Netgear PA-101 Home Phoneline USB Adapter

UPDATE 4/13/2010Dell & NETGEAR indicare NOT COMPATIBLE with Windows7Purchased only one available (used).Arrived promptly alone in USPO bubble bag without phone cord, or instructions.Unit was dirty, maybe ink or other semi permanent residue.Plugged into brand new Dell laptop; I supplied cord and plugged into "wall" marked outlet and home wall phone outlet (hardwired) as well as USB port.USB power illuminated but computer indicated the adapter or connection was already in use.After 6-10 attempts, now backtracking NETGEAR for help.Fast delivery and low price don't count if quality doesn't live up to expectations first.

I had to switch from Aviator's PCMCIA-based wireless network "WebGear" to Netgear's Phoneline system because I purchased a PC that did not have ISA or PCMCIA ports. Although I was otherwise satisfied with the Aviator system, I found the Netgear system much faster to install and get up-and-running. I just wish someone made a wireless system that supported Windows 2000 and USB.

I already had a phoneline network set up, plugged this product into a USB port, and the product automatically set itself up (including changing the Windows 98 settings to allow file sharing). Can't comment about technical support, haven't had to use them.

I don't know why these things don't exist in the market very much. Ethernet is all over the market, but you would need cabling for that. I connected my Windows XP computer to my father's (also XP) in the other room, and it's working very well, and couldn't be cheaper. You don't even need their software, XP recognizes the device and you can set up a small office or home network with XP - very easily. Arrived fast too. Really fast. Maybe because I'm in CA, and they ship from CA too.

It works as advertized, and good for laptop use since phoneline PC card choices are limited and so-so. It would be good for desktop use if you do not want, or know how, to install a PCI card. However, for desktop use I would recommend the PA-301 PCI card. It is a great way to network home computers and share a high speed (broadband) internet connection without running wires through your house. The 10Mbs is very adequate, and comparable to wired ethernet, considering that (broad)bandwidth usually gets you 2-5Mbs. To some extent, the 10X phoneline networking through your existing phone wiring is more dependable than 802.11b wireless. However for laptop use, the whole idea of being mobile is to be free of wires. I bought it initially for laptop use, but decided in the end to go wireless. I use wired 10/100 for my main desktop, phoneline connection (PA-301) to network each of my kid's desktop, and wireless for my wife's laptop as well as mine. However, the PA-101 really works and does not interfere with regular phone use. You CAN actually surf the web (high speed connection) and talk on the phone at the same time....

I wish I could give it no stars! What a mess. Looking to avoid drilling holes in my floors and running cable, I thought NetGear's Home Phoneline 10X (PA101) was the answer. I was wrong. I followed the sparse directions to the letter, but I couldn't establish communication. So I call tech support. In the recorded greeting, Netgear admitted that they're getting a high number of help calls. I'm not surprised. After wait times of a half hour or more (in their defense, NetGear has wonderful hold music) I finally get a tech that tells me that my house phone system is wired incorrectly so I would have to run a phone line from one PA101 to the other (using the home phone system so I wouldn't have to run cable is the whole reason why I bought their product in the first place! ) I was also told that I would have to reinstall the software, and I would need to hardcode the IP address in. None of this worked. Long story short, after a week of frustration, I have two weird looking but expensive paperweights, no LAN, and a great deal of buyer's remorse.

I purchased this product to setup a home lan to my wife's laptop on the other side of the house. We wanted to share a cable modem and a printer. I installed and used their software. Could not get internect connection sharing working so I removed their software and went with ICS from Win 98SE. That seems to work well. The doc is very sparse and the tech support just gives you the usual reinstall the drivers etc. pitch. The adapters run pretty well except every once in a while the link drops between the machines and we have to reboot to get the link back. Not sure if this problem is Netgear's or Microsoft's. We also have a Toshiba Portage 3015 that refuses to work with the adapter. I had previously had problems with Laplink trying to use a USB to USB connection. I think it is a Toshiba problem but they don't seem to be coming up with a fix so beware.

I bought two of the product with intention of networking my XP laptop to my wifes Win98 PC. I give Netgear the merit of having decent customer support. They got the product to work.... at the expense of all other network connections. Since I installed the product, I had to reinstall Win XP Home Edition twice, after countless errors. Also, my wife's Win 98SE was not able to recognize her printer since the install of the network. I uninstalled the product from both computers. Thank God my laptop is fine (after the reinstall and loss of info). My wifes PC STILL has problems with finding the printer.I dont recommend this product to anyone...