SMC SMCWBR14-G2 Barricade G 2.4GHz 54Mbps Wireless Cable/DSL Broadband Router

First of all, it's really weird that the one in the picuture has the logo on the right of the lights with the lights toward the left while mine has the logo on the left (in front of the antenna) with the lights in the middle, but that's really not too relevant.What is relevant is that I suddenly became unable to use this for Internet access last night and nothing I could do could bring it back (and that over a cat-5 wire, not wireless) so now I've reverted to my old SMC7004ABR for internet access.So, before I throw it in the garbage, I thought I'd share my thoughts on this device.First, it runs really hot, and that might be what caused it's demise after a year. I wondered how long this thing would last, and now I know. If late at night the spiders are gathered around it singing campfire songs, it's likely running too hot. (No that really didn't happen, but if spiders could sing on those cold winter nights, they'd gather next to one of these routers.)Second, no reset button. I really missed that reset button from the 7004. I really used it too, you know, to reset it.This one can only be reset by pulling the power out and plugging it back in again, and the power plug is smack dab next to the antenna input, so you can't even get a good grip on the power plug because the antenna is in the way.Finally, this unit came with bad firmware. The "release renew" IP functionality wasn't even available on it's own little browser page until I called tech support and downloaded new firmware for it.And I won't even get into how many times the wireless connection just dropped for a second and came back on again while my kindergartener was on his favorite web site causing crying and grief. Computing life is so much quieter now that we're all hard wired with Cat-5 cables.So, it got me into the wireless home network age, and inspired me to get out again. Now I'm going to order a backup "wireful" SMC router while I can: the one that runs cool and has a reset button.

I can tell you all you need to know about this router in one sentence: Do not buy it or you will regret it. Don't say I didn't warn you.This router feels fragile and flimsy, and it is. I bought it in May and it worked fine until August, when I moved it to a different room and plugged it into a new outlet. Then it stopped working. I have had SMC routers in the past, and this has happened to me before: the router works fine for a while, but it cannot withstand any kind of handling, no matter how gentle.Worse yet, when I called SMC technical support to get an RMA number so I could return the router for a new one, they insisted that I spend over an hour trying one thing after another to make it work. Sorry, but it is simply not worth over an hour of my time to try to repair a $49 router, especially when I know from experience that it cannot be repaired and I need a replacement. Eventually, I asked to speak to a supervisor, and was put on infinite hold.In the end, I did what I should have done from the very beginning: toss the SMC in the trash and buy a Linksys router. (Netgear routers work well, too.) The Linksys feels far more solid, and I expect it will be more durable and reliable as well. I have never heard anyone say anything positive about SMC routers; trust me, you won't be the first!

Bought this router on Nov 07, unfortunately it stopped working.Had to return it due to Internet Access failure, the DNS wouldn't recognize any web addresses. I reset the router and still wouldnt work, I setup a static DNS server and didn't work, then updated the firmware and setup again and still didn't work.Pros: Easy to configure with assistant*, excellent range (about 40 feet tested), good speed on wireless G.Cons: Very hard to configure the encription type (WAP & WEP), when rebooting takes some time to gain access to Internet again, rarely but it did lose its connection.

I bought 6 of them to create a small network. In 3 month 4 of them died and 2 month later all of them was not working at all. Very cheap product with poor customer service. Please stay avay from this junk!