Beta firmware V1.0.0.19_1.0.19_Test1 Issues(?)

[keith_thfc]

I wonder how many months it will be before you hear from Netgear again.....

I told Netgear and the retailer (Kikatek) that only a v2 replacement would be acceptable for me......and even that assumes they've fixed the v1 issues, which I haven't seen any confirmation of yet.

[ammotrup]

TheNavigator,

I received a version 2 and the traffic meter seems to be functions. It's only been a few days so I'm waiting for a weekly turn over. The end of the month will be a real test. There's a small problem with setting up the warning message as it will only take a two digit numeric value - I'm using MBytes and it looks like the application is looking for minutes. I'll report this later but I'll hold off for now as I've just about pegged my fun meter with Netgear support.

[TheNavigator]

I have now been given access to DGND3700-V1.0.0.20_1.0.20_NAK_Fix.chk (i.e the next Beta). Performed a factory reset on the router, loaded up the firmware, restored my original settings and performed a reboot. Now monitoring the Traffic Meter to see if this continues to count for more than a day or 2.

There is another thing I had not spotted until the other day on the Traffic Meter set up page. The option to Enable Traffic Meter by Connection time control is greyed out. It's not that I wanted to use by Connection time yet using Traffic Volume control seems to be the only accesible choice. With the Beta firmware this is still the case which does not bode well.

Fingers crossed

[TheNavigator]

Sent to Netgear this morning:

I am sorry to say that this beta test version has made no difference. I have factory reset the router, applied the beta firmware, restored my settings and rebooted the router. The count in Traffic meter was rising last night but has today frozen at 2525 Mbytes.

Another observation both in this and the previously released firmwares is that the Option to Enable Traffic Meter by "connection time control" is greyed-out and non-selectable. Again this implies definite bug(s) with the software.

What are your next steps to provide me with a fully functional router that I can trust and restore my confidence in Netgear as a leading network kit provider of choice?

[TheNavigator]

Still no positive progress and now sent this to Netgear having tried a 3rd device.

I have now received a new DGND3700 V1 and although the traffic meter was working fine at last point of checking yesterday night, this morning it has again siezed up and stopped - see attached. Likewise the "Connection time control" is still unavailable as a selectable option.

After 3 of these devices and each showing the same flaw in functionality there seems no option but to provide a full refund for the sub-standard device or offer an operational router with the same specification or higher that does in fact work. I am happy enough to try out a DGND3700 V2 so long as you can guarantee that this will work as advertised.

I am also concerned that Netgear are breaking UK trading laws by insisting that I have to pay postage for return under RMA, costing me £3.50 each time. Under UK law, if a device is proven to be defective the customer should not incur any additional cost to replace. Please confirm how you intend to not contravene this law.

[TheNavigator]

Response from Netgear and it seems positive

Thank you for your response. I do apologize for the inconvenience that this has caused you. I have processed a replacement for you for your DGND3700v2 shipping is waived. However, we need collateral to continue the process. I will have someone to call you to get the information.

Not heard anything from Netgear re what is meant by "collateral" so called them. They advised that I need to wait for a call from the Agent and not send back under the Standard RMA at this stage. However, I do not wish to have to pay out even more than the postage for a replacement to be sent to me first before returning the faulty unit. I will wait for the call just now.

[Scubbie]

Basically when they process your RMA they will ask for your card details.

Should you not return the DGND3700v1, then you will be charged the cost of the DGND3700v2.

I have done this a couple of times without any problems, so you should be fine.

[TheNavigator]

Received my V2 today including a free postage label to send back the old device. Conclusions so far:

The "Connection Time Control" option is still unavailable but through some diagnostics I ran on the old V1 device this only appears to become active if PPoA is set as the connection method. Unfortunately I cannot then connect to my ISP. As it is, I am more concerned about bandwidth usage than time control so not a great issue for me.

So far the bandwidth usage is still counting upwards so a positve sign.

Note that on the packaging the unit is still shown as a DGND3700-100UKS thus not indicating if a V1 or V2 and giving me a moment of panic that I had been sent a V1 again. However the unit itself clearly states a V2 and the Netgear genie interface confirms this. This new interface seems quite nice though perhaps a little slower to respond then the original V1 version.

I have also noticed that the firewall is picking up rather more in the way of DOS attack alerts so perhaps the engine has been improved - or I am just unfortunate enough to had an increase in these.

Giving it a soak test for a few days before signing off with Netgear (hopefully).

[ammotrup]

TheNavigator,

I've had the version 2 a little longer and it just passed the test of a new month rollover. The version 1 normally crashed at the end of the week and aways cleared the statistics and stopped counting after a new month. I still can't get the Popup Warning to take a realistic value (Looks lke it is expecting a minutes value and not a megabytes number. But overall, it looks to be a leap forward.

[TheNavigator]

Here are my closing notes to Netgear now that the V2 has proven itself superior to the V1.

Theoretically I am happy to have this case closed as my immediate issues with the Traffic Meter have been sorted following the provision of a DGND3700V2. Thanks for this.

However, not being sure how Netgear closes its support issues and if this is automatic by me submitting as OK rather than if you review the case notes before finally closing off, then I feel it worth mentioning a couple of points that you may wish to raise internally as potential bugs to be addressed in a future release of firmware.

The points which still revolve around the Traffic Meter are:

1. Unless I have selected PPoA as my connection method, then the option for "Connection time control" is unavailable - only "Traffic volume control" is selectable. Unfortunately I cannot establish a connection using PPoA, I think because I have a static IP over an LLC-Based connection.

2. Setting the "Traffic Control - Popup warning message" is limited to a value no greater than 100Mbytes/minutes. As I am using Traffic Volume control to monitor my usage, then 100Mbytes as a warning threshold is rather limited. Inputting a value greater than 100 produces an error "Invalid numeric value for Watermark at traffic control"

As I say feel free to close this off but please ensure the additional issues are raised for further attention.

I am sure other issues will crop up over time but at least I have finally managed to get an acceptable working device.