Another big company with bad service…

I have a Linksys router on my home system. Granted, not your typical home system, as there are at least 10 items in the house that want an IP and a broadband connection.

I thought buying from Linksys, owned by Cisco, would be a safe bet. I opted for the Linksys RV042, an impressive little device with features only seen on bigger routers, like one to one NAT, VPN tunnels, remote access, and a host of other features. At first, it was great.

And then I noticed that my internet speed was starting to slow down. Comcast says I have 6 Mbps download (best speed) and I should see something close. But now I was seeing first 4 Mbps, then 3 Mbps max, and now it is about 1.5 Mbps max. I tried my download test at different times, as Comcast says heavy user load in my neighborhood, which is not the case in my neighborhood, can cause slowdowns, but these speeds were consistent over a 24 hour period (yes, I let it run all night and logged the speeds.)

Assuming that it could not possible be my router, I started calling Comcast and accusing them of bad service in my area. After many calls trying to fix it, one of their techs said, “Do you have a router?”

“Why yes, a new Linksys Router. But I am sure that is not the problem.” He asked me to disconnect the cable modem from the router and plug any of the computers directly into the cable modem, and re-run my download test (my test, by the way, is downloading a VERY large newsgroup file, which starts 8 download streams.) What a surprise, I started seeing 5.5 Mbps consistently. I tried two other computers. Same results. I immediately plugged the router back in, reconnected my computer, and tried the test again. 2.0 Mbps max, and only occasionally did it get that fast.

Ok, now to the trouble shooting. First, I reset the router to factor defaults, which clears all forwarding and firewall rules. Next, I upgraded the firmware, which went up only a few numbers in the second and third decimal points. I tried again. Nothing better.

So, I went to the Linksys website to see what my support options were. It was more that 30 days, so Best Buy would not take it back. The only option I could find was email. So I described the system in detail, explained that the unit had no filters or rules and was the latest firmware, and what might be wrong. I also explained that playing with the MTU setting (size of packets) to non-standard MTUs settings actually caused some increase in speed, but also MAY cause system errors.

After over a week, I received an email response telling me to clear all the filters and turn off all the firewall rules and see what happens. Now wait, did I not say I already did that? Oh, I must not know what I was talking about, so do it again!

So I responded in their email form, where you MUST type your response in-between to dotted lines or it is ignored, to the effect that they did not read my email, and I already had done all that they suggested, and said as much.

Over 10 days later, my second response came back: In a nutshell, basically he said “…I suggest that you upgrade the firmware, hard reset the device and set the proper MTU size.” The message also included instructions on how to use DHCP, basic wireless settings (this is not a wireless device), and other nonsense having nothing to do with my issue, and VERY long instructions on upgrading the firmware, which I already had. Hello?

Sigh! Not only did they not read my message, but they did not even know the features of the device and I had given them the model number. Where do they find these people who answer tech quesitons? (Never mind, I do not want to know.)

I am only sorry now that I cannot return it to Best Buy. I do not want a unit that comes with no or worse than no, bad customer support. While this device is only about $200, I would still expect that they would give some kind of decent support to entice one to buy other products by this company. Obviously they do not care.

Well, I am out to shop for another router, and it will not, unfortunately, be a Linksys, as I believe they USED to make great equipment. Seems since being bought by Cisco, they could care less about home users as we fall into the noise.

Any suggestions? I need a home DHCP router with firewall and VPN built in. I tend to not like Netgear equipment, but at least they have good customer service, so maybe I will give them a try.
If you are thinking of a new wireless or wired router, be warned, the customer service at Linksys really no longer exists it seems, and you have to talk in ultra-slow motion via 10 day turnaround emails to people who are as stupid as dirt and do not know how to read. I suggest another company for your products. Vote with your wallet. I am not a Linksys happy camper.

If someone who reads this works for Linksys, I would love an email on who to call to get some help. This device stinks.

Now I understand why Sonicwall charges so much for thier device; solid products and good customer support, and there is a value in that. Perhaps I am off to buy a Sonicwall again.