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darkhawk64 · Aug 30, 2003, 01:57 AM

Hey all-
Sorry if I seem totally sour right now, but I've got to vent. I just bought a Netgear MR814 v2 wireless router to use with my 12 inch PowerBook. I'm running the latest version of OS X and the latest Airport software. I can hook up to it while wired, but not wireless. Whenever I choose the "NETGEAR" network from my Airport menu extra, then it says that "There was an error joining the selected Airport network." So I decide to call Netgear.

First of all, the wait time was 30 minutes tonight (Friday night at around 10:45), and the first guy that I got had a terrible connection and I could barely understand him. He asks me for the standard stuff (name, phone, email, etc.) and I tell him my problem. He tells me to go to the card's utility. I tell him that there isn't one. He then told me that I have to pay extra for Macintosh tech support

While the Mac is a supported system on the box, they won't support it over the phone. So I ask for the supervisor.

The supervisor (after waiting for about 10 minutes), then regurgitates the same info the first helpless person gave me. So here I am, iritated because I just paid for a router that the company wants to grub more money from me to help me while giving all the hopeless people running Windows all the free support their hearts desire. I'm mad. Sorry for the ranting. I just had to let it go.

By the way, anyone have any thoughts on how to help me? Since I've got a 12" Powerbook, I'm running Airport Extreme (802.11g) and the base station is 802.11b. That shouldn't matter, but it may. I don't know. Anyone have experience with this setup? I appreciate any help I can get, because I have to pay for it from them. Thanks.
jared

stevesnj · Aug 30, 2003, 03:58 AM

Does the the instruction or users manual say free online support for Windows users only? If it does not explain that the manual does not specify that Macintosh users will have to pay extra for support and that if you do not provide me the support as advertised you will contact the Consumer Protection Agency for false advertisement of services. This will get their attention. If still no go... get the supervisors name and the phone number of the legal department at Netgear...this should get them shaking a little too.

kennedy · Aug 30, 2003, 07:56 AM

I had a similar experience with the netgear folks when my network suddenly started getting flaky, booting people off.

I finally figured out that the netgear device, in addition to coming with no free support, also had a limit on the number of users it would actually let connect! When I realized I would need to pay extra because I had added a couple users, I realized it would be cheaper to toss my relatively new netgear router and buy any other brand (which doesn't have silly limits and no support so that they can get you hooked with a cheap price only to suck the money out of you later). Sorry, don't mean to rant.

Anyway, I just thought I might ask how many users you have on your network and how many the MR814 actually allows (not how many its capable of allowing; but how many it will allow if you don't pay extra $$)?? That could cause what you are seeing.

Freeflyer · Aug 30, 2003, 09:20 AM

Yeah, I've discovered that netgear's support is crappy. They actually told me they didn't support macs when I needed help. Told me I needed to plug the router into a pc and then they could help me.

They're wait times are outgageous, I've waited over an hour to get through before. They're support group is in India, and I don't think they have much mac presence or anyone who knows anything about macs.

They're email helpdesk seems not to reply at all to my queries.

In the end, I've always been able to get help from this forum, and have completely given up on netgear support.

They're hardware seems to be very good, and I've learned enough about networking now to be able to do most tasks myself. I'd have been lost without macnn.

Cheers,

J.

darkhawk64 · Aug 30, 2003, 10:35 AM

Hey everyone-
Thanks for not holding my irritation against me. I know that this community will be here when I need to go off on someone (whic isn't very often). Anyways, the first reply asked how many users there are. 1. I'm the only wireless user with my Powerbook. I got this router so that I can use it for when I go to school, which is three weeks from today. So for now, I'm trying to find out how to make this thing work.

And as a followup to the whole crappy supprot thing, I got an email last night (automated I'm sure) from the Netgear folks, and it wanted to know how satisfied I was with the service. Interesting. So I filled it out, just a bunch of radio buttons on a website, but the last part of it asked for comments-- AND IT HAD A CHARACTER LIMIT!!! How ridicculous. Thanks for all the support Macnn Forum posters, and no thanks to Netgear.
jared

darkhawk64 · Aug 30, 2003, 10:50 AM

Hi again-
Well, after lots of searching, I found it. I did a Google search which linked to an ATPM site, here. One of the replies to the article said that I needed to upgrade thie firmware. I hadn't even thought of that since I had just gotten it this week. Lo and behold, that's all it needed. Now I can hop on with nary a problem.

I wish that I could've gotten that idea out of some tech support guy. But I just saved myself $30. How pathetic of them. Thanks for all the replies. I hope the above link can help someone else.
jared