Linksys WUSB11 Wireless-B USB Network Adapter v4

This wireless USB adapter (ver. 2.6) is not compatible with Windows 98, despite the fact that the listing for it here shows it to be Win98 compatible. The Linksys package it comes in plainly shows it to be only compatible with 98SE, ME, 2000, and XP. It may be compatible with 98SE, but I have plain old Win98. So, I couldn't get it to work. I needed to upgrade my OS anyway, so I upgraded to WinXP Pro, and it installed just fine and works like a champ!I am getting almost full signal strength and 11 Mbps, even though the BEFW11S4 router is in the basement (two floors down) and on the opposite side of the house.The other one I bought for my laptop works just as well, but it is a little awkward carrying something the size of a deck of cards on a 3-foot string around with me as I work. I would have gotten the PCMCIA version, but I read some bad reviews here on it and decided to go with the WUSB11 instead. I just wish I could attach it to my laptop somehow...

Here is what you do if your access point has an SSID and WEP enabled. When you get to Step 3A, "View Available Wireless Networks", you will not see anything. Go to the "Related Tasks" and click on "Change the order of preferred networks".Hit the "Add..." button, and type in your Network name (SSID). Uncheck "The key is provided for me automatically". Leave Network Authentication "Open", Data encryption: "WEP", and type in your WEP key in the "Network key" box. You should be then associated immediately to your access point, even though "View Available Wireless Networks" will still show no networks.Otherwise, setup is easy, plug in the USB, insert disk, and setup Windows XP (above). I'm sure it is easier if you have an entirely open wireless access point. By the way, cute little box, and you can stick it anywhere, even on a vertical surface, with the enclosed self-stick velcro.

I bought this adapter for a series 2 TiVo, but it is version 4 which does not work with TiVo. Here's a link to the TiVo website for a list of adapters. [...]I'm giving it 3 stars because I hooked it up to an older computer running XP sp2, and it was easy to configure, but kept dropping the link. It was only a couple of rooms away from the router and had an excellent signal strength. There could be reasons for this problem which are not related to this adapter, but I have not had this trouble with a different adapter in my laptop in any room of the house. You may not have any trouble with this adapter for your PC, but do not buy it for TiVo.

I bought the adapter for a desktop computer that had no integrated wireless, set up a home network between that computer and a laptop, and was easily able to share drives, and printers, without dealing with an access point or cable. Then I was connected to satellite internet and was able to share the internet connection as well. I have since temporarily connected two other laptops easily to this wireless network to set them up, download all of their updates and software, and be finished, in a much easier, quicker procedure than if I'd had to either use dial-up or sneakernet. It is not a trivial setup, but not terribly difficult, and would not require an expensive visit from a technician for anyone with a reasonable grasp of computing and networking.

If you are looking for an excellent usb adapter for wifi hotspots,the Linksys WUSB11 maybe just what you are looking for.Versions 2.8 (don't know about 2.6) to 4.0 are rated at 62 mw transmit power. This extra power will allow you to connect to more distant hotspots than the lower power (31 mw) units.Although you only using 802.11b which tops out at 11Mb vs the 802.11g's 54Mb, you must consider that the dsl and cable modems supply only 256K-5Mps of bandwith. So the extra speed of the 802.11g doesn't buy you anything for internet browsing. Also the 802.11g's speed drops dramatically with distance so that the 802.11b adapters like the WUSB11 may actually give you faster performance on long distances.If you are looking for an adapter to use with Tivo2 then don't get a version 4, versions 2.5 and 2.8 seem the best for tivo2.Why did I rate it 4 instead of 5 stars? I use linux alot and the newer versions of WUSb11(v4 and v3) don't seem to have linux drivers yet (ndis wrappers are not working for me with v4). This situation will most likely be resolved when new drivers are written, as is always the case with linux.

My kids needed to update thier computers and I was tired of unhooking thier computer and bringin them into my office to hook them up to my high speed connect all the time so I got these and I got a wireless router. These made it so much easier to run a network in my house, I was dreading running CAT-5 throug the house, plus, I inadverdantly hooked into the local wireless provider which was almost 1/2 mile away. worked very good.

I bought this USB adapter to connect a second Tivo to my home network. Tivo is VERY fussy and requires the 2.6 version of the WUSB11. The Amazon.com picture appears to be the ver 2.6 adapter, but the adapter I received has different markings. My old WUSB11 has the version on the outside of the box, but this one did not. I called Linksys, and they couldn't determine the version number. They guessed it was 2.6. So, I disconnected my old WUSB11 from my networked Tivo and connected the new adapter. It was not recognized. I rebooted, no better. I reconnected the old WUSB11, the one from the box marked ver 2.6, and it worked immediately. I suspect that Amazon now has a different version (2.8?), and it Tivo does not like it. If you are buying a WUSB11 adapter for your Tivo make sure it is ver 2.6, or it probably won't work.