Cisco-Linksys WET11 Wireless Ethernet Bridge

This device is great in concept, and this particular model was an excellent choice a couple of years ago. The concept is still great, but there are better choices out there than this one. The main problem is that the technology is out of date. Being purely 802.11b, this still runs at 11Mb/s best case, and maybe half that speed in actual use. There are other 802.11a and 802.11g options that are several times as fast.Other specific issues I had with this model, and the reasons I say it's quirky, are:a) It couldn't connect to my access point unless the access point broadcast its SSID. If both devices have the same SSID this shouldn't be necessary, and is less secure.b) If you want to use a channel other than 6, you need to change it from infrastructure to ad-hoc mode, change the channel, and then change it back to infrastructure more.c) It couldn't connect to my access point if the access point was in "mixed 802.11b/g" mode. I had to switch the access point to 802.11b only.If I were to buy another wireless bridge I'd get one that's 802.11g compatible.

This bridge was just the thing for me - it connected my Dell Digital Audio Receiver to my wireless network so I could stream MP3s over my stereo. Since that means streaming small files, it's worked just fine - only rarely do I get a dropout. I haven't tried it with large amounts of traffic, but it does seem to work well with up to 3 machines sharing its bandwidth on my 802.11b network.The nice thing about Linksys' products is that Linksys works hard to make setup and use as easy as possible: I can use the CD-ROM that comes with the Bridge to step through a wizard that will configure it, or I can log into the unit using a web browser and tweak all the settings manually.One thing to keep in mind if you're not going to just plug-n-play the WET11 out of the box: when you first go to set this up, you need to connect it directly to your computer so you can configure it. Have a computer with an Ethernet jack handy so you can set it up (it comes with the cable you'll need), and once you get things working you can put the WET11 anywhere you want to. Mine serves my jukebox, but I could easily use it to connect *any* Ethernet device to my Wireless network.I have also had to call tech support for help. Their phone support is hit or miss: sometimes you get someone who doesn't speak English and has never seen the product (and sometimes doesn't even understand how it works!), but other times I get savvy, friendly people who impress me with their service. Since Linksys is one of the rare companies that still offers 24-hour toll-free tech-support, I have to give them a thumbs-up for the quality.

I have broadband internet access in my upstairs bedroom. I wanted the kids to be able to access the internet too. Their computers are downstairs. Since I'm renting this house, I didn't want to tear into the walls to install new wiring. I got a Linksys WAP11 (access point) for upstairs and a WET11 for downstairs, and now I can hook several computers (via a hub) to the WET11, and they can all get internet access. This saved me a little bit of money, since I didn't need to get a wireless PCI card for each computer downstairs.The setup was fairly easy. The Linksys lets you configure WEP encryption with a passphrase instead of the usual long string of hex characters. That's convenient if both your client and access point are both Linksys (which they are, in my case). I'm sure Linksys likes that I have an incentive to buy more Linksys devices for the convenience of setup.You can configure the device with a web browser. One annoying thing is that if something goes wrong, you don't get internet access, so you can't use the web browser to go into the WET11 to fix the configuration. You have to go back to the Linksys CD, which contains a setup program.I've heard that the WET11 can also be used with a TiVo. It's something I want to try but right now the arrangement we have puts the TiVo and the computers downstairs far away from each other, so I don't have this set up.I find the Linksys custom setup app pretty annoying. Instead of using standard Windows widgets, it has its own "pretty" window with its own nonstandard titlebar, nonstandard radio buttons, etc. They didn't implement all the shortcuts (shortcut keys, cut/paste, etc.), so it's really a pain to use their program. To make it look k00l they gave up consistency and usability. :-(

I cannot recommend this bridge at all. I read the negative reviews, rolled the dice, and came up snake eyes. Despite my best efforts, this unit doesn't "see" either of my two wireless networks. If you aren't the gambling type, I'd look elsewhere.

I purchased this product, based on the reviews, for my Sony PS2. It was anything but easy to configure. I have a D-Link DI-713P wireless router and the two are virtually incompatible. The installation disc would not get past the initial screen. I contacted customer service after holding for almost an hour. When I finally spoke with someone and told them I was using a D-Link wireless router, they told me they weren't sure if they could help. They were right. They determined that my bridge was bad. I was skeptical, but purchased another. It wouldn't work either. I called customer service back and held for 30 min. We changed the IP address of the bridge and I was told that would solve the problem. When I attached it to the PS2, I couldn't get to a game server. I finally got a friend, who is a computer science student, to get it to work after about an hour. He got the original one to work. It was not broken. After a week it stopped working again and I returned it. I ordered a D-Link DWL-810+. I received it today and I got it working in about 10 minutes. I guess the morale of the story is get a bridge that is the same brand as the router. Don't think that Sony will help either. When I told them I was attached to a wireless network, they told me it wasn't supported, but it does work and it works great.

It works. Nice bit of kit. Does what I want