U.S. Robotics Wireless MAXg Router (USR5461)

I am impressed with a lot of things about this router. It has great performance, many functions, a low price and above all: the easiest and most straight-forward administration interface I have ever seen on a network device.I thought I was perhaps going to have installation problems because my adsl modem is also a 1-port router, and I was not sure if the MAXg router setup would handle that easily. I was wrong, though: It was a breeze.The step-by-step setup was easy to understand, with descriptions and help files available directly in the web interface. The wireless security functions are easy to set up and enabled by default, which is a no-brainer that many other routers miss.The print server worked flawlessly and the setup was straightforward because all the information and help files necessary are built into the router administration interface, with pictures and step-by-step instructions. Great.The wireless performance seems good, but to be honest I haven't stress tested it. It worked with my laptop all over the house and in my garden, and that is what matters to me.The only complaint I have is that the interface perhaps is a bit too simple. It lacks the "total control" functions with all the status data and extremely detailed network configuration functions that some other routers I have owned used to have. One example is the ability to assign an certain IP to a connected computer based on its MAC address. It's not a problem for me at the time, but if I get more computers in the future it will make port forwarding more difficult (for using DC++ and other file sharing programs, for instance).Overall, I am very pleased with this purchase.

I have owned this product for several months now. I have to go through a stupid step to use it. I was having a really hard time getting connected to the Web after I hooked up this router. I finally figured out a fool-proof way. I have to turn on my laptop and let it boot up. Then I have to walk over to the router and unplug it on the back of the unit and wait about 30 seconds. I then plug it back in. After a minute or two of waiting, I then get my wireless connection to the Web. How dumb! I should have returned it, but waited too long (guess I was hoping for a miracle). If I buy another router, it won't be this brand.

There is a firmware error in the USR5461 wherein the adminitrator'sinterface is immediately accessable to anyone on the internal network(e.g., drive-by wireless sniffers) simply by entering the the router'sWAN IP address in the address bar of any browser. It makes no differencewhether or not 'remote administration' is disabled or enabled.If you are using this router, create a new and complex password NOWand change it often. Meanwhile, complain vigorously through email and bytelephone to usrobotics until the error is corrected. They are aware ofthis problem yet, don't seem in much of a hurry to fix it.

I think this Router is like other ones. Not so goog for me. 2 or 3 times a week i need to power off the router because it doesn't give internet access.

I would actually rate it closer to 4.5 stars. The range is comparable to the Linksys WRT54G v5 that it replaced so don't be discouraged by the single antenna on the USR5461.The router software interface is simple and pretty straight forward. I don't think the options are laid out as nicely as with Linksys and D-Link, but it still works well. The HTML code is a bit sloppy because it doesn't render as well in Firefox as it does in Internet Explorer. The interface is still usable with FF though.The print server is VERY easy to setup and works perfectly with our Brother HL-1440 laser printer. Once the router detects the printer, it creates a network printer address (which you get by logging in), which you just enter in the Add Printer Wizard in Windows. You'll need to install drivers for your printer, but no drivers or special configuration is needed to connect to the print server.Transferring files wirelessly using normal 54mbps mode is decently fast. I transferred about 700MB of files wirelessly in about 10 minutes from a computer downstairs to my laptop upstairs. Both computers use 11g wireless cards made by different companies: Shuttle PN18 and D-Link DWL-G650.The DHCP server doesn't let me manually associate IP addresses to MAC addresses, but that isn't a big issue. My old D-Link 713p let me do that, which made port forwarding a lot easier.My biggest complaint is that Bittorrent will slow http traffic to a crawl when it's connecting to peers and seeds. This doesn't happen all the time, and once the torrent is going, everything works smoothly and quickly.Also, the firmware is open source, but the router itself does not have enough memory to hold any of the current opensource firmwares like OpenWRT or DD-WRT. The processor that the router uses is supposed to be compatible though. Maybe someone will come up with something once the router becomes more popular.

Have been using this router for 10 months now without major problems. Laptop with XP and desktop with 98SE and a Canon i860 printer all work flawless on the internet, LAN and print server. Tech support has been very informative when I needed some additional information when I was planning to install some signal extenders.No complaints.

My old Robotics wireless router (USR8054) works better than this newer model. My old system had two antennas, this one only has one. Not sure if that's the reason. All I know is I tried this MAXg and it could not transmit through my home's plaster walls as well as the older model I have. It's probably OK for those with sheetrock walls and without steel beams/studs.