I bought the LinkSys when my 5-year-old Netgear bought the farm (I bought that one used, so it was actually even older than that).  I admit, I was lured in by the hot bright blue casing and high-tech style.

5 years!  Imagine a product manufactured in this era that lasts that long!

Now a month later the LinkSys is doing the same thing my Netgear did after 5 years -- intermittent connection.  Loading some sites but not others.  I can't speak to the poor customer service issue, from reading all the negative reviews here I can see I would just be setting myself up for all kinds of frustration I don't need.

Back to shopping, this time for another Netgear.  The moral of the story is if a product works, stick with the brand!

EDIT:  The problem actually was with the power cord, which would randomly stop working I discovered.  Any interruption in power between a router/modem/computer requires painstaking turning off/on and waiting to re-establish the setup, which didn't happen with the unnoticed power loss, explaining my spotty connection.  I'm now using the old Netgear cord instead and haven't had the problem again, knock on wood.
I bought the LinkSys when my 5-year-old Netgear bought the farm (I bought that one used, so it was actually even older than that). I admit, I was lured in by the hot bright blue casing and high-tech style. 5 years! Imagine a product manufactured in this era that lasts that long! Now a month later the LinkSys is doing the same thing my Netgear did after 5 years -- intermittent connection. Loading some sites but not others. I can't speak to the poor customer service issue, from reading all the negative reviews here I can see I would just be setting myself up for all kinds of frustration I don't need. Back to shopping, this time for another Netgear. The moral of the story is if a product works, stick with the brand! EDIT:  The problem actually was with the power cord, which would randomly stop working I discovered. Any interruption in power between a router/modem/computer requires painstaking turning off/on and waiting to re-establish the setup, which didn't happen with the unnoticed power loss, explaining my spotty connection. I'm now using the old Netgear cord instead and haven't had the problem again, knock on wood.