Why Me?

A while ago I wrote about a Belkin router that I had bought, namely about the fact that it was utter garbage as is Belkin’s tech support.  In its place I purchased a Netgear WGR614 v5 router (the v5 is the white one).  This has been much better with just a few minor flaws, until recently.

The first minor flaw was that when you first plug it in, it enters a setup mode where it tries to detect your connection type (static, dynamic, PPPoE, etc), but it detected mine incorrectly.  This wouldn’t be a big deal except it provides no way for you to bypass this auto-config wizard.  So I’m stuck with "static" and I have to enter my static IP address, which of course I don’t know since I don’t actually HAVE a static IP address.  But this is literally my only option so I enter some bogus numbers.  After trying to use my bogus numbers to get online, the router tells me it can’t connect, and FINALLY it tells me that I can visit this URL to manually set up the router.  There should be a link to that URL on the very first page.

But again, that’s a relatively minor problem.  The bigger problem I’m having now is that every 2 weeks or so the router just locks up.  It no longer routes and it’s not even pingable; the only option is to power-cycle it.  I frequently need to access my home systems from remote locations so this is a big problem for me.  If I were sitting next to it when it happens I could just reset it, but from miles away there is no solution.

I’ve been looking for a firmware update on their site but there hasn’t been one since I bought the router.  And actually, in the changelog for the current firmware, it says something to the effect of "fixed random lockups" that had been occurring in the previous version.  Yeah, I guess not.

It looks like I’ll be switching back to D-Link’s routers.  I have always used them with pretty much no problems, but the Belkin one that I tried was dirt cheap (and made of dirt, apparently), and this Netgear one is sooo sweet-looking on the outside.  I guess I should have known better than to be swayed by its exterior charm though.  A bulky D-Link router that works is better than a pretty Netgear one that doesn’t.