my email to linksys (I'd appreciate your thoughts)

[ivelostr2]

So here is what has been going on, I am curious if I'm an asshole for sending this letter to Linksys; If i was in the wrong with what i did in the first place and now I'm being one of those customers that is an idiot. I would appreciate your input...
Lately i have been getting booted off of my PS3 networks while my friends have had no issues staying on. A friend suggested that maybe i upgrade the firmware on my router (Linksys BEFW11S4 Version 4 wireless router), I did this and then i was unable to connect at all to the internet through the router, i was able to get online if i bypassed the router, but what is the point in that. the cable company helped a little, letting us know there was no static IP address and that the router should be detecting the correct IP. I called Linksys and was on hold for 25 minutes, when i explained the situation, they said they couldn't help me unless I bought the $30 warrantee. I was pissed off, and after thinking about it over the weekend, I just sent this letter:

Hello,
I currently own a BEFW11S4 Version 4 wireless router, I was having trouble with losing connection to my PS3, so I downloaded the latest firmware for the router. I installed the firmware, without assistance, and I was no longer able to connect to the internet through the router, I disconnected the router and went straight from my cable modem to the CPU and I was able to go online. I then called my cable company, who said the router should be able to detect the IP address (it was not a static IP). Still the router, after a few reboots and a 2nd firmware upgrade (just in case the first was corrupt), would not allow my CPU to connect to the internet.
I called a Linksys CSR for help. After a 25 minute wait, I was told that unless i pay approx $30 for a warrantee, customer service wouldn't be able to help me...
So, to recap, I download something that is supposed to improve YOUR product from YOUR website, the download messes up my router to the point where I can no longer go online, and when i call for help, I am forced to pay for the assistance. Even though it was your download that stopped my router from doing what it was supposed to. So, in essence, your company broke my router and then intended to charge me to fix it...No thanks...

I will be buying a Net Gear router tomorrow; I just wanted to make you aware of why you lost a customer this weekend...


Nick


so, you thoughts...

[Jay G.]

The product was warrantied for a year. After that point, if it breaks, for whatever reason, it's your problem, unless you bought an extended warranty. It's the same for any electronic device, though some electronics may have only a 30-day warranty.

The fact that it didn't work after the firmware upgrade doesn't mean the firmware upgrade "broke" it. Like you mentioned, you were having problems with the router before the upgrade as well, albeit a different problem. Even if the firmware did break it, the alternative is for Linksys to not provide the firmware upgrade to users who are out of warranty, which would deny a lot of people who could benefit from the upgrade.

That router is only Wireless B. How long have you had it?

One thing I know is that cable modems can be really touchy regarding what's connected to them. They tend to only accept the MAC address of the last device that connected to them properly until you reboot the modem. I'd reconnect the router to the modem and then reboot both the router and and modem.

[ivelostr2]

Originally Posted by Jay G.

The product was warrantied for a year. After that point, if it breaks, for whatever reason, it's your problem, unless you bought an extended warranty. It's the same for any electronic device, though some electronics may have only a 30-day warranty.

The fact that it didn't work after the firmware upgrade doesn't mean the firmware upgrade "broke" it. Like you mentioned, you were having problems with the router before the upgrade as well, albeit a different problem. Even if the firmware did break it, the alternative is for Linksys to not provide the firmware upgrade to users who are out of warranty, which would deny a lot of people who could benefit from the upgrade.

"broke" was a bad word to use i guess, but i still feel that the download they provided me was what caused the product to no longer work, and i didn't expect them to do something like replace the router, but if it was a setting or software issue, 2 minutes over the phone talking to me would have fixed it.

Originally Posted by Jay G.

That router is only Wireless B. How long have you had it?

I have had it for a long time, probably about 5-6 years, I guess I needed a new one anyway, but I just thought it was bad customer service to require an extended warrantee to answer any questions.

Originally Posted by Jay G.

One thing I know is that cable modems can be really touchy regarding what's connected to them. They tend to only accept the MAC address of the last device that connected to them properly until you reboot the modem. I'd reconnect the router to the modem and then reboot both the router and and modem.

I actually did do this a couple times, and it didn't work. I appreciate the suggestion though...

[movie diva]

Before you did the upgrade, did you write down the router settings? there may be just one setting that my have changed or was deleted, go into the router and check all of your settings.

[Jay G.]

Originally Posted by ivelostr2

"broke" was a bad word to use i guess, but i still feel that the download they provided me was what caused the product to no longer work

It might not have been the firmware itself that caused the problem, but the act of upgrading, which you enacted. For example, it could've wiped out certain settings.

...and i didn't expect them to do something like replace the router, but if it was a setting or software issue, 2 minutes over the phone talking to me would have fixed it.

Do you seriously think it would've only taken 2 minutes to go through all the settings/configurations? Even if it was only 2 minutes, that might not seem to be a long time to you, but compound that over 6 years worth of consumers, and you can quickly see why offering out-of-warranty help can be prohibitively expensive.

The majority of the time that I download a firmware upgrade for something, there's usually a warning by the manufacturer along the lines of "use at your own risk." It doesn't look like Linksys had any such warning readily visible before downloading, but it's a good rule-of-thumb to remember in future endeavors.

Remember, the alternative is for Linksys to not provide that firmware upgrade out of warranty, so it wouldn't have this issue come up at all. If that had been the case, you would've had to replace your router anyway, since it wasn't working properly before the upgrade. By offering the upgrade, Linksys was giving you for free something that has the potential for fixing certain problems.

I actually did do this a couple times, and it didn't work. I appreciate the suggestion though...

Hmm... I'd go with movie diva's suggestion and double-check all the settings. Also, you may want to restore all the factory-default settings and go through the initial setup procedures all over again.

[Ranger]

I did a firmware upgrade on a lunksys router and it was fine, but when I unplugged it to do cleaning, it lost the settings. So I just re-entered things (Ihave SSID/key saved on a text file and it worked fine even after again unplugging and plugging it back in.

[al_bundy]

Cisco won't care since they require their corporate customers to buy support contracts if they want any kind of support

and don't expect any better service from netgear