I just had a very humourous call w/ Bell technical support. I was trying to find out some more information about the combined modem and wireless router product they have been promoting. The sales department quickly routed my call to technical support. Apparently Bell are selling this product for home networking customers, but clearly, apart from stratosphere level marketing information, they haven't got a clue about the product.
Keep in mind that Bell Canada is Canada's most "experienced" communication company and one of the first companies to offer internet connectivity for the public.
The "technical" person I was speaking with did not understand my simple technical question - what wireless specification does your product support, e.g. is it a wireless N or G router ? They hadn't get a clue about different wireless specifications, 802.11n/g. Maybe it was my accent ! Oddly he did quote 128bit security which I suspect he was reading from a cheat sheet in front of him. I did ask him to forward information, but he didn't seem to acknowledge my request so after a few more uncomfortable words trying to politely say he was useless, I hung up.
This total lack of understanding of home wireless networking technology is oddly disturbing coming from Bell Canada technical support. I have been using their ISP service for a long time and am quite happy with it, but obviously I crossed some line in technical expectations. I wouldn't be surprised to get a call from another Bell rep this afternoon.
So, I'm still a little stuck on my networking dilemma. My current Netgear G router is acting up a little, dropping connections now and again and problematic for the PS3 wireless connection. I recently picked up an Apple Airport Express but it's configured as a wireless client and connected to the stereo to stream iTunes. Plus it's not conveniently close to my modem and my desktop PC cannot use it because it doesn't have a wireless card. So I'm looking at new N routers and hoping to get faster and more reliable performance, plus gain USB network attached storage if possible. I'd like to get something that's a little future proof, but reviews are all over the place and prices range from about $100 to $200. I put out a twit and Facebook status asking for advice, but only got one who said they liked Netgear. Any solid advice on a reliable and good performing wireless N router would be appreciated.
7 comments:
Hiya,
I have a DLINK DGL4300 wireless router. It is also a G router, that I bought in 2007. Coincidentally, I have also been having huge issues with dropped connections. They happen at random, several times a day, mostly during the higher traffic periods 6pm - 11pm. Sometimes I lose connection several times an hour, which results in some pretty eloquent and colourful commentary 8). I have done a lot of trouble shooting and I can't determine if it is the router, or if it is a poor internet link somewhere down the line. I was wondering if perhaps the ice storm that recently went through the US has somehow compromised some of the network.
Anyway, I am also considering trying a new router with wireless, just to see if this resolves the problem.
Have you seen or heard of any general internet connectivity issues at your work or with work contacts?
Regs,
Ec
Also, I don't think I would buy from Bell. They will simply be buying someone else's product and sticking a big Bell(er) sticker on it. The product support from Bell will be able to explain how to remove the label so you can see which manufacturer you should contact for support. (Well probably, they will take you through a number of support steps (turn it off and on) and then ask you to bring it in for a new one).
Anyway, I still have to take a look at the brands out there. I'll keep you posted...
Latest recommendation from RKEE is just get an Apple Extreme. Thinking about it.
My networking issue resolved itself without apparent intervention about a week ago. Apparently my issue was related to some undocumented issue at Blizzard (World of Warcraft headquarters) that was somehow blowing up my UTP/TCP buffer and causing a port reset that lead to a disconnect. ANyway, problem is gone, and DL4300 functioning perfectly again.
Regs,
Eco
I just got an Apple Airport Extreme last week (great deal from a work friend of mine). I'm still fine tuning it, including switching to 5Ghz and N networking only, but so far speed and reliability is good. One issue is getting it to recognize USB connected external hard drive.
I have been using an Apple Time Capsule for quite some time and am really enjoying it. I'm using it as a backup drive, and as a print server, both of which work very well, in addition to its 802.11/N capabilities. Haven't yet tried to connect an external drive to it, as it has a built-in 500 GB drive.
I did get the router to recognize the drive, but it's not mounting/sharing properly. I saw some online Mac content referring to FAT32, so I'm thinking my NTFS format may be the issue.
Post a Comment