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An Update To My Linksys Customer Service #EpicFail

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I wanted to provide an update to this customer service fail that I had with my Linksys WRT32X and also to provide a path to get yourself back online if you’re in this situation. Seeing as I got about 35 emails from owners of the WRT32X who were in the same boat as I was, I know that the latter is important. It turned out that the Linksys Community Forums provided a workaround to this issue. I say workaround for reasons that will become clear in a second. If you read message six of this thread which I found via this thread will describe a workaround that will get you online that involves using the previous firmware and doing a 30-30-30 reset. So what is the 30-30-30 reset you ask? Well, it’s:

  1. Press and hold the reset button for 30 seconds.
  2. While holding the reset button, pull the power cord and keep holding the reset button for 30 seconds.
  3. While holding the reset button, plug the power cord back in and keep holding the reset button for 30 seconds.

This will reset the router back to factory defaults. It is important that you follow the instructions to the letter. Including the parts about unplugging your Internet modem and skipping the wizard driven setup so that you don’t re-download the problematic firmware that Linksys pushed to these routers.

Now this is only a workaround because Linksys still has problematic firmware that is still being pushed to these routers despite the fact that it’s pretty clear now that the firmware is the issue. Linksys really needs to step up to the plate and put out a functional firmware update that doesn’t cause this issue. And they need to do so quickly because based on the emails that I’ve received from affected WRT32X owners, many are considering dumping their routers for the competition. Something that is validated by the fact that ASUS and one other brand of networking gear are all to eager to hand over gaming routers to me to review. That’s not good if you’re Linksys.

Also of note, Linksys has not reached out to me in regards to swapping this router out. But seeing as I called a halt to proceedings on Sunday, I don’t expect them to even though on Sunday night a person from Linksys going by the name of “Grayson” promised to reach out to me on Monday even though I had put a halt to proceedings. Read into that what you will about the type of service Linksys provides.

UPDATE: So no more than five minutes after I posted this story, “Grayson” from Linksys customer service called to arrange for the replacement of my WRT32X. I told him that I had brought it back to life and there was no need for a replacement. Besides, not that I told him this, but I am currently its direct competitor from ASUS at the moment. Coincidence? The cynic in my says not.

UPDATE #2: I’ve come across some download links from Linksys for those who have been wanting to flash their WRT32X with firmware that actually works:

In my case, I can validate that using the 1.0.170828.208 worked for me before I swapped the WRT32X for the ones that different networking companies have been sending me to review. But from what I see online, it hasn’t worked for everyone. Thus your mileage may vary on this front.

UPDATE #3: One thing that I did notice since replacing the WRT32X is that some really odd and hard to narrow down networking related issues that I’ve been having since I’ve put the WRT32X into service have gone away. I guess I should have swapped it sooner as it was clearly problematic. I should also mention that if you look at this thread, people are getting increasingly frustrated with the lack of action by Linksys on this front. Some are swapping the WRT32X for another one and turning off the auto update function. Other are just swapping it for another brand. That’s not good if you’re Linksys.

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