WGR614 Cable/DSL 54 Mbps Wireless Router, 802.11g
1 Don't waste your time or money on this one!
Buying this router was definitely the worst experience with a consumer product I've ever had. I received it and hooked it up and it worked fine for basic internet connectivity. But I really wanted a wireless connection I could use with my work laptop so I could use the VPN and connect to my office network. The VPN would work fine ONLY IF I connected my laptop with a patch cable directly to the routed. The VPN would not work wirelessly. I spent HOURS on the phone with the "off-shore" difficult-to-understand, support technicians. We tried SO MANY different configurations. I downloaded the new firmware at least 3 times. At one point, they said they would call me back the next day. The ended up calling me at 1AM! I guess they didn't know how to convert to my time zone from India!
After about the forth time on the phone with them I finally said I was done. I didn't want to keep "experimenting" with them any longer. I just wanted to return the router. THEY WOULDN'T GIVE ME AN RMA! I was furious.
I put their router in the trash can and bought a Belkin router. WHAT a difference! It worked out of the box, no issues, and about $50 cheaper. Good bye Neatgear!!!
I hope this review saves someone from the frustration I've had!
2 Worked Okay for 7 months and then just stopped
I would not recommend this router to anyone. At first it worked okay even with sporadic connections. I could never hold connection steady for a few hours. It was constantly disconnecting and looking for connection. If you are like me who listens to online radio and that would cause a constant problem of disconnecting and connecting again and again. The worst happened after 7 months, when it completely stopped working. I am not sure what to recommend as I had two wired Linksys routers which only lasted 12 months each. I don't know what the problem with them but they simply stopped working. So look else where for your router needs. Help Support is non-existent with both linksys and netgear. If this things goes down, you pretty much on your own.
3 Don't throw your patch cables away...
Seems to be a recurring theme. Utilizing the WGR614 with a wired connection works great. However I got sporadic wireless connections (at best) even when sitting right on top of the antenna. Tried every firmware update (even beta versions) to no avail. Tech support wasn't very supportive. Spend the extra money and get the linksys.
4 Good for a while, but not built to last.
I have the v4 version and it worked great with my Macs running OSX when I first got it. Easy, smooth set up and decent documentation, which is often rare for Mac users. But just like so many of the previous reviewers, after several months my wireless connection would drop frequently everyday requiring constant power unplug/replugs. I contacted customer support, tried everything including resets, and going through every Netgear router firmware available. The router continued to work great with a wired connection, but that kind of defeats the purpose of a wifi router. I just bought a Buffalo router to replace this one.
5 No Customer Support
I bought the netgear wireless router over cheaper alternatives because of its supposed higher quality. The router, however, only gave me intermittent access to the internet. I called netgear customer support numerous times, and after long waits, I received "solutions" that did not fix my problem. After five (maybe more--I lost count) calls to customer support, I asked that netgear replace my defective router. Netgear then put me on hold and after fifteen minutes no one had ever come back to my call so I hung up in disgust. I definitely recommend against buying a netgear product if you think you will ever need true customer support.
6 Works very well!
I purchased this router approx. one month ago. It works flawlessly with the Netgear WG111T 108 Mbps Wireless USB 2.0 Adapter that I also purchased from Amazon. The range is excellent and I receive the full 108 mbps consistantly via this adapter. The only gripe that I would have is that when I connect via my Dell Inspiron laptop with built in 802.11b adapter, the connection is sporatic. Off course the laptop may be at fault though if you are going to purchase this router, I would highly recommend also purcahsing one of the other "Super G" compliant adapters from Netgear.
7 One of the better Routers
I started my quest to set up a wireless network at home with my Dell laptop and a Belkin F5D7230-4 router. The experience was painful and time consuming and ended up with me throwing the Belkin router into trash (Belkin's tech support told me that their routers are incompatible with Intel Centrino chips! I wonder what they are doing in wireless market then).
This is when I talked to my friends and almost everybody suggested Linksys or Netgear. A local Fry's store was selling Netgear WGR614 at discounted prices during a sale. I jumped on it.
To rate any router, one has to comment on its 3 "S", setup, specs and security. I have done quite a bit of research and below is my report on these.
SETUP: Took me less than 5 minutes to complete the setup. Only thing I had to do was to connect all the cables and turn the power on. Then choose a SSID, password, provide your connection information (depending upon what type of internet connection you have) and voila! I had a wireless network up and running.
SPECIFICATIONS: It supports both 108.11b and g networking. Weighs about half a lb. and is small (7"x1"x4.5") Mine is silver and looks so cool that I don't mind putting it on my tv!
SECURITY: Netgear router not only provides wireless network for your home but also protects it. It has a strong firewall to insulate your home machines for malicious hacker attacks like Denial Of Service, or attempts to access your machine from internet. It can also help you manage the content being accessed (if you have kids, this is a great feature). It allows remote management too and you can get the logs emailed to you.
I had to do almost no other maintenance in last 6 months that I have owned this router. It has a decent range. I can go to a park across the street and still access my network.
For 95% of us, this is enough.
I cannot comment on Netgear's customer service since I have never used it and I hope I won't have too!
In conclusion, I believe most known brands like Linksys and D-Link may also have some good routers. But you still have to make sure that the one you buy works for your laptop and your home (for example, according to Belkin's customer service their wireless routers are incompatible with Centrino chips.)
Netgear has worked great for me and I am sure it will work well for you too.
It is being sold for a great price right now, so go and grab yours. You won't be disappointed.
8 worked fine, died, no warranty support
This device worked great out of the box for almost a year. Then would not even power on correctly. Had one response from e-mail support to try obvious remedial steps. After, heard nothing. Evidently Netgear not only lacks support but does not honor warranty. I replaced it with an Airlink for $16.99. Now if I can only get a year out of this one!
9 Works but new white version is VERY UGLY
Decided to buy Netgear instead of Linksys because of the lower price ($20 rebate) and the favorable reviews; and also because it looked nice on the picture. The silver would look nice on my black desktop... Turns out that the latest version (V5) comes now in a white enclosure. VERY UGLY AND CHEAP LOOKING....
Seems to be working fine so far, as long as you really EXACTLY follow the instructions. Not sure yet whether I will keep it...
10 Go with LinkSys
I chose to buy the NetGear router because it was about $10 cheaper than LinkSys, plus it got a great review from CNET. I was disappointed with the router, though. The connection drops to a really low speed all the time, and the farthest I've ever used it is about 30 feet with two walls of separation.
Also, when my friend came over with his laptop, he was unable to even connect to my network because he uses .11b instead of .11g. Be warned, if you plan on using b and g simultaneously, this router is definitely not for you.
In conclusion, I would recommend paying more for the brand that more people trust: LinkSys.
Happy hunting!
11 Easy to install, hopeless for heavy use
I bought one of these to replace an SMC7004AWBR which stopped allowing admin logins and wouldn't reset to factory defaults.
It installed like a dream, was really easy to set up, and worked fine--at first. Unfortunately, I work from home as a software engineer and system admin, and really need a reliable router--and this isn't it. Once I open too many simultaneous TCP connections, it'll crash--the lights blink as if it's still working, but it stops actually routing packets.
I've tried a firmware upgrade, I've tried changing the MTU size, and next I think I'm going to try another brand of router... If you use BitTorrent, RSS aggregators, or other software that opens lots of TCP connections, avoid this router. Similarly, if you have several computers in simultaneous use, this device will only frustrate you.
12 2nd Netgear Wireless Router
There is some good stuff in the review by Cyberdesi. David McCulloch's review is a good recap of my experience except I think David overstates how hard it is. I just set up my second one (a gift to a friend). Turn off your computer & modem. Plug in the router: to the computer, to the modem & to the wall. Turn on the modem. Turn on the router. Turn on the computer. In that order, per directions. All done. Well, it's wise to fire up net access & double check. Make any of the adjustments Cyberdesi addresses now. It isn't obvious to me how to make it any easier to do.
Now I hear we are getting cable at the condo at the beach. Guess I'll get a third Netgear wireless. Maybe I should but stock??
13 Speedy and Secure
The WGR614 v.5 router is the current 'standard of measure' for simple home wireless networks. As with all electronics, get the latest drivers! Go to the Netgear website - find the product and download version 1.7 (it replaces 1.3 shipping with the product). Once you have the new version on your computer type 192.168.1.1 into your browser enter the user id 'admin' and password, 'password' and upgrade the firmware. Select upgrade and specify the file you downloaded.
This is my second wireless network and it performs very well. I had an older MR314 but this was an 802 11B (11 MBS vs 54 MBS for the WR614) I bought the WGR614 at Comp USA for $14.95 (with rebates) and have been enjoying the higher speed. Part of the reason I upgraded was to take advantage of the WEP security that was not available for the older MR314. If you want more robust security the unit also supports WPA, but this is harder to set up and slows the transfer speeds.
I have been using the router for about three months and it has performed well. It isn't as sturdy as the MR314 (blue metal case was a lot more durable than the white plastic) but it is good enough. Currently 802 11G is the slowest speed you should consider when purchasing a router - this will provide good service for the next year when Super G routers (108 MBS) will be very common. For now though this is a great router especially at the low price point.
14 rebate is bogus
While the product works very well, the Rebate, I can only conclude is bogus. I submitted my rebate form with all required docs in January and have not received my rebate yet. Don't know how to contact them either.
15 Cheap Product, Poor Support
I'm tech savvy and ended up spending hours upon hours network troubleshooting this router ONLY to find out that the problem I was experiencing is KNOWN. My only solution to many of the issues encountered, was to disconnect the firewall (leaving my computer totally exposed, not good). To resolve the issue, I had to update firmware multiple times. After all this, it still doesn't work right.
$50 router. $500 in my time to fix it.
Note: you get what you pay for.
16 Not worth the hassle
I bought this router even after the mixed reviews since most of the time problems are more to do with the system/user - that was a mistake. After spending hours on the technical support site and going over the troubleshooting guide I still couldn't even get the computer to talk to the router atall. All the LED's were lit as required but the software just wouldnt go to the setup sequence. After trawling the guide and going through the nine steps I was told to contact technical support - no thanks - I want a product that works as advertised - I didn't sign up for hours of networking troubleshooting.
17 A rough start, but an awesome router!
Well, prior to getting my laptop, I decided to get a wireless router. It always starts with a decision, right? So I find an AT&T 6800G Wireless router for decent price of $30 off eBay... Install was a sinch! However, it dropped my connection constantly and randomly!! So off you go, I said. Sold it off for $22 (at a loss) and got instead Netgear WGR614v5 b/g Wirelss Router.
Not only is it cute, but performs very solid! Well, almost... the install was a bit rough. It kept detecting my DSL connection as a static IP w/ no login! Being quite frustrated, I decided to register the sucker and get some tech support! I swear, if I have to speak with another Indian outsourced tech support, I'm gonna... Well, I shouldn't since EVERYONE is doing it... SBC.. now Netgear! However, she did fix my issue... she didn't have to walk me through but just mentioning that pointing to www.routerlogin.com/basic.htm would've been fine instead of the default one!
Once that was squared away using PPPoE setting and inserting my login ID and password, my PC was up and running!! Not a single drop of any kind whatsoever!! Now, I got my laptop (review of that coming!) and wireless network works beautifully.
My laptop was able to connect to the internet w/o a hitch... just detecting automatically the connection via Control Panel's Networking did the trick. It has built-in 128-bit WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) and once I shared the appropriate folders between my laptop and the PC, they were able to "see" each other clearly and transfer files at beautiful 54 Mbps (~7 MB/sec).
In other words, I love it! I give it 9/10 (1 deducted for not a flawless setup).
Pro: Easy hookup. Great speed, dependability and performance!
Con: A bit rough setup experience.
18 Doesn't Handle Multi-Computer Networks Well
I purchased this router about 8 months ago. It was easy to set up and get my one computer online.
My problems with this router began as I added more computers to the network. I now have 4 computers on, 3 wireless and 1 ethernet. When users on the network are sharing files, the router crashes and has to be reset.
This is getting really irritating and I am looking for an enterprise router to avoid having this problem again.
19 come on in, the water's fine!
If you've been putting off getting a wireless LAN for your house, try this one with a WG511 card for your laptop (as applicable of course). The setup on this is amazingly simple and works just as documented. I had the router up to the cable modem and working in less then 20 minutes. Installed it on an XP HOME O/S between a newer Dell and a Motorola cable modem and we're jammin. Take all the guesswork out of setup just by following the directions yet it also has all the latest security levels that you could want. Try it, you'll be glad you did! And with the rebates available, you won't find it cheaper than right here at Amazon.
20 excellent router
I started on a new Dell laptop with Link-sys wireless router. I spent 14 hours and much time with Dell customer support as well as link-sys customer support trying to get it to work. Finally link-sys directed me to return their product. I next tried a motorola router same problem. Lastly, tried this router and it works great. I've had 2 mos without one problem. I can go to my neighbor's house and surf the net without any problems, so the range is great. The trick is uninstaling all network connections prior to installing this router, and getting all the updates.
21 YOU MUST DOWNLOAD NEW FIRMWARE!!!!
I FOLLLOWED THE INSRUCTIONS GIVEN AND NOW MY ROUTER NEVER DISCONNECTS. U MUST DOWNLOAD THE NEWEST FIRMWARE AT WWW.NETGEAR.COM.
before i downlaoded it, it would say i was connected at 5 bars of reception, yet internet still would not work, and it would cut off intermittnetly
i just downloaded the firmware and it is working like a charm!!!
thanks to all the previous advices!
22 sometimes it works
I have a brand new iMac with an AirPort Extreme card installed. I finally got around to purchasing this wireless router to go with it. I have been using the non-wireless 614 router with no problems and figured moving to the wireless version of the same product would be a piece of cake. Well, it wasn't exactly plug-and-play.
First off, I'm a software engineer. Tinkered with the hardware side a bit as well. Have been Unix sys admin before. I'm no dummy. As a _wired_ router, I've had no problems with this unit. Wireless, on the other hand, hasn't been so great. I would say that, very reliably, my wireless iMac can detect the presence of the router. But trying to connect to it hasn't worked very well. Once I enabled the AirPort card in the iMac, I was able to detect other wireless transceivers in the building and surf the net on their ISP's. (There's one called 'linksys' that's always worked.) I could also detect my own NETGEAR router, but the connection would fail. Usually. This is the second time (I've only had it 24 hrs but have played with it almost constantly) that I've made a connection with my router. I've done all kinds of resets and playing with configs, moving the components into different rooms, and honestly, nothing happened between my last failure to connect and now. I mean, it is capable of working, but my neighbors' wireless routers have been more reliable than the one I bought for myself.
1.5 stars.
23 Be careful with this router if you are using Mac!!
I've been using this router for about a month or so, and have started noticing problems with it. I am using SBC/Yahoo! DSL services in San Jose, CA and have iMac and IBM ThinkPad on my home LAN. Yes, it is true that it was easy to set up at least to the point where I just needed to get the internet connection. Then, I had to adjust (or sweak) some router's default settings. For example, by default it sets MTU size to be 1500 bytes and I had the problem with upload speed. (i.e. uploading photos to Yahoo! photo album took forever.) After resetting it to 1492 bytes for PPPoE, then, the upload speed got much much better. The router does auto-detect the configuration setting for your particular ISP and auto-configures itself. Just don't assume that is all you need to do. However, even after many sweaking and re-sweaking the router settings, whenever I tried to access iTune Music Store on my Mac, it is just very slow, and sometimes it refuses to connect. I know this is the problem with the router because when I connect the Mac directly to the DSL modem, I don't have the same problem. But, for some reasons, I don't have the same problem when doing the same from my ThinkPad. Another problem I am continueously experiencing is that randomly, it refuses to connect to the internet both from PC or Mac. The DSL modem just stops recognizing the router is hooked up to it. Whenever this happens, I will have to power-cycle my DSL modem and, sometimes, the router, too. And, on top of all these, the unit I am currently using is the replacement unit that Amazon sent to me since the first one was DOA. Netgear used to make pretty decent and reliable products, but I will avoid their products in the future. And, as many have already expressed here, their technical support is just useless. (this is probably understatement.)
24 If it works, fine, if not, good luck getting support
I purchased this item and installed it on my network. The installation went smoothly. Wireless connection to my laptop worked well.
HOWEVER, I found that my internet connectivity performance became crippled with this router. It went from about 4 GBps to about 280 KBps with the router attached.
I assumed that this was some sort of configuration problem, so I reset the configuration to the factory defaults. Still the performance was awful.
I attempted to call NetGear technical support to get the issue resolved. That is when the nightmares really started. The NetGear 800 support number drops you into a voice response menu system that is five layers deep to get to the point where your call might be transfered to a technician.
Each time I called, navagated down the five leves, and was told I would be transfered to a technician, the call was dumped. I tried most of the afternoon to get a successful connection to a technician. No luck.
Finally, I went out and purchased a D-Link Wireless access point and RMA'd the NetGear back to the company I purchased it from. That cost me a re-stocking fee, but that is minor compared to the frustration of not finding support from NetGear.
Do yourself a favor. Before you buy this item, call NetGear support and see if you can get through. Who knows, maybe they will get better....
25 Piece 'o junk - your money down the drain
Router setup was fairly easy and it worked like a charm for the first 2-3 months. Then, I began having intermittent wireless connectivity issues (connection would drop or worse, I couldn't connect at all). Issue was definitely with the router.
Netgear support (phone and e-mail) was pathetic at best (and costly if you are out of the first 90 days). Their solutions never worked and they never offered to replace the router.
In the end, this was a complete waste of money. I decided to purchase the Belkin Pre-N router, which has worked like a charm and has incredible range.
26 Almost gave up on a great router
Like many other reviewers here, I also had problems with the router (WGR614v4) dropping the connection to the internet while the status indicator on the taskbar showed that it was 'Connected' at 54Mbps with 'Excellent' signal strength. This would happen 3-4 times a day. After a year of putting up with it (no help from NetGear support), I was ready to throw it away and purchase another (not NetGear) router. Before I made the final decision, I went back to the NetGear website and discovered that my router was two firmware updates behind.
So I downloaded the latest, updated the router, and changed the security from WEP to WPA-PSK. In addition, while I was in the updating mode I discovered that the wireless adapter (LAN-Express AS IEEE 802.11g miniPCI) in my laptop also had a newer driver available. The new driver was supposed to "improve connectivity with a Wireless Access Point", so I updated the laptop as well. Since these changes, the router has not dropped the connection--not even once! True, it has only been a couple of weeks since the changes were made, but prior to the changes the connection would be lost after only minutes of use. Therefore, based on my experience with the router I am inclined to believe that the hardware is OK. Whether the problem was fixed by the router firmware update, or the
adapter driver update is unknown--maybe a combination of both.
27 This Router Works Great
I recommend this router. I went into home networking with a little trepidation, given all the negative feedback for all products (not just Netgear). However, I installed the WGR614 802.11g Wireless Router on my XP machine and was running in about 30 minutes. Very easy, step by step installation wizard. Great product for the price (I got the $20 rebate from Netgear).
Also, I installed a wireless adapter for a remote computer 2 floors away (the Netgear MA111: a medium performance USB adapter at a great price) which also turned on immediately. I'm now successfully running a wired PC, 2 wireless PC's, and a Microsoft XBOX running XBOX Live.
Finally, I was helping a friend turn on a Netgear WG511 (wireless adapter for laptop). I initially couldn't get it to work with my WEP encrypted network (it worked fine with encryption turned off). But after visiting the Netgear website, I found an updated driver for the WG511, installed it, and am running in secure mode just fine.
I am very pleased with the price/performance of the Netgear solution and suggest you give it serious consideration.
28 Junk product, horrible support.
I found a deal on this router that was just too hard to pass up. After several rebates, (which haven't shown up yet, I might add,) this router (WGR614) and a PCI card (WG311) would only cost me about $10. Killer deal, right? Wrong.
Sure, it was really easy to install, and it got up and running pretty quickly, but then I'd suddenly lose connectivity. I'd open up the list of available wireless networks, it would tell me that I'm still connected, but it just wouldn't allow me to connect to any sort of outside internet site. I'd disconnect from the network, and try to reconnect, thinking maybe renewing my connection would fix it. Nope. I'd have to take regular trips to my housemate's room (where the cable modem and router are located,) and reboot the router. This would happen every half hour or so.
I attemped to reach Netgear "customer service," which is naturally a call center in India, and they steadfastly refused to help me until my product was registered. Ironically enough, to register your product, you have to visit their website, something that I couldn't do at the time.
After that debacle, I purchased a LinkSys WRT54GS router, and connecting with my laptop, haven't had any issues with it. Connecting with my desktop (and the netgear PCI card), on the other hand, is another wonderful experience. It recognizes that there is a wireless network available, it is just incapable of connecting to it, in both encrypted and open modes.
This has taught me one lesson, though. I'm never going to purchase another netgear product again.
29 Never had a problem with it.
While I am a technical person, I still say that anyone would find this router quite easy to use. I've set it up in my apartment, restricted all but my girlfriend and my ip addresses and encrypted the data with no problems whatsoever. It's been about 6 months now and I've probably only restarted the thing 3 times. Both times the laptops were connected but weren't receiving any data, and all I did to fix it was unplug the modem, unplug the router, and then plug them back in. In fact I'm not even sure if the loss of connectivity was caused by the router or the modem.
All in all this thing works great, has a good range, and is durable. My girlfriends cat is always jumping on and sitting on this and even that doesn't seem to effect the signal. Also, anyone thinking of buying a router shouldn't buy one without wireless capabilities. Even if you don't use it, you're better off paying the $10 extra to have the opton which you may someday use.
30 Couldn't be Simpler!
This product is so simple to install and it works fabulously! The software walks you through the installation and configuraion. In all it took about 15 minutes to go from box to surfing the internet. I'm using this product with a Netgear WG511 wireless PC card. There are also some great rebates being offered so the value to price ratio on this product is a steal.
31 Please do not purchase this product!
I'm a Software Engineer with 7+ years of networking experience. Have installed dozens of routers and configured several corporate networks. I bought this product for personal use(WGR614v5) on January 30, 2005. After running the "wizard" everything worked as expected for 5 days. On the night of the 5th day, the connectivity to the internet was lost. I attempted many methods to regain access to the internet, without success. The unit simply won't work anymore. Furthermore, Netgear's "support" is almost nonexistent and not knowledgeable at all. Please do not purchase this product.
32 Great Router
I recently ordered a new laptop from gateway to replace my 5 1/2 yr old Windows 98SE Compaq. It came with this router. Since My laptop had to be customized, the router arrived about a week ahead of the laptop. So i decided to set it up with my current computer. Even running windows 98se i was up and running 10 minutes out of the box. i also connected my xbox and had no problems whatsoever. then when my laptop arrived it took like another 5 minutes to connect the wireless function. Much easier and faster than my older linksys router. And it's cheaper too. Would definately recommend over a linksys router.
33 Excellent router.
I am smitten by the Netgear routers. I helped a friend of mine get this router, the WGR614v5, with the WG311 PCI adapter. Installation was flawless, with the router detecting his username and password after the SBC Yahoo software installation. He was up and running within 10 minutes. Setting up the wireless part was a little tricky, but I did get it all to work, including using my laptop on his network for testing. My laptop has the MA401 PC card, which is a "B" card. In the router's settings, I allowed B and G to be used. I do recommend this router, but do read the instruction carefully. Sometimes, I need to read before acting.
34 I luv wireless,
I got one as a Christmas present so I could enjoy wireless internet on a new Dell laptop (no Centrino on this one, I got the WG511 card too). Set-up was quickly/easily and I immediately noticed that the response time was much better than my few year old wired Netgear RP114 router...I hope I'm fortunate enought to have it last as long. I eventually turned on the full security set-up (WPA, SSID non-broadcast, and MAC address filter) and pages still loaded nice and fast, just a little noticable slow down, but no surpise there. Even streaming audio and video clips are still smooth with the encryption.
The range on this unit has been much better than that of wireless-B networks I've been on, especially noticable when I'm working at the outer edge of the range (3 old wooden walls/floors, upstairs) and its still plenty fast. Its all I could ask for.
35 Stopped working, piece of junk!
At first it worked fine. I had two pcs (wired) & an Xbox, (wireless). For a month or two everything was fine. Then I began to get disconnected or was unable to connect. Powering off and on the router or cable modem usually got it working again. Then it just wouldn't connect any more no matter what I did. Finally got fed up and replaced it with a Linksys WRT54G. I immediately got good connections with everything. It has been working fine ever since. Netgear looks nice, vertical stand takes up less desk space, and it's fairly cheap. But it doesn't work! Unless you need a paperwight avoid Netgear!!
36 poor performance, no customer support
I bought WGR614v4 months ago. From the very first week the connection was dropping constantly - 4-5 times per day I needed to switch on and off to make it work. The problem was even more so when I used wired connection through this router.
But 1 week ago router just stopped working at all - I cannot get any connection at all.
I tried to call Netgear support, and as some other reviews already pointed out, after being put on hold for quite some tme you hear: "the number you have dialed is not correct, try again later". I am very dissapointed and exhausted by this product and the service. I will never buy Netgear again.
37 Overall good product
I have the WGR614v4 version of this router and it is running the latest firmware from the Negear site for the v4 (v5.0_02). I purchased my first one about 8 months ago, which stopped working after 3 months and was replaced under warranty from Netgear (no problems with the exchange) and have been running it with a WG511 PCMCIA card. Overall I have had a good experience with the router, the connection is good and stable when using my WG511 card and installation was very easy. The router does have problems, though, when connecting to an IBM Thinkpad R40 (Centrino 802.11b) when WEP is enabled (I had to uninstall the IBM Wireless Network Manager software on the computer and use Windows XP to manage the wireless connection, then it worked fine), but this is a common problem with the Centrino chipset from what I understand. My only other issues with the router are that some games are blocked for internet play (Blizzard Software) and there are fewer customization options in the router setup than I would like, but this may or may not be an issue for everyone. I would recommend this product to anyone looking for a 802.11g router, but keep everything Netgear 802.11g if you do to avoid connection problems.
38 doesn't work!!!!
After reading most of the good reviews for this product, I couldn't wait to receive it once I placed my order...Once received I followed all the installation instruction but this router could not find my ip address, submask, gateway default etc...as it was advertised it could...I've been using an older linksys router and wanted to get something new, but I think I will stick with it or at least with linksys...
39 Look elsewhere!!!
This router was included for no extra charge when I bought a new laptop. The wireless performance is horrible. It would drop the connection to my computer every 5 minutes. I replaced it with a Linksys access point (I had another router already) and the Linksys works perfectly. I would avoid this router at all costs (even if it's free).
40 Two working just fine so far
I installed one of these for the neighbors two weeks ago, and my own two days ago. Both are working just fine. Tested 802.11b with D-Link DWL-120 USB adapter and Orinoco Silver PCMCIA cards using 64-bit WEP and a ThinkPad T41 with built-in wireless with WEP and WPA-PSK. Tested with a Netgear WG311 with 64 and 128-bit WEP and WPA-PSK (had to download an upgrade for the WG311 to support WPA).
Better coverage than my old D-Link DI-713P, even when talking to an 802.11b device, probably an extra 20 feet or so indoors -- good enough to fill in the dead spots. At the neighbors, it talks to a WG311T two floors up and has around 80% signal strength. That's with desks, a drop ceiling, and flourescent lamps in the way.
All in all, I'm much happier with this than the old D-Link (which, don't get me wrong, was really great in its day and paid for itself many times over in the last three+ years I've had it).
41 Extremely EASY to Install...Small and attractive package
This wireless router not only looks great (very small and attractive package) but works great as well!!! Set-up was a SNAP and I've had NO problems since installation. The user manual and set up CD is very intuitive and easy to use. This wireless router controls my two PCs, a wireless Hewlett Packard 2710 all-in-one printer, and my XBOX gaming system downstairs (using xbox live connection to play online games).
At first, I was worried that the Linksys wireless adapter (WET11) that I use to wirelessly connect my xbox to my internet connection upstairs was not going to work because it was 802.11b AND it was from a different manufacturer...all of my worries were for NOT because the NetGear wireless router recognized the Linksys adapter AND the wireless printer with NO PROBLEMS!!!
I highly recommend this product for new and/or experienced PC users. I consider myself as an average PC user.
Additionally, I've had absolutely NO PROBLEMS wirelessly connecting to any device in the house despite living in a tri-level house.
42 Good looks, good price...bad performance, bad decision
I bought this router recently from Amazon to replace my ageing linksys BEFW11S4 (802.11b) router. My linksys router has been working fine for the last 2.5 years, but I wanted to move to the 802.11g standard for faster performance.
I have to tell you that I consider myself to be intimately familar with computer/electronic equipment (I am a computer engineer). However, I could not make the router perform half as well as my existing router. The browsing performance (Internet) from all computers connected to my network (either LAN or Wireless) was very slow when compared to the existing Linksys router. I installed the router corretly, upgraded the firmware, secured the network (using WEP), and tweaked all the settings, including disabling content filtering and the firewall, in the hope that it would improve performance...but nothing helped. I was also surprised at the lack of configurability on the Netgear. For instance, my linksys allows me to disable logs, which the Netgear does not. I think this an overhead that I should be able to turn off.
In the end I still give it 2 stars, because I have to say that it was easy to setup and it did work. It just did not perform perform well enough though.
So now, I am returning this router to Amazon. I think I am going to stick with Linksys given my positive experience with them. I would recommend that you look at other options before you get sucked-in by the price. In the end I realized that "you get what you pay for"
43 a big mistake
This thing loses connectivity almost every day. Your PC tells you no signal. The only solution is to reboot the router, which means cycling the power. With no switch on the unit you have to disconnect and reconnect the power line. Ugh!
44 Does not last
I bought this in March 2004. It worked great for the first couple of months. Then started to require a reboot once in a while and eventually stopped working. I called the warranty hotline, after more than an hour of trouble shooting he agreed that the product is bad and needs to be replaced. However, I was expected to pay for the shipping which was an additional $14.99. The new piece which I got worked for only a couple of weeks before going bad. I do not want to spend another $14.99 for shipping or something being sold at $30. Very bad, I would recommend buying something more reliable.
45 Great stable router with easy setup
After having upgraded from the SMC2662W, this router has been fantastic. My main area of concern is quality and consistency of the wireless signal and this unit has not yet dropped a connection in over a week and a half. Administration is very straightforward and as stated before the set-up was very easy with no hitches. I did not have to use the included CD-ROM at all and it ships with a nice guide detailing all the steps to getting it going.
Great router and a great price!
46 Terrible Unit!!!
The unit that I ordered is completely useless. It reboots itself and must be reconfigured over and over throughout the course of the day. Netgear's only solution was that I pay to ship the item back and wait 2 weeks for the exchange unit :-( , or to pay more for the item than it is worth to get a replacement in 2-3 days.
Tech Support advised me that my router was defective. I would not only not buy this item, but I'll never buy from Netgear again!! TRY ANOTHER BRAND.....
47 Forget customer service from these folks
This thing installed OK per the brief cheat sheet included, but then when I tried to configure security I found that the instructions simply didn't work. Not even close. URLs listed in the docs resulted in DNS errors or 404s. Called tech support once, navigated through the endless prompts and when I finally got dumped in the support queue, I was disconnected within a few seconds. I foolishly tried again, navigated through all the junk again, and was *almost* in the queue when a recorded message announced that "we're sorry, your call cannot be completed as dialed. Please check the number and try again." There's merely indifferent customer service and merely mediocre documentation out there, and then there's Netgear. What a joke.
48 Unreliable
Since purchasing this router, it has continuously lost internet connection at various times.
I always thought it was some setting that I missed but after doing some research, many other WGR614v2 users have the same problem.
I have to powercycle the router at least once every two days, at most, once a day.
The thing cost me $100 when I buught it and it's given me trouble ever since. Netgear support is no help.
This is the first and last product I buy from Netgear!
49 cheap but not very good
This is the third wireless router I've bought - I thought routers were now generic, and bought the cheapest I found at CompUSA.
Mistake.
The signal strength on this is clearly weaker than the D-link router I have (which is fantastic) and linksys router I also have (which has OK signal but otherwise is rock solid).
Also, this netgear router seems to switch slower than linksys or d-link. Maybe I'm imagining it, but I swear that it seems to be slowest out of all the routers I have - the fastest by the way, is the siemens router (which is not wireless).
50 this router is a POS
Like many others, first crack at the router was easy and simple. Plugged it in and worked. After a month or so, it got buggy, and eventually, could not access its setup page. It's been sitting there since collecting dust as I've given up with netgear's product support. Fast forward to a month ago and bro arrives with another wgr614 v4. Same thing, works great then dies on you. Bro, a google systems/network manager, worked for hours on end trying to troubleshoot, but unfortunately, to no avail. NETGEAR, WHEN WILL YOU HELP US?!??!?!?!? I say we band together, spread the word, and bring down Netgear!
51 No problems whatsoever
I've had this router (WGR614v3) for about 10 months now. Setup was a breeze and I haven't had any problems whatsoever since. I don't use its wireless capability on a daily basis but when I do pull out the laptop I have never had a problem taking it to the places I've wanted to go such as upstairs, outside on deck or in the garage. I don't "fix" things if they aren't broke so I haven't tried upgrading the firmware and am still running on ver 2.11.
Note there are actually five versions of this router each with its own chipset and different firmware. That might partially explain why there is such a variety of experiences.
52 Get Something Else!
Purchased what seemed like a good wireless router, but eventually the performance dropped, pages timed-out etc. I scoured the internet, but found that my particular model, the v4, has persistent problems, and neither the company nor anyone else had a fix for it. Eventually I replaced it with a Linksys WRT54GS. Not a problem since.
53 easy to use, but "buggy"
This was my first router, and I found the configuration menus on this product to be easy to use, with nice detailed descriptions of options. HOWEVER, as some of the other reviews have hinted, it is often necessary to reset (power cycle) the router. Either DHCP fails at the beginning of a session, or it cuts out during operation. Assigning fixed IP addresses to local computers helps, but it will still cut out from time to time. Latest firmware upgrade seems to make things a bit worse. (outsourced firmware? haha)
54 Easy set up, good price, works great
I finally install wide band for my home office computer and wanted to be able to give my kids the advantage of a high speed connection as well. I hooked up the router to my cable connection, turned on the computer, and was taken to a website that set up the router. I didn't even have to load software! I then took another five minutes to install the Netgear adapter, which I purchased at the same time as the router, on the kids' computer. I did have to load the software for the adapter, but it was a snap. Now the kids are transfering date at 48-54 Mbs.
55 Terrible support
I bought this so the Ipac I gave my wife for Chritmas would have internet and email anywhere in our and haven't been able to get it to work yet. I suspect it is because of the DSL issues others are reporting. My biggest problem with Netgear now is their complete lack of product support. Many emails have gone unanswered and the tech support phone number has hung up each of the two dozen or so times I have called it....all without speaking to a human. I plan on returning it Monday.
56 Constantly resetting this router
There is something wrong with the DHCP server on this router. Even after upgrading to the latest firmware, the DHCP server constantly drops the IPs from my computers. I can be in the middle of surfing, playing games over the net or even mid-download, the DHCP server will attempt to renew and drop the internet connection. The LAN will still be operational, but the internet will suddenly be inacccessible. The support page only offers "reset everything..." which is ludicrous. A person should not have to constantly return to the router to reset it manually. I end up resetting the router 3-4 times a day.
I had a Linksys 802.11b router and gave it away to my brother when I upgraded to G. I seriously regret that now. This Netgear is the most finicky/exasperating router I have ever encountered. I will never buy from Netgear again, and will now spend more money for a new Linksys g rouiter.
57 What a piece of junk!
I bought version 4 of this router and had troubles from the very start. First, the range was terrible. I live in a two-story house and although I expected the signal strength to be somewhat degraded in the upstairs portion of the house, it was continually dropping the connection. Within the first 24 hours, I had to reset the entire network because it had stopped working altogether. Finally, I could not get it to work at all -and this was after only having it for less than a week. Tech support was horrible. Netgear contracts with computer techs in India, and in addition to having trouble understanding the accents, it was not unusual to be put on hold for up to an hour before somebody would pick up. I finally gave up and bought a Linksys router. (Model # WRT54GS) What a difference! The range and signal strength is fantastic, I had it up and running out of the box within 5 minutes, and I have yet to experience a dropped connection. After this experience, I will never buy another Netgear wireless product again. Save yourself some time and aggravation and go with Linksys.
58 Very poor quality
I had problems with this router the moment I got it home. I had to use the 90-day free customer service line 5 times in the first 3 months of having the router. Then on the fourth month, the router died for no apparent reason. Then I had to pay to send the router back to Netgear to get a replacement. I will never purchase another Netgear product.
59 Terrible product, worse customer service
This product lasted for about a month before one of the four ports failed and had to be returned to the company. In the short period of time that I owned it, it worked very poorly. Although the setup was easy, the range was poor with a useful range of less than thirty feet. I spent several hours on technical support with less-than-knowlegeable people trying to resolve the problem of poor range and apparent interference. After exchanging the product for a new one (at the recommendation of tech support people), I had the same problem. A few weeks later, one of the ports failed and technical support directed me to return the product to Netgear. I returned it three months ago and have not received the unit back nor have I heard a word from the company. This is a bad product from a company with poor customer service.
60 Only good for basic routing
I chose this Netgear product over other brands simply because in the past, Netgear products have always worked flawlessly. Nowadays however, Netgear's routers seem to be degrading in quality and the WGR614 is no exception. I recently purchased a version 5 and while it is good for basic routing, any complex addition to a network will cause this router to malfunction (e.g. adding a network printer).
I've talked to tech support over 2 days and the only solution they can give me is that my network printer is at fault however as soon as I tried using a Linksys WRT54G, my network works as expected.
If all you need is to route a couple computers together with no extra features, this product should suffice. Otherwise, look elsewhere, especially the Linksys products.
61 WGR614 new user
I found this router installation very tough. I am a sw guy but could install all h/w by myself.. But I found the manual not sufficient.. I was trying to setup this router along with my Bellsouth DSL model.. I tried their first step of connecting the cables .. switched off all of them and then switched on one by one in the order they have said (i did this for 12 hrs) nothing seems to be working... I have returned this item to Amazon .. I searched the web then i found that they have problem with the router firmware which doesnot work with most of the dsl modems available now..
I wouldnot recommend anyone buying this router.
62 6 months and died - a far cry from my trusty RT-314...
The sad thing about this is that it's only 6 months old and it went brain-dead while I'm deployed to Afghanistan with the Army. I thought I would have better luck than the dozens of other reviewers that had this router die on them, but I was mistaken. I had a Netgear RT-314 router that ran continuously for nearly 5 years without failing before going wireless with this router, so I'm really bummed that Netgear would produce such a problem-ridden router that so many people are dissatisfied with. I replaced it with a Cisco SOHO 91 to get my family back on line reliably until I return home in 6 months. When the replacement WGR614 comes in I'll just use it as an access point to get rid of the cable I had to run to my son's room, but I'll keep that cable standing by for when the replacement dies in 6 months again.
63 Easy To Set Up, Secure
I have installed this wireless router twice in home networks and had no problems with the router itself. I did have a little trouble connecting it in my friend's house because they have AOL and it took several calls to get the correct information from their tech support. Setting it up for comcast cable internet was a breeze, as the default settings for the router work.
What gives this router five stars is how easy it is to add security measures to your wireless network. You gain access to all the settings through your web browser by going to a special IP address. This allows you to add WEP encryption and MAC address filtering so that only the people who are supposed to get internet access from your access point are able to do so.
The firewall capabilities of the router are a little weak because it doesn't allow you to configure the ports that specific activities occur on. I don't know enough about other routers to say if that's actaully a weakpoint or if it's about standard, though.
This router does allow you to log the web activity of specific computers on your network, which could come in handy to monitor your child's internet habits. It also allows you to block keywords and specific websites to protect your children.
...and it looks nice too.
64 worked fine, then abrupt and complete disappointment
I got this device about two months ago, and up until tonight, it performed admirably. Setup was easy, I got my internet connection up and running in about 5 minutes, and got all my wireless security settings up and running in another 15.
Up until now, it has performed well. However, its failure tonight and subsequent wading through Netgear's technical support offerings turned me off of this product forever.
I was playing World of Warcraft, and after about an hour, my connection abruptly died altogether. No internet, I could not even access the router's internal setup page to check on its status. It seemed to be in some sort of hard-locked state. Rebooting it didn't improve things.
I broke out the CD that came with the device, with the idea of looking at the manual (they don't give you a paper copy, it's all on the CD). Pretty basic stuff, checking connections, etc. The troubleshooting section was full of hints on how to make sure that it isn't a problem with another component in your system before daring to blame theirs. I have a more surefire method. My old trusty Linksys Etherfast cable/dsl router had no trouble getting me back online.
So I went to netgear's website to download the latest firmware.
With the firmware image ready, my next task was to get the Netgear device back up and running so I could access its setup page. I discovered that if I disconnected the WAN cable going to my cable modem, the device would actually stay in a usable state. If I connect the WAN cable, it seems to die within about 15 seconds. Ordinarily I'd suspect something to be wrong with my cable modem here, but my Linksys router has no trouble with it as I have been online problem-free for over an hour using it now, as I'm writing this review.
Anyway, I got the thing to boot, and loaded the new firmware image on it, then restarted the router. I hit the setup page again, only to discover it has been replaced by a "wizard". The wizard was unable to get an address via DHCP, and so guessed that I use a static IP. Or at least, that is what I am imagining happened as it displayed "we are now detecting your internet connection settings" for several moments and then announced that I needed to enter static IP information.
The thing that most galled me about this is that they don't provide a way to say "no, that's not correct. I use DHCP. And where the hell are the rest of the menus I used to use?" I discovered you can get to these if you forge static IP settings and tell it to continue. On the failure page that results, you can find a link that takes you to the "basic settings" section, which is essentially the menu system the old firmware used to set up the router.
The summary of this complaint is this: the device and its associated software go to great lengths to make setup easy, and to minimize the steps necessary to get things running, *if everything is working.* I imagine many customers can just breeze through the wizard and get themselves online. However, if something goes wrong, the "wizard" is useless. For one thing, almost all of the technical support documentation's suggestions are impossible to carry out without fighting your way past the wizard into the normal configuration.
So for now I'm back on my trusty Linksys, without wireless support, but given the reliability I've experienced between the two brands, I'm going to buy a Linksys wireless router instead.
65 Good set of features, unreliable, horrible RMA service.
First of all, I used to be a Netgear fan. WGR614, just like MR814 has the exact set of features I ever needed. Unfortunately, the product died (now it would not even power up - even though I've got a surge protector) a month after I've got it. Shipped it to the RMA center overnight, and haven't got back for three weeks. Keep calling them every other day, and every time they say that the product was on backorder, but they will ship it overnight today. Needless to say, they don't keep their word.
Lesson learned.
66 too difficult to let it work
In fact, i am a d-link user before, and it took me about 10 minutes to get dlink everthing ok.
I took two afternoon in this 614v5, and went to staples once to exchange the router, which the unconnection let me think its defective.
I finally happened to make it connect to sitting page,and then I understand that the reason I failed two afternoon is its stupid manual. its manual said like this:
First open modem, and wait for 2 minutes
then open router for 1 minutes
then open your computer
and they said the squence can not be changed, or it can not be working.
So I do everthing as told, however I can not reach its sitting page. and I wasted times to check here and their, but nothing worked. I just boot, and close, and roboot------
At last, I happened to push its small Factory-resitting bottom on the back of router while all the machines(PC,modem, router) were power on, and tried again, then finally connect to its sitting page.
So this means that the squance they told is ridiculous nonesense. So-----
------------------------------------------------------------
If you meet kind of problem, just ignore the sequence on their manual. go oppsite way, first open your computer, then your modem, and last your router. This will work, because this sequence equals the way I pushed the reset bottom/
I am so sad for being fooled by its manual,I will not buy netgear anymore. so 3 at most.
67 Be Careful With FW Upgrade
Just wanted to let folks know something that I discovered basically by accident. I know a lot of people are complaining about the latest firmware upgrade causing problems and I was starting to agree with those people UNTIL I went back and read the README for the FW update. It seems that you have to reset the unit back to factory defaults after performing the upgrade. The README even states that while it may not seem necessary you really have to do it. Okay, Netgear, then why not force a reset if it is so important???
Anyway, after having the latest firmware for a month or so and noticing strange behavior from the router and dropped wireless connections I finally got around to reading that little "requirement" (I never look at READMEs; a bad habit it seems). I reset the unit to factory defaults and all of a sudden my connection problems were gone and I noticed slightly better performance overall from the router. For those that have performed this step and are still having troubles with the latest firmware I don't know what to say. For me, at least, it appears to have done the trick.
So far I am enjoying this router. It may not have some of the configuration features of the equivalent model Linksys router but I find the Netgear to be more than adequate for my needs. For the price, I don't think there is a better Wireless G router.
68 Netgear makes defective routers
I ordered this router in November 2004. Opened it up and had it set up in 20 minutes. I had my laptop connected to the router wirelessly and my PC desktop connected to it through the ethernet. The setup screen was pretty simple to use. Life was wonderful...
3 hours later... my connection started to drop every 5 mins. I have DSL connection but my pages were loading up as if I was using a 28.8k modem. Sometimes none of my web pages were loading at all even when I tried loading the web pages through my PC which was connected to the router directly.
Anyways to make a long story short, I read the rest of the reviews on Amazon.com and Eopinions.com and realized that 90% of the users of this product are having the exact same problem with lost connections. I ended up refunding this product. I think it is terrible for Netgear to continue selling this defective product without fixing the connection problem.
69 Has a bug for port forwarding in the latest version
I bought a new one from CircuityCity recently and found that I was unable to host my webserver. The netgear initially refused to acknowledge it but finally they are working on fixing the bug but it still is not fixed so far.
70 Router gone bad after 4 months
The router seemed to work fine in the beginning but then I upgraded the firmware to the latest version 5.02 and the router has now gone bad. I have much lost time trying to resolve this and now have to pay shipping fees to send out the bad router for RMA. This does not seem fair since the router is only 4 months old. I will be very ary of Netgear products in the future.
71 Setup was a synch, worked flawlessly
Ok, I did a lot of research on wireless routers and I was a little concerned about Netgear because of the issues with durability that I've seen. So, the jury is still out on that issue. But, I can say that I bought this router dirt cheap at CompUSA for $40. No stupid mail-in rebates either. And, I added a full 2 year warranty from CompUSA that covers anything that goes wrong with the router. For $3.50 a year, that added only $7.00 to the price. So, if there is a durability issue and the thing goes on the blink, CompUSA will replace the unit no questions asked. The standard 3 year manufacturer's warranty is a hassle because you pay for the shipping and handling and they do ask questions.
Anyway, getting to the setup of the router. Basically, it was a synch. I'm not sure why other folks had problems with the set up, but it literally took me 5 minutes on my XP laptop. I'm in the IT field(but not a networking person), so maybe that had something to do with the ease of setup. I don't know, it seems like even the most novice computer user shouldn't have any problems. I followed the instructions to the T, including establishing a hard wire connection to the router on initial boot up first. This may be a reason why some folks are having problems, I don't know. This range is awesome and the speed is a full 54 through most of my house. If I venture upstairs away from the router, it does drop to 36-42, but hey that's good enough for me.
In summary, easy setup, cheap price, great warranty, excellent range and awesome speed. I also purchased the USB 2.0 adapter and it works like a charm. I have it running on a Dell Windows 2000 laptop with the old USB 1.1 port and it's still blazing fast when surfing the net.
72 Netgear support is horrible
I purchased a Netgear WGR614 wireless router 6 months ago and it failed a couple of weeks ago. The unit is locked up and brain dead. This is the second Netgear wireless router I've had that has done this. Netgear will not replace it on warranty unless you talk to tech support on the phone. The catch is, it is damn near impossible (as far as I can tell) to get through. So their 3-year warranty isn't worth crap. Also, the range on this unit, when it was working, was very poor.
73 Great when it works but unpredicatable and unreliable
This router/wireless access point is great when it works, but unfortunately its frustratingly unreliable in a mixed environment.
It will reasonably consistently connect to my Netgear G wireless card, but getting it to connect to other manufacturers' B or G equipment is a lottery. I've tried several, and in some cases it works fine some of the time but not others at random; in some cases, it won't serve a DHCP address but will work fine if you manually assign one; in some cases you'll have to turn off WEP encryption to get anything to work.
I also installed and configured one of these units (with the v4 chipset) for a neighbor and found similar problems - eventually I had to *downgrade* from the latest firmware to get DHCP and WEP to work at all.
And don't even think about trying to use this device as a simple access point in a setup with an existing router/DHCP server (for example, if you need a second access point in a large house). There is little chance you'll be able to get DHCP passed through this router when configured as an AP. This is especially frustrating because for reasons known only to the manufacturers, standalone APs are often more expensive than combo router/AP devices such as this one - which actually contain more functionality and hardware than an AP does! (Economies of scale, perhaps?)
I've tried other vendors' equipment (Linksys, even a cheapo Belkin) and while they have other shortcomings compared to Netgear, they have much higher compatibility with other vendors' equipment. And Netgear could learn a lesson from Belkin in making it easy to use a cheap router as an access point.
In brief: config and connectivity is something of a lottery unless you have a pure Netgear environment.
74 A waste of time
I spent a fair sum of money on this router (it was priced higher then), and have had it for more than 6 months... I would not even wish my greatest enemy to have it. It is bad. I need to switch off and turn on again the main power supply to the router every 5 mins to get it to work.. else it dies. I have written numerous emails to tech support but no response.. one of the pluses when i saw the product was a 3-year guarantee, but that is of little use if no one even replies to your emails.
Using this router is as frustrating as having to reboot your PC every 5 mins. Before submitting this message, Ill have to turn the power off an on, just to ensure that I dont lose it while sending it!
Pluses - The router looks good, is light and compact (i dont know how durable it is, but ok for home, i think). Cant think of any more.
75 Tech Support Sucks and VPN passthrough doesn't work
I have been dealing with their tech support since July and still I get nothing but a run around. They admitted that the router has a firmware bug and then promptly closed my tech support case. They are the absolute worst tech support and customer service I have ever experienced.
Buy a linksys!
76 Great Router
This wireless router is very cool. It connects directly to my DSL line and does not require a computer to be connected to it. Phone jack to DSL modem to Router, pretty cool
I connected to the internet with my laptop through the router the first time after I plugged everything in, then configured the router and unplugged my computer. The Router has a much stronger signal than my previous device and it dynamically provides an IP address and Gateway to any computer that has a wireless device--meaning it provides the same resources I would need/get if I were connected via an Ethernet cable.
My XBOX is connected directly to the router with no computer.
This all very cool.
77 Great after IEEE 802.1x adjustment
I have had the WRG614v4 for a couple months. It was frustrating in the beginning. It works flawlessly now. In the beginning slow downloads and dropped connections were the norm until I searched the netgear website and found this helpful guidance for the IEEE 802.ix setting:
Wireless Connection Drops with Windows XP Service Pack 1
This problem is believed to be fixed by Microsoft in Service Pack 2, which is available now. Otherwise, read this document for Service Pack 1.
These instructions apply only if you are using the Windows Utility to configure your wireless connection.
If a wireless connection drops every three to five minutes with Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1), it may be incorrect authentication security settings. To avoid this problem, disable 802.1x authentication.
To disable 802.1x Authentication in Windows XP
1) Click Start, point to Connect To, Click Show all connections, and then double-click your wireless network.
2) On the General tab, click Properties.
3) Click the Wireless Networks tab.
4) Under Preferred Networks, click your home network and then click Properties.
5) Click the Authentication tab, and then clear the Enable IEEE 802.1x authentication for this network check box. (If you cannot click this check box, then you are not using 802.1x authentication or wireless security.)
78 Poor wireless range
I have used my WGR614v3 for 10 months now. the wireless range is very short 15 feet max. I thought it might be theconstruction of our apt. so I brought home a wireless router from the office to test it out. Well, it isn't my apt. but the router. I got 4 times the distance with a different router. I've upgraded all the firmware and tech support is useless. So this router is going in the garbage. It works great wired but wireless range is terrible.
79 Painfully bad for home or office
I purchased a new WGR614v4 two months ago and it started dropping the connection every few seconds. Went through everything with tech support, and ended up forking over $15 to cover the shipping for a new one. Plug it in, turn everything on, and two days later I'm having the same problem.
As it turns out, you're not supposed to leave these on 24/7, which simply isn't advertised anywhere. They have major overheating problems after the first couple hours and get hot to the touch after two or three days of use.
Good for a LAN party or a laptop if you're in a situation where you can turn the router off, but don't try using it for anything heavy duty. It's fast but terribly unstable.
Otherwise it's easy to set up and tech support is very helpful. I would recommend reading a primer on wireless security before you fire up the wireless connection -- the settings aren't explained in a way that a normal person could understand them, and the instructions don't help much with that either.
80 Troublesome
I bought this router to use with a Lynksys PC adapter to share DSL access between 2 computers in my apartment. The router sent an excellent wireless signal to the adapter in the next room. And the firewall and encryption features are excellent (64 or 128-bit encryption). But the MTU setting on the router was a problem. I worked with the Netgear technical service people on their toll-free hotline but we were never able to locate the correct MTU to browse certain sites on the internet. The wrong setting is particularly problematic for sites like Yahoo!, AOL, and MSN Hotmail. (Netgear routers have a default setting of 1500.)
The service person said that I needed to download an update and install it on the router. Then I would have to manually re-enter all of the configuration settings on the router's set-up web-page. I thought that was too much trouble so I opted to just return it in favor of another brand.
81 Don't buy if you use OS X
If you are a mac user, be warned that tech support can not help you.
I just received and installed this router yesterday.
I was attempting to resolve a dropped connection problem with my hardwired mac. I'd reset everything, everything would work for five minutes, and then the connection would die, only to return when I'd power cycled the router. So I called tech support. On my third call I was finally told to "try it on a windows machine." Thanks, but I don't have a windows machine. So they told me they'd done everything that they could because "we don't know Macs." Logically, they suggested returning it for a replacement because the router must be defective. Right...
After hours of rebooting and banging my head on my desk (literally spent 9 hours yesterday troubleshooting this), I found the built in software firewall in OS X. It's in System Preferences -> Sharing -> Firewall Tab. And it was on, conflicting with the router's firewall. I would have thought it was in the Network Prefs, but no. So I turned it off, reset everything, and was able to maintain connectivity for an hour, a big improvement. My fingers are crossed.
And we haven't even tried to get the Ibook online yet.
Update 10/30/04:
Completely unstable with Mac OS X. Gave up with tech support. They were running me in circles. Returned and purchased a Linksys WRT54G (it uses the same chips that Apple uses in the Airport Extreme). The Linksys arrived this morning. Everything worked immediately without even needing to configure it! Everything includes: my hardwired desktop connection, my girlfriend's ibook (great reception), file sharing, and printer sharing. We haven't had a connection drop yet. Wow. Go for the Linksys if you're a Mac user. It's uglier than the Netgear, but hey, it works.
82 Good product with horrendous technical support
I tried using this product with a westell dsl modem provided by my internet company. The software wizard for the netgear router didn't work properly. Tech support would not give me any support unless I first registered the product. Unfortunately the router had biffed my connection so I had a hard time doing that. The second tech support guy (who spoke just as bad english as the first) had me do the same thing over and over to no avail. Then after about an hour deemed the router defective. Which it wasn't. I finally figured out how to get by the wizard and get into the basic settings.
One plus, is that this product works with my new IMAC g5. the box only listed windows support. The setup is html based so it works with any OS.
83 good router, short life
it's a good router if you're not planning to open up ports for gaming or downloading because it is almost impossible to do it. you would need a static IP address to do so, unlike linksys and d-link. other than that, everything works like a charm. setted up file sharing, printer sharing and MAC address security flawlessly with no dropped connections for 1 year. after a year of usage, the wireless connections drop about once every 2 weeks. once every 2 weeks is not a big deal, but it's probably the sign of aging in 1 year??
84 Works Great & Great Coverage
This router provides great coverage - range throughout my two story house. The router is on the bottom floor and sends the signal effectively through top floor and walls reaching everypart of my house. The set up easy and the router is always up and running.
The software that supports and configures the router runs slow and is the only reason I have not given this product 5 stars.
85 Poor support for WGR614 router
I purchased this router for my college bound daughter to use with her laptop. It worked great for about 5 days, then died (no power). Repeated calls to NetGear have gone unanswered. They advise you to leave a call-back number but no one has called back after repeated tries. Look for a manufacturer with better support!
86 BAD NEWS---WATCH OUT!
My WGR614 continues to disconnect and reset on a quarter-hour or so interval, killing downloads, dropping my work VPN, etc. There's a long chain of complaints on the internet about this issue, yet there's been no fix from Netgear in a year! They first said it would go away with XP SP2, but it has not. I'm going to Linksys...sorry!
87 First Few Months, Great....Last Month: ARGHHH!!!!!
I whole-heartedly concur with most reviews of this router. The first few months I had little trouble, the last month it has been dropping connections, had very slow connections, and my wireless card would not connect unless I reboot the router (yes, very convenient). The past few days I started to have connection problems with my wired PC, and tonight I unhooked the router, connected my PC back to the cable modem, and the connection is just fine; it's the router that I am ready to chuck.
88 Okay...but not if you need support.
We bought this router 3 months ago and it seems to work. We were able to access the internet with few if any problems. However, if you have any problems with the configuration BE WARNED! YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN! Netgear Support will not help with any settings and as a result we have never been able to print or share files. Unless you have a fulltime tech wizard at your disposal, I'd keep looking.
89 Do not buy this product!
I wanted to upgrade from my Linkysys wireless B network to wireless G. Netgrear was rated highly by PC World, and the price was right so I purchased the WGR614 router and a Netgear wireless G ethernet bridge. I could not get the bridge to communicate with the router nor could I get it to communicate with the Microsoft wireless G card in my 2nd PC. Called Netgear tech support and the individual could not resolve the problem, so I was told that 2nd level tech support would call me in 24 hours! Guess what? No callback. After fiddling with this junk for two days, I decided to request a return and buy Linksys wireless G equipment. Their tech support is offshore also, but at least they will help you and not make you wait for them to call back after days!
90 Consider it "Renting a Router"
Like many reviewers have also noted, this router sets up in a snap, is up and running beautifully.
Until about 5 months later. Then you sit down at one of your computers and after some diagnostics, discover that the router is the only thing in your network not working (at all). I wasted 15 minutes with their so called tech support before I decided on a better technical solution; chuck this garbage in a dumpster where it belongs. It seems like a great price at first, but thats before you realize you're only renting it. Folks, according to my experience and a majority of the reviewers, this thing WILL break. If you get a year out of it, consider yourself lucky.
Me? I'm off to buy something that doesn't say NetGear on it.
91 Worst Customer Support
I bought my router back in March. The first one I bought was determined to be defective. This took almost 3 hours on the phone with customer support. They told me to purchase a new one, or simply return the one I had purchased (easier said then done with Amazon!)
My second router failed today. I reset to default settings, attempted to reconnect router, would not let me go completly through set up. Called NetGear, no matter which phone menu items I selected, paid support, free support, RMA for return authorization, BUZY SIGNAL. This lasted all day.
Next step, bought the exact model @ Costco, my luck, to replace the second defective router, maybe they fixed all these problems with V2 although my first two routers were V2, hooked it up in less then 5 minutes, mix of MAC and PC networks, NO PROBLEMS.
Will return defective router to Costco and let them get a credit from NetGear.
When the product works, it works well, but no customer support, and product life of 6 months??? This is my first and only review on Amazon, so I have to give NetGear, 1 star, a negative one at that. Buyer beware, if you are going to purchase this, go to Costco, that way you can always get your money back when,not if your router dies!
92 worst support and customer service
Netgear has attractive appearance and is competitively priced. It is generally cheaper.
To be fair the product works great when the it works. However, once there is a problem, don't expect any useful support and customer services.
Mine works without problem for 5 months and suddenly the wireless stop working. It's not about configuration, it's not the problem of ISP or my cable modem. The power led keep switching color from green to orange and the wireless led goes off every few seconds. I tried call their support 6 times and gave up finally. The CSR always say oh we experience problem with our database and promise to call back within 30 mins but they never do so. I keep calling and finally I get a human being answer the phone. I ask for RMA and they told me to get a RMA number first from tech support. Instead of admiting it's a hardware failure, the tech support seems more interested in selling me their 'premium services' which cost over 20 bucks something. BTW they only offer 90 days free tech support. so my interpretation is if you want to RMA the product, you need to pay first. I end up buy a new Microsoft router. It's the worst customer service I've ever seen.
93 NO SUPPORT
Netgear offers very limited support for their products. Almost any other brand offers better support. Do not buy netgear if you expect tech support from your vendors.
94 Excellent value
I have been using this router for over a year, and I'm very pleased with it. It's very fast and responsive, and offers useful features not found on other routers.
Its DHCP server can be configured to assign specific IP addresses based on MAC address. It also has a very convenient built-in dyndns client, which will update your dyndns.org information everytime it gets asssigned a new IP.
The only criticism I have for this extremely reliable, feature-rich and fast router is that it does not support WDS, and that's why I'm not giving it 5 stars.
WDS is a standard used for extending wireless range, for instance in Apple's Airport Express device. Note that you can still use an Airport Express with this router (I do) but you just won't be able to use it as a range extender.
Considering how inexpensive the WGR614 is, this is a very minor quibble, however if you live in a large house you should consider the Netgear WGT624 instead, which does offer WDS (make sure you update the firmware to the latest version)
95 Excellent router with no problems whatsoever
This is an exceptional router and at this price you can't find a better choice. I see a lot of disgruntled people here who can't connect to the router wirelessly after changing settings. I would like to give a couple of tips. First of all, make sure you configure the router when you are hard wired. You have to ensure that you are connected to the router via a LAN cable whenever you are making any changes to the router's configuration. This way when the router restarts etc. you will still be connected to it. If you are carrying out any changes to the router through your wireless card, for example if you have changed the WEP encryption code in the router, then once you submit those changes, the router will not let your wireless card connect until your laptop's card is configured for the same WEP key. So once again, please ensure you carry out changes to the router only when hard wired. The moment you get your router, I suggest you carry out a firmware upgrade (go to netgear's support site and download the latest firmware for your model from there). Once again follow instructions and make sure you are connected through a cable to carry out the same. Now log onto the router and then do a couple of things.
First of all, rename the SSID to anything you want (eg. Joan's Arc). Then go to the wireless settings, then to wireless access, and click on 'Disable SSID broadcast'. This ensures that the SSID is not broadcast to others around you who have a wireless machine. So when their software searches for a wireless access point all they will see is a blank name. To be able to connect to your network they would have to know the name of your SSID (Joan's Arc in this case) and manually type it in their machines (Highly unlikely that they will be able to think of the same name as you do. You can make your name even harder to obtain by simply using numeric characters in it.. for example Joan's Arc2004). Secondly, to make it secure use a 128 bit WEP key (this has to be a 26 digit key consisting of alphanumeric and numeric characters. You can use only certain alphabets in small and large case so you need to check that out. Also remember that you have to feed the same WEP key number in your laptop wireless card software (or the windows wireless settings if you are not using your wireless card's software). Finally you can ensure that only the wireless devices you specify can logon to your router. Go to the Wireless settings, then to wireless access setup and then click on 'enable wireless access'... Thereafter click on 'Setup access list'. Once there add your wireless device by using its mac address (the mac address is a unique number given to a wireless device, very much like a phone number- this enables the router to identify the device trying to connect to it). The mac address will be listed on your wireless device and you can also see all the devices that you can allow to connect to your router in the router's configuration window. (One important note to remember is that if you have already enabled WEP then you will have to first feed in the same key into your wireless device software settings before the router will display it in it's list of devices). Select the device that you want to allow to connect to your router and apply.
Hope this helps to a certain extent to configure your routers. Trust me, this is an amazing router and if you are having connection problems, it most likely is due to the settings in the router- not because the router is faulty.
96 ROUTER KEEPS DROPPING CONNECTION
This router has been trouble from day 1. I've had problems with the router dropping [wireless] connections from the get-go. The router also loses IP addresses at an alarming rate. Virtually non-functional. Support from NETGEAR is non-existent.
97 Good product, great price
I'm typing this review on a laptop in my family room, over the wireless connection provided by this router. The signal is passing through three walls, including one covered in really-old foil-backed wallpaper.
Given that this is a sophisticated wireless router, the setup wizard and manual are pretty good at getting you up and running. However, I am only giving the product 4 stars because it was still too hard to get running.
I bought another netgear wired router one year ago. It took too long to get working because of required settings specific to SBC Yahoo DSL. Now, a year later, this one needed specific settings specific to SBC Yahoo DSL. If that information has been easily available, this would be a five-star review.
Instead, I read the manual, tried the recommended settings, searched the web site, called tech support, and still failed to get running. Finally, I searched the web, this time using Google, and found a page on the Netgear site that gave the right settings for my specific SpeedStream five-light modem. Ten minutes later I was up and running.
Why tech support did not have this information is unknown. Why my initial searches on the Netgear site did not find the answer is also unknown. But the end result is that this product works great, and Google is a better search engine than whatever Netgear uses on their site.
One nuance regarding "routers" vs "access points": This product has four wired 10/100 ports on the back. This makes it easy and inexpensive to install on an existing single-computer DSL setup. The existing desktop machine plugs right into the back of the router. This eliminates the need to buy a wireless card for the existing wired computer.
98 Poor quality, tech support and warranty
Be sure you know what you're getting into when you buy this. One of the reasons I bought it - with a Netgear 54Mbps card - was the "3 year" warranty. Additionally, I thought how could I go wrong with a name brand? The router worked initially - until I applied the firmware update from Netgear. Unfortunately, the card didn't.
Then, after applying the firmware update for the router, I got no response from it - wired or wireless. The correct lights came on making it look liked it was working. In order to return their products under warranty (after 90 days) you have to pay - either by the minute or a flat rate of something like $29.95 - to speak with their technical support personnel. I spent more than an hour and a half on the phone with tech. support - in India. We went through all the diagnosis tests I'd already ran to determine it wasn't working. They were polite enough but just going through bog standard diagnosis scripts.
Then finally I get an RMA number, ship it back and get a new one. So far, this seems to be working. Though I have no real way of testing it because the PC card has stopped working - again. I daren't upgrade the firmware again in fear of rendering the router worthless - not that it's worth a whole lot now.
99 Easy Set-Up, Works on Mac OS 10.3
The Netgear Wireless Router changes the way you use your Powerbook/laptop. You are now free to move about your house and still get work done online.
It is easy to set up. I was able to set it up using my Apple Powerbook but I assume it works with a PC too. I had it out of the box and running in under 5 minutes. Plug it in, connect ethernet from the cable (or DSL) modem, open a browser and enter the set-up URL (which is just an IP address given in the instructions) and you are running on the internet and file sharing all over the house! No software to install!
Very good product and quite small. Because of the size, it is actually quite portable, too. The working range in my experience is at least 40 feet (I live in a small house). My neighbor was impressed that I could go over to his yard and show him some internet (~60 feet away).
Wireless security was easy to set-up too.
UPDATE:
This little wireless router is still going strong six months later!
100 Good initially, but then...
I was very happy with the product initially, but then came home from vacation to find the connection had dropped. No internet connection was possible when the router was installed. Perhaps it was due to a nearby lightning strike, but nothing else in our house had problems. In any case, the direct port use for our desktop stopped working altogether. I tried other ports but the unit was unable to get an IP. The manual is no help. Time for the trash, then off to the store for some other brand.
