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Forum Discussion
[WNAP210] fail to access after a while
Hello, I have a WNAP210 access point and it is working very well, except for one strange thing. I usually have 1 or 2 clients connected to the access point but every three weeks i have to reboot...
Thanks for your contribution, boatbodger!
I never did manage to get my WNAP210 sorted. After making contact with Netgear support, their recommendation was to first upgrade to firmware to v2.1.1 (no surprises there), even though there's actually very little difference between v2.0.27 and v2.1.1 (see the release notes).
At one point I remember seeing another post which suggested that the slow response of the v2.1.1 firmware was to do with unit trying to make contact with the Netgear site to perform an initial registration after upgrade - this is mentioned in the v2.1.1 release notes. I remember seeing something like that happen when previously trying the v2.1.1 firmware. If for some reason that contact can't be made, the unit may appear sluggish due to repeated contact attempts and failures.
Once you're past that registration, access is normal.
I tried to perform the upgrade to v2.1.1 several times with numerous confirmed factory resets inbetween, but my unit steadfastly refused to work properly with any firmware above v2.0.27. The unit booted but had broken web pages everywhere on the config screens and just didn't work. Going back to v2.0.27 always worked fine.
Thinking it was browser-related (I use IE9), I tried both Google Chrome and Firefox with the same result. Eventually Netgear recommended a replacement - extreme perhaps, but there you are.
My conclusion : something seems to go wrong with the firmware build on these units when you upgrade firmware.
It's perhaps relevant that there were at least two hardware versions of this unit - WNAP210v1 and v2. I had all these problems with a v1 box.
The replacement unit offered to me by the Netgear local agent was also a v1 box. I elected to change horses and went with another brand instead - an Orinoco AP-8000 dual-band WAP from Proxim.
The Proxim is so reliable it's almost boring by comparison to the WNAP210. I've never yet had to reboot it in 6+ months of operation. But being dual-band, it's also a lot more expensive, not that the WNAP210 is cheap.
Bottom line : I guess every manufacturer typically has some lemons in its portfolio. The WNAP210 seems to be one of Netgear's. Hopefully other users have better luck than me. Possibly the v1 boxes are better - YMMV!
I never did manage to get my WNAP210 sorted. After making contact with Netgear support, their recommendation was to first upgrade to firmware to v2.1.1 (no surprises there), even though there's actually very little difference between v2.0.27 and v2.1.1 (see the release notes).
At one point I remember seeing another post which suggested that the slow response of the v2.1.1 firmware was to do with unit trying to make contact with the Netgear site to perform an initial registration after upgrade - this is mentioned in the v2.1.1 release notes. I remember seeing something like that happen when previously trying the v2.1.1 firmware. If for some reason that contact can't be made, the unit may appear sluggish due to repeated contact attempts and failures.
Once you're past that registration, access is normal.
I tried to perform the upgrade to v2.1.1 several times with numerous confirmed factory resets inbetween, but my unit steadfastly refused to work properly with any firmware above v2.0.27. The unit booted but had broken web pages everywhere on the config screens and just didn't work. Going back to v2.0.27 always worked fine.
Thinking it was browser-related (I use IE9), I tried both Google Chrome and Firefox with the same result. Eventually Netgear recommended a replacement - extreme perhaps, but there you are.
My conclusion : something seems to go wrong with the firmware build on these units when you upgrade firmware.
It's perhaps relevant that there were at least two hardware versions of this unit - WNAP210v1 and v2. I had all these problems with a v1 box.
The replacement unit offered to me by the Netgear local agent was also a v1 box. I elected to change horses and went with another brand instead - an Orinoco AP-8000 dual-band WAP from Proxim.
The Proxim is so reliable it's almost boring by comparison to the WNAP210. I've never yet had to reboot it in 6+ months of operation. But being dual-band, it's also a lot more expensive, not that the WNAP210 is cheap.
Bottom line : I guess every manufacturer typically has some lemons in its portfolio. The WNAP210 seems to be one of Netgear's. Hopefully other users have better luck than me. Possibly the v1 boxes are better - YMMV!