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| Date Reviewed: 03/13/2005 |
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 I've never written a review about anything, but my ... Strengths: advertising
Weaknesses: It doesn't work, period. Please see comments
Summary: I've never written a review about anything, but my experience with this product was so bad, I needed to share. Perhaps I can save you some trouble. I bought this because of a cnet review lauding the speed. Some user reviews mentioned issues with network stability, but I disregarded. When I hooked it up, it worked great, but after 15-20 minutes, connection lost. I'd reboot the network and its good for another 15-20 minutes. Do you want to have this problem? Anyway, I called support.... hours spent - no result. They sent me a second unit, same problem... I asked for a refund, sorry no go. What? I bought a linksys wireless router, 5 minutes and it's worked since setup.
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| Date Reviewed: 04/24/2005 |
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Strengths: works great, low price, easy to configure, remote http management, ACL to restrict client list
Weaknesses: logging is very basic, and not verbose enough. NetGear support docs are pretty thin and India-based helpdesk - expect to search with google if you need help or advice.
Summary: I purchased this NetGear WGT624 802.11g to replace an aging Linksys 802.11b network - oh man what a difference!
The NetGear does 108Mpbs if your client HW cards support it, but my 54Mbps and 11Mbps client pick it up fine. The clients I have are an Intel PRO 2200BG and a Netgear WG121NA USB - the compatibility support is pleasing a world of PC parts that don't always play together.
The range is fantastic - goes through the walls and upstairs without a problem. In the warm summer evenings I look forward to using the laptop out on the patio, which is one of those things wireless freedom can give you!
The security features are appreciated, you can restrict who can connect by inputing the MAC addresses into the ACL list on the router. It also supports more than just WEP 64/128/156 bit encryption - also check "WPA-PSK" if your clients support it.
The NetGear can also be set to check for firmware updates - nice to keep current like you expect your virus scanner + O/S to do.
Slight negative on the logging facilities - they are very basic, so buy yourself Raptor or Checkpoint if you're are THAT deep into firewalls and VPNs. NetGear also supports putting 1 host out in a DMZ. My Cisco VPN client 4.x that I use to connect to work passes through the NetGear flawlessly, as does SSH.com & F-Secure ssh server and client software.
Port Forwarding/Triggering allows you to open selective ports so at this very minute I have my personal apache webserver hosting pictures that my extended family can view from the Internet. Next I'll experiment with Windows Remote Desktop, a DOOM3 game server, or whatever else - NetGear is pleasingly sophisticated and I won't hesitate to buy their products in the future.
I did encounter a few bugs with port forwarding/triggering under Windows XP SP1 - but I FDISK'ed my PC and installed WinXP SP2, now it works great.
I picked up this router and the USB client as refurbs - be sure and check your vendors' return policy before you buy. I've read a few disgrunted reviews of people who bought bum merchandise, but for the record, mine works great!
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| Date Reviewed: 05/12/2004 |
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Strengths: it works even through 3 walls and it is fast
Weaknesses: You cannot block single computer from accessing the Internet but there are many software that can achieve that.
Summary: I looked at all these reviews before me and I was surprised because I had this NetGear WGT624 Wireless 802.11G 108 Mbps for 6 months and it did not go bad and it works like magic, I do not feel it is fair to say that manufacturers produce items to become defective after 6 months or so because any item can go bad in any length of time. I worked for Sony electronics before and in some cases things did not last long but in general manufacturers try to produce the best anyway, I have this wireless for 6 months and I never had any problem with it, I have 3 walls between one of my computers and the router and it still works and not even once that I lost signal, I never had to use technical support therefore I can not right about that but this is a great wireless router and I would recommend it.
92% of People (34/37) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 04/25/2005 |
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I regret for purchasing this product. I bought it ...
Strengths: thin, sharp, fast(when it works)
Weaknesses: very unstable, keep rebooting
Summary: I regret for purchasing this product. I bought it because the price was attractive at that time and somewhat went for its brand name. However, it kept rebooting so that my network was always disconnected. After one month tried out, I had to change another router and put this one away. Two of my friends have the same experience with it. I guess I will never purchase any NetGear product again.
89% of People (17/19) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 08/23/2004 |
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Strengths: Extremely long range, super fast speed. What else do you need ?
Weaknesses: couple of problems with setup. It started working after reading the manual ;)
Summary: This thing is simply sick. I've set up wireless networks before, but this one was unreal. Though I had some setup problems (wireless wouldn't work at first, because it is not set to broadcast its name), I would recommend anytime. Netgear provides one of the best management interfaces and most capabilites to protect yourself from the outside. It's not only good looking but works like a champ.
My laptop is usually sitting 60-70 feet away and behind 3 walls (one outside and 2 inside). The signal even goes through brick w/o considerable impact.
Two thumbs up for Netgear
88% of People (22/25) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 10/20/2004 |
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I purchased and set up the unit quickly to my DSL ...
Strengths: It is sleek. When it works (not often) it is fast.
Weaknesses: Defective product (tried 2 units) and terrible tech support
Summary: I purchased and set up the unit quickly to my DSL modem with no problems. it was fast. Then, without warning, it would start dropping the internet cionnection. I would have to reboot. Sometimes it was very difficult as it frquently could not be accessed to reconfigure. I would have to do hard resets. This problem began to recur more and more ofter to the point that it was inoperative most of the time. Tech support from Indfia was slow, indecipherable and not very helpful. After several long sessions (where we would get it working but not for long) and arguments with them they agreed that the unit was defective and I returned it. One of the techs finally admitted this was a known problem. Their tech support is India-based and impossible to understand. They also would repeat teh same failed procedures over and over. The second unit arrived and i set it up and it worked very well for about 2 weeks. Then the same thing starting happening. It would drop the internet connection for no reason and then when it came back up, it would lose all identity and have to be rebooted and re-set if I could. I suspect an overheating issue, as it would work for a while and then go crazy. I gave up and bought a Linksys router. The Linksys unit has performed flawlessly for the past 3 months. I will never buy another NetGear product.
87% of People (20/23) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 02/22/2006 |
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The biggest POS I've ever had for a router (and I've had several, just not Netgear)
Strengths: It looks cool
Weaknesses: Very unstable, had a huge headache both with customer service and router itself
Summary: I purchased a refurbished version of the same router less than a month ago, due to my own mistake (the website listed it as a refurb way at the bottom, where I didn't read). Two weeks later it totally stopped working, basically stopped giving out IPs to wired computers and no internet for either wired or wireless. The company I got it from does not accept returns on refurbs, and Netgear told me they will not RMA refurbs, only give technical support (basically telling me over and over to reset it or renew my IP). I'm out of $45.
Not learning my lesson fully, I still purchased this newer version of the router, thinking that a brand-new one would not have the same potential for breaking. I hooked everything up correctly (as usual)... The router took a good minute to load the settings page, and after I changed some it just went to a "This page cannot be displayed" without wanting to do anything at that point.
I didn't bother resetting it, restarting it, all that bullshizz... I took it back to the store and am now shopping for a Linksys. I've owned routers for years and years (2-3 Linksys-es, 1-2 D-Links) and I've never seen such despicable service both from a company or a particular product.
BTW, Netgear offers a 90 day support free of charge (and 1 year warranty) and afterwards it's email or you pay -- something along those lines.
86% of People (6/7) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 12/31/2003 |
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Strengths: Excellent setup, administration, tons of options, sets up a feature rich, secure network environment. Supports "B only" "G only" "B and G" and "108meg" modes. Great ad blocking capabilities!
Weaknesses: Marketing was not clear about what you need to get 108MbpS. Log too small, options for emailing it to you leave much to be desired. Doesn't allow PS2 game SOCOM II headset to work.
Summary: 2004-02-04 01:42:08 I love this thing. I wish the online documentation had been a little more clear that I need other Netgear 108 MbpS "Super G" devices in order to achieve 108 MbpS. But then I was the first person to buy one of these (close anyway). I had my order placed long before it was available. The only other gotchya is that you have to choose between "B only" "G only" "B and G" and "108meg". You can't just turn it on and get A, B, G, Super G, and Turbo A, it doesn't work that way. I run "B and G" right now to make it work with all my stuff. But such is the situation with the RF spectrum. You can't have it all in the same airspace at once. Setup is a breeze, but word of advice. First start with all your options turned off. Give it a simple SSID, enable the wireless access point, disable the security option, leave it as an open system-no WEP or WEP key, and allow the SSID to be broadcast. Get everything working, and then start changing one security option at a time, first on the router and then on the nodes. Otherwise you'll be chasing your tail for hours. Change the IP address range to allow only as many nodes as you are going to ever support by using a smaller subnet mask. Example:
If you'll only have:
1 computer: 255.255.255.252
2-5 computers: 255.255.255.248
6-13 computers: 255.255.255.240
etc. etc. This is one layer in your security. Next program in the MAC addresses of the nodes you'll have on your network, and only allow access to them. I'm out of room for this review...
85% of People (41/48) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 12/05/2004 |
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Strengths: Easy install, Nice Product.
Weaknesses: None
Summary: Based on my previous good experience, I decided to buy another product from NETGEAR. It is really nice product in my friend's place. There are some confusing during the installation. After reading manual again and search Internet, I figure it out. Good design and nice look.
Recommended!
85% of People (11/13) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 11/08/2003 |
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Strengths: 108Mbps thruput when using WG511T card, very easy setup, smaller size, 3-year warranty
Weaknesses: 108Mbps requires proprietary card and not compatible with other 80211B or G devices when active
Summary: 2003-11-10 19:24:04 Upgrading from an old Belkin 802.11b router. Activated very quickly with 5 minutes worth of configuration. Only major complaint is this: there are 4 modes to run in - 802.11b, 802.11g, 80211b/g and 108Mbps. When using 108Mbps this effectively locks out all other cards and devices that are using the other protocols such as wireless printer servers, wireless game points of presence etc.. Supposedly a new firmware release is supposed to address this.
81% of People (22/27) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 12/05/2004 |
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Strengths: compact design, super fast speed, easy setup
Weaknesses: no
Summary: Setup was very easy, about 10 minutes. very strong signal. small and light weighted design. very fast speed (clear difference compared with 802.11b). very strong design on security and firewire.
80% of People (8/10) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 04/01/2004 |
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 After being told that I would be better off with a ... Strengths: Looks, GUI, Supports AppleTalk and most major platform protocols.
Weaknesses: 6 month lifespan
Summary: After being told that I would be better off with a brand that several retailers didn't even handle, I got the picture. Two retailers told me that as a whole Netgear is becoming known for defective products and that the ones that do work, only do so for six months and then die. They also say they get lots of complaints about the outsourced tech support. Which has to be the worst on the planet. I have a private U.S. second level number now since I threatened a class action suit. It took over four months to determine that my 624 was defective, due to the linguistic differences and that they follow a list and have no resources for free thought which is essential for tech support.
73% of People (22/30) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 11/09/2003 |
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Strengths: 108 Mbps Wow! Really good signal even in basement with router two stories above, through floors and walls. Setup was simple, even with port forwarding for web/mail svrs, Ghost Recon, and video conf.
Weaknesses: no apparent weaknesses
Summary: I paid $110 dollars and $70 for the 511T card to go with it. I am connecting and 108 Mbps, in basement, outside in the yard. Connection was very simple, with multiple profiles so that I can use access point in multple locations, ie work and school. Must have the matching card and router to get 108. I use video conf with Windows Messenger, play Ghost Recon, and host web/mail/sql servers behind this thing. It has advanced capability for routing that is very easy to set up. It also is very easy to lock the wireless access point down. Turn on/off, MAC access list, WEP or WPA encryption and CA capability, UPnP and NAT works great. I highly recommend. I used the Linksys 4 port for several years and chose this model so I could add wireless capability. I am very happy with it. Would be great for a small business, as I was able to set up subnetting and routing easily, and was able to set up security, filtering, monitoring and logging.
G
71% of People (15/21) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 01/07/2005 |
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Strengths: easy to install. strong signal.
Weaknesses: none yet
Summary: This unit is in a 3rd floor bedroom and my computer is on the 2nd floor and always gets an "excellent" or "very good" signal. I have not had any weak or dropped signals. I have a hardwired internet connection at work and I can't tell a difference with this wireless set up.
71% of People (5/7) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 06/02/2004 |
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Strengths: Easily configured. Signal strength is impressive.
Weaknesses: Configuration interface was a bit confusing at times.
Summary: Very impressive right out of the box. Very easily configured. Signal strength is impressive. Configuration interface was a bit confusing at times. I took my laptop all over my house (a big ranch) and the signal strength was usually either Very Good or Excellent.
69% of People (11/16) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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