Netgear MA111 802.11b Wireless USB Adapter

it was satisfactory

This isn't the most sensitive 802.11b adapter I've ever used, but it's certainly not the worst either, which is saying something given its diminutive profile. Hence, if you need the maximum range from your wireless adapter, this isn't the one for you, but it your needs are 'typical,' you'll be fine. It works without problems for me under Windows 2000 and Windows XP; I haven't tried it under any other OS. I do have the disconnect/re-connect problem every now and again that other people have mentioned, but I've seen it with other adapters as well; it generally happens when you are in the 'borderline' area of servicibility. I believe it's due to Windows dropping the connection when the adapter reports that its signal strength has (temporarily due to normal variations) fallen to just about nothing; this seems like something that software could address, as it is annoying.

My husband and I bought three of these Wireless USB Adapters for TiVo 2. We noticed that the new ones work great with the TiVo and allow us to stream music to TiVo and transfer recordings from one TiVo to another. I want to make one note that we got what seems to be an older version of this model and TiVo get dropping the network adapter after about 10-20 minutes. Amazon sent us another one and it worked fine. So, if you have this problem, don't give up, but try a different USB adapter.

I bought for my husband (it wasn't for me ~ noooo) Netgear's wireless Router (WGR614?) well its the 802.11g version for my computer which is next to the cable hookup and the MA111 adapter for his computer which is in the basement. He complained I was online too much on my computer so I bought this setup for him so he could be online too. =) Installation was quick and painless I must say for both items. Signal strength is at Very Good status almost 90% of the time. I recently bought a Tivo to which they told me that they are not 802.11g compatible but had to test it out myself. So I took my hubby's adapter and plugged it into the Tivo and wa la-- Network detected popped up on the screen! Ran a few tests with it and no probs. So now I have bought a second Tivo and in order for them to communicate to each other need to buy another MA111 adapter for it as well as a second one to replace my hubby's that I uhhh borrowed. =) Gave it only a 4 Stars due to signal strength (Living Room 12 feet away from Router was at best at 68%) and the little suckers get awfully hot but everything else works like a breeze(...)Can't beat that!

Though the system requirements state Windows XP, it appears that the drivers are not happy running on my system. My system is a newer Dell model, with only windows security patches applied, so the OS is pretty clean. Anytime the install program for a driver tells you to ignore the fact that Microsoft has not certified the driver you are installing, be prepared that things may not be easy. Once I installed the drivers and the MA111, my system would blue screen almost everytime I logged off and about 50% of the time I logged in. Signal strenght was poor, even from about 20 feet away and 2 walls between the router and PC (on the same floor in the house). It is being sent back, the Linksys USB Wireless adapted I bought is working totally fine. Glad to hear other folks got decent service from Netgear. The only way I could get a person on the line was to call their Pre-Sales group and pretend that I wanted to buy the MA111, but had some questions before I did.

I don't understand the other reviewer that gave this product five stars after having problems with the first one. I like my electronics to work the first time I use them. It works with Tivo for 5 to 30 minutes at a time until it randomly stops connecting to the network. The only fix is unplugging it and putting it back in. I did everything from upgrading my netgear router (which works great) firmware, to removing all security keys. Still the same problem. Tried installing it on my laptop and it kept restarting after a blue screen, maybe because I'm running XP SP2 like the other reviewer. I'm going to return mine promptly and spend a few extra bucks to get the Linksys WUSB11 instead.

i should have give this item more stars, but since it was so hard configuring it i will only give 3 stars. Successful instalation steps: 1. Download and install the version 2.0 of the drivers for this device from netgear.com, dont use the ones that come in the box most probably is they are an older version and will not work fine. 2. Go to windows services and disable Wireless Zero Configuration, if you try to do it from the wireless network property window as stated on the user manual it probably wont work. after doing those 2 things i could succesfuly make the device work properly. of course getting that knowledge consumes me like 2 days of internet searching for solutions on MA111 v1 configuration problems.

After reading the other MA111 reviews, I was hesitant to buy the MA111. I already have an MA101 on a Pentium IV, which has performed flawlessly for a year. So I tried the MA111 (v1) on a Pentium II running Win 2k Pro and it's working fine. Software install was error free. All works fine at 128bit encryption. No problems with Norton apps or Zone Alarm. (...) I'm happy with it.