Linksys WRT330N

Since nobody else has reviewed this router, it still has 5 stars. Based off of my experience I feel compelled to correct this problem. I bought my router in May 2007. Initial setup was easy and intuitive for anybody who has ever done it before. Everything seemed fine at first, but shortly the problems started.

1. The router "forgets" how to do HTTPS connections for remote management. HTTP connections still work fine, but HTTPS the router will not even answer despite the fact that nothing has changed. A complete factory reset will not even fix this problem. The only resolution is to flash the firmware. At the time I had 1.00.3 and the only version available was 1.00.3. I accepted this workaround because everything else on the router seemed to work fine. Like clockwork every few months I would have to reflash the firmware, but I maintained hope that perhaps the problem would be fixed with a future upgrade.

2. March 2008, a new firmware is finally released, version 1.00.4. I upgraded to this revision hoping that it would resolve my HTTPS issues once and for all. For about a week everything worked fine, then it all just stopped working. I was at work, using one of my home computers via remote when the connection just dropped. I assumed that there was a power outage or a cable service interruption. When I got home I found out that this was not the case. All of my equipment was on and functioning. My computers that connect to the wired ports on the router could still seem each other and the internet. The computers that connect via wireless could not even see the network, it was as if it wasn't even broadcasting.

I power cycled the router to no avail and finally did a factory reset. After the factory reset my computers could see the "linksys" wireless network. I tried to reconfigure it but the instant I changed the security from "disabled" to "PSK Personal" or "PSK2 Personal" the signal just disappeared. For all intents and purposes the router quit broadcasting. WEP security would work, but since that can be cracked in about 30 seconds by anybody who knows what they are doing, this was completely unacceptable. The router then began dropping the wired connection, cycling every 5 seconds or so between a connection and nothing. The link lights on the router would come on for only the connected computers for a few seconds. They would then all flash and go dark. During this time the connected PC would report that the cable was disconnected. It would then come back and repeat this process indefinitely.

I called Linksys tech support and was immediately met with an out-sourced tech department who knows how to do nothing more than follow a manual. When we ran through all the initial troubleshooting and it did not fix my problem, they decided to avoid the problem by hanging up on me. I called back and, of course, they had no record that I had ever called. I started over but was far less than friendly this time. When the second tech suggested that I turn on MAC address cloning I told him to explain to me why. I told him that MAC cloning has to do with the WAN side of the router and would perhaps solve a problem if I was having trouble connecting to the internet. I explained to him that the LAN and WIFI side of the router should work regardless of an internet connection. I told him that it was obvious that he didn't know what he was doing and I wanted to talk to his supervisor.

When I eventually got to talk to the supervisor I explainedSo this morning I brought in my router and called tech support. Naturally they were non-english speaking and not particularly helpful. The guy had me do a longer reset procedure and it actually seemed to work, but being that the router physically rattles and it will no doubt screw up again, I told him it didn't :) Before I called it was acting even dumber than ever before. When none of his troubleshooting worked, he put me on hold and hung up on me. That marked the end of the Mr. Nice Guy phase. I called back and raised hell and eventually got an RMA. However, it was actually working at this point so I didn't want to send it back like that. Ever intentionally brick one? It's kinda cool. What's really funny about is that now, after I unplugged it in the middle of a firmware flash, it is behaving exactly the way it did when I brought it in this morning, leading me to believe that somehow it's firmware is corrupting itself.

I eventually got routed to a supervisor. I explained the series of problems and he said, as if it was a sudden revelation, "you might have bad hardware, we'll send you a replacement." I thanked him for confirming what I told them an hour and a half ago.

Pros:
Looks Cool
FAST when it works
3 year warranty (YOU'LL NEED IT!!!)

Cons:
It rarely works correctly
Tech support is some of the worst in the industry

I purchased this router about 10 months ago. It worked great for 10 months and then disaster struck. The router would start to reset under any heavy load. It happens all day long. I thought I would upgrade the latest firmware, thinking it might correct the problem: it did not work. Ironically It just reset again as I am typing this review. I've read in forums on linksys that others have this exact same problem, but no moderators ever respond to the problem. They probably are aware that it just goes bad after a while due to poorly constructed hardware. Plain and simple do not buy this router if you want anything long term. I am aware of the warranty but who can be routerless for a period of a week or two while they send you a new one? I am taking this out to the desert tonight and putting a bullet through this worthless piece of crap.

Does anyone know I can download the firmware for WRT330N? Cause Linksys took the downloads off their site.