Linksys Routers have taken a dive in quality...
Is it me or has the latest WRT54G routers taken a dive in quality? I had two Version 2 or 3 routers take a nose dive this week at two separate locations. No big deal.
Went and purchased new routers. Version 8 this time.
Making changes is horrible and changes have to be done one at a time. I am thinking about purchasing an airport extreme at this point.
So, is it me or is Linksys on a downward slide or what? It seems D-Link has really come on and Netgear stuff seems pretty nice these days.
Went and purchased new routers. Version 8 this time.
Making changes is horrible and changes have to be done one at a time. I am thinking about purchasing an airport extreme at this point.
So, is it me or is Linksys on a downward slide or what? It seems D-Link has really come on and Netgear stuff seems pretty nice these days.
Comments
My WRT54G works just fine. I've had it since early this year.
Does it have an S at the end and what version is it?
Is it setup for a Static IP internet address? This is where my problems are basically coming from the setup of the new router. The older ones were rock solid but these new ones suck. I am having to make changes one at a time or the router won't make the change.
Does it have an S at the end and what version is it?
Is it setup for a Static IP internet address? This is where my problems are basically coming from the setup of the new router. The older ones were rock solid but these new ones suck. I am having to make changes one at a time or the router won't make the change.
It's setup for static IPs, but mine's not a SpeedBooster model (no S on the end). I have the regular WRT54G Ver. 6 with the latest firmware. I don't have any of those problems.
However, this changed. Starting with version 4, Linksys reduced the RAM from 32MB to 16MB and reduced the flash memory from 8MB to 4MB. Then, with version 5, they stopped using Linux and switched to a proprietary firmware--although the graphical user interface looks the same, the engine underneath is different. In addition, with version 8, the antennas are no longer removable.
After a large number of complaints, Linksys came out with the WRT54GL, the "L" at the end meaning Linux. This is essentially a repackaging of their version 3 router. It has 32MB of RAM, 8MB of flash memory, and uses the Linux OS. Therefore, your version 3 router is probably the most valuable of the three routers you own.
The high end Asus WL500 and Buffalo routers have now become more favored by the hacker community. They have more RAM, flash memory, removable antennas, plus USB ports for a network hard drive. Here are a few links with more information about the WRT54G.
WRT54G Wikipedia
WRT54G Wi-fi Planet
Turn your $60 router into a $600 router
The Linksys WRT54G used to be the router of choice by hackers when it first came out. This was mainly because of two reasons, first, it had removable antennas. Hackers could replace them with high gain antennas to setup wireless hotspots, and even use large directional antennas to communicate with others across town. Second, they used the Linux operating system. This allowed the firmware to be changed to add additional functionality such as Quality of Service, Load Balancing, Wireless Mesh, etc.
However, this changed. Starting with version 4, Linksys reduced the RAM from 32MB to 16MB and reduced the flash memory from 8MB to 4MB. Then, with version 5, they stopped using Linux and switched to a proprietary firmware--although the graphical user interface looks the same, the engine underneath is different. In addition, with version 8, the antennas are no longer removable.
After a large number of complaints, Linksys came out with the WRT54GL, the "L" at the end meaning Linux. This is essentially a repackaging of their version 3 router. It has 32MB of RAM, 8MB of flash memory, and uses the Linux OS. Therefore, your version 3 router is probably the most valuable of the three routers you own.
The high end Asus WL500 and Buffalo routers have now become more favored by the hacker community. They have more RAM, flash memory, removable antennas, plus USB ports for a network hard drive. Here are a few links with more information about the WRT54G.
WRT54G Wikipedia
WRT54G Wi-fi Planet
Turn your $60 router into a $600 router
It appears after looking into this that V8 routers have big problems.
I would also like to state that using DHCP with Manual address causes problems with the routers and Leopard using the Linksys V8. I believe I may go the way of the Buffalo at work. My APX is doing great and exactly what I need it to do. The AE unit is flaky on extending my wireless, as I can't get it to do it without totall knocking out the Wireless network, but all I use it for is to stream my iTunes over the ethernet anyway so no big deal. But this router situation at work is pissing me off and then, Apple changes the Firewall setup in Leopard. I have honestly thought about going back to Tiger on my last backup because of the firewall debacle.
After a large number of complaints, Linksys came out with the WRT54GL, the "L" at the end meaning Linux. This is essentially a repackaging of their version 3 router. It has 32MB of RAM, 8MB of flash memory, and uses the Linux OS. Therefore, your version 3 router is probably the most valuable of the three routers you own.
I thought that the WRT54GL came with the crappy linksys software and then you had to flash the DDWRT onto it if you wanted linux. I am pretty sure of that as I am looking at my router info page (192.168.1.1) and it has the linksys junk on it. (I haven't put linux on it yet due to the painful experience from last time...)