SMC Barricade g Wireless Broadband Router (SMCWBR14-G)

Product Description:
SMC 54Mbps 802.11g Wireless Router The Barricade g 2.4GHz 54Mbps Wireless Cable/DSL Broadband Router (SMCWBR14-G) is the perfect networking solution for the user that is looking for a simple, all-in-one home or small office network product. This platform independent multi-functional router combines a 4-port 10/100 Mbps switch, a high speed 54Mbps wireless access point, Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) firewall security, Web-based network management, and support for Virtual Private Network (VPN) pass-through into one convenient device. It offers a high data rate that is up to 5 times faster than the widely used 802.11b wireless LAN and is backward compatible with existing 802.11b network devices. To secure the wireless connection, the Barricade g supports 802.1x for authentication, Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), MAC address filtering and 64/128-bit Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). In addition, the Barricade g has one detachable antenna that can be replaced with your choice of SMC high gain antennas for added performance and coverage.

Average customer rating:

Ok, but not great
So far so good...
reliable wireless router
Disappointed
Not all features enabled at this time!

SMC Barricade g Wireless Broadband Router (SMCWBR14-G)

Manufacturer: SMC
ProductGroup: CE
Binding: Electronics

11MBPS Wireless PCMCIA Cardby Gigafast Inc

Product Features:

Wireless Cable/DSL Broadband Router
Detachable antenna
Platform independent, multi-functional
High security
Limited lifetime warranty

ASIN: B0007U0IAU

Product Description

The Barricade g 2.4GHz 54Mbps Wireless Cable/DSL Broadband Router (SMCWBR14-G) is the perfect networking solution for the user that is looking for a simple, all-in-one home or small office network product. This platform independent multi-functional router combines a 4-port 10/100 Mbps switch, a high speed 54Mbps wireless access point, Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) firewall security, Web-based network management, and support for Virtual Private Network (VPN) pass-through into one convenient device. It offers a high data rate that is up to 5 times faster than the widely used 802.11b wireless LAN and is backward compatible with existing 802.11b network devices. To secure the wireless connection, the Barricade g supports 802.1x for authentication, Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), MAC address filtering and 64/128-bit Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). In addition, the Barricade g has one detachable antenna (1 Dipole antenna with RP-SMA connector) that can be replaced with your choice of SMC high gain antennas for added performance and coverage.

Customer Reviews:

Ok, but not great.......2006-03-08

It does the job, but compared to even a Buffalo high-speed wireless router, the SMC does not have a very long range nor is the signal strength as good as I was hoping for. Luckily, I am only using this one for surfing the internet which it works just fine for, but my reccommendation is to get a linksys or netgear on sale.

So far so good..........2006-01-07

I had experience with earlier SMC Barricade products that all prevented my VPN connections to work, so I couldn't recommend them. I tried this one with the terrific rebates of late just to play with it, and I'm now using it as my primary router!

This router is easy to configure and has been working extremely well. I only played with wireless distances a little bit, and they seem reasonable for a residence. I live in an apartment, so I can only roam so far. I couldn't go too far down the hall before I lost signal, but I think that's due to my cheap PCMCIA card in the laptop I was playing with.

I played with WEP and WPA - both worked fine.

One very cool feature that I've found with more recent routers - they seem to be "plug and play" with the Vonage IP service adapters. I had an old Netgear router and I had to open up the VOIP port numbers for the VOIP adapter. This SMC router (and the Motorola WR850G) don't require any ports to be set up - they seem to be VOIP "aware".

One other reason why this is my primary router now. I had a Motorola WR850G as my main router, but I upgraded it. VPN had some issues, and it occasionally would stop routing and I'd have to cycle the power. I did successfully downgrade the firmware and it worked fine again, but I'm staying with this one... at least for now!

reliable wireless router.......2005-12-07

Never used SMC products before, but this is impressive. Easy setup, operating flawlessly for 2 months now. Strong wireless signal, good configuration layout, and dynamic DNS updating that works (as opposed to my previous DLink router). Includes true firewall features, including SPF. Does not offer WPA2, only WPA. Very little activity at SMC support site, no firmware upgrades at all. But I guess if it works this well, who needs support?

Disappointed.......2005-10-26

I've had nothing but troubles with this router. I've been doing research for a couple days now trying to track down all the problems I've been having with it and come up with nothing.

It was a snap to hook up and get working initially for both wired and wireless connections even with the advanced setup utility. Everything seemed to be flowing normally and naturally and at great speeds. The only exception was that I couldn't get into many secured sites. Email, online shopping, bank accounts, all unavailable to me. I figured I'd do the requisite research and solve that problem later.

The next day things went down the tubes. Connection speeds fluctuated and failed over wireless even when the signal was at full strength. Connecting and acquiring IP's began to fail wirelessly, which seemed to be due to the router still believing the device was connected - even after several hours of my laptop being off. Unplugging and replugging the router became neccessity each time I wanted to connect wirelessly. Wired connectivity still seemed to be working fine, so I used that for a couple days.

The last straw fell last night. I decided to forego wireless entirely and tried to get out with a couple of my wired boxes. Speeds throttled to unuseable levels, and then failed. After a few minutes of snooping around I unplugged this router and put one of my wired routers in to test to make sure it wasn't a problem with my ISP. The speeds were fast, reliable and clean. The problem definately resides within the router.

I've resolved to pack the SMC Barricade G Wireless router back into it's box and return it. I must have gotten a bad unit or something, because I can't fathom them putting such a poor product to market.

Not all features enabled at this time!.......2005-08-14

This product is very economical when purchased with a rebate, yet, the WDS function only works with WEP or (worse yet) no encryption! The device does not work with WDS and WPA enabled at the same time. SMC advised that it "MIGHT" be fixed in a future firmware update. I've been waiting 5 months for a firmware update, to no avail. Be sure to verify the functionality that you need for your net is actually operating on this device.

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