Buffalo Technology WHR-HP-G54 Wireless-G MIMO Performance Router and Access Point

This router worked great for 2 months. Setup was easy and the range was excellent. I started having to reset it 4 times a week after 3 months. Now it needs to be reset multiple times per day. I consider this router a complete waste of money. Changing channels is useless and disabling the AOSS as recommended by customer support is just as useless. It died just after I could not return it to Amazon as defective. Now I'm forced to get a different router and will never buy another Buffalo product. If you're looking for a router that works for 2 months, this is the one for you.

I had a D-Link DGL-4300 for years and it was great router but finally bit the dust this past weekend. I thought about going out and purchasing another $100+ router with gigabit capabilities but opted to give the Buffalo router a spin. I received it yesterday and flashed it with tomato (with VPN) capabilities and it works like a charm. The wifi signal is wonderful reaching the top floor of my 3 level town home with a full signal 54MBPS. My D-link always had a problem with signal strength but this Buffalo rocks. I have not had enough time yet to fully test the unit but my comparison to the DGL-4300 is that with Tomato installed the Buffalo can do as much if not MORE than my $130 D-link. I was concerned about giving up my Gigabit capability that was built-in with the Dlink, but since I saved money on the Buffalo I was able to purchase an 8 port Gigabit SWITCH (d-link) from Amazon, giving me 3 more ports than I had on the D-link Router. I would not hesitate to recommend to a friend and would certainly purchase another.

One quick note, a simple google search will give you all the info you need for updating the firmware with DD-WRT or Tomato and even reinstalling the Buffalo firmware should you decide to revert back.

Buffalo Technology WHR-HP-G54 Wireless-G MIMO Performance Router and Access Point

Works great and we love it. It was a little hard to install but the customer service was really easy to get a hold of.

On it's own, this is a great router. Rock solid and very reliable. The beauty is when you add the Tomato firmware ([...]). Once you get this installed, you have a super router, which adds features that you can't find in a router at this pricepoint. Truth be told, this is a "g" router and my experience is that the "n" routers just have more power, distance, and bandwidth. Evenso, the price is still good and with the firmware update, better than most g routers at any pricepoint.

Two things:
1. I have two of these in my 4 level brick and plaster home (main and bridge). The main is on the top floor and bridge in the basement. Without the bridge, I had decent access throughout the house. With the bridge, excellent access and additional open ports to hard-wire connect my xbox, wii, and blu-ray player - all without worrying about running wire through the walls.

2. I wouldn't worry about purchasing a hi-gain antennae. I did and can't see a significant difference.

I never buy any electronics without checking with one of my friends who works as a Director of IT at the University of Florida and she checks with her tech guy and gives me great recommendations, he recommended the Buffalo Technology wirless router, I am really glad he did it is a great piece of equipment and pretty easy to install, I would recommend this router without hesitation!

Finally - a router that has good distance/range. I have recently bought a D-link DIR-655 and an ASUS WL-520gU trying to increase my range. The D-link DIR-655 had the worst range out of the group. Best speed when in range - but what good is the speed of the connection if you can't get a connection? I did have to call Buffalo support. The software CDs that come with the router are not supported under Windows 7. I couldn't figure out the router address since it is a little different. Their tech support is excellent though. Received a real person quickly and he knew his stuff. I wish their N router received as good reviews as this router - I would have liked to have the speed. But the range/distance was my #1 item I was after and this router meets them. This router is also rock stable - many less re-boots than the other routers. Wish there was a way to see what clients were connected to the router - that is something I miss. Also doesn't have WPA2 security, but that just lowers the range & speed anyway. Sounds like upgrading the firmware to DD-WRT will give the router additional features, but it will also void the warranty - so I am not willing to do that. Besides it is working great for my needs the way it is.

Not the absolute perfect router - but the best I have used for range/distance and finally one I am happy with and will keep using.

By the way - I have also tried many wireless antennas trying to increase my range and it has been hit and miss. I am just using the antenna that came with this router and seems to do just as good of a job as the separate antennas I have bought and tried. My wife has been tired of me buying so many different routers and antennas trying to boost the distance & range - trying to get a stable connection. This router makes a difference and I can finally stop my expensive search. If you have a PC that is a long way away from your router I would also suggest buying a directional antenna - either the Hawking HAI15SC or HA12W.

I had a very unstable d-link router. Wanted to move to something I could put dd-wrt firmware on, and this router is recommended for use with dd-wrt. I have been very impressed with my new router. It has been up and running for about 3 weeks now. I have never had to reboot it. My laptops connect quickly and the connections have been very stable. Signal strength is significantly higher than with my previous routers - especially in rooms far from my router. I live in a apartment complex with lots of wireless networks and other 2.4GHz devices, so I was worried I would have to move to a 5GHz (802.11n) router in order to get good performance, but I have been pleasantly surprised by what this device has been able to do in my noisy environment.

Well Folks,
Belkin Tech support could not do this!!!!!
Let me tell you that I am not that savvy when it comes to setting up a network connection!
I have a wireless laptop that was no problem connecting to also xbox that was also no problem connecting to. NOW, THE PART THAT "BELKIN SUPPORT" COULD NOT DO! I also have a security camera set up with a DVR that I could not connect to. I called "BUFFALO SUPPORT" and there was actually an "AMERICAN" on the other end speaking to me....WOW!
He had me networked on and off premises in no time!
CAN'T THANK TECH SUPPORT ENOUGH!!!!!!

I was looking for something to use as a bridge in my living room to plug TV, Bluray, and XBox into, and after much research decided this was the product for me. Turns out it isn't. You need to have the right type of router in order for this product to communicate with your router, after a couple hours of messing around I found out I didn't. After talking to Buffalo's tech support, it turns out that the WLI-TX4-AG300N by Buffalo is what I was looking for, and what you might be looking for as well. It simply connects to your WiFi just like any other device, and then you can use its four ports for any wired devices you want to connect.

Another option would be to buy two of these devices and replace your existing router. The only advantage to that is you could then strengthen and extend your wireless signal. But if your wireless signal is fine you might just want to buy the WLI-TX4-AG300N instead.

So if you know what WDS is, and know your router supports it, this product might be great as a bridge/adapter. If you're not that savvy and you just want to hook up some wired devices to a wireless signal, the WLI-TX4-AG300N is probably a better choice.

It's easy to install right out of the box. Novice users should be able to do that. I do have several issues though.

1. I had the router placed in my study room at one side of the house. 2 computers which were in the bedrooms on the 2nd floor at the other side of the house could only get about 20-30% signals. Then I connected the router with a long cable and placed it on the 2nd floor hallway. Now the router was about 10 ft away from each computers. Computer A was able to connect without encryption. Computer B couldn't even connect. I upgraded the software and driver on computer A for the wireless adapter and I was able to connect with WPA. Then I decided to flash the router with dd-wrt firmware. After couple hours of struggle, finally flashed it. (Flash would not work if the router was in bridge mode.) I still placed the router in my study room and now both computers were able to connect with WPA2 with about 50% signal.

2. WPA2 encryption is not supported. I needed to flash it with dd-wrt to get WPA2.

3. Repeater feature only works if all routers support WDS.

Buffalo Technology WHR-HP-G54 Wireless-G MIMO Performance Router and Access Point. This router handles my needs fine. The reason it's not a five-star review is due to the extra cd included. The Air Navigator for Client Adapters, is for card that is not included with the wireless router. If you install this information complications can arise.

I attempted to three times to get the router up and running. With a failure to connect after three tries, I called the tech support line. The wait was short and the help great. The tech was with me for over an hour. He got me up and running and explained that they've been trying for over a year to get Buffalo to stop including the disk

I asking him about the following: "Widely supported by open source firmware, eg. OpenWRT, DD-WRT, Tomato, X-Wrt, etc." Be very careful about following advice from experts, unless you are an expert yourself and understand the risks. If the firmware is change, it will void the warranty.

It's nice that experts offer suggestions, but it can be dangerous. Always check with the manufacture before you make changes.

This is the 4th one of these that I have bought. I really can't say much about the performance of the stock firmware, but lets be honest, most users don't buy these to run buffalo's version of the software. First thing when these come out of the box they get flashed with the tomato firmware. After that adding the wireless MAC addresses to them so they all talk in a mesh network using WPA works flawlessly. Set up really couldn't be easier. Follow the directions and you are on your way to have complete and total WIFI coverage where ever these wonderful routers hang out.

I can't complain about the actual unit since I could not get it to even set up yet. It would help if Buffalo would have a list of routers that this unit is not compatible with instead of making me waste many hours of my time going nuts trying to figure out why in the hell it won't work. Tech support was at least easy to reach, but they were not much help in this instance, because again, if your product is not compatible with something as simple as a basic Verizon router then you need to SAY THIS. Many hours wasted, and now I have to drop money for another unit because I cannot set this up as an Access Point like they said you could.

Have a list of incompatible Routers OTHER than your own and save the customer the headache and major frustration of trying to figure out why in the hell something that should be simple to set up is taking years off my life. Thanks for wasting my time.

Also, how about including directions in the box instead of making me go find it on the web page.

Maybe once the second unit get's here I'll write another review, but for now my aggravation and frustration is giving this one star, and only because I can't give it none.

I've bought several of these routers and they perform excellent with dd-wrt. Signal quality/strength is second to none. Great thing about this router is you also have the option of replacing the stock antenna with a higher gain directional if you desire. Buy with confidence as you will not find a better wireless "G" router. Period!

Bought to replace a Linksys that started requiring frequent updating. The Buffalo installed easily, works perfectly, and is much smaller. Hooked it up in less than 20 minutes and have forgotten all about it until asked to do this review.

I have used DLink and Linksys routers but the Buffalo far exceeds the performance of either of them.

I've been reflashing things since the 80's, even so, it took me about a hour to finally flash DD-WRT onto it. I don't know why Buffalo is encrypting the ability to reflash, they must know that many (most) people buy this to run DD-WRT on. You CANNOT reflash this with Vista or Windows 7, because those OSes have to sit there sniffing at it for a good 30 seconds before they decide to try to connect to it, and the reflash has to be done within the first 2 or 3 seconds of plugging it in. I finally got it flashed in Ubuntu 9 as I no longer run Windows XP anymore. WinXP and MacOS work fine according to all reports for flashing with tftp however.

So when I finally got the thing flashed and cranked up the power, IT IS WONDERFUL, best range I've ever had in 7 different WiFi routers over the years. If you don't know how to flash things, this router may not be for you although I never even bothered looking at the default software it ships with, who knows, it may be good. But nothing out there comes close to DD-WRT for advanced WiFi stuff.

Just with the antenna it ships with I'm getting better clearer signal than I was getting with a very expensive ($100) external antenna on my previous Linksys setup.

I bought this because it's a recommended platform for dd-wrt, since it has the full set of memory on a reliable board. Another unusual feature is the power on the WiFi transmitter - I had to crank it back to about 10% of the max value so computers near the router would function. The package is convenient to use, the vertical mounting is easier to find a place to operate. This unit is better value on the price/features balance than anything else I found.

The "Buffalo Technology WHR-HP-G54 Wireless-G
MIMO Performace Router and Access Point" sold by Amazon
includes the "Buffalo Technology 4bBi Detachable High Gain Omni Directional Antenna-WLE-AT-NDRHB (Black)"
as its attena, not the Older European Version: 2.0 dBi Rubber Duck Antenna that is shown in some
of the pictures.

So if you order the WHR-HP-G54 from Amazon, do NOT bother
to order the "optional" High Gain ... WLE-AT-NDRHB attena because it is the exact
same attena.

I bought this router knowing I was immediately going to flash it with the free DD-WRT firmware. It's built in high powered (that what the HP stands for) signal amplifier can be adjusted quite generously with DD-WRT for unbelievable range, making it the absolute best solution for anyone.

While not as simple to flash with third party firmware as other routers, it still only took seconds to do with no special jtag or other cables needed.

From the DD-WRT Wiki:
*********************
Out-of-the-box: First-time-flashing for 'store-bought' Buffalo models
The web interface on a Buffalo-router cannot be used the very first time to convert the Buffalo router from factory firmware to DD-WRT.

It is very easy though to bypass this on most models (see specific models below for exceptions):

1.Google 'tftp2.exe', and download a copy from a website.
2.From the DD-WRT website, download dd-wrt.v24_std_generic.bin from the v2.4 SP1 folder, or the latest release.
3.Plug your ethernet cable (not wireless!) into a LAN port on the Buffalo.
4.Your IP address auto-assigned is usually 192.168.11.2, but you must manually set it to flash this time only.
5.Assign the IP of 192.168.11.2 to your network adapter. In most Microsoft Windows this is Start, Control Panel, Network Connections, find the LAN connection and right-click, find TCPIP and click Properties, and set the IP to 192.168.11.2 and the Subnet to 255.255.255.0. Do not change any other settings!
6.Open TFTP2.EXE. Put in 192.168.11.1 for the Server, and select the .bin firmware image from step 2.
7.Unplug the Buffalo. Get your mouse ready to click on the Upgrade button in TFTP2.
8.Plug in the Buffalo. The diag light with all the other lights may come on very quickly and go out. A few seconds later when the diag light blinks, immediately press the Upgrade button in TFTP2.
The diag light flashes for awhile, the router restarts, and you are done! Don't forget now to change your LAN TCPIP back to DHCP (Automatic).


Misc. Notes: The procedure above is necessary the first time flashing from the factory Buffalo firmware to DD-WRT firmware, because, normally, most companies let you upload firmware directly from the user interface. Buffalo, unfortunately, encrypts their firmware, meaning their routers from the Web interface will accept only their encrypted firmware.

The first time you flash, the TFTP method can be used to bypass the 'encrypted' firmware requirement. Afterwards, the router firmware can be changed through the Web interface normally.

All the Broadcom routers normally enter a special mode in the first few seconds after power is applied that allows a TFTP transfer to directly program the flash ROM with new firmware. So what you do is get everything ready to go. 1. power up the router, and then 2. send the router the new firmware, quickly.

WHR-G54S, WHR-HP-G54, WZR-HP-G54 Specifics
Once you flash to DD-WRT on the Buffalo WHR-G54S/WHR-HP-G54/WZR-RS-G54 and you want to flash back to the Buffalo firmware, look in the downloads section of [...] in the "buffalo factory revert" folder for unencrypted firmware that will load from the DD-WRT GUI. The WHR-HP-G54 image is the German version. Download the English version from Buffalo's site. Flash the German version and use that to flash the English version.
A hidden LED behind the front panel may blink on older models. It slightly lights up the bridge icon. This LED is not used in the Buffalo firmware, but in DD-WRT it will flash on for 2 seconds, then off for 2 seconds.
WARNING: One person reports: I had problems using the mini version of DD-WRT v23SP2 on my WHR-G54S. When using the (standard, full) generic version, everything worked fine.

And I've tried every brand out there, and for some brands I've bought several models. They all gave me the same problem over the years: they would lose their connection many times during a day and had to be unplugged and restarted. None of them were ever easy to set up either. Netgear, Linksys, D-Link, Belkin, all the same results. But this Buffalo router has finally got it right! This will stay connected for long periods (we're talking 2-3 weeks) without any interruptions whatsoever. This also can accept traditional ethernet cables for your wired equipment. I've never been happier with a wireless router and for the first time I have one I can recommend without hesitation. Five stars! Tech Notes: I use PC laptops running Windows Vista.

I tried setting this up for a cumulative of about 8 hours. Finally, I just gave up, and decided to return it. I don't know what was going on but the automatic set-up process did not work for my system (Windows Vista) or maybe it was because of how I received connection... I went and bought a Linksys router the week after, and got it up and running in 5 minutes. Waste of time.

I tried to set this up as an access point but couldn't get it to work. This almost certainly was my problem as I'm not all that network savy, but some of it was certainly due to the instructions, or lack of them. Once I gave up on that idea and installed it as a router, it came up and worked fine. It has continued to work without any issues or interruptions for three weeks. Three desktop systems are plugged into it to share a cable modem.
I bought this model because it claimed greater range than comparable products. I have had coverage problems since the router is located upstairs in the front of the house and I want coverage downstairs in the back or on the patio. Although the wireless signal strength reported in those locations is low, so far we haven't had any problems using a Samsung NC10 netbook anywhere we have tried it.
Overall, I think this is a good product and I will buy another as a booster if necessary.

I went a little crazy this past month, and started buying wireless routers to try to increase the signal in my house. My house is a medium to large house over a lot of land. Right now, there is a powerful enough signal going with this router by itself, no upgrades done to it that covers throughout my walls in my house to about 75 feet. I get great quality over my UMA calling and it still has power to transfer to my laptops as well as my other two UMA phones in the house. I have three wired pcs and 1 pc wireless and a blackberry 8320, 8900, and Nokia 6301 all connected with ease at same time.
My Story
I Started off with the Linksys G, which was decent when you were close enough. Got me annoyed to many times though, so I tried out the Netgear with the 7 internal antennas with mimo but it still wasn't strong enough and had problems with the UMA. It was great if you have laptops and thats it. Then I went up to the Buffalo wireless HP N router, and that was amazing again with laptops though. Then I decided to try this router out, because I had FIOS that gave me the old model. And it was a great decision. Took me so fast to set it up because I already knew how to log in from the previous N router from buffalo I had. It has a great signal that is longer then all the others, and is stronger then the others.

All to all, I would recommend this product to anyone.

I got this router because it was supposed to be reliable and easy to install, and because Buffalo supposedly has 24/7 phone support.

Out of the box, it won't let me proceed beyond the initial steps because it keeps telling me there is a connection error -- but there isn't (I know how to connect a router, I've checked the connections ten times, I've followed Buffalo's diagram exactly, and the same connections and cables work just fine on the Lynksys I'm trying to replace).

No problem, I thought, I'll just call the Buffalo 24/7 support line. That was 48 minutes ago.

Obviously, some people have been successful with this router, but for me it's an immediate return and 2 hours of time wasted.

I've bought routers from every brand out there only to return them because they would constantly lose the signal throughout a day requiring numerous reboots. I've had the Buffalo wireless router for about a week and it's working great. I've had it disconnect maybe 2 times and each time it re-established the connection after a couple of minutes without rebooting. Connection speed is fast. My only negative (minus one star) is that the setup was not easy for me--took a couple of hours adjusting all the settings for the router and for my Windows Vista notebooks. The plastic detachable base is also a little flimsy. But once I figured it out all has been good. This one is not going to be returned and is highly recommended.

I USE TO HAVE A LINKSYS ROUTER THAT I HAD TO CONSTANTLY UNPLUG TO RESET ALMOST EVERYDAY BECAUSE OF LOSE CONNECTION,ESPECIALLY WHEN MY PS3 WAS DOWNLOADING UPDATES. WITH THIS ROUTER I HAD IT ABOUT A MONTH NOW AND NEVER HAD TO RESET IT YET. LOVE IT

I now own two of these routers (both WHR-HP-G54). First one I bought several years ago and it has NEVER failed in all that time. Tech support was great back then AND it still is. I had to call for a little setup assistance back with my first one and got great assistance on a Sunday from somebody who actually knew what they were doing. Added a PS3 a Wii along the way and they all instantly connected with the Buffalo wireless.

So roll the clock forward to last week and I now wanted to extend my wireless coverage to include the backyard given the weather is finally nice. I checked into getting an external antenna but then discovered you can easily bridge two of these routers together to extend your coverage over an even larger area. I was a little nervous about the setup but the online tech forums for Buffalo offered a lot of detail instructions. So I bought this on Amazon (good price and great delivery).

The second one arrives very quickly and I set it up and poof it doesn't work. I was pretty sure it must just be a setting setup issue but I didn't know how to do it. Saturday afternoon 4pm so I call the Buffalo tech support line. Had to wait about 10 minutes to get somebody live, but well worth the wait. Derek answered and quickly understood my problem. Stayed with me through making a few setup changes, rebooting my PC and SLAM BAM THANK YOU MA'AM everything working perfect!

So here I am in my back yard on the ye old lounge chair writing this review with a great 'net connection via my bridged Buffalo router!

DEFINITELY I would buy any Buffalo product again!

I've done multiple installs of this router at customer sites in order to create WDS networks where the wireless signal is seamless as you walk around a large area with multiple routers providing additional wireless distance from the main internet router. Best used with a free 3rd party firmware called Tomato from Polarcloud. Setup is a snap. Using 3 of these routers I was able to move the wireless signal from deep within a building to a router in the side window and connect that router to another across the street in an adjacent building, all working off the same internet connection wirelessly. Great Product.

I have tried almost every brand/make/model of consumer G routers and this one is by far the best in terms of stability, range, and simplicity.

The firmware from buffalo is great but you can also reflash with third party firmware of your choice. I used to use a third party firmware on my linksys router because it was so unstable but I never felt a need to run it on this router.

Another great thing is that it works flawlessly as a repeater as well. I have two of these units and got them setup and running together within 15 minutes. I do have a computer science background but it really is easy. Just make sure you get the correct MAC address since it has two different ones on the sticker.

Lastly, if you use UMA with your wifi phone, this thing works excellent with it. Probably better and more reliably than any other router I have tried with UMA. It also hands off between the main router and repeater flawlessly.

This router can be hard to find locally because of some patent issues but get it here on amazon. It really is the best.

I bought this mainly for my PS3, but it's the most reliable router I've owned. It's been set up for a few weeks and I haven't had to reset it once. It's super fast and I have no lag playing games on the PS Network. Couldn't be happier.

I have owned this router for over a year and have never had problems with dropped or lost signals. Never had to reset the router either. Unfortunately I did forget my password and got a new laptop running Vista. I was not tech savvy enough to know how to reset the router since the software that it came with ran on XP. So I grudgingly replaced it. Now I am stuck with an inferior product. So count yourself lucky if you get your hands on this router.

i came across the whr-hp-g54 and its rave reviews while researching routers specifically well-matched for application as repeater, especially of public wifi nodes... i bought the wle-at-dacb high gain antenna to use with it, installed dd-wrt, increased the antenna power to 125mW and voila, i had five or six nodes grabbed off air and repeated to all 3 floors of my house.

months later i'm now using it to distribute a dsl connection, and still just as happy with it as the day it arrived.

A REALLY SOLID ROUTER. Probably The Best In Its Class.

Just works. I'm using router with cable modem. Signal is strong into all my house (100 m2). Don't loose connection. Easy installation. It allows dd-rt install (not tested by me yet). I recommend.

After trying Netgear's WGR624 and Linksys' WRT54g, this is the only router I've ever owned that has never required a manual reboot. Stock firmware, 9 months and counting.

I purchased this because of all the rave reviews on here. I had never set up a wireless before and it was quite simple.

The connection speed is fast and far-reaching! I have it sitting downstairs in the livingroom and I can take my laptop upstairs to my room and the signal is just as strong. It never drops out and I've never had to reboot it. I would highly recommend this wireless router.

Hardware is rockhard stable, put DD-WRT firmware on this router and you get a really sweet host of features only found in high dollar pro-equipment, Stateful packet inspection firewall, wireless bridging, out of the box dynamic DNS support, uPNP that _just works._

Take heed Buffalo, just make awesome hardware, let the open firmware people write and maintain the firmware/software...

All that being said, it's too bad buffalo isn't producing more of these, seems like high demand has pushed the price to twice what it was when I got my hands on this router last November, 07.

Okay, I purchased this router just before the supplier stopped selling it in November (more you can find on Buffalo's site).

The router was okay, the wireless used to die every few days... can not make connection... Could not figure out why...

Then one wise user suggested to replace the firmware (that voided my warranty for sure) with dd-wrt or Tomato. I decided to implement Tomato.

Now it works like a charm... The fault is with the software that buffalo supplied.

I have had trouble with routers losing connection in the past. Since I have frequent web meetings from home it was essential that I have a reliable connection to the web. After a lot of research and much consideration I bought this router. I haven't had a problem since.

It took some time to install but the main problem was getting through the comcast modem, once that was figured out, then no problem whatsoever.

I called the buffalo support, was on hold 10-15 minutes but he walked me through the steps and we determined that everything was fine on the router's end and then on to connecting through the comcast modem. Took some time, and had a friend come over to assist and once the "code" was broken it's been great.

I can say that at least when I called the Buffalo support number I did not get a man named "Sam" with an accent. Well, the guy had an accent but it was a Texas accent.

I do know that I will never purchase another Net Gear router!

The house is built with concrete block walls, yea. Had a Netgear RangeMax for awhile weak signal, contently moving it, it finally gave out. Picked up a G54 on eBay for about $100 with DD-WRD installed. Placed it in the same spot as the Netgear, connected right up with ADSL maybe 5 mins setup time.
The external antenna does not seem to make any difference. I did jack up the transmit power, in order to get a good to excellect signal throughout the house and in the yard. It comes with a wall mount which I am using.
Its hooked up UPS so it never looses power, have not had to reset it yet, the Netgear reset about once a week. I think the bad reviews are from people that are very computer savvy.

This is our first wireless router and after much research decided on the G54. I've had it about 7 months now and we have been very happy with our decision. I have it mounted about chest high at the end of the house on the first floor and have good coverage throughout the house, including through three walls downstairs and all of the upstairs through up to four walls. The connection in the far upstairs corner says 36Mb/s, but any difference is not noticeable browsing the internet. I have some computer skills but am no expert...I thought installation and connection with windows XP was pretty easy. There are 9 other networks running in my neighborhood but I haven't noticed any signs of interference. It's also been great running multiplayer games with the kids!

I've owned two of these routers.
The first was DOA and had to be returned. The cost was about $8 to ship back. The second one died six months later and needed to be returned to Buffalo. They insist that you must have a signature receipt when shipped so that cost another $12.
Now I have spent about $20 more than I should have for faulty products, not to mention the time lost trying to get them to work and return packing and shipping. To add insult to injury, Buffalo reserves the right to send refurbished units as replacements.

While the router does have a good signal and I understand that one may obtain better firmware, remember that other firmware will void your warranty, and if yours dies like mine, you would be SOL.

As mentioned in several reviews, the documentation is so very weak, it is almost worthless, and I've set up a quite a few routers.

I have to believe most of the reviews you see here are from those who liked the router after a few days or weeks and haven't had a chance to really evaluate it.

I moved up from a LinkSys WRT54GL to a Buffalo primarily due to the MIMO technology (translates to a broader Wifi signal). I stripped the fttactory firmware and got the Tomato Firmware. This was back in August. No looking back since.

I have 4 wireless PC's accessing this + 1 IP phone. This product ROCKS!!! The coverage is *MUCH* better than the Linksys and infinitely better than the junk from D-Link. I got it at Newegg for a decent price and I am very pleased with this.

I cant find any cons about this. Coupled with Tomato, I have not had to reboot this in months!

Superb range,stability and speed

I bought my first Buffalo to enable my son and daughter to go untethered and to prevent from having to drill holes and run wires in our new home. His laptop has a built in card and I purchased a Buffalo 125g antennae PCI card for the daughters PC. Very easy to set up and worked like a charm with no problems. My inlaws live next door 200ft away in an aluminum mobile home and we were able to get signal over there on the laptop. AWESOME!

Next stage came of trying out online gaming. 2 PS2s in two different rooms. Here I go again looking for several days at every review possible before deciding on how to make the kids' consoles internet enabled. We actually ran cables from their room to where the router was at to make sure it all worked. Check. Now what do we use that is wireless. Buffalo actually sells a device called an ethernet access point and I have seen other so called "gamer's wireless adapters" blah blah blah....don't waste your money. Just buy this router in the qty of however many access points you need and with the flip of the lil switch and some configuration, Shazam! Wireless network without drills or running wires. The only wires I had to deal with was from the PS2 to the router set as a bridge/repeater/access point which is installed on each of the kids entertainment centers with the included lil bracket. We also recently jacked in a Vonage Voip phone system in the daughters room on her repeater and then lit the whole house phone line system by plugging in the phone line in her unused phone jack with no problems. Awesome again!!

I did have to call tech support for something I was doing wrong during configuration of the repeater set up, but they were very nice and very intelligent and they spoke American Born English! Triple Awesome!

I have referred two families to this brand. Unfortunately, now a year later after I bought my setup, Buffalo is under litigation with a foreign company and all their products have pretty much skyrocketed in price if you are lucky to find any. The sad fact of this taking place is that the second family will inadvertantly have to buy a different brand. If you read the reviews, you will see that they are primarily throwing money down the drain from not buying the Buffalo brand. My sympathy to the Largents.

To conclude, either pay the 2 to 4 times these gougers are selling this for (originally $65 at stores) or be patient and wait until the litigation clears 8 months from now. It is worth the money and the wait for such an awesome product. Thanks Buffalo!

To be honest, I'd never heard of Buffalo before I bought this. A techy friend suggested the brand so I figured I'd give it a try. I have a cable modem hooked up to it (a D-Link)and it does a great job handling the 2 hardwired PC's and 1 wireless notebook that use it all the time. Easy to set up, easy to use. My kind of device!

I used to have Linksys WRT54G which is a piece of junk. Wireless connection drops almost every hour or so. I have updated the firmware but to no avail. I'm pretty sure this is Linksys common problem as many have faced it before. I bought this Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 and never look back. I have used it for 9 months for now and has not dropped even one connection. It is very stable and provide very good range.

This is a sleek looking router that has great range. It was easy to set up. I am using it with a media extender and streaming video with it and it works flawlessly.

Bought it 4 weeks ago and so far haven't had any major problems. We just have to reboot it once in a while, but nothing like my previous router, a Linksys WRT54G, which I had to reboot 10x a day.
We use both Mac and PC, the set up is very easy. Great product for a good price.

Pros:
* Much stronger signal than my Linksys 54GL
* Works with the DD-WRT firmware
* No overheating issues so far
* Reasonably priced
* 5+ Mbit/second BitTorrent downloads and this thing didn't get over 40% CPU use according to the DD-WRT firmware status page.

Cons:
* Documentation isn't great
* Default firmware is somewhat confusing

I set up two of these on two rooftops in East San Diego. We were seeing 20Mbits/sec sustained over a mile using a pair of these and 24dbi parabolic antennas. The Linksys didn't work at all in that scenario. (note: There aren't designed to work outdoors, we had enclosures)

The default DD-WRT power output is 28mW. I'm running it at 56mW with no problem so far. For residential installs I always use this router with DD-WRT. Commercial with fancy DMZ configurations this isn't quite there yet but it works great with IPCOP as the main router and the Buffalo acting as a wireless access point / standby backup router.

Best features for the open-source router firmware enthusiast:

- built in pre-amp on Rx and power amp on Tx. Note that it's not real MIMO as the name might lead you to believe, but the amps make it have "MIMO-like performance" (which I've found is true).

- high gain antenna

- so it has a better S/N ratio than the Linksys WRT54GL, which has been the defacto standard

- support for 'afterburner' protocol (ie. 125 Mbit/s)

- Widely supported by open source firmware, eg. OpenWRT, DD-WRT, Tomato, X-Wrt, etc. And those enable it to have the most wonderful features, eg:
- WMM for smooth VOIP calls using T-Mobile's UMA phones
- WDS for creating a set of cascaded routers blanketing a large area
- Adjusting the power output directly on the Atheros on-board chip
- WPA2 with AES (WPA2 more secure than WPA, AES encryption scheme faster than TKIP), plus the ability to support mixed modes so that older devices that don't support WPA2/AES can use WPA/TKIP)
- and so much more. If you don't know about the merits of open source router firmware, you should read up!

Challenges:

- DD-WRT, OpenWrt, X-Wrt, Tomato or other open source firmware needs to be flashed with TFTP - you can't do it with the web GUI. But it's easy. Just requires timing the transfer as you switch it on.

- Buffalo encrypts their firmware so if you screw it up and want to revert back to Buffalo firmware, you can't just upload it from the web gui of whatever firmware you've installed. You have to upload the decrypted version from DD-WRT's site, and then from there you can upload the latest Buffalo version from their website.

Note: because of the built-in power amp, you shouldn't just set the power output to jam out as much juice as it can. That will make the output signal distort and actually decrease the range. I found that the best S/N ratio is obtained at about 75 mW. (Default setting is 28 mW).