A reviewer with more than an interest in art, gadgets, computer games, electronics and many things r...
A reviewer with more than an interest in art, gadgets, computer games, electronics and many things random.
Member since:19.07.2005
Reviews:21
I bought this router from Amazon just before Christmas, taking around six weeks to arrive. They said it would take one to two weeks to dispatch, and now I know why...
INITIAL REACTION On arrival it was evident that the product was meant for another country, as the manual and instructions were in another (European) language. However, the basic manual (and nothing else) was available in English on an included CD. The package also came with an odd beige device that takes RJ-11 cables.
The important thing, however, is how this thing works.
HOW THIS THING WORKS The SMC7904BRA is a ADSL2+ broadband router and modem in one. ADSL2+ basically means it supports broadband connections faster than 2Mb - normal ADSL routers and modems can't go any faster. It's a four port router, which means, if you want to share a broadband connection, you can connect more than one computer to the router. My old router only had one port, so I had to buy a separate hub to connect a second computer. All of the Internet connecting is done via the router. It also has an on/off switch at the back, so you don't have to plug the whole router out if you have to restart it for whatever reason.
The SMC has a simple and quick interface for setting the router up, but you can also choose to go Advanced to tinker with settings even further. This is all done by web browser, and unlike certain other models *cough* Safecom *cough* the interface will work in Opera.
PROBLEMS Getting myself connected to the Internet wasn't as straightforward as with my old router, a Safecom something-or-other. After entering all the details as they were on the old router, I couldn't get an Internet connection. There were all sorts of problems involving PPP, which led to a roughly six-hour outage of the Internet every time I tried to use the router! It turned out that I had to enter the DNS servers for my ISP, hidden away on their web site, manually. Voila, we had a Net connection!
The issue here is that this particular problem wasn't documented anywhere, except in the deepest, darkest corners of the Internet. The "official" forums, if there were any, didn't even mention it. There was also nothing about it in the manual or on the official web site, although they offer manuals and other documents as well as firmware upgrades.
MISCELLANEOUS The reason why I chose this router was its price - it was the cheapest ADSL2+ router available anywhere, at £30. I didn't feel like spending £80 that UK Online - I mean - my ISP, was aching to charge for their wireless router, which they *insisted* I bought to upgrade to 22Mb broadband. Had I not gotten it to work I would have sent the SMC back, as quickly as it had arrived. Then maybe I'd have invested in that nice expensive wireless router...
My broadband connection occasionally cuts out after quite some use, although turning the router off and on again solves the issue. Speaking of issues, it does take quite a while for the router to connect to the Internet compared to my old one, but the connection stays up much longer.
THE VERDICT This router is not for the faint hearted, despite its easy to use setup wizard. You'll certainly need to know your way around router settings to make any use of out the SMC at all, so beginners may be better off buying a router from their ISP, or (gasp) sticking to their 'free' USB modems. However, for those looking to upgrade to ADSL2 or ADSL2+ for even faster download speeds, or for those who are tired of their unreliable USB modems, this is a great bet.
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