The NETGEAR WGR614 54 Mbps 802.11g Wireless Router offers: 802.11g wireless network router for home and office. Four RJ-45 Ethernet ports for wired networking. Configurable network security including double firewall for extra protection.

The WGR614 offers speeds up to 54 Mbps with the 802.11g wireless standard. View larger.

The WGR614 makes it easy for even a novice to set up a wireless network: just plug the included Ethernet cable from your internet connection into the router and insert the included CD into any computer on the network, which will provide step-by-step instructions. The WGR614 employs a web-based interface for configuration, and the router will automatically do the initial setup by getting your DNS settings and determining your IP address. The firmware is also upgradeable via the web interface so you can be sure your router will always be up-to-date.

Fast and Secure
Supporting the 802.11g standard, the NETGEAR WGR614 offers wireless data speeds of up to 54 Mbps, making it possible to share a broadband internet connection, stream music without hiccups, watch videos with less load time, and videoconference without problems. Downloading files is up to five times faster than it was with 802.11b. If you still have computers that use 802.11b, don't fret as the router is backwards compatible with the older wireless standard and can be set so all your computers can connect to the network and the WGR614 will automatically figure out the connection type and work accordingly.

In addition to wireless access, there are four 10/100 Mbps RJ-45 Ethernet ports in the back for connecting computers to the network via a faster, wired connection.

The WGR614 offers many security options to ensure your data is private. Double firewall protection keeps your network shielded from outside attacks. To ensure the security of your wireless data, both 40/64-bit, 128-bit, and 152-bit (802.11g only) WEP encryption is available, as well as WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access). You can also use MAC address authentication to allow only authorized users onto the network.

Keep Tabs on Kids
This router is an especially good choice for parents as it allows settings to log all sites that are visited, lets you block specific sites based on whether it contains specific keywords, and lets you set time schedules for certain computers to work.

The NETGEAR WGR614 54 Mbps 802.11g Wireless Router is backed by a 1-year warranty.

What's in the Box
WGR614 54 Mbps 802.11g Wireless Router, power adapter, Ethernet cable, setup CD, vertical stand, warranty/support information card.

WORKS GREAT... As soon as my desktop PC booted into Windows XP, I was connected to the Internet through my Road Runner cable connection (my PC was connected to the router via cable; the router, of course, was connected to the cable modem). Laptop connection was almost as easy. I did download the most recent firmware (1102) from Netgear's web site to make the router 100% compatible with the 802.11g specs and to be able to block broadcast of SSID (the upgrade also fixed some minor problems): http://www.netgear.com/support/support_dnld.asp?prodNum=WGR614

LOOKS GREAT... The picture doesn't do it justice, nor will anything I can say. I have the router sitting vertically in its stand. The side LEDs face me. They are clearly marked, lit (or blinking) icons. Thin and elegant.

I was torn between Linksys and Netgear. I still respect Linksys, but I am glad that I bought Netgear.


Lot of great features...hardware issues....   October 5, 2003
 64 out of 79 found this review helpful

I bought this for the faster 54Mb rate...it is fast. BUT a few problems or differences in expectations were encountered...

I have used D-link, linksys, netgear, cisco, USR and belkin wireless products. The transmit strength on this compact WGR614 is pretty strong. maybe it's a factor of the 802.11G...it seemed to be as strong as the cisco gear which is phenomenal in itself. The wireless card from netgear for 54G is pretty strong also. I think belkin was the worst, followed up by USRobotics which was also pretty weak, then linksys, then d-link.

Connection was extremely easy. I just unplugged the D-link wireless and put in the Netgear. It found the internet automatically, configured itself for access and spoofed the mac address automatically. Something that is great for newbies.

MAJOR PROBLEM: I use my cable (comcast-which blows chow most of the time...) to access internet to use stock trading software and as such, is a streaming data stream through a VPN. This router claims VPN pass through...but unless you know which ports to open up..it makes it somewhat difficult to use "real" VPN because all you're doing is opening raw ports to the internet to IP addresses behind the router. This is a pretty big security concern IMO. I just moved all my data from the trading computer to another server that doesn't have ports open...but a pain nonetheless...

anyhow, back to the main problem. This netgear router tends to just stop routing...no joke. the connection lights with the internet remain ok, but the router just freezes, stops working and then works again in a few minutes...I've contacted tech support but the Netgear technical support is a complete joke. You wait on hold for 30 minutes (an eternity it felt like) EACH time and then get connected with India..yes, they outsource, and some of the tech folks in India speak faster english with major accents than some spitfire hispanics speaking spanish...needless to say, I had to remind them to slow down and enunciate so I could hear what they were saying..

Bottom line, tech support is a joke, if you have a problem. you're on your own...Ive upgraded the firmware TWICE now, even to the new unsupported "beta" to try and stop this freezing...to no avail. I've gone back to my old D-link and it works wonders...go figure...

I'm going to order one more netgear router and if that freezes too..then i think there is a hardware/firmware issue...

i'm jinxed folks :-)


...almost gave up   January 11, 2004
 42 out of 51 found this review helpful

I read the reviews... wanted to believe it would work for me, so I ordered it anyway. The short version, it works great once you figure it out. The long version: I had hoped that once hooked up, it would run right away. To my disappointment, it didn't. I spent many hours fussing with it, trying different combination to get it to work. I called my ISP, they couldn't solve it. I finally picked up the phone to call NETGEAR and within minutes the tech was able to troubleshoot the problem and away I went. Turns out, since I have a T1 connection with a static IP address (as opposed to DSL or other standard dial-up and dynamic IP address) the hook-up of the router is not the typical and is not spelled out anywhere in the instructions. Turns out, instead of plugging the cable from the wall into the router's "internet port (A)" like the instruction indicate for a DSL scenario, the tech told me that I needed to plug the cable from the wall into one of the router's "local ports (B)". Also, with a static/private IP address, I needed to make sure both the wireless NIC card and router have the necessary information plugged in that were provided to me by my ISP ie: IP, Gateway Flash, DNS, etc.. This, the tech didn't mention, but after a few more annoying hours of unplugging, and replugging, resetting and cursing, all was figured out and solved. So now, I am up and surfing at 54Mbps and without any problems thus far. You would figure I wouldn't recommend this product, but knowing that my hook-up wasn't the norm, I guess I'm not surprised it took some finagling to get it going. Now that it is going, all is good.


Finally Stablized the Connection!   September 13, 2003
 33 out of 35 found this review helpful

ok... I have spent many hours trying to figure out how to stabilize the connection. After being connected, the connection would drop after x minutes and not return unless I reset the wireless settings by clicking "Apply" using the Netgear html interface. I checked out all the forums and did not find anything that would help. I was ready to give up and return the item. But Thank God I finally found the solution.

Originally, I thought it was interference with my 2.4 ghz Panasonic phone but that wasn't it... Here's the solution and I hope this helps those who seem to be experiencing the same thing:

1. Update the firmware (not sure if this is really necessary but I did this after reading this on some forums)
2. Change channels. You have options 1 to 11. Mine works great on Channel 7 and it doesn't seem to interfere with my 2.4 ghz Panasonic cordless phone. Experiment and see which channel gives you the best signal and stable connection.
3. Place the router (if possible) in the center of the area that you will be working in to maximize the signal. I currently have the router at the end of my house and want to move it somewhere to the center to improve signal strength.
4. In the advanced settings for LAN IP set-up (and this is the one that solved the majority of my connection problems), you must reserve a dedicated ip address for each computer on the wireless LAN by using the "Address Reservation" option. Before I did this, I would sometimes get the message "IP address conflict with xx.xx.xx.xx" on each PC that I had connected to the router with the WG311 wireless PCI card. Basically, both computers were fighting for the same IP address and causing the connection to crash. So the problem was eliminated when I assigned dedicated IP addresses for each computer.

I give this router only 4 stars because this stuff should have been clearly stated in the manual. Now everything works fine and I get very few disconnects (notice how I didn't state zero disconnects). Anyway, ta da! Netgear should pay me for this. Seriously. p.s. There's been many price drops on this router recently so shop around.