I recently bought a new router to replace my now-aging router that had been disconnecting periodically. I’m thinking about getting an Xbox soon, and I wanted to make sure that a had a good router to connect to the internet through. I decided on a D-Link DI-634M because it got good reviews, it is compatable with Xbox live (after an official firmware update), and Fry’s has it for a good price. The router worked fine… until I tried to update the firmware. It updated, reset, and now resets every eight seconds or so - which makes it useless because I cannot connect to it at all. To try and get this resolved (and hopefully get the router replaced) I emailed D-Link’s infamous tech support. I’d like to share these emails with you. The comments in italics are my own.

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I downloaded the firmware update (2.01) for the router and uploaded it via a wired connection that was working fine at the time. After waiting several minutes, however, the router appeared to have failed. The power light remains on, but the WAN, WLAN, and all four LAN lights stay off, but blink every 10 seconds or so. When a computer is connected to one of the LAN ports, the light will remain on for a short period of time (and the computer will attempt to connect to the router) but every 10 seconds all the lights flash again and the computer gets disconnected. This cycle just repeats over and over again. I have tried resetting the router via the reset button on the back of the case, but it does not help. During the firmware update I didn’t touch the router at all, and I allowed it roughly 10 minutes to go through the update process before trying to connect. What should I do?

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Date of Reply: 12/12/2006
Products: DI-634M
Operating System: Mac OS 10.4

William,

We appreciate your writing in to us.

Please reset the router and reconfidure it again.

Try out these steps if you are not able to access internet through router.

1. Verify that the residential gateway is getting power. With the broadband modem connected to the WAN port on the gateway, you should have a soild WAN link light. You should use the same cable that connected the modem to the PC to connect the modem to the WAN port on the gateway. Any port on the gateway that has a computer connected to it should have the corresponding LAN link light lit. If you do not get the appropriate link lights, try using different cables.

2. Check the IP address of the computer. Computers should automatically obtain an IP address since DHCP is enabled by default on the gateway.

… Here, instructions for how to renew your IP address are given for Windows 98, Me, 2000, and XP even though I’ve already reported I’m using MacOS 10.4 …

If computer is receiving IP addresses like 0.0.0.0 or 169.254.x.x then we must inform you that these are junk IP addresses. Try to assign a static IP address to the computer.

3. Use the PING command to test the communication between the computer and the gateway.

… Again, more instructions for Windows …

4. Open your web browser and enter the IP address of the router in the Address Bar. The default IP address of the router is 192.168.0.1

Login to the configuration with your username and password. The default username is admin and the password is blank.

… More instructions about how to reset the router mantually, which I already explained that I had done …

Thank you for networking with D-Link.

Sincerely,
BRANDON PEREZ
D-Link Technical Support

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Brandon,

My gateway is working fine.

My computer cannot obtain an IP address from the router because the router cycles every 8 seconds or so and drops all connections.

The rest of the suggestions are moot because the router isn’t stable long enough to establish a connection to another network device.

The trouble is that the router is cycling - my computer will start going through the process of connecting to the router, and then the lights all flash on the router, my computer loses its (attempted) connection to the router, and then the process starts all over again. The router cycles like this if there are other network devices attached to it or not.

What now?

William

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Date of Reply: 12/13/2006
Products: DI-634M
Operating System: Mac OS 10.4

Hi William,
Sometimes the router reboots if you have a virus on your computer. Now I am not
saying that you do, I am just letting you know.

… Yeah… a virus… on MacOS 10.4… right …

check this link.

http://support.dlink.com/faq/view.asp?prod_id=1563&question=rebooting

Should you require further assistance with your D-Link products, please reply to this message, or call toll free at 877-453-5465.

For D-Link’s preferred Home Networking application please try http://www.networkmagic.com/nmlp/dlinksupport.php from Pure Networks. It simplifies Microsoft Networking and may allow you to trouble shoot your network on your own.

… Here they go again with the Microsoft advice when it clearly states in every message that I’m using a Mac …

Thank you for networking with D-Link.

Sincerely,
JonClaud Pinto
D-Link Technical Support

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The problem is not a virus on my computer. As I’ve already said, I’m using a Mac and the router resets even if no other network devices are attached. Additionally, the router isn’t rebooting every few minutes, it’s resetting every few seconds. It worked fine before I uploaded the firmware update. Since uploading the firmware update the router does not function.What do I do at this point? How do I go about getting the router replaced?

Thank you,


William Nichols

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Date of Reply: 12/14/2006
Products: DI-634M
Operating System: Mac OS 10.4

William Nichols,
You can revert to the previous firmware which worked fine.

Should you require further assistance with your D-Link products, please reply to this message, or call toll free at 877-453-5465.

For D-Link’s preferred Home Networking application please try http://www.networkmagic.com/nmlp/dlinksupport.php from Pure Networks. It simplifies Microsoft Networking and may allow you to trouble shoot your network on your own.

… Yeah, you guys told me this already. It’s still useless and I just told you again that I’m using a Mac …

Thank you for networking with D-Link.

Sincerely,
Samwel Basweti
D-Link Technical Support

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How do I revert to the previous firmware if the router will not hold a connection to another network device?

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Date of Reply: 12/14/2006
Products: DI-634M
Operating System: Mac OS 10.4

William,

From the nature of the query, you can locate the firmware versions for the router at http://support.dlink.com/products/view.asp?productid=DI-634M.

… Yeah. That will help. I just said the the router resets every eight seconds without anything connected to it, and that I cannot connect to it because it is resetting. I can see how they might get that confused with “Where do I download firmware?” - especially after explaining that I’ve already downloaded firmware from them, and uploading it to the router killed it …

If the issue persists, it would be best if you interact with a live technician to resolve the issue.

… Somehow I doubt it will help, but I’ll probably try it Sunday night …

Please call technical support at 877-45D-Link (877-453-5465). Technical support is available 24/7 to serve your needs.

Should you require further assistance with your D-Link products, please reply to this message, or call toll free at 877-453-5465.

For D-Link’s preferred Home Networking application please try http://www.networkmagic.com/nmlp/dlinksupport.php from Pure Networks. It simplifies Microsoft Networking and may allow you to trouble shoot your network on your own.

… Yes, I realize this. You’ve told me three times now even though I’m still on a Mac. Unlike D-Link’s tech support, I actually read the messages I receive …

Thank you for networking with D-Link.

Sincerely,
STEPHEN DRAKES (Is he shouting his name at me?)
D-Link Technical Support

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Unless some kind of miracle happens on Sunday night when I call D-Link, then this router will be the last I buy from them. What a joke.