Sweex LW053 WiFi LAN USB 2.0 Adapter
£5.03
- Connectivity technology Wireless
- Compatible Operating Systems Windows 98SE/2000/XP
Reliable but... lag spikes - I bought this adapter around 1 year ago. It has lasted and still works fine. Sometimes, about twice a month it will randomly disconnect but that doesnt bother me. It doesnt overheat like my old netgear WG111T did and was basically, plug in and play. The only problem I have with it, and it is a pretty big one ( for gaming) is that it sufferes lag spikes. U can be playing an online game fine for 2 minutes, when u suddenly freeze and cant move for about 4-6 seconds, then it unfreezes, you catch up to the point you should be been at and carry on playing. It also happens with vioce chat. You can talk for abour 30 seconds, when suddenly, eveything goes silent for 2 seconds or so and then you can talk. While these problems may not bother average computer users, for people that play online games and chat over the internet it can be pretty annoying. So annoying that I am buying a wireless PCI card to replace it.
Simplicity Itself - Plug in, insert the supplied disc, install the software and you re done! The only slightly harder bit is configuring your internet connection afterwards, but this is not the fault of the adapter. Once I had sorted my connection out it connects every time, has a consistently excellent signal and normally five bar signal strength. I actually think it s faster than my previous modem connection! Don t buy a cheaper one from ebay, buy this and you ll know you ve bought a quality, reliable item, delivered within four days! Excellent.
Not great - Just couldn t get this to work. According to the instructions it should have done but it didn t. Spent ages fiddling about but it wouldn t pick up any signal let alone mine. It went back.
Brilliant! Works great on Windows Vista! - I read all the reviews and was hopeful on buying this, with the many 5* ratings I bought this little gadget! I m using it with my BT voyager on my HP laptop. It was so easy to install, just pop it into the usb, asks for the CD and connects! It coudln t be more simple. The signal strength could be better though if your in another room, but what do you expect with something really good value for money? The person that said that it was a bit wobbly I agree with, but it doesn t fall out so don t worry. And i m using it to type this review now :) So my advice is to ahead and buy this if you have Windows Vista!!
Not for everyone - I saw all the generally favourable reviews for this product and decided to give it a go as my first dip into wireless broadband.I have a relatively old laptop (4 years old) with Windows XP Home and has worked fine with any kind of wired connectivity. The product arrived speedily and for the first day or two it worked well and I was impressed with the results and the consistency of the signal. However without any obvious change from then on it deteriorated rapidly to the point where I could not connect at all to my home wireless network. I am computer literate enough to get by with most things and despite all obvious troubleshooting including uninstalling and re-installing drivers both from the CD and the Sweex website, locating it right next to the router etc etc I had no success. Its not a problem with our router as it works fine for other laptops and also when I connect via an ethernet cable.I was then sent a second one by Amazon and I had no success with this either so both have been returned and have been refunded.So clearly its not for everyone ....