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Jbroad572 · Apr 24, 2004, 01:50 AM

I've been seeing some people having problems with wireless routers from Dlink and Netgear. I want to hear from some actual non-Apple Wireless router owners. Are you having any annoying major problems? What router are you using as well?
I want to buy one, but not if it will have problems with the Airport card.

AC Rempt · Apr 24, 2004, 01:53 AM

I use a D-Link 614+ router, and it works like a charm with my cable modem. I even bought one of their signal booster things, so i get a solid connection all around my house and yard. It's been a very reliable router.

nate_02 · Apr 24, 2004, 02:07 AM

I use a netgear I got for $30 off of amazon. it is 802.11b and it works great. There were a few frustrations at the beginning getting it setup, but I probably didn't know what I was doing.

teknopimp · Apr 24, 2004, 02:20 AM

i have a belkin, which can be had to $20 or less. easy to set up, i'm no mac guru or IT geek and i now have my own LAN at my apartment.

an actual Apple AirPort base station has some controls (like signal strength), features (peripheral sharing) and compatibility advantages (100% compatible with all current macs) you may want. but it's expensive and not necessary. i'm happy with the setup i got and the money i saved, which is well over $100.

madmacgames · Apr 24, 2004, 02:22 AM

I've got the Linksys Wireless-G broadband router with no problems at all here... get pretty much full reception all around my apartment. great range.

Macola · Apr 24, 2004, 11:13 AM

I have an SMC 7004AWBR that I fixed after a client fried it by trying to upgrade the firmware using XP...it's been working fine for me ever since. Check the Networking forum for a lot more recommendations.

amazing · Apr 24, 2004, 03:55 PM

It depends a lot on your ISP. For example, if you're going AOL then you need either a Netgear or a Linksys, preferably a Linksys. Belkin's have a hard time with AOL. Of course, AOL is proprietary, and some people would tell you to dump it (and I wouldn't touch AOL with a 10-foot ethernet cord) but that's what some people like.

Much of it depends on your technical expertise. Why not get a Netgear MR814 router for $25 after rebate and try it out?? You can always take it back.

msSwitch · Apr 24, 2004, 06:31 PM

Originally posted by madmacgames:
I've got the Linksys Wireless-G broadband router with no problems at all here... get pretty much full reception all around my apartment. great range.

Same here, my Linksys Wireless-G works great and has been problem free.

Phat Bastard · Apr 24, 2004, 07:39 PM

I'm using a Netgear WGR614 802.11g router with Airport Extreme in my 12" Powerbook.

I haven't had one problem whatsoever, other than not the greatest networking range but that's normal with Powerbooks and all routers.

Originally posted by Jbroad572:
I've been seeing some people having problems with wireless routers from Dlink and Netgear. I want to hear from some actual non-Apple Wireless router owners. Are you having any annoying major problems? What router are you using as well?
I want to buy one, but not if it will have problems with the Airport card.

amazing · Apr 24, 2004, 07:48 PM

As for 802.11g wireless router range, reports are that range drops off quicker than 802.11b routers.

In other words, you get better range with cheaper routers.

OperaMan · Apr 25, 2004, 02:20 AM

I bought one of those $30 netgears from amazon. Worked great till it took a sudden violent nose dive. Now it works for 5 minutes, then the DHCP just dies. I'm extremely disappointed in this product.

Guy Kuo · Apr 25, 2004, 02:23 AM

Buffalo Airstation with 802.11g works great here. It even passes Appletalk packets wirelessly. Many other wireless routers won't pass Appletalk. It even has Mac oriented documentation and can use alphanumeric keys that make sense on both Mac and PC's

David Thompson · Apr 25, 2004, 11:43 AM

Are there ANY advantages to buying Apple's Airport Extreme? I've been toying around with getting either a Powerbook 15 or iBook 14 just for use around my apartment and wireless would be nice (AND I could connect my Tivo! :-)) But, Apple seems to want an awful lot for no appreciable value--at least that I can tell ...

macross · Apr 25, 2004, 12:31 PM

I own a NETGEAR Mr8v14 (i believe thats the model [its the one most people have]) and have no compatibility issues with my PB. Love the wireless router, beats paying 3bills for a ABS...

madmacgames · Apr 25, 2004, 04:53 PM

Originally posted by David Thompson:
Are there ANY advantages to buying Apple's Airport Extreme? I've been toying around with getting either a Powerbook 15 or iBook 14 just for use around my apartment and wireless would be nice (AND I could connect my Tivo! :-)) But, Apple seems to want an awful lot for no appreciable value--at least that I can tell ...

I have a friend who got rid of his Airport Basestation and got a Linksys instead so that his Tivo in the living room could pick up signal (the airport basestation was in his room and it and the tivo had to be in direct line of sight to get any decent signal). Sorry to burst your bubble but lets face facts... the Airport Basestations suck. Sure you get wireless printing capabilities, but lets face it: their signal strength and range is nowhere near acceptable.

Jbroad572 · Apr 25, 2004, 07:01 PM

Thanks for all the replies. IT's music to my ears. Now just have to decide between Netgear WGT624 , linksys WRT54G , and dlink DI-624 . The Linksys is the most expensive, but since I need to buy an Xbox adapter the D-Link DI-624 or netgear Netgear WGT624 may have to serve the purpose. From what I have read that's not a bad thing. They supposedly perform very well.

Cliff_O · Apr 25, 2004, 07:04 PM

I use a Netgear WGR614 and have had no problems with it other than a weak signal (and no signal in my garage). The antenna in the PB is poor at best as a PC notebook with a Netgear cardbus adapter gets a clear signal in the garage. I am replacing the router with another Netgear unit, an FWG114P that has a stronger transmitter and better antenna with the hope that it solves the problem.

Mel Dada · Apr 25, 2004, 11:21 PM

as an aside. i went to the apple store and the genius cat told me i didn;t have to buy a base station. I have a g4 desktop and this new pwerbook laptop 12 inch. i bought a refurbed airport card for the desktop and have the airport extreme card in the laptop. set up a sharing network in the preferences and I am now wireless without the base station or any router.it works just dandy throughout my pad. of course i have to leave the desktop computer on and not in sleep.

don't follow leaders
mel

Blizzake · Apr 26, 2004, 12:19 AM

i bought the netgear and had to do a bios update and it kept dropping my signal. i had a seimens .b that was old and the stregnth was weak. i got a buffalo g54, kinda $$$ but it works awesome, simple setup and signal is great. i would reccomend it to everyone. i also have a cheap gateway .b (got it free) and it works nice

David Thompson · Apr 28, 2004, 07:07 PM

OK, yesterday I installed a Linksys Wireless-G wireless router upstairs and a WUSB-11 network adapter downstairs on my Tivo. Worked GREAT!

So, this morning after all my chores were more or less done, I took a ride over to the Apple Store in Glendale. Spent some time looking at the i/p-books and decided on the PB 1.33 15". Seems to work well, except (of COURSE) that the Airport doesn't work unless I'm within about 15 feet and the Linksys wireless security (WEP) is disabled (so just anybody can connect to my network!). I can't get the PB to accept the password I enter--though Tivo likes it just fine.

The router is set for 128-bit encryption and a 7-character ascii password. When I tell the Mac that I am using 128-bit encryption, it won't let me enter a 7-character ascii password--it seems to want a 26-hex char or 13 char ascii.

Weird.

Anybody have a clue what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks!

Jbroad572 · Apr 28, 2004, 07:25 PM

Originally posted by David Thompson:
OK, yesterday I installed a Linksys Wireless-G wireless router upstairs and a WUSB-11 network adapter downstairs on my Tivo. Worked GREAT!

So, this morning after all my chores were more or less done, I took a ride over to the Apple Store in Glendale. Spent some time looking at the i/p-books and decided on the PB 1.33 15". Seems to work well, except (of COURSE) that the Airport doesn't work unless I'm within about 15 feet and the Linksys wireless security (WEP) is disabled (so just anybody can connect to my network!). I can't get the PB to accept the password I enter--though Tivo likes it just fine.

The router is set for 128-bit encryption and a 7-character ascii password. When I tell the Mac that I am using 128-bit encryption, it won't let me enter a 7-character ascii password--it seems to want a 26-hex char or 13 char ascii.

Weird.

Anybody have a clue what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks!

15 feet?

dabigdawg · Apr 29, 2004, 11:02 AM

Running with a Netgear old school MR814 with no troubles at all from day one, firmware updates have been a lil slow but they come and are stable. I live in a split level home with the router residing in the bedroom upstairs far north of the house and when i am down in lviing room or in backyard downstairs far south of house i have a decent signal still. So no complaints here. I am buying a bridge for my PS2 and plan to hook that up soon would imagin that this owuld work fine for the xbox as well. If you need G over b than i can make no claims but my b router works like a champ.

David Thompson · Apr 29, 2004, 12:01 PM

Originally posted by Jbroad572:
15 feet?

That was last night. This morning I turned off SSID broadcast , then cut and paste the 26-hex character generated WEP password into Internet Connect--and it seems to work just fine, even across reboot without having to re-enter the password. And the distance seems to have been improved. I can now access my network anywhere in my apt!

Now, if I'd only read a little more carefully and found out BEFORE I bought the PB that the 1.33 15"-er doesn't have the illuminated keyboard! But, otherwise I am now pretty pleased with my purchase. YAY!!

Kevin Moon · Apr 29, 2004, 12:05 PM

I have been running an asante 802.11b FR1004AL router for more than a year with no problems. I used it to be connected to the school network and it has been used at two different schools. It never has had any problems just always worked. The setup of this is the easier than any of the other routers I have hooked up. It also works great signal wise I have had it go through more than 20 walls of which about half were concrete and still had half signal. I recommend asante to everyone after having this one but they aren't cheap. Tech support is great if you ever have any questions for them. I broke one of the antenna and had to call them.

Jbroad572 · May 3, 2004, 12:15 AM

Well, I picked up the Netgear WRT614 for 49.99 after rebates. I came home plugged in the 2 cords, turned on airport and bam. Works like a charm. Best part about it is that it works all over the house and in the yard as well.
I'm wireless and feelin good.

rambo47 · May 22, 2004, 01:21 PM

I have an AirPort Extreme base station that has never given me a lick of trouble. I never experienced the range problems detailed here, and I'm using an iMac, 15" PB, 17" PB, and a PowerMac, all connected wirelessly. Since we put on an addition to the house that more than doubled the square footage I bought a second AEBS to act as a signal repeater. I paid the "Apple Premium" for ease of use and the USB printing so everyone can access the printer from wherever we are, even the bathroom!

I just hooked up my TiVo with the Home Media Option via the recommended Linksys WSUB11 (v.2.8) and it recognized my home lan immediately. I did have to enter the WEP password in hex form rather than password form like on the Macs, but that's no biggie. Now TiVo connects via my local area network rather than a dial-up phone line, plus I can tell it to record shows from anywhere in the world with a computer.

macross · May 28, 2004, 10:19 PM

I use Netgear's MRV814 (or something like that, the one almost everyone uses) for about a year now and its been working flawlessly up until about a month ago when I updated to apple's stupid new airport software update which sent my wireless connection on my 12"PB to hell. Like most people, ever since that update, a good portion of people's wireless connection for their PB been jumping around from 1-3 bars constnatly and then just dropping the connection period, resulting in the end user having to restart their computer. Apple currently has no fix for this and as you know, Apple's track record for software updates been very iffy. I had to resort to downgrading my airport software to a older version in order to stay online without getting dropped every hour or so.

himself · May 30, 2004, 10:48 PM

Originally posted by macross:
I use Netgear's MRV814 (or something like that, the one almost everyone uses) for about a year now and its been working flawlessly up until about a month ago when I updated to apple's stupid new airport software update which sent my wireless connection on my 12"PB to hell. Like most people, ever since that update, a good portion of people's wireless connection for their PB been jumping around from 1-3 bars constnatly and then just dropping the connection period, resulting in the end user having to restart their computer. Apple currently has no fix for this and as you know, Apple's track record for software updates been very iffy. I had to resort to downgrading my airport software to a older version in order to stay online without getting dropped every hour or so.

I had this problem, too after the recent AP update (before the latest "fix"), on a Netgear WGR614v4 router, but after the 10.3.4 update, my connection has been better than it has ever been. I consistently get 3-4 bars everywhere in my apartment (approx. 25 ft. radius from the base station)... and this is on an old TiBook.