US Robotics Wireless MAXg Router with integrated USB Print Server

Reviewed by: gamerpro2000

Duration of ownership: 6 Months

Strengths: Very cheap. Nice features. Works well most of the time.

Weaknesses: Configuration via wireless can cause the router to drop the internet until it is reset. Print server can be tricky to set-up for All-in-one printers (Go here for a guide: starfighterzone.awardspace.com).

Overall: A very nice router for the price, but not for a hard-core downloader. I have to reset mine every once and a while when I'm downloading something big. All in all, though, very nice job US Robotics.

Reviewed by: asimegusta

Strengths: printer usb for network use, wifi

Weaknesses: instability of wifi and printer

Overall: The wifi signal invariably drops off every few weeks or so unexplicably. It may have been working fine an hour ago surfing off the laptop in the next room, and then when you come back later it's down. Easy fix sometimes, unplug and replug power to the router otherwise, need to reboot cable internet box first. This is a permanent hassle. The printer configuration doesn't stick either. The printer will work fine for weeks then, suddenly be gone. It's work plugged into a host pc but the router has lost it. Solution, eliminate the printer and reinstall, and it works again for all network machines. Another pain in the derriere. When it works, it's a good router for mixed network of hard cabled and wifi with printer services, without needing to leave any PC permanently on as with printer through a host.

Reviewed by: pixie1771

Strengths: Decent price for a router/print server combo.

Weaknesses: Router signal not always stable. Never able to set up print server. Crap tech support hours.

Overall: I owned this router for approximately 2 months, and had purchased it originally because of the built-in print server. Unfortunately when I installed it, it wasn't as easy as it looked. There were times when it had a lot of difficulty talking to my wireless card on my laptop, wherein I would have to release/renew the ipconfig. I never did figure out what was causing that. As for the print server, I never could determine how to get the **** thing set up at all. It also was completely incompatible with my Belkin network adapter for my desktop. In the end I yanked this one and wound up purchasing something else that met my needs and was more reliable.

Reviewed by:

Strengths: Wired router works okay.

Weaknesses: Randomly disconnects from Internet. Wireless performance is poor. Locked up after a week or two and had to be unplugged to reset it.

Overall: Originally bought this to use with a USR5432 bridge unit. Could never get the two to work together. Contacted USR tech support three times and just got canned answers that were useless (they didn't read my requests at all). My second and third contact efforts even said "your canned answers are not helping" so they sent more back. By the time I gave up on their tech support, return period had passed so bridge unit is now a paperweight/doorstop.Tried to get router to work with wired and wireless connections. Wired portion worked okay when unit was online. Wireless would drop a lot and wouldn't know how to respond if the computer went to standby. Because of wired and wireless problem, I had to hard reset unit multiple times each month because it would lock up. All efforts to make unit perform reliably failed. Replaced router with old NetGear WGR614 and all my problems went away. Last USR product I'll ever buy.

Reviewed by: pippo64

Strengths: Management software is extra-simple and well written, so easy to understand, on-line doc is excellent and easy to read.Wireless signal strength is excellent. Printer server integrated.

Weaknesses: None so far.

Overall: Opened the box, followed the quick start guide, configured router, wpa security etc. Ten minutes later everything was up and running. Could have been seven minutes but my cable modem needed re-boot because for some reason connections (both wired and wi-fi) did not work immediately: after pinging and doing the usual checks lucky me it came to my mind that a reboot of cable modem is always a wise move in these cases. Bang, it worked. Printer (epson cx3650) took two minutes on each pc. Just a dream. Worked flawlessly so far (1 week) signal strength is constantly high, no need to reboot or other. Can connect from about 20 meters, through 1 floor and 3 walls, printer works perfectly. I am so happy with the purchase and I want to thank all people that reviewed this router here because I bought it after reading their positive comments.

Reviewed by: mbooth62

Strengths: Integrated Print Server,Good Signal Strength, Looks Good,Price

Weaknesses: Nothing Major so far

Overall: My D-Link 713-P died after many years of service (all 4 LAN ports gone at once), and I needed a replacement for the home network. Fry's Airlink 54g MIMO router was on sale for $29, but without the print server which would have been at least $40 more, so I saw the USR 5461 on the shelf for $49 and checked the on-line reviews - even found a $20 rebate at the USR site.Installation took 10 minutes (very easy) for the basics, and adding the printer (Samsung ML1210) worked easily when following the instructions on the USR web site. OK, you can't change the printer name - but no big deal since I am only sharing one laser printer.Signal strength was much better in remote corners of the house than with my old D-Link, and I am only using the old Cisco and D-Link 802.11b cards so far. Haven't tested speed or ultimate range yet, but the unit runs cool and has been stable so far. This is a great router and a great price (esp after rebate) if you want to connect 1 printer to the network. A MIMO router with separate print server might be better if you want more range, speed and need to connect more printers, but the 5461 does the job for most basic users.