Re: Avoid Linksys like the Plague

On Oct 14, 7:09 am, "RBM" <rbm2(remove this)@optonline.net> wrote:
So, what you're saying is that you are a penny pincher, and your cheapness
backfired on you, so the rest of the world should buy any other cheap brand
of router . In this world, you're lucky if you get what you pay for.
Typically cheap electronics are a crapshoot. Linksys is one of the largest
manufacturers of cheap electronics in the networking industry. They must be
doing something right for an awful lot of people

"Cyron" <mdigit...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:1192327901.570997.62450@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I got a phone call from one of my associates today -- he was
displeased with his new Linksys router. I asked him why on earth he
bought a Linksys after all the problems I had with the one I bought --
apparently I didn't scream loud enough for him to get the message, so
I've decided to post my experience for others in hopes that they might
avoid wasting their time and money.

I made the mistake of buying a Linksys solely based on the fact that
Cisco is the parent company of Linksys. I do a lot of consulting for
medium to large scale businesses and I used to always recommend Cisco
because I've found their products to hold up well in environments that
demand excellent performance. Cisco is for businesses that want to
drop $50K on a device; Linksys is for the home user that wants a small
scale, reliable device, right? Wrong.

Where do I go when I want a cheap deal on something? Ebay. I quickly
located a vendor selling "Brand New Shrinkwrapped Linksys" routers. I
bid on one of these and got it for $60 -- only about 8 dollars savings
than if I had purchased from a local retail outlet. This was the
worst MISTAKE ever! If I had purchased from a local vendor, I could
return the POS Linksys and get my money back without any hassle.

Instead, I receive the Linksys -- just as described -- brand new in
orginal shrinkwrapped box -- straight from the Linksys factory. I
hook up the device and it runs like absolute garbage! BTW for those
wondering this is a Linksys WRT54G Version 6. We're talking about a
router that can barely stay online for more than 2 minutes -- it
constantly locks up, requires manual disconnection of power...wait 2
minutes, reconnect power. Virtually none of the most basic features
you would expect from a router work. I contacted Linksys Support and
though they spent several hours working with me, they were of no
help. Finally one tech told me the router I bought has many known
problems and that I should stop wasting my time trying to get it
working. It's then I discover that I've been had. I google for
"WRT54G Version 6" and discover a barrage of other users who are
experiencing the EXACT same problem as me!

That was the moment that demonstrated to me that Linksys had lost the
integrity that I had once known it for. For those of you not familiar
with the Linksys WRT54G product line, prior to Version 6, their
routers operated under a Linux based kernel. Beginning at Version 6,
they started using a proprietary VxWorks based operating system. It
was obvious that Linksys was shipping brick routers, taking customers
money, and just planning on "fixing" the router via firmware patches
when they got around to it.

I demanded my money back, but of course Linksys isn't going to refund
anything to a customer -- they just tell you to take it back to the
place you purchased it. A slight problem for a customer who purchaed
from eBay, based soley on the brand name Linksys. The guy that sold
me the router wasn't misleading me. He probably knew the routers he
was selling were complete junk, but he shipped me exactly what he
advertised -- "Brand New Shrinkwrapped WRT54G Version 6".

I gave up with Linksys and decided if they didn't care about their
customers, this customer wasn't going to care about them -- or Cisco.
To date, I have given over $6 million in orders that I would normally
give to Cisco to competing vendors. I will never again recommend a
Linksys or Cisco product. Linksys may have screwed me out of $60, but
it came back and bit them in the ***.

I am pleased to say that a year after purchasing the router, a
firmware patch was released and now the router works fairly well.
Unfortunately its a year late and I've seen the greedy nature of
Linksys/Cisco.

In summary, I will never buy another Linksys or Cisco product again.
If you choose to, you may get something that works, but don't hold
your breath based soley on the brand name. Also, always purchase from
a local vendor so you can return garbage and get your money back.

Good luck!
Mike

Sheesh, whats with all the top-posting in this group? A bunch of
newsgroup n00bies.
Yes, trying to save a few bucks did screw me -- but I don't consider
it my fault because I was purchasing the product based soley on the
Linksys brand name. I had used Linksys for many years and never had
to interact with their support staff -- hence the reason I was willing
to buy based soley on their name. After interacting with their
support staff, I've determined I will never purchase from them again.
Anyways, my post was just a warning to those who don't want to get
involved with unecessary headache. As I stated before, Linksys may
have screwed me out of my $60, but they screwed their parent company,
Cisco, out of millions as I no longer purchase any of their products
for my clients.

.