embedded hardware. In my opinion, using a true onboard processor is the way routing hardware should, and will, be headed in the future.

The 114 also improves on the 314 with a detachable antenna, stateful firewall, built-in print server, better service customization (still no UPnP though) and more security options. This unit is practically perfect for connecting and securing a "broadband attached home network"; with wires or without.

62 All that you need, period!
I bought this as part of move to new house and was deciding between the Linksys and this, having been a user of the MR314. For ... more than the Linksys, Netgear got this right!

It's small, solidly constructed, and comes loaded with an SPI firewall and Print Server. Unlike the MR314's wimpy antenna, the antenna on the FM114P is detachable! As a bonus, it includes Zero Knowledge's Freedom Anti-Virus / Ad-Blocking software, although this may also be included in D-Link's and other brands too.

Installation was surprisingly easy--it auto-detects PPPoE, and DHCP gives you the REAL DNS servers (another improvement over MR314). Since this box has a "real" processor, I'd expect performance to be good--I'd be curious about WEP degradation.

Downsides: 4-switched ports, although it's not much of an issue if you go wireless; lack of rebate offer.

Bottom Line: tiny, solid, loaded, great value. Look for my MR314 on eBay soon...

63 good piece of gear!!!
bought it. plugged in my dsl modem plugged in my desktop. It worked instantly. configuration has a lot of options most of which I left alone. configuring my laptop was tougher. the wireless pcmcia card I bought (cisco pcm352) refused to to install. and it required some help from cisco TAC and some ugly registry butchery to get going. But... here I sit 60 feet from the router through two thick walls writing this review. so alls well that ends well