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i am aware of the external factors that can cause this (lot of metal around etc)., but the environment i have it in is pretty clean. i got it becuase i didn't want to run a cable to the router. i installed this on a PC i only use for quiescent data backups, BT downloads and the like(speed is not really critical), so i guess i am happy with this thing for the price. connection goes off at times, needs a kick start. i run win xp pro sp2.but here are the issues it does in fact have. whether or not they are a problem depends on your application: sitting about 20ft away from the access point, it doesn't show "excellent" signal strength (indicates 1 bar less than the max). the antenna can be better. i haven't upgraded the firmware in a while but other reviewers have said that the new firmware fixes some issues.[.].
Talking to customer service just resulted in additional hours of wasted time. This wireless card causes my windows xp computer to crash non-stop. Worse than wasting $40 on this card was the wasted hours of my life. Uninstalling the Netgear supplied software solves the crashing problem, but the card can not stay connected to the Netgear router. The two laptops I have stay connected with no problem. Will not be buying any Netgear products any time in the near future. Apparently tech support must be so cheap, that it was worth wasting hours of everyone's time to avoid replacing an obviously defective product.
the netgear wireless adaptor is even better then what is shown on pics. it has a super antena.
I have v1 of the WG311. I still have not resolved this issue, but will try bypassing the NETGEAR driver and utility using the steps outlined in other reviews. I had previously installed it in an older system running WinME in which it worked great. After recently installing in new system (WinXPSP2), with the supplied Netgear driver& utility (both installed together from the CD), I could not get a CONNECT using a WEP key, but can connect with security disabled (WGR614v4 router-Comcast BB). (When connected, the WG311 works beautifully and is faster than my previous network). Thanks to all who have addressed these issues.
Even when the computer was within 30 feet of the router it still registered a lousy 3 bars. I bought this card to give wireless access to my desktop which is downstairs. It often lost connection, and at its most effective level gained 1 bar of signal. I've just upgraded to a cheaper edimax pci card which has 5 bars of signal through 3 interior walls and a ceiling. I expected more from netgear.
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