Home > Consumer Reviews > Netgear DG834GT 108Mbps Wireless ADSL Modem Firewall Router with 4-port 10/100 switch

I wanted to link a single laptop to a new Virgin broadband account via a wireless connection - it had to go wrong, but it didn't.
After reading some of the reviews on here I was nervous, but glad I bought this Netgear system. Other people have put it better, but I was fully installed and wireless after 30 mins without any hassle. I've since had problems protecting the network but these have been down to my own lack of knowledge and nothing that I couldn't put right after referring to the CD manual.
I recommend you give this system a go and if you have any problems, fall back on Amazon's excellent customer service. I'm glad I made the leap and my laptop works wirelessly anywhere in the house. There's some excellent technical advice in other customer's reviews that worked well - its well worth having a look at all reviews for the various NETGEAR systems that Amazon sell.

I bought the DG834GT to replace an ageing DG814 and 3Com Office WAP combo, which have both worked well. I was able to set up the new unit very quickly without the instructions and we were soon surfing at a good speed.

However, after a week the PSU cube failed completely and in doing so managed to kill the ADSL modem part of the device. This was worrying as it was running off my stabilised UPS. I temporarily borrowed a PSU for a quick test and annoyingly the setup system and wireless components still worked making me think that there was a broadband problem. In view of the range of the device and the fact that it does run rather hot I suspect that Netgear maybe need to uprate their PSU cubes - maybe there's not much power left in reserve if all the ports and wireless are active at once. Tech "support" suggested I call them and be ready to apply firmware upgrades and run tests - difficult if you have no power supply ! I subsequently replaced it with the DG834G.

Good points: I liked the styling and small size of the unit, and the fact that I could set it up using my Konqueror browser under FreeBSD/Xvision - the DG814 was particularly picky about this. It also seems to handle NAT'd FTP uploads properly: something I'd had problems with previously. Good firewall and easy port-forwarding setup. An excellent newbie guide to networking included on the CD.

Bad points: Runs rather warm. Early failure, although this my have been a one-off. Somewhat flimsy.

Didn't even need to use the instructions to set it up. Very easy to use. It is great not tripping up over the wires. Until the 27th of March they are giving you a free Wireless Adapter or PC Card worth £45. I chose the wireless adapter as you can use that on both a pc and laptop by plugging it into a usb port. Only thing I would say is that if you don't have the newer usb port (v2 not v1.1) then you will only get 54mbps speeds, so I now need to buy a usb v2 card for my pc to get 108mbps speed. On saying that 54mbps is still very good, signal strength is always 4 out of 5 bars.

What an excellent piece of kit. I had tried with competitive items for about 12 months, with much difficulty and limited success. I would have had my 4 PC (2 ethernet + 2 wireless) network up and running in less than 10 minutes except for remnants of previous installations. Netgear service was the most professional and quickest I have used, and patiently helped me resolve my problem removing old installations. The bundle with a free PC card/USB unit makes this very competitive. The 108 Mbps speed also makes a noticeable difference.

I've recently installed a DG834GT for my father and have now purchased one of these myself. I've upgraded from my Linksys G Router as I wanted better range and better performance and was also getting a lot of trouble from my standalone ADSL Modem which sat in front of it. I have not been dissapointed the range on the DG834GT is superb, I can get over three times the distance than my old Linksys unit.

I have purchased both the WG511T PC Card and the WG11T USB Adapter, again so easy to install and use, great smart set-up wizards with all of this kit makes it perfect for a novice also.