SMC - Barricade SMCWBR14-GM MIMO Wireless Broadband Router
4 LAN, 1 WAN

I researched wireless routers after switching to WOW who doesn't provide a wireless router. I liked the distance parameters specified in their documentation and the reviews I read were glowing. I set up the router yesterday and that's where the problems started. 1)Per their instructions on using WEP encryption: "WEP Key 1, 2, 3 & 4: When you enable the 128 or 64 bit WEP key security, please select one WEP key to be used and input 26 or 10 hexadecimal (0, 1, 2…8, 9, A, B…F) digits. Pass-phrase Generator: Since hexadecimal characters are not easily remembered, this device offers a conversion utility to convert a simple word or phrase into hex." I tried using a alpha numberic hex key per the above expample and it didn't work. I called tech support and they advised me to use numbers only, which worked. So beware of the documentation. They also didn't have a passphrase generator and tech support wouldn't even talk about that. 2) When asking about setting up Port Triggering to enable NetMeeting to pass through the firewall, he didnt' know about that and had to read on the fly and then mis-interperted how it worked. 3) When asking about adjusting the transmitting strength of the router, he had me change the channel from 4 to 11 and the mode from G only to mixed. When I aksed why he had me change these settings he said they were the optimal settings for North America, but that really doesn't seem to have anything to do with a signal strength adjustment or asnwering my question. Overall it seems to work fine which and I'm happy about that. I just expected their documentation and support to be adequate and it wasn't.
 
Was this review helpful?    

Computers > Shop by Brand > SMC > SMC Deals Page