Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[K3]

I've had this Router for well over a year and used to be amazed at how solid it actually was. After the 1.20 update this Router has been horribly unstable. I have had to Hard reset this router on some days multiple times throughout the day. I was planning to finally give up and go replace this router. Then I found this thread, based on what I am reading, I am hoping that we will be able to get at least a beta of a fix. I am literally at the point where I can't afford to put up with this level of instability any longer.

[Reinvented]

I will post up a changelog if it's okay with Ru-Fi-Oh.  So far, it only contains the most notable fixes, and some additions.  It did not mention anything about the problems that we have thus far.

I will be loading it on in a few moments for testing.

[iconeater]

We never said anything about wanting it fast. We are talking about products that were already on the shelves (with broken firmware). We def want it to be accurate and if it is not, then the company that made it should make it so. However i do agree that loading Beta is at our own risk.

How does this sound. I was in the market for a shovel to dig a hole, so I went to the shovel shop and browsed the different brands. I assumed they all could dig a hole so I looked at the features. Some came with nice cushy handles while some had large foot stomps. I picked one up that looked nice and sturdy and fit me well. I took it home and got about 10 percent into the hole when all of a sudden I went to pick up a load of dirt to throw and the head was gone. I reach down to pick up the head and took both pieces to the store I bought it. I show the gentleman behind the couter and he looks at me and says, "you piled too much dirt on it". Dumbfounded I look at him and ask for the specs and he proceeds to tell me he doesn't know exactly how much it is meant to hold but he can assure me I used it wrong. He says normally he can’t refund the money but the company has an upgraded shovel head so that this won't happen again. I will be able to continue to dig my hole but I can only use it to 50 percent of its potential and i will have to wait a year for development.

Now on a maybe more helpful note. There have been talks on the www that the latest uPnP build for linux has some bugs in it. Maybe the developers can look into the version they are using and see if that might be a cause. Also I have read that Windows XP causes a lot of issues with a couple of the newer uPnP builds. There is a MickySoft article for turning off the uPnP feature in XP http://support.microsoft.com/kb/821980/en-us . It seems Windows 7 and Vista cause little to no effect on uPnP. I am going to disable uPnP on all of my Windows XP machines and see if this helps our router slow downs and/or uPnP fails.

I would like to say this in all honesty. The D-link routers are attractive because the developers are trying to add things that the other companies do not have. I know that is the reason I have stayed with them this long. My point is we like what the developers are trying to do for us the consumers and the fact they have some board administrators that are on top of our issues makes it bearable for us.  So thank you to everyone involved and thank you to us for testing.

Now everyone get back to work.

Nicely put Thanks!

[arod]

OK so everything appears to be fine so far. I've only tested basic features of the router to make sure this firmware doesn't brick anything and is functional. I'm going to post this beta up soon.

I will continue to test here at work and also at home. We will see what happens after the 3-4 day mark. I will be pushing it to the limit with gaming, wireless and downloading over the weekend.

Reinvented, if you want to post change log go for it. It should be included in the link as well when I post.
This is not the original release note. The one I saw has more listed to it but due to proprietary information the full doc could not be displayed.. don't ask me why I don't have control over these things.

As soon as the firmware is posted I will create a new thread regarding Beta 1.21 Please post all your comments and feedback there.

FW1.21 Beta01 feedback: http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=5947.0


Link to Beta 1.21: http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=5948.0

[RickinAurora]

When I purchased the DGL-4500 I was hoping for a good upgrade from my old linksys.  As we all know our high end home router is not doing the job.  The firmware issues are now resetting my feeling about D-Link hardware.  I have been in the computer industry for over twenty years.  For the last fifteen years I have been an Engineer and worked with most of the major players in the IT business and home markets.  I all so know a think or two about how to get a company’s attention about a bad product.  I will be doing some magic to get the names and phone numbers of the people that can get things done at D-Link.  Stay tuned…..       

[Lycan]

Your comparing a shovel to a complicated peice of electronic equipment? lol.

Second, that actually happens. You can purchase yard equipment and abuse it, and the hardware store may refuse to return it.

[bloodywolf]

Your comparing a shovel to a complicated peice of electronic equipment? lol.

Second, that actually happens. You can purchase yard equipment and abuse it, and the hardware store may refuse to return it.

I love the sarcasm coming off of this post.  We paid good money for a piece of junk product.  Your engineers sucks, I will never buy dlink again.  f*** you!

[Agent007PR]

Your comparing a shovel to a complicated peice of electronic equipment? lol.

Second, that actually happens. You can purchase yard equipment and abuse it, and the hardware store may refuse to return it.

So if my translation of your post is correct you are telling us that we abuse the 4500 and now DLINK is refusing to do more than what they are doing? I would like to believe that a company that advertises the 4500 as a gaming solution would expect the kind of usage we give it. Hopefully your statement will stand corrected with an actual fix for the consumers problems.

[Fearreality]

Your comparing a shovel to a complicated peice of electronic equipment? lol.

Second, that actually happens. You can purchase yard equipment and abuse it, and the hardware store may refuse to return it.

I hope you are half heartedly posting that and not trying to make me look like an idiot. I also hope you don’t think for a minute that I would buy the router, abuse it, and then demand help with it when it breaks?!?! I agree that a lot of places don’t take returns but that’s why you buy from a company that will stand behind their product no matter what. Take craftsman for instance. I buy a wrench from them for my weekend project and instead of just using my hands like I am clearly supposed to do, I use a 3 foot piece of pipe for that ‘extra’ leverage. Well wouldn’t you know it, it broke the box end right off. I can in fact bring it back and get a brand new one.

I was comparing the processes NOT the products.
 
It starts with unpacking and using:
  You unpack the shovel to dig a hole and it breaks before you even really get started because there was something wrong with it to begin with. You unpack the router and it is already broken too.

Then the process for support:
  I brought the shovel back knowing they probably wouldn’t take it back because I used it a little, but I was looking for options because you could clearly see the shovel head just fell right off. And according to the man on the picture when I bought it, I too would be able to dig a hole. Instead of admitting they had a known flaw (or at least a thought an issue existed), they sold it to me anyway, blamed it on me, and then offered a solution. The company was actually going to research and develop a new shovel head for it. But that process was going to take a year. Also, to top it off they told me that I can’t use it to its full potential even with the fix; so I either sit on my hands accomplishing nothing with my own work while that happens or I suck it up and buy another one. I like most people at that point would just buy another one and eat the loss. But I know a shovel doesn't cost 200 dollars; A little different when you are replacing a complicated piece of equipment.
 
  I’ve stated I agree that it is complicated equipment but the most basic of functions that it should be able to do IS route (like a shovel should be able to move dirt). I in no way abuse my router....I would like to and I’ve thought about it twice while writing this post, but I haven’t yet. I have a gigabit network, a total of 10 PCs, and an Xbox. 4 PCs are wired and the rest are wireless and never all on at the same time. I use a gigabit switch (D-Link) to take the load of the streaming movies from the servers to the PC's. My highest throughput in a day through the router is when I am connected to work and that is about 3.5 gigs down and 500 megs up in a 24 hour period of time. Other than that I am looking at about a gig down and 400 megs up. I would agree that maybe I was pushing it but most ISPs provide 7-15 standard and I have had many routers through the years (Even the DIR-655 2 years ago) with this set up and none of them had the results I have today.
  I am trying to stay positive but with this router my network is useless. I am trying to help but time is money. I’ve told you in the past that I spent a LOT of hours troubleshooting this router. Every time I upgrade, re-flash, or reset I am out for the next 2 hours while I recreate all of my stuff. Then on top of that is the time spent turning things off and back on to try to figure out a good setting that will allow the game servers to give out at least 30 frames without a hiccup while trying to keep the router connected for more than a day. And even when I posted that I was done, I didn’t give up.

I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again.
“I love the hardware and I love the things the developers are trying to do. Most of the other brands do not have everything this one does. The only thing lacking is a stable firmware”

My apologies if this post is too long I just felt the need to clear the air. I don’t want less support because of a failure to communicate on a professional level.

[d01100100]

I hope you are half heartedly posting that and not trying to make me look like an *****. I also hope you don’t think for a minute that I would buy the router, abuse it, and then demand help with it when it breaks?!?! I agree that a lot of places don’t take returns but that’s why you buy from a company that will stand behind their product no matter what. Take craftsman for instance. I buy a wrench from them for my weekend project and instead of just using my hands like I am clearly supposed to do, I use a 3 foot piece of pipe for that ‘extra’ leverage. Well wouldn’t you know it, it broke the box end right off. I can in fact bring it back and get a brand new one.

He has a point.  Look past the personal insult for a second and consider your analogy is flawed in scale and scope.  I thought the same thing when I read your reply.  Shovel, router, you're joking right?  Unless the tool you're describing is a pre-programmable jigsaw that can cut to precise patterns while analyzing the grain of the wood as it is cutting and is able to make corrections to its blade speed to compensate, on the fly and customizable to your specifications.

One is a simple instrument that does one thing.  It has no moving parts and it doesn't change.  The other is a complicated piece of electronics that can change, quite dramatically.  Firmware is delicate like that.  It's not the same as "simple software".  I work in software development as my day job and it's a lot more forgivable than firmware.

It's like trying to compare console to PC games.  One is far easier to patch than the other, hence why QA for console is often held to a higher standard since pressed images are harder to patch around.  Take that one step further when it involves firmware rewrites.  Simple mistakes in java can often be patched on the fly via replacing some jars.  Bricking firmware?  It's a littler harder to recover, but at least you got results, right?

The DGL series aren't simple routers.  They do multiple tasks.  A simple router would be easier to code around.  I've played with OpenWRT and seriously considered going with one to replace my DGL when firmwares 1.12 to 1.15 couldn't maintain simple ethernet traffic for extended periods of time.  Copying 1GB of documents from 1 LAN computer to another would cause the router to hang.

Personally I wish I had just kept my router on 1.02.  I never had issues with that firmware and it worked perfectly for me.  It didn't have a lot of the newer features, but I never needed them.  Maybe in my twisted perception, $150 for a router doesn't seem like I'm breaking the bank.  If I wanted "quality" or pay for something that I feel I can complain about, a Cisco SOHO which runs x2 - x4 the cost, as a starting point.  The DGL offers competitive features, one of the largest NAT tables for a "home" router.

It's quite possible they're taking the QA seriously this time.  The initial QA in which the developers do isn't working or they can't establish use cases to replicate your issues.  Can't find an error means they have nothing to report.  Yes it's a frustrating lack of transparency in what they're doing, but sitting over their shoulder isn't going to make them work any faster.

I do think their versioning system sucks.  I'd prefer firmwares that lack the ability to downgrade be marked with a major version number increment.  I know that if I load 2.x,I can't go back to 1.x.  It would make it much more obvious.

[Fearreality]

It kind of bothers me when that is the only thing people got out of a long post is shovel to router. No mention of the uPnP anomaly I mentioned or the wireshark logs from 8 months ago or the fact I would have to wait a year to use the shovel. Yeah, I took it personal. The only feedback I get is what are you stupid? I agree that if you are looking only at the part about it being a shovel and a router, the scale, scope, and impact are completely different. Replace shovel with whatever you want (i.e. rocket ship, submarine, remote control car…) it doesn’t matter. That was never the point.
  I do understand the difference between an object that digs a hole with no moving parts and an electronic device with millions of lines of code to run and move data on the fly. I would have to be an idi0t to not see the difference. But if we could pretend for a moment that I actually had a point to the story and look past the beginning to the part were I was told “no return, your fault, we will fix, but it will never be 100 percent and it will take a year to get the fix”. My point is we are being treated like it is our fault that the router isn’t holding up. And to be told I abuse my router is offensive. This was never intended to be a direct analogy of a shovel and router.
  I have run into this in the past where a Mod I was working on seemed to be fine when I ran it but then when others ran it there were issues. I could never replicate them without the help of the users. But I did make a patch that took the Mod back down to the last version that was working (I understand in this case it is a Ubicom thing, well someone needs to convince them). I also lost out on about 6 months of coding time since the issues didn’t creep up right away. But know this; they got a patch to the older version within 3 days of letting me know. That allowed me to start from there and find my mistakes. Yes I know it was PC programming and not a console or worse yet firmware (the issues are still there on reboot, if it reboots at all). I in no way ever said it was easy for them to make a “universal” firmware. Meaning everyone can take it home and it work; regardless of what hardware the end user has or what kind of infrastructure is in place. And what they do might not be as transparent to me as you think. All I was saying is it was broken on the shelf and they should come up with a way of making it right. And I don’t think 9 months of waiting falls into that category. In most companies that is about half of the refresh period.
  My day job is providing mission critical support to end users. With that comes a little restraint on my part and a lot of professionalism which I think some of these posts are lacking; from everyone. I understand the forum admins are under a lot of stress because they are the eyes and ears for the developers and they too have to wait to be given the firmware. I also know the importance of patience and all I ask is not to be treated like a nobody. I have been dealing with this personally for over 9 months (I know I’m not the only one). If I ever treated people the way I've been treated here I would have been fired long ago.
  I too agree that 150 to 200 is not breaking the bank. However when I have to go out and buy a new router, something is wrong. Now I am out the money for the new router and the customers I lost because they couldn’t stay connected over the last 8 months. Nothing like getting rid of the only business I had. But hey at least now I have a stable firmware that is actually more powerful than the one I was waiting patiently for and it is running on a slightly slower processor and about half the ram. Go figure

[cybernet00]

He has a point.  Look past the personal insult for a second and consider your analogy is flawed in scale and scope.  I thought the same thing when I read your reply.  Shovel, router, you're joking right?  Unless the tool you're describing is a pre-programmable jigsaw that can cut to precise patterns while analyzing the grain of the wood as it is cutting and is able to make corrections to its blade speed to compensate, on the fly and customizable to your specifications.

One is a simple instrument that does one thing.  It has no moving parts and it doesn't change.  The other is a complicated piece of electronics that can change, quite dramatically.  Firmware is delicate like that.  It's not the same as "simple software".  I work in software development as my day job and it's a lot more forgivable than firmware.

Of course you would say all that because your router for the most part seems to work AND this coming form the same guy that said “Welcome to the instant on, MTV, I want it now generation”

It’s funny that for the most part people understood the analogy of the shovel and router.  Also funny that the analogy stemmed from your dumb idea that, because people are on here complaining they are a “want it now generation”. It is not comparing technology to an object.  Are you telling me that if you bought a car off the lot only to find that it wasn’t working correctly you would simply say oh well.  So then what you buy another car? Doubtful you would take it back to the dealer and complain that it doesn’t work and THEN when after 9 months it is STILL doing the same thing what would you do?  The fact is we are NOT a NOW generation what we are are consumers who read up on the best, buy the best and expect the best only to find it is FAR from the best.

And while buying one; no doesn’t really break the bank as you say…buying several in the same year…yeah that starts to put a dent in the bank.

I wont be shy I’m 26 lets see in your eyes what generation am I from?  I know for a FACT that my grandmother (71) is not from the MTV generation and she would NOT put up with this crap.  I just had a conversation with her about how she is going to call HP because they have not come out with an updated video driver so that the Sims can play on her laptop.  Like I said we are consumers it has nothing to do with generations.

Go to some well known websites that sell this router and just look at all the reviews and everyone that says…have to update the firmware to make it work, have to update the firmware to make it work, have to update the firmware to make it work, have to update the firmware to make it work.  That to me is just crazy! Off the shelf and you have to update it.

I understand what FearReality was/is saying and I understand what you are saying d01100100 as well, however it’s easier for you to come on here and talk poop because like you said you really are not having problems with your router (« Reply #192 on: June 11, 2009, 08:24:12 PM »
 Connection Up Time :  6 Day 2 Hour 09 Min 19 Sec)so you can’t relate to those that have to reboot the router after no more than 6 hours of runtime and then there is also this (It didn't have a lot of the newer features, but I never needed them.) If you don’t need all the features then why even buy it?  Clearly those of us who bought the router for what is was claimed to do can’t relate to you.

[Lycan]

My point is simple. You're comparing apples and oranges. Then when I commented on it you compared the return policy/procedure.

The fact is things come with warranties, those warranties have limits and regulations. If you exceed the limitations of the warranty, the company has the right to void your support.

Now, back to reality. The 4500 is in need of correction, no one here will get an arguement from me on that. However, until the PM for the product releases firmware, there isn't much that can be done.

Trust me, I'm making them aware of your frustations and of the units short comings.

[Fearreality]

When I wrote the original post and my reply to your comment, it was always about the support; not the hardware or the return policy.

the company has an upgraded shovel head so that this won't happen again. I will be able to continue to dig my hole but I can only use it to 50 percent of its potential and i will have to wait a year for development. 

Period.

Again I know what a warranty is and I never claimed the warranty was denied (if you remember I took my first one back under warranty). I understand there is nothing anyone can do. But I would like to see things being productive rather than this pi$$ing match back and forth.

We want to help and want to know if our feedback helps or not.
What can we do at this point while waiting?

[Lycan]

The more information I can gather about the failures the faster we can pin point the issue.

Of the people on this thread that are suffering from required reboots, how many are using a1 units?