Netgear WNDR3400 RMA & Support

[hisownfool]

I posted this in the wrong forum. Sorry.

Once more into the breach.

Here is my problem: I have had a WNDR3400 for about 14 months. It worked just fine until yesterday when, for reasons I cannot figure out, the 2.4ghz band stop working. By "stopped working," I mean that while my iPad, Kindle Fire and netbook can "see" the network they cannot connect to it, notwithstanding the fact that the settings have not been changed.

The odd thing is the iPad and Apple TV have no trouble "seeing" and connecting to the 5ghz network.

I called Netgear for help and was told that past ninety days, help is only available for a fee. (BTW, the pitch for iYogi services was quite energetic.) I inquired about an RMA and was told, in effect, that since my lights come on I have a software problem which is not covered by Netgear's lifetime warranty.

$40 for tech support for a, by now, $70 router seems a bit steep and giving iYogi access to my computer via software I download and install kinda creeped me out.

Are those my only choices?