Why Linksys routers are so cheap...

Hewitt_Tech hewitt_tech at comcast.net
Tue Sep 22 08:53:31 EDT 2009


I would have said "inexpensive" but that would imply that their gear 
actually delivered value. I have a client who chose to use a pair of 
BEFSX41 VPN end point 4 port routers. A few years back I got a call from 
them to help them set up a VPN tunnel between two sites. After an hour 
or so of tweaking I had the tunnel working correctly. Fast forward about 
  18 months and I get a call from the client telling me that they are 
losing LAN connections. Their Windows PCs suddenly announce "A network 
cable is unplugged" followed a few seconds later with "Connected". After 
some false leads making it appear to be a switch problem I replaced the 
router and the customer's problem went away.

A couple of months ago I get another call from the customer - same story 
only at their other location. Messages about network cables unplugged 
followed by connected messages. I replace the router and all is good for 
a while. Then yesterday I get a call saying that they can't reliably 
connect to the internet and the usual messages of "A network cable is 
unplugged" followed by "Connected". Unfortunately this is happening 
every other minute and finally I replaced the Linksys router with a 
simple Netgear 4 port router I have in the trunk of my car.

So all of that is a lead up to my call to Linksys support. After only a 
10 minute wait (probably around 7 pm) I get someone who is probably 
located on the other side of the world. At this point the router hasn't 
been turned on for a few hours and of course it comes up running and 
doesn't seem to have a problem. I explain to the tech that at my 
client's location the router has been pretty much useless and replacing 
it with a Netgear model got the site up and running again. He isn't too 
impressed with this information. He says that while he was talking to me 
it was obvious that the router was working. I tell him that the router 
is likely intermittent and is probably malfunctioning after some period 
of use. He says "Can't help you - customer service might be willing to 
do something". I call them and this time an Indian woman (an obvious 
ascent) tells me that she can't replace the router unless a "senior" 
tech agrees that the router is defective.

So at this point I take their case number and then set up a few PCs to 
simply ping the router. Sure enough after perhaps 45 minutes all 3 PCs 
lose their connections to the router and the only way to get the 
connections back is to power cycle the router. So the bottom line is the 
  Linksys support staff won't do anything for the customer unless the 
router is outright dead or completely unresponsive. I'm going to call 
them back today because when I called them at 11:30 pm the Indian woman 
I talked to at that time told me to contact customer service and they 
would definitely issue an RMA. I'm not optimistic. Of course I've 
already burned more time than the router would cost. I'm also not likely 
to use another BEFSX41 unless I can't get something else to work.

Bottom line - if it's commercial use in any way buy something better 
(Sonicwall, Cisco, Netscreen...) and stay well clear of Linksys.

-Alex

P.S. I think the above advice just echoes the same message on this list 
several times in the last couple of years. ;^)


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