I currently own a Linksys WRT54G wireless router, and it gives me no problems whatsoever. I bought this new WRT54G2 for my in-laws, and thought I would go through the exercise of installing it in my house to make sure it works, and to leanr more about it.
The software install script failed 3 times. On the third time it failed even though it successfully established internet connectivity for the router. This is with BellSouth (now AT&T) FastAccess DSL 6Mb with Motorola modem. This is very disappointing. How are people who are not familiar with wireless networking concepts going to use this product if it fails on such an easy install with such a popular provider?
I had much better luck resetting the modem and then not running the software install all, but instead using the IP 192.168.1.1 to manage the router manually. Had it working in 3 minutes that way.
Once it was up and going, the management was identical to the old WRT54G I have.
One test I do with routers is to connect wirelessly with my work laptop, establish a VPN connection, and then see how long it stays up. With my old WRT54G it will stay up for days...maybe forever. Unfortunately the WRT54G2 is not nearly as successful. With my laptop 5 feet away from the router, it has already dumped my VPN connection 3 times in the first hour. All it takes is a little blip in wireless connectivity and the VPN connection drops. People who don't VPN into work from home won't even know it's happening.
This router will be fine for my in-laws because I know what I'm doing when it comes to wireless networking so I'll be able to configure it, and they don't VPN anything. For those of you who are not very wireless networking literate, or rely on VPN from home to do your job, I would steer you clear of this router. Maybe a future firmware update will make it more stable, but for now its a frustration waiting to happen.Get more detail about Linksys WRT54G2 Wireless-G Broadband Router.
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