U.S. Robotics Wireless MaxG router

U.S. Robotics' claims about its Wireless MaxG router seem too good to be true. This economical 802.11g device touts a fast 125Mbps turbo mode and exceptional speed at long range. However, the router's mediocre real-world throughput in our tests didn't match up with its claims. That said, the Wireless MaxG router still offers the best long-range throughput of any router at this price, plus other benefits such as WPA security and an integrated print server. But if you're willing to pay a bit more, you can get a router with nearly double the range, such as the MIMO-based Belkin Wireless Pre-N.

The Wireless MaxG router is housed in a silver-and-grey plastic casing that helps it blend into the technological woodwork. The device includes the typical four Ethernet jacks on its rear edge, along with one USB 2.0 port for connecting a printer. That edge also has the standard adjustable antenna found on most routers. The antenna's flexibility helps you maximise your signal strength. We wish the router also included brackets for mounting it high on a wall where it would experience less signal interference. Along the front edge, five status lights corresponding to the Ethernet jacks and the USB port lie next to three more lights that indicate when the router is drawing AC power, when its wireless radio is functioning properly, and when wireless clients are accessing the network. Thankfully, the Wireless MaxG router's setup and user guides are more thorough than those of its wireless-adapter counterpart, the Wireless MaxG PC Card. The installation guide incorporates useful diagrams for plugging in the requisite hardware, as well as handy screenshots that take you through important initial configuration procedures for both the router and a printer. These include choosing an SSID, establishing a WPA password and directing Windows to recognise your networked printer. The installation guide is also included as a section within the extended user guide, which goes into greater detail about how to alter the Wireless MaxG router's features using its browser-based configuration tool. In addition to WPA, the device secures your data transmissions through WEP keys and 802.1x authentication via a RADIUS server. You can also use the tool to specify whether the router should block or accept particular MAC addresses, send incoming traffic only to certain computers (known as port forwarding), place a certain computer in the DMZ or function as a network bridge. On paper, the Wireless MaxG router's performance statistics are impressive. According to U.S. Robotics, the router's turbo mode maxes out at 125Mbps (most routers with high-speed modes, such as the Netgear WGU624, top out at 108Mbps), and the device offers 'the maximum 802.11g range in the industry'. Yet despite its faster turbo rating, the Wireless MaxG router transferred data at 37.5Mbps in our maximum-throughput tests, which was slower than the WGU624's 42.1Mbps. The Netgear router also beat the U.S. Robotics product in our range tests, with the former shuttling data across the network at a fast 35.6Mbps compared to the latter's 19Mbps. We should note, however, that the WGU624 costs significantly more than the Wireless MaxG router. Among similarly priced routers, such as the D-Link DI-624, the Wireless MaxG router is the clear long-range champ. U.S. Robotics bundles an industry-standard two-year warranty with the Wireless MaxG router. Technical support is available via email or telephone, while the company's support Web site provides a useful array of manuals and other documents, troubleshooting tips and firmware downloads.