WNDR3700 wireless failure?

[DavidFrustrated]

I've have the WNDR3700 for just over a year (naturally, this happened at 13 months so I believe it's out of warranty). We have two laptops, two iPhones and an Apple TV that use the wifi. The other night it abruptly stopped transmitting a wireless signal. I can still use the router if I connect via an ethernet cable, but none of my devices recognize that the network exists.

I've updated firmware and checked various settings, but nothing works. At the same time the transmission problem started, the router started making a high pitched whine whenever it is turned on. I suspect a hardware problem but don't know how to confirm that or fix it.

Has anyone observed this problem? Any suggestions on what to do other than buy a new device?

[crn]

Not that this will help the issue (because honestly it won't), but it sounds like at least one cap (lingo for capacitor) on the finals of the broadcast transmtter on your radio are toast. Yes, that little box of wonderment actually does have a radio transmitter in it (several, in fact, for dual-band). I've experienced this on one router in particular (it was, ironically, NOT a NetGear) a couple of years ago. For mine the whine was immediately prior to the transmitter going kerboom.

This also, btw, explains why you still have hard-link access, as the RJ45 ports obviously have nothing to do with the x-mitter of your radio.

There are a number of things you can do to verify that your radio is not, in fact, working anymore. The 802.11 spec pumps out a stream of "hey I'm hear" bursts at a default rate of about 10/second. The strength of these, and the reception of them, is one of the things that determines how many "bars" you get. You can monitor them with something besides your PC's and iPhones using a number of devices. I personally use a Kindle Fire application called Wi-Fi Analyzer (that is the exact name). If you have a Kindle Fire, download that batboy and fire it up. It will scan all the channels in your area and report back not only your SSID (assuming you broadcast it) but also the others in your neighborhood. If your SSID isn't even showing up it is very likely your radio is toast. If it does, but it is super weak, it is still likely the receiver is toast, and the x-mitter is on its last leg.

Sorry I can't be more help. The price of routers has fallen substantially for decent quality units these days, and if you head out to buy a new one, by all means do a little homework first. It always sucks when gear finally fails, especially out of warranty, but to have it fail and then replace it with marginal hardware is like adding insult to injury. Take a day and find something that not only replaces what you had, but maybe even provides even more than you had before.

-crn

[code46]

High pitched whine? That sounds like hardware failure if you're sure it's coming form the router and nothing else.

Upgrading firmware rarely helps in fact in many cases it hurts and causes more problems. Especially if everything was working fine and nothing new was added or changed.

Did you have a V1 or a V2 WNDR3700?

[DavidFrustrated]

I couldn't figure out if i had a v1 or v2. I didn't see that anywhere on the back of the box or in the documentation I received. (I spent some time looking for this when I was first trying to diagnose the problem.)

I agree it's almost certainly a hardware issue. I just mentioned upgrading the firmware to preempt that suggestion.

[jmizoguchi]

Originally Posted by DavidFrustrated

I couldn't figure out if i had a v1 or v2. I didn't see that anywhere on the back of the box or in the documentation I received. (I spent some time looking for this when I was first trying to diagnose the problem.)

I agree it's almost certainly a hardware issue. I just mentioned upgrading the firmware to preempt that suggestion.

you have v1.

ONLY V2 and up will say wndr3700 V# after the model number

[Neti7en]

Originally Posted by DavidFrustrated

I've have the WNDR3700 for just over a year (naturally, this happened at 13 months so I believe it's out of warranty). We have two laptops, two iPhones and an Apple TV that use the wifi. The other night it abruptly stopped transmitting a wireless signal. I can still use the router if I connect via an ethernet cable, but none of my devices recognize that the network exists.

I've updated firmware and checked various settings, but nothing works. At the same time the transmission problem started, the router started making a high pitched whine whenever it is turned on. I suspect a hardware problem but don't know how to confirm that or fix it.

Has anyone observed this problem? Any suggestions on what to do other than buy a new device?

I too am experiencing a similar if not the same problem. The transmitter in my WNDR3700 has suddenly failed after about 2 yrs. I have no problems surfing if I use the RJ45 jack, but I have little to no connectivity if I am any more than just a few feet away. If I am over 2 to 3 feet away, I have no signal at all. My device is not in an enclosed space. It has been in the same location since purchase. I've run several tests (moving it to different locations, hard reset, flashing the bios, etc.), but the radio signal is still very faint. At first I thought it was a local interference problem, but I'm able to connect to several surrounding wireless sources just fine. This has to be a transmission problem. My guess would be that others have almost certainly experienced something similar. Hope Netgear is already looking into to this.