Routers keep dying

[GundamSonicZeroX]

I've been through 4 or 5 routers in the past 3-4 years. I don't drop and bump them and it just seems that they crap out of nowhere. I've tried the big three brands: NetGear (1 of them), Linksys (2 of them), and Belkin (2 of them).

The models I choose range from $60-$75, are the ones in my range just really shitty, is there something subtle that I may be doing to destroy them, or can it be Charter in some weird way? Would one of those super expensive, bad-ass routers last longer than the ones I'm purchasing now?

Thanks in advance,
~GSZX1337

 

[spidey07]

That is unusual. What I can say is most SOHO router problems are user error and not bad hardware. What are your exact symptoms?

 

[GundamSonicZeroX]

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "exact symptoms," I'll use the router for several months to a year, one day our Internet will go down and after troubleshooting it, we give up and call Charter. After an hour or two of assistance, the diagnosis is router failure.

 

[RebateMonger]

I deal with a lot of SOHO routers (mostly Linksys and a few Netgear) that are used by businesses for years with five to twenty Users and I've only seen one or two go down hard. I've seen a few where a re-flash of the firmware rescued the router.

There have been complaints on this Forum of routers getting "burned out" by heavy use of P2P file sharing programs. I don't know if this is a real cause or not.

 

[Jeff7181]

I would imagine heat could be a cause of it... ventilation isn't typically a key design point in them so it's important to keep them in a place where they at least have a supply of fresh air that can flow in from the bottom as heat rises out of them.

 

[anothermacuser]

That is odd, I have had the same Linksys router for five years and through two ISPs.

Also, Netgear, Belkin and Linksys are not cheap brands.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Did you simply take Charters word for it or, did you confirm the routers were indeed bad?

 

[funboy6942]

If you own cats, there is your problem. I went through 3 of them till one night getting up to take a piss, saw MR kitty sleeping on the top of my router plugging up all the air vents. Needless to say I have kept door closed at night to keep my kitty out and I have yet to have this one die out on me.

 

[Modelworks]

Lower cost routers typically have very poor cooling internally.
They often will have high speed mips type processors that can easily reach 55-60C because they are too cheap to place a heatsink on the chips.
I have a dlink router that used to disconnect often .
I placed some small heatsinks on the cpu and routing chip inside the router and its been flawless since then.