Customer Reviews

Linksys by Cisco WRTP54G Wireless-G Broadband Router for Vonage Internet Phone Service

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(36)

 

 

I don't write reviews on products very often. I'm more of a passive observer when it comes to on-line products. But my experience from this device has led me to (or should I say forced me to) write this review!!! I've been a network engineer for 5 years and I've also been a long time owner of the Linksys BEF11WS4 which proved to be a very worthwhile investment. I also setup Vonage service for my mom's home and for well over a year been totally satisfied. So when I saw this product, I thought to myself obviously why not get this as it combines the two very satisfying experience I've had. And so the nightmare begins.

I've had problems from wireless dropouts to the router freezing to the phone port not working. I have no idea who made this but it sure doesn't seem like it has the Linksys quality that I've been used to. Thats where I learned that if you want support for this hardware you have to call Vonage, not Linksys. I don't know how Linksys/Cisco got their name on this thing but it doesn't seem like it is from them. Neither is the quality on par with Linksys nor is the support provided by them. I've tried upgrading the firmware (this is sometimes done for you automatically by Vonage), I've upgraded the driver on my laptop's wireless card, tried dozens of different configurations through the web interface. NOTHING!!! Still get wireless dropouts, router freezes, and headaches to top it off.

If you are bent on buying this device please do some research on the web about it. You will find a plethora of information on it from a few websites and you will see my frustration in many others. I kept the router as it seems like Vonage is pushing it very hard from a marketing standpoint so maybe a real fix will be coming soon. But I decided to buy the WRT54G model which from the first few minutes of setting it up I can tell that this is a true quality product from Linksys. One thing I noticed right away is that the WRT54G operates a lot cooler than the WRTP54G. And ofcourse its been solid in its performance so far. If you decide to buy this, good luck, you'll need it.

This review isn't intended to forge new ground so much as it is intended to reinforce other reviews.

I too am a big fan of Linksys products in general, and the WRT54G (NOT the WRTP54G) in particular (please note that I mention both the WRT54G and the WRTP54G below - they are very different products). However, I am extremely disappointed in the WRTP54G/Vonage combination. Why?

(1) The phone portion of the router - due to issues with Vonage, the router, the router's firmware (which was rev'd to the latest release), or some combination of the three - is very problematic. My phone frequently (essentially every day) would stop working (no dial tone and/or others cannot hear my voice and/or I cannot hear them), and the best solution I've come up with is to install a timer on the outlet to reboot the router every night. This solved most of the problems, but not all of them - and it's insane to need to reboot the thing daily to get it to work.

(2) The router software isn't up to par with the latest WRT54G releases, and it doesn't seem to work consistently in terms of port forwarding. As a result (and due to (3) below), I'm using my WRT54G (my good Linksys product) as the router and the WRTP54G as just a network device to attach to the phone line.

(3) I bought the WRTP54G and seemed to get decent initial results with Vonage, but, once my home phone number was switched (i.e., my local phone company service was disconnected) and I started using it full time, people I called could not - ever - hear me. After hours on the phone (fortunately, I have a cell plan with essentially unlimited minutes, as I couldn't call from my home phone) - and I do mean hours (I think it was four hours altogether) - I was finally told to put another router between the incoming connection and the WRTP54G. I doubt that the typically user who buys a WRTP54G would tend to have another router handy and be proficient at setting up the two to work together, so I don't think this was a good general solution, although it seems to have fixed the problem, most of the time.

Of course, by the time all the problems showed up - i.e., once my local service was disconnected - it was too late to return the product.

I think Linksys/Cisco should be ashamed to have their name on this product. Since others - including co-workers - are very happy with Vonage, and since, when my setup works, I am happy with the actual service and pricing, I can only assume that the WRTP54G is the primary source of my problems, although, as mentioned elsewhere, you'd best hope Vonage works for you, as dealing with their customer service was, on each occasion I used it, a nightmare for me.

I am an experienced software engineer who develops network management software as well as firewall software. I am very familiar with networking. And I've had problems with this product. Perhaps I got a bad one, perhaps my ISP causes some of the problems, and perhaps I've managed to set things up poorly. However, I think it's more likely that the WRTP54G is a poorly implemented product (if it were my setup or my ISP, I suspect it would never work, as opposed to working if rebooted daily). Regardless, it is certainly true that Vonage customer service - while staffed with friendly workers - is not capable of solving complex problems that cannot be fixed by rebooting the router or pushing a new firmware release.

I think it would be advisable - and cheaper - to get a network adapter that plugs into your existing home network. While those aren't perfect either, at least you won't be paying for a product you can't use completely.

Let me preface the discussion with the fact that I was a network administrator for about 8 years and continuing experience with networking products since transitioning to application development.

The following are my experiences with attempting to get the Linksys WRTP54G router to function. I originally purchased it at Best Buy because the rebate program seemed to make it almost a no brainer with the rebates totalling more than the cost of the device.

After opening the box:
I read the agreement. An item to note is the nearly $40 cancelation fee that is charged by Vonage unless you send the router back to Vonage.
I read the rebate requirements, which state A WIRELESS router must be sent in, whereas Best Buy stated that any router could be sent in.
I read the manual cover to cover before attempting anything.
I used the installation software to configure the router, however, the internet could never be reached at the end of the configuration process when using the configuration software.

After a lot of trial and error attempting to manually configure the router using the built in administrative web pages, I realized that I could not use the administrative pages unless the router was disconnected from the internet. Every time I connected the WAN/Internet port, I would receive an "internal communication error" message when trying to access the administrative pages. This occurred with both a wired and wireless client. I also disabled all firewalls to eliminate all potential points of conflict. Once I got that error on the router, I would have to restart the router to get it to work with the internet again.

When trying to configure the wi-fi portion, I was not able to configure the router to disable SSID broadcasting and have a client (a Linksys WPC54GS) connect. Whenever the SSID broadcast on the router was disabled, the link lights on both the router and the wireless adapter card would flash extremely rapidly. It seemed as though some sort of flood was occurring. A wired connection would not work at this point either.

I called Linksys support. I spoke to an initial call taker, was transferred to a supervisor and was then supposed to get an expert. Instead I sat on hold for an hour. All this on my cell phone since my "land line" was supposed to be implemented by this device.

I browsed the internet some and saw that some people had been provided updated firware revisions. I was running on 1.00.18 and it appeared that there might be versions as high as 1.00.29, yet there were no firmware updates available for device on the linksys web site. Currious.

I decided I would give Linksys a call again and give them one more chance to resolve the issue. This time, the wait times were shorter but was stil transferred up to a third person. Rather than try to go through a long resolution on a marginal cell phone connection to India, listening to the echo of my voice, I simply asked if there was an updated firmware version I could try to resolve my problem. The tech said that if there was, it could only be provided by Vonage. I explained that I was concerned by the fact that they did not provide firmware for the device that they manufacture and he said. "It would be easiest to exchange the device for a new one since it is only two days old and should function out of the box."

Experience has taught me to never purchase equipment where you are unable to obtain firmware from the original manufacturer. Linksys/Cisco have been in business for a long time, I trust that I will be able to get firmware for some time to come. Vonage is a completely new company, if they go away, support for the device goes away. With two companies, it is too easy for the customer to be caught in the middle of finger pointing when there is a problem.

My personal opinion is that this device was an endeavor poorly executed by both companies. Either the manufacturer should provide all support for the device, or both companies should provide equal support (ie. firmware obtainable from either company). The product, from my perspective, was also brought to market before it had been adequately tested. All considered, I have no confidence in this product and I am returning both of my wireless products and will research my options more carefully.

I am a longtime owner of a Linksys BEFSR41 router that has met my needs well for the past 4 years or so (it's been so long I can't recall when I specifically started using it). This isn't a case of any prior dissatisfaction with Linksys.

Not much to say here. I bought this and for months had a delay when I answered the phone using Vonage. I'd say "Hello? Hello? Hello?" and after 5-10 seconds someone would answer. At first my friend suggested that my phone was bad!

Not only that but when calling out it'd take 3 seconds to hear a dial tone.

I replaced this with the new D-link Vonage Wireless router and the problem was instantly fixed! Too bad I can't return this defective product.

Works fine as just a wireless router though. I've had no problems with using my laptop wirelessly using this device.

I purchased the WRTP54G router from Best Buy after subscribing to Vonage online cause I rather have the wireless router instead of the standard router Vonage sends you and I've been completely satisfied with this router. Once I got it home and hooked it up I had to call Vonage to give them my new MAC Address since the MAC address they had in their system was from the router they shipped me. Once I gave them my new MAC address everything was then enabled. Tech support told me there was a FIRMWARE update for this router which he uploaded to me (1.00.37) and had me install. Once the router took the new firmware everything worked flawlessly.
Overall I'm completely happy with this router

Bought this "Linksys" wireless router with Vonage VOIP phone connections. Thought I might sign-up for Vonage later. However, when I tried to download the latest ROM software for this box (as I do for my other Linksys boxes), Linksys tech support told me they only allow Vonage to update the ROM software on this box. I mentioned to them that it claims to be a "Linksys" box, they distanced themselves and told me to call Vonage. I told them I am not a Vonage customer, thus Vonage will not upgrade my ROM software. At that point, there was no one taking ownership for this box. I returned it for a full-refund. Linksys gave me an attitude, thus I bought and am now trying my first NETGEAR wireless box, working fine so far.

Buyers beware! I have never written or posted a consumer rating in my life. I am so disappointed with Vonage's overall customer service; I feel that I have no choice but to warn others.

Vonage in its own words does not guarantee the quality of its service. Vonage customers will experience: (1) dropped calls, (2) garbled communications, and (3) a non-responsive and dishonest customer service department. The reason Vonage does not guarantee performance is because it knows that it cannot. My first mistake was in believing the Vonage help desk, during my initial, "30 Day Money Back Guarantee Period," when they told me my issues were due to line quality and not Vonage. Since then, I have spent three months with Vonage and my High Speed Internet Service Provider's technicians attempting to make this service work. All speed tests indicate my ISP lines are fine. I had a High Speed Internet Technician visit my house last week only to tell me everything checks out. All this said, my Vonage phone has never worked worse. I made a call today and the recipient could not even discern whom I was. When I finally threw in the towel and decided that Vonage was not for me, I was hit with a $39.99 service charge upon cancellation plus the cost of the phone, despite a documented lack of performance from day one.

Vonage's performance is substandard by any measure. Closely look at all other options before bringing Vonage into your life and definitely terminate all agreements within your first 14 days to avoid the inevitable early termination fees.

Make sure you read the below clauses in Vonage's Terms of Service agreement before you agree to anything. A Vonage Customer Service Manager, Mike, sited these disclaimers when I told him that I was not satisfied with the service:
(1) "No Warranties on Service," section 4, paragraph 4;
(2) "Return of Device," section 2, paragraph 10;
(3) "Termination Fee," section 3, paragraph 6; and
(4) "Money Back Guarantee; Limitations and Conditions," section 3, paragraph 7.

When I switched to Vonage, I was simply looking for a reliable telephone service and a company that stands behind its product and supports its customers. Vonage's lack of line reliability and poor customer service has motivated me to document my experience.

I had to call Vonage Customer Service on my old fashion landline because the voice quality on my Vonage phone was so poor that I would not be able to have a conversation. After waiting for 20 minutes to talk to the Service Manager, Mike, I was told that I was contractually bound because I did not terminate my agreement within the first 30 days. At this moment I thought of the stereotypical shady used car transaction. I was lured to buy Vonage because of the promises of great service and all the free bells and whistles that only "internet calling can provide." Instead I received a lemon, a phone that was unreliable and a company that did not stand behind its product. While Vonage may get my $39.99 termination fee and the cost of the Vonage phone, I do not feel that I can just lay down about Vonage's failure to perform. I feel compelled to (1) warn others about Vonage and hopefully save them the aggravation that I have experienced and (2) Hit Vonage where it hurts, in the economic pocket book. I am terminating my service as soon as possible.

I agree with the previous reviewer's comments that this product is defective. I have yet to have phone calls dropped, but I use my Vonage phone line for a Fax connection and don't use it as often, however, I'm very frustruated with the constant dropped ethernet connections. This happens regardless over ethernet cable connections as well as wireless connections.

I had already been a Vonage subscriber for some time but I wanted the wireless capability. The WRTP54G made my Vonage service go to **** !!! No dialtone for 10 seconds, most calls not connecting, and I'M A NETWORKING PROFESSIONAL, so trust me. I will be doing my homework better after this experience.

I once have three devices...router, wireless AP, and a vonage router. When my router decided to go up in smoke, I started looking for a new solution. Most reviews on the 'net say positive things about this router; people on amazon are bashing the vonage service and not giving the router a fair shake.

With 1 week of ownership, I am very impressed with this product. No complaints. The installation and setup was very easy, and the router is feature rich.

Also, I have been a vonage customer for the last 2 years. I have been, and continue to be, satisfied with their service. Save yourself some money, go VOIP.

-mm