NETGEAR

I called Netgear to troubleshoot a wireless router that I had purchased about year ago. I was attempting to make some configuration changes on their website, but suddenly everything froze up, my connection was dropped and I was unable to connect to the internet. I called Netgear technical support and, after being on hold for 30 minutes, was connected to a tech person. The person told me that the warranty on the product expired three days ago and that I could only get technical support if I paid an additional fee. I tried to explain that this was not a warranty issue with my router, but a malfunction on their website or server that was out of my control. In fact, my router was working fine-I have a VOIP phone connected to it that was working fine; it's just that I couldn't get any wireless internet connection. All in all, it took about 6 phone calls and 3 hours (that is not a typo)-and they still didn't fix the problem. They kept telling me that I needed to have a hard-wired internet connection for them to reset my wireless connection remotely. However, I know this is untrue, because when I first set up the router, I didn't need a hard-wired internet connection. I conceded to pay for the technical service, but only because I was held hostage to their policy. I understand that if there was a problem with the router, I would need some extended warranty, but the malfunction was caused by their website or server, and yet I was being charged. I called again the next day to speak to a customer service representative about refunding me the charge. However, it's impossible to get a customer service number. Their manuals and website only list technical support, and that connects you to a tech person with no authority to deal with billing issues. I did not get a refund and my problem was not resolved. Finally, I was given another number to a second level tech support. The person there was excellent and spent 3 hours on the phone with me and finally resolved my problem. And, as I thought, you don't need a hard-wired internet connection to configure the router. Why did 6 different people tell me differently? And why did it take 6 phone calls before someone had the insight to send me to the second level customer service, who aptly and efficiently fixed my problem? Overall, I would say, don't buy the Netgear products-their customer service is terrible.