If you're having trouble setting it up, definitely call the 800 number as opposed to going online. I tried with three different people through their website online and none could help. Right before I sent it back I decided to try phone support and it got the expander a reprieve. I've copied some instructions that Y.A. Escalante was kind enough to leave in his review, but corrected and elaborated some of the items based on my experience. I would've given this 4 stars, but I deducted 1 for it not having clear enough instructions with its initial shipping. (Would've saved Linksys some headaches)
Here goes:
1-Disable WEP on your Router or AP
2-Hold the auto-configuration button for 30 seconds(if everything goes well both lights on the expander will turn blue) and unplug while still holding button. Plug back in after 10-15 secs.
3-open your Internet explorer browser and type 192.168.1.240 (default ip of expander), a window will pop up. leave the user name blank and put admin as a password (this is default password).
4-make sure that the default gateway and subnet mask settings are identical with your Router or AP,change password on the expander if desired & save settings. (all settings should be correct due to auto configuration)
5-Enable WEP on the expander, once again remember use same settings as in your Router or AP, save settings again.
6-Go to your Router or Ap settings and enable WEP. Bang you're DONE. Enjoy
Hope this helps some of you...if not call the 800 number on the box and be patient. :) Cisco-Linksys Wireless-G Range Expander WRE54G
I picked this up because I had a Linksys router (wrt54g), and wanted to extend the range of my wireless signal. My router is upstairs in a large old house, and my office is downstairs in a old porch converted into a sunroom. The walls of the house are 1 foot thick concrete, and the signal has to penetrate 2 of them, and the windows of my sunroom are aluminum framed. Lots of stuff that interupts the signal from my wireless router. I could get intermittent low signal before getting the wre54g extender. I positioned the extended downstairs, and set it up based on the reviews here. It was very simple to set up, provided, I disabled the WEP encryption, and used the auto-config setup. I later reenabled WEP encryption and MAC filtering and entered the MAC address into my MAC filter on my router.
This was a very simple setup, and I am now getting 4-5 bars and 54Mbps, rather than 1 bar and 1 Mbps. It took me less than 5 minutes to set up with my Linksys wrt54g router.
One note, my router is version 6, and the firmware only goes up to 1.1, so far (I got the latest from the Linksys website, which is 1.1). The pamphlet in the expander says it only works with this Linksys router if it has 2.02 firmware or better. But, this later version of the router works great with it despite it not having the higher numbered firmware for it.
I gave it 4 stars because the instructions are so bad, and because the price is kind of high for me, even after Amazon's huge discount.
With help from tips here, I was able to get up and running in less than 1/2 hour. What I have found missing from many reviews is the router (and version number if Linksys) that they are using as well as the firmware version. This may explain setup nightmares that many have had.
This set of instructions (found below) was used to get my setup running in 1/2 hour. I have a Linksys WRT54GS 801.b/g router with Speedbooster version 1.1 (found on the bottom of the router). This is basically the same as the WRT54G router. I am using Firmware v4.70.6, May. 26, 2005 (found in the Status area of the setup page URL 192.168.1.1 using password, "admin" to access).
This is exactly what I did to get up and running with the WRE54G ver 2 range expander:
1. Download the latest Linksys firmware for your router and WRE54G (for later use). You will need to know the version number of your router and WRE54G (found on bottom of both devices). You can get the updates at www.Linksys.com/downloads. Once you download the router file, you need to go to the online Router Settings page to select the file and update the router. The default URL is http://192.168.1.1/ with "admin" as the password. Go to the ADMINISTRATION tab at the top and then FIRMWARE UPGRADE. Then browse to find the file you just downloaded and hit UPGRADE.
2. While you are still in the settings, disable the wireless security that you (should have) had on your network router. This is TEMPORARY.
3. Open box and plug range extender into an AC outlet near/next to your existing router (not at the edge of your wireless network).
4. Hit the autoconfig button. I did NOT have to hold the button in for 30 seconds as others did. I just hit it once for about 1-2 seconds. I also did not unplug the WRE54G from the A/C wall outlet. Wait for both lights to turn blue.
5. Using the wired computer with the router, connect to the range extender settings page at http://192.168.1.240 using "admin" as password. You can change the password and save it. Your SSID on the expander should be the same as your router network.
6. Update the firmware of the WRE54G by going to the Help TAB at the top of the settings screen. Not the HELP link on the left of the page. This takes a long time. Be patient.
7. Turn on WEP on the range extender and save the WEP key somewhere because you need to use the same one on the router.
8. Turn on WEP on the existing router using the aforementioned URL and unplug your WRE54G from the A/C outlet and go put at the edge of your network. Both lights should turn blue when you plug it in. Everthing worked fine for me but I did have trouble accessing the settings page from the wired computer once I moved the WRE54G. However, both lights are blue and I now have an extended network for wireless use upstairs. - Linksys - Wireless - Expander - Extender'
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