I frickin hate Best Buy.

[Turkish]

I normally wouldn't rant about a retailer but now I have to. I live in Blacksburg, VA, small college town, an hour away from Roanoke, VA, the city with the only Bestbuy in Southwest VA. So on Wednesday, I drove all the way to Roanoke to get a wireless router. I heard great things about the Linksys WRT54G, so I already had made my decision. I purchased the router, came back home, installed it, and found out that my connection drops everytime I try to share / download a large file. I tried updating the firmware through Linksys' website and it serves me no good. So I do a little more research and found out that V.2.2 of this router is the one giving everyone trouble, but then I keep reading and see that Linksys has stopped shipping V.2.2 of this particular router a long time ago. Grrr... so Best Buy basically sold me a V.2.2 router when about everyone else on the block has been selling the V.3. Now I have to drive 2 hours to return this piece of sh!t. I am just annoyed, sorry for taking your time.

The Boss

P.S. Is the V.3 of this router really reliable? If they have it, I may exchange it with a V.3.

 

[casper114]

I would go to there web site and file a complaint!

 

[casper114]

P.S. Is the V.3 of this router really reliable? If they have it, I may exchange it with a V.3.

[/quote]

Well you can definitly try!

 

[jonny13]

I bought a v.2 from BB and had to return it for the same issue. I found a v3.0 one at BB and swapped it for that one. Mine has worked perfect for the last two months and I have only restarted it twice.

There is a firmware out there that overclocks the router and should fix the issue, but YMMV. Here is a good (and really long) forum thread with info about the issue:

http://www.linksysinfo.org/modules.php?...=2601&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

 

[n0cmonkey]

It sounds like you should have done more research before spending the time and money to purchase the router...

 

[Turkish]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
It sounds like you should have done more research before spending the time and money to purchase the router...

ok monkey...

 

[Oakenfold]

I don't really see how it's Bestbuy's fault unless Linksys ordered a recall of the router. Be mad at Linksys, not Bestbuy.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
It sounds like you should have done more research before spending the time and money to purchase the router...

I disagree. One should not have to research the crap out of something before they buy it. Sure if you want the best of the best for big ticket items then research.

But we're talking a wireless router here, a basic commodity item. If it doesn't function as advertised then its a bum deal.

sorry noc, but I really disagree here. One should be able to purchase with confidence with such a well known brand. we're talking basic functionality here.

Sure it isn't best buy's fault...the blame lies on the manufacturer (cisco now) for letting crappy produt to enter the market.

I guess I'm getting on a rant, but the glut of technology CRAP that floods the market nowadays makes the saying "buyer beware" all the more pertinent. But you know what? If I want a wireless router I should be able to pick one up and have it work as advertised. What would one think of spending a few hundred bucks on a dishwasher that didn't wash dishes without stopping every few seconds?

continue rant and technology...

we consider ourselves "informed, knowledgible, we work with this stuff everyday" but as far as consumers of this product we represent maybe 5-10%. I'm not an expert on dishwashers but I sure as heck expect a dishwasher to wash dishes. And any consumer purchasing a wireless router should perform as a wireless router without having to be a network geek and spend hours on end studying said product.

this is one of the down sides of the Internet unfortunately...information overload.

 

[nweaver]

ahh...but a 2 hour drive could have been avoided with 20 minutes with google..

This isn't the OP's fault, but I'm sure he will spend those 20 minutes from now on. My wife buys stuff off Ebay, and she learned real quick how to google products for odd quirks, versions, and problems.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: spidey07
I disagree. One should not have to research the crap out of something before they buy it. Sure if you want the best of the best for big ticket items then research.

But we're talking a wireless router here, a basic commodity item. If it doesn't function as advertised then its a bum deal.

sorry noc, but I really disagree here. One should be able to purchase with confidence with such a well known brand. we're talking basic functionality here.

Sure it isn't best buy's fault...the blame lies on the manufacturer (cisco now) for letting crappy produt to enter the market.

I guess I'm getting on a rant, but the glut of technology CRAP that floods the market nowadays makes the saying "buyer beware" all the more pertinent. But you know what? If I want a wireless router I should be able to pick one up and have it work as advertised. What would one think of spending a few hundred bucks on a dishwasher that didn't wash dishes without stopping every few seconds?

continue rant and technology...

we consider ourselves "informed, knowledgible, we work with this stuff everyday" but as far as consumers of this product we represent maybe 5-10%. I'm not an expert on dishwashers but I sure as heck expect a dishwasher to wash dishes. And any consumer purchasing a wireless router should perform as a wireless router without having to be a network geek and spend hours on end studying said product.

this is one of the down sides of the Internet unfortunately...information overload.

He did the research to find the model number, 2 more minutes probably would have turned up the revision issue. It'd be great if things "just worked," but they don't. We google for a bit looking for a car, send an inspector into a house before we buy it, etc. We know there is a lot of crap out there, especially in regards to the brands you can purchase at Best Buy.

How many of these wireless issues are we going to attribute to hardware? I see "Can't stay connected" type threads constantly. Maybe it's Windows, maybe they should blame Microsoft. Maybe it's the user.

Want something to rant about: Manufacturers should better label their products too. Two Linksys wireless cards, same model number, different chipsets. THOSE SHOULD BE TWO DIFFERENT MODELS.

Having all hardware "just work" would be great, but it ain't gonna happen.

 

[alent1234]

isn't the V2.2 firmware upgradable to the latest one? And the version number is on the box when you buy it

 

[Turkish]

thanks spidey... exactly my point, this is not a car or a home, a $29.99 router that i drove 2 hours for... should've gotten it at walmart for $59.99 but thought the $30 Best Buy checks were worth the trip.

alent1234, i just went to walmart in town and checked it out, no version numbers on the box. i looked on every side of the darn box. is it hidden on the S/N?

 

[alent1234]

it's somewhere on the box in small print

my v1.1 has it on the router and the box

 

[n0cmonkey]

2 hours driving vs. 20 minutes reading. Hate best buy all you want, you're the one that bought the junky hardware.

 

[Turkish]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
2 hours driving vs. 20 minutes reading. Hate best buy all you want, you're the one that bought the junky hardware.

hahaha

funny monkey...

anyways, alent1234, maybe the v1.1 had the version number on the box i just got back from walmart again and its not on the new ones.