@eric780@communist@snapster ... I have to disagree. meh.com's average for me is 1.0 items per month for 2015. exactly 1 purchase each month so far.... that is movement in the right direction. I almost vmp'd tonight. Keep up the good work meh! ( tagging @JonT and @lisaviolet so they can enjoy my positive comments.) ;-)
@communist yup. Until that average gets around 2.0/month I will continue Sir!... it actually works to my advantage... now (without VMP) it's going to have to be a hell of a deal to get me to buy another thing in March! ;-)
@unixrab Not true that it worked to your advantage. If you had 1 purchase every month, you would have been better off with VMP because you would have taken home some freebies as well as not having to pay for shipping for two months if you got it when it was offered for free on Christmas day. So you ended up paying $10 more than VMP members and did not get any VMP benefits.
@cengland0 Excuse me...but I was the only person on the planet banned from free Christmas VMP. Check your facts!! Furthermore: I had no foreknowledge that meh.com would actually offer anything good - NOT having VMP has allowed me to pass on VMP bait !
@unixrab Not yet. Got the Jan Fuku, the chip maker in Feb, this month isn't over. And I got the lovely new home decoration wall hanging Mediocre socks for free. I figure I'm still ahead.
@unixrab Your id was mentioned specifically on that deal saying, "All current and new Mediocre accounts qualify for this, except unixrab" but I doubt you were banned.
The product write-ups on this site is written to be funny and they were obviously joking. I seriously doubt there was anything in the system that would have prevented you from participating in the offer.
Your ID was mentioned specifically because you have always been vocal against VMP so they thought it would be funny to mention it. There were a couple people in the forum that was wondering what was going on with it and it opened up a good humorous conversation.
So anyway, when you buy something, there is absolutely no harm in signing up for VMP. If you don't buy anything again in the next month, it's easy to cancel. If you don't have the willpower or your mind is weak and you cannot stop buying things you don't need then I would say VMP isn't for you. But for those of us that buy things we want or need and want to save on shipping costs, I will get the VMP.
What you call VMP bait isn't really bait. It would be the same if I went to the grocery store to buy an apple and they told me I had to pay $5 shipping. I would pass because the apple isn't worth that much; however, if I could get the apple without having to pay that shipping, I would like to have it. Sometimes the extra costs of shipping makes a mediocre deal a not-so-good deal. If I can save on the shipping costs without having to spend anything extra since I already bought something that month, it is only logical to do so. I'm sorry that you cannot see the logic in it and you only have misinformed FAITH about VMP being a bad thing.
At least meh offers the VMP at a monthly rate and you can cancel at any time and get a refund if you don't use it. If I want a similar service from Amazon, I have to pay for a full year and don't qualify for a refund if I don't use it. Amazon has a 3-day cancel policy, "If you cancel within 3 business days of signing up for or converting from a free trial to a paid membership, we will refund your full membership fee."
You have sooooo much faith. You specifically see I was banned, but you (based exactly ZERO proof) assume I wasn't.
I seriously doubt there was anything in the system that would have prevented you from participating in the offer.
Again with this? You seriously doubt exactly opposite of what was written. You are in direct contravention of what was explicitly stated! You believe so much that your intuition and hunches are more correct than an explicit statement by the mangement of meh.com wow. You're awesome in your powers of divination!
there is absolutely no harm in signing up for VMP. If you don't buy anything again in the next month, it's easy to cancel.
It is NOT easy to cancel. I have to add another reminder and then go to meh.com and enter into a process to cancel my VMP - I DO NOT WANT THAT HASSLE
If you don't have the willpower or your mind is weak and you cannot stop buying things you don't need then I would say VMP isn't for you.
Why would I want to test my "willpower !!? Willpower is a finite resource that is drained as you use it. Meh.com knows this. The bait is designed to drain away willpower as the bait gets more and more attractive as the month wains. You of all people, should be able to recognize this. (unless you've not studied up on marketing and willpower as a finite resource! For God's sake man... don't be ignorant STUDY: http://lifehacker.com/making-too-many-choices-drains-your-willpower-so-plan-1159216174 )
What you call VMP bait isn't really bait. It would be the same if I went to the grocery store to buy an apple and they told me I had to pay $5 shipping. I would pass because the apple isn't worth that much; however, if I could get the apple without having to pay that shipping, I would like to have it. Sometimes the extra costs of shipping makes a mediocre deal a not-so-good deal.
Oh my... the only thing better for meh.com's bottom line than a consumer locked in the diminishing returns of VMP is a dumb consumer that doesn't recognize that there IS bait being offered!!! As I sit here typing, I'm giddy that you used an APPLE to represent a hypothetical that actually is an "apples-to-oranges" comparisson!!!! If you want to modify your dumb hypothetical - imagine that you have to pay a covercharge to get into the VMP store - at the door - $5. Then, as you wander aimlessly around the VMP store (as you are wont to do) ...you get to the end finding literally NOTHING worth the entry fee..and settle on the hypothetical apple as a consolation that at least you've gotten some food out of your dumb $5 entry fee. If that makes you feel good, great...just realize that you are a simpleton for doing so. ...on the upside: At least meh.com is happy with your simplicity and ignorance. Carry on!
@TBoneZeOriginal I've been thinking about repurposing an old router as a repeater, but I don't think any of my old ones have n. Worth the $30 for this purpose?
@Perkalicious ive used two WNR3500Ls in bridge mode before and they worked great. that was before they came out with the newer firmwares though. its definitely worth that price if you put DD-WRT on it though. so many features with open source firmwares.....
@akatz227 Most manufacturer router firmware are rather limited. With ddwrt, your only limitations are with the hardware itself- how much RAM and flash storage you have available. Some sample things you can do with ddwrt and this router- hook up a usb drive and turn it into a NAS. Hook up a printer and share the printer wirelessly. Bridge two together to extend your wireless or use one to bridge a wired only device into your wireless network (I do this with a Tivo series3). Bridge different router manufacturers together. Run a hotspot with a splash page. Manage Dynamic DNS, better firewall port forwarding, run a small webserver.
@Kross I did some quick searching and didn't see the 4500 as DD-WRT supported. Did I need to look further? I also have a non-Netgear existing router. Will they play nicely?
@unixrab I don't, but it's super easy. You basically download to correct firmware from the DD-WRT website and use the file to upgrade the router's firmware as normal. Piece of cake.
@TBoneZeOriginal I have the N750 and was running DD-WRT for months without much issue. I then upgraded to a 150mbps ISP connection and found that dd-wrt was bottle necking the connection to about 94mbps. (I tested by swapping out the router with my backup and got full speeds). I did factory defaults on dd-wrt and tried 3 other versions of dd-wrt to no avail. In the end I did a TFTP recovery boot and reloaded the stock firmware and now I get my full 150mbps connection. I can't believe I went for months with DD-WRT ham-stringing my local LAN connection. Maybe you will have other results, but IMO, look at OpenWRT or stay stock.
@taeho618 DD-WRT is open source custom firmware that you can install and replace the stock firmware. It makes your router easier to administer, more efficient, faster, and more reliable.
@TBoneZeOriginal I have had this router for ~2 years (bought refurbished). A big selling point for me was compatibility with DD-WRT. However, I thought I'd give the stock fw (and upgrades) a chance. Totally stable, never drops connections, rarely have to reboot and works fine with DDNS. I can't say if it's better or worse than flashing DD-WRT, because I'm one of those "if it ain't broke" kind of guys. YMMV.
@overground YMMV, definitely. Mine dropped CONSTANTLY and required full resets. It wouldn't even let me login to the admin portal if I put my own password on it.
@TBoneZeOriginal Which is why the possibility of flashing DD-WRT was so important to me. I haven't normally had good luck with manufacturer's firmware (especially Dlink). Guess I got lucky.
@overground Funny you say that - the DLink I used to have is also the only router I kept stock firmware on. But I'll say this - say what you want, but Apple's Airport Extreme is incredible when it comes to firmware and stability. I just can't justify the cost. Haha
@callan752 I wonder what was causing it? There are lots of settings to tweak. I'm thinking about openwrt too. You can run a home automation server with it. Awesome.
@BVMays I am not sure, but I did do 3 tests. 1. Factory Reset (FR) on my then old DD-WRT Firmware (FW). 2.Do the 30-30-30 reset with old DD-WRT FW. 3.Upgrade DD-WRT FW to newest and do a factory reset. All these tests did not get me to the levels, I got with the stock firmware. I will admit, something was wrong with my original settings on my old DD-WRT FW since the first factory rest brought me from 65ish to 95ish Mbps, but I could never get anywhere close to the 150+Mbps I got when I went back to the most recent stock FW on my 150Mbps ISP connection. Trust me, I loved DD-WRT and it was quite enjoyable to manage, but once I realized It was bottle-necking my setup, that was then end of it.
@zarhooie If you're renting a combination cablemodem/wireless router from Comcast, this won't replace it. With this, you'd still need a separate cablemodem. I recommend the Motorola SB6141, that's what I'm using with Comcast.
@zarhooie this is only a router, when you pay the rental, you pay for the modem and sometimes also wifi router. this will only replace the router not the cable modem
@ials there is a wireless surcharge because I have the all-in-one unit. If I get this and swap out my current hardware for just the modem, this will work just fine.
@zarhooie Ok, yes if you swap out your all-in-one unit for just a Comcast cablemodem, then use this for the routing, that will work on a technical level. However you may want to check whether there's still a rental fee for the basic Comcast cablemodem. If there is, you are definitely best served in the long run by getting your own.
I had the N600 version of this router, and it sucked (firmware wise), however I have typically had great success with refurb netgears. At this price, it is definitely worth it.
@communist Out of curiosity, does your cell phone have an external antenna? Those frequencies are similar at around 1700 Mhz to 2500 Mhz (1.7 GHz to 2.5 GHz)
@communist External antennas do very little at the frequencies these operate on. Generally, external antenna are the standard "stick" variety when, for something like a variable frequency router (which this is), you need flat format fractal antennas.
@Superjimtendo@giroro Lately the products have been pretty crappy, so checking for a Fuku is motivational. So yup, watch that water and eventually it WILL BOIL!:)
@TerriblyHuang it depends. If you have a lot of dualband wireless devices and assign them to the 5ghz network then you will clean up the interference on the 2.4ghz band.
Also, if your router is older this will work a lot better
@JeepDude Also don't remember if the stock firmware did this but ddwrt lets you set different SSIDs for each network. For example have "NSA_HONEYPOT_2.5" and "NSA_HONEYPOT_5" so you know your hooking up to 5ghz g and not the 2.5ghz g
@TerriblyHuang I had the problem with a firetv and ended up getting http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L0YLRUW/ to solve it. That only extends the 2.5ghz but fire tv didn't see the 5ghz one. Although the tv wasn't too far away between the router and tv it would have to go through outside wall (with aluminum siding) and through the roof to get to it. I have the extender situated so the router to extender is going though a ceiling and then from extender to tv is going through a single internal wall. An annoying thing is you need to setup another network, using above example that means I have a "NSA_HONEYPOT_2.5_EXT" that I need to hook the fire tv too
@CrossIT ASUS ASUS ASUS ASUS (just replace their firmware asap, but it's all great hardware ;) ) I have a R16 that I carry around with me for emergency replacements, that thing has been beat up tossed around the antenna wont even stand up on their own anymore from being goofed with so much, still works great. You might keep an eye out for when the RT-N66s are cheap.
I have the wndr3700v4 and immediately put ddwrt on it. Works great. wndr4500 is the upgrade from wndr3700. Only issue I have with ddwrt on wndr3700 is I connected a usb stick and it doesn't seem to recognize it. Debating getting this just to see if it fixes that.
Also worth noting that the stock firmware on the wndr3700 picked up the ipv6 settings from my gateway and haven't really bothered to try and get it working in ddwrt (at&t uverse who's using rd6 for ipv6).
@thismyusername Nope just these: Linksys WRT54GL v1.x, WRT54G v1-v4, WRT54GS v1-v4, WRTSL54GS (no USB support) Buffalo WHR-G54S, WHR-HP-G54, WZR-G54, WBR2-G54, WBR-G54, WZR-HP-G54, WZR-RS-G54, WZR-RS-G54HP, WVR-G54-NF, WHR2-A54-G54, WHR3-AG54 Asus WL520GU (no USB support), WL500G Premium (no USB support), WL500GE Sparklan WX6615GT, Fuji RT390W, Microsoft MN-700
Considering this in comparison to a D-Link DIR-820L ($35 on Amazon). The dual-band D-Link supports AC @ 650Mbps and N @ 300Mbps, plus a "cloud port" USB.
Any opinions on why either might be a better option?
My roommate is stealing all the bandwidth on my old Actiontec modem/"G" wifi router with is incessant Netflix streaming. I'm thinking I can disable wifi on the Actiontec and use it as a dedi modem, then add a dual band router. I'm hoping this will permit him to use all the 2.4ghz band he wants and gives me the 5ghz band to myself.
@jjohns71 Don't be a dick. Read the post and recognize I'm trying to throw technology at the problem, permitting him to stream all the Netflix he wants without affecting my system performance in a win-win scenario...
@ruouttaurmind 2.4/5ghz isn't doing what you think. He could still take up all your bandwidth on 2.4ghz while your trying to use the 5ghz band. BUT ddwrt has a bunch of QoS settings. Including application level prioritization. In my case I give netflix a slightly higher priority but in your case you can give it a lower priority. The beauty with that is if you're not using it then he can stream netflix to his hearts content and then only when you start to watch all that porn in 4k resolution will his netflix quality go down.
@vrillusions Sounds like what I need (except I stream my porn in 1080p). So to make sure I'm understanding what's up, you're saying, even with dual band, he can use the 2.4ghz band to access 100% of the 12Mbps incoming DSL, dual band or not, right? So without prioritizing traffic with QoS that's still going to be a problem, dual band or not, right? So the REAL solution is to put him on 2.4ghz on his own, put my stuff on 5ghz, AND prioritize traffic with QoS. Am I picking up what you're putting down?
@phatmass I don't have that modem (mine is still an old 2wire one) but it works. What I did was first reset the gateway (what at&t calls the motorola in your case) hook up the netgear, choose that in web interface and put it in "DMZPlus" mode which sends any traffic the gateway doesn't know about to the netgear. I also disabled most of the filtering that the 2wire does. Just use grc.com's shields up (https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2) to make sure everything is still secure
@vrillusions. Is there a chance you could explain that in super-low-tech, hardware idiot language? I also have u-verse that's at the far end of the house & has to go through many walls (one is brick) to reach most who use it. I am a complete hardware idiot & looking to improve our wifi access. Is this worth a try for me? How do I do it? Or, can you point me to a site that explains "boosting or repeating(?) AT&T u-verse with this router For Dummies"? My google searches don't show anything I can even almost understand. Help? (if this meh will work for me)
AT&T can help you over the phone. I don't have U-Verse as an option in my area, but was able to use a real router with my old DSL connection. Basically you have to tell the router from AT&T to work in bridge mode and let your real router log into AT&T's network.
but, so far so good, no real streaming/speed problems, and we're only on a Flaky 1.5mbps DSL line. (drops out if there's wind, or rain, or you look at the modem funny, etc)
would one of these smooth out mom's facetime chats with my brother?
My router's so old (How old is it?) that I can't use the network when bluetooth is on. I guess it's blue in the tooth. Love it when you have shit that I need. Thanks meh.
@2many2no I had a similar issue with the craig smart TV things they sold a while ago. The wireless keyboard and mouse use a transmitter on the 2.4ghz range. Wireless, bluetooth, and plenty of other devices use 2.4ghz. I couldn't even connect to my wireless router 30 feet away when the USB dongle was plugged in.
Currently have a DLink DIR-655 that's been giving me fits of late rebooting. This Netgear beats it according to this page http://www.engadget.com/reviews/routers/score/ - for $30 its worth the risk to me.
@BillLehecka I know. I already have an ac router even though none of my machines has faster than n. My two main computers are hard-wired. I just wanted to bitch about my Internet connection.
@JonT Can I use this router to do nefarious things involving a pineapple? If I do, could I also make a shitty argument that meh is in some way responsible being they sold it to me?
I purchased this router new, when it was first released, and it's still going strong. I only use it in bridge mode, and as an additional wireless gateway for my home at this point, but it's great for that too. And for the record, while DD-WRT is a nice alternative, I never found the stock firmware to be lacking or limiting (or clunky) for normal use.
@sammyhel No, this is only a router. You would still need a modem to use it with Comcast. If you already have a modem you can hook this up to it and use it with your comcast connection.
@Spirtir I have the N750 and was running DD-WRT for months without much issue. I then upgraded to a 150mbps ISP connection and found that dd-wrt was bottle necking the connection to about 94mbps. (I tested by swapping out the router with my backup and got full speeds). I did factory defaults on dd-wrt and tried 3 other versions of dd-wrt to no avail. In the end I did a TFTP recovery boot and reloaded the stock firmware and now I get my full 150mbps connection. I can't believe I went for months with DD-WRT ham-stringing my local LAN connection. Maybe you will have other results, but IMO, look at OpenWRT or stay stock.
I was about to cancel my VMP because I haven't ordered anything in quite a while, but you got me for another month now. I currently am using an old WRT54G that is beginning to feel it's age. The only problem is now I am going to have to order wireless network cards to take advantage of it
@wew Hey, I have that one too! Well, maybe not that very model, but the WNDR3300 , which does the same thing and looks the quite similar (but black). I think the big, light-up button was for setup if your device wasn't finding it, or to advertise its SSID if it was hidden.
Was going to pass on this since our current setup runs bullet-proof reliably. Can't remember the last time we had to reset it.
But we have several rooms with hard-wired LAN jacks and our current router only has 100 Mbit LAN ports. We regularly do cross-PC backups, copy a 30,000+ photo library, and access an HTPC via hard-wire.
Those gigabit LAN ports are tempting. . . Especially at this price. For a well-liked router. And a router that is DD-WRT compatible in case we hate the standard firmware.
I had to throw away my old Netgear routers every time there was a thunderstorm, even though they were on a power strip with surge protection. Take whatever you're saving on this deal and put it into really awesome surge protection.
@editorkid we had exactly the same experience with our first (and only) three Netgear routers many years ago. But the reviews on this one don't seem to reflect that poor power management experience.
Would using this as a repeater be a good alternative to buying a 70 dollar powerline adapter? I live in a very old house with barely penetrable walls. I get about 2 to 3 bars with my current Wifi and I'm guessing using this as a repeater would fix the problem, but would it be comparable in speeds to a non Meh powerline?
@nasedase Do you have the powerline adapters already? I have a set that works, but not between certain sections of the house. Not sure why, but it is possible they are on different phases. They are less useful because of this.
I currently have a N300 router with below average wi-fi speed (15-18 mbps wi-fi vs 60mbps wired). Will I get better Wi-Fi speed with this router? Thanks
This'll replace my old WRT-54G running DD-WRT. I think I'll put my modem on the wall that has the cable entry and wireless-N bridge my setup. They have a screwy way of running the cabling into my house; the cable crosses the front yard, underneath the driveway, then goes up into the attic, across, and down to the taps in the living room. Needless to say, my reception is crap. Also, I get periodic failures when the temperature rises. Let's see if shortening the weak link will help; I might need a filter too.
Hey, umm...got it installed in 20 minutes, seems to work well, solid after 18 hours. Much stronger signal through the house than my old router, and the 5Ghz seems to work fine...though my phone froze when I tried to switch from the 2.4Ghz. Only concern is the WPS; clicked the button that said "enable" so that it was off, but then the number to connect was displayed. Any way to determine if its really really off?
My router reports as WNDR4500v3 - the DDWRT binary says it's specifically for WNDR4500v1. Has anybody confirmed success with the v3? I'm a DDWRT noob and don't want to brick the device.
@vrillusions To paraphrase Elton John, "The Brick is Back". I just don't want to turn the actual router into a brick, so I'm gonna try to run it with the NetGear firmware. I'll say hello to the NSA and the Chinese government for you and let them know you are in on the whole scheme. In fact, you're the architect, nee mastermind.
Got this and replaced the previous router I had, WNDR3700v4. First off it can read the usb drive so now I have some storage for various configs and such. Not sure if it's any noticeable difference between this one and old one as far as connectivity goes. Also I haven't had any issues with the "experimental" 26138 build that you initially flash it with.
Mine was essentially DOA. Worked fine for a few minutes when I powered it up to make sure it worked and changed the default admin password. Unplugged because I had to leave. Came back a few hours later to do the full configuration and the internet light blinks amber. It will sometimes after several, several minutes boot all the way up and let me log in. But maybe 10-15 minutes later we're back to the sole blinking amber light and no access again.
Now it won't power up at all. I emailed support on Wednesday night. As of Sunday morning, I still have not received a reply from them other than the automated "we got your email" response. I don't know whether to expect a refund, whether they'll send me a replacement or what. This is my first order from meh. Anyone else know what a normal response time from them is?
@autigers1970 there is a 90 day warranty on this through Netgear, I would suggest contacting them as a first step and our CS team will response as soon as they are able.
@JonT The problem is, when I went to register it with Netgear to be able to do that, the serial number is blacked out on it. They won't give support without a serial number.
@ChuckCableGuy I've got a universal AC adapter coming in today. I'll see if this resolves the issue. If so, hopefully meh will give me a partial refund to reimburse the cost of it to save us all a lot of trouble.
@ChuckCableGuy@JonT Well, no dice. It will power on, unlike the case now with the adapter it came with. But it power cycles, all access is lost and watching it on the network it acquires an IP then drops it over and over. I even did a factory reset and nothing will make this thing work right. I'm getting a little irritated. 10 days is a bit overboard for being able to hear from an actual human support person who will tell me what's going to be done.
@autigers1970 Well, two things happened today. First, I tried a similar AC adapter from one of my external hard drives. Same wattage and polarity and plug size. Router powered up and has remained stable for a couple of hours now. Second, when configuring the router for the first time it gives you a button to click to register it with Netgear. When I did that it pulled the serial number automatically and the product is registered. I have emailed support at Netgear to see if they will replace the AC adapter under the 90-day warranty. So, perhaps this will resolve the issue. Here's hoping...
@ChuckCableGuy@JonT Another update. Netgear is saying there is no hardware warranty on this router, just 30 days of tech support. I don't know if they are going to give me another power supply.
Received 3 V2s and installed DD-WRT on all 3. I have 2 configured as access points and 1 as a client bridge and so far I'm quite happy with their performance.
Got this router today (v1). Hooked everything up, connected by computer via LAN port, setup the router completely, but can't access most internet websites. All the power and internet connection lights are lit green and I don't see any problems. Anyone have any insight?
@1nc1n3rat0r I assume if you connect your computer directly to the modem you can get to Internet sites, right? If so, the problem is the router talking to/through the modem. I had a situation once where the router's local IP address conflicted with the modems local IP. You may have to log into the router admin screen and chagne the LAN IP if it's the same as the modem's. Should be under LAN Setup. Let me know if you need help getting there or checking to see if the IP conflict is the issue.
@medz If I connect directly to the port without the router, yes I have a perfect connection. Even when I plug in my D-Link router I have no problems. I'm doubting that the LAN IP issue applies to me because even any wireless device I connect to the router runs into the same internet connection issues. Any other ideas? Or is the device bricked? I really appreciate the reply! =)
@medz Oh don't you just love it when technology tries to prove you wrong...? I just booted the router again (I've had it off for a few days), plugged everything in, and BAM it started working again -_- Thanks again for your help =)
@1nc1n3rat0r Yeah, that really infuriates me. I'm always glad when the problem fixes itself, but I hate that I never found out what was wrong the first time.
What's the expected CS response time now? I submitted a request Sunday because my refreshing-rapid-gum router's dead (completely shuts off after a couple hours) and haven't heard anything back yet. FWIW it was a V2 w/the Netgear stock FW and for the hour or two it works before it shorts out and shuts down, it rocks. Then it turns into a rock.
@earlephilhower right now response times are about 5-6 days, we're working hard to get that reduced but since replacements for these are being handled by Netgear you should probably contact them while waiting for a response from us.
@JonT Thanks for the update. I'll try again, but like a few others have already said Netgear won't acknowledge you for support without registering. And you can't register without a serial, which these don't have. Catch-22.
@Aarakon as I mentioned above the first step for a replacement is contacting Netgear since they're handling the warranty. Feel free to contact our team at https://meh.com/support, but know that it'll take a few days to get a response.
@earlephilhower I'm pretty annoyed to read that, as I just got around to setting mine up... It reboots anytime I browse on it for more than 5 minutes. Support ticket with Meh entered.
@TerryMathews Also, how crappy a company is Netgear that even on refurbs they offer no warranty. Not even against DOA. Never heard of a company that doesn't offer at least some sort of warranty on refurbished products.
@autigers1970 true, however Meh bought a qty of these from Netgear. Seems like a detail that would've been worked out in advance. I know over on the other site, short term return warranties are often handled through the retailer. Might be the case here as well. I opened my ticket one week ago, no response.
@earlyre so far, so good.. they both powered up, and i was able to flash them to DD-wrt, but didn't replace the old routers yet, b/c by the time i got them flashed, it was time or my folks to facetime my brother.. and they kinda need our wifi to be working for that...
Mine worked great for about 2 hours, then died, now it just looks cool with its Glossy Black design, i'm guessing that by this last post that its just a $30 piece of modern art now. Awesome.
Hey everybody, sorry for the trouble you're having with the warranty for these. I'll make sure we get this worked out. If you haven't already sent in a request to support, contact us at https://meh.com/support and our CS team will respond when they can with further information.
I have not been able to write on my external HDD while it's connected to the readyshare. There isn't any password associated with the file. When I try to transfer let's say a small jpg picture a screen will come up asking me for my user name and password. I'm not sure what password they are referring to, so I place my Mac user name and password. Then a second screen comes up stating Items can not be copied because you don't have permission to read them. I've been searching online and found out that this has been an occuring issue with this modem. To make matters worse, when I contacted netgear they asked me for a serial number, the problem is that number was scratched out on the back when I got the unit.
Specs
Condition: Refurbished
Warranty: 90 Days Netgear
Estimated Delivery: 3/19 - 3/23
Shipping: $5 or free with VMP
What’s in the Box?
1x Gigabit router
1x Ethernet cable
1x Power adapter
1x Quick start guide
Pictures
3/4 view
Front view with lights
Back view with ports
You have reached… The Router Limits…
Price Check
$149.99 List, $98.82 (New) at Amazon
Warranty
90 days
nothing good on meh for over a month now??
@eric780 they've been saving me a lot of money.
@eric780 you dont like speaker docks with a mini fridge and golf balls?
@communist what i've really been missing in my life are air mattresses and roombas
@eric780 @communist @snapster ... I have to disagree. meh.com's average for me is 1.0 items per month for 2015. exactly 1 purchase each month so far.... that is movement in the right direction. I almost vmp'd tonight. Keep up the good work meh! ( tagging @JonT and @lisaviolet so they can enjoy my positive comments.) ;-)
zany-proficient-cook
@eric780 I've placed six orders in the last 30 days, including one for this router.
@unixrab yes you subsidized another vmp purchase
@communist yup. Until that average gets around 2.0/month I will continue Sir!... it actually works to my advantage... now (without VMP) it's going to have to be a hell of a deal to get me to buy another thing in March! ;-)
Everyone beware the four @unixrab purchases of the apocalypse!
@SSteve
vmp ire slayer?
@unixrab Thank you. BTW, you're ahead of me for 2015 purchases.
@unixrab Not true that it worked to your advantage. If you had 1 purchase every month, you would have been better off with VMP because you would have taken home some freebies as well as not having to pay for shipping for two months if you got it when it was offered for free on Christmas day. So you ended up paying $10 more than VMP members and did not get any VMP benefits.
@cengland0 Excuse me...but I was the only person on the planet banned from free Christmas VMP. Check your facts!! Furthermore: I had no foreknowledge that meh.com would actually offer anything good - NOT having VMP has allowed me to pass on VMP bait !
@lisaviolet Thank you! But... hmmm... then you've lost $ on VMP ?
@unixrab Not yet. Got the Jan Fuku, the chip maker in Feb, this month isn't over. And I got the lovely new home decoration wall hanging Mediocre socks for free. I figure I'm still ahead.
@unixrab Your id was mentioned specifically on that deal saying, "All current and new Mediocre accounts qualify for this, except unixrab" but I doubt you were banned.
The product write-ups on this site is written to be funny and they were obviously joking. I seriously doubt there was anything in the system that would have prevented you from participating in the offer.
Your ID was mentioned specifically because you have always been vocal against VMP so they thought it would be funny to mention it. There were a couple people in the forum that was wondering what was going on with it and it opened up a good humorous conversation.
So anyway, when you buy something, there is absolutely no harm in signing up for VMP. If you don't buy anything again in the next month, it's easy to cancel. If you don't have the willpower or your mind is weak and you cannot stop buying things you don't need then I would say VMP isn't for you. But for those of us that buy things we want or need and want to save on shipping costs, I will get the VMP.
What you call VMP bait isn't really bait. It would be the same if I went to the grocery store to buy an apple and they told me I had to pay $5 shipping. I would pass because the apple isn't worth that much; however, if I could get the apple without having to pay that shipping, I would like to have it. Sometimes the extra costs of shipping makes a mediocre deal a not-so-good deal. If I can save on the shipping costs without having to spend anything extra since I already bought something that month, it is only logical to do so. I'm sorry that you cannot see the logic in it and you only have misinformed FAITH about VMP being a bad thing.
At least meh offers the VMP at a monthly rate and you can cancel at any time and get a refund if you don't use it. If I want a similar service from Amazon, I have to pay for a full year and don't qualify for a refund if I don't use it. Amazon has a 3-day cancel policy, "If you cancel within 3 business days of signing up for or converting from a free trial to a paid membership, we will refund your full membership fee."
@lisaviolet kewl
@cengland0
You have sooooo much faith. You specifically see I was banned, but you (based exactly ZERO proof) assume I wasn't. Again with this? You seriously doubt exactly opposite of what was written. You are in direct contravention of what was explicitly stated! You believe so much that your intuition and hunches are more correct than an explicit statement by the mangement of meh.com wow. You're awesome in your powers of divination! It is NOT easy to cancel. I have to add another reminder and then go to meh.com and enter into a process to cancel my VMP - I DO NOT WANT THAT HASSLE Why would I want to test my "willpower !!? Willpower is a finite resource that is drained as you use it. Meh.com knows this. The bait is designed to drain away willpower as the bait gets more and more attractive as the month wains. You of all people, should be able to recognize this. (unless you've not studied up on marketing and willpower as a finite resource! For God's sake man... don't be ignorant STUDY: http://lifehacker.com/making-too-many-choices-drains-your-willpower-so-plan-1159216174 ) Oh my... the only thing better for meh.com's bottom line than a consumer locked in the diminishing returns of VMP is a dumb consumer that doesn't recognize that there IS bait being offered!!! As I sit here typing, I'm giddy that you used an APPLE to represent a hypothetical that actually is an "apples-to-oranges" comparisson!!!! If you want to modify your dumb hypothetical - imagine that you have to pay a covercharge to get into the VMP store - at the door - $5. Then, as you wander aimlessly around the VMP store (as you are wont to do) ...you get to the end finding literally NOTHING worth the entry fee..and settle on the hypothetical apple as a consolation that at least you've gotten some food out of your dumb $5 entry fee. If that makes you feel good, great...just realize that you are a simpleton for doing so. ...on the upside: At least meh.com is happy with your simplicity and ignorance. Carry on!@unixrab
> Again with this? You seriously doubt exactly opposite of what was written.
You seriously believe the sales pitch for the golf balls was written by a bag of stale Bugles snacks?
@nadroj I'm keen to the fact that @jasontoon writes what he's supposed to write - especially since the forgotten @snapster pot joke
@unixrab wat! Does that mean even someone with pot munchies won't eat Bugles?
@nadroj now... les not git crazay
I'd probably get my dad to buy this but he doesn't even know how to use his phone, so probably not a good idea
@xPenguinHD Does he do woodworking?
@xPenguinHD I won't comment. I'm still on dial up in remote Texas!
@wew he's more of a mechanic.
@xPenguinHD I actually bought one for my Dad. He's been having trouble with his old router, and it's about time to update it.
I have this router!
It sucks out of the box… but if you put DD-WRT on it, it's one of the best routers I've ever had.
At this price, I highly recommend it. But again - do yourself a favor and put DD-WRT on it!
@TBoneZeOriginal then the app wouldn't work right.
@TBoneZeOriginal I've been thinking about repurposing an old router as a repeater, but I don't think any of my old ones have n. Worth the $30 for this purpose?
@Perkalicious ive used two WNR3500Ls in bridge mode before and they worked great. that was before they came out with the newer firmwares though. its definitely worth that price if you put DD-WRT on it though. so many features with open source firmwares.....
@TBoneZeOriginal
What is so special about it? I just looked it up and it seems like light software for router security? Thanks.
@akatz227 Most manufacturer router firmware are rather limited. With ddwrt, your only limitations are with the hardware itself- how much RAM and flash storage you have available. Some sample things you can do with ddwrt and this router- hook up a usb drive and turn it into a NAS. Hook up a printer and share the printer wirelessly. Bridge two together to extend your wireless or use one to bridge a wired only device into your wireless network (I do this with a Tivo series3). Bridge different router manufacturers together. Run a hotspot with a splash page. Manage Dynamic DNS, better firewall port forwarding, run a small webserver.
@Perkalicious yep, that's what I'm doing. Slap dd-wrt on it and it's easy if you follow some guides.
@TBoneZeOriginal you got any step-by-step for DD-WRT ?
@TBoneZeOriginal is this v1 or v2 ?
@Kross I did some quick searching and didn't see the 4500 as DD-WRT supported. Did I need to look further? I also have a non-Netgear existing router. Will they play nicely?
@Kross just saw a post by @jjohns71 below; looks like more searching was needed.
@unixrab I don't, but it's super easy. You basically download to correct firmware from the DD-WRT website and use the file to upgrade the router's firmware as normal. Piece of cake.
@unixrab v1, v2 (Broadcom) or v3 (Atheros) dd-wrt shows v1&v2
@TBoneZeOriginal I have the N750 and was running DD-WRT for months without much issue. I then upgraded to a 150mbps ISP connection and found that dd-wrt was bottle necking the connection to about 94mbps. (I tested by swapping out the router with my backup and got full speeds). I did factory defaults on dd-wrt and tried 3 other versions of dd-wrt to no avail. In the end I did a TFTP recovery boot and reloaded the stock firmware and now I get my full 150mbps connection. I can't believe I went for months with DD-WRT ham-stringing my local LAN connection. Maybe you will have other results, but IMO, look at OpenWRT or stay stock.
@TBoneZeOriginal what is DD-WRT and how does it makes this router better? Also was is a repeater?
@taeho618 DD-WRT is open source custom firmware that you can install and replace the stock firmware. It makes your router easier to administer, more efficient, faster, and more reliable.
@TBoneZeOriginal Sweeeet, thanks for info.
@TBoneZeOriginal I have had this router for ~2 years (bought refurbished). A big selling point for me was compatibility with DD-WRT. However, I thought I'd give the stock fw (and upgrades) a chance. Totally stable, never drops connections, rarely have to reboot and works fine with DDNS. I can't say if it's better or worse than flashing DD-WRT, because I'm one of those "if it ain't broke" kind of guys. YMMV.
@overground YMMV, definitely. Mine dropped CONSTANTLY and required full resets. It wouldn't even let me login to the admin portal if I put my own password on it.
@TBoneZeOriginal Which is why the possibility of flashing DD-WRT was so important to me. I haven't normally had good luck with manufacturer's firmware (especially Dlink). Guess I got lucky.
@overground Funny you say that - the DLink I used to have is also the only router I kept stock firmware on. But I'll say this - say what you want, but Apple's Airport Extreme is incredible when it comes to firmware and stability. I just can't justify the cost. Haha
@mitchd123 I meant this device (the one for sale today) is it v1 of the router or v2 ?
@TBoneZeOriginal Lol. Which is why I'll never buy an Apple product. Takes the fun out of fixing stuff. :P
@TBoneZeOriginal when I go to http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/support/router-database and put in Netgear WNDR4500 it says "wip" or "work in progress" indicating they do not currently have anything for this model. what am I missing?
@ekw Exactly. I already own this router, and never put dd-wrt on it because it says wip.
@callan752
I wonder what was causing it? There are lots of settings to tweak. I'm thinking about openwrt too. You can run a home automation server with it. Awesome.
@BVMays I am not sure, but I did do 3 tests. 1. Factory Reset (FR) on my then old DD-WRT Firmware (FW). 2.Do the 30-30-30 reset with old DD-WRT FW. 3.Upgrade DD-WRT FW to newest and do a factory reset. All these tests did not get me to the levels, I got with the stock firmware. I will admit, something was wrong with my original settings on my old DD-WRT FW since the first factory rest brought me from 65ish to 95ish Mbps, but I could never get anywhere close to the 150+Mbps I got when I went back to the most recent stock FW on my 150Mbps ISP connection. Trust me, I loved DD-WRT and it was quite enjoyable to manage, but once I realized It was bottle-necking my setup, that was then end of it.
This looks promising. I have the WNDR3700. I'm thinking of getting this as a repeater.
@BillLehecka this is exactly what I'm going to do. Repeater action. ;-)
@BillLehecka Ditto
Actually interested in buying...
Considering that my router rental from Comcast is $8/mo already, this will pay for itself in 4 months. Hells to the yes.
@zarhooie If you're renting a combination cablemodem/wireless router from Comcast, this won't replace it. With this, you'd still need a separate cablemodem. I recommend the Motorola SB6141, that's what I'm using with Comcast.
@zarhooie this is only a router, when you pay the rental, you pay for the modem and sometimes also wifi router. this will only replace the router not the cable modem
@ials there is a wireless surcharge because I have the all-in-one unit. If I get this and swap out my current hardware for just the modem, this will work just fine.
@zarhooie Ok, yes if you swap out your all-in-one unit for just a Comcast cablemodem, then use this for the routing, that will work on a technical level. However you may want to check whether there's still a rental fee for the basic Comcast cablemodem. If there is, you are definitely best served in the long run by getting your own.
@ials
Any DOCSIS 3.0 modem will do the trick.
I had the N600 version of this router, and it sucked (firmware wise), however I have typically had great success with refurb netgears. At this price, it is definitely worth it.
no external antenna = MEH
if you need good range you need external antennas
http://www.amazon.com/Amped-Wireless-Wireless-N-Amplified-R10000/dp/B005UBNH18/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WR841HP-Wireless-Amplifier-Antennas/dp/B00E6LIDKS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425873684&sr=8-1&keywords=high+router+power
@communist External antenna barely make a difference for 2.4GHz
@Emitsu *citation needed
@communist Out of curiosity, does your cell phone have an external antenna? Those frequencies are similar at around 1700 Mhz to 2500 Mhz (1.7 GHz to 2.5 GHz)
@communist External antennas do very little at the frequencies these operate on. Generally, external antenna are the standard "stick" variety when, for something like a variable frequency router (which this is), you need flat format fractal antennas.
@DrEnter
But they make the router look cool though.
almost 1700 reviews at WorstBuy (4.5 star average) http://www.bestbuy.com/site/netgear-n900-dual-band-wireless-n-router-with-5-port-gigabit-ethernet-switch-black/3219043.p?id=1218386647149&skuId=3219043
I bit. unanimous-ready-porter
@BillLehecka yo keep up goat-updated on how this router performs
@BillLehecka zany-proficient-cook
@BillLehecka I think it may be a sign.
swift-bustling-loss Is it really a loss?
@BillLehecka blonde-tolerant-nugget
@unixrab You bought something??!! Yeaah!! :)
@YahSah15 This should not surprise you! I buy good stuff! ;-)
Meh, price is ok but not a steal for a refurb.
WE ARE DUE FOR A FUKU!!!!!!!!!!!
@Stallion actaully its not for another week until we hit 2 months since the last fuku
@Stallion not to mix mehtaphores, but a watched Fuku never boils.
@Stallion nope, you missed it..stop checking
@Superjimtendo niceme.me
@Superjimtendo @giroro Lately the products have been pretty crappy, so checking for a Fuku is motivational. So yup, watch that water and eventually it WILL BOIL!:)
This is a pretty nice router with good reviews on Amazon. DD-WRT compatible which is always nice, see the following blog for how easy it is to upgrade: http://www.dragonblogger.com/installing-ddwrt-netgear-n900-wndr4500-router/
@alose Thx!
Since this has the usb ports, can I use this to add a non-network printer to my network?
@sourhead Depends on the printer, but yes. If you upgrade to DDWRT see: http://www.zedt.eu/tech/linux/expanding-netgear-wndr4500v2-functionality-dd-wrt-usb-ftp-samba-tftp/
If the laggy device is a Roku HD with 802.11g should I assume this wouldn't make a difference?
@TerriblyHuang it depends. If you have a lot of dualband wireless devices and assign them to the 5ghz network then you will clean up the interference on the 2.4ghz band.
Also, if your router is older this will work a lot better
@JeepDude Also don't remember if the stock firmware did this but ddwrt lets you set different SSIDs for each network. For example have "NSA_HONEYPOT_2.5" and "NSA_HONEYPOT_5" so you know your hooking up to 5ghz g and not the 2.5ghz g
@TerriblyHuang I had the problem with a firetv and ended up getting http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L0YLRUW/ to solve it. That only extends the 2.5ghz but fire tv didn't see the 5ghz one. Although the tv wasn't too far away between the router and tv it would have to go through outside wall (with aluminum siding) and through the roof to get to it. I have the extender situated so the router to extender is going though a ceiling and then from extender to tv is going through a single internal wall. An annoying thing is you need to setup another network, using above example that means I have a "NSA_HONEYPOT_2.5_EXT" that I need to hook the fire tv too
@vrillusions Just to correct my previous comments I meant 2.4ghz not 2.5
Faraday Bath
I can't come up with a single reason to complain about today's offer. You have bested me yet again, Meh.
Asus N66R vs Netgear N900
Hmmm....
@StaySharp ASUS ASUS ASUS ASUS
@thismyusername n900 vs asus rt-n16 ?? IF you're not worried about dual band (for my folks)
@CrossIT ASUS ASUS ASUS ASUS (just replace their firmware asap, but it's all great hardware ;) ) I have a R16 that I carry around with me for emergency replacements, that thing has been beat up tossed around the antenna wont even stand up on their own anymore from being goofed with so much, still works great. You might keep an eye out for when the RT-N66s are cheap.
@StaySharp
N66R
I have the wndr3700v4 and immediately put ddwrt on it. Works great. wndr4500 is the upgrade from wndr3700. Only issue I have with ddwrt on wndr3700 is I connected a usb stick and it doesn't seem to recognize it. Debating getting this just to see if it fixes that.
Also worth noting that the stock firmware on the wndr3700 picked up the ipv6 settings from my gateway and haven't really bothered to try and get it working in ddwrt (at&t uverse who's using rd6 for ipv6).
Nerds unite, this product is supported https://secure.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Supported_Devices#Netgear
Search for 4500
@jjohns71 yea but Tomato/Shibby won't run on it, will it?
@thismyusername Nope just these: Linksys WRT54GL v1.x, WRT54G v1-v4, WRT54GS v1-v4, WRTSL54GS (no USB support) Buffalo WHR-G54S, WHR-HP-G54, WZR-G54, WBR2-G54, WBR-G54, WZR-HP-G54, WZR-RS-G54, WZR-RS-G54HP, WVR-G54-NF, WHR2-A54-G54, WHR3-AG54 Asus WL520GU (no USB support), WL500G Premium (no USB support), WL500GE Sparklan WX6615GT, Fuji RT390W, Microsoft MN-700
Considering this in comparison to a D-Link DIR-820L ($35 on Amazon). The dual-band D-Link supports AC @ 650Mbps and N @ 300Mbps, plus a "cloud port" USB.
Any opinions on why either might be a better option?
My roommate is stealing all the bandwidth on my old Actiontec modem/"G" wifi router with is incessant Netflix streaming. I'm thinking I can disable wifi on the Actiontec and use it as a dedi modem, then add a dual band router. I'm hoping this will permit him to use all the 2.4ghz band he wants and gives me the 5ghz band to myself.
Or am I barking up the wrong tree??
@ruouttaurmind Don't be a dick. Talk to your roomate like a normal person.
@jjohns71 Don't be a dick. Read the post and recognize I'm trying to throw technology at the problem, permitting him to stream all the Netflix he wants without affecting my system performance in a win-win scenario...
@ruouttaurmind 2.4/5ghz isn't doing what you think. He could still take up all your bandwidth on 2.4ghz while your trying to use the 5ghz band. BUT ddwrt has a bunch of QoS settings. Including application level prioritization. In my case I give netflix a slightly higher priority but in your case you can give it a lower priority. The beauty with that is if you're not using it then he can stream netflix to his hearts content and then only when you start to watch all that porn in 4k resolution will his netflix quality go down.
@vrillusions Sounds like what I need (except I stream my porn in 1080p). So to make sure I'm understanding what's up, you're saying, even with dual band, he can use the 2.4ghz band to access 100% of the 12Mbps incoming DSL, dual band or not, right? So without prioritizing traffic with QoS that's still going to be a problem, dual band or not, right? So the REAL solution is to put him on 2.4ghz on his own, put my stuff on 5ghz, AND prioritize traffic with QoS. Am I picking up what you're putting down?
@ruouttaurmind I have that router. Cant comment on the range difference, but the DLink one there dosent have gigabit.
@pkillboredom Thanks for mentioning that. I noticed that last night, but since I don't do any wired connections I'll never miss the 1KMbps ports. :-)
Two serious questions:
1. Will this work with AT&T U-Verse
2. Is this better than my AT&T supplied router: Motorola NVG589
@phatmass I don't have that modem (mine is still an old 2wire one) but it works. What I did was first reset the gateway (what at&t calls the motorola in your case) hook up the netgear, choose that in web interface and put it in "DMZPlus" mode which sends any traffic the gateway doesn't know about to the netgear. I also disabled most of the filtering that the 2wire does. Just use grc.com's shields up (https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2) to make sure everything is still secure
@vrillusions Thanks. Sounds complicated. I'm out.
@vrillusions. Is there a chance you could explain that in super-low-tech, hardware idiot language? I also have u-verse that's at the far end of the house & has to go through many walls (one is brick) to reach most who use it. I am a complete hardware idiot & looking to improve our wifi access. Is this worth a try for me? How do I do it? Or, can you point me to a site that explains "boosting or repeating(?) AT&T u-verse with this router For Dummies"? My google searches don't show anything I can even almost understand. Help? (if this meh will work for me)
AT&T can help you over the phone. I don't have U-Verse as an option in my area, but was able to use a real router with my old DSL connection. Basically you have to tell the router from AT&T to work in bridge mode and let your real router log into AT&T's network.
I know I really SHOULD get this(or 2)... I'm Currently Running 2 WGR614v9's @ Opposite ends of the house, both on their stock netgear firmware.
http://www.amazon.com/Netgear-WGR614NA-WGR614-Wireless-G-Router/dp/B00008SCFL
but, so far so good, no real streaming/speed problems, and we're only on a Flaky 1.5mbps DSL line. (drops out if there's wind, or rain, or you look at the modem funny, etc)
would one of these smooth out mom's facetime chats with my brother?
@earlyre damn you Meh!, you got me for 2... martian-meddlesome-sound
@earlyre now i'm gonna have to re-wire the house with cat6 to take advantage of the Gigabit.
noisy-laboring-hammer
(though several pix of women in labor as well...)
Holy wireless, Batman!
My router's so old (How old is it?) that I can't use the network when bluetooth is on.
I guess it's blue in the tooth.
Love it when you have shit that I need. Thanks meh.
@2many2no I had a similar issue with the craig smart TV things they sold a while ago. The wireless keyboard and mouse use a transmitter on the 2.4ghz range. Wireless, bluetooth, and plenty of other devices use 2.4ghz. I couldn't even connect to my wireless router 30 feet away when the USB dongle was plugged in.
You guys. I have no idea what's going on here, and I have a Netgear N300 (WNR 2000) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001AZP8EW.
Do I need this?
@platojello You look to be about in the same boat as me (see my comment below yours) - your current router is rated about the same as mine.
@ilovereality Thanks!!! I'll bite. :D
Currently have a DLink DIR-655 that's been giving me fits of late rebooting. This Netgear beats it according to this page http://www.engadget.com/reviews/routers/score/ - for $30 its worth the risk to me.
In for two because I want to play with DD-WRT and see if I can extend Wi-Fi coverage throughout the house using WDS.
I don't know what's going on..
I think this frog is lost somewhere in the matrix..
meh. I need multiple channel 802.11ac so I can stream 4k video.
Tempting, but 802.11g is already faster than my Internet connection.
@SSteve Think of the faster speeds as something you'd use for transmitting data between computers in your house.
@BillLehecka I know. I already have an ac router even though none of my machines has faster than n. My two main computers are hard-wired. I just wanted to bitch about my Internet connection.
@SSteve Chances are @BillLehecka is in some way responsible for your slow Internet connection anyway.
@ruouttaurmind Of course you're right. I want to see @BillLehecka out here trenching for fiber by the end of the week!
imminent-passing-barium
@JonT Can I use this router to do nefarious things involving a pineapple? If I do, could I also make a shitty argument that meh is in some way responsible being they sold it to me?
I purchased this router new, when it was first released, and it's still going strong. I only use it in bridge mode, and as an additional wireless gateway for my home at this point, but it's great for that too. And for the record, while DD-WRT is a nice alternative, I never found the stock firmware to be lacking or limiting (or clunky) for normal use.
I think I have this same or similar router, i.e., N900 dual band, and it seems to be working fine. Only very occasionally have to reboot it.
I'm in for one to try out DD-WRT. I don't care if it is only 802.11 b/g/n and not 802.11 ac. 802.11 n is still a lot faster than my ISP.
Is this a modem router combo? Is it Comcast approved?
@sammyhel No, this is only a router. You would still need a modem to use it with Comcast. If you already have a modem you can hook this up to it and use it with your comcast connection.
In for one. prosperous-proud-penguin Worth it to try DD-WRT and if it works better than my current router that is just a bonus!
@Spirtir I have the N750 and was running DD-WRT for months without much issue. I then upgraded to a 150mbps ISP connection and found that dd-wrt was bottle necking the connection to about 94mbps. (I tested by swapping out the router with my backup and got full speeds). I did factory defaults on dd-wrt and tried 3 other versions of dd-wrt to no avail. In the end I did a TFTP recovery boot and reloaded the stock firmware and now I get my full 150mbps connection. I can't believe I went for months with DD-WRT ham-stringing my local LAN connection. Maybe you will have other results, but IMO, look at OpenWRT or stay stock.
@callan752 Do you know if this model is supportes by OpenWRT?
@Spirtir Just checked, I apologize, the n750 (wndr4000) does supports OpenWRT but the n900 (wndr4500) does not. Sorry if that was misleading.
@callan752 No worries. Thanks for the information!
@callan752 Interesting... I have 150/150 Mbps FiOS so maybe I won't install DD-WRT.
No 802.11ac = meh
I was about to cancel my VMP because I haven't ordered anything in quite a while, but you got me for another month now. I currently am using an old WRT54G that is beginning to feel it's age. The only problem is now I am going to have to order wireless network cards to take advantage of it
@Jayroro great old Router - have a couple in the closet. Might also be time to get off Windows XP.
I'm still using the Netgear disco ball router.
@wew God that was so annoying. Thank goodness you could disable it, but why was this necessary?
@BillLehecka Oh sure. Try to shift the blame.
@wew Hey, I have that one too! Well, maybe not that very model, but the WNDR3300 , which does the same thing and looks the quite similar (but black). I think the big, light-up button was for setup if your device wasn't finding it, or to advertise its SSID if it was hidden.
Wow... bought this router brand new in 2013 from Newegg for around $120-ish.
Zero issues what-so-ever... great router.
I might pick up a few just as backups / parents / in-laws / sibling / relative routers!!!
Damn it, I've been meaning to upgrade my old Linksys
Curse you meh, curse you...
evasive-soaked-ladybug
I never buy refurbished goods. 100% furbished all the way.
@saodell We are so proud of you.
I bought a Netgear Nighthawk the other day and it is awesome. I am also in for 1 of these lush-sloppy-avocado.
Nighthawk = $200
N900 = $30
I hope this n900 works well so I can return the Nighthawk.
@npsantini Out basically in the middle of nowhere, in Canada's Northwest Territories. http://map.what3words.com/lush-sloppy-avocado
Was going to pass on this since our current setup runs bullet-proof reliably. Can't remember the last time we had to reset it.
But we have several rooms with hard-wired LAN jacks and our current router only has 100 Mbit LAN ports. We regularly do cross-PC backups, copy a 30,000+ photo library, and access an HTPC via hard-wire.
Those gigabit LAN ports are tempting. . . Especially at this price. For a well-liked router. And a router that is DD-WRT compatible in case we hate the standard firmware.
30 bucks is real money to us - am I silly?
@RedOak Not silly at all... Gigabit Ethernet is amazing for the use cases you're describing and $30 is money well spent in that case.
I had to throw away my old Netgear routers every time there was a thunderstorm, even though they were on a power strip with surge protection. Take whatever you're saving on this deal and put it into really awesome surge protection.
@editorkid we had exactly the same experience with our first (and only) three Netgear routers many years ago. But the reviews on this one don't seem to reflect that poor power management experience.
@editorkid check the grounding cable outside. or if light bulbs flicker brighter call power company about loose connection. the issue is not normal.
Would using this as a repeater be a good alternative to buying a 70 dollar powerline adapter? I live in a very old house with barely penetrable walls. I get about 2 to 3 bars with my current Wifi and I'm guessing using this as a repeater would fix the problem, but would it be comparable in speeds to a non Meh powerline?
@nasedase Repeaters start out with a minimum 50% throughput loss, so you may be better off trying powerline adapters. http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-wi-fi-extender/
@nasedase Do you have the powerline adapters already? I have a set that works, but not between certain sections of the house. Not sure why, but it is possible they are on different phases. They are less useful because of this.
People still use "n"? What is this, Syria?
@lumber5607 HEY! some of us are still on g...
I currently have a N300 router with below average wi-fi speed (15-18 mbps wi-fi vs 60mbps wired). Will I get better Wi-Fi speed with this router? Thanks
What a stupid site, looks like arrogant brat or bitch made it. My first and last purchase here!
@vdudhe
@vdudhe looks in mirror, reflects on self.
@vdudhe Enjoy!
@nadroj You so silly, Oolong
@nadroj It's been a while since I've seen that bunny. It still gets the job done.
@gyozilla I'm fond of Oolong tea.
No Georgia Red. . .for that alone, meh.
This'll replace my old WRT-54G running DD-WRT. I think I'll put my modem on the wall that has the cable entry and wireless-N bridge my setup. They have a screwy way of running the cabling into my house; the cable crosses the front yard, underneath the driveway, then goes up into the attic, across, and down to the taps in the living room. Needless to say, my reception is crap. Also, I get periodic failures when the temperature rises. Let's see if shortening the weak link will help; I might need a filter too.
Meh, I take back everything I said about you 22 hours ago... you did sell more than 10 and there are more suckers in the world than I thought.
@discmaster Why am I a sucker for buying a cheap decent router? I am going to use it as a repeater because the wifi in my house doesn't reach my room.
@Saffer49 Why are you a sucker? Because only a sucker would think I was serious.
@discmaster
@Saffer49 LOL!
Hey, the first sell out under my watch! Woo HOO!
Huh, well that made that decision a lot easier.
Hey, umm...got it installed in 20 minutes, seems to work well, solid after 18 hours. Much stronger signal through the house than my old router, and the 5Ghz seems to work fine...though my phone froze when I tried to switch from the 2.4Ghz. Only concern is the WPS; clicked the button that said "enable" so that it was off, but then the number to connect was displayed. Any way to determine if its really really off?
My router reports as WNDR4500v3 - the DDWRT binary says it's specifically for WNDR4500v1. Has anybody confirmed success with the v3? I'm a DDWRT noob and don't want to brick the device.
@HeyItsTodd I got a v2
@HeyItsTodd I have a v1, it has the big honkin power brick. According to the wiki v2 has just the wall wart without a power brick. No mention of v3
@vrillusions To paraphrase Elton John, "The Brick is Back". I just don't want to turn the actual router into a brick, so I'm gonna try to run it with the NetGear firmware. I'll say hello to the NSA and the Chinese government for you and let them know you are in on the whole scheme. In fact, you're the architect, nee mastermind.
@eeterrific Well, aren't you special? It's rare that I'd be disappointed to get newer tech, but this is apparently one such time.
@HeyItsTodd But I was hoping for a v8....
Got this and replaced the previous router I had, WNDR3700v4. First off it can read the usb drive so now I have some storage for various configs and such. Not sure if it's any noticeable difference between this one and old one as far as connectivity goes. Also I haven't had any issues with the "experimental" 26138 build that you initially flash it with.
Mine was essentially DOA. Worked fine for a few minutes when I powered it up to make sure it worked and changed the default admin password. Unplugged because I had to leave. Came back a few hours later to do the full configuration and the internet light blinks amber. It will sometimes after several, several minutes boot all the way up and let me log in. But maybe 10-15 minutes later we're back to the sole blinking amber light and no access again.
Now it won't power up at all. I emailed support on Wednesday night. As of Sunday morning, I still have not received a reply from them other than the automated "we got your email" response. I don't know whether to expect a refund, whether they'll send me a replacement or what. This is my first order from meh. Anyone else know what a normal response time from them is?
@autigers1970 Could be a couple of days- @jont should have a better answer for you.
@autigers1970 there is a 90 day warranty on this through Netgear, I would suggest contacting them as a first step and our CS team will response as soon as they are able.
@JonT The problem is, when I went to register it with Netgear to be able to do that, the serial number is blacked out on it. They won't give support without a serial number.
@autigers1970 Ah, I see. Our CS will work it out with you as soon as they can, sorry about the wait.
@autigers1970 mine did almost exact same thing, was about to contact customer support now i guess i'll wait and see.
@ChuckCableGuy I've got a universal AC adapter coming in today. I'll see if this resolves the issue. If so, hopefully meh will give me a partial refund to reimburse the cost of it to save us all a lot of trouble.
@ChuckCableGuy @JonT Well, no dice. It will power on, unlike the case now with the adapter it came with. But it power cycles, all access is lost and watching it on the network it acquires an IP then drops it over and over. I even did a factory reset and nothing will make this thing work right. I'm getting a little irritated. 10 days is a bit overboard for being able to hear from an actual human support person who will tell me what's going to be done.
@autigers1970 Well, two things happened today. First, I tried a similar AC adapter from one of my external hard drives. Same wattage and polarity and plug size. Router powered up and has remained stable for a couple of hours now. Second, when configuring the router for the first time it gives you a button to click to register it with Netgear. When I did that it pulled the serial number automatically and the product is registered. I have emailed support at Netgear to see if they will replace the AC adapter under the 90-day warranty. So, perhaps this will resolve the issue. Here's hoping...
@ChuckCableGuy @JonT Another update. Netgear is saying there is no hardware warranty on this router, just 30 days of tech support. I don't know if they are going to give me another power supply.
Received 3 V2s and installed DD-WRT on all 3. I have 2 configured as access points and 1 as a client bridge and so far I'm quite happy with their performance.
@stet which firmware build are you using? I installed Kong 25015-SP1, but I can't connect to it via wif.
@dougbeal wifi
got a v1, dd-wrt installed, ports forwarded, ddns configured. Now I can watch all my cats antics while I'm at work, hooray!
Got this router today (v1). Hooked everything up, connected by computer via LAN port, setup the router completely, but can't access most internet websites. All the power and internet connection lights are lit green and I don't see any problems. Anyone have any insight?
@1nc1n3rat0r I assume if you connect your computer directly to the modem you can get to Internet sites, right? If so, the problem is the router talking to/through the modem. I had a situation once where the router's local IP address conflicted with the modems local IP. You may have to log into the router admin screen and chagne the LAN IP if it's the same as the modem's. Should be under LAN Setup. Let me know if you need help getting there or checking to see if the IP conflict is the issue.
@medz If I connect directly to the port without the router, yes I have a perfect connection. Even when I plug in my D-Link router I have no problems. I'm doubting that the LAN IP issue applies to me because even any wireless device I connect to the router runs into the same internet connection issues. Any other ideas? Or is the device bricked? I really appreciate the reply! =)
@medz Oh don't you just love it when technology tries to prove you wrong...? I just booted the router again (I've had it off for a few days), plugged everything in, and BAM it started working again -_- Thanks again for your help =)
@1nc1n3rat0r Yeah, that really infuriates me. I'm always glad when the problem fixes itself, but I hate that I never found out what was wrong the first time.
What's the expected CS response time now? I submitted a request Sunday because my refreshing-rapid-gum router's dead (completely shuts off after a couple hours) and haven't heard anything back yet. FWIW it was a V2 w/the Netgear stock FW and for the hour or two it works before it shorts out and shuts down, it rocks. Then it turns into a rock.
@earlephilhower right now response times are about 5-6 days, we're working hard to get that reduced but since replacements for these are being handled by Netgear you should probably contact them while waiting for a response from us.
@JonT Thanks for the update. I'll try again, but like a few others have already said Netgear won't acknowledge you for support without registering. And you can't register without a serial, which these don't have. Catch-22.
What a lovely brick I was sold. No internet connectivity whatsoever.
@Aarakon as I mentioned above the first step for a replacement is contacting Netgear since they're handling the warranty. Feel free to contact our team at https://meh.com/support, but know that it'll take a few days to get a response.
Netgear support responded to my HW problem inquiry as follows:
"In response to your query, your refurbished WNDR4500v2 comes with the following warranty from the date of purchase:
"
Looks like Meh has to make this right, Netgear is washing their hands completely of these bricks.
@earlephilhower I'm pretty annoyed to read that, as I just got around to setting mine up... It reboots anytime I browse on it for more than 5 minutes. Support ticket with Meh entered.
@Saffer49 mine works great, flashed dd-wrt on it and set it up as a bridged repeater. I now get WiFi on my deck. Huzzah!
@Saffer49 mine was working great and has now stopped functioning... wtf
@JonT Netgear insists that there is no warranty on these routers. Men really needs to step up and do the right thing for those of us who got bricks.
Seriously. At the very least, a partial refund for me to go buy a working AC adapter for it.
@TerryMathews Also, how crappy a company is Netgear that even on refurbs they offer no warranty. Not even against DOA. Never heard of a company that doesn't offer at least some sort of warranty on refurbished products.
@autigers1970 true, however Meh bought a qty of these from Netgear. Seems like a detail that would've been worked out in advance. I know over on the other site, short term return warranties are often handled through the retailer. Might be the case here as well. I opened my ticket one week ago, no response.
@TerryMathews hrm... Maybe i should power mine up and take a look ... I bought 2, but haven't even unboxed them yet...
@TerryMathews From the above specs published by Meh:
"Warranty: 90 Days Netgear"
If Netgear denies the existence, it seems Meh is on the hook. Almost grabbed one of these - glad I didn't.
@earlyre so far, so good.. they both powered up, and i was able to flash them to DD-wrt, but didn't replace the old routers yet, b/c by the time i got them flashed, it was time or my folks to facetime my brother.. and they kinda need our wifi to be working for that...
Mine worked great for about 2 hours, then died, now it just looks cool with its Glossy Black design, i'm guessing that by this last post that its just a $30 piece of modern art now. Awesome.
Hey everybody, sorry for the trouble you're having with the warranty for these. I'll make sure we get this worked out. If you haven't already sent in a request to support, contact us at https://meh.com/support and our CS team will respond when they can with further information.
@earlephilhower @Aarakon @TerryMathews @autigers1970 @ChuckCableGuy
@JonT your support staff is still telling everyone that Netgear has a warranty on these. Can you please get this straightened out?
@TerryMathews Thanks for the heads up, we'll make sure it gets worked out.
@JonT Just wanted to say thanks for getting this all squared away. Appreciate the help!
@JonT Ticket entered. Thanks!
@JonT ticket submitted. Will wait to see.
I have not been able to write on my external HDD while it's connected to the readyshare. There isn't any password associated with the file. When I try to transfer let's say a small jpg picture a screen will come up asking me for my user name and password. I'm not sure what password they are referring to, so I place my Mac user name and password. Then a second screen comes up stating Items can not be copied because you don't have permission to read them. I've been searching online and found out that this has been an occuring issue with this modem. To make matters worse, when I contacted netgear they asked me for a serial number, the problem is that number was scratched out on the back when I got the unit.
I got one of these in my fuko fanny pack... I found this inside... just posting it here for reference.
front:
back:
Going to try flashing it to tomato will make a new thread if that works.