Linksys WGA11B Wireless-B Game Adapter

But this sucker was PLUG AND PLAY for all intensive purposes. There are a few things, however, I think people should know in order to set this up:

a) You probably want to turn off all WEP and MAC filters. You can turn them back on once you get the sucker id'ed on the network and talking... but for now, leave it off.
b) You probably want to turn ON your SSID (again, makes it easier for the thing to install out of the box.)
c) You probably want to know what your broadcast frequency is on your WAP. If you are using a linksys WAP it is found on the admin screen regarding security. You need to look for the broadcast ID channel (default is six). That is the channel you want to tune the WGA11B. However, what I really recommend that people do is avoid "ad hoc" mode entirely and set the WGA to In mode (looks kind of like 1n on the WGA display) - this is infrastructure mode. Infrastructure mode is what you want to use if you are using a broadcasting router/switch/bridge access point (like the linksys Wireless-B, G, WAP11, etc.)
d) Make sure you know what type of cable you are using to connect it. The cable that comes with the broadcast bridge unit (the WGA) is actually a CROSSOVER cable. This was a bit surprising to me (not that they are hard to make, just, you rarely ever get one from someone - you always wind up making them). You'll know you have the switch in the right position when the WAN light (the little symbol that looks like a circle with two lines in it) lights up GREEN.
e) If you are not already, I'd set up DHCP for the moment. The bridge is default configured to try and connect via DHCP. If you don't have DHCP configured, I don't know what it is going to try to do default IP static (probably 192.176.1.1 if it is like other linksys products). Save yourself the headache and do DHCP.

Okay - otherwise, this sucker is easy as pie to set up. Plug it in to your LAN adapter (I have PS2 so it is a little box on the back of the game thing - don't know about Xbox). Then plug the cord into the WGA. Turn the WGA on and set it to the channel of your WAP. It should start talking IMMEDIATELY. If not - you have done something wrong.

The CD for the PC is interesting. Like most linksys products - it looks nice and is full featured. You won't need the CD for configuring the WGA unless you plan on using WEP.

The infrastucture mode is really fast. I must say that I play online alot.... and this connection point on PS2 shows virtually no lag. I don't know what Sony did via their gaming networks - but this sucker runs QUICK. Like I said, virtually no lag.

The real bummer is that about 99% of the games out there are not multiplayer yet. The ones that are, however, are really fun to play. I play MOH:RS, Desert II, and a few others online. The games are quick paced. To really take advantage of it, however, you might want to go "full bore" and invest in a USB headphone/mic set so you can "talk to people". Also, the USB keyboard might be a nice feature too... although I don't have that...

I've seen quite a few game adapters out there (do a search on Amazon - you will see). This is the best one I've seen for the money.

One last thing - I'd forget "Wireless G" adapaters. Again, unless your connection is like a T3 line straight to the house (which 99% of most people do not have) - you're only as fast as your smallest connection - which is likely to be the ADSL/Cable router connection. Comcast is 3MB - which I NEVER get (even burst inside Comcast's net). So B is MORE than enough bandwidth. I heard some guy at Best Buy trying to talk up a Wireless-G adapter saying he would get "better performance" - and while that is true.. it's like putting brand new wheels on a car with an underpowered engine... yeah, it will look better... but it won't go faster.

See you out there...


Works, but you need a PC to configure it   August 30, 2005
M. M Magliaro (Philipsburg, PA United States)
40 out of 43 found this review helpful

This device works just fine with our XBox. There's no lag when playing on-line XBox-Live games. It's less than half the cost of the Microsoft "official" Xbox gaming adapter.

Incidentally, these gaming adapters and generic "wireless adapters" are exactly the same thing. They bridge a wired device into your wireless network.

This is only an 802.11b, not g, device, but that is NOT a negative. Don't spend the extra money on "g" ANYTHING. b gives you 11 Mbit/sec, and if you're really lucky these days, your DSL or cable modem internet connection will get you 2 Mbit/sec. So why pay extra money for g? Even if you are far from your wireless access point, and the speed drops to only 2 Mbit/sec, you'll never use that through the internet. Your Xbox will never come anywhere near saturating an 802.11b link. I've sniffed the packet traffic, and it doesn't even break 120Kbps at its worst.

But here are some tips for configuring this device.

1. If you don't use WEP, and have your wireless access point is set to broadcast its SSID, this thing will probably plug right in and work with no setup. I can't vouch for this, because I don't set my network up that way (and I think that anybody who doesn't use WEP encryption is a fool).

2. Assuming you do use WEP encryption, the easiest way to set this device up is to plug it directly into a PC. Yes, connect the box to your PC with an Ethernet cable. Forget the internet for a minute, just hook the two together. Make sure to set your PC to have a fixed ip in the 192.168.1.x range, set the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0. Then run the setup wizard on the CD that comes with this device. Enter your WEP key, enter your SSID, and your access point channel, and you're all set. These settings will be saved as "profile 1". Now, hit the button on the side of the gaming adapter until the display reads "P1".

The big knock I have against this device is that you can't just hit it with a web browser and set it up like you can with any wireless router or access point. So if you don't have a Windows PC, you are out of luck. I have all Macintoshes at home, so I had to scare up a PC just to configure this device, which is really REALLY lame.

Most people don't understand WEP, wireless channels, SSIDs, or ip addresses. So Microsoft makes a mint selling their box for $100. But if you take a little time to learn, you CAN set up this box and save a lot of money.


Wireless Xbox for Decent Price   August 11, 2003
J. Soety (Philadelphia)
17 out of 17 found this review helpful

I bought this for Xbox Live, and am satisfied with the results. It works on my mongrel system (a Motorola Surfboard cable modem, a DLink ethernet card hooked to my Netgear 814 wireless router). Although I have no idea what the signal strength is, I can connect with my Xbox in the living room and the router up-the-stairs and 30 feet away.

If you have a Linkysy router and don't have WEP turned on, you can probably use it out of the box. For the rest of us, setup was OK. Here's the detail.

I first configured the device via my PC (since I have WEP turned on). I set the WEP encryption option/password to match my network, and (something that I spent 2 hours troubleshooting) I also had to enable the "Allow Broadcast of Name (SSID)" setting on my Netgear router. Even though I assigned my network's SSID to the device using the software, I still had to keep that option on to make it work; I don't know if that is a Netgear/Linkys incompatibility or not. Still, it worked in the end.

Pro: Small (the size of a pack of cigarettes), setup screens via a computer are clear, does its job well. Most of all, it is almost half the price of the Linksys bridge (WET11), which is one of the few easy-to-install and reliable wireless-B options for hooking up your Xbox (Netgear's bridge gets lousy reviews and DLink also isn't as reliable as the WET11. But the WET11 bridge is so darn expensive).

Con: No signal strength indicator (even building one into the Xbox OS would be OK), no Power Off button (I have to unplug it). I would give it a higher score if it included those features.


Best thing Ever!   August 23, 2003
Eric D Lorenz (Indianapolis, IN)
17 out of 17 found this review helpful

I was a litte doubtful on how easy this would be to use. But I had it configured and playing online with my X-box in under 5 mins. I use WEP in 128 bit, and also use MAC filtering on my access point. I simplyed hooked the unit up to my laptop and configured the WEP setting with the easy to understand config wizard. Unit supports three different profiles so you can setup the config for different networks, and simply chose which profile you want to use with a push of a button. Great feature if you move your unit in bewteen secure wireless networks.

Most people could have this ready to go in about a minute, since they don't use WEP or Mac filtering. Already have plans to get one to go with the Replay TV Box. No more cable clutter around my home. Also easy to connect multiple game consoles togther without the need of an access point. Simply chose the saem channel on each unit, and they each game console will see each other. Some concerns over wired connections, since ethernet can support 100mb and the wireless only supports 11mbs. Any game setup for on-line play should have no issues, since most high speed internet tops at 1.5mbs and below.

Great product, just wondering what took them so long to make it


Works with Microsoft Wireless Base Station   December 10, 2003
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Had little difficulty installing this device with a Microsoft MN-500 Wireless 802.11b Base Station with 128 WEP enabled
Installed it by plugging in the Linksys game adapter to my laptop via ethernet.
1. Plug in power to the Linksys Game Adapter
2. Plug in Game Adapter to laptop (or computer) via ethernet cable.
3. Toggle the Game Adapter to P1 setting.
4. Install software that came with Game Adapter and follow prompts to Auto-Detect.
5. Fill in necessary WEP key info, and you're done.
6. Power off and move adapter to the XBox (or other device).

Not too difficult. It took me awhile to figure out the proper steps as the documentation is lacking on setting up with WEP enabled. The main thing was to connect the adapter via lan cable to a computer first that will be running the auto-detect software. Hot swapping didn't work for the auto-detect either. I got past this by restarting the setup software to get the auto-detect to work.