MacBook Pro crashes my Linksys WRT54G router

I have the same router and have absolutely no problems. I have 128 wep encription on also. My firmware goes back to early 2003. My router may be a different revision though because it's about 2.5 years old. I am also using channel 6. I have done absolutely no tweaking to the router software itself aside from encription setup. I would suggest just resetting the entire router and it's settings and starting over. Just leave the initial settings alone and see what happens.

The recent versions of the WRT54G are problematic - kfresh, you probably have a rev 4 or earlier model. I'd be willing to bet that Yoshi has a newer revision. I had similar problems with my rev 6 WRT54G after my rev 1 died - even when I had no macs, the connections from my Windows machines would spontaneously drop - had to either run "repair network connections" in Windoze or reboot the router every 1.5-3 hours. And that was with uPnP turned off.

Prior to rev 5, these used Linux firmware - these models were incredibly reliable.

Avoid these things like the plague, they are junk. It's a shame, because the older versions were extremely reliable - I used to recommend them to friends and customers. I don't recommend them any more.

I don't understand why people bother as if their time is not worth anything. with an Airport Extreme they'd have their cake and eat it too. Instead, they're here whining about two bit routers.

"I can't blindly spend close to $200 for something that can be had for less than half the price (and already paid for) 😀"

Well, suit yourself. How many routers have you bought already to have one working?

Airport Extreme not only just works, but it does it with panache and more functionality than the ones you keep buying. If you bought a MacBook Pro why would you draw the line on the router? Just like the MacBook Pro the Extreme offers "more" and better. Just the network disk and the USB printer is worth the extra money.

how do I connect my macbookpro to my linksys wrt54g router? I have been trying with no success. I need a detailed step by step if anyone is willing. thank you.

Well Zebra1, some of us are cost-conscious and have
existing setups at home we'd like to leverage.

I think that most of us on this message board would concur.

Maybe I'm just not worthy enough to join the
Apple-snob crowd because I can't blindly spend close
to $200 for something that can be had for less than
half the price (and already paid for) 😀

This is my only gripe with these boards - folks seem to recommend the most expensive solution, and then slam those who recommend less expensive, but still practical, solutions (especially if they are non-Apple). Logically, it makes no sense, but the more expensive option seems to almost always be the one recommended.

Airport extreme base stations may be nice, but they are not without their problems (check the networking section on these boards); it's hard to justify the expense just to get a white box with an Apple logo on it, especially when functionally equivalent routers are available at 1/2 to 1/3 the price.

I'd hardly call Linksys a "two-bit" company. The WRT54G router is one of the most popular WiFi routers out there, and was rock-solid stable for many years. Apple should strive to make sure that their wireless products interoperate well with these devices, due to their popularity. Plus, a bit of a reality check here: even if a person gets an Airport Express base station at home, they won't have one at work, at school, at the coffee shop, etc.

When a $2000 laptop doesn't work with a wireless router that works with every PC laptop in the company, it isn't the router that gets criticized, it's the Mac.

As for alternatives, Apple is hardly the only solution; my D-Link DIR-625 works flawlessly with all of my computers, including my Macs, and I paid < $50 US for it. You need to add more than a USB port and Apple logo to justify that extra $150 US.

Airport extreme base stations may be nice, but they
are not without their problems (check the networking
section on these boards); it's hard to justify the
expense just to get a white box with an Apple logo on
it, especially when functionally equivalent routers
are available at 1/2 to 1/3 the price.

Show me the LinkSys that does USB printer (and now disk) sharing.
They also don't officially support WDS.

Frankly, IMHO you get what you pay for, especially in the world of networking. The LinkSys boxes have been pretty much trouble-free, but my AEBS has been completely bulletproof.

I'd hardly call Linksys a "two-bit" company. The
WRT54G router is one of the most popular WiFi routers
out there, and was rock-solid stable for many years.
Apple should strive to make sure that their wireless
products interoperate well with these devices, due
to their popularity. Plus, a bit of a reality check
here: even if a person gets an Airport Express base
station at home, they won't have one at work, at
school, at the coffee shop, etc.

Well, Apple does do a lot of testing, but there are of course issues with products like the WRT54G if for no other reason than vendors completely change the guts of their products but keep the same names. What were Linux-based routers in early WRT54Gs are now VxWorks-based because it allowed LinkSys to use half the RAM in each device, but they're still called the WRT54G…

I am using sbcglobal which is a ppo. How do I configure when I have to login to the ip. thanks for your help.

yep, I'm having the same problem. I've tried 3 different routers and they all crash because of the macbook. Linksys was no help and neither was apple, they just made the general excuses for interference etc.

yep i'm having the same problem as well, i've tried the wrt54g, wrt54gs, and a belkin router. they all have the same incompatibility with the macbook pro.

You are correct in saying "Airport extreme base stations may be nice, but they are not without their problems"

They are also without Gigabit Ethernet ports. That's why I won't buy an AEBS right now .. I'll wait for the next revision that may include the capability I wish to have in networking my computers together. Right now, the AEBS would be a bottleneck between my G5 and my wireless MBP (that 'n' enabled).