WGT624 108Mbps Wireless Firewall Router, 802.11b, g
1 Easy setup, poor quality
A month ago I bought the Netgear WGT624 Version 2 wireless "Super G" router, on the basis that it was affordable and that Netgear had always given me good service. Having professionally installed networks in the past, I have always been happy with Netgear's commercial products and was expecting this one to be the same quality. The router was super easy to install and set up, their setup wizard was great, and when it worked, the router was blazing fast. I only got to use the cable connections, never got time to setup a wireless connection. As other reviewers have said, it was setup and running within five minutes of plugging it in.
***CAVEAT*** - It worked GREAT for two days, then began to randomly drop the LAN connections, resulting in the dreaded "Network Cable Unplugged" message (search for "netgear wgt624 network cable unplugged" or search Netgear's forums for pages of similar complaints with no resolutions). This got worse, beginning at a few times per day, finally getting down to every few minutes - it now only worked a few times per day! After a week of swapping NIC's, cables, and confirming settings, I finally broke down and e-mailed Netgear tech support - who was kind enough to reply after two days with the same things I had already tried (confirm settings, hardware reset, update firmware, etc.), and a request for more detailed system info if the problem persisted. Even with the most current firmware release, it would not work reliably - so I sent them back every detail they had requested but got no response after a week.
When I finally called them, I got their tech support department in India who confirmed that I was eligible for free tech support (they only offer it for 90 days from purchase, then you have to pay) and then began to go over the e-mails we'd swapped. After 10 minutes with no luck, he suggested that I try the Beta version of the firmware release, AND that this beta version would void my Netgear warranty. After making this suggestion, he said goodbye and hung up in the middle of the conversation. When I immediately called back to India, I got a different tech and was told that I was already out of the 90 day free tech support period (I bought the router a month ago mind you) and that I would have to pay for any support or to get the router replaced under the warranty. After some argument, he finally agreed to help me, but found that the router was indeed defective - and pointed out that there is a known problem with these particular models and he could not guarantee that a replacement would work any better.
In order to get the router replaced under the warranty, I would have had to fax or mail my receipt to India (not a toll free #), and wait a week for them to confirm that my Router was within the warranty. After this was done, I would have to call them back and PAY for the "Extended Tech Support," since their computer showed that my router was out of the 90 day free support period (again, it was only a month old). If this return call to tech support proved that my router was defective, I would then get an RMA and have to either ship the defective router to India at my expense and wait three weeks for them to ship a refurbished replacement unit back, or pay them $30 to have a replacement shipped to me first, then ship the defective unit back to them at my expense.
***SOLUTION*** - I returned the router and bought another brand. In searching the Internet, I found that the equivalent D-Link model (the DI-624) has strikingly similar problems so I bought a Linksys and have been happy thus far. I agree with the reviews that the Linksys is not quite as foolproof to set up, but it's worked great for two days now. We'll see.
2 total junk
i bought this product (wgt624) and the 108g client PCI card. at this point, i have had to replace BOTH of these in less than 6 months. the wgt624 just died tonight when i let it upgrade it's firmware. it upgraded and never came back.
despite the fact that i spent the extra $$$ to get 802.11g, 108 i have never been able to get those speeds ... even with both products from netgear, of the same generation of product.
i have had a cable running across my house more often than not since i bought this setup. what a waste.
3 Abysmal Support Policy - A letter to Netgear
The following is is a letter sent to Netgear regarding their policy of refusing technical support unless private, personally identifiable information is provided.
To whom this should concern,
As I look around my server room and count numerous Netgear products, I'm sad to say that as much as I feel your products are good quality, these will positively be my last purchases from your company. Your policy of extorting personal information from your customers by refusing support unless personal information is provided is absolutely reprehensible. Releasing private information such as address, phone, and email, etc. should always remain a personal choice! If, as a corporation you feel that filling your mailing list is more important than serving your paying customers, then I will under no circumstances continue to serve you with my dollars.
Let me understand this train of thought. I purchase devices from your company to secure my privacy, yet you feel I should relinquish my privacy as a requirement to receive support on a product I've paid for. Not in this lifetime! How arrogant? Someone over there must be prepping for a career in politics. Every company touts the same story, "We Don't Sell Your Personal Information". You know as well as I, that many do exactly that. Registration information is a huge market. Our information is sold in direct conflict with Privacy Statements every day. After all, who's to know? Certainly not the consumer! We, of course are left to pay the price with annoying spam and junk mail or worse. Since as a consumer I have no control over this information once it has been transmitted, the only safe course of action for me is no action. KEEP IT PRIVATE! This is a rule to which I strictly adhere and I'm pleased to say that after 20 years in the computer industry my tech related junk mail is ZERO. I've performed my part and paid for your product. What gives Netgear the right to my personal information? Are you that out of touch with privacy issues today?
So Here it is. You value my name, address, phone number and first born male child. Like many others, I value my privacy enough to include it in my daily purchasing decisons as should all of us. I hold posession of my finances and as a consequence your router has gone back to the retailer and has been exchanged for a Linksys of similar features and price. I'm happy to say that my support questions to them were answered without incident and I'm more than pleased with that purchase and the service which followed.
Finally, let me be up front. This letter will be posted to every relevent usenet tech forum, not as a flame but as a pre-sale public service notice. If you don't wish to give up your privacy, DON'T PURCHASE NETGEAR. Those who feel as I do may be spared the lost hours of a second trip to the store for refund or exchange. If only a small percentage of the thousands of people who will read this document walk up to a person in a store holding a netgear box and relay these concerns, maybe you'll get the message. You spent good money in marketing to bring us to your products. It's a shame to waste it with policies that serve little purpose but to alienate us as consumers.
Sincerely
Richard S Fay
Former Netgear Customer
4 Best wireless router I've ever had
Let me just say that this router does everything advertised, and does it exceptionally well. Before this router, I had a Linksys for several years, and when it finally died I went looking for a new router, albeit on a tight budget. Still, I wanted something with excellent range, super speed, and as much security as I could get for the least amount of money. What I found was the NetGear WGT624. It gives me 108Mpbs speed (with a matching NetGear PC Card for my laptop), allowed me to setup WPA-PSK encryption (since I work over VPN from home on my laptop, I need good security), and it gives me about 4 or 5 times the range of my old Linksys (even though the old linksys had modified high gain antennas added to them, they still were no match for this NetGear). This thing is just flat out awesome, and worth the very small amount of money you will spend.
5 Great When it Works, But Very Unstable
The Netgear WGT624 router is a great router for home use, especially in a home with both wired and wireless PCs. I use mine with an IBM ThinkPad using 802.11b wireless and two Power Mac G4 towers connected via Ethernet. I also have a Brother laser printer connected wirelessly to the network. These systems all share my broadband DSL connection.
Initial setup was pretty straightforward, taking me only about 10 minutes. For maximum wireless security, you have to make some adjustments within the router administrator web page, but they are all explained well in the user guide. Speed and range are impressive, even though my laptop only supports the slower 802.11b speed.
When the system is "up," everything is great. But for me -- and many other WGT624 users -- the system is "down" very frequently, which is a major problem. My router drops my Internet connection an average of 2-3 times per day. Reconnecting to the Internet requires unplugging the power supply from the router, waiting a minute for it to reset, and then plugging it back in (the router doesn't have an on/off switch).
Since my router is located in my basement, this quickly becomes a big hassle. On the plus side, Netgear has 24/7 tech support, however, they don't have a solution to this widespread problem, other than offering to exchange the product via an RMA. I'm in the process of getting a replacement unit now.
Netgear's own tech support forums have many postings regarding the instability of the WGT624.
My router worked flawlessly for the first three months, then developed these problems. That makes it difficult for me to recommend buying one when most return policies are only about 30 days. Sure, you'll be able to get a replacement of the same model from Netgear (as I'm doing), but there's no guarantee that the replacement will be any better than the original.
6 JUNK, JUNK, JUNK
Do not under any circumstances buy this router without first Googling to see all the problems reported on it and related Netgear products, including unsolved ones on Netgear's very own forum site!!!
In the first month or two your support is free, but limited to a support desk overseas where they can do little more than read from basic scripts. After that it becomes extremly expensive paid support.
On my first Netgear (814) the person basically told me that the problem I was seeing was probably a design problem, and that I could send it in (and be without a router), but that the replacement would probably do the same thing. There was no real way to get the problem escalated. He then told me to instead by the WGT624 instead, that it was a very solid, new router and that I would be happy.
So, I got rid of the 814 and bought the 624. I can not go more than 2 days without having to power reset the 624 because it freezes up due to the DHCP renewal problem it has. Being on Vonage, this means I lose PHONE service too.
I ditched the 624 last week and purchased a Linksys WRT54G, and so far it is solid as a rock, no reboots, nothing. Works great. And because it does not insist on being your DHCP proxy, my Internet surfing is substantially quicker. Finally, if you are technically minded and want to play around, there is plenty of custom firmware (www.linksys.org) that you can use in the router because Linksys GPL'ed the code.
7 Reboots, Hangs, and Poor Cust Support
I purchased the router back in November. When I emailed support, I got a lot of useless advice. They told me to reload the driver on my adapter even after I told them the ROUTER was rebooting even when I used only wired connections. They told me to get the latest firmware even after I told them I WAS on the latest. Finally, I got them to agree to ship me a new one. Now, 2 months later, the unit is rebooting again every couple of minutes. It even reboots when there's no activity on it. I've since found it that this is a known problem. See for yourself:
http://forum1.netgear.com/support/viewtopic.php?t=1238.
It's a shame that Netgear appears to be on the decline.
8 Out of the box ... perfect
I purchased this router to replace my Netgear FM114P Wireless Router / Print Server ... a unit I had only mild trouble with over 3 years. Before making my decision I looked into offerings from Linksys & D-Link but chose the WGT624(v2) due to its form factor as well as range tests conducted by various reviewers. The user reviews I read on Amazon were troubling but not enough to stop me from purchasing another Netgear product. All in all, the set up was flawless and not a single cited issue appeared. Right out of the box the router connected to my notebook. I visited netgear.com, downloaded the recommended firmware update, conducted the update without incident, set up all needed security features, turned off DHCP, set up my IP address, and here I sit (where my signal strength was once non existent) writing this humble review. All 3 members of my home network (XP Pro notebook, PowerBook G4, Linux server) are happily connected and accessible from all rooms of my home. What can I say ... I guess I'm just lucky.
9 Would rate it "Black Hole" if I could.
I bought this router, hoping to upgrade my current LAN to include wifi but could not get it to work. Some users here claim they got up and running with "5 clicks" in the setup wizard: After many, many clicks it still tells me that it can't detect my network.
I have a Netgear rt314 router already: I tried copying settings across and it stopped working altogether. Reset to default, try again, wouldn't detect any of my clients. Finally gave up and returned it.
Netgear has had so-so quality for the past couple of years: I had to return another of their routers the last time I tried to upgrade. Really disappointing; my current RT314 router worked right out of the box, no setup issues, nothing. But it doesn't have wifi and it's getting pretty old so I'm looking for a replacement before it cuts out on me. I'm just going to have to keep looking.
10 If you like frequent router reboots & dropped connections...
then this router is for you. Google it and you will find multiple forums with ample posts about this router and its problems--wish I 'd read them before I bought it. In spite of numerous attempts to configure it per instructions and updating the firmware (which the almost unintelligible Indian tech support urge you not to do after waiting on hold for 20 minutes), still problems. It seems to drop connections most during online gaming.
My opinion is, keep looking for a router and do a forum search before you buy
11 Keeps on stalling after every 10 mins
Technical support did not help much, the Router keeps on stalling and needs to be rebooted every 10 Minutes.
I upgraded the firmware too but didnt help much.
I dont know what to do with this router now.
12 Pure junk
It set up well and work well for a brief period of time. Quickly though it began to fail until it gave up completely. This is pure junk!
13 Waste of money
I am tired of endless rebooting.
I have only one wish: to get rid of this junk as
fast as possible.
14 How to make this Router Work
First, let me preface, like many have posted, the unit can reboot continously. However, this can be FIXED and the unit is rock stable afterwards. The solution: Update the firmware. Unfortunately, the automatic "check for firmware updates" menu function does not do this correctly.
Go to Netgear's website and download firmware V4.2.6_1.0.1. After downloading, manually update the router from the "Router Upgrade" menu.
The link to the firmware is:
http://kbserver.netgear.com/support_details.asp?dnldID=900
Prior to the upgrade, under heavy load (ie. Bittorrent), the unit would reboot continously and lock up after 6 hours. Since the upgrade, the router now has handled 6+ days of a continous heavy load (300k down, 50k up) without as much as a hiccup.
As for the router itself, it is beautiful and functions perfectly. It has a small footprint than almost every other router available and hosts every conceivable option necessary. The only function it does not have is QoS (quality of service), but I have never encountered a situation where it would be necessary. I've had VoIP for over a year now and not once has heavy downloading affected my phone quality.
15 Good features - poor design quality ... unless you get lucky
I bought this router based on the outstanding record of years of reliable service that Netgear equipment delivered.
The list of of features is impressive:
1. 108Mbps Wi-Fi support / with WPA-PSK encryption
2. A built-in SPI Firewall
4. 4 Port-switch
5. Fairly easy configuration.
6. All at a very attractive price.
However, the impressive list of features is undermined by very poor firmware/hardware design, exacerbated by lack of real technical support. Of course, there seem to be positive experiences for other Amazon customers, which are probably mor of exception than the rule with this model.
As for myself, of three installations I've done with this router, two have constant problems with router dropping connections/rebooting constantly, sometimes as often as several times per hour. The installation that works is attached to DSL modem, while the two that do not - are connected to cable modems. Since, as I've mentioned, the only support you can get without going "Premium", is a non-technical person well-versed at reading from a very short script, a lot of debugging has to be done by experimentation and scouring the Internet for clues from other users. Theories on solving the abundant problems range from replacing power-supplies [...]Even then, there are no guarantees. Netgear's response - upgrade the firmware and power-cycle everything. And, so that you know, if you fry the unit in the process, you have to pay for shipping the defective unit back to Netgear! Unless you are a UK customer, as was revealed to me by one of the tech. support representatives.
To be short, spare yourself the trouble and aggravation and buy a Linksys WRGT54, which is solid as a rock. It "only" goes to 54Mbps on the wireless side, but beets WGT624 both in range and stability. Plus, WRTG54's antennas are removable. And did I mention that firmware is embedded Linux and if you know what you are doing, you can customize your own. Or just download it from plenty of websites?
You choose...
16 No hassle or No Problems..Definitely recommend!
I have owned this router for 5 months now and I have never had a problem with it whatsoever. I have a WEP set up and that was a piece of cake. Good Job NET GEAR!
17 Junk - buy at your own risk!
Like others have said here, this router just drops connections. I have had it for about 4 months now and at first it worked fine. I only had an occcasional drop. However, as time went by it happened more often. Now it has come to the point where its unacceptable. (several times a day) I have the latest firmware. And just to humor Netgear, I ran the antivirus software on every computer just like it says on their site, which did not do squat to remedy this problem as every computer was clean. In all it is difficult for me to recommend this unreliable piece of junk. Nothing but a waste of time and money. Also, its been 4 months and no rebate. Just sleazy marketing practice. Avoid Netgear like the plague.
18 Don't get this Router!
[...]
This router is a lemon, pure and simple. It reboots constantly. If you upgrade the firmware, it doesn't help whatsover. In fact, I can't even get to it now that I upgraded. Since I clipped the UPC out for the rebate, I can't even return it to Amazon. Very disappointing considering I always liked Netgear products. [...]
19 MAKE SURE YOU HAVE LATEST FIRMWARE
Ok first off, I would have trashed this router too as some of the other reviewers have had I written this review a couple of months ago. This router consistenly "dropped" connections and was a bear to deal with until I updated to the latest version of the firmware (version 1.XX.14 or something like that as of this writing). Once installed the router has been perfect with no more "dropped line" problems.
I do think that Netgear should have troubleshooted that problem prior to shipping this router out, but that aside (and I concede it was a major issue), this router works terrific with the latest firmware and has given me outstanding speed and range in my household.
20 GARBAGE - Drops Connections
This router is nothing but trouble. I'm trying to use it for VPN connections. DROPS THEM. Also drops connections to any other computer every 5 minutes or so. Did site survey, nothing else here to cause this. Also, no other phones, or other appliances to cause interference. This router just flat out [stinks]. [...]
21 if security is your thing
then this is the router to go with. I have no problem with it, however that doesn't mean you won't. Seems that it comes with pretty good support though from what others say. It's a faster router than most, if your PC is fast enough to tell the difference. In most reviews, be it magazine or otherwise, everyone has good thing to say about it. for novice, setting up all the security may be troublesome. referred by WhoSave.com, just checked it out, it's a great price for this great router. I got it a little while ago, the price is getting real attractive.
22 Avoid this router
I bought this back in November. Worked great for about a week... long enough for me to ruin chances of a complete return by clipping the UPC for the rebate. Then it started acting up. Random resets. Sometimes over and over and over again. After *hours* of wasted time talking to India, I am told I should return it to my retailer (or they will replace, but I pay shipping! That is a sign of a bad company... pay to ship back our defective product!).
Amazon graciously agrees to send me replacement (and says to put bad router into new UPC-intact box).
Problem is, the new router has the same problem! Random resets. Every day. Sometimes 7 in a row. Support says download the newest firmware and it will be all fixed. BS! I'm on a frimware version newer than the built-in updater even allows and still the same BS.
PS - I *was* using the V4.2.6 manual firmware others suggest fixes the problem. While I'm glad it did for them, it did not for me. My new Belkin works as it should w/ no problems. At least the Netgear rebate finally showed up.... so I'm only out $35 or so.
23 Very solid router
After using my netgear MR814v2 for about 2 years it started to work only when it felt like it. The reception wasnt making it throughout my house anymore. I was going to go linksys but im glad i didnt because im very happy with the WGT624v2. This thing can handle my 2 wired computers, my xbox, and two wireless computers without breaking a sweat. the firmware is solid and is easy to tweak for the best performance. Id def recommend this router.
24 It works well, but...
I FINALLY got this package (WGT624 router + WG511T card) to work correctly, but only after a couple of days of tinkering and a 25 minute wait to speak with NetGear customer support (Dom in India). I've got a Dell laptop w/Windows XP Home edition and it turns out that Windows needs to configure the wireless network settings (despite instructions NOT to let Windows configure it). I could tell the tech had had this problem before and, once that box was checked, the problem was solved and it runs perfectly. Lesson: A little too fast to market, so we (the consumer) become the beta sites.
25 bad router
Unfortunately, I did not read the amazon reviews before buying this router (from another source). Well, I paid for that mistake with hours and hours of aggravation, and I'm not a computer newbie.
All the comments about constant dropping, rebooting, etc are true. The netgear support guy said many of these are defective and its hit and miss as to which ones work. If you buy one of these, you are rolling the dice.
26 netgear 624
trying to connect windows 98 to windows ME.unable to do it myself, called india.waited 45 minutes, he said I need 2nd edition windows 98.my buddy downloaded 2nd edition of win 98 still no connect. called india waited 45 min, man wanted me to download drivers .I said no. Went to computer store in town, he hooked me up in no time. works excellent, better than expected. i am 80 ft. from main computer in a detached garage.the speed is impressive. dsl service. upgraded win 98 to windows XP, by the way. been a month, no problems.
27 Not reliable
i own a netgear he102+ha501 combo (purchased in 2002). it's been rock solid. not this unit (wgt624+511t). as several reviewers have already mentioned, this unit will reboot constantly. if you read broadbandreports.com's netgear forums, you'll find several workarounds for this problem (setting preamble mode to long, enable broadcast ssid's etc.). i use it only as a wireless access point not a router (i have an older almost 3yr old SMC barricade which works great). since putting in the workarounds (and also the fact this is only an AP), the reboots have decreased in frequency but they haven't stopped entirely. for me the it's my 2.4GHz phone which causes this piece of junk to reboot. not all phone calls, only some, and fairly at random. i don't think i have to get a new phone just for this access point.
in any event the Super G (108mbs) is not really worth all the hassle. besides it's a rare occurence that you will get persistent 108Mbs anyways.
thus unit, even with the latest firmware, is not worth it. so save yourself the trouble and buy a linksys or a buffalo router. Netgear's product quality is so bad, i would give this as a gift to my worst enemy.
oh btw- if you are on linux/*bsd, madwifi+wpa_supplicant works okay with this router and a wg551T card. of course madwifi will only support upto g mode (54Mbps) and not super-g. ndiswrapper+wpa_supplicant works in super-g (108Mbps) but the driver will constantly crash.
on windows, if you have the wg511T cards, you can try the atheros reference drivers (i did), but it doesn't make that much of a difference anyways.
in any event don't let the marketing drivel fool you. if you see this hunk o' junk, run.
28 I will never buy Netgear again
I'm writing this to save you grief and down time. I bought this router and used it for about 1 month. It died suddenly so I exchanged it at the store where I purchased it. The next one seemed flakey in that it kept restarting randomly. I would notice that all my connections had dropped. Looking at the router log, I would see a message that it had initialized - no reason. Finally I saw that there was a firmware update available (it is nice in that it can check for updates and apply them at the click of a button - or so I thought). I accepted the firmware update only to have the process fail and my router dead as a doornail. Being under warranty I figured bad products can happen so I'll just call and get it replaced. Boy was I wrong. First of all for the past 3 months they have had hold times in excess of 15 minutes. On top of that the 5 calls I made to tech support all ended with sudden (convenient) disconnection. Odd that I can remain on hold for 20-30 minutes and then get dropped while talking to a support rep (one for only 5 minutes). After having lost over 2 hours of my life, I decided to use the web support instead. I typed in 2 messages one to support one to feedback about how bad my service had been so far. Neither message was ever responded to. A few days later I typed some more messages - still no response. I continue to flood them with messages - certain that someone must read them eventually. A month later one of my messages gets a response. Today I got thought to tech support on the phone after 10 minutes of hold. Even though they had all my other calls recorded, it still took 20 minutes to get my RMA number from them. Now they will exchange my router as long as I pay to ship it back. So while legally they are upholding their warranty, they are not a company I will ever do business with again.
Needless to say I have already purchased another router (linksys) and will be selling the Netgear as soon as it is fixed.
29 Don't buy it , I tried 2 models and none worked !!!
This router is really fast when it works. Unfortunately, it constantly reboots, even after upgrading to the newest firmware. First, I thought it was defective so I returned it for a replacement. The second one had exactly the same problem. Neatgear has to work this out and release a new firmware upgrade.
30 Random Reboot
I wish I had read reviews on this product before I purchased one. It does have an excellent range and it is fast ( when it works ), but it tends to reboot itself very often, especially if it is under heavy usage. My first guess was that it was over-heating, so I placed a large fan next to it overnight while I downloaded a few gigs worth of files, but with a room temperature of 65F and a 10" Fan blowing at it at full speed the wonder Netgear still managed to reboot itself several times over the course of 4 hours. In my honest opinion Netgear should stop selling this item until they fix the problem. I have been working on computers for over 15 years and I have worked as a technician for over 8 years. I'm not blowing smoke, save yourself the trouble and buy a linksys.
F------ for the product. Worse router ever.
31 BUYER BEWARE
This is a fast router. WHEN IT WORKS. All the people on this page who think this router is great probably are having the same experience I did when I first got it. It has great range and speed, even in my problem house. However, eventually, it will start to reboot it self constantly (chek google if you think it's just me!). With my first one, this happened every week or so. I called and after several calls and about 2 total hours of listening to obviously wrong suggestions (Netgear has the worst tech support in the industry), they sent me another totally new version of the router. It went for a month or so, then I had the same problem. However, the new one had new sypmpton as well: You could ping it, but the configuration page would not load (Yes, I tried on several computers and browsers). So now I have a brick. I bought a new one (my third) from a local store and after 2 weeks -- reboots all the time. I was able to return that one. But I also have the essentially dead one. Netgear won't replace this one unless I pay for extended support. I use this one as a support for my new D-Link DI-624. I'll never buy another Netgear product. Ever. You shouldn't either.
32 Netgear is NO BUY-Waste of Money & Time
I bought this peace of trash because I thought I would be able to get a better signal-range and 108 MB transfer rate in my two-bedroom apartment (using with Netgear desktop-PCI card) but I all get was very low signal sometimes or nothing... Mannn, my neighbor uses a Belkin-Router and I am able to get an excellent signal. It seems to me that almost always Netgear likes to be first to bring new technology, but cheap+crappy, to the market. If it is a new technology and it is made by Netgear don't buy from them AND JUST WAIT, please wait, I am sure Linksys, D-Link or Belkin would probably make something better than Netgear.
Furthermore, WPA never worked... For technical-support, talked someone from India, who I thought just wasted my time. Disastrous ---
N E T G E A R = I DO NOT RECOMMENDED IT
33 great router great price
I researched this router and it has been everything I read it was..easy to configure and very fast!!! 3 Desktops and one laptop all work great. This is my first wireless router and I am very pleased.
34 I take back all the bad things I said about Netgear
I origianlly gave this unit 1 star and I guess its too late to change it now.
This is an update of my previous negative review and I'd like to upgrade my rating to 4 stars now.
I wasn't too thrilled with this router when I first got it. It just wouldn't hook up. I spent two sessions, about 5 hours total on the phone with Netgear customer support, and I must admit they were a lot more patient than I was. Anyway it turnred out that the reason for the unit not connecting was due to a problem at Verizon DSL, NOT Netgear. So if all you guys at Netgear are listening, I take back all those bad things I said about you guys .... We are now fully connected. We've got a laptop downstairs that has its own built in 54g adapter running Windows XP SPII and my PC running Windows 2000 PRO and a Netgear WG311T adapter is upstairs. Just as an oh-by-the-way, I added a Dlink ANT24-0400 antenna to the WG311T instead of the stock Netgear antenna that it came with, otherwise the stock antenaa would have been buried among a bunch of cables and hidden in the back of the PC and not exacttly in the best possible position for maximum reception. We've been up and running for couple hours now.
I'm happy. I'm up and running or should I say "flying".
I'll have to wait and see if the performance degrades over time as some people have experienced.
35 Works for me .... ( * UPDATED * )
I have used this router for almost a year now (v2) and have had no problems what so ever to date (and always using the latest filmware) . I have used the router "wired" for this last year (for threee pc's) , but thats soon to change with a newly purchased Wifi card(s) WG3IIT . I will update my findings on wireless usage and report back ; but at this time I see no reason to worry .
Bottom line is that Iam happy with the router results thus far .
*UDATE on wireless results with WiFi card(s) 311T installed *
Just installed the WG311T PCI cards on two pc's connecting through my WGT624 and so far everything is great . Good signal and speed on both computers with no dis-connects .
IMPORTANT NOTE ON INSTALL WITH WINXP AND SP2 (using WG311T pci cards) !!!
1.)If you use the Netgear application to monitor/manage your Wifi then you MUST disable the "wireless-zero" in the Adminstative tools" in the control panelfor things to work correctly ( start/settings/contrpl panel/administative tools/services/wireless zero ; and put to DISABLE)
2.)If you use WindowsXP to monitor/manage your Wifi , then you MUST disable the Netgear application (start/run/ then TYPE IN: "msconfig"/ then go to "startup"/ then DIABLE(uncheck) the line saying "GEAR 311T".
You must do one of the two items Ive listed to make sure your netgear Wifi works /connects properly . Seems you cant NOT use both applications together in anyway . Ive done ALOT of testing on this and this is the ONLY method(s) Ive found to work (and is not mentioned by Netgear or Microsoft) .
I hope this helps future users of this equipment . =)
36 Unreliable. No log of wireless connections.
Unreliable. 4 Port switch doesn't work correctly. No log of wireless connections.
The first one I got kept rebooting even though it was a "v2" model. After much diagnosing and fiddling, I finally convinced the Netgear tech (who barely spoke English) that the unit was defective.
I just hooked up the replacement one and it has stayed up long enough for me to use it a little bit and I have discovered that it has a problem setting speed and duplex. My configuration is: PC-netgear624-othervendorhighendswitch-server. Even if I set my PC fixed to 100/FDX and the othervendorhighendswitch to 100/FDX, the 624 won't work properly. You also can't hard set the port speed and duplex setting.
I am an IT networking professional and have set up many wireless networks. I WON'T be buying Netgear again and I won't be recommending it to my customers or friends.
37 I Am Happy With It
I am definitely not a computer tech, but rather an average internet surfer and emailer. So far, this wireless router is great. The dsl internet speed seems just as good whether I have the cable hooked up or using the wireless. I have had no trouble with being randomly disconnected. However, I did find the Netgear documentation to be mediocre. I ended up having to call tech support when I couldn't get my wireless network password working. My call was answered immediately and my problem solved in minutes (call time: Wed 3:10pm).
38 Good for basic use only
This device worked well as long as I kept all the default settings, which is the way most home users will use it. However once I customized the router settings to interoperate with my in-home LAN, it became extremely unreliable. It would drop connections and refuse to re-establish them until the router was restarted, it would refuse remote management, and it would sometimes mysteriously alter its own settings. I used to rely on Netgear as a safe brand to purchase and rely on, but sadly the last two products I've bought from them have turned out to be throw-aways.
39 Synch to hook up and fast
I have to say, I am really impressed with this router. First, I expected nothing but headaches but was pleasantly surprised that between the three computers, the wireless hook up worked the first time with no trouble whatsoever. I get good connection speeds with both the wireless card and the notebook card. No percieved dropouts either. Highly recommended.
40 If/when it works, it's great!
Get this router if you want a check on internet use --- randomly, it will drop connections and refuse all future connections until you turn the router on and off. Besides being a nuisance, I imagine it's probably not good for the router to be unplugged and replugged a few times a day. Netgear tech support has not been helpful, and has stopped answering my emails.
It does, however, give great reception when it works. It's on the third floor and we have quick connection speeds from the first.
41 Bought 6 routers and all work to perfection!
Installed six WGT624 routers at a hotel and all work flawlessly. Range is great. I can sit in a corner on the third floor and pick up at least 4 SSIDs. Never have had a problem with dropped connections or needing to reset. Upgraded all routers to latest firmware with no problems. Works much better than the Linksys wireless B I had.
42 Defective Router
1) No icon on my screen to let me know if the router is functioning correctly
2) I never got anywhere near 108Mbps. This router performed worse than the 54 mbps router I owned. In fact, I never got an adequate connection and am now looking at router expanders.
3) After 1 week, the router stopped working completely. I spent an hour on the phone with a woman whose Indian accent was VERY difficult to understand. She finally determined that the router was defective and should be returned. I had to pay shipping costs to send it to Memphis TN even though Netgear was responsible for manufacturing a defective product.
After I returned my router, I checked the online information page and found that she had gotten my address wrong. I guess she had as much trouble understanding me as I had understanding her. I am lucky I checked this before they sent the replacement router to the wrong address.
4) Beware: There are two different WGT624 routers. version 1 and version 2. Version 2 has a different chip set and is labeled "WGT624v2" I don't know which is better, but I didn't even know there were 2 versions before I bought mine.
So far, this router has not lived up to expectations.
43 TERRIBLE...DO NOT BUY IT... 3 ROUTER & NO SOLUTION
I have gone through 3 same routers. All the same reason...router being rebooted very very frequently. FYI, I also have the matching 108Mbps card to go with it. I have given it enough chances that it had to be refunded finally. Tech support of ok but after making me try different things, all three times they told me the unit is defective and should get a replacement.
I would definitely NOT recommend this product at all...!!!
You will lose lots of time and left with frustration and anger...
44 Just OK... & here's a tip for getting outgoing email to work
I bought this router to compliment the SuperG notebook card I have. It installed pretty easily thru the web-browser control panel. Everything worked fine except my outgoing mail (I use Outlook with a Lycos POP email account, and my internet access is thru Optimum Online). I could browse the internet, receive mail, but not send mail... I got a couple of different errors when trying to send. I called Netgear right away (the problem started right after installing the router) and got their tech support in India, which was basically useless to me, as I had already tried the 1st-tier solutions. They upgraded me to 2nd-tier support and promised to call back in 48 hrs. Meanwhile I read about email providers blocking port 25 (SMTP, for sending mail) if they are connecting via a different provider. Now my old Lnksys router had been working fine all this time, but I tried switching my outgoing (SMTP) server from smtp.mail.lycos.com to mail.optonline.net. I left the pop3 server alone. NOW IT WORKS! I don't know why. And I still haven't heard back from Netgear, three days later.
The speed is great, 108 Mbps, even out on my patio and two floors above the router (in the basement). This morning while connected to the router by CAT-5 cable I experienced the connection being dropped every 5 minutes or so, then picking back up in 30 seconds.
And as an industrial designer I'm impressed by the design of this product. Very slick and I like the tpe foot for standing the router up on end. I would be happy to put this router on my living room shelf.
45 Connections Dropped. (...)
(...)
Since I have installed various Wi-Fi Routers and Access Points for a number clients the Router was fairly easy to configure and set up WPA security. This Router is cerainly not the easiest product to set up.
The router drops wireless connections and the only way to reconnect is to reboot the router. This is true for Netgear PC Card with Super G as well as other Wi-Fi vendors.
46 WireLESS
The wired part of the Router works fine, but the Wireless signal was not usable in my home within about a thirty-five feet distance between the router and adapter. Even with a high gain directional antena replacing the Netgear G adapter antena, no usable signal got through! Their Technical support line had very long hold times (around 45 minutes). When I got through to the 'outsourced 'Techies they told me anything to get rid of me. Worse-one immediately hung up the phone when he/she answered (up/down/click)! Worst Tech support I have ever encountered.
47 Connection ALWAYS drops. NOT a good router. Problems twice
I always used a Netgear wired Router and it worked well, so when I decided to use the wireless technology, after getting information of the different routers available, I decided to buy a Netgear in a store.I bought the WGT624 and it worked very well for the first 2 weeks, good speed and good signal, I also downloaded the firmware, and it continued well, but after some days the connection was lost very frequently, I had to RESET many times, and repeat all the configuration, but the problem wasn't solved, so I decided to return it, and buy a new one, thinking it was just a problem. Then I found it with a very good price in Amazon, so I bought it here, the things started the same way, the router working well, the firmware update that the installation wizard asks for, and some days of comfortable navigation.. but then.. what a surprise.. the connection refused, drops, restore setting.. nothing worked well. I've tried a lot to use it again but, i've lost my patience, now that I was searching for some support, I see that many people have the same problems, that I had with it. So deffinitely DONT BUY IT, i've suffered the problems of this router twice and it's deffinitly something i would NEVER recommend.
48 Problematic and even worse support
The Netgear WGT624 router has gone through several firmware updates since I first purchased it along with the Netgear WG511T wireless card. At first it worked great, reliable speed and connection, both LAN and Internet. I thought that for once I've made a good investment by getting this product....but I was wrong.
I own the largest LAN gaming organization in the western USA and am an active alpha online game tester for several game developers. My house is setup with wired LAN in 4 bedrooms and I also connect 1 laptop wirelessly to the router. After a couple firmware upgrades, the networking connection for my wireless card starts to slow down, which isn't a big issue. The big issue started when the router began to drop internet connections and/or having extremely slow internet connection. I use Comcast cable internet, and normally when I ping google.com or yahoo.com the ping time is always below 100ms, after a recent firmware upgrade, the router slowed the internet speed to 800ms-1500ms ping time, yes it is worse than 56k modem speed lol.
Writing to the tech support didn't help much. I listed my background and how I have the latest firmware for the router, explained that the first 1-5min after rebooting the router I get great internet speed but soon it slows down to a phoneline speed. The tech wrote back asking me to upgrade to the latest firmware lol how funny is that?
After reading many online reviews from various sites, I've decided to switch to a D-Link DI-624 AirPlus Extreme instead, hopefully I will not be unlucky again.
Final word, the Netgear support is amongs the worse, unless you don't mind speaking to tech in India with hard to understand English and limited tech knowledge. The product is good when it works, but the problem is it rarely works the way it is supposed to. Don't waste your money!
49 Works OK but buggy
Works OK but really buggy - connections ALWAYS drops. I have to reset it at least 3 times a week. Updated firmware to no avail...no go! Returned the unit and bought the Linksys WRT54GS router - faster and 100 times more reliable with alot more features.
Netgear: Highly NOT recommended!
50 Works OK but buggy
Works OK but really buggy - connections ALWAYS drops. I have to reset it at least 3 times a week. Updated firmware to no avail...no go! Returned the unit and bought the Linksys WRT54GS router - faster and 100 times more reliable with alot more features.
Netgear: Highly NOT recommended!
51 Very disappointing....
BOTH Netgear WGT624 and its service were poorly. I had owned a Netgear b, it didn't have good signal. So I decided to upgrade it to a Super G to get more range. However, I didn't get good range as well. The only room I could receive signal was in the same room where the router was located; nowhere else! More surprisely, the router needed frequent reboot. Worsely, I had a strange problem where my laptop could receive signal but my wired desktop had no Internet connection.But the worst thing was that Netgear only offer 90 days telephone support. You have to write them an email for products older than 90 days, and they only reply you by email. After tried several email back and forth by weeks, my problem was still not solved. The technical support stuff transferred me into another department, where they didn't contact me for more than 10 days!!! Finally, I decided to give up on Netgear. I will never touck this brand again!!!
52 By far one of the best
This router is one among the best.It just took 5 minutes to setup both the router and wireless PCI card.My wirless internet was up and running in 5 mins
53 Upgrades a Nightmare
Aside from constantly needing to reboot in order to obtain wireless access, this router performs OK. But here's the nightmare: The instructions for upgrading the firmware include the following:
"Before you upgrade write down all current settings as you need to enter them MANUALLY after upgrading"
Nice, huh?
54 Excellent Super G Router
This router is great, I bought it as part of the Netgear Super G kit, with a Super G PCMCIA modem. Easy to set up and no overloading/restarting problems that I experienced with my 802.11g D-Link router. When you connect the router, make sure:
1. change router password
2. change SSID from default
3. Channel: 6
4. Mode: Auto 108Mbps
5. Security: WPA-PSK and enter passcode below
6. Idle timeout - set to 0
7. If you are using DSL connection (like SBC Yahoo DSL), change MTU size to 1492
8. DOWNLOAD latest NETGEAR driver and upload to the router
On the PCI card, first install the drivers from the CD then plug in the card, it should install by itself. DOWNLOAD the latest driver as well from NETGEAR as the Super G speed will not work otherwise. After new firmware is uploaded, set up the wireless connection using WPA-PSK security with the same passcode as the router. It should recognize it with no problem.
I am now getting Super G speed 108 Mbps between the router and the laptop, it is great. Highly recommend this router and the Super G card modem as well.
55 No Issues - Great router
I bought this router to replace a Netgear MR814 v1 that I outgrew.
Right out of the box, this router worked without changing any settings at all! I turned off all pc's and my cable modem, connected the router, turned on my cable modem, then the router, then the pc's. Everything worked like a champ.
Next I went into the web interface (which you can get to by opening Internet Explorer and typing 192.168.0.1 into the address bar, then type in the user and password) to setup the security settings. I was very impressed to see all of the latest security features included. Probably the one feature that I like the best was the auto firmware upgrade feature. The firmware of the router is what tells the router how to work. New versions of firmware can fix problems as well as give you new features. On many other routers the process of upgrading the firmware can be quite difficult for "normal" people that aren't techies. With this router, you just click "Firmware Upgrade" and it will go out to netgear, find new firmware if available, and install it all automatically for you. Great feature.
Range was also a big deal for me as the house it was being installed in was a split 3 level house with the router being in the 2nd floor. I never used to be able to go outside at all with my old router and the signal in the bottom floor was always very weak. This router lets me have full coverage throughout the house and venture off into my backyard to the edge of my property! Amazing improvement. I am using the Netgear WGT511 card in one laptop, the 802.11b pci card in a desktop downstairs, and a wired card in a desktop upstairs, all with no problems at all.
56 Some issues, but nothing major
I recently bought a laptop and had to go wireless with my network. I saw the 108Mbps and looked into the routers. I read some favorable reviews and bought it.
It auto-detects if there is new firmware available and will install it. Just a tip though... don't do this. I ran into some troubles and Netgear Tech support said to disable this feature.
The setup of the router is fairly straightforward. If you have your WAN settings readily available, you should be able to get it on-line without much trouble. It did take a bit to get the wireless up and running because I tried to use the highest encryption available without realizing that this is some sort of pay service. I set it to the basic WEP and my card connected fine.
It seems to work fine everywhere in the house. I have yet to test it's limits for distance, but it seems to cover any area around the house where I'd use it.
My speed seems fairly good, but it's no 108Mbps. My hardwired systems are quite faster. For my uses the wireless is fast enough, though I do plan to get some test software to see what my real throughput is. File transfers are somewhat slow, but since I don't do much of that from the laptop, it's no big deal.
The big issue I ran into was with a firmware problem of some sort that screwed up my port forwarding. If I setup more than one port forward, anything in the list past the first setting was unreadable and unremoveable. If I went to modify the setting, the IPs came up wrong and the name was in gibberish as well as the port numbers. Tech support had me download and manually install an older firmware version. That solved the problem. On occasion, changing a setting brings me to a blank IE page instead of returning me to where I made the change. The changes I make do to take though, so this is not a major problem.
Having the built-in four ports is nice because it allowed me to easily plug it into my current setup. It was also nice of them to include a decent sized CAT5 cable so I could mount the device away from my other computer equipment. (EMI is a common cause of connection problems with these devices.)
Aside from some minor irritants, this router has performed well enough for me to recommend it. Novice users may have more trouble with it than others. Netgear's tech support is not that great by any means, but it was effective enough for me to get my troubles solved. Be sure to register on-line before you call or you will not be able to get support. This is my first wireless router so I don't have anything to rate it against, but based on my experiences, I had my office order one for their 802 network and so far we've had no troubles with it. (Granted, I knew about it's weak points by then.) I gave it 4 stars, but consider that as really 3.5, based on the tech support. There were a couple moments where I felt I knew more about their product than they did.
57 Netgear WGT624 Quick and Easy
This was my first attempt at using any wireless technology for the computers in my house, and I was pleasantly surprised. Here is my roll-up review:
Pros -
1. Easy Set-up - Took me about 15 minutes to setup up router using the Install Wizard.
2. Great Price - Under $50 after rebate. Hard to beat that, especially if you buy the 108Mbps PCI or PCMCIA card. Otherwise price is comparable with other 54Mbps routers.
3. Awesome Security features - The router comes with MAC Address control, WPA, and NAT+SPI Firewall features. These are all easy to setup and the screen displays definitions of each feature as you select it in the Router menu. So even without the manual, I was able to configure the security portion of the router settings easily.
4. Range and Signal Strength - One of my computers is around 100 feet away with 5 walls between the router and computer, and I never lose signal and never go below 11Mbps. Now if I am under 50 feet I am getting 54Mbps 90% of the time with 2 walls. From what I have read, that is pretty good.
5. System Stability - I have seen some other reviews about the router resetting or causing computer problems. I have had this router running for over 2 weeks straight without one reset or problem on my comp. I am running WinXP with SP2 now. I am even using a Linksys 54Mbps PCI card, so no problems noted with different brands of components either.
------------------------------------------------------------
Cons -
1. Router Casing - Even though it is an attractive router, the casing is not solid. They could have made it with a thicker mold of plastic or with some stronger material. You will just have to be careful with where you put the router.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Overall - 5 Stars
I highly recommend this router. If you are looking into getting a Wireless router, and you want security, stability, and performance, this router is for you. Just read the manual first, and use the Install Wizard.
58 Wireless Router #3 - so far the best yet!
Went from a SMC wireless B router (decent) to a Belkin G (daily resets)to the Netgear SuperG here. So far for the past week - it's been rock solid. I've got version 2 of the unit.
The annoying issue that I've yet to resolve is the 108auto setting - which as mentioned here and other places - simply doesn't work. Both the 108 PCI and notebook cards we have drop back to the 54g setting and never make it above that. If you want full tilt 108 you have to tell the router "108 only" - then you are good to go. Not a problem as long as you have all Netgear 108 stuff. Forget it if you want to give access to a print server or PDA. If the 108auto feature had worked - I would have probably given the Netgear 5 instead of 4 stars.
Range and signal strength in our large home (3400 sq.ft) are very good compared to my previous two wireless routers. As other reviewers have outlined - Netgear documentation quality is about as good as what you'd find on a microwave dinner. But hey, very few vendors do a good job of that anyway - so really no surprises in that regard.
And how about this? A review that doesn't pass judgement on those whose experience varies with this router?
UPDATE: (September 8, 2004) Auto 108g Mode appears to be working now with both 54g and 108g products here - although the desktop PC seems a little buggy still. I went to the Netgear website and downloaded the latest drivers for the PCI & PCMCIA cards for the computers. Range - particularly with the laptop has also jumped significantly. (I don't know if including WPA security on the wireless contributed to my success here or not - but at least the neighbors now can't be wireless Peeping Toms.) Brought home a new Toshiba Tecra laptop from work with built in G and got full 54g range and speed. Finally...
Sacrifices were still made, though. My venerable Toshiba 755 PDA has now lost wireless access due to the WPA security. But I'm not complaining much since surfing from such a device is hard on the eyes (and wrists) anyway. Maybe the 108g would work in WEP mode. I'm almost too afraid to try now that everything appears to be working!
The router still is rock solid. Maybe had to reset it and/or the cable modem only once since I first laid out this review.
On the horizon? I just heard about the new 802.11n standard. The superman of wireless? We'll see.
59 This rocks
This router is all that Netgear says that it is. I have wireless access throughout my home which is modest at 1100 square feet. I also have wireless access in my back yard, my front yard. I can be on my neighbor's front yard and have wireless access. I purchased this because my old Netgear router wouldn't cover the entire house. I have mostly Windows XP on the network but this router also works fine with two Fedora Linux boxes that are connected wirelessly to the network.
60 Color of WGT624 is GRAY - NOT BLUE like in pic
I experience the well-documented occasional random resets but I don't do mission critical stuff over the network, so it's not really a big issue. Wireless connection is problem-free as well.
BTW, I have no idea where amazon.com got the photo of the WGT624 but the unit is NOT blue - it comes in two-tone gray.
61 Piece of junk - resets CONSTANTLY - Poor range
This product should be recalled.
I had a Netgear 802.11b that had good range, and worked flawlessly for a year and a half. It dies. I bought this as a replacement.
This router has less than HALF the range of my previous netgear router when used with 802.11b devices. This translates to a range of less than 50' in open space, and 15' in my home.
To top it off, I can't maintain a connection for more than 30 minutes with the device and the router on the same desk. The router keeps randomly resetting.
To top it off, its getting worse by the day. I'm going to try to return it, either to Amazon or Netgear.
62 It Works, Thanks to Reviewer hrd2k and None to Netgear
I had the same problems as everyone else who used this product. I had Version 1 for just under 90 days and worked with Level 1 tech support numerous times to get the thing steady. Tech support seemed to try to keep me trying things until I got to the 90 day point, at which time they seemed like they weren't going to help me. They kept asking me for the date that I bought it. I didn't want to get to the 90-day point, so I demanded a new router at about day 89. They complied quickly (no CC needed) so at least they have that going for them. The original router's problem wasn't that it rebooted, as other users reported. In my case, it simply didn't allow you to connect to the Internet by either not giving you a DHCP address when you started up or by just bombing out and freezing up at random times. The problem really could happen at any time. Sometimes it worked for 24 hours, sometimes for 2 minutes. You never knew when it was going to freeze up on you. If you power-cycled the router, all was well again.
I quickly got a new unit from Netgear (another V.1) and the same problems quickly appeared. I followed hrd2k's simple instructions (set the preamble to long preamble vice automatic) and now the system is stable for weeks at a time, which is as long as I've tested it. I'm satisfied with unit, but they definitely sold it with bugs. Auto 108-mode wouldn't work until a recent s/w update. That meant that the unit would only work in a mixed B and G environment at 54 Megabits. Also, the logs only monitor port 80 and only monitor outbound connections. If someone is using AOL IM or telnet on your system, you can't tell. Hey, if it's a firewall, I would like to see what's going out and trying to come in. The log only holds about 40 recent outbound connections, so it you surf for 5 to 10 minutes, the logs are overwritten. You can mail yourself the logs if you want before they're overwritten, but most people won't care about this. If you want to see what your kids surfed today, they had better have been using port 80 and doing whatever within the past 5 minutes.
So, with these kinds of problems and these limitations, why did I rate it a 2 instead of a 1? I like the fact that you can restrict access to certain MAC addresses and that the wireless range is better than the MR314 that it replaced. I also like the fact that you can reserve a DHCP address for a particular machine. This is handy for me because one of my machines shares a printer and I have the other network machines find that one by IP address.
Anyhow, it's now a nice unit thanks to hrd2k. I wish Netgear support knew about this fix. Hey, who would have suspected that changing something from automatic would fix it? Good find, hrd2k, and thanks for publicizing it. You saved me some money by not having to purchase a Linksys or D-Link to replace it.
63 So far, So good
Setup was easy and the first thing I did was go and download the newest firmware. I seem to have v3 of the hardware. I took a little while configuring things. Both my wired and wireless computers seem to be working fine. No connection drops, good range. Only dissappointment is that it doesn't seem to have a telnet accessible command line to do configuration like my previous netgear router. So, I've encountered none of the problems mentioned by people here so far. Crossing my fingers.
64 Poor Quality Hardware
I own the MR814v2 802.11b router. That is a very stable product, so I figured since I had a WG311 wireless card in my desktop I'd buy another Netgear router for 802.11g. Many of the reviews here were favorable, so I bought on the basis of that.
This product is simply not stable, at least for me. It has to be rebooted constantly. For sure it cannot hold a wireless connection more than 24 hours. I upgraded to the latest firmware, which at the time of writing is 4.1.11. No help whatsoever. I checked on-line, and sure enough many many people have reported similar problems with it (broadbandreports.com). I tried disabling the 108Mb features, but that also didn't help.
So in the end, I'm just returning it after a frustrating weekend.
65 Great Router
Set up easy. Read all reviews, and bought with some reservations as several negative reviews indicated problems. However, I believe Netgear has them fixed with the version shipping now. Excellent out of box set up, configured both WEP and WAP, settled on using WEP. Use a Netgear 511 wireless card and get 54MBPS thoughout house, about 24-48 outside. Distance of 50+ feet. I have an old house, lathe and plaster walls, hardwood construction and still great reception. Also, have the router in the basement, between an old brick chimney and the furnace. Still, great reception. Recommend!
66 Bad bad bad - stay away from this one!!!!
I bought this in the hope of setting up a fast network, but this is one worthless piece from Netgear. The router is totally incapable of holding a connection up to both wired and wireless connections on the network. I have v2 HW, and have tried 3 different firmwares. I am convinced that the only people who are happy with this one are the ones that turn their computer off after reuse. If you plan on leaving computers on forget this one.
Netgear's service is even worse. They finally agreed that this is a problem with the router, and that its not a first or uncommon thing for the router. The WGT634U is equally bad. The problems seem to stem from 108Mbps not being a stable standard yet. I would get a 54G router for now, and revisit 108 in a year or so when such issues may just be behind. For now I am returning this and if Netgear does not agree to give me another product in return or my money back, i am never coming back to their products again either.
67 Easy setup, good performance, no problems
I purchased the WGT624 and the WG511T as a pair. Installation was easy (followed the manual) and performance is obviously better than the 802.11b router/WAP this replaced. After getting everything to work I performed the autoupdate for the WGT624 with no problems. As expected, I don't get 100mbps performance, but with notebook in the same room as WAP I get solid 45mbps file transfers. I use this router in combination with some remote 802.11b WAPs. I configured two profiles for the WG511T (11b only and superG only)and apply the appropriate profile for the WAP I want - works great.
Also, the range is better than with my older 11b system.
I clearly haven't experienced the problems others have expressed - I'm completely satisfied with these products.
68 advice of its wireless usage
after a week of using
this router have very good signal/reception
without any external antenna help (the antenna is not removable), I can get good to very good with MS MN710 at the kitchen, this is amazing!
but since it has that powerful signal, that setting up wireless security is not an option: WEP/WPA, MAC filtering (does not apply to hard-wired connection, auto detect your card's MAC), ssid hiding
I don't use it as router, I configure it as wireless access point (I have a good old SMC 7004ABR), so far so good, the only thing annoying is it disconnects every time when setting changes takes effect (SMC 2804v2 don't have that problem)
since I don't have super G client card, that I don't use super G, but I found you can't choose any channel under any super G mode (the router seeks them for you, because it uses 2 channels under super G), this is fine for me, because I just use b and g mode, and one more tip: lower channel has better signal
conclusion: if you're really care about the range/distance, get this, it has better range even with your favorite wireless card, running as wireless access point works better than router
69 UPDATE: It gets worse
After countless hours of trying to make this useless product work, Netgear offered to replace it - if I gave them my credit card number, which they claimed would not be charged unless I failed to send back the defective router. Given the gross incompetence of their customer service, I'd rather eat the loss than risk them having my CC number on file. Their attitude was extremely condescending - like they were doing me a great favor by waving the shipping charges for the replacement. Speaking to a supervisor didn't help either - she had an even snootier attitude than the rep. Do yourself a favor - if after all this you still buy a Netgear product, and it doesn't work, bring it back for a refund immediately - trying to get these Netgear idiots to understand customer service or support is like trying to get good sushi at Mcdonalds - impossible. I paid dearly for trying to make the router work, instead of just getting a refund while I could. Don't make the same mistake.
70 You could just burn your money instead.
or Why Linksys Isn't Worried
It seems like a great deal, but the Netgear WGT624 is a dud. After installing it, it worked briefly, but the first thing the web-based control page suggested is a firmware update. Big mistake. After the update, the router kicked off any connected PC after 2 minutes. I've spent hours on the phone with the polite but incompetent support people, reset everything, restored a previous version of the firmware, all for nought. Netgear's final solution was to suggest that I return the router to the store - but it's past the store's exchange period. I wrote them of this, CC'd the CEO (Patrick Lo) and have received no response at all. Sure, it's cheaper than a Linksys, but the Netgear is way too expensive (and too lightweight!) for a paperweight.
Basically, Netgear has no interest in upholding their guarantee, or supporting their customers. Linksys has nothing to worry about.
71 Good router but needs tweaking to get great performance.
Setup was easy, has excellent range with 11b ang 11g wireless cards. I have problem with the wired 3com gigabit nic card, and tech support is useless. Like some of the users, I upgraded the firmware to no avail. I really liked this router that I tried to analyze the problem. The router has DHCP ON to dynamically assign IP address to whatever device that wants to connect with it. Somehow it has problem assigning a valid IP address to the wired 3com card. The trick is to allow DHCP ON to the router so that the wireless cards can connect, and to configure the TCPIP of the 3com card(wired)to have static address to something like 192.168.0.6 ( do not use 192.168.0.2 or 3 because it will run in conflict with the wireless card when the router assign DHCP IPs). The subnet is set to 255.255.255.0 and the gateway is the routers IP address which is 192.168.0.1. I also change the channel to 6, as what everyone is recommending to get better results. After that I never had any problem and I didn't get the reboot that some people are experiencing. I only gave 4 stars because it took me some tweaking to resolved the problem and tech support is not reliable. I highly recommend this, and it is a great buy for the price after rebate. I'm glad I gave it one more try before i try to return.
72 Good...but not without problems
I purchased my WGT624 v2 from amazon.com. As soon as I pulled it out of the box it was constantly rebooting (dropping me off the internet both wired and wireless). I was able to fix it though and I will tell you how and what happened. When I had this problem out of the box, I called for netgears free 90 day support. They were horrible! They answered the phone without a long wait, but they knew very little about this product. They gave me an RMA and I received the new router. Unpakced the replacement and same problem. Updated firmward to latest, and followed all the troubleshooting on the netgear site and I still coudln't fix it. Just when I was ready to return it to amazon I found out how to fix the problem. There is a setting on the router for preamable and it is set to auto by default. Auto is supposed to detect if the card(s) support short preamable (short is usually only useful when there is a lot of interference from other wireless devices in and around the home and most cards don't even support it). I changed the setting from auto to long and that fixed the reboot problems. I have gone around to as many forums as possible to try and post the solution so that others can cure themselves of this problem. It works great now that I found out what the problem was. This is not a router for a novice computer user. If you are a novice I suggest you get a linksys product. This netgear has a lot of features for the price though, and this is just a stupid problem with the firmware.
Hrd2k
73 Wonderful Product
I am using this router hardwired to a Windows Desktop, and wireless with a Mac PowerBook G4 with an AirPort Extreme card. Installation could not have been any easier, and no set-up was even required. The Mac picked up the signal and adapted immediately without even a restart.
The only downfall is that the Mac's AirPort card is only a 54Mbps card, so I am not able to experience the power of the 108Mbps router. Signal strength is great through several walls and even makes it out onto my balcony. Highly recommended!
74 Absolutely horrible!!!
Although this was supposed to be a veritable piece of cake to install, all it did was continually crash my cable modem and/or my computer. It reset so often that I couldn't perform the setup functions or register the product at all--the whole process was completely frustrating. A call to the help center did absolutely no good, as I waited for 20 minutes on hold just to have them tell me that because it wasn't registered I couldn't receive any support from them. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
75 Terrible mixed-mode performance (< 1Mbps)
I bought this product to use with an Orinoco Gold 802.11b laptop card and with a new 802.11g bridge to connect them to my LAN. From the beginning (with the firmware out of the box) through 5 different firmware revisions (including the latest 4.1.11 released on 6/24/2004), this unit has experienced major problems operating in mixed-mode (with both B and G clients). The G client operates reasonably well at about 75% link quality at 15 feet, but the B client suffers from poor transfer rates and faltering link quality. Constantly, the B node drops to a 1Mbps link even though it is about 30 feet away and the SNR is over 30. Typically, the link stays at 6Mbps with an occasional jump to 11Mbps (I've tried every frequency). The B client card is known to be good as it works with 5 other brands of routers and perfectly with Netgear's own MR814v2. The problem is even exacerbated when transferring large amounts of data between the two wireless nodes (B to G, or G to B).
I attempted to contact Netgear support about this issue. After their initial reply (roughly a week and a half after the first request was sent) that since they had never encountered anything like my situation in the lab, my B client card must be defective, I explained to them that I had tested many things including disabling 802.11g and 108Mbps mode on the WGT624v2 as well as moving both units around. I also told them that the Netgear MR814v2 does not experience any of these problems. Three weeks later, I have yet to receive any response to my repeated emails requesting a solution. I would have to say that Netgear offers EXTREMELY poor after-purchase support (not my first experience with this).
Since then, the router has begun randomly dropping the link completely on the 802.11b node for 3-5 seconds at a time about 10-15 times in a row.
In terms of design, the WGT624 is lacking in several areas. The 108Mbps mode has a fatal flaw as well: when in 108Mbps "turbo" mode, the only channel the router will operate on is the frequently crowded and noisy Channel 6. The port forwarding mechanism is very simplistic and leaves much to be desired. Mappings can not be made from an external port to a different numbered port internally (i.e. comes in as 8888, goes to internal server as 80). When assigning descriptive names to the mappings, no spaces may be used, nor may any "+"'s, "-"'s, or "."'s.
This product is a major disappointment since Netgear generally makes reasonably good products. If you need any type of support for the product, good luck because you will not get it from Netgear. Unless you live in a fairly rural area with very little interference, few people with wireless devices, and are planning on using only Netgear's 108Mbps client cards, I would highly recommend staying away from this poor product.
76 Zoooooom
Wow. Easy to setup. Incredible range and signal strength. WEP security is disabled by default...make sure to enable or risk a compromise. Haven't carried my laptop down the block yet, but sure I'll get good signal at least a few houses away. Be careful with this product and USE THE SECURITY FEATURES!
77 Good router, boooooooo for amazon
I had been eyeing this router for a while and when I saw the price had dropped on amazon, I leapt at it. I ordered it and checked the status daily. Day after day "Item not yet shipped".... took me a month to get it.
So once again, boooooo for amazon.
Nic
PS Router is great
78 Simple and Easy
Setup for this router - WGT624 was easy.
However after the initial day or 2 of happiness, the router shows signs of stress. It reboots every 2 days and I have done everything like upgrade to new firmware and change or customize settings but nothing will stop it from rebooting in 48 hrs.
Other features I wish this supported and are not part of rating the product are
- Static NAT (1 to 1)
- Support for 108mb super G along with G and B
- Firewall with proper rule set
79 Exceeded my expectations
The range of this router is fantastic. I haven't had the opportunity to test speed, but I simply don't care--I bought it for the range, and it has delivered in spades. I now have all my computers talking to each other and sharing an internet connection--between two buildings, through a garage and numerous walls and obstacles, with different OSes, with different brand wireless cards, with a DSL provider who uses an off-beat protocol, and you-name-it. It's a mess, but this router just keeps on routing like a true champ. Setup was relatively painless, although I did have to experiment some due to my ISP's goofy non-standard protocol.
My last attempt at this failed miserably (802.11b of a different brand which starts with a link and ends with a sys) due to lack of range and apparent compatibility issues.
I've heard the horror stories about this router, but they are a mystery to me. This product has worked flawlessly from the word "go" and I couldn't be happier with the purchase.
80 Cool Router
I have used the MR814 and this one is way better and have a great throughput at long ranges even when the signal is low. I am unable to take advantage of what the router really has to offer b/c I dont use a 108 adapter, just a B and G adapter. One thing though, I noticed that the Wireless LED keeps flashing on and off. The MR814 that I have used doesnt do this and stays lit. Is this happening for everyone or is it just me? Please post. Overall, seems good to me.
81 Does not support both 108 Super G and 802.11g
This router has "auto 108" mode which should select either 108 Mbps or 54 Mbps depending on which type of WiFi card you have. This DOES NOT work!
The WiFi card will always default to 54 Mbps mode even if you are only using NearGear's Super G 108 capable cards for WLAN.
The only way to force Super G mode is to select the router at 108 mode, but then you can't use your regular 802.11g cards with this setup. Bummer !
I should have bought WGT614 54Mbps router !
82 Doesn't Perform As advertised
If you plan to use this product using the auto 108 mode so you can run wireless g & b devices along with the super g, don't bother. It doesn't work. I've spent weeks with tech support. Level one support reads from a script and wastes your time. Level 2 is much better but serves to delay while engineering does it's work. Level 3 never calls even though they make promises. I believe they released this product prematurely so their competitors wouldn't gain too much of an advantage. They won't refund my money but after spending more than 8 hours on tech support calls they expect me to wait indefinately for them to solve the problem. I wonder what happens after their 90 day support program ends! Don't buy from Netgear!!!
83 Great speed and range
Just installed this Netgear Wireless Router as replacement for a Linksys based wireless system. We are routing to 3 computers in the 11b mode (we don't have 11g capbility on the computers yet). The Netgear replaced three bulky items: Linksys WAP11 access poing, Linksys power amp, and a 6 dB gain antenna. Netgear router outperfomed replaced system in speed and range. Range is at least twice what we had. Very happy with Netgear. Installation and configuration were only slightly more complicated than advertised. Two other attractive features of this Netgear product: (1) inexpensive compared to replaced system, (2) USB connection for network hard drive.
84 Easy to setup and very secure to use
This is the first wireless router I ever have. I have been using two wired routers and I am not comfortable with the security of wireless Wi-Fi products for a long time. WEP is a little better than nothing. WPA is the more secure protocol I would like to use.
It took less than 10 minutes to finish basic setup after I had attached WGT624 (version 2) to my wired router so that my notebook with Windows XP could talk to WGT624 wirelessly. I then tighten up security on WGT624 with the following:
1. Change admin password from 'Set Password' menu.
2. Basic Wireless Settings:
Change SSID Name
Select 'WPA-PSK' (Wi-Fi Protected Access Pre-Shared Key) from Security Options, Enter a Pass phrase. Apply the same settings on the notebook.
3. Advance Wireless Settings:
Uncheck the option 'Enable SSID Broadcast' to make my wireless network invisible. Only authorized clients with the correct SSID can connect to my network. Then I add my notebook to the access list.
It seems that it takes a little longer for WGT624 to update the settings. You should be patient. I change one setting at a time so that I can change it back with a wired connection. Sometimes, I have to reboot the notebook to re-connect to it.
You can turn off wireless feature whenever you want.
When everything works, I replace my wired router with WGT624. I update firmware without problems. The security features are great.
85 firmware nightmares, surreal tech support
Firstly I have had my home networked sicne I had ISDN ten years ago. I am quite familiar with all the technical aspects as I have aldso had routers and hardware firewalls for some time.
The firmware on this unit is problematic, the firmware "upgrade" is even worse. Do not bother calling tech support unless you are willing to have someone wo doesn't know a much at all reading off a scripted card insult your intelligence.
To top that off range is quite poor. I would wait til the next generation of this product or for them to work out the many bugs.
It seems like a good price but if you have to spend hours on the phone with bad tech support it wouldn't be worth it if it were free.
86 Buyer Beware...
Got the router, and when it chooses to it work fine. Unfortunately, even after upgrading the firmware from the shipped version 1 to the current 4.1.x, the product still doesn't want to work. So far as I can tell, they put so many bells and whistles on it that they didn't have time to make it all work together.
It reboots continually, causing you to lose anything you were working on, phone calls to drop, etc.
Spend your money on a product that works.
87 Excellent range and easy setup
I have two PCs with wireless cards in an office on the opposite side of the house from where my cable modem and wireless access point are located. Since there are stucco walls in my house, there's chickenwire in the walls which has really cut short the range of my wireless access point. I've been using the D-Link DWL-900AP+ access point along with a DWL-800AP+ wireless range extender. I even put a DWL-R60AT antenna on the DWL-900AP+ to increase the range of the access point. This setup worked with moderate success, but I never liked the fact that I had to have two devices plugged in (actually three since I had a Netgear FVS318 firewall in between my cable modem and my DWL-900AP+) and sometimes the signal would suddenly be dropped. I don't know where I heard about the superb range of the product, but I just installed the Netgear WGT624 Super G 108 Mbps Wireless Router, and I'm amazed by the range of this access point/router. Instead of a weak or non-existent signal when I used the D-Link DWL-900AP+ access point before, the Netgear WGT624 Super G 108 Mbps Wireless Router provides a excellent to good signal anywhere in the house. Because the wireless G protocol is compatible with the B protocol, I don't have to replace any wireless devices in the house which use a mix of the B and G protocol. One other thing is that the Netgear WGT624 Super G 108 Mbps Wireless Router was also very easy to set up. Basic setup was straightforward and security settings including 128-bit WEP encryption and MAC ID access rules were very easy to deal with. In conclusion, if your wireless access point or router isn't providing the range that you need in your office or home, I would definitely take a look at the Netgear WGT624 Super G 108 Mbps Wireless Router.
88 This product deserves more that 3.5 stars
I don't have much to say, but saw the low customer score and had to give it an overall 5 stars. I bought this thing the day it came out over a year ago and never had one problem with it. I use to have a linksys 11B. This has twice the range.
The only problem I ran into was when my dsl provider (Verizon) replaced my modem. I used hours of Netgear support and yes their support is in India. But it wasn't bad. They even called me back to try one last thing. Of course they were of no help. I found the answer on Google in like 2 minutes.
It was Verizon's Infospeed modem/firewall/router/DHCP server. The factory disabled everything except the modem. The annoying 3 day chuckle was it still had an internal IP address that was the netgear's default. I couldn't get the two to work together mainly due to the modem being crippled at the factory. I had Verizon send me the model with the full features and everything was kosher.
89 There's no net with this gear.
I recently upgraded my DSL and with the upgrade came a long awaited static IP. I was ecstatic becuase I could finally contemplate VPN. And if I was going to get a VPN router, why not upgrade my wireless network at the same time. My Linksys 802.11b router worked like a charm, but my new laptop with built in 802.11g was urging me to upgrade to g.
Good idea: upgrade my wireless network and get VPN functionality;
Bad idea: using this product to try to accomplish either.
After 3 calls to my ISP support (Bellsouth, who has been awesome for the last 3 1/2 years I have had their DSL) and 2 calls to Netgear support, I finally gave up trying to get connected to my ISP through this device. Netgear's support staff was not only technically inadequate and difficult to understand with the language barrier (thanks Netgear for outsourcing overseas!), but they were downright rude to boot. When I told the second support rep that I did not need all this information for my Linksys B router to connect with my new static IP, he recommended that maybe I should go back to Linksys...and that I will. The moral is that, as with most things, you get what you pay for: I tried to save a few bucks and I paid for it with this debacle.
90 Awesome speed, range, and features
After being fed up by the breakage of two netgear 802.11b routers, i decided to go all out and get the super g! What a great decision is was. The range is like three times as good, it is ten times as fast, and it has all sorts of nifty features. I particularly was impressed by the automatic firmware update, so you don't have to bother with all that yourself. They make the setup and configuration process very easy as well, so definately buy it now.
91 Best On The Market
If you're looking for the fastest, most secure, longest reception, wirless router on the market, look no further. NETGEAR is the first to come out with the absolutely competition punishing 108Mbps speeds... 5 times faster then the competition. Independent tests prove it's range is double the LinkSys as well. (...). Setup took about 15 minutes, and that included setting all the security features up. Surfing the internet took even less then that.
Make sure you get version 2 (which is being sold basically everywhere at this point so it shouldn't be a worry), and you can see 'V2' on the bottom of the router itself if you're not sure. To realize the full 108Mbps speed advantage you need to buy the matching NETGEAR Super G adapter for your computer (which is also rated highly).
Cons: the only con i can think of, is that it helps to be remotely computer savvy. I could see someone with no computer experience getting a little lost, but even though this is my first wireless router, I was able to set it up without even reading the directions (to give you an idea of how easy it is).
92 Second Time's A Charm!
After ordering Netgear "802.11g" wireless router which worked only five hours, I returned it and upgraded to the WGT624 Super G. What a difference. Installed completely within 20 minutes including the wireless card on my laptop, and everything ran perfectly. Before you hook up anything, put the installation cd in your computer and then follow the instructions. This one simple step makes everything work. Also, the ethernet cord they give you is way too short. You will need to purchase two 14' ethernet cords so you can locate the router away from your processor: one for your DSL modem and the other for the router.
This is my first time at writing a review. But after reading so many of the negatives on NetGear, I decided to post my opinion. My second time at using this product was a charm!
93 Works Reliably
I bought it because of the SPI & NAT firewalls and because of the 128 bit encryption. It works great. I'm happy I bought it.
94 Good Super G Router
I bought Netgear WGT624 Super G from Amazon for $85-$25 rebate and the corresponding WG511T from Best Buy for $89-$40 rebate.
Actually, I like Linksys because it is reliable. So, I bought Linksys WRT54G first from Fry's, but they sent me an old version of WRT54G which was reviewed having a lot of problems. I returned Linksys and bought Netgear because it says it can go up to 108 Mbit and it is cheaper than Linksys. Hopefully, they really send me the rebate.
Installation to replace my old wired Linksys router was relatively easy (with Comcast and RCA modem). However, for some reasons, I can not make my laptop to work at 108 Mbps. The fastest it can go is 54 Mbps. This is after firmware refresh (both the router and the card) and using channel 6.
I can not say that the signal is great, since from about 10 feets distance in the same house, the speed drops to 24-36Mbps.
I have not try with 11 mbps b card, so I can't say anything about this.
Few things to remember when installing the router:
1. Do not rush opening the box. You need to check if the router you have is firmware upgradable. Netgear was reviewed to have some rotten apple in their batch that do not allow firmware upgrade. Go to their web site: http://kbserver.netgear.com/support_details.asp?dnldID=592
and enter the serial number of the product to see if the one you have is firmware upgradable. If not, you should return it.
2. You want WGT624G version 2 or later. This later version uses a better chip set. However, I think there is no way of finding the version without opening the box. I order from Amazon because according to reviews Amazon ships version 2; although mine has a low serial number.
3. They have a URL that describes the setup for various ISP: http://www.netgear-support.com/ts/doc/ispguide.htm.
It would be a good idea to check it before installing.
I rate this as a good product althought I am not quite satisfied since I can not make it to work up to 108Mbps as advertised.
-- bens
95 Rock solid and works flawlessly !!!
After years of using Linksys, I heard good reviews on Netgear and wanted to upgrade to 802.11g, particularly, the "Super G" they offered. Although I haven't fully tested the "Super" mode, the standard "g" works flawlessly. Superior range over linksys (40% better speed performance compared to Linksys). As for setup, it's a breeze. There isn't much in the way of manuals, but the software tutorial is a snap. 64 or 128 bit encryption and you can select MAC addresses to really put forth effort to prevent hackers from gaining access, or simply to prevent a "leech" from stealing your wireless connection. In light of the upcoming days of streaming music and video around the house, this puppy does it and does it well.
96 Solid box w/ good features...
(...)I actually purchased a Linksys WRT54G just a month before I picked up this netgear unit and am quite pleased that I did. The two reasons why I went the netgear route instead of sticking to my linksys box were (1) the netgear box has the additional SPI firewall in addition to the NAT and (2) the overall transmission range of the unit was significantly greater.
(...)Although all wireless units have their specific advantages/disadvantages, I feel that this unit strikes a good balance for my needs.
I would recommend though not to just stick to the default settings that netgear provides (I felt that they did not give adequate instructions as to how to use the robust set of security features they have available). Take the extra 10 minutes or so and actually change the default security settings (they are OFF by default). That is, I would do the following tasks the second it comes out of the box: (1) change the router's password; (2) enable WEP or WPA-PSK (preferred); (3) change the network SSID name from its default; (4) disable the SSID broadcast; and (5) use the Wireless Card Access List to filter MAC addresses. With those tasks accomplished, you should actually feel somewhat secure. (I emphasize this because at my house I can access over 6 wireless networks that are completely wide open and have zero security whatsoever)
97 Update on a review
I cannot remember if I posyed a review on the WGT624 or not, but here it goes.
I bought Netgear because of great products and support in the past. I have to say that both have declined greatly. I have the v2 of this router, and its buggy. In wireless mode, the router begins rebooting itself! I have spent some time with this so I will break down this issue here:
Wireless mode turned off: no reboots whatsoever, stable.
108Mbps enabled: reboots every few hours
G and B mode: reboots every 2 or 3 days
in B mode only: reboots every 5 to 6 days.
When I contacted Netgear (and contacting a call center in India), it took 20 minutes to explain the problem only to have them parrot back a misinterpretation! Its not their fault, its Netgears fault for contracting with them - sure it saves money but at what cost?
Their suggestion was to diable SPI firewall which did nothing. They will RMA the unit. What is strange is if you search Google for "WGT624 reboots" and you will find a host of people with this issue. Problem is Netgear is neither aware of the problem, nor willing to acknowledge the problem.
I will send this in for RMA. In the meantime, I decided to buy a new wireless router - the Microsoft MN-500. I read the reviews and it received good press. I must concur that the Microsoft router is problem free, greater range, much cheaper, and simple to setup. I will review the router so look for it.
Bottom line, avoid this router. If you are still willing to shell down money for a gamble, I would wait until Netgear finally acknowledges the problem that way it can be fixed!
98 Not as bad as I expected
After reading the reviews, I bought this router expecting the worst. I am an AOL Broadband user, and it was one of three companies I could use. In fact, I believe Netgear has been taken off that list, and its down to two--thats after I bought the router. Nevertheless, the damn thing works anyway. Oh it took some tweaking, and being an internet idiot, a few calls. Tech support is outsourced as some have said. This is not good. But in the final analysis, two calls to Netgear helped me with my problems and got me going wireless, so I dont think the word useless, as Ive seen here, is accurate. Patience is needed on both sides of the phone. I would like to know, though, now that Im a hotspot myself, just what I can do with my wireless connection, other than hook up to the net with my laptop. No website seems to key in on all that wireless can do, none Ive found, anyway. The router itself is just fine. Good range, good speed, looks cool. I have version 3 (they call it NA) and I havent upgraded the firmware, as I was told not to as long as everything was working properly. You dont have to be a geek to get this system to config properly, but geekish would be a plus here.
99 Does not work with Microsoft Games.
I was very unhappy with this product when I installed it and it did not work with Microsoft's Asheron's Call. I had to get a tech support to come to my house to work with my router for TWO HOURS! It came up short and the router still doesn't work well. There are still many bugs with the new wireless G Netgear routers. There is way more speed than you actually need in a house hold. You can spend much less on a product that gives you much better quality and support.
Sincerly,
Robert D.
100 WGT624 Works great... but don't Flash it unless you have to!
I got my WGT624 about a month ago and when I first got it, it prompted me to look for new firmware... and like an idiot, I went ahead and clicked yes and downloaded the newest firmware... BIG MISTAKE!!!
The unit never had a chance... the firmware hosed it like nobody's busines.
But never fear... I called Netgear and talked to tech support (...), however eventually they came to the conclusion that the unit was hosed and that it would have to be replaced under warranty (since it was brand spankin' new). You can get more details on my encounter with their "tech support" here: http://chimptopia.com/pimptopia/031304.shtml
When the new unit arrived... I didn't flash it this time and it worked flawlessly. I'm very happy with its performance and having fast video streaming from one PC to another in my network is great.
It gets 4 stars just because when you first boot it up, it asks you to look for new firmware which caused my problem below. Honestly, they should change that... cause that is just ASKING for problems.
