Choosing broadband wireless router

[Felix_the_Mac]

I am about to buy a broadband wireless router. I have shortlisted the following models:

Linksys WAG54G
Netgear DG834G
D-Link DI624+

If anybody has feedback on any of these it would be much appreciated.

 

[jane doe]

Get the netgear, Its a better router and the Linksys web interface does not work well with mac browsers. It sometimes does not save changes that you make to the router.

I have also found that Netgear has better documentation and their cases are metal, not cheap plastic.
It's also been my experience that netgear last longer, altho you don't hear too many people talk about problems with either one.

 

[MisterMe]

Get the netgear, Its a better router and the Linksys web interface does not work well with mac browsers. It sometimes does not save changes that you make to the router.

I have also found that Netgear has better documentation and their cases are metal, not cheap plastic.
It's also been my experience that netgear last longer, altho you don't hear too many people talk about problems with either one.

Huh? My Linksys router's web server works well with my Mac browsers.

 

[jane doe]

Huh? My Linksys router's web server works well with my Mac browsers.

They do most of the time, It depends on the model and firmware version. I went thru three linksys routers, two models because the documentation was so poor that I could not make heads or tails out of it.

 

[brhmac]

Just my 2 cents...

But I really like the D-Link. Works great with my 12-inch iBook G4, and it took about 10 minutes to configure and start surfing. I've used it on both DSL and cable modems.

 

[spiffie]

I had a D-Link wired router for several years, but it randomly died recently (just stopped routing any information from the cable modem, unable to connect to the web config, but it still acted as a hub). I went and bought a replacement, the DI-524. Whew, what a mess that router was. Any computer connected over wire to the router was fine, but wireless was another matter. Web pages took 5 minutes or longer to fully load, both using an iBook with an Airport card and my 12" PB with Airport Extreme. The web config utility kept crashing (I'd be unable to connect after the first 5 minutes, and have to hard reset the entire router to get back in). D-Link tech support, by the way, was not bad, but terribly biased against my using a Mac. They insisted I make any configuration changes to the routher from my roommates PC, even though we were only working in the web config utility.

I took it back and got the Linksys WRT54G, and it's been fabulous. Setup was a snap, and I was up and running in less than 5 minutes. I've no complaints about the web config utility (I use Safari, if that matters to you). I've heard that the 624+ is supposed to be much better, but I wasn't especially interested in the extra speed or cost. Regular G is fine for my needs.

 

[Quark]

Get the LinkSys

I am about to buy a broadband wireless router. I have shortlisted the following models:

Linksys WAG54G
Netgear DG834G
D-Link DI624+

If anybody has feedback on any of these it would be much appreciated.

You'll save yourself alot of trouble by getting the LinkSys WAG54G. The setup is very, very easy. The maintenance is very, very easy. The support is outstanding. The quality is well above average.

I have three houses that all have Linksys wireless routers. One house had a D-Link, but it broke down similar as previously described. Another house had NetGear - but setup and support were troublesome. I ended up just making it uniform and got all Linksys; with the exception of a 4th location where i have Apple's Airport.

Linksys is now owned by Cisco Systems. A well established and high end switch/router manufacturer. They are known for reliable/quality products. Linksys has been known for quality consumer products. With the two of them combined, you are getting the best of both worlds.

I hope that this has been helpful to you.

Best wishes,
Quark

 

[blue&whiteman]

there are way too many skilled wifi signal stealers out there for my taste. does airport use wifi also or is it an apple only signal?

 

[Kwyjibo]

I have a .b netgear and a .g dlink, the netgear seems to have a bit better range .. with my Powerbook 12.1 g4 AE ... the netgear started having DNS issues but I got free support to fix that ... we'll see. The netgear has more options that are easier to edit in my experience... they end up about equal on my page ....

 

[superbovine]

i have the DI-624+. it is great. the functionality of the 624 is robust and easy to use. however, i would flash the firmware with the last release from d-link website. also i would update your os x software particular your airport software beause there was issue with WPA encryption and the airport extreme cards. btw the interface for the 624 is mac friendly including flashing the firmware and saving/uploading a saved profile.

 

[Felix_the_Mac]

Thanks for the input.
Unfortunately according to my complicated scoring system that makes 2 votes for each model.

So I think I'll get the Netgear since it has a nice silver metal case and it costs the most .

 

[MisterMe]

there are way too many skilled wifi signal stealers out there for my taste. does airport use wifi also or is it an apple only signal?

For many people, Apple's Airport is Wi-Fi. Apple is a member of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Our favorite fruit company uses Lucent standard PC-cards in its Airport basestation and computers. Apple's Airport Extreme products are certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance.

 

[Felix_the_Mac]

So I bought the Netgear DG834G.

The case doesn't seem to be metal :-(
but the silver finish is nice and it is slim.

The wireless signal is considerably stronger than my Airport Extreme.
The web configuration interface is extremely well done with lots of on screen help.

It looks like a good buy, if anything happens to make me change my opinion I will let you know.