Hi
lazydog wrote:
So... my question is, if this firmware has known bugs/issues, WHY do I have it on my box??
you might also want to know why you have 2.32a if there are issues with it!
I'm going to raise a formal support ticket tonight when I get home.
Steve
Well a lot of products these days that are able to be upgraded on site usually have bugs. Manufacturers with the knowledge they can fix things later in the owners home do less testing as they want to get the sales going ASAP and hope they can fix the issues quickly later on. This applies to set-top Freeview boxes, PVRs, DVD Players, Blu-ray Players, TVs, MP3 players, Smart phones, Computers, even some washing machines... the list is endless.
If the device is very broken, you would be able to return the product as faulty, you wouldn't have to wait for the attempts of the manufacturer to try and fix it with firmware.
For Billion and Wi-Fi issues do you see this logo on the box?
You don't, which means Billion has skipped certification probably to save money, which means interoperability testing is going to be less than it would otherwise be, and we as customers see issues.
Just because Billion charge premium prices doesn't necessarily mean they are better routers or better made. The hardware is bog standard Broadcom based in a cheap plastic box, nothing special, and the reason they charge more and get away with it is because people want all the extra settings and options that are stripped away on other cheaper consumer routers, but without having to spend a fortune on more commercial kit.
I suspect the reason the new models come with 2.31 is because this includes a new bootloader, making updates from 2.31 easier for the inevitable firmware updates we will see to get things working well.
Billion will sort it out, might just take a while. Part of the extra cost goes in to support and you do get to speak with people connected to Billion who will feed back issues and get them fixed. Try getting Netgear to fix something, or look around their forums and see the level of support they get
If anyone wants the best compatibility between Wi-Fi devices, always get products that show they are Wi-Fi certified. While not guaranteed to be issue free even then, it is much more likely things will just work. This is the whole reason for the Wi-Fi certification process, something Billion might want to try for their next models.
Regards
Phil