SPH200W - Firmware 1.2.0.18 Should I Upgrade?

[buckets4eyes]

I don't beileve that I should always update software right away. I have version 1.2.0.2 for the SPH200W. Has anyone had a "good" experience with the update (1.2.0.18)? What are the pros/cons out there?

Second question.... Can the version be rolled back to previous if I have a bad experience with the update?

Thought I'd ask before updating.

[nobel_nomar]

In general, if you aren't having problems with a device, then don't bother upgrading the FW. I don't believe there is any option to roll back on these phones.

[386]

With the .18 upgrade call quality does seem better.

I wouldn't recommend it. After I upgraded I have been having problems with the phone interfering other wireless devices in the house. Seriously, it makes a Dell Inspiron laptop's wireless connection to the internet terrible. I turn off the blasted Netgear skype phone and all returns to normal. The laptop never had any problems before the .18 upgrade. I'm sure this definitely interferes with other WiFi devices and routers as well now. It might just be set to work more aggressively to help with call latency and it causes problems.

Also, sometimes the phone has a very high-pitched whine when it is sitting in the charging cradle now. Never happened with the old firmware.

Also, the phone has problems staying connected to the same wireless network that it used to be able to connect to and stay connected to for days. It has to be power-cycled (restarted) so it can connect again. Connection just seems very shaky since the upgrade.

So no. Do not upgrade and NETGEAR- please fix this great stuff you introduced! Thanks.

[386]

Since these devices have a lot of latency, any hope of lowering (such as upgrading the software the phone runs!) would seem like a good idea.

I recently upgraded to .18 and it went flawlessly. The call quality seems better and the latency does seem less! NETGEAR did good, right?

The phone now emits a high-pitched noise when plugged into the cradle.

The battery life remaining on the phone does not show an accurate portrayal anymore. It used to "lose juice" at a gradual rate, but now it waits until about an hour of standby time is left to start decreasing until the phone is dead. I thought "an hour ago it had full battery life. What gives?"

The phone now causes wifi interference with a laptop I use. When the phone is powered on and connected to the same wireless network the laptop loses packets and the connection is not just slowed down, but it stops working most of the time. If the phone is powered down, the laptop goes back to normal. This did not happen before the upgrade. Everything used to work like it should.

This has to cause interference with all kinds of wifi devices if it is causing this Dell Inspiron with an intel wireless chip to crap out. Maybe the NETGEAR phone is using wifi too aggressively to cause the lowered latency that I am experiencing?

Also the phone now has connection problems on the same network that it used to connect to beautifully. After a certain amount of time it will disconnect from skype and continue connecting. The phone has to be power-cycled (reset) to be able to connect again. Then I'll have to wait until it decides to disconnect again. So basically the phone is not reliable anymore.

So would I upgrade? Absolutely not.

I sure hope that NETGEAR gets their act together, tests their releases better, and gives us something that works. Or maybe the option to revert to the old firmware?

[buckets4eyes]

Thank you everyone for the feedback. It would just make sense to allow users to roll back versions, let us try without the worry.

I handled issues with packet loss and other traffic issues inside my router by assigning a higher level QoS to the Skype phone. Of course that doesn't help issues on the internet.

Has anyone noticed that the support page for the SPH200W is missing FAQs/Downloads or anything else helpfull? There used to be something there...I think. Tried both Firefox and IE7 to make sure I wasn't blocking scripts or missing activex to make it work right.

Thanks again!

[nobel_nomar]

Originally Posted by buckets4eyes

Has anyone noticed that the support page for the SPH200W is missing FAQs/Downloads or anything else helpfull? There used to be something there...I think. Tried both Firefox and IE7 to make sure I wasn't blocking scripts or missing activex to make it work right.

Thanks again!

I ran into the same problem. I will report it to NETGEAR

[nobel_nomar]

Wasn't working the other day, but seems to be up now.

[fsardi]

At first the phone seems speedier and the echo test works great. when speaking with skypeout or skypein i hear perfectly but the other side hears me very softly. I would like to roll back to see if this fixes the problem but i cant find the older firmware.

[csam817]

Originally Posted by 386

With the .18 upgrade call quality does seem better.

I wouldn't recommend it. After I upgraded I have been having problems with the phone interfering other wireless devices in the house. Seriously, it makes a Dell Inspiron laptop's wireless connection to the internet terrible. I turn off the blasted Netgear skype phone and all returns to normal. The laptop never had any problems before the .18 upgrade. I'm sure this definitely interferes with other WiFi devices and routers as well now. It might just be set to work more aggressively to help with call latency and it causes problems.

Also, sometimes the phone has a very high-pitched whine when it is sitting in the charging cradle now. Never happened with the old firmware.

Also, the phone has problems staying connected to the same wireless network that it used to be able to connect to and stay connected to for days. It has to be power-cycled (restarted) so it can connect again. Connection just seems very shaky since the upgrade.

So no. Do not upgrade and NETGEAR- please fix this great stuff you introduced! Thanks.

I've submitted my problem "choppy connection" with netgear at:

https://my.netgear.com/mynetgear/main.asp

You can register your product (sph200w); they are very good after answering through email exchange. I suggest we all let them know our problem "choppy connection" and any problem associated with this firmware update; I asked Netgear from this site what they would do if I will have problems with the update; they have replied it can't be rolled over but that that they will replace my unit as it is still covered.

I had the sph200d, it used to have problems too; thru this site through emails, the bugs were fixed; I'm very happy about the sph200d now but I really like the portability of the sph200w, so I took the risk of purchasing it from ebay. Luckily it's still covered.

[csam817]

My phone would not upgrade; I tried everything; netgear replaced the phone; now, I've decided NOT to upgrade after all the comments on the new firmware 1.2.0.18. What helped the choppy sound was to remove battery, replace right before using it; actually, shut down, restart. When it's on again, the sound was better, no longer choppy.

Hope this helps. I'm afraid to upgrade to the .18 with all reported problems.