Dell TrueMobile 2300 Wireless Broadband Router (TM23001)

Pros: An affordable WiFi 802.11g solution.
Cons: Terrible hardware, terrible setup software.

PURCHASING EXPERIENCE I purchased the Dell TrueMobile 2300 (802.11g/b) Wireless Broadband Router with an Inspiron 5100 laptop for my parents in December of 2003. Dell's purchasing system makes it easy to add additional peripherals. In addition, ...

Pros: None
Cons: Unreliable

I bought the 2300 router with my Dell laptop on the recommendation to stay within one brand when building a wireless network. That may have been solid advice but I soon discovered the router is anything but solid. As Dell claimed, setup was a breeze. ...

Pros: Nice, fast wireless web performance. Good WLAN performance, decent range.
Cons: Signal quality a little unsteady. Tweaking the antenna helps.

I was wrong about the 2300, and yes, eating my words does not taste sweet. My apologies to Dell. The 2300's "poor wireless LAN performance" was really due to my own ignorance about firewalls. Seems that the combination of PC-Cillin's airtight TCP ...

Pros: Well it looks nice and is easy to set up
Cons: Bad signal distance, not very effective, adds a lot of wires to your floor

The Pros to Buying this Router Well i do have to say this routers set up was on of the easiest setups i have ever had to do, the instructions are step by step and easy to follow instructions. Once you get all of the cables attached then you just ...

Pros: Easiest setup and install I have ever dealt with.
Cons: Does not go out to 300 ft as advertised. 150 ft is great!

This is one of the best small business routers I have ever used! I highly recommend this product for small businesses or for anyone who wants to go wireless! Great product!

Pros: Wired LAN works well
Cons: Frequent Wireless Drops

I bought this router a long time ago so I do have extensive experience with this router. I bought this router because I would purchasing a Dell PC last December and it was easy to just throw this router in with my new PC. The setup was okay. The provided software is a piece of junk, its usually wrong and often crashes. You can use the web interface which occasionally works. These problems are relatively small problems compared to my big problem with the Dell TrueMobile 2300, The wireless is horrible! At least once or twice a day the wireless connection drops out and you need to restart the router. I installed the latest firmware and this did nothing. I will never buy any product from Dell again after using this shoddy product. Avoid this product at ALL costs. The wired LAN works perfectly but you can get a router without wireless capabilities for a lot less. I repeat, DO NOT get this router.

Pros: I works. Dell offered great support, but had to call multiple times because of Direcway.
Cons: Walls and ceilings reduce, drop signal, and speed.

I bought this router about 1 year. Dell was great with the support. I bought the router to connect two computers on our second floor and have access via laptop anywhere else in the house. I was hoping for good coverage since the rooms upstairs are directly above the router. The desktops upstairs receive a constantly fluctuating signal ranging from poor to excellent. Very erratic, but it works. The speed fluctuates just as much from 1 mbps to 36 mbps. The desktops are using an external Linksys 2.4 GHz 802.11g USB network adapter. The laptop with is using a Dell True Mobile 1300 PC card. While in other rooms in the house, the laptop will drop the signal and will receive its best signal if the card is pointing directly toward the router in the other room. Signal and speed seem to run hand in hand. It works, but I don't like having to point the laptop toward the router.

Pros: don't know of any; except maybe useful as a paperweight
Cons: described above-- haven't been successful in setup

I added a Dell TrueMobile 2300 to my recent order of their Inspiron 8600, thinking I could set it up with my Earthlink internet cable service -- with my trusty Dell Dimension desktop that's in the basement (or "lower level" as I prefer to call it). I'm not at all offended by the unit's appearance, and actually am not offended by the setup wizard CD that came with it. However, none of that is particularly helpful if I can't complete setup. I've been reaching an "unable to detect the router" message. So, I have NOT enjoyed the ease of setup experience of some reviewers. Sigh.

Pros: Works within a very limited range.
Cons: Range is very limited. Complex documentation beyond basic functions. Buy another router.

The router is only moderately difficult to set up, especially when compared with the usual impenetrability of Dell documentation. Range is pathetic. It works reliably in the room directly downstairs from the room with the router and in the room next door to the router room, but in the room downstairs from the room next door, forget it.
Dell seem to have acquired a reputation for reliability simply by telling us over and over that they are reliable, and by charging a lot.

Pros: Worked right away for me. Easy setup.
Cons: No removable antenna.

I run a Dell TrueMobile 2300 with a Dell Dimension 8300 and a homebrew PIII 500 PC (Both under Windows XP Pro) as well as wireless with my Sony Clie PEG-TH55 Handheld.

Everything worked right off the bat.
Upon exploring the software, I enabled the security features. (Something I strongly suggest anyone running a WIFI setup should do!)
I then upgraded the router's firmware.

My system works great!
I have WIFI on my handheld on the entiretly of my property (Not saying much, as I live in a townhouse.)and go online gaming with both machines as well as the other boring netork stuff.

I told my bro to get one when he bought his Dells, and he did! I set up his, and his family is happy with it too!

My only gripe is no removable antenna. A choice of antenna options would have really been perfection.

Pros: Easy setup and configuration.
Cons: Very limited wireless range.

I bought this on the strength of PC Magazine's Editor's Choice award, to replace an SMC Barricade router. Setup was easy, no hardware or software problems, no glitches. The configuration utility offers a reasonable variety of choices (for a home network), all easy to understand. Oddly however, the "advanced" setting are not supported by Dell tech support (they pop up a dialog box to warn you), yet to ensure reasonable wireless security, you'll need to change the setting on this tab.

So what's wrong? The wireless range. Using my company's Dell Inspiron 8200 laptop (w/ 802.11b wireless) - which by the was works great in the office - I get only "very good" signal strength when it's sitting on the desk next to the router. That's less than 3 feet away. If I move to the living room (15 feet away, on the same level) the signal strength drops to "low" or "very low". When I try to take it outside on the deck (still on the same level, and less than 30 feet away) I lose the connection entirely. This is not impressive!

Too bad - I've generally had good luck with other Dell products.