I just built a simple network for my brother and his kids and I ordered a Linksys BEFSR41 router from Newegg.com to do the job as Linksys is essentially the industry standard for basic wired routers. Anyway, it was faulty and needed to be RMA'd. Incidentally, Newegg.com wouldn't warranty the router, which should have told me something. So I had to return it to Linksys directly and am currently waiting on a replacement.

And then my own home network that also uses a Linksys BEFSR41 router started going on the fritz, slowing down and losing connections.

Instead of buying another Linksys I gambled on a Gigafast 410-R from Newegg because the user reviews were good and because after rebate it was only $14.49 including shipping. That's nearly a quarter the price of the Linksys BEFSR41. To my surprise the Gigafast works flawlessly.

Has anyone else had trouble with Linksys lately? Has there quality lapsed? I know they were bought by Cysco, I wonder if quality control has weakened since. Both Linksys routers were Ver. 2.

To anyone building a wired network be careful when ordering a Linksys, and make sure to buy from a retailer that will accept returns.

Sorry if this isn't the forum for this thread but I thought people should know about my recent problems with Linksys since they are one of the predominant makers of networking equipment.

Linksys (Cisco as in San Francisco), is top notch when it comes to network hardware. Cisco has been in the networking business for a long time, and has a good reputation for reliable hardware. I am surprised you are having these problems.

I had gone through two non-linksys routers before I got my BEFSR41. That was 2 or 3 years ago and it has worked great since. Does the 410-R have a firewall? Does it have all of the networking and security options as the BEFSR41? You could be comparing apples to oranges re the price.

Any mfr can ship a defective product. Re the one at work - many things could have happened to it (power surge, spilled coffee or any variety of dumb things).

Including a lightning strike.

I agree any manufacturer can and does ship defective products but I don't think it's a good sign that I've had two bad routers. I've been reading more negative user comments about the BEFSR41 lately. I've also been looking for them though.

Yes, the Gigafast has a firewall. I agree I can be comparing apples to oranges but this is a simple network and it does have a firewall and with Zone Alarm Pro running I feel relatively safe. My ultimate point in comparing the two was that the Gigafast does the same essential job as the Linksys for 1/4 the price.

Given the amount of units Linksys sells I'm sure they're a ton of happy customers but also quite a few unhappy ones. These two failures have left a bad taste in my mouth regarding Linksys, we'll see how the replacement unit is.

I had one that would do this when doing large, lengthy downloads. An installation of the latest firmware update resolved the issue.

QUOTE (jimholly @ Oct 28 2005, 02:43 PM)

I had one that would do this when doing large, lengthy downloads. An installation of the latest firmware update resolved the issue.

I couldn't log on to the administrative tools of either router so a firmware update wasn't possible.

QUOTE

I couldn't log on to the administrative tools of either router so a firmware update wasn't possible.

You don't have to... just click on Jim's link and try to download the latest firmware for your router.

Chris

Briarwood is referring to the router login, Chris, which is needed to run the firmware upgrade. Check the Linksys site. I believe in their Help or FAQ pages they may tell you how to reset the router password to default.

QUOTE (jimholly @ Oct 29 2005, 01:23 PM)

Briarwood is referring to the router login, Chris, which is needed to run the firmware upgrade. Check the Linksys site. I believe in their Help or FAQ pages they may tell you how to reset the router password to default.

You're right, that's what I was referring to but the password isn't the reason I couldn't log in. Typing 192.168.1.1 into Internet Explorer brought me nothing except a can't detect server page. All of the cables were set up correctly and the power was on in the router.

I couldn't get anything done with either router.