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312 of 325 found the following review helpful:
 Versions 1 - 4 were great but version 5 is a different story Nov 21, 2005
By SoCalReviews
The Linksys WRT54G and WRT54GS routers have been the number one most popular wireless router devices available for the past few years. So this begs the question why Cisco would snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by needlessly changing an almost perfect product. The fact is that versions 1 -4 of the G and the GS (with Speedboost) versions of this router were fantastic. Those earlier routers run a flexible and powerful Linux based firmware that has been perfected for the past few years a numerous updates and tweaks. However, the earlier WRT54G product has now been replaced with a less powerful wireless product (version 5) that has had its onboard flash RAM chopped in half from 4MB to 2MB and its system RAM cut from 16MB to 8MB. Instead of the flexible, reliable and powerful Linux firmware the new WRT54G version 5 routers run the licensed VxWorks firmware instead. There is nothing wrong with using VxWorks and over time Cisco will probably work out the bugs but for now the newest wireless routers are not reliable.
Why would Cisco do this to its most popular Linksys brand of wireless routers ? Apparently it might be a case where the first four versions were too flexible for their own good. The open source Linux firmware with the large amount of flash and system memory was attractive to many third party independent software developers that were turning the WRT54G and GS routers into powerhouse micro Linux wireless computers with a functionality approaching and often surpassing the $600+ wireless routers that Cisco sells. There might also have been an excess number of product warranty returns for the WRT54G routers due to so many people flashing them with non-Linksys third party firmware that sometimes can "brick" a router or make it unusable.
Your solution is to either look for a previous version of the "WRT54G" router before version 5 or purchase the "WRT54GS" (SpeedBooster) version 4 which as of the posting of this review is still available in the stores and it still uses the popular Linux firmware. You will pay $20 more for the GS model but compared to the version 5 of the G model it is worth the extra money. The GS models 1 - 4 are all good with GS version 3.0 and 3.1 reportedly being the most flexible of the bunch and GS 4.0 being the latest. If you want to use third party firmware you may want the GS versions 2.0 - 3.0/3.1 since they have the most flash RAM while still having newer Broadcom based processors. Finally, if you do plan to flash your WRT54G with third party firmware the ones before version 4 of the WRT54G wireless routers are supposed to be easier to work with.
How do you find which version you are looking for? Look on the bottom of the box near the scan tag for the serial number of the router. For the WRT54G wireless routers look for CDFA or a CDF9 or lower (CDF8, CDF7, 6, etc.) Any serial number with CDF5 (v2.0) through CDF9 (v3.1) are the most flexible for use with third party firmware. Unless you want to use a more risky third party firmware I recommend that you read the manual instructions on how to carefully flash these older router models with a newer Linksys firmware which is designed for that specific router version. The latest official Linksys firmware for each specific version of router can be obtained from the Linksys support site. Completely avoid the WRT54G routers with the "CDFB" (v5.0) serial numbers since those are the buggy VxWorks versions. You could also simply purchase the WRT54GS (v4.0) routers that say Speedboost on the box. You will see the "CGN6" serial numbers on the box and as of this review these were still using Linux firmware with software based SpeedBoost enhancements but the RAM and hardware inside seems to be essentially the same as the older WRT54G (v4.0) version 4. The WRT54GS v2.0 (CGN3) through v3.0 (CGN5) are also good and will have more flash RAM available if you want use the wireless router with third party firmware. I would like to note that flashing the router with firmware other than an official Linksys releases obtained from the Linksys support web site will void the warranty and can result in a "bricked" or damaged router.
PROS: The most popular, flexible, reliable and highly rated wireless router on the market before the WRT54G version 5. Previous versions could be flashed with powerful third party firmware. The latest WRT54GS v4.0 routers can still be purchased and except for the SpeedBoost software enhancement (including a different version of Linux based firmware) they are essentially the same as older WRT54G v4.0 routers.
CONS: The latest version 5 has less Flash and System RAM and uses a buggy non-Linux based firmware. There is no rumor of this yet but in the near future Cisco might also release a newer WRT54GS router non-Linux based router (WRT54GS v5.0 ???)
CONCLUSION: With all the changes to the memory and the firmware this latest G model is really a very different product and Cisco should have changed the model number altogether. Neverless, I hope that Cisco works out the bugs in their current version so that the G version can at least partially return to its glory days. There are rumors that a still newer model popular Linux based router might be re-released with the model name of WRT54GL but until that happens we can still purchase a very good WRT54GS v4.0 Speedbooster model.
THE BOTTOM LINE: I give five stars to the older WRT54G models and five stars to the latest WRT54GS model. But I give only one star for the newest WRT54G version 5 which averages the score to only 2.5 stars (rounded down to 2 stars since v5.0 is the newest and most abundant WRT54G model that you can find in the stores).
202 of 213 found the following review helpful:
 Great product! Oct 23, 2003
By Yvo van Doorn
Note: I don't know if any of these "reviewers" have even checked for the updated firmware on Linksys' website. The new firmware version (currently 1.41) fixes a lot of the reported issues mentioned on this website. Linksys does not ship its routers with the updated firmware as it costs too much to recall every single router in all the stores just to flash to the newest version. Anyways this product has a great range. I currently have two 802.11b adapters and a 802.11g adapter and they perform excellent in my environment. Quite amazing because my house is literred with 2.4ghz phones. Also I have 3 computers using the "wired" ports. All devices seemlessy interact with each other. Of course transfers are a little slower to any of the wireless devices (excluding the 802.11g device). I have had no connection drops and the unit is a lot colder than my previous router (the BEFSR41W). My old router used to warm up a lot but this one doesn't suffer from that issue. I definitely recommend this product to anyone looking to buy an excellent router backed with excellent support. Unlike many other companies Linksys updates their firmware quite often with new features.
116 of 121 found the following review helpful:
Very Fast and esy to get going Jan 26, 2003
By Jack
After being a happy owner of linksys router for several years, I order this router and one g card the day it's available. I got it to work within 10 minutes using all the defaults and the quick installation guides on my VAIO running XP. Well prior experience sure helps here in getting the router configured via the web interface. It takes another couple hours to get my self familar with the technology, i.e., RTFM. Here are a couple things you definitely need to do to lock it down unless you want to be an ISP for your neighbors :) (1) First it is wide open using the default. Change the SSID to something else other than linksys and turn off the broadcasting of SSID. (2) Enable 128 bit WEP fast. (3) Lock down the mac address so only your g (or b...) cards can talk to the router. (4) While at it, you may as well change the channel. Other than these, I am very happy with it. Have fun surfing....
655 of 721 found the following review helpful:
 Works well once you work out any configuration kinks. Jun 11, 2003
I bought my WRT54G and WPC54G back in Jan/Feb. I had a wired Linksys 4-port router for YEARS and it was a SOLID performer. Setup for the WRT54G required some aches and pains. Granted they tell you right on the box that it is based on draft protocols, but I would have straightened a few problems myself with clearer communication or documentation from Linksys. Registration for this product should include subscription to a technical e-mail list notifying users of firmware and driver updates as well as the lates technical articles and an 802.11g ratification update. I don't mind that the product is based on "draft" protocols, but proactively notify me about updates! You can even use the .NET Alerts to IM me about new firmware! It was after I performed a firmware upgrade that I started to encounter problems maintaining a connection with the router. I upgraded to enable the SocketCom 802.11b CF NIC for my iPAQ to use the WRT54G. The upgrade is mandatory for many 802.11b devices to hear the WRT54G and I believe it's the standard shipping firmware now. Anyways, after I upgraded, my WPC54G started dropping connection every 4-5 minutes. I could manually force XP to reconnect only to find myself disconnected 4-5 minutes later. It was HIGHLY annoying and made the wireless useless. I just got off the phone with LinkSys support (yes, at 2am EST Wednesday and a 1-800 number!) and they recommended unchecking the "Enable IEEE 802.1x authentication for this network". Voila! I've been connected continuously ever since. A previous technician told me via LinkSys online support chat, that I should try changing channels. But he could not tell me why this would fix the problem. Of course, it did not work. But I believe that chat support for complex technology products can get tricky. Other than this annoyance, I have been very happy with Linksys hardware. It gets the job done and is rock solid once you get it up and running. I can't remember the last time I had to reset any LinkSys router. I recommend that everyone do a security lock-down on their wireless hardware. Disable SSID broadcast, enable 128-bit WEP, and refrain from enabling remote administration.
367 of 416 found the following review helpful:
WPA security support. Great range. Jul 28, 2003
I am using this AP/router with the Linksys WPC54G PC card on a Sony Vaio laptop running Windows XP. I did not use the set-up CD-ROM but used the web based application to configure it. Since my ISP uses PPoE I had to fill in my user name(with domain name) and password. Also my ISP gave me DNS numbers to fill in under the DHCP settings even though I have my TCP/IP settings for the connection set to "Obtain automatically". Basically that's all there is to configuring the router-ISP connection. The order that the modem, router and computers are turned on is VERY important. If you can't connect after configuration go through the power-on cycle again in that order. Configuring the security, however, is another matter. Linksys supports the newer more secure WPA security protocol. There is new firmware for the router and a new driver for the card from the Linksys site. Both installed easily. Nowhere in the instructions or on their web site will you find how to configure WPA, though they have supported it since May. Since WEP 128 is almost useless for protecting against specific attacks to your network I strongly recommend using WPA. On the router and the card you will need to use "WPA-PSK" (Pre-Shared Key) not just the "WPA" option which is also available. For encryption use TKIP. The key can be anything from 8-63 characters in length. A Group Renewal key can be set for 0-99,999 seconds. I set it to 0. WPA-PSK uses part of the IEEE 802.1x authentication and so this authentication will be enabled and greyed out by default. Under the IEEE 802.1x authentication use PEAP for the EAP type unless you have a smart card for authentication. Also uncheck both boxes for "authenticate as computer when ...." and "authenticate as guest when ....." As is often stated, change the SSID and don't broadcast it and use MAC filtering for added security. For the price (including the Linksys rebate) this router with all it's features (though hidden) is hard to beat.
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