My old router TP-Link (TL-WR542G) seems to be destroyed.
Why did I say “seems to be destroyed”? It’s because, maybe, it’s just my lack of technicalities that hinders me to keep the router working. But from my humble assesment, it is is destroyed. Here’s the reason why.
The History
First, my router cannot give me an IP Address. Last night it was working. Then on the next day, it can’t can’t connect to the internet anymore. Seems like a newbie problem right? Yah, but I dig more deeper.
We have two computers connected on the router. And one connected to WAN socket for our ISP. Our ISP has it’s own proprietary router which allows us to connect to the internet. So I connected my PC directly to this proprietary router to make clear that the ISP’s router is not the problem. I did connect, and it worked. I can connect to the net. This means the ISP’s router is not the problem. What’s left is my router itself, and maybe the cables.
Second, I check the cables. I connect back my routers to it’s original connection. The reason why I can’t connect to the net is that, maybe, my cables that connect from the ISP’s router to my router are worn out. Maybe. So I get a new working cable and connect from my WAN port to the ISP’s router. Still not working.
Third, I do hardware reset to my router. There is a small hole on the router that resets all it’s settings back. I did that. Still not working.
By the way, in order for me to know if I actually received an IP address is by doing
# ifdown eth1
# ifup eth1
And the DHCP keeps on retrying.
Looking at
# ifconfig
shows that it didn’t obtain an IP.
Anyway, the next thing I did is that I checked the router’s manual to see if the router’s status lights are on it’s right status. The manual says that this LED and that LED should be blinking to say that it is correctly working. And surprisingly, my router is displaying the correct status lights that the manual describes. But still can’t connect to the internet.
The next desperation attempt (with emphasis on the word desperation) is to boot from Windows OS and go to auto DHCP configuration.
Still no good. Better get back to Linux. 
Another attempt is to completely disconnect my ISP’s router such that only my computer and my router is connected. Then attempted to acquire an IP. (I don’t know if this is enough to acquire an IP with this setup. But I am assuming the router can give me a local IP address like 192.168.x.x.
But still no good.
I connect back to the original setup and attempted to access the router’s built-in web server (the one which you can see the settings of the router through the browser using 192.168.1.1).
Still no good. I can’t even access the router’s settings.
Next, my father unscrewed and opened the router. And he saw a bloated IC under the WAN socket. Maybe that’s it. Or maybe not. I can’t prove it if the IC is really the culprit.
Well, the last attempt us to bring it to a service shop and have it repaired.
But unfortunately, almost all of the service centers declined to repair it.
So I have no choice but to buy a new one!
The New Router
Introducing the TP-Link TL-WR740N Router.
TP-Link Router Box
The router cost around 34.91 USD. It’s a bit higher in specs compared to my old router.
It’s a wireless N (as compared to my previous wireless G). It still suites my taste because I need to cater only one floor of the house wirelessly.
It has 4-port switch to cater 4 PCs. Got a 150 mbps wireless transfer rate.
The package includes:
What's in the box
A pack of manuals and paper stuff (I don’t read them
), an installation CD, an ethernet cable, and the router itself.
Router on the box
Close up
The physical appearance is actually small in size. It looks like a UFO-shaped router with 6.9 inch length x 4.6 inch width x 1.3 inch height.
Router on action.
Once I connect the router to my PC and ISP, there’s no additional configuration to make it work. It just work. My PC automatically obtained an IP address, and can now surf the net. I didn’t even use the CD from the box. It just work out of the box.
Router Installed
Photo above shows the installed router. Just don’t mind the dust on the right (I don’t clean much )
Overall, the router is good (so far) base on customer experience. Hope this router will last longer than the previous one. If it didn’t, I will blog it here.
