Linksys WTR54GS Wireless G Travel Router with Speedbooster
See it at Amazon.com for $99.99Average Customer Rating
(3.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First
(4 out of 5)good range, small and light
I'll be using this in hotels from now on; I used to carry a dlink di-614+ but with this I can share wireless hotspots as well. My only two reservations: 1) it gets very warm. 2) when using it to share a wireless connection, you can only use it to share an unsecure connection; i.e. it can't associate with a WEP or WAP access point.
(5 out of 5)Killer portable wireless
Are you a road warrior? Do you travel to Europe? Do you want a box that's easy to plug into your network to add wireless when you're home? If so, this is the box for you!
I set up two profiles - one to set up the box as a router when I'm on the road and want to plug into a hotel network, and another to make it act like a switch when I want to plug it into my home router to provide a wireless extension to my network.
The first was easy - just follow the setup wizard. Or if you have other "smart" LinkSys products, just press the button. Caution: DO NOT press the button after you have set it up - it'll reset to default settings and then go hunting for another LinkSys device.
Setting it up as a switch is a bit more difficult, but LinkSys support provided a clear answer within 24 hours. To make it work like a switch or hub:
1. Find out the base IP address of your router by connecting to its admin page. It'll be something like 192.168.xx.1.
2. Connect to this router's web-based pages. Default IP is 192.168.16.1.
3. Set a static IP for this box to your router's address plus 1. For example, 192.168.xx.2.
4. Turn off DHCP on this box and click Save - you'll be disconnected.
5. Most Important: Now connect this box using the ETHERNET (not INTERNET) plug to your router.
Voila! You now have a wireless extension to your home network that will support multiple wireless connections.
Tip: As you set up the router, go to the Admin menu and save your profile. I have two separate ones saved on my laptop - one to turn the box back into a router for the road and a second to make it a switch at home.
(1 out of 5)Doesn't work as advertised
This product is suppose to allow sharing of a wireless internet connection with wired and wireless PCs. While I've had no trouble with connecting wireless or wired PCs to it, and no problems with it working with a wired internet connection, it just plain doesn't work if you are trying to share a wireless internet connection.
It is suppose to allow you, say you are at a hotel that offers wireless internet, to share that wireless internet connection. I've tested with 5 different wireless APs, and it only would connect with one of those. So when traveling, it is nice if you have a wired connection, but since many hotels are now offering wireless only, it is useless for that. I've spent 2 frustrating chat sessions with Linksys support and their conclusion is to reflash the memory (did that, no change) or return it as it must be a hardware issue, even though I have 2 purchased at different times from different places and both behave the same way.
UPDATE - The third Linksys tech support person I spoke to suggested to reflash the firmware (same version, just reflash) and hold the reset button for 30 seconds. This while standing on one leg seems to have fixed the issue. While it still seems flaky and I have to power cycle it periodically, it does at least now connect to all the wireless networks I've tried.
(5 out of 5)This router is tops
I've been using this router all over the world on a daily basis for 9 months now -- and the last 6 months it's been used every day in Europe for a team of 3-4 people, with no problems whatsoever. So not only is this great for travel (with the 110-240 volt range, small size, etc.) but in my experience it works a lot better than other non travel modems for every day use.
(5 out of 5)Works as advertised but requires understanding
I purchased this product a few months ago with the explicit intent of being able to have wireless access when in a hotel with only a hard-wired connection and have WPA2 security and an SPI firewall to better protect my system. It has worked flawlessly in this manner, and of course you are able to have more than one connection to it so you only pay for internet access for one computer (if you stay in a place that charges for access).
I have had zero problems with it, but I am very familiar with wireless configurations and security and have used Linksys & Cisco products for years. This is not a product just anyone can pull of out of the box and expect it to work immediately. It has a lot of features and a basic understanding of networking and a good understanding of wireless security is almost a must.
This product also allows you to connect to another wireless network and share/protect yourself behind it as well. However, I have not used this feature yet. When I do, I will come back and update this review.
Overall, I have been extremely satisfied with the product but being a techno person, I have a big advantage over a lot of people. I did review the documentation and that should help most people get this setup although it may not be the most secure. Again, that comes from having a good understanding of wireless security protocols, etc.
One final note - although it is a great feature that you can save the settings once you have configured it, I want to advise that the file does include the security key, MAC addresses, everything you set that one would need to then access your wireless router. It does not save the admin password to the file, but even so, you need to be sure to save the file in a protected place. Obviously it has to have this information, but I would have preferred for it to have been encrypted in some way rather than just use plain text. That being said, you definitely want to use a unique key - don't use your password or other type of personal information.
UPDATE: I have used the wireless feature now and what other reviewers state is accurate. The product works as expected, but the wireless you are connecting to cannot be encrypted.