Netgear WGR614 Wireless-G Router

For years and years I have been a fan-boy of the venerable but geriatric Linksys WRT-54G (hackable versions) and then the WRT-54GL (hackable) - I run either DD-WRT or Tomato in all my Linksys routers. The love affair has alas come to an end after my second WRT-54G/GL failure, and #3 isn't doing well either needing an occasional reboot. The WRT-54GL in the motorhome needed frequent reboots. The WRT-54GL in the house that I used for an access point was running Tomato and frequently needed a reboot and the speeds weren't good.A buddy of mine had good luck with the Netgear WGR614 wireless router, so I replaced the Linksys in the motorhome about a year ago with the WGR614 and had great luck with it so far. Finally I got around to replacing the house AP with the WGR614 and its performance compared to the WRT-54 is significantly better. Neither Netgear router has required a reboot.Setup of the WGR614 is very straightforward and I like the useful Help/Description of the options on the right side of the page. I am so used to the Linksys user interface (UI) paradigm I will admit the Netgear UI, and where the various options were located took a bit of study, but I quickly found my way around.You can do the usual things for access control - block by time, MAC address, IP address, block by protocol AND IP address, block by keyword and/or domain name, etc. With some time spent setting up and fine tuning access control, a parent could very effectively restrict their children's Internet experience (at least while home ;-) ) with the WGR614.One issue (okay two issues) I had is setting up the WGR614 as strictly an access point. This WGR614 is downstream of the primary Internet-facing router, so the WAN port is unused and one of the LAN ports is connected to my main house switch. I had to Google how to configure the WGR614 as a simple Access Point - I was surprised I couldn't figure that out for myself.The other minor issue is since there is since the WAN port is not in use, the WGR614 doesn't think it has Internet access when it does its check for new firmware. Not a big deal since the last issue of firmware was a year ago.Bottom line - it's a really good little wireless router if you need a product that's cost effective and you don't need wireless N speeds, Gigabit LAN speeds, multimedia, attached storage, etc. It's a basic router that works great for my use. Recommended by The Old Geek.

I read all the reviews here and elsewhere prior to deciding to buy this router. I have to say I am very impressed! I upgraded to this router from the MR814 802.11B router. This router is identical to the MR814 except that it's about 1/3rd the size! It literally fits in the palm of my very large hand!When I took it out and connected it, I found that I didn't need the software Cd that came with it as it is mostly just help files anyway and I was able to figure it out on my own.Setup was a snap and I was done within 10 minutes.Nice Features:- 10/100mb WAN port! Most routers only have a 10mb WAN port. Odds are that your cable modem or DSL isn't faster than 10mb right now, but this router will support 100mb if you ever upgrade your connection! One thing to watch out for with this: The WAN port is set to Speed: Auto by default and some cable modems don't like that (mine didn't), so you go into the setup page and change the WAN port speed to 10mb on a simple drop down menu. This is documented in a separate notice in the box that you can't miss (good work Netgear).- Tiny!! This thing literally takes a fraction of the desk real estate my old one did!- FAST! I use this with a Netgear WG511 802.11G wireless laptop card and it is FAST! Connection speed is great even through 5 sheetrock walls (one floor Ranch style house).If you're not a very technology saavy person (your kid has to program the VCR) then use common sense: READ THE HELP FILES ON THE CD!!! Netgear put quite a bit of info on the help files on the CD (which you can also get from their website). This router is not complicated to get going. All you have to do is follow directions.Here is the general rule when setting up and troubleshooting router/broadband connections:- Setup your router using the wizard in the setup web page- once setup is done turn off EVERYTHING! That means that your Cable modem, router, and ALL pc's connected to the router should be turned off!- Turn things back on in the following order waiting 30 to 60 seconds between each:-Cable Modem-Router-PCThis will fix 99% of lost connection problems.Overall, I'm thrilled with this router (did I mention it's tiny?).