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Range Expander Sucks Up Time with Bad Set-Up
Review From: editorialreviews@nextag.com, Dec 27, 2006
Once upon a time, Linksys created a range expander. It promised its Wireless-G would help free poor souls tied down by data cables. Dead areas and reflective corners would be no deterrent to the brave Wireless-G, which would work anywhere, be it multi-story home, warehouse, or outdoors. Linksys promised the good Wireless-G would be happy with the WAP65G Access Point, and the WRT54G and WRT54GS wireless routers.
But then, users brought Wireless-G into their homes, and found it stubborn and incompatible. It refused to work, despite many different configurations, connections, and cursing. Wireless-G supported WEP encryption, not WPA. The manual did not help at all, and at last users had to resort to long conversations with customer service. Once it was set up, it indeed did all that it had promised to do... for some, not all. But many others, angered by its obstinacy, sent poor Wireless-G back to Linksys.
What lessons shall we learn from this sad tale? Unfortunately, there are many. Call customer service before set-up to make sure Wireless-G will work with one's router, and download the latest firmware, even for the expander itself. Do not disdain the set-up wizard CD. Also, the router or AP's WEP may likely need to be disabled on the router or AP. The auto-configuration button must be depressed for at least 30 seconds, until the expander lights turn blue. There may be more steps, and they may not all work.
As good as Wireless-G may be in the end, getting there may not be worth the results.