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76 of 77 found the following review helpful:
 Some initial setup problems but works as advertised!Jan 17, 2006
By Pinoy in NJ
"arprince"
I'm using the unit in a REPEATER mode. My house have 3 floors and my router (WRT54G) is located in the basement. I get a signal of 11 Mbps on the sec flr using a centrino powered notebook. The signal would drop to 1 Mbps after some use and the only way to get the signals back is to to reboot the notebook for some reason or go to the first flr. Hence, decided to get this unit and use it as a repeater.
Steps that worked for me are as follows:
01. Disable any security you have on the router (I'm using WEP) and enable SSID broadcast prior to any configuration .
02. Configure the unit using the setup disk and provided the ff:.
---- Provided a different SSID (or you can provide the same SSID) with enabled broadcast.
---- No encription
---- The same transmission channel (Chan 11) as with my router
---- New password
03. Exited program setup. Run browser and connect to the AP interface using the default address [...]
04. Configured the AP in REPEATER MODE placing my router's wireless MAC address as the repeated source signal.
05. Saved the setup.
06. Test if working by removing the wire behind the AP. On your PC/Notebook, open up a command window (START,RUN, type in "cmd" and click [OK]). Type in "ping 192.168.1.245" and press [ENTER]. You should see something like "Reply from 192.168.1.245 bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=225". If you get a "Request timed out." then that means your AP cannot be seen in your network and was not configured successfully go through STEP#1 again.
07. If successful, you need to enable security back (NOTE: At this point, the AP is running stand alone with no wires connected at the back from the router). Since I'm using WEP, connect to the AP using a browser at [...]
Go to wireless security and enable WEP and add the key codes and save your setup.
08. Now enable security back on the router with same key as you have on the AP and save your setup.
09. Test connection again by running STEP#6.
10. Place the AP where you want it to.
11. With a wireless PC/Notebook, scan for wireless networks. You should see the new SSID as well as the old one. Connect to it so that your PC/Notebook would save that information.
12. Connect to your AP, disable SSID broadcast, save setup.
13. Connect to your roter, disable SSID broadcast, save setup.
14. You're done!
I placed the WAP54G on the third floor. After all is said and done, my signal was boosted to 45 Mbps (max at 54 Mbps). Works like a charm!!!
NOTE:
- These procedures is specifically if you want to configure your AP as a REPEATER.
- If you configure the AP with WEP security on the get go, you will never be able to get it to work!! I spent hours on this to no avail.
- You can use the same SSID. I used a different one because I want to see what wireless unit I am connecting to when i transfer from floor to floor.
UPDATE 031810
The unit I believe is starting to die on me. My internet access will get cut off all of a sudden and it has been happening frequently (like 4-5 times a week). I have to unplug then plug it back to make it function again. I might upgrade my system to the WRT610N and WAP610N soon.
UPDATE 033110
I decided to get a new WAP54G instead since reading through the WAP610N manual, there is no provision for a REPEATER mode. I placed the old one on the first floor. So now, I have the WRT54G on the basement, my old WAP54G on the first floor and my new WAP54G (with a NETGEAR 5 port switch connected to it) on the 3rd floor. I noticed that with the new one, my web browsing is a lot faster compared to the old one!
UPDATE 041110
So I had the NEW WAP54G for a couple of days since my last update and I still had the same problem of getting disconnected intermittently. I tried shutting down the OLD unit totally but the issue persists with the new unit so it looks like the AP is not the problem. Now, my IPOD TOUCH 32GB 3Gen needed repair and has been out of commission since last Friday 04/09 (bought this last January). And guess what? I have had no problems with my WIFI connection since then (both APs running). I have to see if the replacement Ipod screws up my wifi connection again but I do think I found out the culprit for my WIFI issues.
UPDATE 042510
I got my new replacement Ipod Touch a week ago. My WIFI failure started again but not as frequent. Now, I always turn off the Ipod's Wifi when I'm not using it. I guess I'm stuck with it.
UPDATE 072610
When I got the IOS 4 software update for the Ipod Touch, my WIFI issues disappeared. :)
73 of 79 found the following review helpful:
Easy Conversion to Wireless from Wired NetworkSep 05, 2004
By Mitchell Small
I have a SOHO that uses a wired 10/100 switched network. Already part of this network is a Linksys single port Cable / DSL Router. When it came time to make the jump to wireless, the WAP54G seemed the logical choice, as I would not have to reconfigure anything on my existing network. For the record, I selected the WUSB54G and WPC54G adapters for two different purposes. Look for reviews on those items posted separately.
I had no trouble installing my original piece of Linksys gear. Now, since Cisco acquired Linksys, this effortless installation is even easier. The software installed seamlessly and I was able to modify the default settings, to match my network and increase security, occurred without any problem. A nice touch is the included patch cord to perform the initial setup. If you have a single port Cable / DSL Router already on your wired network, simply plug the other end of the patch cable into any open port on your switch or hub and the WAP54G will establish communication.
One small item left out of the manual was how to access the Web based administration interface. For first time installers, this may be critical. You need to open you web browser by entering the IP address for the Access Point. Once there, you can access the proper screens to assign a static IP address, strongly advised, and set any key options.
If you are not familiar with WEP Keys, these are electronic codes that keep your network private. While not as fool proof as wired security, they do go a long way to keeping strangers from using your network. If you create a key, keep a hard copy somewhere secure but handy. Like any password, treat them as a guarded secret. If you enable WEP Keys on the access point, any network adapters must be supplied with the key before a connection can be established.
Once the Access Point is configured, place it a good location and your done. Now you only need to add a wireless network adapter to any PC and your good to go. One nice feature is this model is also compatible with the 802.11b spec and will handle the slower traffic of this spec. With the 802.11g adapters, the network will send traffic at the full 54 Mb/sec for that spec.
Bottom line: nice price, nice performance and painless installation.
51 of 58 found the following review helpful:
 Excellent WAP -- 802.11g Linksys Rocks!Mar 15, 2003
By Benjamin F. Green
"Ben Green"
I plugged this WAP54G into my existing home network, slapped the Linksys PCMCIA card into my laptop, and I was up and running in unsecure mode immediately. I then had no problem enabling MAC address filter, 128-bit WEP, and the SSID Change for security. It was a piece of cake. I flashed the firmware to the latest version and have had no issues. I consistently link up at 36 Mbps to 54 Mbps.
The thing screams. I can't tell the difference between file transfers across my 100 Mbit home network and file transfers across this wireless network. The speed and range are fantastic.
I read the other reviews and I am surprised that this is the same product being reviewed. I have been in the I/T industry for almost 10 years and I researched wireless security for a year before buying -- and this product is fantastic.
17 of 17 found the following review helpful:
Excellent WAPDec 26, 2003
By D. Seeley
I purchased this WAP to add wireless capability to my existing wired network at home. It worked correctly right out of the box with minimum configuration. During installation I changed the following values:1.) Changed the default IP address to coorespond with my addressing scheme. 2.) Changed the gateway address to point to my existing wired router. 3.) Changed the default SSID and disabled SSID broadcast. 4.) Enabled MAC address filtering and added the MAC addresses of all five devices on my wired and wireless network. This device has worked flawlessly and I am getting very acceptable data rates with no lost or dropped packets. Overall, I am very satisfied with this WAP and I would recommend highly for someone looking for an inexpensive way of adding 802.11g capability to an existing wired network.
15 of 15 found the following review helpful:
Flawless installation; excellent performanceMay 31, 2006
By the webmaster
"USFbobFL"
I'll admit after reading some of these reviews I was a little weary of purchasing this unit, but I got it for $32, so couldn't pass it up. I was replacing a LinkSys BEFW11S4 (wireless B).
In a nutshell, I followed the instructions to connect the hardware, popped the CD in my "hard wired" desktop PC, took a couple of minutes to step through the setup screens (which are totally simple to navigate), enabling WEP along the way. When I was done, I fired up my laptop (which has built in wireless-G card). Network was detected immediately... all I had to do was type in the WEP key (which was generated from my passphrase entered during the setup) and viola! Connected at 54 Mbps!!
Awesome. The setup procedure could NOT have been any easier. I would recommend this device to anyone that already has a cable/dsl router (with a free port) and simply wants to add (or upgrade) wireless-G connectivity in their home.
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