I got a phone call from one of my associates today -- he was
displeased with his new Linksys router. I asked him why on earth he
bought a Linksys after all the problems I had with the one I bought --
apparently I didn't scream loud enough for him to get the message, so
I've decided to post my experience for others in hopes that they might
avoid wasting their time and money.
I made the mistake of buying a Linksys solely based on the fact that
Cisco is the parent company of Linksys. I do a lot of consulting for
medium to large scale businesses and I used to always recommend Cisco
because I've found their products to hold up well in environments that
demand excellent performance. Cisco is for businesses that want to
drop $50K on a device; Linksys is for the home user that wants a small
scale, reliable device, right? Wrong.
Where do I go when I want a cheap deal on something? Ebay. I quickly
located a vendor selling "Brand New Shrinkwrapped Linksys" routers. I
bid on one of these and got it for $60 -- only about 8 dollars savings
than if I had purchased from a local retail outlet. This was the
worst MISTAKE ever! If I had purchased from a local vendor, I could
return the POS Linksys and get my money back without any hassle.
Instead, I receive the Linksys -- just as described -- brand new in
orginal shrinkwrapped box -- straight from the Linksys factory. I
hook up the device and it runs like absolute garbage! BTW for those
wondering this is a Linksys WRT54G Version 6. We're talking about a
router that can barely stay online for more than 2 minutes -- it
constantly locks up, requires manual disconnection of power...wait 2
minutes, reconnect power. Virtually none of the most basic features
you would expect from a router work. I contacted Linksys Support and
though they spent several hours working with me, they were of no
help. Finally one tech told me the router I bought has many known
problems and that I should stop wasting my time trying to get it
working. It's then I discover that I've been had. I google for
"WRT54G Version 6" and discover a barrage of other users who are
experiencing the EXACT same problem as me!
That was the moment that demonstrated to me that Linksys had lost the
integrity that I had once known it for. For those of you not familiar
with the Linksys WRT54G product line, prior to Version 6, their
routers operated under a Linux based kernel. Beginning at Version 6,
they started using a proprietary VxWorks based operating system. It
was obvious that Linksys was shipping brick routers, taking customers
money, and just planning on "fixing" the router via firmware patches
when they got around to it.
I demanded my money back, but of course Linksys isn't going to refund
anything to a customer -- they just tell you to take it back to the
place you purchased it. A slight problem for a customer who purchaed
from eBay, based soley on the brand name Linksys. The guy that sold
me the router wasn't misleading me. He probably knew the routers he
was selling were complete junk, but he shipped me exactly what he
advertised -- "Brand New Shrinkwrapped WRT54G Version 6".
I gave up with Linksys and decided if they didn't care about their
customers, this customer wasn't going to care about them -- or Cisco.
To date, I have given over $6 million in orders that I would normally
give to Cisco to competing vendors. I will never again recommend a
Linksys or Cisco product. Linksys may have screwed me out of $60, but
it came back and bit them in the butt.
I am pleased to say that a year after purchasing the router, a
firmware patch was released and now the router works fairly well.
Unfortunately its a year late and I've seen the greedy nature of
Linksys/Cisco.
In summary, I will never buy another Linksys or Cisco product again.
If you choose to, you may get something that works, but don't hold
your breath based soley on the brand name. Also, always purchase from
a local vendor so you can return garbage and get your money back.
"Cyron" <mdigitale@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1192327901.570997.62450@q3g2000prf.googlegrou ps.com...
>I got a phone call from one of my associates today -- he was
> displeased with his new Linksys router. I asked him why on earth he
> bought a Linksys after all the problems I had with the one I bought --
> apparently I didn't scream loud enough for him to get the message, so
> I've decided to post my experience for others in hopes that they might
> avoid wasting their time and money.
>
> I made the mistake of buying a Linksys solely based on the fact that
> Cisco is the parent company of Linksys. I do a lot of consulting for
> medium to large scale businesses and I used to always recommend Cisco
> because I've found their products to hold up well in environments that
> demand excellent performance. Cisco is for businesses that want to
> drop $50K on a device; Linksys is for the home user that wants a small
> scale, reliable device, right? Wrong.
>
> Where do I go when I want a cheap deal on something? Ebay. I quickly
> located a vendor selling "Brand New Shrinkwrapped Linksys" routers. I
> bid on one of these and got it for $60 -- only about 8 dollars savings
> than if I had purchased from a local retail outlet. This was the
> worst MISTAKE ever! If I had purchased from a local vendor, I could
> return the POS Linksys and get my money back without any hassle.
>
> Instead, I receive the Linksys -- just as described -- brand new in
> orginal shrinkwrapped box -- straight from the Linksys factory. I
> hook up the device and it runs like absolute garbage! BTW for those
> wondering this is a Linksys WRT54G Version 6. We're talking about a
> router that can barely stay online for more than 2 minutes -- it
> constantly locks up, requires manual disconnection of power...wait 2
> minutes, reconnect power. Virtually none of the most basic features
> you would expect from a router work. I contacted Linksys Support and
> though they spent several hours working with me, they were of no
> help. Finally one tech told me the router I bought has many known
> problems and that I should stop wasting my time trying to get it
> working. It's then I discover that I've been had. I google for
> "WRT54G Version 6" and discover a barrage of other users who are
> experiencing the EXACT same problem as me!
>
> That was the moment that demonstrated to me that Linksys had lost the
> integrity that I had once known it for. For those of you not familiar
> with the Linksys WRT54G product line, prior to Version 6, their
> routers operated under a Linux based kernel. Beginning at Version 6,
> they started using a proprietary VxWorks based operating system. It
> was obvious that Linksys was shipping brick routers, taking customers
> money, and just planning on "fixing" the router via firmware patches
> when they got around to it.
>
> I demanded my money back, but of course Linksys isn't going to refund
> anything to a customer -- they just tell you to take it back to the
> place you purchased it. A slight problem for a customer who purchaed
> from eBay, based soley on the brand name Linksys. The guy that sold
> me the router wasn't misleading me. He probably knew the routers he
> was selling were complete junk, but he shipped me exactly what he
> advertised -- "Brand New Shrinkwrapped WRT54G Version 6".
>
> I gave up with Linksys and decided if they didn't care about their
> customers, this customer wasn't going to care about them -- or Cisco.
> To date, I have given over $6 million in orders that I would normally
> give to Cisco to competing vendors. I will never again recommend a
> Linksys or Cisco product. Linksys may have screwed me out of $60, but
> it came back and bit them in the butt.
>
> I am pleased to say that a year after purchasing the router, a
> firmware patch was released and now the router works fairly well.
> Unfortunately its a year late and I've seen the greedy nature of
> Linksys/Cisco.
>
> In summary, I will never buy another Linksys or Cisco product again.
> If you choose to, you may get something that works, but don't hold
> your breath based soley on the brand name. Also, always purchase from
> a local vendor so you can return garbage and get your money back.
>
> Good luck!
> Mike
>
So, what you're saying is that you are a penny pincher, and your cheapness
backfired on you, so the rest of the world should buy any other cheap brand
of router . In this world, you're lucky if you get what you pay for.
Typically cheap electronics are a crapshoot. Linksys is one of the largest
manufacturers of cheap electronics in the networking industry. They must be
doing something right for an awful lot of people
"Cyron" <mdigitale@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1192327901.570997.62450@q3g2000prf.googlegrou ps.com...
>I got a phone call from one of my associates today -- he was
> displeased with his new Linksys router. I asked him why on earth he
> bought a Linksys after all the problems I had with the one I bought --
> apparently I didn't scream loud enough for him to get the message, so
> I've decided to post my experience for others in hopes that they might
> avoid wasting their time and money.
>
> I made the mistake of buying a Linksys solely based on the fact that
> Cisco is the parent company of Linksys. I do a lot of consulting for
> medium to large scale businesses and I used to always recommend Cisco
> because I've found their products to hold up well in environments that
> demand excellent performance. Cisco is for businesses that want to
> drop $50K on a device; Linksys is for the home user that wants a small
> scale, reliable device, right? Wrong.
>
> Where do I go when I want a cheap deal on something? Ebay. I quickly
> located a vendor selling "Brand New Shrinkwrapped Linksys" routers. I
> bid on one of these and got it for $60 -- only about 8 dollars savings
> than if I had purchased from a local retail outlet. This was the
> worst MISTAKE ever! If I had purchased from a local vendor, I could
> return the POS Linksys and get my money back without any hassle.
>
> Instead, I receive the Linksys -- just as described -- brand new in
> orginal shrinkwrapped box -- straight from the Linksys factory. I
> hook up the device and it runs like absolute garbage! BTW for those
> wondering this is a Linksys WRT54G Version 6. We're talking about a
> router that can barely stay online for more than 2 minutes -- it
> constantly locks up, requires manual disconnection of power...wait 2
> minutes, reconnect power. Virtually none of the most basic features
> you would expect from a router work. I contacted Linksys Support and
> though they spent several hours working with me, they were of no
> help. Finally one tech told me the router I bought has many known
> problems and that I should stop wasting my time trying to get it
> working. It's then I discover that I've been had. I google for
> "WRT54G Version 6" and discover a barrage of other users who are
> experiencing the EXACT same problem as me!
>
> That was the moment that demonstrated to me that Linksys had lost the
> integrity that I had once known it for. For those of you not familiar
> with the Linksys WRT54G product line, prior to Version 6, their
> routers operated under a Linux based kernel. Beginning at Version 6,
> they started using a proprietary VxWorks based operating system. It
> was obvious that Linksys was shipping brick routers, taking customers
> money, and just planning on "fixing" the router via firmware patches
> when they got around to it.
>
> I demanded my money back, but of course Linksys isn't going to refund
> anything to a customer -- they just tell you to take it back to the
> place you purchased it. A slight problem for a customer who purchaed
> from eBay, based soley on the brand name Linksys. The guy that sold
> me the router wasn't misleading me. He probably knew the routers he
> was selling were complete junk, but he shipped me exactly what he
> advertised -- "Brand New Shrinkwrapped WRT54G Version 6".
>
> I gave up with Linksys and decided if they didn't care about their
> customers, this customer wasn't going to care about them -- or Cisco.
> To date, I have given over $6 million in orders that I would normally
> give to Cisco to competing vendors. I will never again recommend a
> Linksys or Cisco product. Linksys may have screwed me out of $60, but
> it came back and bit them in the butt.
>
> I am pleased to say that a year after purchasing the router, a
> firmware patch was released and now the router works fairly well.
> Unfortunately its a year late and I've seen the greedy nature of
> Linksys/Cisco.
>
> In summary, I will never buy another Linksys or Cisco product again.
> If you choose to, you may get something that works, but don't hold
> your breath based soley on the brand name. Also, always purchase from
> a local vendor so you can return garbage and get your money back.
>
> Good luck!
> Mike
>
"RBM" <rbm2(remove this)@optonline.net> wrote in message
> So, what you're saying is that you are a penny pincher, and your cheapness
> backfired on you, so the rest of the world should buy any other cheap
> brand of router . In this world, you're lucky if you get what you pay for.
> Typically cheap electronics are a crapshoot. Linksys is one of the largest
> manufacturers of cheap electronics in the networking industry. They must
> be doing something right for an awful lot of people
>
No Kidding.
I have bought alot of Linksys boxes and have never had the stated problems.
I've never bought a version above v5 and everyone that I have ever bought I
upgraded to DD-WRT.
But before I knew about DD-WRT I had a v3 that ran stock fimware just fine.
I have never seen a v6 or v7 router but I have seen a v8 and yes they are
crap (software and build quality and all) since I know they are crap I
refuse to buy them. I however regularly buy WRT54GL's and Buffalo WHR
stuff.. All get's loaded with DD-WRT.
Sorry you were cheap and didn't do your research and bought a crappy router.
Doesn't make all linksys crap it just means you need to do your homework
btw, if you have all this access to cisco why don't you have a cisco router?
Seems like a PIX 501 would do you well. Are you not smart enough to
configure one?
Adair
On Oct 14, 7:09 am, "RBM" <rbm2(remove this)@optonline.net> wrote:
> So, what you're saying is that you are a penny pincher, and your cheapness
> backfired on you, so the rest of the world should buy any other cheap brand
> of router . In this world, you're lucky if you get what you pay for.
> Typically cheap electronics are a crapshoot. Linksys is one of the largest
> manufacturers of cheap electronics in the networking industry. They must be
> doing something right for an awful lot of people
>
> "Cyron" <mdigit...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>
> news:1192327901.570997.62450@q3g2000prf.googlegrou ps.com...
>
> >I got a phone call from one of my associates today -- he was
> > displeased with his new Linksys router. I asked him why on earth he
> > bought a Linksys after all the problems I had with the one I bought --
> > apparently I didn't scream loud enough for him to get the message, so
> > I've decided to post my experience for others in hopes that they might
> > avoid wasting their time and money.
>
> > I made the mistake of buying a Linksys solely based on the fact that
> > Cisco is the parent company of Linksys. I do a lot of consulting for
> > medium to large scale businesses and I used to always recommend Cisco
> > because I've found their products to hold up well in environments that
> > demand excellent performance. Cisco is for businesses that want to
> > drop $50K on a device; Linksys is for the home user that wants a small
> > scale, reliable device, right? Wrong.
>
> > Where do I go when I want a cheap deal on something? Ebay. I quickly
> > located a vendor selling "Brand New Shrinkwrapped Linksys" routers. I
> > bid on one of these and got it for $60 -- only about 8 dollars savings
> > than if I had purchased from a local retail outlet. This was the
> > worst MISTAKE ever! If I had purchased from a local vendor, I could
> > return the POS Linksys and get my money back without any hassle.
>
> > Instead, I receive the Linksys -- just as described -- brand new in
> > orginal shrinkwrapped box -- straight from the Linksys factory. I
> > hook up the device and it runs like absolute garbage! BTW for those
> > wondering this is a Linksys WRT54G Version 6. We're talking about a
> > router that can barely stay online for more than 2 minutes -- it
> > constantly locks up, requires manual disconnection of power...wait 2
> > minutes, reconnect power. Virtually none of the most basic features
> > you would expect from a router work. I contacted Linksys Support and
> > though they spent several hours working with me, they were of no
> > help. Finally one tech told me the router I bought has many known
> > problems and that I should stop wasting my time trying to get it
> > working. It's then I discover that I've been had. I google for
> > "WRT54G Version 6" and discover a barrage of other users who are
> > experiencing the EXACT same problem as me!
>
> > That was the moment that demonstrated to me that Linksys had lost the
> > integrity that I had once known it for. For those of you not familiar
> > with the Linksys WRT54G product line, prior to Version 6, their
> > routers operated under a Linux based kernel. Beginning at Version 6,
> > they started using a proprietary VxWorks based operating system. It
> > was obvious that Linksys was shipping brick routers, taking customers
> > money, and just planning on "fixing" the router via firmware patches
> > when they got around to it.
>
> > I demanded my money back, but of course Linksys isn't going to refund
> > anything to a customer -- they just tell you to take it back to the
> > place you purchased it. A slight problem for a customer who purchaed
> > from eBay, based soley on the brand name Linksys. The guy that sold
> > me the router wasn't misleading me. He probably knew the routers he
> > was selling were complete junk, but he shipped me exactly what he
> > advertised -- "Brand New Shrinkwrapped WRT54G Version 6".
>
> > I gave up with Linksys and decided if they didn't care about their
> > customers, this customer wasn't going to care about them -- or Cisco.
> > To date, I have given over $6 million in orders that I would normally
> > give to Cisco to competing vendors. I will never again recommend a
> > Linksys or Cisco product. Linksys may have screwed me out of $60, but
> > it came back and bit them in the butt.
>
> > I am pleased to say that a year after purchasing the router, a
> > firmware patch was released and now the router works fairly well.
> > Unfortunately its a year late and I've seen the greedy nature of
> > Linksys/Cisco.
>
> > In summary, I will never buy another Linksys or Cisco product again.
> > If you choose to, you may get something that works, but don't hold
> > your breath based soley on the brand name. Also, always purchase from
> > a local vendor so you can return garbage and get your money back.
>
> > Good luck!
> > Mike
Sheesh, whats with all the top-posting in this group? A bunch of
newsgroup n00bies.
Yes, trying to save a few bucks did screw me -- but I don't consider
it my fault because I was purchasing the product based soley on the
Linksys brand name. I had used Linksys for many years and never had
to interact with their support staff -- hence the reason I was willing
to buy based soley on their name. After interacting with their
support staff, I've determined I will never purchase from them again.
Anyways, my post was just a warning to those who don't want to get
involved with unecessary headache. As I stated before, Linksys may
have screwed me out of my $60, but they screwed their parent company,
Cisco, out of millions as I no longer purchase any of their products
for my clients.
> No Kidding.
> I have bought alot of Linksys boxes and have never had the stated problems.
> I've never bought a version above v5 and everyone that I have ever bought I
> upgraded to DD-WRT.
> But before I knew about DD-WRT I had a v3 that ran stock fimware just fine.
> I have never seen a v6 or v7 router but I have seen a v8 and yes they are
> crap (software and build quality and all) since I know they are crap I
> refuse to buy them. I however regularly buy WRT54GL's and Buffalo WHR
> stuff.. All get's loaded with DD-WRT.
> Sorry you were cheap and didn't do your research and bought a crappy router.
> Doesn't make all linksys crap it just means you need to do your homework
>
> btw, if you have all this access to cisco why don't you have a cisco router?
> Seems like a PIX 501 would do you well. Are you not smart enough to
> configure one?
> Adair
First, let me congratulate you on not top posting. You have obviously
used Usenet before.
I also have purchased a lot of Linksys products and have not
experienced any problems with them -- however my last experience with
their deceitful business practices (selling routers that didn't work
with plans to upgrade and fix the problems at a later date) has
forever changed my view of their products.
I admit that I am at fault for not "doing my homework" ahead of time
-- I just never would have imagined that Linksys, a brand I once
trusted and preferred, would release such a pile of sh!t product. The
whole purpose of a brand name is to be able to trust it -- so I
shouldn't have to "do my homework" before every purchase. Anyways,
yes I can understand your confusion because I too would have sworn my
life on Linksys years ago, but all that has changed now. I will never
purchase or recommend a Linksys product again.
> btw, if you have all this access to cisco why don't you have a cisco router?
> Seems like a PIX 501 would do you well. Are you not smart enough to
> configure one?
> Adair
I missed the last half of your post -- the reason I do not use a Cisco
router is because I no longer recommend Cisco OR Linksys.
Furthermore, it would be overkill to use that router in my residential
environment -- we're only talking about a standard broadband
connection. As for configuring Cisco products, it is very simple.
Even if you have never done it before, you will find it easy if you
have even a minimal understanding of networking infrastructure.
>In summary, I will never buy another Linksys or Cisco product again.
>If you choose to, you may get something that works, but don't hold
>your breath based soley on the brand name. Also, always purchase from
>a local vendor so you can return garbage and get your money back.
Welcome to the reality of buying bottom of the line. It's not just
Linksys that has problem products and marginal service. Literally
every one of the bottom of the line networking vendors have a few
products that should never have escaped from engineering or
manufacturing. That also applies to automobile manufacturers,
appliance vendors, and computer system conglomerators. All of them
have lemons.
You made a few minor mistakes along the way. The WRT54G v6 was not
the first of the series of lemons sold by Linksys. What apparently
happened is that the V1 thru V4 mutations were becoming too expensive.
There was also the "problem" (depending on whom at Linksys you ask)
over alternative open source firmware. To solve these non-problems,
Linksys shot themselves in the foot by releasing a downsized product
with admittedly marginal VxWorks firmware. It seems that the
excellent reputation of the WRT54G line was based primarily on
recommendations from hackers using these as Linux platforms. The
first mistake was the V5 followed shortly thereafter by the V6. The
V7 changed the wireless chipset from Broadcom to Atheros. The V8 went
back to Broadcom. See:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrt54g>
for some clues as to what's inside. I won't touch a v5 or v6. I have
successfully setup v8 routers and had no problems. I haven't even
seen a v7.
Then the V5 was initially introduced, there were numerous reviews
citing problems.
<http://www.tomsnetworking.com/2006/06/08/linksys_wrt54g_v5_really_is_a_lousy_router/>
The one you probably haven't noticed yet is that it can barely handle
6 active wireless connections before the CPU starts to choke. See
charts at:
<http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/component/option,com_chart/Itemid,189/chart,124/>
and notice how the v5 and v6 appear near the bottom of the lists.
There were also numerous complaints and problems cited in the Linksys
support forums, various mailing lists, and this newsgroup.
Altogether, you're no better than Joe Sixpack buying a vehicle based
on "faith" in the manufacturer. Purchasing such a complex machine
based on color would have been more consistent with you selection
method. To be fair, I've been guilty of the same thing. I once owned
a Kenwood TM-731 ham radio. Great radio, but it was stolen from my
car. So, without the slightest bit of research, I purchased the
TM-732 (allegedly a replacement model of the TM-731) and discovered
that everything had changed and that I had purchased a piece of junk.
Ok, so I'm not perfect but I also try not to repeat my mistakes.
The basic problem is over generalizing. On the basis one bad router,
purchased from a non-authorized dealer, you declare the entire product
line, the company, and it's owners, to be equally defective. I can
see the logic, but the real world doesn't work that way. I usually
give vendors and suppliers a 2nd or even 3rd chance on the basis that
it's difficult to cross over burned bridges. You may need them some
day. For example, I'll continue to purchase Buffalo products even
though they cheated me out of a $10 rebate.
Incidentally, you'll find that there's only minimal interaction
between Cisco and Linksys. Unlike other Cisco acquisitions, Linksys
has been largely left to run things themselves. Also, why stop the
blame for your purchase at Cisco? Perhaps the owners of Cisco should
also be considered at fault. Here's a list:
<http://finance.yahoo.com/q/mh?s=CSCO>
So let's see if you're going to repeat your mistake. What brand are
you going to recommend in place of Cisco? By your logic, it's
acceptable to purchase solely by brand name or manufacturer. I'm
curious as to which brand you find acceptable in that they don't sell
any lemons.
Bottom line is you are probably as likely to get a bad cheap router and bad
cheap router support from any of the major cheap router manufacturers.
Furthermore, I prefer to top post. ymmv
"Cyron" <mdigitale@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1192397827.125368.169190@v23g2000prn.googlegr oups.com...
> On Oct 14, 7:09 am, "RBM" <rbm2(remove this)@optonline.net> wrote:
>> So, what you're saying is that you are a penny pincher, and your
>> cheapness
>> backfired on you, so the rest of the world should buy any other cheap
>> brand
>> of router . In this world, you're lucky if you get what you pay for.
>> Typically cheap electronics are a crapshoot. Linksys is one of the
>> largest
>> manufacturers of cheap electronics in the networking industry. They must
>> be
>> doing something right for an awful lot of people
>>
>> "Cyron" <mdigit...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>>
>> news:1192327901.570997.62450@q3g2000prf.googlegrou ps.com...
>>
>> >I got a phone call from one of my associates today -- he was
>> > displeased with his new Linksys router. I asked him why on earth he
>> > bought a Linksys after all the problems I had with the one I bought --
>> > apparently I didn't scream loud enough for him to get the message, so
>> > I've decided to post my experience for others in hopes that they might
>> > avoid wasting their time and money.
>>
>> > I made the mistake of buying a Linksys solely based on the fact that
>> > Cisco is the parent company of Linksys. I do a lot of consulting for
>> > medium to large scale businesses and I used to always recommend Cisco
>> > because I've found their products to hold up well in environments that
>> > demand excellent performance. Cisco is for businesses that want to
>> > drop $50K on a device; Linksys is for the home user that wants a small
>> > scale, reliable device, right? Wrong.
>>
>> > Where do I go when I want a cheap deal on something? Ebay. I quickly
>> > located a vendor selling "Brand New Shrinkwrapped Linksys" routers. I
>> > bid on one of these and got it for $60 -- only about 8 dollars savings
>> > than if I had purchased from a local retail outlet. This was the
>> > worst MISTAKE ever! If I had purchased from a local vendor, I could
>> > return the POS Linksys and get my money back without any hassle.
>>
>> > Instead, I receive the Linksys -- just as described -- brand new in
>> > orginal shrinkwrapped box -- straight from the Linksys factory. I
>> > hook up the device and it runs like absolute garbage! BTW for those
>> > wondering this is a Linksys WRT54G Version 6. We're talking about a
>> > router that can barely stay online for more than 2 minutes -- it
>> > constantly locks up, requires manual disconnection of power...wait 2
>> > minutes, reconnect power. Virtually none of the most basic features
>> > you would expect from a router work. I contacted Linksys Support and
>> > though they spent several hours working with me, they were of no
>> > help. Finally one tech told me the router I bought has many known
>> > problems and that I should stop wasting my time trying to get it
>> > working. It's then I discover that I've been had. I google for
>> > "WRT54G Version 6" and discover a barrage of other users who are
>> > experiencing the EXACT same problem as me!
>>
>> > That was the moment that demonstrated to me that Linksys had lost the
>> > integrity that I had once known it for. For those of you not familiar
>> > with the Linksys WRT54G product line, prior to Version 6, their
>> > routers operated under a Linux based kernel. Beginning at Version 6,
>> > they started using a proprietary VxWorks based operating system. It
>> > was obvious that Linksys was shipping brick routers, taking customers
>> > money, and just planning on "fixing" the router via firmware patches
>> > when they got around to it.
>>
>> > I demanded my money back, but of course Linksys isn't going to refund
>> > anything to a customer -- they just tell you to take it back to the
>> > place you purchased it. A slight problem for a customer who purchaed
>> > from eBay, based soley on the brand name Linksys. The guy that sold
>> > me the router wasn't misleading me. He probably knew the routers he
>> > was selling were complete junk, but he shipped me exactly what he
>> > advertised -- "Brand New Shrinkwrapped WRT54G Version 6".
>>
>> > I gave up with Linksys and decided if they didn't care about their
>> > customers, this customer wasn't going to care about them -- or Cisco.
>> > To date, I have given over $6 million in orders that I would normally
>> > give to Cisco to competing vendors. I will never again recommend a
>> > Linksys or Cisco product. Linksys may have screwed me out of $60, but
>> > it came back and bit them in the butt.
>>
>> > I am pleased to say that a year after purchasing the router, a
>> > firmware patch was released and now the router works fairly well.
>> > Unfortunately its a year late and I've seen the greedy nature of
>> > Linksys/Cisco.
>>
>> > In summary, I will never buy another Linksys or Cisco product again.
>> > If you choose to, you may get something that works, but don't hold
>> > your breath based soley on the brand name. Also, always purchase from
>> > a local vendor so you can return garbage and get your money back.
>>
>> > Good luck!
>> > Mike
>
> Sheesh, whats with all the top-posting in this group? A bunch of
> newsgroup n00bies.
> Yes, trying to save a few bucks did screw me -- but I don't consider
> it my fault because I was purchasing the product based soley on the
> Linksys brand name. I had used Linksys for many years and never had
> to interact with their support staff -- hence the reason I was willing
> to buy based soley on their name. After interacting with their
> support staff, I've determined I will never purchase from them again.
> Anyways, my post was just a warning to those who don't want to get
> involved with unecessary headache. As I stated before, Linksys may
> have screwed me out of my $60, but they screwed their parent company,
> Cisco, out of millions as I no longer purchase any of their products
> for my clients.
>
"Jeff Liebermann" <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote in message
> Altogether, you're no better than Joe Sixpack buying a vehicle based
> on "faith" in the manufacturer. Purchasing such a complex machine
> based on color would have been more consistent with you selection
> method. To be fair, I've been guilty of the same thing. I once owned
> a Kenwood TM-731 ham radio. Great radio, but it was stolen from my
> car. So, without the slightest bit of research, I purchased the
> TM-732 (allegedly a replacement model of the TM-731) and discovered
> that everything had changed and that I had purchased a piece of junk.
> Ok, so I'm not perfect but I also try not to repeat my mistakes.
I buy alot of computer parts from CPU.com locally and I have ended up with
both bad hard drives and memory that they were more than happy to swap out
for me. Does not mean I will never shop there again.
I also just did a VoIP install using Cisco Express 500 PoE switches and was
not overaly impressed. Everything is configured via the web interface and
offers limited functionality. Doesn't make cisco a bad switch it just
happenes to be what the customer bought. Personally I would rather have some
HP Procurves.
Linksys is doing what everyone is trying to do, save money.. They have made
some bad router versions but they also have some that work very well. These
days I lean more towards buffalo for SoHo routers running DD-WRT.
Cyron wrote:
>
> I made the mistake of buying a Linksys solely based on the fact that
> Cisco is the parent company of Linksys. Cisco is for businesses that
> want to drop $50K on a device; Linksys is for the home user that wants > a small
scale, reliable device, right? Wrong.
Not for some...
> Where do I go when I want a cheap deal on something? Ebay.
Your first mistake...
> Instead, I receive the Linksys -- just as described -- brand new in
> orginal shrinkwrapped box -- straight from the Linksys factory. I
> hook up the device and it runs like absolute garbage! BTW for those
> wondering this is a Linksys WRT54G Version 6. We're talking about a
> router that can barely stay online for more than 2 minutes -- it
> constantly locks up, requires manual disconnection of power...wait 2
> minutes, reconnect power. Virtually none of the most basic features
> you would expect from a router work. I contacted Linksys Support and
> though they spent several hours working with me, they were of no
> help. Finally one tech told me the router I bought has many known
> problems and that I should stop wasting my time trying to get it
> working. It's then I discover that I've been had. I google for
> "WRT54G Version 6" and discover a barrage of other users who are
> experiencing the EXACT same problem as me!
I find this fascinating. That's the EXACT router that I have been using
with no problems [after the installation] for over a year. Considering
I'm a senior citizen who had never owned a router before, I'd say the
fact that I managed to install it, and I've had no problems since, means
the router is a good choice for many people at $50.
I think a lot of people don't have enough patience, or they want
something for nothing. It does what Linksys advertises... for me.
bj
On Oct 13, 9:11 pm, Cyron <mdigit...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> It was obvious that Linksys was shipping brick routers, taking customers
> money, and just planning on "fixing" the router via firmware patches
> when they got around to it.
As a Linksys dealer that has installed more than just a few, I can say
its not obvious they are shipping bricked routers.
> To date, I have given over $6 million in orders that I would normally
> give to Cisco to competing vendors.
I don't think Cisco is going to loose any sleep over that.
Avoid Linksys like the Plague 
Linear Mode
