Price : Too low to display
Linksys Wireless A/G Game Adapter - This external game adapter has 3 unique functions. For Playstation 2, GameCube, and Xbox owners, you can use this device to wirelessly connect your console to the Internet for multiplayer gaming. Or, you can use two of these units on two separate consoles for wireless head-to-head action! If you own a Media Center Extender-equipped Xbox, you can utilize the 3rd feature, which is to give your Xbox wireless access to your Media Center PC's media.
This review is from : Cisco-Linksys WGA54AG Game Adapter 802.11A/G 54 Mbps
OK product but get ready to learn a lot about networking! . At $50, it's a steal for what this product does, right? Well, sort of... I purchased this device in order to allow my desktop machine to run Linux and connect wirelessly to my Netgear wireless router, thus bypassing all of the issues with wireless and Linux. I expected a nice setup process; connect the adapter to my NIC, configure some properties, and be off and running. I was wrong. Wrong in the form of a three hour session of head-versus-keyboard style troubleshooting. Hopefully this review will shed some light on this mysterious device.
Let's just get it out of the way that Linksys's customer support is nonexistant. Forget trying to call them. Also, the provided documentation is submoronic at best, and provides absolutely no information on troubleshooting. I had to figure everything out myself.
This thing is a nightmare to configure. I unpacked the unit, connected the power, and plugged into my NIC. Interestingly enough, my computer didn't automatically obtain an IP. After checking my TCP/IP settings, I reconnected and power cycled the thing a few times. Still no dice. As my frustration was building, it mysteriously connected! Awesome! I got no further than logging into the web interface, and it disconnected as mysteriously as it connected. I have no idea why it was designed like this, but it seems that you need to have a preexisting wireless connection for the thing to connect using DHCP!! The manual vaguely suggested plugging the thing into a router, so I tried that. Not only did I not connect, but my router wigged out several times, requiring me to restart it.
I finally figured out how to resolve all of these problems. It seems that since I have a netgear router, and the game adapter uses a static IP that is not in the router's DHCP range, this device behaves erratically when hard wired to the router. So...
1. Before doing anything, even before unpacking the adapter, log into your router and make sure your DHCP range is set to use IP's 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.254. Most default router setups (except for Linksys of course) use 192.168.0.x, and this will simply not work.
2. Pray, then plug the adapter into a free port on your router. Nothing horrible should happen yet, so open up a browser and http on over to 192.168.1.250. You should get a login screen, so go ahead and leave the user name blank, and "Admin" for the password.
3. The configuration interface is horrible. Straightforward, but horrible. The "Scan" feature only works half of the time, so you may have to refresh the page a few times before it works. Here, connect to your wireless network by SSID. It should say "Setting Successful," at which point you can unplug the adapter. It will very likely crash your router due to connecting thru wireless at the same time as wired. There are some other options to play around with, but whatever you do, DON'T ENABLE DHCP. Everything else should work as configured unless you have WEP, in which case you're on your own.
4. At this point, you should be able to plug the adapter into the intended computer, and it should work.
Since I got it working, it's been a great little adapter. It's very robust and does everything I need it to. Here are some thoughts on getting it working without having to violate your router:
Since the adapter requires there to be a wireless signal present in order to log in using a standalone computer, you may be able to connect directly to it with a crossover cable. When connecting with a crossover, you have to manually specify an IP. Anything in the 192.168.1.x range should work, subnet 255.255.255.0, no default gateway or DNS servers. Using this method, you should be able to access the web configurator to set the adapter up. I recommend that you change the IP to one in your router's default IP range. Also, you can play with WEP. Again, don't enable DHCP, or your day will get a lot worse. Trust me on this.
OK product but get ready to learn a lot about networking! . At $50, it's a steal for what this product does, right? Well, sort of... I purchased this device in order to allow my desktop machine to run Linux and connect wirelessly to my Netgear wireless router, thus bypassing all of the issues with wireless and Linux. I expected a nice setup process; connect the adapter to my NIC, configure some properties, and be off and running. I was wrong. Wrong in the form of a three hour session of head-versus-keyboard style troubleshooting. Hopefully this review will shed some light on this mysterious device.
Let's just get it out of the way that Linksys's customer support is nonexistant. Forget trying to call them. Also, the provided documentation is submoronic at best, and provides absolutely no information on troubleshooting. I had to figure everything out myself.
This thing is a nightmare to configure. I unpacked the unit, connected the power, and plugged into my NIC. Interestingly enough, my computer didn't automatically obtain an IP. After checking my TCP/IP settings, I reconnected and power cycled the thing a few times. Still no dice. As my frustration was building, it mysteriously connected! Awesome! I got no further than logging into the web interface, and it disconnected as mysteriously as it connected. I have no idea why it was designed like this, but it seems that you need to have a preexisting wireless connection for the thing to connect using DHCP!! The manual vaguely suggested plugging the thing into a router, so I tried that. Not only did I not connect, but my router wigged out several times, requiring me to restart it.
I finally figured out how to resolve all of these problems. It seems that since I have a netgear router, and the game adapter uses a static IP that is not in the router's DHCP range, this device behaves erratically when hard wired to the router. So...
1. Before doing anything, even before unpacking the adapter, log into your router and make sure your DHCP range is set to use IP's 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.254. Most default router setups (except for Linksys of course) use 192.168.0.x, and this will simply not work.
2. Pray, then plug the adapter into a free port on your router. Nothing horrible should happen yet, so open up a browser and http on over to 192.168.1.250. You should get a login screen, so go ahead and leave the user name blank, and "Admin" for the password.
3. The configuration interface is horrible. Straightforward, but horrible. The "Scan" feature only works half of the time, so you may have to refresh the page a few times before it works. Here, connect to your wireless network by SSID. It should say "Setting Successful," at which point you can unplug the adapter. It will very likely crash your router due to connecting thru wireless at the same time as wired. There are some other options to play around with, but whatever you do, DON'T ENABLE DHCP. Everything else should work as configured unless you have WEP, in which case you're on your own.
4. At this point, you should be able to plug the adapter into the intended computer, and it should work.
Since I got it working, it's been a great little adapter. It's very robust and does everything I need it to. Here are some thoughts on getting it working without having to violate your router:
Since the adapter requires there to be a wireless signal present in order to log in using a standalone computer, you may be able to connect directly to it with a crossover cable. When connecting with a crossover, you have to manually specify an IP. Anything in the 192.168.1.x range should work, subnet 255.255.255.0, no default gateway or DNS servers. Using this method, you should be able to access the web configurator to set the adapter up. I recommend that you change the IP to one in your router's default IP range. Also, you can play with WEP. Again, don't enable DHCP, or your day will get a lot worse. Trust me on this.
Cisco-Linksys WGA54AG Game Adapter 802.11A/G 54 Mbps Reviews
It gets the job done but.. . This is a great product if you want maximum compatibility with different operating systems and game systems. The range is decent on the wifi. The configuration is basically set and forget. You have to know a little about wifi networks but not very much. The setup is extremely basic and supports WEP and WPA.
If its so great, why do I give it 4 stars? It doesnt handle fast downloads for an extended period of time very well. I have FiOS (15mb/2mb) and can rarely get over 10mb (may be cause of the wifi signal which is normally between 30% and 60%). If you download large files alot that are over 100mb or even up to 1GB, the wifi seems to get out of sync and the unit gets very hot to the touch. After a while, it just drops the wifi connectivity requiring a reboot of both the wifi router and the game adapter. I'm sure it has to do something with the WEP encryption going out of wack. Most likely a bug in the firmare.
This is a great product and it is designed to be used for game consoles, not heavy PC use. It gets the job done well. If you are buying this to bridge a PC to a wireless network, expect to reboot it at least once a week for "decent" use. If you use it heavily, it will require a daily reboot.
Operating system independant, which is nice. I run several operating systems for my job (2003 server, xp, xp64, vista, vista64, linux). This allows me practically zero config to get on my wifi network via my ethernet card and was way worth the money.
I would definately buy it again and with an updated firmware to help with the wifi lockups, this would definately get a higher rating with me.
It gets the job done but.. . This is a great product if you want maximum compatibility with different operating systems and game systems. The range is decent on the wifi. The configuration is basically set and forget. You have to know a little about wifi networks but not very much. The setup is extremely basic and supports WEP and WPA.
If its so great, why do I give it 4 stars? It doesnt handle fast downloads for an extended period of time very well. I have FiOS (15mb/2mb) and can rarely get over 10mb (may be cause of the wifi signal which is normally between 30% and 60%). If you download large files alot that are over 100mb or even up to 1GB, the wifi seems to get out of sync and the unit gets very hot to the touch. After a while, it just drops the wifi connectivity requiring a reboot of both the wifi router and the game adapter. I'm sure it has to do something with the WEP encryption going out of wack. Most likely a bug in the firmare.
This is a great product and it is designed to be used for game consoles, not heavy PC use. It gets the job done well. If you are buying this to bridge a PC to a wireless network, expect to reboot it at least once a week for "decent" use. If you use it heavily, it will require a daily reboot.
Operating system independant, which is nice. I run several operating systems for my job (2003 server, xp, xp64, vista, vista64, linux). This allows me practically zero config to get on my wifi network via my ethernet card and was way worth the money.
I would definately buy it again and with an updated firmware to help with the wifi lockups, this would definately get a higher rating with me.
Cisco-Linksys WGA54AG Game Adapter 802.11A/G 54 Mbps Opinions
Get this if you don't like installing additional Software on your PC . I'm not gonna bore you with the 192.168.x.x number.. oops. Not sure what the other reviewers are complaining about. But my personal opinion is these little Linksys Adapters were EASY! And this is compared to other wireless adapters I've TRIED and gotten TIRED of. I've installed many for friends and have found that these babies are alot more stable than them. I suppose this was intended for Gaming. But I stumbled upon this while setting it up to work with my little brothers Xbox online and actually just left it connected to the computer i was using to set it up on. Sure beats D-Link USB, Netgear doohickies, or even Linksys' very own wireless PCi Adapter. I found their software inaccurate and unreliable. With these linksys adapter you DON'T have to install software on your computer. Sure maybe for the initial setup to get it to communicate with your wireless router and then that's IT. You can just plug it into your Ethernet port (PC, MAC, Xbox, etc..) I only recommend these for something stationary by the way.. you know something that needs internet access but you don't move around all the time. So it would not be ideal for a laptop - Most new laptops got built-in wireless adapters anyway. Hope this helps
Get this if you don't like installing additional Software on your PC . I'm not gonna bore you with the 192.168.x.x number.. oops. Not sure what the other reviewers are complaining about. But my personal opinion is these little Linksys Adapters were EASY! And this is compared to other wireless adapters I've TRIED and gotten TIRED of. I've installed many for friends and have found that these babies are alot more stable than them. I suppose this was intended for Gaming. But I stumbled upon this while setting it up to work with my little brothers Xbox online and actually just left it connected to the computer i was using to set it up on. Sure beats D-Link USB, Netgear doohickies, or even Linksys' very own wireless PCi Adapter. I found their software inaccurate and unreliable. With these linksys adapter you DON'T have to install software on your computer. Sure maybe for the initial setup to get it to communicate with your wireless router and then that's IT. You can just plug it into your Ethernet port (PC, MAC, Xbox, etc..) I only recommend these for something stationary by the way.. you know something that needs internet access but you don't move around all the time. So it would not be ideal for a laptop - Most new laptops got built-in wireless adapters anyway. Hope this helps
Never had a problem with it . This device has worked flawlessly for over 3 months. Granted, I am a Network Engineer and already know a lot about how to configure networks so installation for me was a snap. I never read any of the documentation so I cannot say how clear the directions are or how easy this device is to install by reading the directions. For me, it was basically plug and play after a few minor adjustments to set up the security that my network uses. Since then, it was worked perfectly for over 3 months without EVER losing connectivity. I also kind of cheat and share this device between my tivo and my xbox360 through a small hub since it is cheaper than buying two adapters and I have never had any issues. From the other reviews, it sounds like people had difficulties configuring the device. My suggestion would be to use this device if you are comfortable configuring networking components. If you have never set up a network, you may want to try a different adapter or be ready to seek professional help installing if you run into problems.
Good product when properly configured . I got this adapter to allow a recorder (KISS DP 558)to connect wirelessly to my WIFI network and hence avoid running cable all around the house.
This product is very basic and not very sophisticated. However the set up was frustrating:
1- the PC/laptop used for the initial setup has to have a fixed IP in the same rage as the WGA54
2- If using mac filtering, make sure the mac address of the adaptor and the device to be networked are both entered in the mac list.
3- Even though the adaptor has found the router and got connected, the status LEDs will only light when data is transfered. Thi scan be misleading especially at the begining when looking for signs of life.
When all the above was done, the adapter functionned perfectly and video and audio streaming as well as file transfering was a joy.
This product is very basic and not very sophisticated. However the set up was frustrating:
1- the PC/laptop used for the initial setup has to have a fixed IP in the same rage as the WGA54
2- If using mac filtering, make sure the mac address of the adaptor and the device to be networked are both entered in the mac list.
3- Even though the adaptor has found the router and got connected, the status LEDs will only light when data is transfered. Thi scan be misleading especially at the begining when looking for signs of life.
When all the above was done, the adapter functionned perfectly and video and audio streaming as well as file transfering was a joy.
How to use MAC filtering with this item and XBox . If you use MAC filtering, you must allow the MAC address of the game adapter and the MAC address of your XBox. If you fail to allow both, then you will not get online. I could not find this little detail in the manual anywhere. This item works fine once you figure this out.
Cons Review
Incompatible no support . I purchased this device to add to my wireless network, which uses a Belkin wireless router. I had to connect the router directly to the game adapter since it could not be detected by my wireless router. After configuring it, I could never find it once it was disconnected from the ethernet cable from my wireless router. I made three attempts at customer service - my first call was disconnected after 20 minutes, the second call was working with a woman in India, who's headset had a ton of static to add to her accent. I had to end that session because we couldn't hear each other. I then used online chat, and after 90 minutes I still had not solved my problem, and that session was disconnected for unknown reasons. The lady from India did mention that mixing their product with any other wireless router would be a problem, and now I believe her.
Keeps getting disconnected . This product is easy to install and at first I thought it was great. But after a few hours of steady streaming, the 'wireless' light goes off and the connection is dropped. If you power-cycle the unit, then it works again (most of the time). But it just disconnects again after a few more hours.
Very frustrating. I would buy a different product.
Very frustrating. I would buy a different product.
All setup as described here UNIT NOT STABLE. . After reading the detailed reports here for how to setup this Linksys gaming adapter unit, everything worked great for several days. I setup the fixed IPs, and all the rest of the settings through the web interface, all seemed well.
Note: I'm a network engineer, so the dual-fixed-ip recommendation [one for each segment] is actually pretty normal in other network bridging appliances. I suspect the MS game adapter simply performs the DHCP handshake better than this unit and that is why it is so easy to setup.
Then the weird stuff started.
After having had this unit turned on for several days, I notice the connection would become slow and not quite as fast as when the Linksys is first turned on. Yet, the XBOX still shows the signal between 48 and 54 Mbps. Strange.
I have reproduced this several times, booting the linksys device, then playing all kinds of games online for hours, running XBMC and playing media through the network perfectly. All is good for several hours, but come back the next day after leaving the Linksys on all day/night, turn on the XBOX, and the network connection is spotty again, but the link details show a full speed connection in the XBOX wireless interface details.
A swift power cycle of the Linksys unit solves the problem immediately, but why should I need to do this? I suspect some NIC buffer is being filled on the Linksys and the power cycle clears out the unit's network buffers.
If anyone has figured out what settings to use to keep this thing stable, I am ready to listen, maybe I should select a G-only network and set the speed at 54 or 48 fixed, maybe that will work?
Anyway, I am getting tired of power cycling this thing every day.
Good Luck,
F.
Note: I'm a network engineer, so the dual-fixed-ip recommendation [one for each segment] is actually pretty normal in other network bridging appliances. I suspect the MS game adapter simply performs the DHCP handshake better than this unit and that is why it is so easy to setup.
Then the weird stuff started.
After having had this unit turned on for several days, I notice the connection would become slow and not quite as fast as when the Linksys is first turned on. Yet, the XBOX still shows the signal between 48 and 54 Mbps. Strange.
I have reproduced this several times, booting the linksys device, then playing all kinds of games online for hours, running XBMC and playing media through the network perfectly. All is good for several hours, but come back the next day after leaving the Linksys on all day/night, turn on the XBOX, and the network connection is spotty again, but the link details show a full speed connection in the XBOX wireless interface details.
A swift power cycle of the Linksys unit solves the problem immediately, but why should I need to do this? I suspect some NIC buffer is being filled on the Linksys and the power cycle clears out the unit's network buffers.
If anyone has figured out what settings to use to keep this thing stable, I am ready to listen, maybe I should select a G-only network and set the speed at 54 or 48 fixed, maybe that will work?
Anyway, I am getting tired of power cycling this thing every day.
Good Luck,
F.
Garbage . I keep telling myself 'no more Linksys' and this product might have finally convinced me to live up to my word. What a piece of cr*p. Worked for 3 days (just fine) when I first connected it and then just stopped. Wireless light (which is supposed to indicate connectivity) just blinked slowly and steadily - no transmission.
Spent 90 minutes with a tech support rep in a chat session - who was very nice and tried but refused to consider an exchange until we finished 'diagnosing' the problem. Problem was, after an hour and a half of my evening - with absolutely zero progress - the rep simply vanished. The chat didn't end - he just stopped replying.
Sorry Linksys - I'm done.
Spent 90 minutes with a tech support rep in a chat session - who was very nice and tried but refused to consider an exchange until we finished 'diagnosing' the problem. Problem was, after an hour and a half of my evening - with absolutely zero progress - the rep simply vanished. The chat didn't end - he just stopped replying.
Sorry Linksys - I'm done.
Feature Cisco-Linksys WGA54AG Game Adapter 802.11A/G 54 Mbps
- Compatible with all 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g compliant devices
- Operates in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency range for maximum flexibility
- Dynamically shifts channels and wireless networks based on signal strength and link quality for maximum availability and reliability of connection
- Utilizes up to 128 Bit Wired Equivalency Protection (WEP) to ensure security
- Works with all network-ready game consoles, including Xbox, Playstation 2 and GameCube
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Product Details
EAN : 0745883561025UPC : 745883561025
MPN : WGA54AG
Brand : Cisco
Weight : 3 pounds
Height : 3 inches
Length : 12 inches
Width : 10 inches
Binding : Personal Computers
Manufacturer : Linksys
Model : WGA54AG
Publisher : Linksys
SKU : DHWGA54AG
Studio : Linksys
Where To Buy
You can buy Cisco-Linksys WGA54AG Game Adapter 802.11A/G 54 Mbps on Amazon . Click here to Read More
