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shockme17 · May 21, 2004, 08:56 PM

i currently have the Microsoft Wireless G Router, and keep on getting disconnects, where i have to reset the router by unplugging, waiting, and plugging back in; which gets pretty annoying.

I'm looking for a new router, and I was just wondering which was the best alternative to the Airport Extreme Station? Belkin, Netgear, Linksys..etc?

And I've also seen the 108Mbps routers out there, can an airport extreme card acheive those speeds? or would i need a usb adapter? (iBook G4 here)

Thanks.

Applefreak01 · May 22, 2004, 12:08 AM

Netgear, Dlink, Belkin are good. I don't recommend Linksys wireless routers for Mac users they don't work well with Airport. I have a Netgear but it's 802.11b but it works.

The 108mbps won't work on a Mac. You have to have the 108mbps router and PC card in order to reach those speeds. I don't think the USB 108mbps adapters would work on a Mac or at least I haven't heard of any working on a Mac.

JasonPro · May 23, 2004, 10:54 AM

DLink also doesn't play nice with Airport Extreme. WPA doesn't work right and you have to turn on "use interface robustness" in the airport settings. I've heard that that option limits the transmit power on the mac which makes for a crappy connection that cuts out frequently.

--
Jason

shockme17 · May 23, 2004, 04:13 PM

ok . so it seems like its down to the netgear and belkin.
thanks guys

ghporter · May 25, 2004, 06:34 PM

I'm doing just fine with my Linksys Wireless-G Access Point and iBook with AirPort Extreme card. Much of the lore that Macs and Linksys don't play well together is old and outdated-and Apple is responsible for much of the rest. Apple doesn't use the same terminology as EVERYBODY else in the wireless industry, and it can get confusing when you try to set things up. With my access point (which is simply the wireless portion of Linksys' Wireless-G router), it was actually easier to set up the iBook's AE card than it was to set up my Dell laptop's Dell card.

tooki · May 25, 2004, 11:37 PM

My D-Link DI-624 works perfectly with my Macs, once I turned off that nonstandard Turbo-G mode. It works impeccably in standard G mode.

I haven't had to Use Interference Robustness.

tooki

genevish · May 28, 2004, 10:28 AM

I have a Belkin and I'm not very happy with it. I have to unplug it every few days. Also, I'm unable to get it to encrypt the network, so I'm running an open access point right now. (Anyone want free access?)

brentsg · Jun 3, 2004, 01:07 PM

I'm using a pair of D-Link DWL-2100AP's with good success. I have the 108G hardware to do dynamic sensing of the devices on the network. When I'm not using the PowerBook I get the superfast speeds with appropriate devices. When i use the PowerBook I get regular G speeds. I don't have turn off the proprietary mode.

These are the AP versions of the D-Link 108G router (624?). I already had a router.

It isn't as clean as the Airport Extreme's for configuration but once it's set up it's trouble free. I also think the SuperG hardware holds up better over long distances than the Broadcom (ie Apple) solutions, though I don't have first hand experience with Apple's.

B

phantomo · Jun 3, 2004, 11:24 PM

1 vote to Linksys, easy to setup and works without a glitch. Well... excluding that Airport 3.4.0 incident.

pliny · Jun 5, 2004, 10:01 AM

Originally posted by genevish:
I have a Belkin and I'm not very happy with it. I have to unplug it every few days. Also, I'm unable to get it to encrypt the network, so I'm running an open access point right now. (Anyone want free access?)

you can limnit access by restricting the number of ip's the router will assign.

i've had very goodexperiences with my netgear wireless g router, they have pretty good mac documentation and support unlike the old linksys rotuer i used to run, which had none.

gkrykewy · Jun 5, 2004, 12:19 PM

This may be a stupid question, but do the various 3rd-party routers include Mac-compatible CDs for installation/setup?

sray · Jun 5, 2004, 01:40 PM

Originally posted by gkrykewy:
This may be a stupid question, but do the various 3rd-party routers include Mac-compatible CDs for installation/setup?

No. Most don't come with CDs because installation/setup is done via a browser. This means that you can configure most access points with a browser.

My vote is for Netgear which has worked reliably across multiple platforms for years.

ghporter · Jun 5, 2004, 07:58 PM

Sray hit the nail on the head. Those "setup discs" are usually a lot more trouble than they're worth. They always make some sort of assumption that's going to be wrong for you, and thus mess you up from the start.

The only wireless router I know of that doesn't use a browser interface for configuration is Apple's. You may run into problems in configuring your clients once you get the router set up, because Apple uses their own terminology, while the rest of the industry uses common terminology. If you can't figure it out, ask here, and we'll translate.

(It took about 3 1/2 minutes to set up our iBook's AE card to work with our new Linksys wireless G access point, and a lot of people call Linksys "anti-Mac.")

Thorin · Jun 8, 2004, 06:39 PM

This is the first I've heard of linksys having problems with mac's. I've used my laptop on a linksys G-standard router here at home, at my Mum's (where I used my 12" to set up the router and get it working before I even bothered setting up the two PC laptops that were going to use it). I've also used it at my Dad's, where he uses a 15" TiBooks. All with no problems. The 3 router's I've used are all the WRT54G. I'd highly recommend it

[APi]TheMan · Jun 8, 2004, 08:09 PM

Originally posted by genevish:
I have a Belkin and I'm not very happy with it. I have to unplug it every few days. Also, I'm unable to get it to encrypt the network, so I'm running an open access point right now. (Anyone want free access?)

No thanks, I'm already on some wireless network in my apartment complex (I just moved and my DSL hasn't transferred over yet, but hey take your time, SBC!).

I have a Linksys 802.11b router and it works very well with my Airport and Airport Extreme cards. The network I'm on right now is a Linksys as well (I checked the web configuration page). Although the Linksys had problems when I got it a year ago (having to cycle the power once a day), it's worked fine for about 10 months now. While I wouldn't recommend Linksys, it does work fine. I've had success with Netgears as well.

None of this matters because in a month I'll have one of those Airport Express doodads on my door step.

winwintoo · Jun 8, 2004, 08:26 PM

I had an Airport Extreme and it would fail completely about every other day and the rest of the time it was flakey. BUT while my AEBS was unreliable, somebody had a wide open network simply labeled "linksys" that I could always get on with a 100% signal. That was good enough for me.

I finally tossed the AEBS and got my own Linksys. It was easy to set up via the web page. I set it so the name doesn't appear on the list but I can still log on to it so I'm happy.

Take care, M

i am yujin · Jun 8, 2004, 10:39 PM

I'm about to get a Netgear 802.11b router as well...

It's about $16 over at Amazon....woohoo!
Awesome price!

ghporter · Jun 10, 2004, 07:43 PM

Originally posted by Thorin:
This is the first I've heard of linksys having problems with mac's. I've used my laptop on a linksys G-standard router here at home, at my Mum's (where I used my 12" to set up the router and get it working before I even bothered setting up the two PC laptops that were going to use it). I've also used it at my Dad's, where he uses a 15" TiBooks. All with no problems. The 3 router's I've used are all the WRT54G. I'd highly recommend it

I've been using Linksys equipment for years, and as long as I bother to figure out what I'm doing ahead of time, it's been a stroll in the park. As I've said before and elsewhere, most of the "anti-Linksys" talk comes from folks that won't read the instructions or ask questions; they just blame the manufacturer for not doing it for them. A few problems come from Apple's insistence in using their own terminology. And there are a few boxes that just won't work. But mostly it's the lazy and lame. (Boy is that gonna get me flamed!)

zacharyt · Jun 16, 2004, 10:05 AM

I have heard that if you have a network with 802.11b (airport) and 802.11g (AE) that "mixing the network" sometimes degrades the stability and signal strength. My wireless network is for an iBook with airport,a powerbook with AE, and an Imac hooked up via ethernet.

I am thinking of the Lynksys 802.11b. Anyone use that with success?