Linksys WUSB11

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The Linksys WUSB11 is TiVo's suggested usb-to-802.11b adapter for the new series 2 TiVos. The TiVo store offers it for $64.95, though I got mine at Amazon for $49 with an additional $10 rebate.

My first thought was how amazingly small the unit was. I suppose it's basically just a PCI card combined with some usb circuitry, but from the pictures on the Amazon site, I assumed it was the size of a desktop PC. The photo to the right is the unit in the palm of my hand.

The signal strength was great, though my base station is only about 30 feet from the TiVo, with no obstructions (second story loft down to the first floor). It doesn't require a power adapter which is great (my outlets are already crowded with gadgets), drawing power from the usb connection. It plugged in, grabbed an IP, and has worked fine ever since. I think it's going to be one of those set-it-and-forget-it kinds of products (the kind I love — they don't require futzing around every so often).

The biggest and only drawback to this in regards to a TiVo is that you must have the 4.0 TiVo OS in order to use it (which requires a Series 2 box as well — Series 1 owners can use a slightly more hacky TiVo Airnet from 9thTee). If not, you'll run into the problem I had, where you'll have to use a phone-line (or usb-to-ethernet if you have the 3.2 OS) to force an update to the latest OS before it will function.

Once the setup was complete, the unit has worked flawlessly, it's small, fairly cheap (40 bucks after rebates), and I'll be getting updates every 30 minutes or so from TiVo, all without ever needing a phone line again.

by Matt Haughey July 20, 2003 in Product Reviews, SuperTiVo Project

Comments

I'm thinking about getting a Tivo for the wife. Can I use the wireless adapter for program updates without buying the HMO option?

Posted by: Don Wakefield at Jul 21, 2003 11:41:52 AM

Yeah, the network capability is separate from the HMO. You can connect any new series 2 Tivo to a wired or wireless network (with this adapter or their wired one), and TiVo will use the broadband connection instead of a phone. This means no more tied up phone line, plus it checks and re-checks often, so if the Academy Awards goes 45min long, your broadband-connected TiVo will probably get an update in the middle to go longer.

For the HMO it adds the ability to transfer shows from one tivo to another and you can play music and photo slideshows on your TV.

Posted by: Matt Haughey at Jul 21, 2003 12:10:22 PM

Matt, have you tried using this with your Mac? Seems like a nice cheap way to boost the pathetic signal of most PowerBooks.

Posted by: veen at Jul 21, 2003 4:34:20 PM

Matt: I've had a Series 2 connected to my home broadband network since the 4.0 upgrade and I've never heard of 30 minute schedule checks. According to the system information, TiVo is still making the same daily call it always has and not a 30 minute check (which I'd like). Can you clarify this?

Posted by: Jon Asato at Jul 21, 2003 4:49:07 PM

veen, that's a great idea, but I haven't tested it with my mac before.

Jon, I was mistaken, I've heard it and repeated it, but I think it's only for tivos with the HMO enabled that are also using the web feature to add shows.

Posted by: Matt Haughey at Jul 21, 2003 6:06:41 PM

Thanks for the info Matt. That's extra incentive to save up for HMO. Now if I could just find full-time work.

Posted by: Jon Asato at Jul 21, 2003 9:01:38 PM

My Tivo isn't near my phone line. I only have dialup at home. Would this be a viable solution to either manually carrying the Tivo to the phone jack or having a jack installed near the machine? I've got my wireless network set up nicely for my computers.

Posted by: Jeff at Jul 22, 2003 12:53:37 PM

Yeah, Jeff I think that would work for you, though the way tivo describes these features, they seem to assume anyone with a home network is on broadband. It doesn't seem like there's any reason you shouldn't be able to stream music and photos from your internal (11Mb) network, even though daily call data would transmit slower over the dialup line.

Posted by: Matt Haughey at Jul 22, 2003 6:10:30 PM

Thanks Matt. I am mostly interested in the daily calls to Tivo from my machine. Also, I don't have my dialup on all the time so I assume I could schedule or manually initiate the call?

Posted by: Jeff at Jul 23, 2003 8:29:43 AM

Yeah, you can manually force calls out over the network pretty easily. On broadband an entire "call" process takes less than a minute.

Posted by: Matt Haughey at Jul 23, 2003 1:08:49 PM

I am having problems using the WUSB with a Linksys WAP54G access point. Tivo says the WAP has to be locked in b, which it won't, and Linksys tells me there is no problem. I found one item saying that new Tivo software is on it's way. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,6552368~root=equip,16~mode=flat

Posted by: Steve at Aug 8, 2003 8:22:43 AM

Steve, I hear nothing but problems with 802.11g access points. I think Linksys and Apple really rushed those products to market before the standard was nailed down, making the hardware quality suffer.

Posted by: Matt Haughey at Aug 8, 2003 10:06:04 AM

I have the WUSB11 and the WRT54G. I can disable my laptop's 54g adapter and hook in my WUSB11 and it works fine but when I connect the WUSB11 to my TiVo, it tries the TCP/IP settings and bombs out. The Link light never comes on fully when connected to the TiVo. Any thoughts?

Posted by: Stacey at Sep 11, 2003 5:51:52 PM

I have tried 2 adapters wtih my 4.0 series 2 TiVo: a D-Link DWL-120+ and a Linksys Wireless-B WUSB11. Neither one is recognized by the DVR despite reversing the cords, restarting the system, etc. Has anyone had any luck with either of these newer adapters with TiVo?

Posted by: Alex Walsh at Sep 13, 2003 10:56:00 PM

I am purchasing a Tivo Series 2 and I have a broadband wireless g network at home. I would like to buy a USB wireless g network adaptor for Tivo. Does anyone know which models work? Thanks in advance.

Posted by: Jeff Antone at Oct 14, 2003 7:52:36 AM

Am I the only person on the face of the planet _not_ having wireless setup problems with a Tivo Series 2? Bought it, installed OS 4 via a regular phone line at my friend's place, brought everything back home, restarted, and the Linksys WUSB11 (ver. 2.6) doesn't seem to be recognized _at_all_ (green power light, no link light). Followed this up by using a Belkin F5D6050. Red light, no connection. Tivo won't even let me get to a listing in "Phone and Network Settings" submenu that reads something other than "Phone Settings"! It's an 802.11b access point, clear as a bell (I can access it from a front porch two stories down; the Tivo is in the next room). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Posted by: Thomas K. Turner at Nov 8, 2003 5:33:54 PM

Jeff,

I'm having the same problem as you. I have the
Pioneer DVR 810H. I have done the basic set up
phone line which was OK but took a lot of 'goes'.
I have signed up for the plus service online.
However, whenever I connect with a phone line it
crashed about 5 minutes into the download stage.
I would rather use the wireless connection. I bought
the unit pictured above but the phone and network
submenu doesn't offer me an option to set up the
wireless connection. HELP!

Posted by: geraint owen at Jan 10, 2004 7:37:24 PM

I've had the same problem. We switch to Vonage phone service and our tivo as unable to dial in so we bought the home media option. The problem is that we need to dial in one more time for tivo to recognize that we purchased home media option. We purchased the WUSB11, have the 4.0 OS, and an 802.11b router. We tried using the ",#401" code to by-pass using the phone line but it isn't wokring for us. We went back to guided setup and are now stuck in there. We are going to try bringing the tivo to a friedns house and hooking up to their phone line to dial in one last time but I'm concerned that even when we have the home media set up it won't recognize the WUSB11. However, we did have the power light and teh link light on, although the link light seemed to be half as dim as the power light. Any suggestions???

Posted by: Amy at Feb 19, 2004 7:39:49 AM

I have a Hughes SD-DVR40 (DirectTV/TIVO). It has two USB ports on the back which are marked "For Future Use". I am trying to get it connected to my 802.11b lan. Can I make this wireless access point work with my box. If not, anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks

Posted by: DLM at Feb 23, 2004 6:00:18 AM

Installed with no problems at all. Works like a charm with the new Tivo software udpdate on a linksys network.

Posted by: Jim at Feb 27, 2004 2:11:54 AM

Thanks for all of the helpful threads, this site has been a great resource! Now for all of you networked heads, quick question...

I have a Mod'd Series2 DirectTV/Tivo HUGHES box with the latest software version + enabled USB ports. After some research, I purchased the Linksys WUSB11 v2.6 and a compatable Wireless router (I recommend the Netgear 614 for those that are looking) I finally get everything up and running and then hit a brick wall. The Tivo Home Media option is currently not available for the DirectTV units. Is there any way around this?

I don't mind paying for HMO, am I stuck until DirectTV catches up to the curve? Do I call Tivo to get this enabled? Can I enable HMO myself?

Thanks,

Dennis

Posted by: Dennis at Mar 16, 2004 3:35:03 PM

i have a Hughes SD-DVR40 (DirectTV/TIVO) and have Vonage. Anyone have any idea how to get this working? It does not seem to want to connect. Anyone have any thoughts on how to get this up? Thanks

Posted by: Ari Shrage at Apr 8, 2004 8:07:03 PM

Has anyone used the Samsund SIR-S4040r with the linksys wusb11 v 2.6? Like another person said i do not get the option to change the phone and network settings to setup the wireless has anyone else ran across this?

Posted by: tim dodson at May 4, 2004 6:59:20 AM

Can the linksys wireless usb work for Directv Tivo DVR also?

Posted by: Dominic Chan at May 27, 2004 9:57:20 AM

How can you enable the usb ports on a directv/tivo combo box?

Posted by: Adam at Jun 8, 2004 7:18:36 PM

will the WUSB11 allow me to copy recorded shows to the hard drive on my PC for burning to dvd? Will it require additional software in order to transfer the programing?
Thanks!

Posted by: Guy at Jun 9, 2004 3:34:22 PM

can you use the Linksys WUSB11 with another device, say a printer along with the tivo or does it only work with one usb connection?
thanks.

Posted by: marlene lopez at Jul 1, 2004 4:53:04 PM

How do I upgrade my sd-dvr40 from DTV to 4.0 DTV says that 3.1.1 is the latest update?

Posted by: Paul at Jul 7, 2004 5:37:58 PM

try looking here...http://customersupport.tivo.com/tivoknowbase/root/public/tv2006.htm

Posted by: marlene at Jul 7, 2004 5:44:23 PM

Running Tivo 2, WUSB11, WRT54G, and WAP54G w/ WEP encryption. Things were running well but have gone chaotic installing the WAP54G. However, it has come to our attention that there was a change in Tivo software 7/5 that may be the true cause. Still investigating.

For those running WRT54G, configure your advanced wireless settings to enable CTS. This allows B devices to work better within a G laden environment.

Posted by: Albert Cooke at Jul 8, 2004 9:54:06 PM

Check out the Tivo Community forums (www.tivocommunity.com). I am pretty sure they said this does not work with any DirecTivos as they are not HMO capable. Last I heard, it was DirecTVs choice as to whether or not to update their software to the 4.0 version or allow HMO and they didn't want to deal with the hassle of supporting it, so they didn't bother to include it. I wrote a letter to DirecTV begging them to enable HMO, but got no response. Maybe if others tried?

Posted by: Emily at Jul 15, 2004 5:48:08 PM

I am trying to download what i have on my tivo to my laptop. But I only have a dial up connection at home. What do i need to do, i would appreciate any comments thanks

Posted by: J.D. at Aug 12, 2004 8:57:36 PM

J.D. it's really difficult to do that at this point and requires quite a bit of linux hacking. If you have a series 2 tivo, it's even harder. I would suggest (if you have a series 2 tivo) waiting for their new feature called TiVo ToGo, which will allow that. It's supposed to come out in a few months.

Posted by: Matt Haughey at Aug 13, 2004 9:45:50 AM

Trying to get wireless network running on my Samsung SIR-S4040R Direct TV DVR. Software version is only 3.1.1. Can I upgrade and how do i do that to 4.0 so I can get the network going??

Posted by: Terry Hunsicker at Aug 25, 2004 9:06:18 PM

A countryman between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats.
-- Ben Franklin

Posted by: bingo at Oct 29, 2004 11:09:30 PM

Like Matt I would like to know how to enable the USB ports and install a USB to ethernet adapter on a samsung SIR-S4040R.

Posted by: Lee Bowers at Oct 30, 2004 12:21:17 PM

I also would like to know if I can get the linksys wireless usb work for Directv Tivo DVR also?

Posted by: Steven at Dec 15, 2004 9:18:04 AM

I have a Hughes SD-DVR40 (DirectTV/TIVO), how can I enable the usb ports on the back of the unit so I can hook it up to my wireless router?
Please help.
Thanks,
Joe

Posted by: joe at Dec 22, 2004 11:24:57 PM

I have a Samsung SIR-S4040R and would like to get rid of my home phone and use the USB port connected to a router to make the daily call. I have a LynkSys router which works great with my PC and my standalone Soney SVR-2000 but I can't it to work with my SIR-S4040R. Please help!
lloydjs2000@yahoo.com

Posted by: Lloyd at Dec 31, 2004 4:16:23 PM

Just as Matt, Bingo and Joe, I'd like to connect my Samsung SIR-S4040R with software v.3.1.1 to my home wireless network.
Can anyone help? Thanks.
Pierre

Posted by: Pierre at Jun 25, 2005 6:36:08 AM

I have a Hughes SD-DVR40 (DirectTV/TIVO), how can I enable the usb ports on the back of the unit so I can hook it up to my wireless router?
Please help.
Thanks,
Patryk

Posted by: Patryk at Sep 28, 2005 7:13:38 PM

I have a Linksys wireless WKUSB54GS router, the one with the speed buster and ofcourse thinking of getting the WUSB11 ver.26 bc TiVo says to do so. My question is, am I gonna have problems using that wireless router with my TiVo? I have seen that you guys have problems with the WRT54G router which is almost the same. If any1 can help me before I buy the WUSB11?

Posted by: Stark at Oct 17, 2005 9:51:16 PM

Can anyone tell me if the Linksys Wireless-G works with Tivo. I had the Wireless-B with no problems, I now use The G and I can't get Tivo to recognize it

George

Posted by: George at Nov 13, 2005 6:48:41 PM

I was never able to get the Linksys Wireless G adapter to work with Tivo. It isn't supported by the Series 2 units. A wireless G router, however, will work just fine, so long as you're using the 802.11b adapter.

Posted by: Jared at Nov 23, 2005 4:57:24 PM

For anyone using Vonage telephone service, you need to change your bandwidth options on the Vonage web page to 'Highest Sound Quality' to get the TiVo to connect through modem.

Posted by: Chris at Dec 2, 2005 5:06:04 PM

I have the same wireless adaptor with the same rectangular USB output. However my TIVO wants the rectangular end of the usb cable also. What is going on here how do i make this work?
thanks- Sean

Posted by: sean at Feb 13, 2006 2:48:37 PM

I can not seem to hook my laptop up to internet, with my linksys wireless G, It say it is connected but will not let me on line, It dials my number but says no dial tone, Can someone please tell me what I am doing wrong?

Posted by: MeMe at Mar 8, 2006 5:29:39 PM

Linksys WUSB11

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