Customer Reviews
Decent in its category... 
2008-08-16
This category of products - wireless usb adapters - seems pretty new, as it is not yet plug-and-play compatible (it needs a software CD), and it has spotty connectivity. This adapter has fairly bad reviews, but compared to its competitors, you wont find too many better products.
Installation was a pain - after spending hours trying to install it (on Vista), I finally figured out a way to make it work. And when it does work, it is very fast - so no problems there.
However, it does not automatically start after waking the computer from sleep mode, and heats up after only an hour of use (or of idleness). Whenever it shuts off, you have to unplug it and plug it in again, and pray it works! Overall, though, it is a decent product that is well worth trying out.
Horrible... 
2008-02-28
It is just a piece of plastic... can rather melt it and make it a tooth brush.
Don't buy it 2008-02-28
This product really sucks and no one should buy it. On a VISTA basic machine - turns off all the time, and doesn't have strong reception. Replaced it with PCI card from Linksys which is much better. I would just stay away from all of Netgear's stuff -- i used a PCI card from them which also didn't work.
Please Look At Other Wireless Adapters 2008-02-27
I have had this adapter for about a year now and this has given me a major headache. When I first got this adapter it worked just fine, I can surf the net and download files in an instant then about 2 months later the problems began. I first noticed that it took hours to load my home screen of my operating system account. It usually takes about fifteen to twenty minutes to load my background and programs. then once it connects to my router it takes another twenty five to thirty minutes to connect to the internet. I have also faced the same problems with the adapter dropping the connection when I am connected to the net. In summary, this is one of the worst wireless adapters available in the market today. Please, I encourage you to look at other alternatives for wireless adapters. This one is not worth your money.
Doesn't work with Macs 2008-02-09
Alas, this product doesn't work with Macintoshes - a Mac running OS X won't even be aware that it's connected. And for a system that, 99% of the time, sees what's connected to it as soon as it's connected and knows immediately what it is and what to do with it (even if the box makes no claims toward Mac compatibility), that's pretty bad. I figured there had to be some workaround that would just get the thing showing up on my system, and from there my technical know-how would likely help me get it working...but no. I tried everything my 20 years of Mac use have taught me, to no avail, and finally contacted Netgear's support, who told me that the thing just don't work with Macs. Ugh. So I guess it's time to give the PCMCIA card a try. I hope *that'll* work.
I must say though that even if the card doesn't work I won't regret buying my RangeMAX router. Even just by itself that router gives me a better, stronger wireless signal with better coverage than two Airport base stations working in concert ever did.
Avoid Rangemax AVOID NETGEAR 2007-12-25
As a 21st-century consumer, your notebook computer is an integral part of your life. But does your home computing environment work for you? Even if you already have a wireless network, you've probably found "dead spots" in your home where your Internet connection fades in and out, or drops off completely.Now, say good-bye to those dead spots... and say hello to the freedom to work (and play) absolutely anywhere in your home!With the RangeMax Wireless Router and USB Adapter, your whole house becomes a "hot spot." NETGEAR's exclusive RangeMax technology gives you the longest range of any wireless network on the market today - up to 10 times the wireless coverage of 802.11g. So you'll have a sizzling-fast, consistent connection in every room of your house... and beyond.Put the NETGEAR RangeMax Wireless USB Adapter to work for you, and that's all you need - leave those range extenders, repeaters, and external antennas at the store. The RangeMax Wireless USB Adapter is optimized for use with the RangeMax Wireless Router, which adjusts to the interference and physical barriers in your home, and delivers up to 500, 000 square feet of coverage - 1000% more than 802.11g. And the RangeMax Wireless USB Adapter is 100% compatible with your existing 802.11b/g products - so you are free to connect at home, work, or public hotspots.
Blue Screen of Death 
2007-11-25
I have had frequent blue screen crashes, with error messages that make reference to the WPN111 as the cause of the "stop error". Netgear customer support was virtually useless. I was told to download and install an updated driver, which I did, but the problem is still there. The crashes usually occur during large file downloads, but sometimes they occur almost randomly. There doesn't seem to be any obvious solution to this problem, and I will probably switch to another product instead.
Works with Win2K but NOT XP, driver related 2007-10-30
Purchased months ago at Staples. Installed it on a Laptop that was running Windows 2000 Professional. Rock Solid performance on that platform. It would only require moving to a different USB port if the laptop went into standby, that would be my only complaint on WIN2K, other than that it was excellent and stayed at 108 and large downloads were a snap...Formatted the Laptop and Loaded a fresh install of Windows XP Pro SP2. Can't download large files to save it's life. It will disconnect from the world stare at you until you pull it from it's USB port and plug it back in. Occasionally a 1+ MB file download from the Internet will cause the same result to occur. Tried every driver. Tried unistalling the netgear utility and all associated software except the NDIS software and it still performs like it hates XP. Went on the internet to see if there was a fix and so far the only fix is to return the product to a store and purchase a different brand...that's too bad, I've always enjoyed Netgear products...I guess the production problem in China has now bit Netgear...just a matter of time before Americans are gonna have to start building thier own stuff again...That's a good thing right?
Nothing but frustration 2007-10-29
One star is too many. Constantly drops connections, refuses to connect to secure networks. (Like Netgear's suggested fix. Just turn off wireless security. No seriously, that's their fix.)
I've installed/supported wireless networks for over five years and this is the very first NIC that was just totally worthless. Works fine for 2-3 minutes and then stops dead.
Doesn't work as good as WPN311 :( 2007-10-28
As soon as i added this to my XP machine - my RangeMax Router started freaking out and i had to reboot it twice a day (the least) - both of my adapters (WPN311 and WPN111) work great with a LinkSys router. Its a shame that Netgear products don't work with each other, when they are from the same like/package. Not very happy.
