ZyXEL Wireless N Travel Router (NBG2105)

At work we have a wifi connection, but it is very unreliable. I just plugged this into my ethernet port and connect my laptop and my phone to it. It works great! It took some figuring out how to set it up, but now that it's set up it works great. And I like that I can just take it anywhere I go.Best part about it is that they include plugs for international power ports! I haven't used them yet, but I love that they're there. And I don't even need to use it for this router, it's just a standard USB charger block, so I can use it for my phone or anything else that charges off USB.

The status lights work, but that's all that works. I fussed with this thing for several hours with no success. I went through the "Quick Set-up Guide" and the 146-page PDF "User Guide." Nothing in the documentation helped. There is no tech-support phone number given in the documentation.

The router is ok. I was disappointed to see that the Mac clone feature only works in router mode but will not work in WISP mode - which is where it would be most effective. To zyxel's credit - that fact is called out...but in fine print. Be sure to read it!

I wanted to post a review as quickly as possible to counter the one-star review. However, I'll update this review after I've tried ZyXel's customer service as noted in the mmanufacturer's response to the previous one star review.I broke the unit out of its box. The product is well packaged, and the device itself is well-designed also. It's VERY small, and lightweight too.The unit I received was manufactured in July 2013, and between then and now, October 2013, there has been a firmware update, which I have NOT installed yet.The software on the mini-CD provided is NOT available for download, so if you want to use it, and your PC has no CD drive, you'll have to make some arrangements. The software is not required to use the unit, as you can access all functions via WiFi and a web browser.Despite the manufacturer's website claims to the contrary, the provided software does NOT work under Windows 8, nor in any of the compatibility modes in Win 8. I spent quite a while trying, and I'm an expert user, but it was no-go.The software is called "USB sharing center" or something of the sort, and allows a network connection-over-USB, which could be very handy when setting up a small network while on the road (the reason I bought this beastie). It is also the only access method that works in all the modes supported by the device.Note that the device can be controlled ONLY by browser, there is no SSH or other face. Additionally, this device isn't a true router. There is no provision for adding static routes or using routing protocols. If you need any of the features just mentioned, don't get this unit.Beyond that, this devices all the controls you could want with port filtering and forwarding, MAC and URL filtering. Even some crude logging. Hey, this is a microscopic device, and not a full-fledged router. You can't run dd-wrt or tomato on it either.Other than the above issues, the device is awesome and requires relatively little power.I'll write more as I test on Win XP and Linux and attempt to resolve the Win 8 problem with ZyXel.Update 10/19/2013: I've now had a chance to try this unit out while on the road. It performed admirably in all modes: Client, Router, Repeater/Client. It has low power requirements. It can be run off of nearly any USB plug-power supply (i/e without a computer), or USB port on your computer.I'll update again when I (1) update the firmware, and (2) see if Zyxel customer service has a solution for Windows 8. Their website intimates that there is no Windows 8 solution for the USB driver at the present time.

The admin UI is about as bad as you'd expect, but it does work. It's a great, incredibly small, incredibly light device for traveling. I use it to connect to hotel wifi so I don't have to connect each device and log in separately. Also a great way to get my Roku online so I can watch Netflix on the TV instead of being limited to my computer.