A few weeks before I moved, my wireless access point started acting up. It has only become worse since then. Several times a day, it just sorta drops off the air and I get messages like this in syslog:
eth1: New link status: AP Out of Range (0004)
At which point I want to kill something. Inevitably, I can walk upstairs, power cycle it, and things come back to normal. Except that I usually drop all my connections because it too me too long to notice.
I'm tempted to put the damned piece of crap on an X10 power unit so I can remotely cycle it. Instead, I'll just have to replace it with the WAP that I use when travelling. Of course, it's also a Linksys WAP11 but doesn't seem to have exhibited this problem--yet.
Sigh.
Little is more annoying than technology that randomly fails throughout the day. It's like running Windows 3.1 all over again. You've just gotta love that.
Posted by jzawodn at March 23, 2004 08:55 AM
To go along with that, the Linksys WMP11 is the Worst Wireless PCI Card Ever.
Last night I spent upwards of 5 hours trying to reinstall the driver & software under Windows 2000 (because for some reason a reboot decided that it would render the driver unusable). I went through the Linksys rigamarole of pulling the card, installing the software, re-inserting the card, and installing the driver. No dice.
A few Googles later ("wmp11 reinstall" "wmp11 registry" "wmp11 driver win2k") and a couple of times on the Linksys support site, I discover the recommended solution: REINSTALL WINDOWS.
Holy fucking shit, how braindead is that?
In a fit of temporary insanity, I took a hammer to the card. (read as: "paper jam? what the fuck?") Now I'm in the market for a Netgear.
When my WAP11 started getting flakey, a blast of Dust-Off improved things, but only to a point. The WAP11 did a slow, exponential decay dive into the great void. I replaced it with a Netgear 802.11b/router combo.
http://today.icantfocus.com/search/?search=linksys
I've long since suffered through Linksys, AKA LimpSys. But, XP needs to take some of the blame, and it appears that DHCP + WPA is horribly broken as well.
Just for giggles, what WAP11 version and Firmware do you have? The V2, 1.1 firmware is broken to the point that it randomly reboots. A non-official 1.1a version fixes the problem.
The "slow, exponential decay dive into the great void" sounds a lot like what mine is doing. :-(
Don't use an access point, use an old pc running linux. I've been running my old pc (12 year old 486) for 3 years as an "access point", and it's never stopped once. For the first year or two I used it with a modem, now I have a cable modem.
I also use it as a fileserver (I added a new 25GB disk 3 years ago), NFS and samba. It's plenty fast for this task.
See http://geo.cities.com/karlsson/linuxathome.html
(that's geocities of course, you're rejecting geocities urls in posts).
Hmm I have the same issues with my Netgear WGR614 (it generally sucks in terms of features).. Aside from the fact that Netgear has pulled its WPA firmware for it as well as the fact that people stay away from Netgear because of stability issues (mines is vertically positioned to prevent it from overheating and locking up), its actually a nice router with some easter eggs in it. It dies now only because it has to keep up with the WPA encryption that I enabled for the thing..somebody didn't code something correctly :(
I wonder how D-Link (sans the last firmware upgrade which made lots of paperweights) and Apple's solutions hold up. I have a D-Link card, and I must say..i'm pretty sastified with it.
I've also been round Apple airport stations and those seem to work great too.
As a happy owner of an Apple Airport Extreme WAP, I can say I've not had any trouble with the thing (in an apartment with abysmal wiring and seemingly random pockets of RF noise and radio-free zones) since I got it. Plugged it in, set it up, and it worked no problem.
The one caveat there is that the only things in the house with wireless are the Macs, so I can't say for sure that it'll be quite so flawless with Windows or Linux, but...
my linksys used to do that as well, but it got better.
I think it was the type of traffic going through it.
I mean it used to freeze most when I was running emule/bit-torrent through it.
BTW.. once you get the X-10 thing, how are you going to powercycle it remotely?? your link is dead ;-)
Add the Linksys WET11 to that list of losers. I assume that some neighbour has started using a 2.4Ghz phone and upsetting the linksys -- the loss of connection usually lasts a few minutes (a netgear ma401 sitting next to the linksys works fine with my linksys WRT54G hub during such dropouts). The (broadcom?) chip in the wrt54g and the (prism2?) chip in the netgear seem much less temperamental in the face of disturbance. Try switching the channel on the wap11 (1, 6 or 11 are the non-overlapping channels; I found 11 to work best for me). Moving and aligning the AP might help.
X-10 devices operate on powerline carrier (PLC) - over house electrical wiring - so they don't depend on having the access point up or not.
Yes... I've noticed the same problem. the WPC11 has real issues ... a firmware update helped but not by much.
Yea, the only good product Linksys seems to make right now in the wireless world is their 802.11g series and thats cause it runs Linux. :)
I've had terrible luck with Netgear wireless routers/access points with three of them arriving dead and two others dying randomly after a few weeks/months of useage.
I've heard alot of good things about the D-link series of wireless router but I think my next one I get will be an Airport Extreme. It'll go perfectly with the new iBook I picked up (which has really nice wireless range).
had exactly the same problem with my Linksys WAP. I threw it away and started using an Enterasys WAP I had. Works great.
HA! Try Belkin wireless stuff... Would easily give linksys a run for the money. 3 weeks w/tech support from India that has no clue what they are doing (set the ethernet to 10/half duplex) for a core firmware problem - once a week the router like clockwork would die and have to be power cycled. Their card software is just about as bad for windows. Re-install every 3 or 4 days so that the wireless panel will actually load again.
Went to an apple airport extreme, well worth every penny/zloty spent on it. Wireless cards are now going to orinoco. You get what you pay for.
Cheers
C.
While it may not make you feel better. I'm glad I'm not the only one. The linksys I owned was the biggest piece of junk computer equipment I've ever owned, which is saying a lot. I'm quite happy with my Netgear, even a firmware upgrade went beautifully.
Linksys sucks. We've been through 3 wireless access points, two of them Linksys. Though, to be fair, the dog did chew one of them. And the child spilled soda on another - but they all sucked prior. Our best wireless card is, oddly enough, a Dell TrueMobile. Our DLink all in one is working fine, though, thank you.
Hmmm.. I have a BEFW11S4 Linksys router/access point and the damned thing's wireless AP stopped working altogether. Resetting it has not helped. Piece of crap.
Linksys APs have traditionally gotten more cranky as they age. The early WAP11 hardware revisions were the worst, and I've heard similar complaints about the WRT54G. There are a couple Portland-area Personal Telco nodes using those, and we get reports of connection flakiness, no signal, no association, etc. fairly regularly.
I just bought a linksys WRT54g and I have to say its not that bad* , I had to replace it due to it getting moisture inside because of a stupid case design , putting holes on the top.. but other than that it works ok , the replacement unit is really flakey , it just drops all connections randomly and the indian support staff isnt much help either , i've had mexican support staff too .. I dont know what linksys is smoking but you do not outsource mission critical services to 3rd world countries to people who dont even speak english . These cost cutting measures will end up costing them MORE money when people switch from linksys to different vendors for their equipment. This WRT54G router resets all connections (only when wireless is enabled) every few minutes .. in windows XP the network connection system tray icon will say (Local Area Connection now disconnected) the reflash saying (Local Area Connection Connected) which is VERY annoying , this problem also kills all active connections such as file transfers , or irc chat sessions , or any active connection you have made.. (downloading email would fail , instant messengers would have to login again..) its VERY annoying , but its only when wireless is enabled , which doesnt matter because its ONLY A FLIPPING WIRELESS ROUTER (WRT54G).. so .. the router/hub/broadband sharing works , just not with wireless enabled .. so its good as long as you dont need the wireless functionality , or you can deal with disconnects every few minutes on your wired (CAT5/ethernet) workstations .. I would reccomend anything wanting to buy a WRT54G seriously reconsider and go with something else , linksys is JUNK ..
Linksys , I hope you're reading this .. I will never buy your equipment again , I will never do business with a company before researching their tech support again , you company is going to be in serious trouble if you keep up these cost cutting **solutions** , you make cheap junk flimsy hardware , it doesnt work properly , you cant troubleshoot problems over the phone because your tech support is outsourced to india and mexico , you will pay for it with market share. You got 100$ out of me but I plan on returning this piece of shit as soon as possible to circuit city , contacting the BBB , writing numerous reviews on all the top search results/web fourms I can find. I will also contact the district manager and regional managers of circuit city and have them consider pulling your hardware off the shleves because its fucking junk. It seems everyone else here seems to agree that linksys is junk hardware .. you better wake up and start doing things right or you're going to be in real trouble with your competitors.
I've owned a netgear wgr614 for about a week now and had no issues at all. Its got great wifi coverage and im 75ft away with 4 well insulated walls between. I noticed after i upgraded to Firmware Version Version 2.15RC4 Jan 20 2004 Im able to have netmeetings or play muliplayer games with no issues. I've yet to have it reboot or crash but if this becomes an issue i'll just add a passive heatsink to it. Running at 180mhz makes me wonder why it already doesnt have one.
Check the date of this entry against the others. I feel so low, the proud new owner of WMP11 and BEFW11S4, timewasting devices of the worst order. Why didn't I read the stuff you lot posted half a year ago? All the amazon reviews for this stuff were gushing with praise: I can barely get a connection every five attempts, usually by resetting the router and losing the WEP again. Linksys don't seem to mind if their kit works once punters have handed over the money. Debugged drivers? Fat chance.
I tried Linksys products 2 years ago and
after about 100 hours of wasted time made a firm comittment only to use enterprise class wireless products such as Lucent.
From that time on our company has not had any wireless reliability 'issues'.
For us, using quality equipment has been well
worth spending the extra cash.
It is my opinion that Linksys should not be permitted (by us the consumers) to even sell such
poopy product as they do.
I've made a website with my experiences at:
http://wap11.michiganbroadband.com
Please have a look if you have similar experience
with Linksys or are even considering using or purchasing a Linksys product.
Thanks:
Steve
On the topic of dodgy AP's... Add the Asus WL-330 to the crap heap, the configuration software is appaling, the range is EXTREMELY short and dropouts are all too common.
same here, bought a wap11 at fry's a year ago. had the same prob where i had to power cycle it, first every week, then every day, now nothing. did a full reset and can't even connect to it through ethernet. they must have used some crappy ic's /transistors
/engineers...etc.
Just try switching WEP OFF, that solves a whole lott of troubles!
Yes, sure, you get an open AP that way but it works! Maybe MAC filtering and turning off broadcasts solves the security issue. I haven't yet tested if it still works that way. Mine is fully open now and I leave it that way! (I just switch it on/off when I am not using it)
I just had my WAP11 do the same thing as bill k - it's been getting flakier for a couple months (required power cycles or resets every week or two) but I just plugged it in again after moving, and it went from flaky to 100% dead within a matter of hours. I can't even ping it over ethernet now, and I tried every 192.168.*.* ethernet address in case it randomly decided to pick a new one. Looks like I'm in the market for a new AP... I'm thinking about giving DLink a try based on the comments I've read here; I'll think seriously before buying another Linksys product though.
OK... yes Linksys sucks. The WAP11 was an abortion ot begin with...and 5 major hardware revisions later it was still an abortion.
I just spent 4 hours trying to fix a WAP11 installation. This is a old one (version 1.1) that was working fine. The user started having problems, and installed LinkSys's WAP11 driver package so he could connect via USB (since it wouldn't talk ethernet) to debug. Problem is that the driver bundle corrupted the IP stack on the XP machine, which basically killed the system since everything depends on the network stack these days.
A call to Linksys tech support resulted in talking to some moron in India who couldn't do anything more than read instructions from a cheat sheet. Sadly... he couldn't figure out which cheat sheet to use and wasted 15 minutes of my time trying to walk me through fixing a different product entirely. A complete waste of time.
Bottom line... Windows machine had to be re-installed. 12 hours of work.
The Linksys WAP11 managed to find it's way under the tire of my truck as I pulled out of the driveway. Oooops! Nice new Netgear WAP replaced the Linksys and was up and running in 5 minutes.
I have had headaches and heartaches with Linksys for far too long. I hoped that Cisco's aquisition would help fix their quality and support problems, but it seems to me that it's just gotten worse.
Sorry Linksys... I'm done with you idiots! I never have problems like this with other vendors. It's just Linksys that doesn't deliver. Even the "cheepie" stuff like Hawkings works better the Linksys garbage.
Good riddens...
Agree with the posts on Linksys.
Until recently, i owned a Linksys WRT54G and for nearly a year I have fought to connect my HP2200 wireless laser printer. It disapears randomly and never shows up in the DHCP list for the router. Alternately, I use DLINK DI-604 routers for equipment at work and they have always found ethernet devices/equipment no matter how obscure.
So I took my own advice and bought a DLINK Access Point and a DLINK DI-604 router from Frys. The result?
Zero problems. Wireless laser printer was visable instantly, laptops and desktops connected instantly.
I moved the printer over to a static DHCP address (a favorite DLINK router function) and was up and running in 5 mintutes flat. Wow. The funny thing is this stuff is considered old at Frys and was on bargin basement sale!
Wow, I feel mad for spending all this time on the Linksys stuff.
Hmmm - I'm just trying to figure out how any of you got this working at all. Granted I just ebayed the thing cheap, but it supposedly worked when shipped. Anyone here ever able to make it work under XP? Any idea how to get the firmware update into it if you can't make your router (also Linksys) recognize it? Right now it's just another big ugly box doing nothing. BTW I downloaded setup wizard software for it that also says it is not connected. Based on the above post that may have been my luckiest result. Any help most appreciated.
Thanks.
The WAP11 is the biggest waste of money I've seen. I sold a dlink wap out of my system hoping for a little more range. I got about 2 more feet with this WAP11, but having to reboot it all the time is p*ss*ng me off. Anybody want a good deal on a WAP11? I'll pay for the shipping to get get it out of here, or maybe I'll follow the post above and see how it reacts to a sledge hammer.
Arrrhghgh *Pulls out hair*.
I have had a Linksys WAP11 for little over a month now and have never had it working properly.
1)The supplied setup software never detects the AP, even if plugged straight into PC
2)Range is abysmal (around 10m through a thin wall) - I have built a parabolic reflector to make this bearable)
3)Firmware upgrade is impossible - "Connection to the server was reset" every time.
4)Now the options canot be changed. even after a full reset the "Submit" button on the config page does nothing at all.
I also own a linksys PCMCIA card for my laptop, i have ot noticed any obvios problems, but the range problem could be attributed to this I guess.
Hmm...well I know belkin is even worse, my friend, whose wireless network I set up), had a belkin 802.11g router which disconnected every 5 seconds.
I do not have the money to buy any new wireless equipment right now. so I guess it's back to the good onld ethernet cables all over the floor, LOL.
The biggest issue we've found with ANY Linksys equipment is that when it goes wrong (which it inevitably does), the customer service is just so bad that you have no hope of getting it put right without resorting to legal recourse.
They dont publish any complaints procedure, they dont escalate problems (so if the customer support rep you're dealing with is useless, tough luck!) and they dont answer their phones very often (or if they do then expect to spend an average of 6 hours on the telephone during a "simple" problem resolution if they CAN resolve it).
Most other manufacturers manage to do it better and I would have to say (professionally and personally) that Linksys are to be avoided for the foeseable future.
EK
I dont know what the problem is.. I've owned and used a Linksys BEF11S4 (Ver 2.0 I think) for 2 years straight. Never had a problem with it operating as a router, switch or AP. Of course I dont use WEP (thats not secure at all), just MAC filtering (which is not very secure either, but keeps neighbors off my network). I've used it with and without the DHCP service. Range still seems to be what it always was. I love the little blue box.
We also have an 2 year old linksys wireless PC card that is starting to flake out. Had to reinstall the driver to get the range back. But it's dying again. is 2 years a respectable lifespan? I think so.
I've NEVER called tech support.. never had to. Never want to. Never do for anything else for that matter. I have found that tech support ANYWHERE is mostly useless. Just look it up online and you'll get more information.
Just thought I'd say something nice amidst the complaints and finger pointing.
I own a WAP11 and have had problems due to the power pack they ship with it. It's a 5 volt switching power supply rated at 2 amps built into a small, unventilated enclosure that plugs into an AC outlet. IOW, a pretty complicated wall wart. I've had two of those things fail on me, causing the WAP11 to act exactly like what has been described here, with intermittent faulty operation, a "slow decay into oblivion" effect, etc. I replaced the last one with a more robust 5 volt supply and the WAP11 works as good as new.
I have had a Linksys WAP11 version 1 since 2001. I have never had a problem at all with it. I have some wireless devices that have range problems but that is not the problem with the WAP11. For instance, my D-Link wireless webcam can barely exist 25 feet from the WAP while I can take a Mac powerbook over 100 feet in the same direction, through the sames walls, etc with no problem. The only Linksys problems I have is with the WPC11 cards. I can spend literally HOURS deleting and reinstalling drivers for W2K and XP only to have the driver "lost" after a reboot of the PC. I agree that the customer "support" is worthless. I identify their "help" line as a helpless line. Bad Bad Bad.
I agree with ALL of the postings that Linksys is the worst company EVER!!! If you feel like letting them know it directly, here are the email addresses to the CEO of Linksys, and the CEO of Cisco (which owns Linksys).
I emailed them letting them know how much they sucked and got a prompt reply from someone named Tony (Anthony), who must have something to do with their executive team or sucky customer service escalation. Tony's direct phone number is also below if you want to call and tell him his company SUCKS!
***I am providing multiple email addresses to the CEO's - not sure which one it is so it is best to send it to ALL of them if you want to be heard.***
Victor Tsao (Linksys CEO): vtsao@linksys.com; victor.tsao@linksys.com; victor@linksys.com
John Chambers (Cisco CEO): jchambers@cisco.com; john.chambers@cisco.com
Anthony Carocha / Tony Carocha: acarocha@cisco.com Direct Phone: 949-856-8175
I just picked up three (believe it or not) WAP11s on Ebay cheap. Two are v2.8 and still sealed in the shrink wrap, the other is a v2.6 and lightly used. The older 2.6 is the only one I've been able to get to work. The worthless Windoze setup utility can't any of them on the network even when the WAP11 is connected direct to the NIC in the PC (yes, I've tried both straight-through and x-over cables).
The 2.6 still seems to "drop out" every now and then but at least I can hit it with a browser to configure.
Maybe the suggestion of turning off WEP will help. If the processor is puny, which it seems to be, maybe it can't keep up with the encrypt/decrypt load.
My original plan was to use one for my house and the other two to create a P2P bridge to another building on my property. Maybe I'll just use one in the house and make the remote link with two cups and a string.
I've had WAP11 ver 2.6, and it lasted a week. i tossed the piece of shit in the trash can and used a can of WD-40 to act as a torch and melted it into a blob. Replaced it with a DLink DI-614 which ran for 2 years without trouble.
fast forward 2 years later, a lightning strike took out my 614 and my Westel 2200 DSL modem. Bellsouth (or AT&T or whoever they are this week) was kind enough to send me a new Westel for free. A friend of mine heard of my debacle and donated two BEFW11S4's (one is a ver 1 and the other a ver 4).
Here's what I can tell: the ver 1 is pre-Cisco and works fine. Not the fastest but it's STABLE, doesn't reset, lock up, etc. The ver 1 is alot HEAVIER and inside the board is completely shielded. It is a solid product. Appears to have been made in 2001. Works fine in both PPOE, router w/DHCP or standalone as an AP. Okay, so I tried the ver 4.
what a shitpiece. while it's wireless seems to be faster, it is just as buggy as the old WAP11. it locks up, hangs and requires a hard reset after a few hours. upgrading to the latest f/w didn't help. even disabling all routing fucntions and using it as an AP alone only makes it run for a few more hours. I relieved some stress today abusing the ver 4 by putting it in my 1000 watt microwave. What a show that was.
serves this POS right.
Replaced them with a new D-Link WBR-2310 (which I've been told is nothing but a new DI-624 rev E in a fancy case) Up and running in 5 minutes...been running for 3 weeks straight. No problems. I still have the old BEFW11S4v1 as a backup and a memory of what Linksys used to be.
Moral of the story, you can't polish a turd. Get a D-Link, Netgear or Belkin. Linksys wireless routers and access points are useless pieces of dog shit.
Well what can i say that has not been said. Linksys is nothing but CRAP. They have set me 2 replacements at MY cost and all 3 still don't work. I have spent over 20 hours over the last year trying to get it working and most of the time unable to understand the person on the other end.
