New FVS318G Hangs

[mk1minimad]

Hi Guys

Did any of the beta releases solve the issue with hanging?

Thanks

Stefan

[iceman3301]

Stefan,

I tried all the way up to version 3.0.7-11, of the beta firmware and no luck. I gave up and returned the unit for a refund.

In place of this solution, I just went with an 8-port GB switch, and, the free home version of Astaro. I'm running Astaro on a fanless system (MSI WindBOX II 9A25).

Good luck!

Originally Posted by mk1minimad

Hi Guys

Did any of the beta releases solve the issue with hanging?

Thanks

Stefan

[electrotechie]

Hi, In order to resolve the hanging problem Netgear support just advised me to use "version 15" - I guess 3.0.6-15 reverting from 3.0.6-16 (which was on the router when I bought it). Apparently it does not solve the problem but the router will reboot automatically when it hangs.

I am now going offline to do just that. I MAY be back later

[mk1minimad]

Thanks iceman3301, so it's still not resolved

Be interesting to hear how the downgrade goes, electrotechie. Not ideal, but at least it'll mean the router will work 99.9% of the time.

It's such a shame ... been very impressed with the reliability of the Netgear hardware I've got up until now.

[mk1minimad]

So, I thought I'd down grade to 3.0.6-15. The box hung after a few hours and didn't reboot itself.

I opened a support ticket ticket the other day, but haven't yet had a response, so I think it's time to send the box back and get a refund. I really can't believe Netgear have released a product that is SO un-useable and seem unable to fix the issue in a reasonable time frame. A google search seems to indicate that this issue has been going on for several months.

Are there any alternative units around that provide similar functionality? Specifically I'm after support for multiple static IP addresses on the WAN port.

Thanks

Stefan

[electrotechie]

I downgraded to 3.0.6-15. It worked for two days. During the night last night it hung. I rebooted this morning and it hung again this afternoon. My suspicions are that it is something to do with uploading; my wife had been gossiping using Skype quite a long time this morning. I had downloaded hundreds of megabytes in the two days that it was working, so just a few hours of uploading seemed to kill it. I suspect it is total capacity of upload rather than traffic. It stopped during a low traffic time.
Anyway, the summary is that 3.0.6-15 is not immune to hang-ups and it does not reboot itself.

[electrotechie]

OK, I retract the bit about upload quantity; it hung again after about half an hour of very light traffic.

[jsaganski]

This is absolutely ridiculous. I cant believe I am reading on this forum that the biggest priority is where this issue is posted.

Here is the problem, it is a complete embarrassment that Netgear would allow this product to continue to be sold, this product should absolutely be recalled, period. I have been in contact with support numerous times, every time waiting on hold for 40+ mins only to get another firmware which appears to be on their "firmware" wheel of fortune, mostly arbitrary.

I have tried multiple firmware versions, 7-08, 7-13 etc etc. This product is the heart of my network and goes down many times a day, cutting off all communications, phone, exchange etc etc. All I get is that they know about it etc, but it appears they don't have enough engineers working on it.

I have been using an FVS318v3 for over 5 years with no issues. This product, FVS318G is an atrocity. I have no choice but to move to a competitors product and to never purchase another Netgear product.

This is not an isolated incident.

[electrotechie]

I tried writing to their Senior Vice President of Operations (firstname.lastname@netgear.com) warning him of a major quality problem both for this and the DGNF3300 for which they put out a firmware "upgrade" which massively reduced the transmission range of the wifi.

He is the one who fronts a quality video on the Netgear site but I suspect their attention is mainly focussed on hardware and subcontractors, not their software testing. No response back so maybe he has some other anonymous name so he cannot hear warnings! Maybe someone else should try the CTO to see if he can apply the necessary corrections.

[joe5322]

What a joke Netgear. How could you ship this box? I returned 12 of them today. I'm unhappy, my client is unhappy, the retailer is unhappy, but you don't seem to care or have time to work on the problem. I've always used your products but I won't be anymore.