Suggested Wireless Router for Home Use

Linksys

If you will get WRT54G, avoid version 5. I heard there's a lot of problem in this version. Get version 4 or if you can find 3 or 2 much the better.

Me wrote:

Not sure how high your definition of "quality" is, but if really want to spend the money, then the answer is easy: Cisco.

Netgear, Linksys, DLink, Belkin, ect are all really the "same junk in a box", but each with their own proprietary stuff (interface, "turbo rates", ect).

Still, I mainly use DLink (DWL-7100 AP's, using seperate router boxes) and have been happy. I also picked up a Linksys WRT54GS not to long ago, mainly just to play with. I found it's performace to be parallel to the DLinks, except of course can't use the "turbo" as all my client hardware is mainly DLink. One of the great things about this router/AP is that (< V4.0) runs on a Linux-based environment and there are many flashable "modwares" for it.

Cheers, Eric

define quality and how much are you willing to spend for it?

What's the problem with the unit? I'm using Netgear WGR614 v5 routers and they have been rock solid. Before that I had various Linksys routers and access points that were totally flakey.

Mike Schumann

How do I identify the version number on the box?

Bart

"bwesley8" top-posted:

If the serial number starts with CDFB (or later) it's a V5. You probably can't find anything earlier, though, unless you get a WRT54GL, which is a V4...

cdfa v4 cdf9 v3

I have purchased four V4 routers at Office Max. I found them on the upper shelf.

Maybe you could get an older version from eBay. I had v. 3 and upgrade to SRX 400 just to extend range(to cover 3 storey house)

Great! Im glad I read this after I buy my router. :-( I just bought a v5 last week and sure enough after a day had to take it back because it wouldnt let anything out onto the internet. I ran the troubleshooting page and at first it showed that it was renewing its dhcp lease without trouble and i was able to ping internet sites from the computer that was connected directly by cable but not from my wireless. After a few hours it wouldnt even let anything out at all. I took it back yesterday and traded it for a new one and so far the new one is working fine but I hope it doesnt start dying on me after reading this. :( Does anyone have any other suggestions for a good decent router? I had problems with a Belkin recently also and had to take it back for similar reasons.

There is a good support system in place online for the WRT54G - I saw no mention of any trouble that specifically points to V5.

I just bought a V5 on eBay for $40 and after reading your post, I became a little worried so I did some research and found this website:

I read several posts discussing the router not letting anyone through and one of the solutions was to hold the reset button for ~30 seconds and/or reflash the firmware.

This seems to be the 350 chevy of WLAN routers - there is TONS of stuff available on hacking it, installing funky firmware, diagnostics, etc.

I should be getting my router in the mail today or tomorrow and if I have any problems that I can or can't resolve, I'll post them here.

Ken

There's tons of stuff on hacking the WRT54G, but there _isn't_ tons of stuff about the V5. I haven't heard that the V5 has any specific _problems_, but it doesn't run Linux and doesn't have the same hardware as the other versions.

Well, not even an hour after posting this my internet connection went down. Not only for the wireless laptop but for my pc as well. It was still connected to comcast as i was able to run diagnostics from the router itself pinging ip addresses but it wouldnt let none of my computers out (resolving problem)? Well, after a reset it worked but then again not an hour later it did it again. I dont know how to tie this 100% to that router, but I hooked my netgear back up and it hasnt dropped connection since. I run debian linux on my home pc and windows xp on my laptop and the networking is allot easier to deal with on the pc. Im pretty much done with that router. Im not going to reset that MFer every hour to stay connected to the internet. Thats just flat B.S. Anyway, can you tell im a bit miffed????

Back to the p.o.s. 30$ netgear that has never dropped connection once. Too bad it doesnt have a very good range.

Depending on where you are, (I am near Spokane), Wal-Mart has about 100 WRT54G Version 1's for $43.85! Not only works out of the box, but is totally upgradeable (firmware can be flashed, both 3rd party, or regular off the linksys website). I saw them at the Las Vegas walmart a few weeks back, but my sister in Baltimore says the walmarts there don't have em... Like I said, depends on where you are....

Hey Dave - what firmware version are you running? I just chatted with Linksys about the problem and they suggested upgrading with the latest firmware from their site which is 1[1].00.6 ......

Ken

"Ken Bessler" hath wroth:

I've had 2 customer buy WRT54G v5 boxes. I had to upgrade to 1.00.6 to get them to work even halfway right. See the release notes at: |

what was fixed. As far as I can tell from 2 units and from 2 others where customers upgraded it by themselves, the v5 boxes still have problems, even with 1.00.6. I've seen:

- erratic PPPoE login failures to SBC.

- hangs when using BitTorrent (despite the alleged fix).

- garbled VoIP which was not present when using a different router. (It's not the QoS settings).

- hangs on wireless to wireless large file transfers.

- hangs on streaming UDP after about 10 minutes.

- failure to deliver a DHCP address an old Mac G3.

In 2 cases, the problems went away when I returned the router and replaced it with a different model (WGR614v5, WRT54GC). No clue what's happening with the other two.

It's not a great sample and there are some inconsistencies. All 4 routers did NOT have all the problems listed.

Thanks for the info! At least it seems that Linksys is aware of the issues and is working on firmware to fix it.

Either way, I don't do many of the apps you listed so I doubt I'll have a serious issue. I've also read online people reporting bit torrent issues wreaking havoc with routers of all kinds but esp. the v5 WRT54G.

My router should be here tomorrow so I'll see what happens and report back here.

Since I opened my checkbook and sprung for a Check Point 500W, I've had nothing but 100% positive results. Far better reception and reliability than either my Netgear 624 or my Linksys BEFW11S4.