Would that there were more I could say for this, but I'll try.
I needed a flexible, easy-to-use wireless adapter for temporary additions to my network because I fix PCs and I do not have wired Ethernet going to my workbench. Apartments may have many good qualities (someone help me here I can't think of any) but they don't like you making even minor structural changes. And the easiest way to add an adapter is to plug in a USB dongle. And with the rebate, the price was irresistible. In retrospect, I should have tried harder.
The TEW-444UB comes with everything you'd expect and nothing else: the USB adapter itself, in a pleasant metallic blue plastic, a USB cable, and a driver CD. Oh yes, it came with a manual, I remember seeing it.. but I can't see it now.
One initial irritation was the protective cap for the USB connector. It clips on securely (which is nice) but when you're using the adapter, there is nowhere to put the cap. This makes it easier to lose. But as you'll see when you read to the end, this hardly matters.
Standard installation procedure for this type of device - install software, plug in device, start surfing... at least in principle.
The icon appeared in my system tray - signal strength bars. Gray - no connections. Fair enough, I hadn't told it what to connect to.
You can start the TrendNet configuration utility either by double clicking the signal-strength meter in the system tray, or from the programs menu.
The best I can say for this, is that it works. It is in no way intuitive, but it does work.
First annoyance is that you can't just connect. You have to create a profile, and type in the SSSID of the network you want to connect to. It does not seem to offer a site survey so you can pick the network you want. Then you need to set its properties. In the properties, you can click on the Security tab to set up the access codes for the network - but again the utility gives you no help whatsoever. If you do not know the type of security set up on the router, this utility isn't going to help you. I struggle to remember the password, but did i set it up as WIP, WAP, or WEP, with or without BS64 .. I haven't a clue. I did discover that there were more possibilities than i had ever imagined in my worst nightmares.
I decided to try using Windows to manage it. This is allowed but first you need to tell windows you want to do that. I double-clicked the Windows wireless networking icon (monitor with radio waves) in the system tray (in case anyone's wondering, that's the official name for the group of icons by the time. Now you know). At some point I got a message telling me that I needed to read a Microsoft bulletin for the instructions to let Windows manage the wireless adapter.. but another time it told me what i needed to d0 - click Advanced, click the centre tab and check "let Windows manage..." SO I did. And it was much easier. It showed me the networks available, worked out which security protocol it was using and just asked me for the password, and connected.
But 'twas all in vain - 5 minutes later the dongle overheated and has not been seen to function since.
All in all a monumental waste of time. The only good bit was using the Windows configuration (which worked just like it always does). And since it died almost immediately, it really doens't matter if i lose the cap.
Update
After writing this review, I decided to give their tech support a chance. Apart from a bad connection (I could hear him but he was having some trouble hearing me) he was helpful, and suggested I try the latest drivers. He asked me where I'd bought my TEW444UB, and I answered "In the USA." It seems there are 2 versions of the 444UB - a US and European version. I needed the US drivers.
At some time in the past I had downloaded drivers and had no luck at all. "Device cannot start" errors. To help you decide which of the 2 sets of drivers you should download, the website shows 2 pictures of the model no./serial no. panel. Mine was different from both but more like the EU one. Sadly that was the wrong one. If the A and EU had said Americas and Europe, I might have been able to make a better guess...
The later drivers are somewhat better. The configuration utility does offer a site survey and shows available networks.
On my desktop, it worked for 5 minutes and stopped. Then the entire computer locked up (and no - it doe snot usually do that).
On my laptop, installing the American drivers off the internet, the device was not even recognized.
So the rating stands, but I will give them another call and see if another sample does any better
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