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Packfan12's avatar
Packfan12
Aspirant
Sep 06, 2016

My WNDR4300 wireless router and Netgear Genie

I would certainly like to know if others have the same problem with Netgear Genie and Netgear's Customer "Service" that I am having.  Ever since I bought a Netgear WNDR 4300 router I have been having the same problem. At least once every 2 weeks and sometimes more often, one of the devices that I conncect wirelessly with this router is suddenly not able to connect to the internet. The message reads "This device is blocked by Access Control in the router". It's not always the same device - it could be one of the 2 laptops, one of the two smartphones, or a combination of different devices (more than one). I had this problem very often after I bought the router, so Netgear actually send me a different router (so they say), and the problem continues. I have contacted "support" (and I use that term VERY loosely) who would go through everything with me, make sure all devices were reset to "allowed" and then applied the changes. Each time (it's been more than 6 times that I actually contacted them about this problem) I went through this whole process and sometimes even went through a complete reset procedure as well, was told something to the effect, "Don't worry, Sir. We have now reconfigured it and you will never have this problem again". Then I have the problem again, and again, and again, and again ........

The last time I was told that if I called again I would be charged because my initial free support had now expired. I explained that since they had never fixed the problem it should still be considered the same problem or case that I originally opened and that they should finally do something to fix it. I have now become  an expert at going into Netgear Genie myself and changing the "blocked" device to "allowed". My point is I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO KEEP DOING THIS!  I have now ordered an ASUS router to replace this piece of junk and have given Netgear Genie a 1-star review (they don't allow a zero-star rating). Has anybody else experienced this problem?

 

By the way, I had one person in Customer Support tell me that the message I see when my device is blocked is NOT from Netgear. It's amazing then when I go into Netgear Genie and see it being blocked there!

2 Replies

    • Packfan12's avatar
      Packfan12
      Aspirant

      In response to your suggestions, I have NOT tried any of them. I didn't expect any more help from your support since they told me repeatedly that I was PAST the free support period, EVEN THOUGH THEY HAD NEVER FIXED THE PROBLEM I HAD BEEN HAVING SINCE DAY ONE! The other reason I didn't try your suggestions was because after almost a year of dealing with your lousy product and useless customer service, I gave up and bought a QUALITY product from Asus!