iPhone Flavor | Product Reviews | Shop Apple | iPhone | iPad | iPod

Review by C. Kester:

A basic wireless router which has features and functions that generally work as advertised, including port fowarding. Most home users wouldn’t need any more. The 3yr warranty is best in industry, just hope you don’t need to collect.

Simple to set-up & configure ( ignore CD):

First, plug in router, connect to modem and PC via ethernet cables; then disconnect power to modem and router. Then, re-connect power to modem and wait for about 30 secs., then connect power back to the router. Now re-boot PC’s and the router will have assigned IP’s via DHCP. You can type 192.168.10.1 into browser to access advanced router/wireless set-up & settings ( username:admin ; leave password blank ).

——————————-

User interface dumbed-down from prior model (633GR)

No QoS (contrary to some descriptions).

Even with these features DISABLED, router allows ‘WAN Ping Respond’ and ‘Remote-Management’. ‘Remote-Port’ assignment for ‘Remote-Management’ is ignored. These problems could be a security issue (use strong p/w).

Router REBOOT takes way too much time and did NOT clear a problem requiring a power re-cycle.

No activity log accessable to user.

LAN connection (RJ-45) sockets are too snug & too closely spaced & interfere with antenna motion.

Only connected device’s MAC address are reported, not the local computer “name”.

While Trendnet support is responsive, helpfulness decreases as problem complexity increases.

———————————

Factory installed Firmware (v1.0.9.135, 9-Nov-2009) is NEWER than that offered at Trendnet.com for this model (v1.0.8.16 Sep/8/2009) …strange?

This router replaces a Trendnet TEW633-GR model I really liked except for one problem… which I had hoped the TEW639GR would fix…. it didn’t. I returned the 633 and kept the 639 ONLY because my cost for 639 was less than 1/2 that of my discounted cost for the 633 model.

Features I miss from my TEW633GR:

variable wireless transmitt power, local computer names, MAC address look-up for DHCP reservations, log file, Streamengine(i.e. QoS), much more advanced router controls, stand for vertical mount, unobstructed antennas motion, Bridge-Mode …

item is recommended if you can acquire at 40%+ discount although the TEW633GR is clearly a better router.

Review by Aaron K. Shafer:

I’ve spent the last few months dealing with a horrible wireless n router so I decided to go with this one. I also have a TREDNnet wireless n gaming adapter and it’s been fantastic so far. Anyways, this router runs cool even though I’ve been using multiple connections at the same time and using tons of traffic. My PC shows that I average 250Mbps and I see it peak at 300 constantly so the speed is as advertised. I have it running in mixed mode. It only took about 10 minutes to set the router up out of the box. Once I plugged in my cable modem and my pc it automatically configured the connection and I just had to log in and configure the wireless portion and security. In the 10 minutes I also configured my DDNS and my wireless IP Cameras to work with the router. It’s a super easy interface…..pretty much the same as any other router you can buy. When saving settings the reboot only took a few seconds and always went back into the setup. Most routers clunk out and you have to reset and log back in manually. I could go on and on but to keep this short I’d have to say that this router is awesome and it does EXACTLY as advertised. I’ve used most of the major brands of routers and I can’t say much for most. It’s very difficult to find a good reliable product but I think I’ve gotten lucky with this one. Don’t believe hype or buy something because you’ve heard the name before. The only other router I’ve ever been happy with was a Viewsonic believe it or not. That thing was rock solid and never gave me a single problem. If anything changes I will post it….otherwise you can count on this router. I love how people here are claiming they have advanced knowledge but can’t set this router up. It’s really very very simple just follow the quick setup in the manual.

*UPDATE 1/17/10*

Still no reset needed! I’ve been using tons of data with multiple devices. As a matter of fact Netflix is streaming to my living room right now. I have a torrent downloading on this pc @ 500kB/s and there are no hiccups. Just solid lightning fast connections!

*UPDATE 3/14/10*

Still no reset needed. I’m running in Mixed Mode and you MUST run 20/40 on the Bandwidth to get full speed. That must be the problem with others but this is standard with any N router.

Review by Bryan:

I found this product while looking for a way to split the LAN at my job into two. We get one ethernet cord running to our desk and that’s it. I was worried that my company would have some kind of block to not allow this to happen (they don’t allow streaming video, audio, etc… so they block a lot of things). I found the unit on sell (about half price) and decided it was worth the price to try it. I tried it at home at first and it worked great (I have a router at home, so don’t really need this at home, but just wanted to make sure it worked at home so if it didn’t at the office, then I’d know it wasn’t the device). I unplugged the ethernet from one computer, plugged this in and plugged in two computers. So, basically, there was one ethernet cord going from the router to the TRENDnet box and two computers branched off from there. Worked great – no set up needed, just plug-n-play. So, now for the big test: I took it to work. Worked with no big problems – same plug-n-play. The only thing is that when I plug my computer directly to the work LAN, it says the connection at 1 GBPS, but through this device, it shows up as 100 MBPS. I can’t really tell any problems so far with speed – everything is working as normal, but now I have online access on both my work computer and my laptop. So, for me, this device works as advertised and meets my needs.

PS – sorry for my non-technical review, but I’m no tech expert!

PPS – don’t forget you’ll need an additional ethernet cord to make this connection. I didn’t think of it at first, but luckily remembered before I finished my transaction and was able to pick up a cheap 3-footer.

Review by Stumpjumper:

Bottom line: Small, light weight and just works. Power brick is half the size of the unit itself and is also very light.

I was looking for a portable network switch to keep in my backpack for occasions when I had a network drop but no wireless. Searching around I found this one and saw that the switch itself is small and light, but I was worried about the power brick. Turns out the brick is small too, so I’m very happy with my purchase.

I’ve used the switch to network two Macs together and to connect multiple Macs to various network drops. The switch has always worked flawlessly. It doesn’t care in which of the five ports you plug in the cables, it figures it all out and just works.

According to my kitchen scale, the switch weighs just under 4 ounces and the power brick just under 3.

Review by Pilchard:

Recently we have installed network storage devices, and started to run backups and multi-media services on our home LAN (local area network). As a result the load on our network increased substantially. We decided to upgrade from fast ethernet to gigabit. Due to the arrangement of devices, we have several 8 port switches connected to a larger 24 bit switch which I guess is the backbone of our LAN.

When shopping for gigabit switches, the Trendnet 8 port gigabit greennet switch came up as not only a low cost, but also a low power switch. We purchased several and have been using them for almost half a year.

These switches are silent (there is no fan), and very low power (on my Killowatt meter they always show 0 watts), and very fast. They have limited support for jumbo packets (I forget the exact number, but its around a jumbo packet size of 7-9K).

This is a good solution as a low power, silent, gigabit switch that runs cool and is low cost. The switch is unmanaged, but does have status indicator lights. You will see if you are getting fast ethernet or gigabit speeds on each port. We have had no trouble with these switches.

Review by Kenneth M. Scheinblum:

I have been using the TRENDnet Gigabit Switch for nearly two months. I have not experienced a single major problem. (I did have what may have been driver issues. Upgrading to the most recent drivers seemed to clear up any problems, however that may be coincidental.)

While the switch is noticeably faster then the US Robotics unit it replaces, it is not as fast as I expected. I suspect the machines on the network are the constraints. PC to PC communications fly. Communication with the NAS is only slightly better than with the USR switch.

The switch itself is well built: metal case, not plastic. The unit is noticeably cooler than either the USR it replaces or the old LinkSys switch I had. I have an eight port switch which is clearly designed to allow stacking as heat vents are on the side (that also helps keep dust, etc. out of the switch).

It lacks any “sex appeal” in terms of design. It is a solid box that does the job. IMHO, for the few extra dollars, I would again buy this unit over the cheaper, more well known names such as LinkSys, USR, Netgear, etc.

Review by Damodar Chetty:

Others have already described this product very nicely. So, I’ll focus on a few areas that I think merit attention.

# Simplicity

As anyone who has tried helping a parent install a wireless networking product over the telephone can attest to, “networking” has always been synonymous with “complexity”. With this product, it took me longer to get over my skepticism, than it did for the product to actually begin working!

# Transfer Rate

This device is rated at 200 Mbps over standard power lines, and 10/100 Mbps over Ethernet. To test this, I connected a notebook to each MegaPlug, both of which were connected to the same wall socket, and transferred a 1.3 GB file. The transfer rate averaged 57 Mbps, over a green Link LED indicating a good line.

[Notebook1 -> MegaPlug1 -> electrical wiring MegaPlug1 -> electrical wiring Wireless Router -> Cable Modem

#Security

Security can be a problem in a multi-unit building since data signals travel through circuit breakers and stop at a transformer. Fortunately, these units come configured for 128-bit AES encryption.

Unfortunately, the User Guide on the ActionTec web site starts by saying “By default the adapters are NOT encrypted.” That didn’t jibe with what the MegaPlug QuickStart Guide claimed, “These adapters ship with a generic encryption key.”

Since there’s no way to tell whether on not encryption is enabled, I chose to follow the User Guide’s advice.

However, the little black buttons on all your MegaPlugs must be pressed within 2 minutes of starting the process. (I had visions of an entire family darting around like fireflies if they had a full complement of 16 MegaPlugs installed!)

# Why this rating?

This product works as advertised, and provides the comfort of having a relatively secure and stable connection, making it a solid 4-star (“I Like It”) product.

However, if I were buying this for a tech novice user, I’d rate it at 5-stars (“I Love It!”) since the ease of setup and use would easily trump the convenience and cost of wireless. Ditto if I were trying to establish a network connection to a wireless dead spot.

Averaging this gives me 4.5 stars, and I’m rounding up.

Good Luck!

- Damodar

# Updated June 24, 2009:

Whoa! Belkin just announced the first Gigabit (1000 Mbps) Powerline product to reach the market (model F5D4076). As would be expected, it costs a tad bit more.

The max transfer rates will again depend on real-world conditions (such as electrical wiring, interference, etc.) But with 1 Gbps, there should still be plenty of headroom to spare.

Review by David Pearlman:

Years ago, I purchased one of the first through-power-line Ethernet kits on the market. At the time, the claimed throughput was low (say, 10mbps), and the actual throughput was ridiculously slow. Not to mention the fact that the connection seemed to hang inexplicably with great frequency. In a word: Not ready for primetime, not ready for anything, really…

Fast forward nearly a decade. By now, wireless Ethernet routers are cheap and easy to use and just about everyone has one.

Into this environment, Actiontec has dumped their new MegaPlug “200 Mbps” powerline network kit.

Your first question, and it’s a good one, is: “What’s the point?” And for many people the answer will be “none, really, in your situation.”

BUT there are two sets of people for whom something like this–if it works–is a godsend.

First off, there are those who simply cannot set up something like a wireless router. It’s not hard, but there are still a lot of complete tech phobes out there. Think: your Grandparents, or maybe even your parents. Sure, you could go over and set things up for them. But then what happens the first time the router goes down and needs to be rebooted or whatever? Panic calls at midnight are not most people’s idea of bonus time.

The second set of people who could use something like this, if it works, are those with wireless dead spots in their homes. There are a lot of people like this, actually. No matter where you set up the wireless transmitter, some places just get no signal, or a very lousy one. Now, you can–if you are technically inclined–set up a wireless repeater to address issue. But it’s a bit tricky for most people who don’t relish spending their Friday night shopping the halls of Frys, Microcenter or BestBuy. This kit offers a simple alternative to a wireless repeater.

OK, enough on who might want this. On to the more significant question: Does it actually work, and how easy is it, really, to set up.

I’ll answer the second question first. It is ridiculously, stupidly, unbelievably easy to set this up. Plug one unit in one wall outlet. Run ethernet cable from unit to your router. Plug second unit into another wall outlet anywhere else in your house. Run either cable from unit to the device you want to talk to router. And you are done. Even if you have trouble figuring out how to open the door of a refrigerator, it can’t take you more than 5 minutes to set up.

And how does it work? SHOCKINGLY well. In a three story home with about 20 separate circuits (lines on their own circuit breakers), I was unable to find two outlets that could not communicate with each other at a reasonable speed, and without any disruptions. You aren’t going to see 200Mbps in the real world, but I saw between 24Mbps and 34Mbps, depending on where I placed the two outlet plugs. Before you sneer, this compares to a normal transfer rate of about 18Mbps for a GOOD wireless G connection. In other words, the Actiontec kit gave transfer rates that were between 33% and 90% FASTER than wireless G!

I can recommend this unconditionally to those who need an alternative to standard wireless with one caveat (and it’s a big one): This kit is quite pricey. It runs over a hundred bucks at the time of this writing, as compared to a good quality wireless G router, which can be purchased for as little as . In addition, this kit is good for connecting only one location to another single location, whereas wireless is…everywhere.

But if you can get past the price, this kit is terrific.

Review by Picky Consumer:

Upgrading finally from my B router. Probably the last one in the neighborhood to do so.

There are three versions of the TEW-432BRP (the outer casings look slightly different). They’re roughly labelled A, B, and C. I wound up with the C one. Its the best G router i’ve ever seen, for a few reasons:

1. “Easy CD” actually worked and led me through a wizard that had me running in under 5 minutes. It was even intelligent enough to figure out that my cable company’s router needed a reset.

2. When you go into the firmware, there are some interesting and unusual settings you can tweak. It has the usual things like ‘dont broadcast ssid’ and all the rest of it. But it also had unusual settings that I’d never seen before, like the ability to set the output of its signal at “full power” or “half power” or “quarter” or “eigth” or “minimum”. Seemed like an interesting option; I usually sit 10 feet from it, maybe I can reduce the microwaves bombarding my brain? I tried it on the various levels and did throughput tests. Interestingly, it was at “quarter power” that I had the fastest throughput. I dont know why, but I can live with that. I was glad to have that option to reduce the output signal’s power level in the router, though.

3. Excellent transmission spread, strong signal, and fast. I know the bottleneck is supposed to be the dsl/cable conneciton itself, but I would swear my browsing is faster and snappier now. And my connection speed to my local network drive improved five-fold (which was why I got a g router in the first place).

Its a great deal under twenty-five on sale.

Review by zynnel:

I researched what is available on the market, and this router had all the features I wanted – MAC filtering, WPA password protection, 54 Mbps, can be used as a switch, works with PC and Mac. Trendware offered a nice rebate too. All this is great but when there is a wall between my PowerBook and the router, the reception drops a lot, and sometimes completely. It only works well when they are in the same room. This could be due to the fact that there are other wireless networks around which interfere with mine. I don’t know. I thought I would give heads up for those looking for a reliable router.

Review by Southern Man:

I have had a Microsoft Router for about 5 years now and it has been perfect in every regard, but I was really wanting to upgrade it and get the latest speeds….I was torn since my Router is still working great, I hated to mess with something working so good when you read the spotty reviews (some 5 star—some 1 star) for some of the new routers.

So I thought this one would be the perfect choice and after 2 months of ownership I am proud to say that it IS !…I just hooked it into a port on my existing router and now I have the Microsoft Router in B speed and the Trendnet N Speed working right beside each other perfectly…I am very happy with it…It took about 15 minutes to install using the included instructions and their website that is very helpful…I was able to print out the entire manual before I even got the router !

In the couple of months I have had it…Not one dropped signal…haven’t had to reboot it…nothing…..It’s been flawless from day 1….It works WAY out in my backyard…..and everywhere in my house (1,500 Square feet)…..I get 80% signal in the yard and back porch…and 92% to 95% inside the house.

I have used it with a iPod Touch…PS3….and a Wii….and setup was easy with them all….even with the best security settings.

Review by Rolando M. Nispiros:

I didn’t think Wireless N was going to be this fast, but it is. It made everything in our wireless network fast. I went from 16,000 k/bs on a good day to about 32,000 k/bs almost consistently now.

All my older appliances that are on Wireless G and B work too without any problems.

I would have given it 5 stars if it was easier to configure. It was as easy as it described. I went out to their website to look for other documentation that made more sense.

Review by D. Parvin:

The 6′ 4 pin to 6 pin Belkin IEEE 1394/Firewire cable does exactly what it says it should for relatively cheap. As long as you’re at the 400 MB/s standard as this is, there’s no need to spend on a gold plated connector and superheavy isolation like the Monster cables. Firewire is designed to function up to 15′ without signal degradation, and unlike analog signals the 0 and 1s of digital signals aren’t subject to manipulation by electrical fields. Either they get through or they don’t, so as long as these are certified under the standard you save money by not buying useless frills. It’s shiny translucent silver, not black, but if you care that much about cable color you probably already have your cables hidden anyway.

The 4 pin models work with most electrical powered devices; the 6 pin models usually are for devices that need battery power. (The extra two pins carry current.) For those looking for an adapter for Comcast/Motorola HDTV-ready digital boxes, this is the cable you need. For some reason Motorola decided to use a 6 pin adapter, where almost all HDTVs and DVHS VCRs use a 4 pin. (PCs typically use 6.) I’ve used one for a while now to run flawless 1080i signals between my Comcast HDTV box and my DVHS VCR. Recommended.

Review by Wisconsin Dad:

I purchased the Belkin FireWire 6 foot cable to use for transfering home movies from my Digital Hand Held Sony DV Recorder, and am very satisfied with the quality of manufacturing and cable performance.

The cable looks extremely sturdy and well-made, and has lived up to expectations without any hitches or glitches.

This cable, a DV recorder, a FireWire PCI card for your computer, Movie Edit Pro, and plenty of RAM in you home PC is all you need to begin capturing your home movies and turning them into DVDs.

Review by Owen Murray:

BEWARE: While the WiFi 802.11N spec allows use of 2.4GHz as well as 5GHz bands, this product is a B\G\N 2.4GHz single-band ONLY product.

As I wanted to move to the 5GHz band to escape signal congestion in my area, this product DID NOT meet my needs at all. It *does* function, lacking MANY options you’ll see with more full-featured adapters (specify alternate MAC address, band\channel selection, radio strength, etc). Had used a TrendNet adapter in the past and was quite happy with it. This one, however is a rebranded bottom of the barrel RealTek chip.

Save yourself the hassle and get a WUSB600N or similar instead.

Review by Carlos Cervantes:

I was a bit skeptical as their were only 5 reviews on this item at time of purchase. Have it installed and working great on the old G-Signal. Computer OS is Windows 7.

Review by ostawookiee:

I run a secured wireless network in my home (Linksys Super-G). I bought this adapter for use with an older laptop, which had USB 1.0 ports. On the same network my new laptop’s onboard wireless gets 5 bars, this adapter with the old laptop picks up 4. I haven’t had any connection dropping problems though. This past weekend I started a 27.3GB set of file transfers when I left for the day, it finally finished 12 hours later. That seems relatively slow, but I never notice much speed lag when I’m surfing the net. I’ve been impressed with how it’s worked considering the laptop is almost a relic; and it nice to be able to get a guest’s machine online by letting them borrow the adapter in the house.

Review by Dave92270:

I bought TEW-424UB (b1 version) few weeks ago; I’m using it under Win2k, with WRT54G router and security features enabled (SSID broadcast off, WPA-PSK on).

The device seems to have reasonable speed when connected, however every once a while the connection gets mysteriously lost or reset, and the adapter connects to (unsecured) neighbor’s router instead of mine (despite having much better signal from my router). To reconnect back to my router requires reinstallation of the driver and control utility/application, because the “WPA-PSK” encryption is permanently lost from the selection menu, so there is no way to connect to WPA network again. The device can see my router, however won’t let me input WPA key, as if it wouldn’t support WPA at all…. The reinstallation of the driver and utility restores the WPA-PSK option; until the next lost connection…this gets old very fast.

I wouldn’t recommend this adapter if you want to run WPA secured network; it probably works dependably otherwise.

Review by David Methot:

Setting up the Netgear router to share our DSL line was terribly easy. The directions are clear and set-up is quick and simple. It includes a CAT5 cable and a little vertical mount which makes the router look very slick. You don’t have to install any software or drivers; there is just a simple test procedure which takes a couple of minutes. The Netgear physically behaves like a server, and it has some solid security features. Also, installing the router actually solved problems that we originally had with the DSL modem, and it has behaved itself nicely since we set up the network. Accessing the router’s features is simple- you log onto the Netgear by typing “192.168.0.1″ in your browser window. Configuration is simple and straightforward. The RP614NA is a fine product and reasonably priced.

Review by D. Haskovec:

As other reviewers have noted, the router is very easy to set up. However, it has two major flaws which would keep me from recommend this unit:1. The router randomly locks up several times a week. It requires a power off then on in order to start working again.2. The router times out idle TCP session after a few minutes, and there is no way to disable or change this timeout. After the timeout the connection is dropped and has to be re-established. This is a *major* annoyance for people like me who use ssh or telnet to log into outside machines, but it can also cause problems with chat clients or other network applications if you are idle for a few minutes. This behavior has been confirmed by Netgear tech support, and they don’t have a solution.Between these two flaws, I recommend against buying this unit. Netgear’s previous generation product (RP314) was rock solid, it’s sad to see Netgear go so far downhill.

Review by zanexiv:

This router does exactly what it advertises. Concurrent dual-band w/ N speeds and all the features described above (I won’t repeat them here). Setup was a breeze, though I didn’t use the wizard and you probably don’t need to either as it’s all fairly intuitive. Set up the 2.4GHz network with the same SSID/auth as my previous router and all our devices worked seamlessly (3 laptops, 1 desktop, 2 Wiis), and all devices that could see the 5GHz band connected easily with WPA2 enabled.

The only feature that I wish was more robust is the QoS prioritization. Under a prioritization model the firmware only allows a setting of High/Low priority, or 2 levels, rather than the customary 4. Also, you can only add three custom QoS traffic types under this setting and if you game online in addition to VoIP and download torrent traffic heavily then you’ve already used those 3 slots, with no options for more. This being said, it does allow you to setup QoS with bandwidth allocation settings and that seemingly allows for as many settings you might want. However, if you’re looking for an easy way to setup QoS for multiple custom traffic types (based on port) then this likely isn’t the router for you.

That being said, speeds are still very good. I use torrents on a private tracker and easily get 1.5MB/s down wired, similar to my previous router. The difference here is that it handles the traffic based on my QoS settings without affecting my other connections, so I can easily play games online with torrent traffic in the background and don’t notice lag as before.

Wireless speeds are also solid. Depending on positioning and walls the 5GHz signal easily gets everywhere in the apartment (1000 sq ft), and average connection speed is somewhere around 230 Mbps when not in the same room. This is with both internal WiFi cards on ThinkPad T400 and the TRENDnet 300 Mbps Dual Band Wireless N USB Adapter TEW-664UB (Version v1.0R) which I also purchased from Amazon. 2.4GHz network works as before, which for me is pretty shoddy since I live downtown and there’s serious channel congestion here. That was my primary motivation for getting a 5GHz router in the first place and it’s done the job admirably. I’m sure, however, that for most people the 2.4GHz band will be just fine.

Overall a great purchase especially for the price at the time. Was 30 bucks less than the nearest competitor online (newegg) and shipping was FAST with Prime! I don’t regret the purchase and will by TRENDnet again in the future.

Review by C. Morgan:

I have two pc’s and one MacBook at home and needed something that would give more distance and faster wireless. I purchased the TEW-671BR without any knowledge of the brand and had my doubts about how much it might improve my signal. The product arrived quickly and does everything I hoped. At the end of one month I have no complaints about the product and recommend it to anyone. I did have problems setting up security but I am not an “expert” so I called their support line (yes, it is in India) and reached a tech is seconds; they walked me through the steps without a problem. All I can add is that everyone needs to understand you have both 2.4 and 5.0 bands and can use either but 5.0 does not cover as long a distance. Not a problem for me, one pc is on 2.4 another on 5.0 and the Mac can pick depending on which is best from any location.

Review by D. Miller:

I installed this on my G5 iMac, which natively only has 802.11g wi-fi. But with this adapter attached, I was able to stream 720p video from my iMac to the Apple TV without the slightest stutter.

Download speeds from the Internet were about twice as fast as before, according to a Speakeasy speed test. Upload speeds (to the Internet, not within my home network) were the same as before, but I suspect that’s due to my ISPs upload speed caps.

There are a couple oddball things though. During the initial setup, it seemed to take awhile for my iMac to recognize that the device was connected to the Internet. Since then, however, it hasn’t been a problem. Also, the device doesn’t seem to like it when I download software via OS X’s Software Update app — downloads would stall out very quickly. Yet downloading the same update from Apple’s support site worked flawlessly.

Also, when I woke the computer up from sleep, it appeared that the adapter didn’t automatically reconnect to my network. But it established a connection the instant I started up the adapter’s configuration app — so quickly, in fact, that it may have just been a coincidence. Still, after doing that, the connection was as solid as ever.

Finally, the configuration app could definitely be more elegant and “Mac-like.” But this is a minor concern. Some people might also not like the fact that the Mac drives aren’t on the included installation disc. But they’re easy to obtain off Trendnet’s Web site.

Overall, so long as you don’t mind starting up the configuration app when you wake your computer from sleep, this adapter should give you all the speed you need for normal Internet use and streaming video to your Apple TV or other media streaming box. Plus, it saved me from having to buy a new computer this year!

Review by Semiautical:

I have a bland laptop computer three years old running Windows XP Home Edition. It is middle of the road in every sense. It’ll run any software, co-opt any hardware. Nothing unique.

The Trendnet N adapter rejected it or it rejected the adapter. Either way it failed.

Ran install off the disk. Utility installed with icon on desktop. Plugged adapter into USB port. System failed to recognize. Utility failed to launch. Rebooted with adapter plugged into port. Still no luck. Finally called Trendnet tech support. Guided me through install using native XP wizard. System recognized hardware but failed to spot the 5.0Ghz band broadcast from Netgear WNDR3700 router. Did find the 2.4GHz band.

So, per support tech instructions I returned the adapter for another one.

Same installation problems. Had to use native XP wizard to install driver/utility again but this time 5.0GHz SSID appeared. Utility UI primitive but did connect to 5.0GHz SSID. Sadly, over the next ten minutes adapter randomly dropped then reaquired signal multiple times. Finally connection somehow steadied but all browsers failed to find the internet.

Insured problem lay with Trendnet adapter by switching to OEM wireless G adapter in computer itself. Both WAN and internet connection present.

Trendnet product proved faulty–twice.

I’ll be avoiding Trendnet in the future.

Review by Francine Price:

I had to call tech support to install. They were really patient. I had just installed a new router and had less trouble with that then this adapter. I am happy with the speed and so far it seems reliable.

Review by P. Martinez:

This usb adapter connects in a minute and picks up network connection well. Works perfect with Windows 7. Highly recommend it. Worth every penny.

Review by selmermk6:

Bought two. Plugged in one in my home office with a Cat5 coming from my WRT54G router.

Plugged the other one in on the opposite side of my ranch townhome. Got the blue light sync indicator within 5 seconds. Plugged in my laptop and got an IP from the Linksys five seconds after that..

Works perfectly. No drops. Just like an ethernet cable would be. Since it has four ports, plugged in the Tivo via the USB/Ethernet I already had. That also grabbed an IP and worked perfectly.

Consistent speed of copying WinXP SP2 off my PC in my home office to my laptop in the living room using the two 104s is about 15 Mbps or so as measured by Netstat on my laptop. Is it equal to Cat5? Is it ANYWHERE NEAR 85 Mbps as Netgear advertises? NOT A CHANCE. Connecting the laptop to my LAN by directly connecting into the WRT54G resulted in the same file being moved from the same PC at just over 75 Mbps. So, the 15 Mbps speed of the 104s is about 20% of the LAN’s speed moving the same file.

The Netgear software says the two are connected at just about 40 Mbps. So, figure less than half that in real speed.

But overall, it does work. It’s more than enough speed for me to avoid the hassles and drops of wireless, not to mention having to use WEP since my Tivo can’t currently support WPA.

Clearly, this is a YMMV product. Buy it and take the shot. You might get enough speed. Or you may not even have it sync up. That’s why I bought it from Amazon so I could return it if I had too. Could have gotten it a bit cheaper elsewhere, but why risk it?

If I was streaming HD files, it wouldn’t work. But for not having to deal with cutting through 19 (!) wireless networks that my 802.XX Site Monitor can see, and fighting the inevitable XP wireless drops, it works fine for me. I was going to go for the Slinglink first but figured I might as well try for faster speeds. I’m glad I spent the extra $$$$ over it and the older Netgear 102s.

5 stars for ease of use. 1 star for the laughable real speed versus Netgear’s advertising. Thus, an average of 3 stars.

EDIT TO ORIGINAL REVIEW: I have `SBC/ATT/Whatever they are today’ DSL. I tweaked my RCP Receive Window (RWIN) from blank (whoopps) to 17,424 (as well as other settings) per DSLReports.com’s suggestion in order to accommodate the new 6.0/764 RT based speed profile I recently received. In doing do, the speed of file transfers referenced above via the 104 dropped from about 15 megs to less than 10. When I removed the RWIN setting restoring it to its state before messing with it, the speed returned to the 15 megs.

So, if you’ve tweaked your registry settings for maximum broadband download speed and are not getting great results with the 104, you might want to do a little tweaking trade off between the two to get the speeds you’re seeking on both the 104 and your broadband access. My results of both speeds is still in ‘messing around with’ mode and I haven’t yet found that perfect blend.

EDIT TO ORIGINAL REVIEW #2 – 06/11/2006: Still working fine. Speeds are consistent with what I originally posted. It’s never failed once to work the way it’s intended. I’ve never dropped an IP and I’ve never plugged in the laptop and not had it work within a few seconds. A good product in my specific enviornment. I’ll buy another one so I can plug in the laptop anywhere in my place, even the deck outside and not have to fight wireless drops. Now if they’d only release the 1.6 firmware….

Review by S. K. Knapp:

PROS:

=====================================

* Works very well!

* Easy to install and to use

* Built-in 4-port router in each module!

* Reliable 30 Mbps connection, but speed will likely depend on your specific location.

* Includes all the required pieces to install one end point (module, Ethernet cable, software, manual). You need a minimum of two such modules.

* Reasonably good documentation on CD-ROM.

* Bright blue HomePlug network LED is extremely bright–a free nightlight!

CONS:

=====================================

* Never saw 85 Mbps but did reliably see 30 Mbps+.

* You need a minimum of two of these units. No manufacturer seems to make this clear on their web site.

* Optional but highly recommended encryption utility isn’t obvious or convenient (you need to record the password printed in small print on the back side of the module). Also, it seemed like I was always setting up the module at the opposite end of the connection.

I purchased two of the Netgear XE104 units (one for the cable gateway, one for the remote destination). While the Linksys WCG200 cable gateway has an 802.11G wireless connection, the power isn’t sufficient to reliably reach all locations in my old house (what’s in those walls anyway?). I was hoping that the XE104s would reliably deliver > 6 Mbps (Comcast HSI speed) to any point in the house, which it does. Using the Netgear-supplied utility, I’m seeing 30 Mpbs+, which is more than sufficient for my needs.

The unit was easy to install and use. The HomePlug connection established itself within seconds. I connected one unit to the router on the cable gateway via a Cat5 Ethernet cable. This unit connected to a nearby wall-plug (no surge protectors allowed).

I then plugged a second unit upstairs to another wall-plug. The HomePlug light lit up almost immediately. I then plugged this unit into my laptop’s Ethernet port and had connectivity within about 30 seconds. At this point, the Netgear reporting utility showed about 45 Mbps (again, nowhere near 85 Mbps but then again, I really didn’t expect it either).

The default connection isn’t encrypted. Netgear highly recommends encrypting the connection, which I image would be requisite if you live an appartment or condo. The encryption utility isn’t obvious. You need to write down the password data written in small print on the back-side of each module. The encryption utility asks for this information. In my case, the utility could only “see” the module at the opposite end of the connection, which made the installation a little more confusing. With a little fiddling, it all worked fabulously.

Each of the modules includes a built-in 4-port hub. Consequently, up to four computers or equipment can share an endpoint.

I’m happy enough that I plan to purchase an additional module.