Netgear WGR614 Wireless-G Router Reviews

• Excellent router with no problems whatsoever

  
  By A2PIXF6J1MV4XE on 2004-09-13
  This is an exceptional router and at this price you can't find a better choice. I see a lot of disgruntled people here who can't connect to the router wirelessly after changing settings. I would like to give a couple of tips. First of all, make sure you configure the router when you are hard wired. You have to ensure that you are connected to the router via a LAN cable whenever you are making any changes to the router's configuration. This way when the router restarts etc. you will still be connected to it. If you are carrying out any changes to the router through your wireless card, for example if you have changed the WEP encryption code in the router, then once you submit those changes, the router will not let your wireless card connect until your laptop's card is configured for the same WEP key. So once again, please ensure you carry out changes to the router only when hard wired. The moment you get your router, I suggest you carry out a firmware upgrade (go to netgear's support site and download the latest firmware for your model from there). Once again follow instructions and make sure you are connected through a cable to carry out the same. Now log onto the router and then do a couple of things.
  
  First of all, rename the SSID to anything you want (eg. Joan's Arc). Then go to the wireless settings, then to wireless access, and click on 'Disable SSID broadcast'. This ensures that the SSID is not broadcast to others around you who have a wireless machine. So when their software searches for a wireless access point all they will see is a blank name. To be able to connect to your network they would have to know the name of your SSID (Joan's Arc in this case) and manually type it in their machines (Highly unlikely that they will be able to think of the same name as you do. You can make your name even harder to obtain by simply using numeric characters in it.. for example Joan's Arc2004). Secondly, to make it secure use a 128 bit WEP key (this has to be a 26 digit key consisting of alphanumeric and numeric characters. You can use only certain alphabets in small and large case so you need to check that out. Also remember that you have to feed the same WEP key number in your laptop wireless card software (or the windows wireless settings if you are not using your wireless card's software). Finally you can ensure that only the wireless devices you specify can logon to your router. Go to the Wireless settings, then to wireless access setup and then click on 'enable wireless access'... Thereafter click on 'Setup access list'. Once there add your wireless device by using its mac address (the mac address is a unique number given to a wireless device, very much like a phone number- this enables the router to identify the device trying to connect to it). The mac address will be listed on your wireless device and you can also see all the devices that you can allow to connect to your router in the router's configuration window. (One important note to remember is that if you have already enabled WEP then you will have to first feed in the same key into your wireless device software settings before the router will display it in it's list of devices). Select the device that you want to allow to connect to your router and apply.
  
  Hope this helps to a certain extent to configure your routers. Trust me, this is an amazing router and if you are having connection problems, it most likely is due to the settings in the router- not because the router is faulty.
  
  

• Easy to install. Works great. Looks great!

  
  By A3NDJY64M4VEWV on 2003-07-03
  EASY TO INSTALL... This was my first router installation, but it was easy! The router comes with short, easy-to-follow installation directions. It took me 10-minutes to open the box, read the directions, connect the hardware (it includes a power cord and a network cable), power-up my PC, boot into Windows XP and access the router through Internet Explorer. Netgear's interface is wonderful. Modifying security settings, an optional step, was a breeze. I never even looked at the CD that was included.

  WORKS GREAT... As soon as my desktop PC booted into Windows XP, I was connected to the Internet through my Road Runner cable connection (my PC was connected to the router via cable; the router, of course, was connected to the cable modem). Laptop connection was almost as easy. I did download the most recent firmware (1102) from Netgear's web site to make the router 100% compatible with the 802.11g specs and to be able to block broadcast of SSID (the upgrade also fixed some minor problems): http://www.netgear.com/support/support_dnld.asp?prodNum=WGR614

  LOOKS GREAT... The picture doesn't do it justice, nor will anything I can say. I have the router sitting vertically in its stand. The side LEDs face me. They are clearly marked, lit (or blinking) icons. Thin and elegant.

  I was torn between Linksys and Netgear. I still respect Linksys, but I am glad that I bought Netgear.
  
  

• Lot of great features...hardware issues....

  
  By A39ZV04M0B47IJ on 2003-10-05
  I bought this for the faster 54Mb rate...it is fast. BUT a few problems or differences in expectations were encountered...

  I have used D-link, linksys, netgear, cisco, USR and belkin wireless products. The transmit strength on this compact WGR614 is pretty strong. maybe it's a factor of the 802.11G...it seemed to be as strong as the cisco gear which is phenomenal in itself. The wireless card from netgear for 54G is pretty strong also. I think belkin was the worst, followed up by USRobotics which was also pretty weak, then linksys, then d-link.

  Connection was extremely easy. I just unplugged the D-link wireless and put in the Netgear. It found the internet automatically, configured itself for access and spoofed the mac address automatically. Something that is great for newbies.

  MAJOR PROBLEM: I use my cable (comcast-which blows chow most of the time...) to access internet to use stock trading software and as such, is a streaming data stream through a VPN. This router claims VPN pass through...but unless you know which ports to open up..it makes it somewhat difficult to use "real" VPN because all you're doing is opening raw ports to the internet to IP addresses behind the router. This is a pretty big security concern IMO. I just moved all my data from the trading computer to another server that doesn't have ports open...but a pain nonetheless...

  anyhow, back to the main problem. This netgear router tends to just stop routing...no joke. the connection lights with the internet remain ok, but the router just freezes, stops working and then works again in a few minutes...I've contacted tech support but the Netgear technical support is a complete joke. You wait on hold for 30 minutes (an eternity it felt like) EACH time and then get connected with India..yes, they outsource, and some of the tech folks in India speak faster english with major accents than some spitfire hispanics speaking spanish...needless to say, I had to remind them to slow down and enunciate so I could hear what they were saying..

  Bottom line, tech support is a joke, if you have a problem. you're on your own...Ive upgraded the firmware TWICE now, even to the new unsupported "beta" to try and stop this freezing...to no avail. I've gone back to my old D-link and it works wonders...go figure...

  I'm going to order one more netgear router and if that freezes too..then i think there is a hardware/firmware issue...

  i'm jinxed folks :-)
  
  

• ...almost gave up

  
  By A2WG0IDS0AZ9BJ on 2004-01-11
  I read the reviews... wanted to believe it would work for me, so I ordered it anyway. The short version, it works great once you figure it out. The long version: I had hoped that once hooked up, it would run right away. To my disappointment, it didn't. I spent many hours fussing with it, trying different combination to get it to work. I called my ISP, they couldn't solve it. I finally picked up the phone to call NETGEAR and within minutes the tech was able to troubleshoot the problem and away I went. Turns out, since I have a T1 connection with a static IP address (as opposed to DSL or other standard dial-up and dynamic IP address) the hook-up of the router is not the typical and is not spelled out anywhere in the instructions. Turns out, instead of plugging the cable from the wall into the router's "internet port (A)" like the instruction indicate for a DSL scenario, the tech told me that I needed to plug the cable from the wall into one of the router's "local ports (B)". Also, with a static/private IP address, I needed to make sure both the wireless NIC card and router have the necessary information plugged in that were provided to me by my ISP ie: IP, Gateway Flash, DNS, etc.. This, the tech didn't mention, but after a few more annoying hours of unplugging, and replugging, resetting and cursing, all was figured out and solved. So now, I am up and surfing at 54Mbps and without any problems thus far. You would figure I wouldn't recommend this product, but knowing that my hook-up wasn't the norm, I guess I'm not surprised it took some finagling to get it going. Now that it is going, all is good.
  
  

• Finally Stablized the Connection!

  
  By on 2003-09-13
  ok... I have spent many hours trying to figure out how to stabilize the connection. After being connected, the connection would drop after x minutes and not return unless I reset the wireless settings by clicking "Apply" using the Netgear html interface. I checked out all the forums and did not find anything that would help. I was ready to give up and return the item. But Thank God I finally found the solution.

  Originally, I thought it was interference with my 2.4 ghz Panasonic phone but that wasn't it... Here's the solution and I hope this helps those who seem to be experiencing the same thing:

  1. Update the firmware (not sure if this is really necessary but I did this after reading this on some forums)
  2. Change channels. You have options 1 to 11. Mine works great on Channel 7 and it doesn't seem to interfere with my 2.4 ghz Panasonic cordless phone. Experiment and see which channel gives you the best signal and stable connection.
  3. Place the router (if possible) in the center of the area that you will be working in to maximize the signal. I currently have the router at the end of my house and want to move it somewhere to the center to improve signal strength.
  4. In the advanced settings for LAN IP set-up (and this is the one that solved the majority of my connection problems), you must reserve a dedicated ip address for each computer on the wireless LAN by using the "Address Reservation" option. Before I did this, I would sometimes get the message "IP address conflict with xx.xx.xx.xx" on each PC that I had connected to the router with the WG311 wireless PCI card. Basically, both computers were fighting for the same IP address and causing the connection to crash. So the problem was eliminated when I assigned dedicated IP addresses for each computer.

  I give this router only 4 stars because this stuff should have been clearly stated in the manual. Now everything works fine and I get very few disconnects (notice how I didn't state zero disconnects). Anyway, ta da! Netgear should pay me for this. Seriously. p.s. There's been many price drops on this router recently so shop around.
  
  

• it's an excellent paperweight
  By A6G3UUI2CUQGE on 2005-09-13
  Wow. This thing is a piece of junk. I can sometimes get service for days on end, but then it'll drop me and there's no way to get reconnected. I mean, I can unplug the unit, and it will, in fact, connect me, but it's short lived. I've spent many an afternoon walking in between the living room and office (where the router is stored), unplugging and plugging the unit back in, checking my computer, ad nauseum. It'll connect me for literally seconds before I'm dropped again. I usually give up and go use my hardwired desktop. When I save the money up to get another brand I can't wait to take this one out to the backyard with a baseball bat.
  
  I implore you, do NOT buy one of these if you value your sanity. It will push you over the edge.
  
  By the way, i'm writing this review at work. I've tried many times at home on the laptop, but I lose the connection before I can finish.
  
  Oh, and customer service is an utter joke.
  
  *****update*****
  
  i finally pulled the plug on this dog and took it to the woodshed. beat it to little bits with a baseball bat. i feel so much better.
  
  
• High hopes - Disappointing performance
  By ANCPX6B2PW3U6 on 2004-03-17
  I purchased the WGR614 along with a 802.11g NetGear notebook adapter and a 802.11b NetGear adapter for a PDA. What should have been a very easy installation and setup turned into endless frustration. While configuring the router is fairly simple, getting devices to connect to your wireless network is problematic, even when using ONLY NetGear products. Connectivity is spotty, often requiring configuration changes on the remote devices EVERY time you try to connect. The adapters seem to have a hard time finding the wireless network and remembering those settings for later. The Windows XP wirless settings experience the same problem trying to access the network. Attaching 802.11b devices, even when the router was setup to accept them, proved to be even more difficult. In most cases, particularly when using devices from other companies like Linksys or DLink, it was a HUGE headache to get them onto the network, and I am a network engineer. I believe a normal lay person would have thrown the router out the window long ago.

  My opinion: spend the extra money and purchase a Linksys or Microsoft wireless network equipment (yes, it works very well). You'll have fewer headaches and all the benefits that are present in the NetGear equipment.
  
  

• Great Device... Just Not That Way Out Of The Box
  By ALO4A66MPPLVL on 2004-05-23
  Well, I finally decided to go out and purchase a wireless router. Being that I did not want to spend very much, I opted for this one. This router provides a great list of features, just not out of the box.

  Size:
  Unlike Linksys or Microsoft routers which are larger and bulky, this router is small. It measures about 3 1/2" long by 2 1/2" wide by 1/2" high. It's not something that I would put into a server case, but it is something that can be mounted on a wall or tucked away out of site very easily.

  Speed:
  With this router, I normally get anywhere between 48Mb to 54Mb connections throughout my entire home and even outside, with throughput being somewhere between 35-45Mb (most wireless routers average out about about 30 so this one is pretty good). The signal strength from the router is fairly strong and I have only dropped my signal once (see notes below). I use a Xterasys brand PCMCIA card on my PC Laptop, Apple eXtreme G PC Cards on my G4 iMac and G5, and an Xterasys PCI card on my PC Desktop. All of them are 802.11G.

  Security:
  Out of the box, the device supports up to 128bit WEP encryption and has support for MAC Layer Address control. A New beta firmware out allows for WPA encryption. On the firewall side, the router uses the basic firewalls: NAT Translation and SPI.

  Reliability:
  After getting pass what is noted below, my router is very reliable. I have never experienced any kind of malfuntions or problems. My previous Linksys router may have locked up once every year. I have not had this router for a year yet, but I am expecting around the same.

  Ease of Use:
  Unlike a few control panels that I have seen, this router is much easier to use. Wireless encyption happens easily thanks to a WEP key generator (based on passphrases) and a wonderful manual. Other features of the device work just as well. The router seems to be more intelligent than other routers that I have used. For example, I am able to DCC in IRC or DirectIM in AIM without having to forward ports to a machine. A big plus.

  With all of those pros, there are also a list of cons as well.

  Firmware:
  This has to be one of my biggest cons about this router. The quality of firmware on this router reminds me of Linksys a few years ago (in which you waited about 3-6 months before updating your firmware). Out of the box, the router worked great via the ports, but wireless was a different story. For one, when I attempted to connect wirelessly using my PC Laptop, everything worked great. Then, when I enabled encryption, I could remain connected for about 1 minute, then it would drop out. A minute later, it would come back. Then, the cycle would repeat itself. I decided to upgrade to the latest firmware (which to my surprise was two years newer than the one shipped with hit). The new firmware added new features such as the ability to disable SSID broadcasting. The new firmware fixed my dropping problem like a charm. But, when I dissabled SSID broadcasting, the same thing started happening. The only difference here was that I would drop and gain every second! Since I much rather not broadcast my SSID, I simply upgraded my PC's to the beta of SP2 and that fixed my problem there. My Macs did not have the same problem with the disabled SSID, but did have the same problem before I upgraded my firmware. Then, a new firmware came out which allowed for WPA encryption. Since I rather use WPA than WEP, I upgraded, only to find out that by doing that, wireless stopped working all together! Downgraded back, and everything worked again.

  Internet Performance:
  This one may just be me, but I have noticed that I get slower Internet performance wirelessly than I do wired... even when I'm next to my router. For example, I have a webserver that has files on it. I can download those files at around 150-200KB/s. When I connect to the router via ethernet, I can download at around 350-400KB/s. Although I can live with both, this always bugs me because I should get the same speeds regardless.

  Specifications:
  One of the reasons I bought a G router was for the extra speed on devices that have G cards and the compatibility on my devices that have B cards. In the end, I upgraded everything to G. Why? Simply because this router has very poor Wi-Fi/Wi-Fi+ support. If I turn my router to 802.11B only, I get decent wireless B speeds (usually between 8-11Mb all the time). In 802.11G only mode, I usually get throughput speeds of about 35-45Mb all the time. But in mixed mode (G & B support), I get about 2-4 Mb throughput all the time, regardless of if the device is G or B. This may be a firmware problem so I'll wait to see if a new one fixes that (while breaking something else).

  All and all, it wasn't a bad buy for $40. It does all that I need it to do and since everything is G now, it works pretty great. If you are looking for a starter router that will provide your wireless needs, this one will do the trick.
  
  

• Great, but not "g" compatible with Dell TrueMobile 1300
  By AL9KEY2QFW3MH on 2003-05-14
  The Netgear routers work very well and are easy to configure for both wireless connections and internet connection sharing and routing. However, this router WILL NOT CONNECT in 802.11g (54 Mbps) mode with the popular Dell TrueMobile 1300 built into many of Dell's laptops. This is confirmed by many other users on the Dell support forum.

  This is probably to be expected since the TrueMobile and the Netgear use different brand chipsets for this draft standard. I am giving 4-stars with the hope that this compatibility problem will be fixed with a firmware update. I hope so since this device has far better range than my previous 802.11b access port. For now, unfortunately, it will probably get returned.

  (note that this is with Netgear software version 1100)
  
  

• This IS NOT a FIREWALL
  By A5HS6AFM2OHC0 on 2003-06-11
  Despite Netgear's claims of SPI and True Firewall the WGR614 is not a Firewall.
  Netgear's claims are completely bogus. I could see inbound traffic coming through their router straight into well known services in my machine (e.g., netbios, etc.) There is absolutely no way to block this traffic. This "feature" was acknowledged by their tech support. So, if you are thinking of buying this product, here is my advice: DON'T. These are the top four reasons:

  - It is not a FIREWALL. Netgear's claims are false.
  - I could not register for tech support online. Their online registration was down for more than an hour. Then I gave up.
  - Their electronic certificate expired on May 2003 and they do not have a new one yet (not good for a company that makes firewalls).
  - I spent more than an hour waiting on their hotline and had to talk to two tech support guys to get them to acknowledge they do not have a FIREWALL in the strict sense of the word. I.e., you cannot set your inbound filtering policies, etc.

  Sergio
  
  

• Great performance, range, setup, size and value
  By on 2003-05-17
  Great performance, range, setup, size and value. It installed in just a few minutes. I took my laptop all over my back yard and was still getting fantastic performance. I was impressed with how small the router was, especially standing on edge with the stand that comes with it. The status indicators were very easy to read because they light up with meaningful symbols rather than simple LED dots. this makes it easy to read in the dark. I only changed a couple default setting. Before I purchased the router, I found one support item ...that mentioned there could be a problem for the router calculating the correct WAN speed to the cable modem. so I changed the WAN speed from auto to 100M. I changed the default wireless mode from "g and b" to "g only". Having a mixed g/b wireless will significantly slow down the 54Mbps 802.11g adapters. I only plan to add more 802.11g adapters. For security, I limited access to only recognize my laptop's MAC address. I found this extremely easy since I did not have to manually enter the MAC address, I only had to select it from a list of discovered adapters. Customizing WEP Encryption, which I recommend, was simplified by allowing me to enter a passcode, which automatically creates the encryption keys. This made WEP setup extremely simple because I did not have to manually enter the encryption keys on either the router or my netgear adapter.
  I plan to monitor the netgear web site for firmware updates, which are sure to come, as the 802.11g standard finally becomes certified. The 4 Ethernet ports, allows me to easily to connect my existing network without purchasing more wireless adapters. I connected a desktop computer and a printer server.
  
  
• In my professional opinion, Junk
  By A2I9RYDYLIMX on 2003-12-17
  Brief background... I'm a networking geek. Yup, set up a network with DMZ, many subnets, routers, firewalls, bridges. At uni I was an Network Security professional, I've worked for CISCO, now I work for one of the worlds largest telco's with wireless networks.
  I bought this device to extend part of my network. Yes, this device is easy to set up. But give it three wireless users authenticated based on MAC and allocated IP addresses, with 128bit WEP, shared key, then apply small ammount of traffic and the wireless connection drops... dead. 100BaseTx users can continue to use the net, but signal strenght on wireless connections drop from 68-84 down to 0 !!! I.e. the wireless connection dies. And tech support can hardly read their script, they are incapable and outright lie about basic network principles when challanged.
  Quite a few people have written reviews about this same problem, some have even had their routers replaced... but I feel it is my duty to inform you and save you the headache in case you do get one of these faulty routers.
  
  
• Major problems, which Netgear has acknowledged - AVOID
  By A3LG1UIKCZ9SV5 on 2006-02-25
  Do NOT purchase this router. I have been a happy Netgear customer in the past, and am technical enough to keep both home and small office wireless networks running fine, but this model has a hardware problem that Netgear tech support has finally acknowledged, but for which they are not providing an adequate fix. As others have mentioned, the router will often drop connectivity, and rebooting is the only solution. I bought one, had these problems start (luckily within the 90 day tech support window), and returned the router to Netgear (at my expense) in exchange for another one, which demonstrated the SAME problem less than 24 hours after installation. After yet another long call to India the latest tech support rep acknowledged that lots of these models are having the same problem, and upgrading to the latest firmware (which I did immediately upon installing both of these routers) won't fix it, so her solution was... send this one back (AGAIN at my expense) and they would send me yet another one of the SAME model, which she (for no defensible reason) assures me will work. For more background please see the Netgear tech support forums, where you will see scores of people experiencing the same problem and the same non-solution from Netgear. Save yourself the trouble and buy a different wireless router.
  
  
• Easy to install, hopeless for heavy use
  By A2SU6CA6HSK85I on 2005-03-26
  I bought one of these to replace an SMC7004AWBR which stopped allowing admin logins and wouldn't reset to factory defaults.
  
  It installed like a dream, was really easy to set up, and worked fine--at first. Unfortunately, I work from home as a software engineer and system admin, and really need a reliable router--and this isn't it. Once I open too many simultaneous TCP connections, it'll crash--the lights blink as if it's still working, but it stops actually routing packets.
  
  I've tried a firmware upgrade, I've tried changing the MTU size, and next I think I'm going to try another brand of router... If you use BitTorrent, RSS aggregators, or other software that opens lots of TCP connections, avoid this router. Similarly, if you have several computers in simultaneous use, this device will only frustrate you.
  
  
• Unable to stop Wireless router from Broadcasting SSID
  By A22HPG96T37JQJ on 2003-05-24
  Although the documentation indicates that you are able to stop the wireless network from broadcasting the SSID, the option is not available. I contacted Netgear and they agreed that this was a problem and it was going to be fixed in the next firmware release. They stated that the firmware was in the final days of testing. That was two weeks ago. The ability to stop broadcasting the SSID is a basic security feature. I would not purchase this product until the new firmware is released.
  
  
• Outstanding
  By A13PJOSPMW65CW on 2003-06-27
  I was torn between this and the Linksys WRT54G. I read some of the reviews and the Linksys seemed unstable and had a lot of complaints (having to download a patch wasn't in my agenda). Also, the linksys seemed too big and bulky. I was going to go for the Link because I thought bigger was better and since it was more expensive, would perform better.

  I finally settled for this and the Netgear WG511 Wireless 54g PC Card because it was cheaper and had lesser complaints. Plus, it was a lot smaller.

  Installation with WinME was a breeze and I couldn't be happier. (Took no more than 15 minutes) I thought it was going to be a hassle but it wasn't. I think having optimum online was part of it (no need to configure ISPs and domain names). The bulk of the 15 mins was the restart and plugging all the cables in.

  The range for my laptop is excellent. 78% signal strength and the wireless router base is upstairs (I'm in the basement) and two rooms to the right.

  Now I can surf anywhere in the house!

  Oh, and here's the kicker... you know how big and bulky that linksys looks? This one has a stand so you can stand it up. If I had seen that, I would've bought this the first day that I had looked at it.

  First electronic purchase that I didn't regret.
  
  

• Sensitive to positioning
  By A2D78M1JM1R213 on 2003-09-13
  I've had the the WGR614 for about a month or so now, and was pretty disappointed with the wireless performance. My work area is ~30 feet from the router, and I'd get mediocre signal strength ratings (50-60%), low transmit rates, and frequent dropped connections. 30 feet.

  Then I realized that I had a steel filing cabinet in the line-of-sight between the router and my chair. I put the router on top of the filing cabinet, rather than behind it, and many problems were solved. I'm now getting 95% signal strength and link quality, at 36mbps, rather than 60% signal ratings and 12 mpbs.

  My other gripe with the wireless side of the router is that antenna isn't removable, so you can't replace it with a better one.

  The router side of the unit seems to be OK, but I have some concerns about it - for instance, it merrily routes IP addresses in the 10.X.X.X range, which, strictly speaking, it should drop. This can actually be convenient for small business or home use; you can cobble together a DMZ-style area by using two routers - I've got a Cisco 675 between me and the public Internet, with one machine and Internet side of the WGR614 connected to the 675, and then the rest of the network on the private side of the WGR614.

  Works great.
  
  

• on dropping connections
  By A33QU35OKN3T79 on 2005-11-22
  This is actually an excellent router for the price and functionality. The problem with it dropping connections is a design flaw not in its wiring, but in its design. You'll find that if you placed the unit in a very cool place, it won't drop connections at all. The unit itself overheats because there isn't adequate ventillation. A few searches online will point you in the direction that other fond users have taken: mounting a case fan to the unit itself.
  
  Other than the overheating issues, this is a really good product.
  
  
• Disappears from network, UPnP doesn't work right
  By A3A0KPQ1458501 on 2005-05-11
  I have the v5 of this router. I put the latest firmware on it. None of this made any difference to all the tests I discuss below.
  
  I am a very experienced software engineer. I just want you to know who was doing these tests.
  
  Since my initial testing about 2 weeks ago, I must correct my
  initial assessment that the router's throughput is bad. Actually, it's very very good. I was having problems with a wireless notebook card. However, the rest of my negative
  opinion stands, and I'd still say "get another router".
  
  If all you want to do is surf the web and read email, this router will work. If you want to do ANYTHING ELSE, run, do not walk, to the store, and get yourself a different router.
  
  I'm in a lab, with perfect Ethernet connections on both the WAN and LAN sides of this router (no ISP involved), and my wirelessly connected computer is sitting feet from the thing, so there's no "bad signal" issues.
  
  Here's what's wrong with this thing:
  
  1. Discovery is awful. Using it in wireless mode: now you see it, now you don't. Discovery by the Windows wireless manager fails a lot.
  
  2. UPnP doesn't. It times out, locks up, and loses UPnP entries at the drop of a hat. So you can forget chat, messenger, videoconferencing, and any other tools that use the handy UPnP setup to open the port forwarding entries.
  
  3. Every setting you change in the web interface requires the router to restart and it takes FOREVER (like 30 seconds).
  
  4. Out of the box, the wireless doesn't work, BY DESIGN. You have to use some obnoxious "configuration" program they include on a CD, or, connect with the WIRED side, and go to the main config web page.
  
  5. Change the wireless SSID from the default "NETGEAR" and it's goodbye wireless LAN. You won't be able to connect to it every again, until you connect using the wired side, change the name BACK to "NETGEAR", reboot, and then change it again to what you want. Then it finally works.
  
  6. When you change "some" configuration settings, it will spontaneously lose other ones. When you change settings, "sometimes" after it saves them and reboots, you won't be able to find the router again until you power it off and on.
  
  You might think it's just a defective unit. But don't bet on it. Like I said, if you just set it up and use the web and email, it never hiccups --- very unlikely if it had a hardware problem. But if you do anything else to it, it's a total piece of junk.
  
  My experience a week ago with support for their older MR814 router led me to NetGear's useless tech support call center in India (no, this isn't racist, it's really in India). And what do you get?
  1) You have to go through an arduous web page "registration" process before the call center will even help you.
  2) The web page registration would not work, insisting that the "purchase date" I entered was invalid, even though it's not.
  3) The call center person told me they would register my router for me, and that I would have to call back in 20 minutes after the registration had time to get into their database.
  
  In short, their tech support is such agony, that I am not going to call them on THIS router. It's going in the dumpster.
  
  I am in the process of reviewing routers for a videoconferencing software product my company sells. Specifically, I'm looking for ones that support UPnP well, because I want to set up the ports on the router to let video get in without making the user setup the router themself.
  
  As a result, I have a big pile of different routers here, and I can tell you that this one is the worst, bar none.
  Stay away from the D-Link DI-624 too, while you're at it.
  
  The Linksys models I've tried work the best, by far.
  
  
• A Solid All-in-One Wireless G Solution
  By on 2003-09-24
  I decided to upgrade to the WGR614 due to the limited security and spec on my existing Netgear ME102 access point. With no SSID broadcast control, no MAC address access lists, and limited range, the ME102 was quickly becoming obsolete in my household.

  Enter the WGR614. With a price alluringly under 3 digits after rebates, I decided to cut my losses and step up to the faster 54MB platform. I purchased the both router and the matching WG511 PCMCIA card in order to maximize compatibility.

  So far, I am very satisfied. Thanks to my previous experience with the ME102, I had no trouble setting up the WGR614. All configuration on the unit is handled through a built-in web server, including an upgrade feature that allowed me to install the latest firmware from Netgear's web site (a beta version implementing full 802.11g draft compliance with SSID broadcast blocking). A quick side note, if you decide to upgrade to the beta firmware, be sure to do the same with your Netgear WG511 PCMCIA card as well. If you own a different brand of wireless card/bridge/USB connectivity device, be sure to check with the manufacturer to see if they have a "g" draft-spec firmware *before* upgrading to prevent compatibility problems.

  As with any wireless network device, performance will vary according to the environment, infrastructure, and placement of the antenna, but in my case, I experienced increased range in my 1600 sq. ft., two story home with steel framing over my old ME102. Where the signal would drop significantly at the farthest corners of the home with the ME102, I had good signal through the entire house. Throughput was improved, of course, but those who primarily web surf may not see dramatic improvement.

  I do feel better about security, now that I'm able to use access lists in addition to WEP. While there are still ways around these controls, the added layer of penetration is certainly welcome.

  Like it's competitors, the Netgear offers some router and firewall-like features which do everything from hide or forward ports and services to static routing. The latter is especially helpful for connecting the device to another router like the Linksys BEFSX41--perhaps not coincidently, the private IPs used by Netgear are not the same as Linksys. Since I do not use the Netgear for VPN or secure tunneling, I am unable to vouch for it's effectiveness as a remote office solution. I think it would be safe to say however, that those users who need a router with VPN services should look elsewhere for a dedicated device or one that advertises (and presumably supports) such features.

  In all, the WGR614 is a solid entry or addition to home wireless networking. I was able to replace a 5 port wired switch and standalone access point with one Netgear wireless router. I would recommend both the WGR614 and WG511 PCMCIA card for a simple-to-set-up, cost-effective, and secure home wireless G solution.
  
  

• Works great with Mac OS X
  By on 2004-02-11
  I bought this router so that I could make use of my high-speed access (DSL) throughout the house. Set-up and configuration were a snap, although the default configuration is not very secure, and you will definitely want to do things like change the admin password, enable MAC authentication and WPA encryption, and so on. With my Ti Powerbook G4 I get great reception throughout my house (which is old and has thick walls). I also have a first-generation iMac and an old Laserwriter connected to the router by Ethernet, so both computers can reach the internet and I can print wirelessly from the Powerbook. Very nice, and much, much cheaper than Apple's Airport Extreme base station. Highly recommended.
  
  
• Works Great with OS X
  By A2M9T4V0TCP56I on 2004-05-16
  I have used this router with an G3 iBook, OS 10.3 for about 4 months now. I had a bit of trouble in the first couple of weeks with finding the wireless connection after putting the computer to sleep and turning it back on. However, I think that was a temporary glitch - it hasn't happened since. Other than that, this has worked really well all around my apartment and I would definitely recommend it to Mac users. I was a little worried about buying a third party product and I wasn't sure how it would work with the Airport Card, but this has turned out to be a great choice. Doesn't hurt that it is MUCH cheaper than buying Apple's Airport. Still, there is one downside when compared to Airport - the Netgear router does not have a USB port so you don't have the option of connecting a printer to the router. Airport on the other hand does allow for wireless printing.

  July 14, 2004. I have now owned the product for close to 6 months now and there are many problems that weren't there in the beginning. It still works most of the time, but performance is not consistent and I actually had to switch back to using a cable for a while when the router was completely unresponsive. The indicator lights don't always work, and the signal strength is not predictable at all. Makes me wonder if Airport would have been a better option after all. Just a few words of caution for Mac users....
  
  

• Do not buy this router.
  By A1LYEBAH3GY4E3 on 2005-10-16
  I bought a Netgear WGR614 (version 6) router to front-end a pair
  of networks connecting to Comcast cable. The network was
  already up and running, I simply wanted to swap out an Airport
  Extreme that was working fine in that location.
  
  The Netgear WGR614 was easy to configure.
  
  The problem is the Netgear WGR614 can't handle any reasonable
  DNS load. If I connected my laptop directly to the Comcast
  network, I could get DNS answers from Comcast's servers as fast
  as I could send them. If I put the Netgear WGR614 between my
  laptop and Comcast, 1 or 2 out of each 10-15 DNS requests would
  time out. If I connected the mail servers to the Netgear
  WGR614, 5 out of 10 DNS requests would time out, and I would
  often see strings of 10-20 DNS requests time out in a row. This
  was severely damaging to the network: browser URL lookups would
  fail, host lookups for spam filtering would fail, and so on.
  
  Netgear support was easy to get in touch with, and initially
  responsive. However, once we got through the basics (is the
  power on?) all they could suggest was manually configuring all
  of the computers behind the router to use static routes to the
  name servers (which I wasn't willing to do, and, in a simple
  test failed to fix the problem), or upgrade the firmware to a
  beta release, version 1.0.7. I did upgrade the firmware, but
  it had no effect at all on the problem.
  
  Netgear support told me twice they would escalate my support
  case to "level 2", but after each escalation, I never heard
  from them again.
  
  Remember the Airport Extreme had no problem working in this
  location? After Netgear support failed to fix the problem, I
  bought a Linksys WRT54G, it handles the DSN request load just
  fine!
  
  
• Wireless connection randomly drops
  By A32PL0KOAAGDSU on 2005-10-25
  Many other reviewers here have said it, and they're all right: the wireless connection on this device randomly drops. Sometimes I will start my laptop up, and it will connect to this router, but when I try to browse the internet, nothing happens. My browser just says "Waiting on amazon.com," and nothing happens. On other occasions I will be surfing the Web just fine, then all of a sudden the connection stops working.
  
  When the connection randomly drops, it's not like it's my ISP's fault because the hard-wired connection still works fine. It's just the wireless that stops working. Rebooting the router (which is poorly designed because it lacks a power switch--the only way to reboot is by unplugging it) does solve the problem...until the next time. Typically the connection goes out at least once a day.
  
  I have tried moving the router to a different physical location, changing the wireless communication channel, and upgrading the firmware from the Netgear website. Still the router continues to randomly drop the connection.
  
  This is a piece of junk. Avoid at all costs.
  
  [edit] Tried the Dlink DGL-4300 router. It's expensive, but worth it. No connection drops at all. Looking forward to smashing this Netgear garbage.
  
  
• The absolute worst customer service I have ever experienced
  By A28Y72MYSQ0IQ8 on 2006-11-22
  Constantly had to reboot due to lost signal. Other technical problems which are constantly mentioned in other reviews. Indian tech support while done well by other companies is extremely painful to use. If you need help ninety days after you purchase the product it would be less expensive to buy another router.Three days and two tech support emails (which were replied to at 3:00 am 17 hours after they were sent)later problem unresolved due to generic information sent from company. Case number given was useless. Netgear does not stand by their product and their customer service is the absolute worst and I can not stress this enough THE ABSOLUTE WORST I have experienced. I am not without computer and technical skills and god help anyone who encounters this company who is void of computer and technical skills. If you see this product turn around and run do not walk away.
  
  
• Bad wireless router that replaced worse wireless router
  By A1QA8K3LD9K892 on 2003-11-06
  This replaced a Netgear BEFW11S4 router, which was hideously inept at keeping its wireless signal up or doing port-forwarding. After buying the Netgear, which I thought was a better brand, I'm not sure I'm much better off.
  
  As I work, I can see the wireless signal drop from full strength to nothing for a few seconds, then come back. At other times, I've turned on a computer to find the signal gone and unwilling to come back - this can be fixed by plugging into an ethernet port, visiting the configuration page and simply "OK"ing the wireless settings, without changing anything. Of course, if ethernet were convenient to me, I wouldn't need the wireless. As it is, a device that fails every few days and needs to be reset is wholly unacceptable. It is better than the Linksys only because resetting the Linksys didn't always work, and on the Netgear, resetting does always work.
  
  Nevertheless, home users shouldn't have to baby their network devices, particularly if you need wireless because your computer is physically nowhere near your DSL terminal or cable modem. This class of devices cannot fail, and even with the latest firmware this one does, a lot. One star.
  
  Update: 8/04. The internet port, which connects the router to the DSL modem, died this week. I put in a report on the tech support page, detailing what had happened and what I'd done to isolate the problem, and I got a response three days later (24 hours, my butt). The response was a typically patronizing walkthrough of the most basic setup and testing that you can get to the configuration page. Well, of course, I can get to the configuration page - it's getting from the router to the internet (specifically, to the DSL modem) that's busted. Oh, and the e-mail was barely in English - more offshored support from a company that sees customers as nothing more than expense. Thank goodness these things are getting reasonably inexpensive, because you have to assume at this point that once a router dies, it's dead forever, and the warranty is worthless if you can't get an RMA.
  
  
• Satellite Internet Wireless Link to Home Computers
  By A1FDVIFAJPMYQW on 2003-12-24
  I purchased the WGR614 along with a Netgear WG511 54 Mbps wireless PC Card from Amazon. I use it to connect from my High Speed 2-Way DirecWay Satellite connection wirelessly to my Dell 8000 and Dell 8200 laptops, and my old Gateway desktop in my home. I purchased it primarily because I was told that some other 54 Mbps brands did not allow both b and g cards to be accessed at the same time on the same system. I installed the new g card on my 8200 with no problems at all but then when the entire system was up after about an hour I found that when using the g card on either of the laptops the other with a b card would not work. After a great deal of help from tech support we found that there is a conflict between the DirecWay DW6000 and the router. Both are addressed by http://192.168.0.1. We solved this by changing the address code for the router to 10.0.0.1 and BINGO everything was perfect. I highly recommend these products and the NETGEAR tech support system. They are the best money can buy at this time. I also found Amazon's service very good and responsive, and besides, they offered the lowest price (after rebates) I could find on the Web.
  
  
• Great product for the price
  By AQAXB9W5YSVY5 on 2004-08-06
  I'll be up-front in saying that price was the major motivation in purchasing this product vs. some other. At the time, the reviews were split pretty evenly between 4-5 stars and 1-2, so getting into it, I knew it could be a mixed bag.
  
  I personally have not experienced the problems mentioned elsewhere with random dropping out, failure to work after a few weeks, and I haven't had the "pleasure" of speaking with Tech Support.
  
  What I like:
  * The process of going from opening the box, to setup, to having a working wireless router was quite painless. Throwing the security features into the mix makes the overall process longer, but more on that in a bit
  
  * The documentation on the CD actually contains a lot of good information on more advanced stuff. I realize not everyone needs to/wants to fool around with tweaking the settings, but sometimes you just have to.
  
  * Supports keyword filtering. For someone with young kids, this is a neat feature - although you have to pick fairly specific words, as 'sex' and some other words get used in a wide variety of ways
  
  * Generating a WEP key using a passphrase worked well for me, since I also have a Netgear wireless adapter. I used the same passphrase in both places, and they both resolved to the same WEP key.
  
  * Sounds stupid, but I like the product itself -- it's a nice shape/size and (more importantly) has passed all the security tests I've thrown at it.
  
  What I don't like:
  * Web pages inside the configuration utility aren't great -- having the CD handy with the PDF file works better. I'd like to see links back to the Netgear website -- i.e. 'click here for more information' type of stuff
  
  * Web site blocking/allow is clunky. There's no way to possibly list every site you'd want to block, yet that's the only mechanism available for blocking entire sites. I'd like to see some sort of integration with Cerberian or something of that ilk that offers content filtering as part of their main business.
  
  Lessons Learned:
  * Make sure you know the difference between the WAN and the LAN before you start setting up the router. This may seem obvious, but it was just confusing enough that I got it wrong the first time.
  
  * Get the thing running in an unsecure mode first -- i.e. no WEP, MAC address filtering, etc. Ideally you want to have a computer connected to one of the hub ports so you don't have to reset the router if you botch/forget a security setting.
  
  * As part of the process of adjusting the parameters of your router, do a site survey and see what your neighbors are using. You should change the SID anyway (or even better, turn it off), but make sure it doesn't match something a neighbor has. Along these same lines, but even more importantly, pick a channel frequency that none of your neighbors has. I found this very helpful in avoiding signal loss problems.
  
  Final thoughts:
  Hard-core network engineers will find this router to be too limiting to work with, but the average home user will find it well-suited to the basics of sharing a broadband internet connection and securely sharing files over the LAN (just remember to configure your security!!)
  
  For the price, I don't think there's a better product on the market.
  
  
• Feature-packed..... Performance lacks!
  By A16RI68PS6T5CA on 2005-09-12
  I was contemplating whether or not to purchase a G router, purchase a pre-N router, or wait for the upcoming standard 802.11N next year. The 802.11b range just doesn't cut it when trying to move around to opposite ends of the house. After years of using a 802.11b router, I decided it was time for an upgrade. With G routers being this cheap, it was hard to pass up!
  
  I had previously used other Netgear products, and have always been impressed with the performance. Based on the reviews I read here, I had no reason to expect otherwise. I picked one of these up and set it up right away. After a week of use, here is my analysis:
  
  I received the WGR614 (version 6 -- their most recent version), and plugged it in right away. (When purchasing online, there is no way to specify which version you receive. However, if you go in-store, the version number will be clearly labeled next to the model number on the box). The setup was fairly simple -- though a bit slow. Logging into the router itself, while plugged in or via wireless, was a bit laggy. Instead of connecting using the internal IP address (default 192.168.0.1), Netgear now requires you to go to www.routerlogin.com. Not a big issue, but something to get used to.
  
  The setup screen has become somewhat standardized across all Netgear router products. It does a good job of detecting what devices are connected to minimize having to type in MAC or IP addresses. This certainly made setup a lot simpler. The descriptions and instructions on the right column also come in handy for those that are not as familiar with networking. The array of security features is also a plus!
  
  Performance: I'm a person who usually keeps their system running 24/7, and needs the system to remain online at all times. So far, every morning when I return to the computer, I notice that the router has disconnected me. While it still showed the signal, it could not reconnect. Each time, I would have to cycle down (turn off) the router, wait a minute, and power it back up. This is something I have come to expect from all routers on occasion, but NOT EVERY DAY!
  
  The wireless signal was decent, but not a significant improvement over my 802.11b router.
  
  As for speed, the router I received was lacking. I noticed it took a bit more time to load pages in Firefox, and disconnected intermittently.
  
  I have since re-plugged my 802.11b router in, and have been surfing smoothly once again.
  
  While I have been quite pleased with Netgear products in the past, this one certainly did not meet my expectations. Perhaps this was just a bad one out of the batch. I give 4 stars for product features, but only 2 stars for performance. Hope you have better luck with this router than I did.
  
  
• Keeps Dropping Wireless Connection
  By ALXFDYDYXTH71 on 2005-11-20
  I should have read the reviews before buying....This router (WGR614v6) keeps dropping the wireless connection. At first I thought it was my ISP, but when you try to log into Netgears administration page, you can't, even though my ipconfig tells me that I still have a valid IP.
  
  I just bought this router no more than a month ago and I am dropping connections almost every day!!! STAY AWAY FROM THIS PRODUCT if you are using a wireless setup...Sorry NETGEAR, but this product SUCKS!!!
  
  

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