I'm looking for *up to date* opinions on wireless routers

**zero2dash** · 12-22-2005, 10:16 PM

Ah yes, the dreaded D-Link "I drop a connection every few minutes" problem has sprung its ugly head and I'm not dealing with this $30 DI-524 any longer. I can still return it to the store (gotta love the 90 day Target return policy), so I plan on getting a refund and buying something else.

The only problem is - almost every router that I've looked at is (supposedly) absolute garbage now. I had problems years ago with a Netgear wired router dropping internet connection, so I switched to a Linksys BEFSR41 v2 and have loved it since I bought it...like 6 yrs ago. So I had planned on buying the Linksys WRT54G but have heard that the new revisions (anything above a v3) are utter crap. And I hear the Netgear G routers have the same overheating/internet connection dropping problem that I've had before with a Netgear router.

And obviously this time I tried a D-Link and ended up with nothing but headaches.

Can anyone recommend a reliable G router? (I'm not looking for Super G ie 104 speeds), just standard 802.11g 54mb speeds. I'm basically looking for opinions and especially those of *recent* revisions...because it seems like the older revision stuff out there is the only ones worth buying and all the new ones are garbage.

Help me...please...

:

**DarkFury** · 12-23-2005, 12:59 AM

Coulda told ya D-Link was crap...

I don't have any problems with Netgear or Linksys. "G" routers are pretty mature now so whatever problem you had with Netgear in the past is probably fixed now.

As far as dropping connection goes... just make sure that it isn't interferrence from 2.4 GHz devices in your home (cordless phones, microwaves, and cellular phones)

Netgears go on sale more often than Linksys... but other than that, I'd recommend either.

**Kevster** · 12-23-2005, 03:26 AM

I have had solid performance from my Netgear WGT624 v2 wireless router. I generally leave the wireless portion off and just use it as a wired router, but it has worked well for me.

**zero2dash** · 12-23-2005, 06:24 AM

Originally Posted by DarkFury

Coulda told ya D-Link was crap...

I wish I would've heeded your "I've told lots of people and posted this lots of times in the past" advice that I've read

...but as you said, I figured that maybe since G routers have been around for some time, D-Link finally ironed out their issues and can be reliable. Whoops...I was wrong about that.

-I don't think I'm getting interference on it (or at least I've taken the precaution steps to make sure that's not the problem). We recently had to buy a new phone, so, knowing that I just bought this router, we upgraded from 2.4g phones to 5.8g phones, so it's not the phone.
-Our microwave is (probably) a good 125 feet away from the router, so it's not that.
-I tried changing the channels to several others and that didn't work either.
-I tried turning the router vertically...that didn't help.
-Several hard resets didn't help.
/done with the D-Link

Best Buy has both the Linksys WRT54G and the Netgear 614 routers on sale this week; the Linksys is $39 after rebates and the Netgear is $29 after 'instant savings', so I think I'll probably go pick up the Netgear and buy the extended warranty on it and see how it goes. Sounds like the lesser of the two evils is the Netgear, since the Linksys problems (apparently, from what I've read) are because a) they stopped using Linux as the OS for the router and b) they cut the memory it has in 1/2 so most of the aftermarket firmware builds out there don't work on it anymore.

Thanks for the opinions guys...everyone else keep 'em coming.

**GilbertsGrape** · 12-23-2005, 06:25 AM

dude i have that same Dlink wireless unit at home it works great.

have you checked the firmware on the unit, mine shiped with the latest firmware D1 look at the sticker on the bobttom of your router if it is lower thant D1 and you havent upgraded then you need to upgrade your firmware.

also maybe it is not your your routers it probbly your ISP if you are idle so long they drop your connection ( on demand) think it is called. on your router there is a setting to keep alive try adjusting that and upgrading firmware. since this hapens on both of your routers it leads me to believe it is a setting.

are you usinf DSL or cable. if you are using DSL you may need to set your modem into bridge mode. on my modem to do this you conect your setup and hold in the reset button. after a few min you load the router config page and set up the ppoe connection information.

check your version
http://support.dlink.com/products/revision.asp

i just found out i can upgrade to the next version E

Edit looks like D is the latest that i will be able to upgrade to E is not available.

**zero2dash** · 12-23-2005, 06:35 AM

Originally Posted by GilbertsGrape

dude i have that same Dlink wireless unit at home it works great.

have you checked the firmware on the unit, mine shiped with the latest firmware D1 look at the sticker on the bobttom of your router if it is lower thant D1 and you havent upgraded then you need to upgrade your firmware.

Nope...I've got a H/W Rev 4, F/W Rev D.

Originally Posted by GilbertsGrape

also maybe it is not your your routers it probbly your ISP if you are idle so long they drop your connection ( on demand) think it is called. on your router there is a setting to keep alive try adjusting that and upgrading firmware. since this hapens on both of your routers it leads me to believe it is a setting.

No, it's not my ISP (SBC), I can assure you.

I think you might have gotten confused...the router I was using before I bought this wireless router (which is also hooked back up again temporarily) is a Linksys BEFSR41. I've had -zero- problems with it. I've only had to power cycle it...three times maybe? (Due to power surge/failure.) It's never dropped my internet connection. But, the Netgear router that I owned before I owned the Linksys was problematic for me...worked fine for about the first year and then it started dropping internet every 10-15 minutes (on average).

Originally Posted by GilbertsGrape

are you usinf DSL or cable. if you are using DSL you may need to set your modem into bridge mode. on my modem to do this you conect your setup and hold in the reset button. after a few min you load the router config page and set up the ppoe connection information.

check your version
http://support.dlink.com/products/revision.asp

i just found out i can upgrade to the next version E

I've got SBC DSL...but again, it has to be the router since with the other router I was using, I never had any problems whatsoever. The only piece of equipment that has changed is the router itself. That + a lot of D-Link hatred out there leads me to believe that it's the router.

I looked on their site for the E firmware upgrade and couldn't find it anywhere. Regardless, at this point I don't really want to mess with it anymore...by the looks of it, D-Link is still having problems with their 4th generation hardware that they had with the 1st generation hardware and that's a serious flaw... I just hope you have better luck than me with yours.

**MikeD** · 12-23-2005, 07:07 AM

Originally Posted by GilbertsGrape

dude i have that same Dlink wireless unit at home it works great.

To me, it's like Ford vs. Chevy, Burger King vs. McD's, Best Buy vs. Circuit City...different people have different experiences with different items. I've had Netgear and DLink, and my DLink has been far more reliable.

With that said, if you've had trouble with DLink then I would probably try the LinkSys. I think their stuff is pretty decent too...

**DarkFury** · 12-23-2005, 08:24 AM

Originally Posted by zero2dash

Best Buy has both the Linksys WRT54G and the Netgear 614 routers on sale this week; the Linksys is $39 after rebates and the Netgear is $29 after 'instant savings', so I think I'll probably go pick up the Netgear and buy the extended warranty on it and see how it goes. Sounds like the lesser of the two evils is the Netgear, since the Linksys problems (apparently, from what I've read) are because a) they stopped using Linux as the OS for the router and b) they cut the memory it has in 1/2 so most of the aftermarket firmware builds out there don't work on it anymore.

Thanks for the opinions guys...everyone else keep 'em coming.

Netgear routers come with 90 days of "free" phone support... If you have a problem connecting it... call them. In most cases they can help iron out any issues with the unit. Personally, I don't buy extended warranties on my routers... they either work or they don't. (Unless something changes with the ISP)

**zero2dash** · 12-23-2005, 08:38 AM

I've been looking around online on Linksys/Netgear forums and seen people talking about owning those routers and losing connection wirelessly...then I saw someone say to disable 802.11x security in the Network properties of your wireless card and it would solve the problem of the wireless losing the connection.

I'm not sure if the two are related - but when I only had the wired hooked up (and the wireless was disabled), the router worked fine. It's only started up since the wireless is enabled and I'm using the wireless with my laptop. I think maybe what I might try to do is disable the 802.11 security (certification? or something) on the wireless G card I have and see if that fixes the problem. Usually what happens (now) is everything's fine and then all the sudden, the router reboots completely (not only on the wireless end).

And to re-add/rectify what I said about the WRT54G...I've done more reading and it turns out that the v5 model is the one that was switched to VxWorks OS (instead of Linux) and it looks like (from info off http://www.linksysinfo.org) that's the only change on it. Meanwhile I've read more and more complaints about the Netgear WGR614 (and reports that it may be due to overheating)...so I might get the Linksys *if* I can't get better results from trying the 802.11x disable with the D-Link.

I'll keep you all posted.
/wish I had my laptop here at work so I could try it here

**GilbertsGrape** · 12-23-2005, 12:38 PM

Dlink has like a 5 year waranty and 24/7 free tech support maybe try calling them and see what they have to say

i e-mailed them about firm ware versions this is what i recieved

Date of Reply: 12/23/2005
Products: DI-524_revE
Operating System: Windows XP Pro

You cannot use firmware from different hardware revisions (E firmware
will not function on a D revision router). The revision D and E DI-524
routers have only yrecently been released. There are no firmware updates
for either version at this time.

Should you require further assistance with your D-Link products, please
reply to this message, or call toll free at 877-453-5465. Thank you
for networking with D-Link.

Sincerely,
Mark Reeves
D-Link Technical Support

============Begin of Original Message============
what is the differance between
DI-524 Revision D
and
Di-524 Revision E.

why is there no download link for the Revision E firmware, i would like
to upgrade my Rev D firmware to Rev E firmware.

**zero2dash** · 12-24-2005, 10:07 AM

I came home yesterday and realized that the "802.1x Authentication" was already disabled for my G card...*sigh*

I had the router plugged in for awhile yesterday at work and didn't have any problems (at least not with anything hooked up to it...it didn't reboot or freeze up). So I thought maybe being unplugged & reset had fixed it.

Brought it home and it rebooted after only a few minutes.

...

I took it back, got a refund, and bought the WRT54G at Best Buy...$69 with a $30 MIR. Between that and the Netgear...I went with the Linksys because I compared my previous history. Netgear = bad, Linksys = good. I don't really care about it being a v5 and not being able to load custom firmware on it...especially since that voids the warranty anyway.

So far so good...on for 18hrs no reboots no freezes no drops...nothin'.