GS305E

Basic no frills Netgear hub. Runs cool to the touch even in summer and is idiot proof to install and use. Perfect for running a network lead from a router to a PC or Smart TV and having 4 or more ports free on the hub to give a proper wired network signal to all the other devices that may need one. Works great with the Amazon Basic Cat 6 leads. So if having issues streaming 4k media or gaming on a TV, Console or PC or WiFi. Grab one of these and a cat6 RJ45 lead to reach it from your ISP router and a few 2 or 3 meter network leads Cat 6 RJ45 again, to plug everything to this hub and kiss WiFi woes goodbye forever.

Many of my device's are connected via cable thus needed more connections. Remember you lose one port for the connection to the router. Anyway since switching to EE my Sony TV would take two to three minutes to connect to my Internet via the cable! I bought this switch just for the extra ports. BUT it's solved the slow connection to my TV. The TV connection is there as I turn on the set NO no more going for a cuppa. Why it's better passing through the switch no idea but I'm happy. Ho it is a manageable switch, but you can just use it as a plug and play one.

This was very easy to install and maintained the quality and speed of my current setup, connecting simply and compatible with the various bits of equipment I use to live stream and monitor. Perfect port capacity for my current needs.

Despite the mesh wi-fi system I have installed in my home, I still like to have a good wired connection for some devices and I needed a small edge switch to reach into a corner of the house so I could connect up a couple of devices that had no wireless capability. As I'm a bit of a Netgear fanboy and have several of their managed switches already, I opted for this particular model, which at the time was cheaper than the roughly equivalent GS105E. Setting up is straightforward enough, and if you wanted you could just connect this to your network and do nothing else with it. But if you're going to do that, I'd strongly recommend you go for a cheaper unmanaged one as you're basically paying for things you're not using with this. As I like to keep a close eye on my network setup and plan to extend to using the VLAN functions at some point (mainly to segregate my home automation system), this was pretty much the best solution. They're great switches, but they aren't the easiest to work with. One of the issues I've noted is that they don't grab IP addresses from DHCP quickly enough, so they tend to go with their default IP address, which is 192.168.0.239. I don't use a subnet which this address falls into, so it's not a big issue, but if your network does then you may well find you've got an address conflict. Not ideal. And if you buy more than one, you could end up with issues. Again, I believe the unmanaged switches don't have this issue as there's no need for them to have an IP address, so if you're not planning on doing anything to these then look for something else. There is an inbuilt web interface which is used to change the various settings, from the password (hint: change this straight away!), to per-port VLAN, QoS, mirroring and a multitude of other options. The interface looks like it was designed in the mid 1990s, but it's pretty clean and agile, so it's not a chore to work with and once set up, you're probably never going to look at it again. On the downside, it does miss out on some of the enhanced features of its bigger brothers (the ones with 16 or more ports), but a 5 port edge switch is hardly going to be the backbone of a complex network purely because there's not enough ports, so this shouldn't be a problem. The switch is made of metal and is very sturdy. It's finished in a deep grey colour and looks very understated and unobtrusive, with the sole exception of the oversize Netgear logo on the top. It is fanless, so it is silent in operation and it generates very little heat, being barely warmer than room temperature. It throws network packets around with aplomb and despite being three hops from the router, there's virtually no slowing down of the data rate. The only problem I have with this switch is that I should probably have got the 8 port one instead, as I've filled this one already. But aside from my own lack of foresight, this was a very worthwhile purchase.

Excellent works well straight out of box

It does what it's supposed to do and good quality at a good price

Installed after my modem/router and improved the streamed sound quality noticeable. Stable internet connection.

great little box for improving the network , I decided to install a 2nd access point to run the IOT in the house , and needed a managed switch for the virtual channels , it does that job , plus the monitoring tools that are built in , on top of that its even faster than my old 5 port switch .... impressed with the price , will consider it the thing to buy for any other upgrades ..

Plug and play ethernet switch works great.

worth buying

definitely makes a difference and great product. very easy to setup and way better speed is distributed on each ethernet.

Thanks

POE mentioned in description not working