NETGEAR ME101 Wireless Ethernet Bridge

Do not buy a ME101. Ever.

By George  May 29, 2004 | 1 out of 1 found this NETGEAR ME101 Wireless Ethernet Bridge review helpful

Pros: Cheaper than most other bridges

Cons: Doesn't work in most cases

If you want to save yourself 3 minutes, stop reading now and be assured you should not spend any money on a ME101.


There is one configuration in which it worked:
- Static IP address on the client PC.
- Disable WEP on ME101 and wireless AP/router.


Attempting to use DHCP on the client PC seems futile from behind a ME101. Enabling any flavor of WEP kills connectivity for the client PC. I tested with both a Win98se client and a WinXP client, with two different wireless routers. Same poor results in all cases.

I tried the same configurations with a Linksys WGA54G and it worked fine the first time, no problems.

Netgear support is absolutely horrid. Call history went like this:

1st call: Tech said that I needed two ME101s, one connected to my wireless router, and the one on my client PC. I explained to him that sounded quite fishy as the ME101 is supposed to be able to talk to wireless routers, access points, etc. He insisted that I needed another ME101 plugged into one of the RJ45 ports on my wireless router. I give up on him.

2nd call: Tech suggested firmware updates, which I'd already installed. Said I would need to talk to 2nd level support, who would call me back tomorrow.

3rd call: I received no call back, so I called 1st level support again. They said 2nd level would call me back within a half hour.

4th call: Next day. No call back. Call again. "2nd level support will call you within a half hour." No call back.

5th call: I request to be connected directly to 2nd level support. I go on hold. Some familiar classical music blares for 30 minutes, then the line drops. "If you'd like to make a call, please hang up..."

6th call: I again request 2nd level support. Same queue. Same classical music. Same line dropping after about 30 minutes.

At this point, I decide it is a useless exercise to get help via their phone support. I shoot an email to support@netgear.com explaining the whole story. Reply 2 days later: "Try updating your firmware." I reiterate that I've already attempted that. No reply thus far.

I've seen some positive ME101 reviews which don't go into much detail about their setup. Usually along the lines of "I plugged it in and it worked ok." I can only guess that in these cases they are not attempting to use WEP or any other non-default settings.

I have been quite happy with other Netgear products. The WGT624 is a great wireless router. Based on that experience I expected the ME101 to be solid. It is not. Do not buy it.