Home > Consumer Reviews > Linksys USB100M EtherFast 10/100 Compact USB Network Adapter

Although this device is a very nifty idea, since this device is only written to the USB 1.1 standard, its top transfer speed will be 12Mbps, which is will only give you 2Mbps more throughput when connected to a 100Mbps network, so beware of that. If it was USB 2.0, then it could more than handle the 100Mbps speed.

I do not recommend this in a setting that is industrial, involves a lot of movement i.e. on a laptop, around kids, or even pets. One wrong pull or tug at the precarious 45 degree angle you have to snap your jack into will render this device totally useless. The small hinged door is poorly engineered and if you have to get an adapter, I recommend the Netgear version B00006CJMP that is not only less expensive, but allows a straight plug in.

I bought the USB100M specifically to connect a Sony SVR-3000 TiVo to my LAN. The drivers are built into the TiVo, and therefore there is nothing to do after plugging it in except restart the TiVo. Worked on the first try!

The flip up part of the adapter does seem a bit fragile (be carefull when plugging in the cable), but I won't be moving mine around now that it's installed. If you're going to be constantly plugging and unplugging the Ethernet cable, you might want a more robust product.

I don't see it listed anywhere in the product description, but it also comes with a short (about 6") USB extension cable that can be used so that the adapter does not block access to an adjacent USB port or if you already have something bulky plugged in to an adjacent USB port.

Five stars when used for a TiVo!

I picked one of these up to serve as the network adapter for my Tivo. It worked right out of the box with no problems, but the connector is just way too sensitive. If the network cable gets moved in any way, the connection is lost. Very annoying.

I'm sure this is a very handy product for some applications, but for more permanent setups I would sooner choose a larger, more stable network adapter.

As I've worked in PC repair, freelance consulting, and network administration, I've learned having the capability to do things like update anti-virus software for a client (usually if an anti-virus program is going to fail, it's on install, or the first update), it's nice to be able to hook into a high speed connection, even if the person's computer doesn't have a network card, or even a modem.

I've also used it to troubleshoot existing connections (this NIC does have LEDs, so it makes troubleshooting pretty easy, although you can still run into 10/100 problems... don't be surprised if your hub is glowing amber instead of green... it means your connection is only running at 10 MBPS versus 100), and bypassing bad network cards.

As it is portable, it is my own personal toolkit which only really consists of stuff I use often enough to justify limited space.

At USB 1, the maximum speed for this product is 12 MBPS...which means if you're going to use it for an internet connection, it probably will do just fine (most internet connections, you're a VERY lucky person to have even a 1 MBPS connection), but for networking, it will run almost 90% slower than a standard network card).

I got a brochure recently for the much awaited 2.0 (which runs at 480 MBPS, although I'm not sure if the 2.0 network card will run that fast. At the very least, I imagine it will be true 10/100), but I'm still not sure when that will be released.

As for this product's durability, it is slightly fragile... but I've had mine for over six months now, and I haven't had a day's problem with it... treat it gently, and it'll last a good long time.

If your in repair, I'd suggest one of these, and a USB drive of at least 128 Megs (I kept tapping out my 64, although 64 is still great for pulling drivers from your working machine to one that probably doesn't connect to the internet... or pulling a sample of a corrupted file back to the shop for analysis.