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[teknomedic]

I just joined to get some comments on this... I'm not sure if official D-Link support vists here or not, but hope they do.

WHY have they removed wireless B AND removed the downgrade option??  I was told to upgrade to v1.30 due to some issues that were fixed (I was having those issues and needed the fix), but wasn't informed about the these changes.  Now I can't use ANY of my wirelss B devices (I have about 10) and to top it off I can no longer downgrade!!

1) I bought the DIR-655 because it supported N, G AND B.  If the DIR-655 doesn't supprt B it's useless for me.  Having an all in one package was and still is ideal for me in my situation.  If the DIR-655 didn't support B from the beginning I never would have bought it... dito if I had known they were going to remove B at a future date.

2) Just because a firmware is newer doesn't mean it's better for everyone.  Locking down the "downgrade" option is very short sighted, especially when in the same firmware you remove a key feature of the router.  Who made that choice and why???

I can see no good reasons for locking down the router in these ways... we could already turn off "B" ourselves AND downgrading is needed at times after a new firmware causes new issues for the end user.

Is there any hope that B and downgrading will be added back for one last firmware so that I can have the new fixes AND start using the router again with my "old" devices??  v1.30 sounded good with all the fixes, some of those I needed, but not if it ment turning off "B" forever.

I'm at the point of never buying a Dlink product again.  I already jumped ship from Linksys for their similar tactics... please don't force me to find yet another company for my needs.  The DIR-655 was exactly what I needed, but without B it's crap.

[Alexx]

The issue has been discussed to death already. Both here and elsewere. You can only blame yourself for upgrading because the changelog states very very clearly that you cant downgrade and that b is gone. No worries though, cause D-link already said B is coming back in the next firmware.

[teknomedic]

it's good it's coming back... but please don't blame me for this.  Blame the tech support person that emailed me the firmware to fix my issues without telling me about the key changes.

Also, can you point me to previous discussions on this issue?  I tried a search but came up empty... which is why I posted.

[lotacus]

http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=5085.15

Is just one thread but you'll find more discussion burried in other 1.3 threads

[KevTech]

it's good it's coming back... but please don't blame me for this.  Blame the tech support person that emailed me the firmware to fix my issues without telling me about the key changes.

The firmware is only available in a zip file.
Said zip file has the firmware and a text file with the release notes of the changes so yes you are at least partly to blame.

[sandman]

The firmware is only available in a zip file.
Said zip file has the firmware and a text file with the release notes of the changes so yes you are at least partly to blame.

would be nice if the tech person had pointed this out to teknomedic in his email as well. You trust a doctor to give you the right medication, and point out any side effects. Same when you get advise from tech support. Yes, we all should read everything, every line, but how often have most people read every line in a software disclaimer before installing?
Yes, our fault, but...

[EddieZ]

would be nice if the tech person had pointed this out to teknomedic in his email as well. You trust a doctor to give you the right medication, and point out any side effects. Same when you get advise from tech support. Yes, we all should read everything, every line, but how often have most people read every line in a software disclaimer before installing?
Yes, our fault, but...

Yep, the doctor does tell you there could be some side effects. But you still need to read the enclosed leaflet yourself. He does not spell it out for you.

[teknomedic]

Yes, I should have read it and I didn't.... but when was the last time an entire wireless mode was removed from a product.  It would be like updating your TVs firmware and have the color RED removed.... who does that?! (d-link I guess).

Are there any other threads related to this... I'm loving the complaining.

[Msradell]

It would be like updating your TVs firmware and have the color RED removed.... who does that?! (d-link I guess).

Actually in this case it's more like removing the option of having a black and white picture which has done a long time ago!  Wireless B is an antique protocol and devices using it need to be upgraded.

[Aurien]

Actually in this case it's more like removing the option of having a black and white picture which has done a long time ago!  Wireless B is an antique protocol and devices using it need to be upgraded.

As soon as Sony upgrades the PSP I'll make sure to get it. Until then, I'm stuck needing 802.11b for it to be able to access the internet.

[dougg]

the argument that b is outdated sucks,  maybe it means dlink gets kickbacks from other companies to remove b so people will update there old devices and spend alot of mone.   or may mean more business for dlink cause people are still using older wifi cards but it meets there needs,  like I have a Pocket PC 4 years old with only b and it still meets my needs so why upgrade in my point of view, it would cost 300-400 to buy anew one when the 1 I have works fine

[Arvald]

Actually in this case it's more like removing the option of having a black and white picture which has done a long time ago!  Wireless B is an antique protocol and devices using it need to be upgraded.

I'd say a more apt anology (using TV) would be removing stereo sound.
5.1 AND 7.1 suround sound exist and many people have them, lets get rid of stereo.

with the analogy going to show that 90% of the people just listen to mono and stereo still these days.

[sandman]

Well said everyone - but I believe the real point is that, even if teknomedic HAD read the attached warning, he would have still had only the options to live with the problems he was having, or fix them with 1.30 and lose b.

Anyway, as stated earlier in this thread, to give D-Link credit, it seems they have acknowledged these points, with the proposed 1.31. returning b to the 655. I hope for all of you using b protocol units that the full release is soon. Now, if they can just move 1.30 out of beta to a full release version.....

[teknomedic]

I'd say a more apt anology (using TV) would be removing stereo sound.
5.1 AND 7.1 suround sound exist and many people have them, lets get rid of stereo.

with the analogy going to show that 90% of the people just listen to mono and stereo still these days.

That's a perfect example.

Also, I like how someone previous said we should just upgrade and drop "B"... why???  If I as a consumer didn't have any use for "B" I would NOT have bought a router that supports "B", but I did because I have a NEED for it.  I have a few devices that not only us "B", but can't be upgraded by me to support anything else such as PSP, DS and Wii.  I also have a few laptops that have built in "B" cards as well as a few PDAs (PDAs are what adults used before "smart phones" BTW)

Long story short is that I bought a router that supported everything I needed so I wouldn't have to go through the expense to either upgrade and/or replace all my "old" hardware.  Will I use this hardware forever, no... and when that day comes I'll buy a router that only has N & G.

...I guess I'd simply like to ask those that don't use "B" and don't understand our issue how you would feel if this firmware had simply removed "G" instead (or removed both "B" and "G").  I mean "G" is old and outdated as well with "N" around so why split hairs.  Just because you have a use for "G" doesn't mean it's not an old standard.

...while you're at it, you should probably just buy a new hybrid car as well since your current one is so yesterday and the highways can no longer support your type of car as it interferes with the hybrids on the road.

[EddieZ]

I'd say a more apt anology (using TV) would be removing stereo sound.
5.1 AND 7.1 suround sound exist and many people have them, lets get rid of stereo.

with the analogy going to show that 90% of the people just listen to mono and stereo still these days.

And there the analogy goes wrong: 90% of the people is not using b anymore.

But enough of this crap since you already had the chance to figure out that there will be a 1.31. version with b enabled.

And if you took a look around the 655 forum you might also have found out/read that a newly added feature causes the code to be locked, making it non-downgradeable. I'll request the thread to be closed since it is not very useful anymore.