After using this product for a month I was ready to write a bad review and bash it to pieces. The occasional engrish, and very inconsistent performance was frustrating, but then again I really wasn’t using the product as it was intended to be used. My wireless router does not have an internet connection, so I was using a DWL G820 to bridge my SMC router to another wireless router that did have an outside connection. The DWL G820 worked great when I had it connecting to a single computer, but when connected to my router it barely worked for a few days, and then quit working completely.
Since the device worked fine when connected to a single computer I decided to give configuration a second chance before hitting it with a hammer. Here are the steps I followed to use this device as a wireless bridge between two routers:
- Connect the DWL G820 to a computer via crossover cable.
- Manually set the IP of the computer to 192.168.0.XXX and browse to 192.168.0.35 to manage the device.
- Configure the DWL G820 to connect to the appropriate wireless network, and change the default password.
- Set the computer to DHCP so that it may automatically retrieve an IP address from the router that you connected to with the bridge.
- Test the connection by browsing to a website to make sure that the bridge is working.
- Now plug the DWL G820 into the WAN port of the router, and open up advanced configuration for the router.
- DHCP was not working when I plugged my DWL G820 into the router, so configure the router to use a static IP that is in the range of the wireless router that you are connecting to. On mine the settings were: IP-192.168.1.XXX, Gateway-192.168.1.1.
Before following the above steps I tried using a regular ethernet cable, and about every possible configuration setting on the router with very poor/inconsistent results. I now have 1 week of flawless performance, which is looking much better than the few hours of usable connection I had before. Most of the complaints I read about the bridge can be blamed on user error, although I do think they could have made it easier to configure without having to jump through a hoop. Some people have reported it overheats easily, but so far I have had no trouble with that. For $29 after rebate this bridge has served as a good cheap component to handle my needs, and should work great for anyone looking to use it how it was originally intended.