What can I say about this thing? It’s a piece of crap that doesn’t work for almost everyone. Let me give you a little history in regards to this special router. Prior to version 5 this router was firmware upgradable. People were flashing their firmware with homebrewed software that solidified this router as a top notch product that could compete with even entry level Cisco routers. I just started reading into this router and what it could do and it is simply mind boggling. Many people thought that this was the very reason that Linksys stopped making the “hackable” routers.
However, they actually released a Linux based router last month with a model # of WRT54GL. The L, as you can guess, stands for Linux. The info that is floating around the net and mainly Slashdot is that they made this router specifically for the people who want to flash or hack their firmware but at the same time, for Linksys not to lose money. People were probably flashing their routers, not knowing how to do it properly, bricking or breaking their routers and sending them in for repair. Now, with this new L router, if you brick your router, you’re SOL. You can’t just call and say hey my router isn’t working. 9/10 times they’ll know you attempted to flash your router and void your warranty. I guess with this logic they won’t lose as much money as they were on their previous versions.
The only thing about this is that if you view the Amazon.com reviews for this new version 5 router, they’re all horrible. I mean I’ve seen one out of maybe twenty or so reviews that state that their router is working properly. The minute you go into the settings and start changing things around, kabloom, the router will crap out on you. Also from one of the most recent reviews, the current version 5 router doesn’t work with VOIP. Also according to the same review version 6 is in the works. Strange, isn’t it? I sure hope something is in the works, be it a firmware update or a new version because they’re most recent debuting of the WRT54G went down the drain real fast.
As part of my computer business, I’ve installed the Linksys WRT54G router for over a year with complete confidence until V5 arrived. It was just fortunate that my first exposure to this product was for my own network. I had plenty of time to talk to tech support and RMA my router and find that the replacement was just the same. I could not receive or send Email on remote wireless computers.
My personal high court has found Linksys guilty of either not testing their new cheapened product or knowingly shipping a faulty product. Either way this does not look good. This version 5 is so bad that I now cannot trust any current or future product from Linksys. I’ve switched my business over to Netgear and three installations later (including my own netowrk), life without Linksys is good again.
Steve,
Might I recommend looking into the Linksys WRT54GL router. The L version is the Linux version which essentially is the exact same thing as version 4. This means that the firmware is hackable with a lot of the very stable homebrewed firmwares floating around the net. I do agree that they dropped the ball with version 5. People are speculating that they were losing money on the people who were flashing their firmware and bricking their router units. Now with the Linux version, they know that if someone calls up saying their unit is bricked, that a firmware upgrade had gone wrong. No more lost sales/fraud!!
There is a problem with my router. Whenever i click on the Linksys Icon on my desktop, it says “This version of Linksys had expired. I don’t know what to do. Should i get a new Wireless Router?
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