Home > Consumer Reviews > Linksys Compact Wireless-G Broadband Router WRT54GC

I was thinking of purchasing an Airport Express module, but purchased this instead. It has a lower price, similar size, and a built-in 4-port switch which won me over. It was easy to configure using Safari and it's built-in setup wizard (no software needs to be installed). I got a strong signal on my Powerbook (4 bars on the Airport signal).

It offers WEP, WPA, and WPA2 security. Plus you can define specific times of day the WiFi is active as well as specific computers which can access your network (handy when you are at work and want to make sure no one is piggybacking your WiFi signal). I also connected my PS2 and Vonage VoIP module and everything works flawlessly. I'm a typical Mac user who is used to easy setup and good looking equipment and I'm pleasantly surprised at this Linysys product!

While it's really nothing more than an ordinary 11g (54Mbps) router with 4-port 100Mbps switch, its lack of any whiz-bang features doesn't detract from its sexiness. It doesn't claim to be a "travel" router although at less than four inches square and less than an inch thick it certainly could be used as such--even its power adapter is fairly small and light. With all the features of a typical home network router you can conveniently unplug it when you leave home and essentially never have to switch access points, plus you can network with non-wireless PCs which travel routers typically don't accommodate.

Linksys has set the bar high on industrial design with this unit, in my opinion, having included a few nice touches. First is the little swinging door over the reset button that acts as a foot for standing the router on its side--which actually gives me better signal coverage in my two-story home (I've found the internal antenna to be entirely adequate but I'm happy about the external antenna accommodation, should I want to buy one separately). Second is the inclusion of four little pads on the bottom to keep from marring delicate surfaces like finished wood and also to keep heat from transferring (although I've had it running 24x7 for a couple weeks now and if not for the LEDs you wouldn't know it was plugged in). Third is the inclusion of eyelets for the unit to be hung on screws in a wall.

I found the user interface for setup and configuration to be clean and easy to navigate, but being used to Netgear and Belkin it did take a minute to get used to. I used the included CD for the initial configuration with my cable modem, which went very smoothly, but was not necessary to use. All the typical options are there like WEP, WPA, DHCP, MAC filtering, firewall, etc.; as well as some more advanced wireless and networking settings if you want them. The only thing I wasn't really happy with was how MAC filtering is done: using a list of MACs without any other identifier to remember which is which, plus you have to manually copy and paste MACs from the wireless client list to the filter list instead of simply checking a box or button to add it. There's also no way to log out of the management interface.

All in all this product is very attractive--perhaps the most attractive piece of home networking gear I've ever seen--and very compact, significantly smaller than Netgear's current b/g routers' form factor of about 5x7. The web interface is also very polished. If you don't care what your router looks like or how big it is, there's probably no reason for you to buy this one. As for me, it suits my purposes functionally and aesthetically it has no equal. I love it.

I simply can't think of anything notable to say. The WRT54GC looks and works as advertised. I had no problem installing. There is nothing noteworthy about its performance. Haven't found any bugs. Internal antenna seems to have same wireless range as my full-size SMC Barricade router which has an external antenna. Power adapter is external, smallish and does 110-240v.

I recommend it for road warriors who need a wireless router with a builtin 4 port hub. Linksys will soon release a travel router with an internal power adapter and 1 LAN port. Apple has the similar Apple Express router which has a builtin USB print server port but zero LAN ports. It's great for wireless only purposes. I have the Apple, I can highly recommend it too.

I hope Linksys releases source code as they have done with the rest of their WRT54 product line. That way the geniuses can hack more features into it. (...)
Update: 22 August 2005 - There are no hacker projects that enhance this unit. Source code has never been released. I continue to be satisfied with this unit but would prefer an open source router. Be sure to check out the Linksys WTR54GS which is a wireless router with one ethernet port and no wall wart. Perfect for travelers with VoIP boxes.

After I finally got the thing working after 6 hours of tech support with Linksys, 3 hours with my ISP, and 2 hours with Microsoft, I am please with the product's performance. I'll tell you now don't waste your time with all the tech supports. Here are a few "words to the wise" on getting this thing to work, mainly because from the other reviews of this product, there seems to be a lot of unhappy people. But after a few tricks, I was able to get everything running from square one in about 20mins.

A CUSTOMER CREATED INSTALLATION GUIDE
1. Use the wizard and all to get the router set up for the home network (don't be lazy and use your wireless card to setup the router, use a LAN cable and you can save yourself the heartache later if you mess up the firmware update.)
2. Go to the Linksys website and download and install the latest firmware.
3. go to Linksys website and click to Support > Technical support > Easy connect > Router's initial setup. This will run a program called "Netset." Follow the instructions - If you want an encrypted wireless network, NOW through Netset is the easiest time to do it. Follow all the instructions.
4. With Netset, you will have the option of creating a network disk. Don't try and set up each computer separately; you'll always mess something up doing it manually, get a USD drive, or floppy and make a network disk, this will help make sure every computer is on the same workgroup and there will be no communication problems (for example all your computers can connect to the internet, but they can't "see" each other on the network for file sharing or printing).
5. with the firmware updated, network configured, all options set, and computers configured. Turn all the computers, router and Cable/DSL modem off, wait 20 sec. and then turn modem on, then router, then computers. And your network should be working flawlessly. If not, redo steps 3-5, and double check to make sure all the drivers for your wireless network adapters on all the computers are up to date. Also sometimes after a day or so, something fishy will start acting up on the network. Just run "NetSet" one more time and you should have all the bugs worked out. This happened to me once but I haven't had to reconfigure anything since.

NOTE TO BUYER: If you want to extend your range with the external antenna don't waste your money on an official Linksys "better then generic" antenna, go to RadioShack or Amazon and buy the $19 antenna for wireless-G routers, it connects perfectly to your WRT54GC. As far as the distance without the antenna, it is quite remarkable for an internal; I got good range even without the external.

There have been a few people complain about a router that is "dead" the next day. Ah, the wonderful world of mass production. It is true that every now and then you get a dud, that's life now with the fast paced world of technology. Just send it back and get a new one, there is nothing wrong with the correctly built router.
All in all I have no complaints after the hair-pulling installation.

It was easy to set up and got it up and running. The signal is strong only near router. I brought my laptop to 1 floor down in my house and the signal dropped drammatically and mostly couldn't stay on with the connection.

I didn't have the antenna installed. The cost of the antenna is almost the same the router itself. I will need this antenna if I plan to have my PC in the basement (2 floors down).