Netgear losing the plot!

Having just downgraded from a DG834G v5 to a DG834G v4 because the v5 lacks NAT loopback, I decided to install the latest firmware for the v4 -- guess what, they've taken NAT loopback out of that as well.


John.

Have you tried DGTeam firmware on the v4? I'm sure it is enabled by default with this.

Yes thanks. I loaded DGTeam 0849 just to make sure the LAN was still up and running. Unfortunately, I lose a bit of sync speed unnecessarily with the DGTeam firmware so I've dropped back to the Netgear 5.01.09. I also tend to "have" to use the standard Netgear firmware while I'm developing RouterStats.

It's just annoying because I was one of the many who pestered Netgear to add loopback when they were still using the AR7 chipset. They finally added it in the v3 only to drop it in the v5 and now it's disappeared from the v4 as well.

It could well be there's a cunningly disguised checkbox somewhere but the default settings of an upgrade shouldn't change the way the router works.

John.

In reply to a post by John_ON:

Having just downgraded from a DG834G v5 to a DG834G v4 because the v5 lacks NAT loopback, I decided to install the latest firmware for the v4 -- guess what, they've taken NAT loopback out of that as well.

So essentially, you had a DG834Gv4 and it did what you wanted it to do, you then changed firmware? Why?

Mainly because the first piece of advice I give to anyone - whether they have a problem that they're aware of or not - is to always ensure they have the latest firmware installed... exactly the same advice as with device drivers.

I can hardly give that advice to others if I don't follow it myself Especially when I'm using the router to develop software for other people to use.

John.

Edited by deleted (Sat 09-May-09 16:43:39)

Device drivers are a completely different kettle of fish tbh!

Firmware has a habit of introducing new bugs when fixing something completely different, with the added danger that you could well brick the unit no matter how many times you have done it before.

I would only ever advise somebody to upgrade firmware if I knew it fixed a specific problem they had, and that they were confident to carry out the upgrade, whilst also knowing the risk involved to their hardware.

If it aint broke....

I'm inclined to agree with you but imagine the scenario where you're having connection problems. What's the first thing your ISP first line support will insist you do? Make sure your router is running the latest firmware. I'd much rather encounter "new" difficulties while I'm not having problems rather than waiting until I am.

I'm not convinced it's a new bug as such. With both the V4 and the V5 (two different chipsets) now not supporting Loopback, it looks like a feature Netgear have decided to drop. At the least, it should be listed in the "what's new" section of their download page.

John.

Netgear Firmware has a habit of introducing new bugs when fixing something completely different, with the added danger that you could well brick the unit no matter how many times you have done it before.

There fixed that for you.