Home > Consumer Reviews > Linksys WDT11 Instant Wireless-B PCI Adapter

I installed the PCI Adapter in an IBM Intellistation Pro running Windows 2000. As another reviewer pointed out, the drivers that ship with the card do not work on all systems. They did not work for the Intellistation. I had to download the latest drivers from the Linksys web site. But, here's the catch. You won't find the latest drivers listed under the WDT11. Instead, download the latest drivers for the Wireless PC Card (WPC11). This driver set has INF entries for both the WPC11 and WDT11. Once I removed the old driver files and ran these new ones, everything worked.

The card works great. I keep the Intellistation three rooms away from the access point (a Linksys WAP 11), and the computer still acheives Internet download speeds of 300 kilobytes/second. (My home network shares a cable modem connection.) I am amazed with the performance of this card. I was skeptical that anything close to 11 Mbs could be achieved under real-world conditions. I was prepared for real-world performance more like 300 kilobits/second than 300 kilobytes per second. This card actually performs as well as many wired 10 Mbs Ethernet cards. However, Linksys does lose a star for the responsiveness of their tech support.

When I first could not get the card to work, I contacted Linksys tech support. I recommend calling. I first sent e-mail and did not receive a response for five days. In the interim I called them and after ten minutes got a person who provided reasonable suggestions. However, none of the suggestions worked. Then, I got the bright idea to try the WPC11 drivers. When Linksys finally answered the e-mail, they provided the correct solution by sending me the new drivers. So, I'll give them some credit for coming up with the correct answer but one that was very late. I replied to them that they should correct their web site. I was told that my suggestion was forwarded to the webmaster. That was a month ago and the defective drivers are still listed under the WDT11.

The Linksys system router installation went well, with the exception of the client. The router came up and accepted the setup instructions. Problems began when I setup up the adapter and instant wireless network pc card from Linksys (WPC11). First, the 1998 Compaq 400/12gig, Win98 desktop would lockup everytime I booted it up with the Linksys card installed. I installed the software first, then the hardware, the Compaq computer would freeze and refuse to work. To verify the card was not defective, I moved to my Toshiba laptop and inserted the card in one of the pcmcia slots and installed the drivers. After reading futher I determined that a configuration program needed to be installed from the CD provided by LinkSys. This is a required program which is not automatically installed during the setup of the drivers. After waiting 24 hours for a return call from LinkSys, the technican quickly prompted me to make one change in my configuration and we were up and running. The laptop under Windows 98 worked perfectly. After determining that the device (LinkSys network card)was not defective I returned to the Compaq unit. This time I installed all of the software, then the hardware, again the compaq refused to accept the LinkSys wireless adapter and card. By now I am thinking there is something wrong with the Compaq computer.

I then decided to try a different vender. I went to CompUSA and picked up a D-Link adapter and card for the test. Guess what! The D-Link instruction wanted the software first, which when installed setup the config program and the drivers all in two passes, a reboot was required before the second pass. It was clear on how to do the install, the install screen had additional information making going thru the documention unecessary.

The D-link unit worked perfectly with the Compaq computer. I was pleased, I could use the LinkSys in my laptop and a D-link adapter in the Compaq. The next big test was to come. During the installation, all of the devices were in my office at home, but the Compaq was my wife's computer and needed to move across the house to her office about 60 feet away. The write up shows distances of over 400 feet will work with these wireless devices - NOT SO. Granted there are 4 walls and part of the kitchen between my office and my wife's, the actual distance is about 60 feet at most. Complete rejection followed, after spending one full day installing and testing this new wireless router, I still can not get the link up to my wife's compaq in her office. I am going to keep the router, to work with my laptop in the den and on the patio out back, but it looks like a hard wired connection will be the only way a computer link will work at my house.

Jim Jackson Programmer

The WDT11 will work if you buy the WPC11 version 1. The problem is, no one sells the WPC11 version 1. The current version of WPC11 is version 3, and Linksys customer service told me that version 3 doesn't work with the WDT11 (it works fine in a laptop). Linksys customer service recommended the newer WMP11 card which is made for desktops. This WDT11 is an adapter to get the laptop peripheral WPC11 to work in a desktop.

If I had carefully read the reviews of the WPC11 card, I would have discovered that Linksys is selling the setup as supported under W2000, but many people can't get the drivers to install. The tech support area of the Linkysys website suggests this may require a BIOS update -- but the drivers would not install properly on my brand-new Dell P4! After hours of work it seems clear that they just don't care, and the failure to return calls for tech support indicates you would be better off buying another manufacturer's hardware.

So I have returned all three cards and given up on Linksys.

Linksys delivers this card without any drivers.
This is NOT A FULL IMPLEMENTATION of PCMCIA!!
this card doesn't work alone and it will not work with other
PCMCIA cards (like SMC) or even with the WPC11.
The installation was hell for 3 days. Customer service just
continues to tell me that I need the Windows CDs to install this
card. The drivers are missing and I'm stuck.
The card is now being returned to Amazon and I'm buying SMC!