I’ve been using ADSL at my small business since 2004. All these years I have changed more than 10 modem-routers of different brands because they have crapped out.
It usually starts with random disconections from the Internet. As time passes the disconnections become more and more frequent, while at the same time the DHCP server will not always work and the wifi will have problems as well.
Then the time comes when the router totally craps out and you cannot even access the configuration page.
Some other routers have overheating problems and need to be restarted every now and then. I had one router that whenever I did a big file download there would be a clicking sound (a thermal switch?) and the router would disconnect.
On the other hand, I had only two switches in the same time period and that was because I upgraded from a 10/100 to a gigabit one.
So is there any reliable SOHO modem router out there?
Zyxel, Netgear, Alcatel and maybe some other brand I now forget.
Two zyxels of the same model and they both died after a year each. The Alcatel was the one that hanged on big file downloads. The netgear one was the best. It lasted almost 3 years and died a couple of months ago.
Now I have a TP-LINK, it was the cheapest I could find. If they are crapping out on me anyways there isn’t a reason to buy an expensive one.
Where are you installing them? Does the location have sufficient air circulation, or does it get stuck rebreathing its own hot exhaust? Heat is electronics’ worst enemy (after water).
I never had a problem with my Cisco/Linksys WRT54G. I’ve been using a Juniper router for the past few months (got it for free) and haven’t had any issues with it.
Funny you should say that, but I’ve had nothing but problems with Linksys WRT54G, at least the versions from a couple or so years ago. I had one that required me to reboot it once or twice a month to restore operations; my work then bought me a newer one (I recall it was the first one that didn’t have open source in it, if that dates the model) that needed to be rebooted every day. I pretty much gave up on the brand at that point, and switched to Netgear. Maybe they’ve improved since.
Netgear hasn’t been flawless either, as it seems I have to replace their router once a year or so as they start flaking out (randomly drops internet access [reboot!] or wireless becomes strangely spotty), but I’ll take that over what I had with the Linksys track record.
One does wonder if planned obsolescence is a feature and not a bug.
I have never had a problem with any of my Apple Airport Extreme routers. I have one at home, one at work, and one at my parent’s house, and they’ve all functioned reliably for about 5 years. I have literally never had to power cycle them or anything like that.