WGT624 108 Mbps Wireless Firewall Router / WG511T 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card Kit
1 I can't recommend this unit
Pros
- Looks nice
- Easy to setup
Cons
- External ac/dc adaptor
- Has problem dropping connections (possibly due to overheating). Netgear forums blasted this unit.
- Was performing firmware upgrade and it failed to upgrade - had to send it back.
Had to send unit back at own expense.
- Netgear support has somewhat long wait times and the phone tree can be confusing.
2 'OK' type product. Not that great
This product is just OK type. Nothing so great about it. Initial setup is hard. I had to roll back to factory settings many times to bring this item to working stage.
3 not worth the hassle
I don't usually write reviews, but this product failed after just six months. I also had another Netgear router fail immediately. I just can't recommend them after all the time and hassle it takes to discover that your hardware is bad. I have an apple airport...and of course it "just works." I've ordered a Belkin pre-N and will report on its efficacy.
4 Router is good but the card...
...is crap. Quit working after a few months. Although when it was working it was fast. The wireless card can't hold a signal even when it's literally inches away from the Netgear antenna! Meanwhile the built in wireless card in a IBM T42 has no problem connecting to the Netgear router.
Netgear products are questionable and you take a chance. When they work, they work great, but once they stop working don't bother with support or trying to fix it. Save time and fustration and just throw it away and get another brand.
5 Not-so-good-gear
The router looks nice , setup was ok . But as others remark it drops the connection just like that every now and then , and every couple of days you need to unplug it because it plays dead ( won't connect to the ISP ) .
Now it could be many things as there are many parameters including ISP , cable modem compability and P2P usuage but I've done all I can ( firmware , forums etc. ) , neatgear support is not help at all and if i knew that I wouldn't buy it .
And I'm still waiting for my Amazon-Netgear rebate 3 months after .
6 Nothing but trouble
I have had this unit for about 7 months now and it has been nothing but trouble. It constantly stops working and I have to unplug it from the wall and plug it back it to get it working again. Often, this method of resetting doesn't even work. Sometimes, I have to do a physical reset with the button on the back of the unit to make it work again. I am running the latest firmware, and still nothing but trouble. I recently said "the heck with it" and purchased a D-Link Xtreme G kit and it is working as advertised.
7 It's great to not have cables running all over the place...
I read some reviews about problems between Netgear and WinXP, so I went to the Netgear website to download the latest updates. I then inserted my PC card and downloaded the hardware. Before I knew it, I was online. The whole thing took less than 5 minutes to do. I didn't even need to use the CDs that came with it. Way easier than I expected.
8 Netgear Wireless super kit
Maybe, I was just lucky. But this took me about 5 minutes to get up and running. I followed the easy directions and got it working with my DSL modem. It also had a 35 dollar rebate, which made this very cheap to purchase. I was a steal, if it keeping working as well as it is now.
9 don't buy it
Router works great for sharing an ethernet connection, no problems. The wireless card only worked for 2 weeks. I had to plug it in and out for it to be recognized by the computer. Then, one day, the card suddenly quit working and gave me an error "code 10". Netgear said to upgrade the drivers, but that didn't help. On the Netgear forums you will see tons of entries as to code 10 errors for the WGTB511T. You can even do an internet search for these errors...they are common. Dont' waste your money, time, and frustrations...GET A DIFFERENT BRAND- Linksys or Belkin.
10 Mac OS X users - you need to shell out money for drivers
Yup...I know what is says on the box: wi-fi compliant and works with Macintosh. it does, and here's how:
1. ignore ALL Netgear data and "advice".... worthless.
2. from Netgear's own site, they say you have to go to Orangeware.com and download the OS X drivers... it's another $15 - fast and easy, but another $15 not advertised.
3. on a Netware CD for the router, dbl-click on the html file to gain access to the router for setting the unit up... click/fill in as needed.
Definately not an 'out of the box' experience for Mac types, but once working, it has done fairly well. I gave it a 3/5 because unlike others in this thread, it hasn't died on me (yet?). Would consider other vendors with recent hindsight.
Regards,
UPDATE: Well, it's been 90 days... and the router works fine, but the card died. Switching to Belkin. Save yourself the hassles. Lower my rating to <1 star.
11 Fast, but worth the money??
Hi,
I bought this router 2 months ago. I was originally going to buy a 54mbps router, but this was only a little more money. I opted for the Super G because it was "faster." However, the router, even when put at the highest speed, is usually only working at 54 Mbps. I questioned Netgear on the phone, and they said this is typical; using the 108 Mbps, as advertised, would cause many problems and malfunctions.
I have had the connection fail several times and had to call Netgear. They finally told me that this is "normal" and I figured out going to the website how to fix it w/in 30 seconds, but it was not they way they originally told me.
Overall, it is as fast as when I'm plugged in and very convenient to go wireless, but I'm not sure that I needed to spend the extra money for the 108 Mbps, perhaps someone with a "slower" router would be able to talk about whether they get their full power or not.
Also, just be aware that it does interfere with cordless stuff in your house; our cordless phone has had a lot of static since I set up the router.
Good Luck!
12 FLASH IN THE PAN
Bought the router/laptop card kit in August 2004, began having problems with it in early December. By mid-December it was completely dead. After reading reviews by others I decided not to pursue warranty remedy, but, instead, threw the router and card in the trash and bought a Belkin Pre-N router and card instead. Netgear warranty states for one year you "may" receive a "re-furbished" product as a warranty exchange. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that means they have a high rate of returns. After one year? Sorry, buy a replacement item. Belkin has a lifetime warranty; buy it once.
13 Great Router
Very easy to setup basic as well as advanced options such as port forwarding. Straightforward, great radius, powerful, everything you could want. I would highly recommend this product to anyone looking for a reliable wirless router!
14 Don't buy it , I tried 2 models and none worked !!!
This router is really fast when it works. Unfortunately, it reboots constantly, 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.
15 like magic
I've always been a little intimidated by this wireless network thing but my technonerd brother convinced me to jump in head first. Got this kit because after the rebate it was stupid cheap. As advertised, I had my laptop fired up and wire-free within twenty minutes. Never loaded the supplied card drivers... went to netgear website and got latest and started with those. This is great stuff.
16 Works as expected
I have a Compaq Presario 17XL260 laptop, Win98SE. Router installed OK, but PCMCIA card reboots and freezes the laptop. 4 emails to Netgear Support (!!!) didn't solve nothing. I test the card in a WinXP laptop, instantly recognized. I upgraded to that OS, no more trouble. I'm getting superb reception in the whole house, a brick-and-mortar home, with concrete and steel columns (108 Mb/s). However, as said in another review, it taxes the system (sometimes the mouse sticks a little).
Why 4 stars, if I'm so happy...? Netgear support - very bad.
17 Excellent
This product worked right out of the box. No glitches nothing! Perfect! I was kind of skeptical when reading the other reviews but it seems they relate to an older version of the firmware and drivers. Netgear must have corrected those problems and therefore, I highly recommend this product. One reviewer tried to mix the PC card and the router and got into trouble and he also recommends not mixing the operating systems. I think, that recommendation is not sound. I am using a Windows 98SE desktop system and a Windows XP Home on my laptop and it works great. The $35 rebate makes this a steal! Go for it!
18 Flawless install
From box to operational with WEP and MAC filtering took about 5 minutes. The card works great in my old Thinkpad T22 and runs at 108Mb through two walls (steel framed house). I'm very impressed.
Good job, Netgear!
19 Good if....
I ordered my router from Amazon and bought my card from a store (they had a better price, so what are you going to do?) Problems were these...
1. Netgear has two routers, WGT624 and WGT624 v.2. When I got my router from Amazon and had problems with it, I called technical support. Problem #2.
2. If you oppose outsourcing, don't support Netgear. Trust me. If you have problems with thick, THICK accents over a telephone line while discussing technical computer jargon (and I know quite a bit), don't support Netgear.
Back to 1. The advise I was given was to return the product and get version 2. You like that? They don't even want to support it. Well, problem is I didn't want a problem. I was nervous about going wireless, from all the stories from my friends, so I wanted to nip this in the bud before there were month's worth of problems.
Oh, and I my rebate was due so try fitting all the returning and shipping and cutting and mailing into this really small window. Nope.
I took it to my local computer store (nameless) and told them what I was told on the phone. Oh yeah, the lady on the phone (and this I did understand through the accent because I WANTED to make sure that's what her instructions were) told me that I could take it to any store and swap it out. No, you can't. But I did because, well, I know the reasons and by now I'm sure you do too.
After all this, the hardware is working fine. I've had a few problems, and tech support has been horrible. I mean that, horrible. They don't care. But I managed to figure it out for myself.
My advice if you buy:
1. Stay updated with all the firmware upgrades off the website. 2. When you hook up the computers to the router and want to encrypt them, make sure they all have the same OS and the same version SP1, SP2, etc.
3. Try to have a friend who doesn't mind answering all the questions you might have...it's a given that he should know what he's doing.
4. And last, have you glass of patience full, in fact, overflowing, when you call customer support.
Hey, we're all people. But that doesn't mean we understand each other.
20 Nice replacement for my aging Linky BEFSR14
I bought this beacuse the price was great and included the wireless PC card. Replacing my old Linksys router. Still using my two WAP11 v1.0 since I use them to connect my HTPC and hacked Tivo to the Netgear router. Will probably eventually replace the two when netgear comes out with a Super-G bridge.
Setup was painless. Read the manual and download the latest drivers. Spent the time to use MAC addressing, encryption, etc. Loaded some beta drivers due to the auto 108 mode causing a crash. I also recall I had to use beta drivers for some time when I first got my Linksys - so this is a non-issue for me.
There are no random reboots that some have reported with this Router. It's been up and working for weeks.
Features of the router are excellent with a nice and intuitive admin interface. Haven't checked out DMZ or VPN yet.
I think I got about a 48MB transfer rate.
For the price - it's a steal.
21 Smooth operation, no blocking and restarting
This kit is great. Easy to set up and no overloading/restarting problems that I experienced with a 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 kit.
22 Decent Setup, Great Range
The router was quick and simple to set up. The direction were clear and easy to follow. I had some difficulties with the card, but a productive phone call to Netgear solved the problem. Support was obviously from overseas, but patient and easy to follow. Great product! This is my first attempt at a Network and wireless is nice.
