problems with Linksys BEFW11S4 v.4

Maker and model of the cable modem?

I have exactly the same router. Works fine except it hangs every few days. I've seen variations on the same problem ranging from hangs every few hours to hangs once per week. Seems to be chronic with this router. The new firmware 1.52.02 didn't help. Sorry, I don't have a fix.

The router is also susceptible router exploits. Go unto:

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run all the tests. Mine hangs on two of them (I forgot which ones).

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann
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Windows XP home SP2...Cable Modem

I recently installed this router and it works fine except for one quirk. It will intermittently lose its connection to the internet. To reconnect I have to momentarily unplug the power to the router.

Spoke with tech support and they told me to upgrade the firmware and that would correct the problem. I did the upgrade and it did not help.

Is this a known bug with this router or could I have a defective one.

Thanks,

Roy

Reply to
Roy Colson

The modem is an RCA DCM425 supplied by Road Runner.

Reply to
Roy Colson

Methinks not. I tried that for about 2 weeks with a BEFW11s4 v4 at a local hotspot. The timer was set to reboot every 24 hours. I setup MRTG to ping the router over the internet and check if it was alive. It still managed to hang at random times during the day. I could see no obvious pattern related to usage, traffic, internet attacks, power glitches, or position of the moon. I didn't check for mystic enchantments or demonic presence. The most expedient move was to replace the router with a different model. End of problem.

The reason my home router is a BEFW11s4 v4 is that one of my customers was having similar problems resulting in my ending up with an unsellable router. So, I used it myself. Lots of my computer stuff comes this way, which might explain why my equipment looks (and sometimes works) like a pile of junk. One thing nice about the BEFW11s4 is that it has good range through the trees when compared to other wireless access points and routers I've tried. I would have recycled it long ago except that I have one marginal path to the neighbors that tends to fail when I tried other routers.

Recently, I found myself at a local coffee shop late one weekday night. I noticed a BEFW11S4 on the shelf and was curious if it was hung. I dragged my laptop out of the car, tried to connect, and couldn't connect. It worked after they power cycled it. The coffee clerk said it hangs "sometimes" and that they were told to just cycle the power every few hours. I left a note for the manager, but nobody called.

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann
[POSTED TO alt.internet.wireless - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

One work-around is to put the router on a timer that briefly turns it off and then back on at the least inconvenient time on a regular basis.

Reply to
John Navas

That is a very easy and simple solution. I could do it manually once a day without a problem. I sure will give it a try.

Thanks,

Roy

Reply to
Roy Colson

I'm wondering if the AC adapter output is spotty? Back at the beginning of time I had both a Linksys ethernet router and a Linksys ethernet print server and both had power supplies that were minimally capable of supplying sufficient power and would frequently go off-line. I spliced the adapter jacks onto larger power supplies and the problems disappears. Well, the print server really was junk, but the router was OK after that.

Q
Reply to
Quaoar

It's possible but I don't think so. The AC adapter delivers 12VDC unregulated at 1A. The BEFW11S4 have a nifty switching regulator that allows it to operate at anything between about 4VDC and 18VDC. If the router were sensitive to brown outs, drop outs, hiccups, and glitches, the wide voltage range should minimize (but not eliminate) the possibility. It's possible for perhaps one or two power adapters to be flaky, but I've seen about 6 flaky BEFW11S4 routers, which suggests that it is more than a minor power supply production issue.

As for power handling, you can easily tell if it's insufficient. The xformer in the wall wart will saturate and get hot. Mine is stone cold. Also, I measured the BEFW11S4 current drain and it only draws about 0.4A at 12VDC input, which is more than enough headroom on a 1A power supply. BEFW11S4v4 voltage * current = watts 3.7VDC 0.70A 2.6W 5.0VDC 0.62A 3.1W 13.8VDC 0.4A 5.5W If the switching regulator had been perfect, the power dissipation would all be a constant.

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's kinda difficult to see, but the meter on the HP power supply shows 3.5VDC running the BEFW11S4 without problems.

What model print server? I've had some rather bad experiences with EFSP42 print servers but never bothered to check the power supply.

Incidentally, the 5VDC 3A switching power supply used by Netgear for their ethernet switches is pure junk. I now have 5 dead power supplies waiting for my attention. I saw them apart, replace all the electrolytics and they usually work again for about a year. Crappy design plus crappy components.

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

True. But the wall wart for the BEFW11S4 is a transformer type, not a switcher. It's easy enough to tell by the weight. The switcher is very light weight, while the xformer type has far more iron in the xformer and therefore weighs more. Also, switchers have overload "fold back" protection, where drawing excessive current will cause the output voltage to decrease to a safe dissipation level, or simply turn off. If such a switcher ever became warm, it would be from component failure, not excessive load.

I have many large cardboard boxes of wall warts in both my office and house. I seem to collect them as various pieces of consumer electronics fail. If I can't fix it, I cannibalize the guts, and save the wall warts. I substitute wall warts all too often. I'm fairly careful about insuring that the polarity and current drain (except where I blew up an HP Omnibook because they use 12VDC positive ground). To add to the confusion, the labels on most devices are the rating of the wall wart, not the actual current drain of the device. Most of my substitutions are successful, but sometimes I run into problem. Methinks we can assume that the power supply is the stock Linksys device and therefore adquate for handling the load.

I have a special place in hell reserved for manufacturers that don't properly label their power connectors and that use exotic power connectors.

I've done a bit of experimentation with WRT54G radios, which has a power supply circuit similar to the BEFW11s4. It will run on just about anything from 4VDC to 18VDC. I tried it running on 5V from my computah for a while. Worked fine. What I was muttering previously was that the BEFW11s4 and friends has the most voltage tolerant regulator that I've seen and that most any wall wart that can deliver the current will work.

Incidentally, my BEFW11s4 has been up for about 3 days. However, this morning, it was hung and had to be power cycled. Oh well.

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann
[POSTED TO alt.internet.wireless - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

Won't happen with switching-type wallwarts.

I'm saying the OP is correct, but I've seen lots of problems when switching wallwarts haven't been capable of delivering enough power.

Reply to
John Navas

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