Home > Consumer Reviews > Linksys WET11 Wireless Ethernet Bridge

Seems like many other reviews here ring true. Spent the better part of two days trying to configure this item in vain with at least four calls and three hours wasted with tech support just to end up with a bridge stuck in eternal boot mode (seems like a failing hard reset is not uncommon). Sent back to Amazon for a replacement and the new one worked like a charm after two minutes of hassle-free configuration (I would suggest linking it straight to your ethernet after setting a static IP on your pc and working via the bridge's IP address - skip the setup CD-ROM altogether - for detailed instructions, see Linksys' tech support website articles 304 and 534).

I use the bridge to connect a PS2 in our basement with our pc on the second floor (and opposite end) of our house and have a flawless connection with the BEFW11S4 router. I am very pleased with our final result - but very dissatisfied with the work it took to get here. My suggestion - if you follow directions and it doesn't work (i.e., stuck it boot mode, won't save your changes), don't mess with firmware, don't waste time talking to India, just return it for a replacement until it does work.

After reading the specs on the Linksys WET11 and downloading the user manual from their website, I decided to purchase a unit. I am very pleased with this product and it works as I had expected.

Setting it up was a breeze. The antenna is screwed on to the right side of the unit (which is surprisingly small). Plug in the power supply. I then hooked it up to a PC laptop with the supplied RJ45 cable and ran the setup program. I have an SMC Barricade 7004AWBR router with a built in wireless access point. The WET11 was configured to use the same SSID and channel as the SMC and then set to DHCP. All done.

The unit can then be connected to your ethernet device in one of two ways. One is directly to your desktop or laptop, for example. The other is to hook it up to a hub or switch and from there wire it up to one or more desktops or even laptops. There is a switch on the unit to select which mode will be used. While I do have a wireless card for the laptop, it's nice to have the flexibility of going wired for desktops.

The icing on the cake is that I now have wireless connectivity for my Mac Beige G3. I've been looking for a solution and the WET11 solves it. Before, I had to run a long RJ45 cable to it from the router. Now I can connect it to the WET11 through either of the two options mentioned and get on the web as before, except it's now wireless. One tip - set the Mac to a manual IP address. For some reason, setting the Mac for DHCP does not work. For me a very minor issue.

I have not seen any dropped connections for the few days I've had it and it sure runs cool. All in all, it has met my expectations, perhaps more so with the Mac. For the money, I see no comparable product out there. Check it out.

This tremendous and inexpensive piece of gear has two great features: one, you can plug any Ethernet device into it and thus attach it to a wireless Wi-Fi network; two, you can take a network of 30 or more devices connected in a wired configuration, and bridge all of their traffic to any access point within range. This lets you hook pods of computers together without wires, bypassing expensive or difficult drilling operations or wiring configurations. It's not perfect, as the full connection is the equivalent of less than the original 10 Mbps Ethernet, but it's an awful good solution for computer labs, homes that are too large for a single access point, or building small office networks. It's also worthwhile for community and neighborhood networks trying to extend their range.

I have a PS2, a Mac G4 running OSX and a Pentium Laptop running Windows 2000 and my ISP uses PPoE and dynamic IP addressing. At first glance, not an easy combination when thinking in terms of a home network. But then I read up on routers, and subsequently, wireless technologies and it's been a snap since then. I ended up going with the Linksys BEFW11s4 4 port 802.11b* router and the Linksys WET11 bridge. Both devices were super easy to setup and despite what the box and setup guide say...you CAN set the whole thing up from a Macintosh via your browser and system preferences.

Once up and running, you are able to set the WET11 up with any device using an Ethernet 10/100 port converting it to wireless. (In my case the PS2.) You can also connect up to 4 other devices via the router and a virtually unlimited number or other wireless, 802.11b compatible devices.. All will share your internet connection, even if its dynamically addressed from your ISP, and have access to printers, scanners and other devices sharing the network.

The system comes with a host of security options if you are concerned about hackers or outside hitchers riding your bandwith. I live in a very congested, tech savy part of San Francisco so wireless security is a huge issue. There are multiple levels of encryption, password protection, and filtering options to lock your system from all but the most determined hackers. You're never completely safe, but you can be confident with the options included here.

Performance wise, the system is above average. This will totally depend on where you live, what other 2.4ghz wireless devices you operate and the distance / walls separating the access point from the wireless connecting device. I have had 2 PS2s (one connected by cable the other wirelessly from another room about 50 feet away, playing SOCOM on 1.5mbps DSL) plus the Mac simaultaneously connected to the internet with little to no slow down. This is not to say the whole thing works flawlessly all the time. I have noticed that at times, especially during the day, lag can occur in online gaming with the WET11. I am assuming this is caused by outside traffic such as 2.4ghz phones and possibly other 802.11 devices. Again, the slowdown is very infrequent and negligable when it occurs. If this is a concern for you, you should look into 802.11a (still in development and about 3 times the price) devices that run on the 5.4ghz frequency which is less congested.

All in all, and if you've made it this far in my babbling, the combination of the Linksys 4 port router and the Linksys WET11 bridge should be perfect for those wanting expandability, compatability, reliablity and playability. Host a LAN party or head online solo from the comfort of your living room sofa, its all capable with this set up.

*(802.11b is the bottom rung of the wi-fi spectrum at the moment, which is the only thing that kept me from giving this 5 out of 5 stars.(11 mbps transfer rate compared the the 56mbps of .11a and .11g. This is only an issue when you transfer large amounts of data from one device to another or if you connect to the internet at T1 speeds) But it is also the most widely compatible and most cost effective of the three current technologies.)

I purchased this to connect my ReplayTV to my broadband DSL. It works great for that, and so I wanted to make sure anyone who had a broadband enables Replay TV or TIVO knew this thing would work with it. Thanks!