Customer Reviews
Good router 
2008-07-07
Bought to replace a buffalo router, works great with the dd-wrt firmware. Only complaint is that the signal quality between this and a older linksys router is not as high as I'd like. But there is several walls and 70 or so feet between them. But as for the router its self, I'm quite happy with it.
Most stable router out there 
2008-06-30
By far the most frustrating experience about buying networking equipment is lack of stability. Often, routers hang, don't work well with other equipment, are not stable with hundred of connections (bitTorrent), etc.
Well have no fear, because this Linksys router has got to be the most stable router I have ever owned. I've had this one for about one year, and just bought my second. You definitely want to get this more expensive "Linux" version, so you can download custom firwmare into it. I highly recommend tomato firmware ([...]). Stable, simple, no frills. It supports DDNS, QoS, WDS, etc. Basically, it makes getting use of complex features easy. For example, you can set it up such that your VOIP (internet phone) traffic takes priority over your other downloads. This feature is called Quality of Service (QoS). So if you're busy downloading a huge torrent, your VOIP call will not suffer. If you're downloading torrents without QoS, VOIP calls can drop out or sound garbled.
This router is much better than my Apple Time Machine 802.11n wireless router, which does NOT support QoS. The Linksys is more stable, has more features, better wireless performance, etc. In my eyes, this is the only wireless router to buy until tomato supports a cheap 802.11n router.
I buy Linksys again and again 2008-06-30
I've bought several of these for sever different locations and as gifts. They are always very easy to setup and configure. Just follow the step by step instructions if you've never done it before. You can be up and running in 5 minutes.
If you're having trouble with the unit, chances are, it's not your fault because these are VERY easy to set up and I've never had a problem with their reliability. In the several I've purchased (about 8-10), it has only happened to me once where I just had to take the unit back as defective and get a new one. No complaints though. It happens and is probably pretty rare.
Anyway, I recommend them to anyone novice or experienced. Easy to use and configure and great way to protect your network or your PC.
compatible with 3rd party firmware for great improvements 2008-06-29
The Linksys WRE54G Range Extender does not have removeable/replaceable antennae, has only one antennae, almost no setup options, only works in WDS mode instead of repeater mode. Likely not compatible with some other major name routers.
dd-wrt V24 firmware plus the Linksys WRT54GL and any antennae upgrade you want addresses all the short comings of the WRE54G for less money including cost of moderate antennae upgrade.
The WRT54GL package excels in price, performance, flexibility and probably stability. A winner in every way. 5 stars.
Excellent hardware for running Linux operating system 2008-06-28
IYCC uses this router at its factory in Laredo, Texas, and has installed it for clients. We usually install a version of DD-WRT ([...]), and are enthusiatically happy about the results. We have one in our warehouse, where the daytime temperature is often well over 104 fahrenheit (40 celcius) degrees, and we run it overclocked. Despite the punishment, the router runs without failure day in and day out.
It has been known for several years now that the Linksys WRT54G series of routers, running the Linux operating system, performs better than commercial-grade routers, with lower energy consumption and better features. Most, if not all, models of Linksys WRT54 routers can run Linux without any problems, but this particular model (the WRT54GL) is allegedly engineered with components that run best with Linux.
The hardware inside is no different in kind from the hardware on other models, and is even a bit lighter on RAM and flash memory than some. Our only conclusion is that Linux is so much more efficient that it just doesn't need more hardware to do the same work. Less hardware means less heat stress, so one would expect more stability and reliability. Perhaps that's why it runs so well in our warehouse.
You may be asking why you should pay an extra ten to twenty dollars when the other models of the WRT54 will run Linux too. I can only answer for myself: I'd rather spend twenty more bucks and be assured it will "just work". Our engineering time is worth more than $20 if there's a problem, so I just pay the freight. I also have to admit that I feel better about paying for a product that is engineered for the most advanced operating system on the planet than working with a half-baked, crippled, proprietary OS.
Loye Young
Isaac & Young Computer Company
Laredo, Texas
http://www.iycc.net
All your wireless, wired, and switch dreams come true with one device 2008-07-18
I think I have reached intermediate experience levels with this router and have a sweet secure and optimized network for home use.
I first bought one just WRT54GL to see what all the fuss was about after a friend told me how he could flash his router with GPL linux firmware and other reviews.
All I really needed was a wireless PCI card for a computer I had at the other side of the house I wanted to browse on. I instead felt spending the extra $20 and purchased my first WRT54GL.
I did the research first and determined that the newer WRT54G is not so sweet w/third party firmware and that this WRT54GL is like the best of the breed for firmware upgrades (voids your Linksys warranty) thing.
I wanted all my options open in case something came up that could be solved through firmware. I also determined DD-WRT was the choice for firmware, I played with Linksys latest upgrade and Tomato but liked the cleaner and more novice like UI DD-WRT provided plus the many more options. I first created a simple client bridge to my D-LINK DSL router/gateway from Q-WEST. The only big brick wall was to figure out the ip's from D-LINK are 192.168.0.1 and the WRT54GL defaults to 192.168.1.1. Once I changed the IP of the WRT54GL to 192.160.0.30 for example I was cooking with gas! I read that the DHCP should come from the main D-LINK router so set the WRT54GL to not provide this and get it's ip from wireless connection via D-LINK. I was surfing with no wires.
I read so much about how folks used two of these WRT54GL in order to WDS (google it) to create bridges so I bought an other WRT54GL. I played with WDS and it worked but like I said I am just an intermediate level so far and never really got what WDS could do for my network plan. What I really wanted was a simple bridge repeater and a virtual hotspot from the remote WRT54GL once it was bridged (gave the virtual hotspot a different name). I fixed that and added WPA/TKIP security between D-LINK (the best D-LINK 6.0 firmware has) and used the remote hotspot on the WRT54GL for the Wii (which actually supports higher security and so does the WRT54GL running DD-WRT). I ran my cable from WLAN connection switch from WRT54FL which is an option (so you don't waste the four LAN ports for such things) to the machine I wanted to become wireless in order to browse and viola that side of the house was good to go. I MAC authenticate and AP isolation that side of the house for security reason, my neighbor is cool but works for Q-WEST!
So what did I do with the second WRT54GL I bought? I used it to hook directly to the D-LINK via wired RJ-45 cable to LAN port and made it a DHCP forwarder (which appears wired from D-LINKED logs yet is wireless). I set the power to 1mw and AP isolated and made it have a wireless hotspot with WEP 128-bit. Why break-it in 2 minute :30 second WEP way?
I only use it for my DS lite's access point, the DS only can only manage WEP 128! I lowered the wattage to 1wm and still works in all spots throughout the house BTW...played with ACK setting and TCP,UDP timeouts. What do I mean by those terms? Still confused? or not maybe you haven't found these settings on your router firmware then you get the point.
If you can think of a network, be it wired or wireless, this deal called the WRT54GL can do it for you. BTW the thing is also a switch for your wired computers has four of them so I got rid of my switch to make a cleaner workspace.
One last thing to think about are the antennas for the WRT54GL can easily be directional with tin foil and two tall tin cans (Monster cans of course you nerds)! I could bump the transmitter to 251mW though that may exceed FCC laws for 2.4 G (100mW is limit I think depending on your antenna gain e.g. 16gb for that output). One can also overclock from 200Mhz to 250Mhz. I leave these parameters stock or lower. The load is so low on both WRT54GL's they are not needed. I built a tin foil antenna and gained 5% more signal strength in minutes with a tin cutter. The hyper settings will cause heating issues for sure, you may need a muffin fan to cooler off the device.
The very last thing...WDS from what I read will allow you to set up a mesh network. It uses MAC exchanges of the WIRELESS macs between your WRT54GLs. Imagine a house full of these boxes just sitting alone plugged into the wall, no computers needed for wireless and then you could roam your farm and always have Wi-Fi access!!!
I am not done exploring the full feature set of this device but so far very happy discovering. I feel liberated having bought this device and now have any option out there for my home network needs. MUST HAVE for all Wi-Fi, wired, and switch dreamers. Ohhhh....Yeah make sure you flash router with the mini DD-WRT first then reset to factory defaults then flash to DD-WRT generic and reset to factory defaults, change the administration password account before playing further.
Great router with low price tag 2008-07-13
I bought this because I wanted to customize the feature set more than the stock firmware allowed. Adding dd-wrt was a piece of cake and now I can use it as a repeater or client bridge. Even without dd-wrt the router includes a "foolproof" CD for setup that allows even a newbie to set security functions on wireless. Great product.
A good router capable of greatness 2008-07-13
The Linksys WRT54GL router is a very capable router out of the box. I cannot attest to Linksys Firmwares operation or stability. I can, however, confidently state that this router, coupled with the Tomato Firmware is by far the best SOHO router I have ever worked with. I received the Version 1.1 of this router and loaded it with Tomato immediately. Be aware that doing this most assuredly voids your warranty, but it is well worth it. I am running Tomato 1.19 but he is up to version 1.20 though as of this writing. I have experience with numerous routers from several manufacturers. Nothing compares to the Linksys WRT54GL and Tomato.
outdated technology 
2008-07-09
This unit is 3 years behind the times. Better off to buy the D-Link 655. My Linksys died after two years and I replaced it with the D-Link. Is like going from a civic to a porshe.
blazing fast tomato router 2008-07-08
I love this router. I just bougth my 5th one of these. When anyone asks for help setting up their wireless network, I get two of these bad boys. I put one for near the TV for xbox360, tivo, xbox, ps2, etc. and I put the other one at the cable modem/dsl modem etc. to share the internet.
Tomato is awesome and I buy this router specifically so I can flash it. I use one router as an actual router and the other one as an access point. This hardware is great because it runs the firmware I want. It's easy to flash and easy to use.
I love tomato because of the QOS. It makes it to where I can tell both routers that the most important traffic is VOIP and then XBOX live. This means that even if I'm downloading my legal torrents, I can be online blasting people in halo and talking on my VOIP phone.
