ZyXEL → Recommend most reliable wireless router

I recently purchased a Linksys WRT54GS and have had horrible results with disconnect issues on both a laptop and a pc. I have tried a number of things and nothing seems to remedy the problem. I'm so fed up that I'm ready to return everything and go with a different brand.

I have a Zywall 10 II and am extremely happy with its performance. It NEVER goes down unless I reset it.

Can anyone here recommend a RELIABLE router, one that has no disconnect problems at all. I have looked at the zyair g-2000 and the prestige 334W, not sure what the difference is... All I want is a wireless connection that doesn't die, there must be something out there that offers me that.

What wireless card do you have in your computer?

Linksys WMP54GS (speedbooster) and Linksys WPC54GS (laptop). I will probably return these as well.

I can only comment on the one case I have tried.

P334W and Apple Powerbook with Airport Extreme card.

I was able to connect without any hassle using WPA. Did not experience any disconnects though I only had the Powerbook for a few nights (I have one on order so I'll have more data when that comes in). The P334W doesn't have any speed booster/SuperG type stuff in it. My effective bandwidth was around 12-15 Mbps. YMMV.

The wireless part of the P334W was trouble free for me but I've had problems with the basic routing part (see my P334W hanging thread). That said, my case may be more the exception as no one else has piped up with similar problems as mine.

Nonetheless, ZyXEL support (as well as this board, Anav in particular) have been very attentive.

For me B-2000 v1 or v2. Both routers work like a swiss watch. Using clients with Dell, Netgear, and SMC cards (WEP enabled)

Lac

I am using the P660HW and think its awesome. I use an Apple Titanium PowerBook (not a model known for good wireless reception) and it works great with the 660.

My wife uses a Powerbook G3 (Pismo) which is also excellent. The 660 is 802.11g but the cards in the laptops are 802.11.b, I have no dropouts, WPA works great, signal strength is near max in the titanuim Powerbook and at max in the G3 Powerbook in the worst reception spot at home, so I am very happy.

It is a much faster router than my old P641, lower latency and has the stateful firewall and 4 port switch. A definite upgrade for me.

Another recomendation for the B-2000 here.

I had the zyair B-1000 with the B-100 pc card, it was a rock stable system, no complaints whatsoever and range was more than adequate.

I've since upgraded to a G-1000 with the G-100 pc card, I'm having similar results with it as well although range not quite as good as the B-1000 setup.

Before you return your Linksys router, try the most recent firmware version, it seems to address disconnect issues You may also wish to try HyperWRT 1.3 which permits you to set power and logging and other things on your router.

I am running my WRT54G with a Netgear MA-101(801.b) and the HyperWrt Firmware. I had disconnect problems until I enabled WEP. It apparently has something to do with the Windows wireless support Manager (and I don't remember what the problem was). Since enabling this (even with the base Linksys firmware) I have had no disconnect problems. I found this solution in the Linksys forum but I am too beat to find the exact thread.

Blind troubleshooting wifi problems is more a magician's task rather than a technician's if you ask me

When I had my WRT54G running with ESSID disabled & WPA I had lots of disconnect problems with the Linksys PCCard. As soon as I returned to WEP & turned ESSID broadcast on the problems dissappeared.

Since then I have added a Zyxel G100 card and a Dell D600 laptop with built-in broadcom adapter into the mix. The G100 card works best with XP's wireless support disabled, while the DELL won't do a thing unless it is through XP's wireless support mgr. (Symptom : radio utility has "excellent" reception, but you do not get a DHCP address and no traffic flow is possible).

G110 cards are not (yet) available in Belgium, so a Zywall/Prestige unit that is made wireless by adding a G100 is only usefull if the wireless clients are in the same room.

If you intend to use roaming, make sure you verify with the vendor that your AP/client config actually support this (and stick with a single vendor for your AP's).

Last but not least : a lot of people seem as happy with Buffalo Tech for wireless stuff as most forum members here are with Zyxel for router/firewall/VPN appliances.
(In fact the Belgium distributor for Zyxel recommends Buffalo rather than Zyxel for wireless products, but his motives may be more commercial than technical).