Home > Consumer Reviews > Linksys PPS1UW EtherFast Wireless-Ready USB PrintServer

I researched this product on the web and didn't see anything wrong with it. Besides it's just about the only wireless USB PrintServer I could find. Come to find it's not compatible with my printer. I called support and they already knew it wasn't compatible. I asked why it wasn't listed on their website or in any other literature. They told me I should have called them first. Talk about "buyer beware". I have other Linksys products and they work great. This is just one of their bad apples.

I hooked this up as a wired print server and had no problems. Setup 2 laptops, 1 XP and 1 98, and 2 desktop computers, 1 XP and 1 98. The only slight issue I had was installing the printer on the laptop. I just had to figure out how to manually install the printer on XP without actually hooking the printer to it, which of course is not even a Linksys issue. Make sure you have installed the printers before starting the setup; it will make for a much smoother process.

So you have the full picture, I also have Linksys router & wireless access point. Any time I've had an issue, Linksys customer service has always been there, even late at night.

Way to go Linksys, another great product!!!

I'm a huge Linksys fan, and my whole home network is pure Linksys, so I never thought I'd complain about any Linksys product. But, the time has come...
The admin utility that comes with the Print Server is a joke. Design is hideous, and zero functionality. Every time I tried changing settings, it'd freeze up for a few minutes, and then come back with OLD settings. So don't waste your time trying to get it to work. Find out what your Print Server's IP Address is (I'd recommend setting it to static IP rather than using DHCP), enter it in your Web browser, and use their "web-based" utility instead. A lot faster, easier to use (the same interface as other Linksys products) and does it's job.
Still, even when everything is set up and "ready to go", there are problems with communication between PS and printer. I could ping my PS, it was on-line and available, responded to status changes, etc. But nothing would print. I thought it was my printer at fault... Plug it directly into my PC - worked like a charm. Plug it back to PS - dead again.
But, what struck me the most was my call to Linksys Tech Support.
After 30 minutes or so on hold (as always), they finally pick up and ask me which product I'm having problems with. I tell them "It's PPS1UW Print Server". Ok, they say, hold on a minute. After a minute they come back and say that they DO NOT HAVE PPS1UW Print Server. WTF? I email them the link to it on their own website... OK, they found it... But, they don't know a thing about it. "It's new just released product, and we've never had to deal with it" was their response. So, they start running me around telling me to restart my PC, and then reset Print Server, then my router, then PC again. Ping my router, ping my print server, switch from static IP to dynamic, then back. After 15-20 minutes of that I realized we weren't getting anywhere, and they had no clue about what they were doing. I hung up. I spent next few days trying to get it to work myself (I'm an IT Consultant, so I know a thing or two about networking), but did not succeed. I'll keep looking on the net, maybe I'll figure something out eventually, but as of today, it's money wasted.

Linksys says this is a USB print server. Maybe it is. But neither their literature nor anything on their website tells you that it doesn't work with some printers. And not some strange brand. Canon printers. I have a Canon F80 which works just fine by direct USB connection. But after 30 min with technical support, the tech decides to ask what my printer is. He then says that according to their documents the USB print server doesn't work with my printer. He then tells me I can BUY the other WPS11 print server and it will work with the Canon F80. But they won't take back the PPS1UW print server ("That's not our policy.") Now I could probably get sued for calling this what I think it really is, so I'll just settle for "false and misleading advertising". Save your money and try another company who doesn't hide their product's deficiencies and who stands behind their products. If I hadn't already invested money in a Linksys router (and signal booster since the signal is terrible), I'd toss them also. As it is, I'm out $90.

I like Linksys products, but trying to find a printer that works with this print sever is hard. I have to buy a second printer for this problem.