Linksys WGA54AG Game Adapter 802.11A/G 54 Mbps | 
| Brand: Linksys
This item is no longer available
Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 28709
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Network Interface: Ethernet
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 11.4 x 9.7 x 2.6
Warranty: 3 years warranty
MPN: WGA54AG
Model: WGA54AG
UPC: 745883561025
EAN: 0745883561025
ASIN: B0006OCZHG
| |
| Features:
| • | Compatible with all 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g compliant devices | | • | Operates in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency range for maximum flexibility | | • | Dynamically shifts channels and wireless networks based on signal strength and link quality for maximum availability and reliability of connection | | • | Utilizes up to 128 Bit Wired Equivalency Protection (WEP) to ensure security | | • | Works with all network-ready game consoles, including Xbox, Playstation 2 and GameCube |
|
| Accessories:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The Wireless A/G Game Adapter gives any wired Ethernet-equipped game console wireless connection capabilities. The Game Adapter can be used in several different ways. If you have an existing home wireless network and a cable or DSL Internet connection, the Game Adapter lets your PlayStation 2, Xbox or GameCube attach to the network so you can get into online games without running wires to the game room. Or, use a pair of Game Adapters to form a "cable-less cable" between two game consoles for head-to-head gaming - in the same room, or all the way across the house. It's also perfect for wirelessly connecting your Media Center Extender-equipped Xbox to a Windows Media Center PC, so you can enjoy your digital entertainment in any room of the house. It's completely driver-free, so it works on any platform. Since there's no drivers to load, setup is a snap. In many cases, it works right out of the box! If your setup's a little different - just configure the network settings through your PC's web browser, plug it into your game box, and go. You can also configure the Adapter directly from an Xbox. The Wireless A/G Gaming Adapter provides lag-free gaming with communication speeds up to 54Mbps when connected to other Wireless-A or -G devices. It can also connect to Wireless-B (802.11b) devices and networks at up to 11Mbps. Spend your time gaming, not stringing wires, with the Linksys Wireless A/G Gaming Adapter.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
How to use MAC filtering with this item and XBox June 7, 2006
HoundDawg (Tuscaloosa, AL USA)
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
If you use MAC filtering, you must allow the MAC address of the game adapter and the MAC address of your XBox. If you fail to allow both, then you will not get online. I could not find this little detail in the manual anywhere. This item works fine once you figure this out.
OK product, but get ready to learn a lot about networking! September 6, 2006
J. Jenkins (Northlake, IL USA)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
At $50, it's a steal for what this product does, right? Well, sort of... I purchased this device in order to allow my desktop machine to run Linux and connect wirelessly to my Netgear wireless router, thus bypassing all of the issues with wireless and Linux. I expected a nice setup process; connect the adapter to my NIC, configure some properties, and be off and running. I was wrong. Wrong in the form of a three hour session of head-versus-keyboard style troubleshooting. Hopefully this review will shed some light on this mysterious device.
Let's just get it out of the way that Linksys's customer support is nonexistant. Forget trying to call them. Also, the provided documentation is submoronic at best, and provides absolutely no information on troubleshooting. I had to figure everything out myself.
This thing is a nightmare to configure. I unpacked the unit, connected the power, and plugged into my NIC. Interestingly enough, my computer didn't automatically obtain an IP. After checking my TCP/IP settings, I reconnected and power cycled the thing a few times. Still no dice. As my frustration was building, it mysteriously connected! Awesome! I got no further than logging into the web interface, and it disconnected as mysteriously as it connected. I have no idea why it was designed like this, but it seems that you need to have a preexisting wireless connection for the thing to connect using DHCP!! The manual vaguely suggested plugging the thing into a router, so I tried that. Not only did I not connect, but my router wigged out several times, requiring me to restart it.
I finally figured out how to resolve all of these problems. It seems that since I have a netgear router, and the game adapter uses a static IP that is not in the router's DHCP range, this device behaves erratically when hard wired to the router. So...
1. Before doing anything, even before unpacking the adapter, log into your router and make sure your DHCP range is set to use IP's 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.254. Most default router setups (except for Linksys of course) use 192.168.0.x, and this will simply not work.
2. Pray, then plug the adapter into a free port on your router. Nothing horrible should happen yet, so open up a browser and http on over to 192.168.1.250. You should get a login screen, so go ahead and leave the user name blank, and "Admin" for the password.
3. The configuration interface is horrible. Straightforward, but horrible. The "Scan" feature only works half of the time, so you may have to refresh the page a few times before it works. Here, connect to your wireless network by SSID. It should say "Setting Successful," at which point you can unplug the adapter. It will very likely crash your router due to connecting thru wireless at the same time as wired. There are some other options to play around with, but whatever you do, DON'T ENABLE DHCP. Everything else should work as configured unless you have WEP, in which case you're on your own.
4. At this point, you should be able to plug the adapter into the intended computer, and it should work.
Since I got it working, it's been a great little adapter. It's very robust and does everything I need it to. Here are some thoughts on getting it working without having to violate your router:
Since the adapter requires there to be a wireless signal present in order to log in using a standalone computer, you may be able to connect directly to it with a crossover cable. When connecting with a crossover, you have to manually specify an IP. Anything in the 192.168.1.x range should work, subnet 255.255.255.0, no default gateway or DNS servers. Using this method, you should be able to access the web configurator to set the adapter up. I recommend that you change the IP to one in your router's default IP range. Also, you can play with WEP. Again, don't enable DHCP, or your day will get a lot worse. Trust me on this.
 Never had a problem with it November 3, 2006
A. Imhof (Los Angeles, CA USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This device has worked flawlessly for over 3 months. Granted, I am a Network Engineer and already know a lot about how to configure networks so installation for me was a snap. I never read any of the documentation so I cannot say how clear the directions are or how easy this device is to install by reading the directions. For me, it was basically plug and play after a few minor adjustments to set up the security that my network uses. Since then, it was worked perfectly for over 3 months without EVER losing connectivity. I also kind of cheat and share this device between my tivo and my xbox360 through a small hub since it is cheaper than buying two adapters and I have never had any issues. From the other reviews, it sounds like people had difficulties configuring the device. My suggestion would be to use this device if you are comfortable configuring networking components. If you have never set up a network, you may want to try a different adapter or be ready to seek professional help installing if you run into problems.
 It gets the job done but.. January 15, 2007
J. Geyer (Myersville, MD USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a great product if you want maximum compatibility with different operating systems and game systems. The range is decent on the wifi. The configuration is basically set and forget. You have to know a little about wifi networks but not very much. The setup is extremely basic and supports WEP and WPA.
If its so great, why do I give it 4 stars? It doesnt handle fast downloads for an extended period of time very well. I have FiOS (15mb/2mb) and can rarely get over 10mb (may be cause of the wifi signal which is normally between 30% and 60%). If you download large files alot that are over 100mb or even up to 1GB, the wifi seems to get out of sync and the unit gets very hot to the touch. After a while, it just drops the wifi connectivity requiring a reboot of both the wifi router and the game adapter. I'm sure it has to do something with the WEP encryption going out of wack. Most likely a bug in the firmare.
This is a great product and it is designed to be used for game consoles, not heavy PC use. It gets the job done well. If you are buying this to bridge a PC to a wireless network, expect to reboot it at least once a week for "decent" use. If you use it heavily, it will require a daily reboot.
Operating system independant, which is nice. I run several operating systems for my job (2003 server, xp, xp64, vista, vista64, linux). This allows me practically zero config to get on my wifi network via my ethernet card and was way worth the money.
I would definately buy it again and with an updated firmware to help with the wifi lockups, this would definately get a higher rating with me.
 Incompatible, no support September 1, 2006
Guy Terry (Little Elm, TX)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I purchased this device to add to my wireless network, which uses a Belkin wireless router. I had to connect the router directly to the game adapter since it could not be detected by my wireless router. After configuring it, I could never find it once it was disconnected from the ethernet cable from my wireless router. I made three attempts at customer service - my first call was disconnected after 20 minutes, the second call was working with a woman in India, who's headset had a ton of static to add to her accent. I had to end that session because we couldn't hear each other. I then used online chat, and after 90 minutes I still had not solved my problem, and that session was disconnected for unknown reasons. The lady from India did mention that mixing their product with any other wireless router would be a problem, and now I believe her.
|
|
|
