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Review on SMC7004VWBR Barricade Router 100Mbps 802 11B by Ken Wilson

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Works very well for the most part

I decided to replace my 4-port Linksys router/switch with this one just because of the price. Basically, SMC works very well. The issues reported in the previous comment *may* be related to older firmware. Everything works for me, although one of the wired ports seems to drop the connection occasionally - I'm waiting to see if this can be restored. Tech support is fine - the wait isn't too long and it's free. However, they connect to a call center in India (how else do you think they could afford free tech support for cheap products). Most tech support is very nice and helpful, but (like all front line tech support) they tend to give a simple answer like "install new firmware" or "download new firmware". In addition, the signal strength is very low when WEP is enabled - you need a card with a high signal strength (e.g. Cisco 350) for this. Also, the router froze and had to be cycled for the past few weeks.

Pros
  • High marks for support and longevity from testers
Cons
  • Very expensive