Wi-Fi Routers?

Hi all.
I recently bought a Netgear WG624T Wi-Fi Router/Firewall. Seemed somewhat state of the art - 108Mps, plus NAT and Firewall. However after a short while it started to drop connections, the admin HTTP interface would stop responding (even if the router appeared to still be working), lots of problems and more and more frequently. Hard reboot seemed the only fix, sometimes three or four times a day.

When I searched the web almost all the returned results talk about the same problems. Seems the product is inherently flawed, firmware updates make things worse and their (Netgear's) tech support is v poor.

I wondered what similar products people here use and what their experiences are? I'm not too fussed about 108Mbps, but good range and reliability is key (range is supposed to be considerably better with 108Mbps devices).

Any thoughts?
G

 

Greg after doing some research I was eventualy convinced on another forum to purchase a Draytek vigor 2600, over any of the net gear offerings.

I have not regreted it a single moment even though it was a bit more money.

Range is fantastic and its not missed a beat, connection is significantly faster than the ZOOM I had before.

Set up is pretty straight forward, although the german to english instructions leave a lot to be desired.

I got mine from broadbandbuyer.co.uk who had it out to me in a day and it was the cheapest I could find at around 140 quid. It also has a USB printer input for network printing (Although this would not work on Macs.)

 

i use a linksys wrt 54g. i work from home over the internet extensively so i need something with rock solid stability. In the ~2 years i've had it it's let me down precisely zero times which is great. aparently there are a number of 3rd party firmware flashes for this router which add a lot of new features but i've never played - being a solid member of the if it ain't broke, don;t fix it club.
cheers


julian

 

I bought my dad a netgear adsl router, worst thing I ever did, worked for 2 months they just died, woudn't connect to the adsl or anything. Sent it back under warranty and got it replaced. But have read on some forums and reviews that the firmware could be the problem and some people have resorted to upgrading the firmware to the Beta version and this has fixed the problems, they're cheap and nasty, avoid them, I use a D-Link wireless router, only thing that's gone wrong in the 2 years I've had it, is the power "wall wart" supply blew up (well just stopped working, smelt of burning), but got a replacement on ebay for £4.99, and it fired right back up, solid and reliable. You make your own mind up!

 

Following on from Garyi's posting I think you will find the link makes good reading.

 

i've had a netgear dg834g for a couple of years (at least i think it's been that long). anyway, the wifi bit seemed to stop working. after a friend's laptop came to visit, and failed to pick up the network, and my laptop went to friend's house and did pick up the network, i knew the fault lay with the router. but instead of replacing it, the cheaper option was actually to add a wireless access point - and i went for another netgear (wg602 £48 from amazon). works flawlessly, i get 100% connection all round the house, and to the bottom of the garden. have now added a game adapter (netgear wge111 again from amazon) for my xbox, so can stream media wirelessly and watch it on the telly.
and the firmware improved things, currently on the latest version. when i went to 2 meg adsl, the connection was very very unstable, giving me about 30 seconds up time. which was just enough, though constantly dropping and coming back, for me to locate and download the firmware. once installed and rebooted, the connection was solid, and has been since.
i've never contacted netgear so cannot comment on their customer service.

 

All food for thought.
Thanks chaps!

 

I have the US Robotics 100mps one. Its ok but have had problems with it needing a reboot every few months or so- it just drops the wireless connections and locks everything out. Not had any problems recently but I'm not sure its the best on the market really.

 

I've got a netgear dg632. The only time I seem to have to reboot it is when I'm accessing my own website !!

Jeff

 

I`ve got a Belkin wireless `g` router, works fine, no probs and it`s got a lifetime guarantee!!! AND it`s currently on offer at PC World........niiiiiiiiiiiiiiice!!!!!!!!!!

 

I think belkin are the work of the devil.

 

ERRR.......Why, exactly???????

 

Just do, they appear on QVC for one. They also sell shite to unsuspecting people (not all their stuff) such as a simple USB lead for £12.99 or a four port PCI USB Card £45!

I tried the wireless router but could not get it to work.

 

My experience is limited...

Bought a Belkin in March 2004 - hopelessly unreliable and took it back for a refund after three days.

Replaced it with a Linksys WAG54G, which "just died" six months later - got a replacement (v1.2 very quietly slipped in by Linksys) which seems to be working OK. But there are firmware issues; at present all the Linksys web pages for firmware download seem to be broken (or not available); Linksys support think answering customer emails is an optional activity. And I see that there's a quietly-announced v2. I'm not alone with bad experiences from Linksys.

My impression is that the mass-market boxes are very hit-and-miss (the story of the computer hardware world and its cheapness-means=progress mentality?). Don't know what I'll do when this Linksys breaks, other than not replacing it with anything else from Linksys (or Belkin). Draytek seem to have less adverse comments than most of the more widely available brands.

 

Mine worked first time and has never failed once, it is connected wirelessly to two laptops and wired to a tower pc, HOWEVER if it doesn`t work or stops working at any time in the future i will get a replacement, you can`t really ask for more than that now can you? so i again will recommend them as a good purchase to Greg just as i was recommended them from a friend who is a well respected pc tech and programmer who works from home and guess what!! he`s got one that also has never failed. if Greg doesn`t like them or chooses something else then it is his decision.


C

 

Could someone post a 'Weh?' for me please?

 

Weh?

 

Thanks. That's a great help!

 

snigger.

 

Back on track.

Firmware does seem to be an issue with netgear routers. I had several lock up continually until the firmware has been updated

Try http://kbserver.netgear.com/products/WGT624.asp

HTH