IOGEAR Universal Ethernet to Wi-Fi N Adapter - Speeds of up to 300Mbps on 2.4GHz - Push-button Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) - Supports WEP, WPA, WPA2, TKIP and AES encryption - GWU637

Initially when I obtained my Tivo Premier Series 4 DVR, I relied on the TiVo AGO100 WiFi to USB adapter. It was slow and became useless when streaming came onto the scene. Probably because it interfaces with a USB 2 port. I then upgraded the TiVo Internet service to utilize a Lincsys (Cisco) PLE500 power line Ethernet adapter. One adapter was connected to an Asus RT-N66 router via Ethernet and the other adapter connected to the Tivo also via Ethernet. Since I have two TiVo’s, a total of three power line adapters were needed. Eventually I noticed that the Lincsys PLE500 power line Ethernet adapters started slowing down after about three years in service. I then replaced them with spares I had on hand and with that the speed was restored. I not sure how long the PLE500’s would be available. I started to investigate WiFi to Ethernet adapters and tried a TP-Link RE105, it did not work very well, it kept interfering with the other devices on the network. It could be that it’s a range extender and there isn’t a way to disable it. It became very difficult to find a driverless WiFi to Ethernet adapter until I stumbled upon the IOGear GWU637. The setup was very easy, just plug it into the Ethernet port on the PC, follow the instructions to access your wireless network. Be sure to turn off the WiFi on the PC while configuring the GWU637. I use wireless MAC address filtering on my router for extra security and the GWU637 has the WiFi MAC address printed on the side of the device near the serial number, that’s a plus. After configuration, I then connected the device to the USB port for power and the Ethernet port on the TiVo Series 4 DVR. Next I checked the Settings > Network > View network status and Voilà it showed the Wired Ethernet adapter MAC ID. I then checked the Client List on the router it showed the GWU637 connected to the TiVo with max bars. Incidentally, the TiVo is about 75 feet from the router. That evening when I went to a streaming service, the selection process was faster and the show I selected streamed flawlessly. I tend to be very stingy giving a product 5 stars, but the IOGear GWU637 deserves it. I’m impressed!

I rarely rate products as five star. This one earned that rating. I have been struggling for about a week to find a good solution for a recent switch from Frontier FIOS to Spectrum Cable. Frontier allowed and enabled Moca, which allows networked devices to use the Cable as the network delivery medium. We use Tivo cable tuners and DVRs, which have to have access to the network to communicate with one another. One room out of five in my home that had a TV in it, did not have a network jack. I was using the Moca on cable to fill that gap. That went away when I switched over to Spectrum. I tried a couple of really nice wireless network adaptors, but both of the others that I tried created subnets for the device they were meant to service. This puts those devices on a separate network that passes internet through your main network. This did not work for the Tivo network tuners as they rely on all of their devices being in the same subnet. They apparently cannot be manually configured to find the other Tivo's using network addressing for the other boxes. So this remote box ended up isolated. I had to have something easy to use and configure that would give me an ethernet port that was on the same subnet, and act as a true bridge device. This unit did that, and was so easy to use that I wish I had tried it first. It is worth noting that this is a Tivo Mini, which relies on the network to watch everything, as when watching TV it uses the tuner built into a Tivo DVR in another machine. It has to have a high speed network to support streaming the TV shows, or to use any Internet based video service. This is also a high def TV, so its bandwidth requirements are high. Setup was very easy, just plug it into the network port of a pc, follow the instructions to hook it into your wireless network, and you are done. The range for me is about 50 feet. No issues with that at all. I plugged the configured unit into my remote Tivo, ta da, it worked! And it worked flawlessly. I do wish it had 5G wireless and not just 2.5G. That would allow for faster communication with my other Tivos. But it does support Wireless N, and that really does help a lot. My wife, who uses this Tivo tuner, really didn't notice any lowering of the network rate, and I was able to get somewhere in the neighborhood of 50mbs to 100mbs. So certainly no slacker even with 25G wireless. My home network is all GigE (1000mps), so I still want to get a network jack installed in that room. But this will bridge the gap really nicely until I can arrange to have that done.

Works fine. Typeface in instruction manual very small and hard to read

Excellent little gadget. I just ordered four more. It's stupidly easy to setup. You connect to the built in web management server via IP 192.168.1.254. So setup your computer to 192.168.1.253 / 255.255.255.0 (no need to enter gateway or DNS). Login: admin/admin, click on 'Site Survey', enter SSID, Encryption, etc, then 'Apply'. If you have troubles saving, use a different web browser (FireFox worked for me). After the unit reboots, it will connect to the WIFI. Important: this is not a router, it works as a bridge (though I don't know if it will pass packets other than IP). Now simply unplug it from the setup computer, then connect it to any computer or device with a network card and you should be able to get a dynamic IP (if you have a DHCP server) or you can manually enter your IP settings. One little snag, it seems to drop VLAN packets, therefore, it does not look like it supports VLAN tagging. If I define a VLAN on the WIFI end, then tcpdump -i <nic> produced nothing. I did not test the throughput on the device because this is for embedded systems, like alarms, etc. However, the range is very, very good. I tested around 40 feet going through a patio (two exterior walls), and one partial interior wall. I did not believe it was going to connect, but it did, albeit sluggishly. I then connected a new access point (Omada) with the same SSID right next to the unit and within a few minutes it connected to the new AP. This is good to know because some devices are stubborn when it comes to roaming.

Not only were some previous reviews correct, the product gets SUPER HOT to the touch, but the connectivity is the main problem. I set this thing up 3 ft away from my router and although it does connect to my WiFi and showed a connection, no matter what device I tried none could get a DHCP I.P. address and be able to communicate through it at all even after multiple troubleshooting attempts and I’m not a tech newb. Even if it adds another signal to your home, you’d better off with a WiFi extender that has a physical Ethernet port for JUST THAT ONE WIRED ONLY DEVICE, which is the only reason I bought this product. I bought this to connect for a device that monitors and sends data for my solar panels that is “wired only” and uses DHCP, but needed to move my router for various reasons, but that wired device had to stay within 50 feet of the outside inverter to be able to communicate. Well this product is DEFINITELY NOT the solution.

After struggling with two Vonets 11G's - what a difference a brand makes! So the first thing I did was to learn all about WPS. WPS makes connecting the converter a total snap. In fact, WPS is THE way to go if your clients (pc, tv, etc.) also have that feature. No confusing instructions, no need to even remember your network's password. Push'n'Go as they say. Fortunately, even my antiquated N-150 router has it. Push its button, then the converter's, and in less than a minute you have fully operational access from your wi-fi network to your ethernet-only clients. (This is called a "bridge" BTW). The Vonets didn't have WPS at all - naturally, how else to screw us with illegibly tiny printed instructions, incomprehensible Chinenglish, tedious setup, non-working device, etc. Believe me, never has an extra $10 bought so much. Thanks to U.S. engineering and yes also to Chinese manufacturing, this is an absolute gem. Just realize that its function is to provide a bridge between your wi-fi network and ethernet-run clients; that is all it does far as I know. The Vonets claims all sorts of other applications, like access point blah blah - probably don't work either.

Bought 2 units to connect Outback Solar Controllers to my network. A bit pricey for what they do, but they seemed the best option at the time. Set up was well documented and not difficult. They both worked as advertised. Both got unexpectedly warm and one quit working within a month. It would not connect to anything even after a factory reset. The units have a flashing LED for diagnostic purposes which leaves a bit to be desired when the flashing doesn't seem to match any of the documented patterns. Spoke to IO Gear Tech Support, but their level 1 person just walked me through all of the things I had already done and finally just said "return it". Did an Amazon return on the defective one. Love Amazon because they are usually so easy to deal with. Finally just ran some Cat6 instead since portability was not a requirement. Much harder to do, but unmatched in reliability. Just placed the second one back into into service for another purpose. So far, it seems to be stable.

Honestly I love this thing easy to set up I was able to change its local IP address plug it into my switch and it provides easy internet access to anything in the same channel attached to my switch I've run across the website or two that refused to load properly with it but I'm guessing that's probably because I'm running a Linux server and it was having a heart attack I don't think it has anything to do with the product itself so honestly I just pretty much just plug it in and it's invisibly working. I mean it gets very hot but it's invisible to my machine and I think the only time I have a real issue as when it competes with my DHCP server with its own DHCP server but I think that's mostly a configuration on my end that I haven't figured out how to properly resolve but in the end it does everything I needed to do and it does it well.