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?

[jmizoguchi]

Hared reset the router first

[ggift_1029]

Yeah, you can try to hard reset first the router and reinstall/reconfigure it back. I think the tech people will just do the same thing, anyway.

[hisownfool]

Originally Posted by ggift_1029

Yeah, you can try to hard reset first the router and reinstall/reconfigure it back. I think the tech people will just do the same thing, anyway.

Okay, I'll give that a try. Thanks, guys. Thing is, it was working fine until a few days ago.

[hisownfool]

I went ahead and did the hard reset and and setup the router and, while I could connect for a while, the problem came back. All of my 2.4ghz devices -- netbook, iPad, Kindle Fire -- can detect the signal, which ranges from 94-100 percent and -58 to -45db, but they cannot connect to it. I've checked local networks for interference and it's not any higher than usual. (I live in a condo). The results are the same whether I'm the only person using the channel or whether there are two others. I stick to the middle (5,6 and 7) because my Amped app shows that this is the least crowded part of my local wifi area.

At this point, I don't what to do except buy a new router. My terrible experience with Netgear "support" rules out another call. (In a would-be-funny-if-it-wasn't-effrontery moment, a supervisor from iYogi called trying to sell me again. I told him to get lost.)

If a new router is in my future then you can add me to the legion of unhappy former Netgear customers.

The sad thing is that the router worked great until it didn't.

[jmizoguchi]

5,7 will not work. 1,6,11. rest will overlap

[hisownfool]

Originally Posted by jmizoguchi

5,7 will not work. 1,6,11. rest will overlap

The problem persists regardless of the channel. If it's set to 6, it happens, too. (In any case, it worked just great for months on channel 3.) It's not a channel problem. It's not a password problem, either. Since I did a hard reset, I don't know what else to do. Netgear clearly has no intention of issuing an RMA.

At this point, I have probably wasted time and energy on a problem that, in all high likelihood, will not be resolved except by replacing the unit and treating the experience as a lesson in what not to buy.

[jmizoguchi]

make sure router is not close to other emitting devices as well.

[hisownfool]

Okay, this is odd: the 2.4ghz band came back and has stayed up for at least 15 hours. Is it possible than higher-than-normal competition for available spectrum over the holiday weekend caused the problem and that, once the weekend was winding down and there were fewer networks broadcasting, the problem went away? If this is the case, I am okay with the idea that a handful of holiday weekends I will have to stick to wireless devices that can receive a 5ghz signal.

[jmizoguchi]

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