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MilMod
@telus.net

1 recommendation

MilMod to FROSTY

Anon

to FROSTY

Re: ATTN: SR81 users - New Official Firmware!!!

Well if you are like me, and to tired to rant on the phone at some disinterested call center drone, you could fill out a 'Concerns and Complaints' feedback form for the BEFSR81v3 here:

»www.linksys.com/support/ ··· nts2.asp

If you want to phone try customer service or tech support here:

»www.linksys.com/contact/ ··· tact.asp

Spaceman_Biff to FROSTY

Anon

to FROSTY
I have been having the stupid issue with the Linksys 81 router with Counter-Strike. You know the annoying one that knocks you off after the first round with an error of Host_Error: UserMsg: Not Present on Client XXX

Well the fix I use that works just fine is adding the following to the launch properties of the game:
-applaunch 10 +clientport 27006

Not sure why not many know this but it works. Spread the word.
HeloKitty
join:2005-05-19
San Diego, CA

HeloKitty to MilMod

Member

to MilMod
For those interested, it appears that Linksys is not:

My original comments/complaints email to them:
Product : BEFSR81 - EtherFast® Cable/DSL Router with 8-Port Switch version
3
Based on my own experiences with the BEFSR81v3 and a thread on the
dslreports.com forums
»ATTN: SR81 users - New Official Firmware!!!, it is apparent to me that the router firmware has serious flaws
that are not going to be fixed with an official patch in a timely manner.
People have been experiencing the same problems with the router that I
have for the past several months, and even though there is a beta patch
circulating that fixes some of these problems, it introduces other
problems of its own. Since I cannot expect the router to be
satisfactorily functional any time soon, and since I no longer have the
packaging materials that came with it, I would like to request an RMA so
that I may return this defective hardware directly to Linksys for a
refund. If you have a newer beta patch than version 2.50.4B, I would be
willing to try that as an alternative.
Their response (within 24 hours):
Thank you for contacting Linksys Technical Support.

Accept our apologies for the inconvenience this has caused you. Please reply with the specific problems you are encountering with the router so we may further assist you. Indicate also the date of purchase of the device.

If you have further questions, please contact us at (800) 326-7114 or send us an email at support@linksys.com so that we may further assist you.

Thank you and have a nice day.

Sincerely,

NAME REMOVED FOR PRIVACY
Product Support Specialist
Linksys- A Division of Cisco Systems, Inc.
(800) 326-7114
Support@linksys.com
My response:
The specific problems I am having with the BEFSR81 version 3 (using version 2.50.2 firmware) are related to using the popular game "Counter Strike: Source" with the router. Specifically, I frequently get the following error messages while playing the game (causing the game to become unplayable), which I do not get if the router is removed from my network infrastructure:

"Received fragment out of order: XXX/1"

Netchannel: failed reading message svc_UpdateStringTable from XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX::27015.

From my research, these errors stem from a problem the router has with UDP streaming. (»AT&T Southeast Forum FAQ »Linksys routers, FastAccess, PPPoE, Keep Alive, and etc., »steampowered.custhelp.co ··· faqid=19)

The router was purchased in June, 2004 from Fry’s Electronics.

Thank you for information or assistance you can provide for this problem!
Their response (again, within 24 hours):
Dear Valued Linksys Customer,

Thank you once again for contacting Linksys Technical Support.

There really is no known problem of this type on the router with the game "Counter Strike". If you are experiencing problems like not being able to play it then it may just have something to do with the firewall on the router that could be blocking the ports for this game. Please reply with what other troubleshooting steps you have taken to solve this problem, and if you have tried opening the ports for the game on the router. To open the ports for this game on the router, you will need to set a static IP address on the computer then go to the Setup page of the router under Applications and Gaming Tab, go to forwarding then enter the port numbers and the IP address of the computer. Try also to disable "Block anonymous Internet request" under the Security tab on the router setup.

Please indicate also if you have used the beta firmware you mentioned on your previous email and how you were able to get that file.

Hope this helps.

If you have further questions, please contact us at (800) 326-7114 or send us an email at support@linksys.com so that we may further assist you.

Thank you and have a nice day.

Sincerely,

NAME REMOVED FOR PRIVACY
Product Support Specialist
Linksys- A Division of Cisco Systems, Inc.
(800) 326-7114
Support@linksys.com
My response:
I disagree that there is no known problem with the Linksys BEFSR81 (any version) and Counter-Strike: Source. My evidence is based on my own experiences, and on other people’s experiences, from the following web sites:

»steampowered.custhelp.co ··· faqid=19

»forums.steampowered.com/ ··· =BEFSR81

»forums.steampowered.com/ ··· umber=35

»AT&T Southeast Forum FAQ »Linksys routers, FastAccess, PPPoE, Keep Alive, and etc.

»BEFSR81 "Downgrade" problems.

I found the 2.50.4.002 beta firmware here:

»ATTN: SR81 users - New Official Firmware!!!

Could you please acknowledge that Linksys is at least aware of this problem?

My personal testing has included disabling the “Block Anonymous Internet request” option, and setting the router DMZ as my computer’s IP address. Even with this configuration, I still got many “Received fragment out of order: 127/1” and “Netchannel: failed reading message svc_UpdateStringTable from XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX::27015” errors while playing Counter-strike. Please note that I *can* play Counter-Strike while using the router, it is just very unreliable and prone to getting these sort of network errors (usually within 10-20 minutes of starting a game), which usually make it unplayable for any significant length of time.

If I remove the router and plug my computer system directly into my cable modem, I get no network errors, even after 4+ hours of game play, even when the server hiccups or has network problems.

While I understand that my testing alone is far from sufficient to prove anything is wrong with the router model and firmware, I argue that all of the above public forums and web sites I’ve listed are quite sufficient. Please let me know:

- If Linksys is aware of this problem with the router and is working on fixing it.

- If there is a firmware available other than 2.50.2 for it.

- If you will be able to issue me an RMA for the router if neither of the above options is satisfied.

Please keep in mind that I may post this request for help, along with any responses, on any of the public forums listed above. Given that so many people are experiencing the same problem, I am sure they would be interested to know what Linksys is doing (or not doing) about it.
No response received within the past 72 hours...I will update this thread if I receive one, but it appears Linksys support may not be aware or may not acknowledge or support this problem.

pdetlefs
@comcast.net

pdetlefs to FROSTY

Anon

to FROSTY
I have a new BEFSR81 (firmware 2.50.2) on Comcast that was running at only 10-20% of direct connect speed. After loading the 2.50.4.002 firmware from this forum, it now runs at close to 100%.
pdetlefs

pdetlefs to FROSTY

Anon

to FROSTY
Here is the email I just sent Linksys. Thanks for the help, Frosty - keep up the pressure !!

I bought a BEFSR81v3 ($99+tax - CompUSA) on May 11 and been having serious speed problems. When I connect my PC direct to the Comcast cable modem (Motorola SB3100) or my old BEFSR41, I get 2Mbps speed. When I connect thru the BEFSR81, I get 10-20% of that speed. After spending several hours on chat and phone support with you last Thursday (5/19), I was told to return it to retail for new unit. I did so tonight, with same unsatisfactory results after installation. Fortunately, I found a forum (»ATTN: SR81 users - New Official Firmware!!!) that had much more information than your support personnel. Both units I received had the same firmware as your website (2.50.2), but when I installed the 2.50.4B (or 2.50.4.002) from the forum, I am now getting acceptable speed. The bottom line is that 2.50.2 DOES NOT WORK adequately.

I have been a longtime Linksys customer (approx. 5 or 6 purchases over last few years) and I am very disappointed that you would release such poorly performing software and not correct it sooner. I am even more disappointed that your support personnel obviously knew absolutely nothing about this problem and wasted hours of my time taking me through useless steps that I had already tried, as I had clearly isolated the problem to the BEFSR81. You should really be quite embarrassed that I could get better information and help from a free/volunteer forum than from your official support personnel. You are also costing yourselves lots of money in wasted tech time and retail returns that are unnecessary.

Please issue a official or beta release of properly functioning BEFSR81v3 firmware ASAP. If you have anything better than the beta I have installed, please send it to me ASAP.

Paul Detlefs
A disappointed customer
HeloKitty
join:2005-05-19
San Diego, CA

HeloKitty

Member

After bugging Linksys again for a response, I finally got one. (I am on Cox cable, FYI, but I didn't get a chance to try manually setting the MTU to 1500 (the default setting was already at 1500), since I already uninstalled Counter-Strike .
Dear Valued Linksys Customer,

Thank you once again for contacting Linksys Technical Support.

Accept our apologies for the inconvenience this has been causing you. There really is no known problem regarding the router BEFSR81 version 3 with “Counter Strike Source”. To further isolate this problem, please reply again with what your Internet Service Provider is. Depending on your ISP, try to adjust the MTU settings also on the router. If you are on cable, then set the size to 1500. Set the MTU to 1492 for DSL. Please try to check on the router Logs also, take note of the ports and try to forward them. Check also for firewall applications installed on the computer itself.

The latest beta firmware that we have is 2.50.4. After loading this and with all the troubleshooting steps you have taken, there is a possibility that it is a hardware problem already.

If you have further questions, please contact us at (800) 326-7114 or send us an email at support@linksys.com so that we may further assist you.

Thank you and have a nice day.

Sincerely,

NAME REMOVED FOR PRIVACY
Product Support Specialist
Linksys- A Division of Cisco Systems, Inc.
(800) 326-7114
Support@linksys.com

drshock
join:2000-08-19
Wake Forest, NC
ARRIS SB6183
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite
D-Link DAP-2695

drshock

Member

For what it's worth, I just bought one of these V3 routers to replace an SMC 7008ABR whose firmware simply sucks and was limiting my premium cable bandwidth.

I couldn't get the 2.50.2 firmware to take an MTU value over 1492 (confirmed bug as you can enter any value 0-1492 but it ignores anything higher) but with this 2.50.4 beta worked like a charm. Router rocks now - getting better than expected results.

I've emailed linksys to get their quality assurance team on the ball and release this code.

Sureshot
Cellar Dweller
Premium Member
join:2000-08-15
Woodruff, WI

Sureshot

Premium Member

said by drshock:

For what it's worth, I just bought one of these V3 routers to replace an SMC 7008ABR whose firmware simply sucks and was limiting my premium cable bandwidth.

I couldn't get the 2.50.2 firmware to take an MTU value over 1492 (confirmed bug as you can enter any value 0-1492 but it ignores anything higher) but with this 2.50.4 beta worked like a charm. Router rocks now - getting better than expected results.

I've emailed linksys to get their quality assurance team on the ball and release this code.
Ahhh!! This is good to here. I thought I was loosing my mind every time I took the tweek test. I type 1500 one more time on the web interface page, I swear, I was gonna drop kick this thing into the backyard!

I'll have to try the beta then thanks.

2uantuM
@115.xx.13.res-cmts.h

2uantuM

Anon

Where can I find the beta?

FROSTY
MVM
join:2000-08-10
Leeds, AL

FROSTY to Sureshot

MVM

to Sureshot

2.50.4

said by Sureshot:
I'll have to try the beta then thanks.
Any success?

Here's the link from above: 2.50.4 beta

Good to hear some of the success stories. If you guys discover any problems or broken features in 2.50.4, care to list them here?

Sureshot
Cellar Dweller
Premium Member
join:2000-08-15
Woodruff, WI

1 edit

Sureshot

Premium Member

said by FROSTY:
said by Sureshot:
I'll have to try the beta then thanks.
Any success?

Here's the link from above: 2.50.4 beta

Good to hear some of the success stories. If you guys discover any problems or broken features in 2.50.4, care to list them here?

I will download it now and give it a shot tomarrow. I will post my results as well. Thanks again. BTW...looks like ya got me by 5 days...lol:)

drshock
join:2000-08-19
Wake Forest, NC
ARRIS SB6183
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite
D-Link DAP-2695

drshock to FROSTY

Member

to FROSTY
Well I've seen three problems so far.

1) I like having uPnP on so I can get the WAN gateway icon in the tray under XP and see stats on the connection. With this firmware I have lost that, the gateway icon under XP shows disconnected now and I get no icon in Network places anymore even though uPnP is all configured and works just fine if I reconnect the slow but sure SMC 7008ABR barricade.

2) Minor bug on the QoS setting panel - the help link "More..." is broken because there are page errors.

3) Biggest problem is a particular connection drop. From what I can tell so far if a DHCP lease expire comes up and it turns out that ALL the connected clients are in standby the BEFSR81 V3 does not renew the IP on wake for any. The connection is effectively dropped. The cheap fix I do is just go into the firmware page and click save settings to soft reset the router. But it is annoying. Has happened twice since I put this beta level on several days ago.

Other than the irritant of the wake from standby connection timing problem I'm very pleased with 2.50.4. It does perform way way better than 2.50.2 on downstream for cable over 4000kbps. I've run several controlled tests and now am fully confident about the downstream performance improvements. That's what really matters so my vote is ship it Linksys!

FYI,

FROSTY
MVM
join:2000-08-10
Leeds, AL

FROSTY

MVM

drshock See Profile,

A quick suggestion for 2.50.4:
If 2.50.4 solves one problem, but botches another,
Try this:

Power off your Modem..
Reset the SR81 to defaults, re-flash 2.50.4, reset to defaults again, then configure the SR81..

When ready, shutdown your PCs, remove power from the SR81, power on your modem, wait for it to become 'ready', then power on SR81, boot up PCs, and torture it.


My procedure above might solve #1 and #3.

Those are some major issues. Could be the reason 2.50.4 never became official. Yet, a while back someone bugged Linksys enough to the point they emailed the user 2.50.4

In the past, not only with the SR81, but with the SR11 and SR41, I've witnessed a firmware upgrade goofing up the XP Gateway icon/detection. Sometimes the method above fixes it. Yet, I seem to recall someone else mentioning the UPnP in 2.50.4 didn't function properly with XP. Hmmm.

pcscdma
hi
Premium Member
join:2004-01-14
Winterset, IA
ARRIS SB8200
Nest H2D

1 edit

1 recommendation

pcscdma

Premium Member

Click for full size
said by FROSTY:

drshock See Profile,
In the past, not only with the SR81, but with the SR11 and SR41, I've witnessed a firmware upgrade goofing up the XP Gateway icon/detection. Sometimes the method above fixes it. Yet, I seem to recall someone else mentioning the UPnP in 2.50.4 didn't function properly with XP. Hmmm.
It seems to work fine with Azureus
I'm using 2.50.4 BTW
pcscdma

pcscdma to FROSTY

Premium Member

to FROSTY

FYI

I acquired a dlink dgl-4300 today from the fine folks at CompUSA store number 711.

Tracing route to www.att.net [204.127.166.135]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 1 ms 1 ms 1 ms 192.168.0.1
2 10 ms 11 ms 22 ms 10.16.176.1
3 13 ms 13 ms 11 ms 12-215-20-1.client.mchsi.com [12.215.20.1]
4 18 ms 17 ms 19 ms 12-215-4-26.client.mchsi.com [12.215.4.26]
5 19 ms 20 ms 19 ms 12.123.4.230
6 26 ms 26 ms 29 ms tbr2-cl7.sl9mo.ip.att.net [12.122.10.46]
7 37 ms 28 ms 26 ms tbr1-cl2.sl9mo.ip.att.net [12.122.9.141]
8 24 ms 27 ms 25 ms gbr1-p10.bgtmo.ip.att.net [12.122.4.69]
9 27 ms 25 ms 27 ms 12.122.248.254
10 29 ms 30 ms 28 ms 192.168.254.38
11 28 ms 27 ms 25 ms dailynews.worldnet.att.net [204.127.166.135]

Trace complete.

You don't know how good it feels to see those things in the middle, even if it is AT&T.:)

Sureshot
Cellar Dweller
Premium Member
join:2000-08-15
Woodruff, WI

Sureshot to FROSTY

Premium Member

to FROSTY

Re: ATTN: SR81 users - New Official Firmware!!!

Could someone refresh my memory in flashing with the beta? I have flashed my rt314 years ago and have trouble remembering the steps. I see this new beta comes with a tftp.exe. I typed in 192.168.1.1 for the server. For password I was using the password I changed the default to. Where it says file, I pointed to "BEFSR*! v3_v2.50.4_002_code. My error is: "unable to get response from the server."

Any suggestions or reminders?
Sureshot

Sureshot

Premium Member

Disregard. It said that it didn't upload but, when I reset the router, it showed 2.50.4. So far I have not had to change a thing. Ran a tweak test and it shows 1500 as MTU..FINALLY:)

All ports that I had forworded were still in there. All pc's connected without a hitch. If I see any problems, I'll post them.
krypdo
join:2005-06-07
Alameda, CA

krypdo to FROSTY

Member

to FROSTY
Just "upgraded" from a 41 to the 81 V3. Severe downstream speed issue (with Comcast cable HSI), getting consistant 250kbps as compared to advertised 4000kbps. Thought it was Comcast's network problem, called Comcast to no avail, then found these posts.

Flashed firmware from 2.50.2 to 2.50.4 thanks to Frosty. Restarted everything and now speed is back up to par (consistant +/- 3500kbps). Excellent speeds, Port forwarding still works and I'm happy.

I'm just an average home user who has very good experience with a trusty 4 year old linksys 41. Could never imagine that the 81's firmware would be this bad out of the box.
ericries85
join:2005-06-23
Sheboygan, WI

ericries85 to FROSTY

Member

to FROSTY
Any more news on the firmware upgrades? Trying to play CS:S with this router, and the firmware seems make it work now... seems a little choppy at times tho, could just be my ISP.
xmonkey
join:2002-11-23
Irvine, CA

xmonkey to FROSTY

Member

to FROSTY
Just hooked up a new version3 from my old v1/2 (don't really know, it's old though). Reason for the upgrade was that my older 81 started acting up, dropping connection in games and on irc. I grabbed the latest firmware on the Linksys site (2.45.10) which was terrible and seemed to make the problems worse. Went back to an older one and it fixed the common Steam problem people got, but I would still get disconnects in Final Fantasy XI and in irc. It seemed like the connection was dropping out for a quick moment because AIM would sign off quickly, then come up again saying I was signed on twice.

Anyways, set up the v3 (running 2.50.2 out of the box) and ran a speed test. Horrible results. 20-30% of what I should be getting from my DSL. Oddly enough, downstream seemed to be effected much more than the upstream. Next, Steam games started dropping me again with the "Host_Error: UserMsg: Not Present on Client xx" error. Fine, I had read this thread before and knew people were having these issues but I didn't expect to still see them from a router people had problems with almost a year ago. I expected better of Linksys based on my previous SR81 experiences.

I have both the beta and the older v3 firmware to try and will update with results. I expect my CS problems to go away with each of them, but I am unsure of the FFXI ones.

It is sad to see that a firmware with such issues out of the box (the speed decrease alone is unacceptable) is still being sold in stores almost a year later.

FROSTY
MVM
join:2000-08-10
Leeds, AL

FROSTY

MVM

All SR81 V3 users:

Please goto this thread now and in the future:

»ATTN SR81 v3 users: New BETA Firmware 2.50.6b2

Thanks!

FlasHieNL
@demon.nl

FlasHieNL to HeloKitty

Anon

to HeloKitty
Hi,

I know its a while ago when this topic started but 3 days ago i have bought this Linksys router and i play CS Source. Im getting the error messages too. The new firmware is it working in CS:S? I saw that the new firmware also bringing new bugs...

What do you advise me to do? Upgrade the firmware/go back to the store with the router and get my money back and what router should i then take? TNX BIGTIME!
SecretPlot
join:2005-07-27
San Jose, CA

SecretPlot

Member

I have the
Host_Error: UserMsg: Not Present on Client #

problem, but I am using BEFSR41 Linksys.

I have Firmware Version 1.46.02, Aug 03 2004

Apparently this is the latest firmware for this router.

Should I go back a version or two to try to fix the problem??

ByRo
@valleyeast.dyn.perso

ByRo to HeloKitty

Anon

to HeloKitty
I know this post died late last month but Ive had my BEFSR81 V3 with Cisco systems for about 3 months now. I had the same problem as everyone else with the 2.50.2 Firmware, I found the Firmware 2.50.4 on the Steam forums but they removed the post shortly after thats probably why you didn't find it there last month. and Im not sure if Ive got Beta1 or Beta2 But it works like a charm ive hit DL rates @ 3mb/s at start of download and slowed to about 720 kb/s with the 2.50.2 firmware I actually was not even able to access 1/10-12 websites. But I have not had 1 problem with 2.50.4 in 3 months so anyone considering it should go for it it fixes all the BS with HL/HL2 Games. 2.50.2 is a flawed POS that should have never hit the market :P

Later all

-Byro

PS: I also had useless help from linksys, they are in denial that 1 of there products/software was a piece of crap so I just googled around for a couple days and found the fix.
ByRo

ByRo to HeloKitty

Anon

to HeloKitty
Oh sorry to double post but I just remebered something, Downgrading to any version other than 2.50.2 for the BEFSR81v3 wont work because they dont have Cisco on those firmware versions for some reason. So you really havn't got much of a choice but to go to 2.50.4 anyways. Thats the only thing that I got out of Linksys in 3-5 days of sever hour long phone calls, I actually missed supper twice trying to get answers.

Sureshot
Cellar Dweller
Premium Member
join:2000-08-15
Woodruff, WI

Sureshot to FROSTY

Premium Member

to FROSTY
said by FROSTY:

All SR81 V3 users:

Please goto this thread now and in the future:

»ATTN SR81 v3 users: New BETA Firmware 2.50.6b2

Thanks!
What part of the above quote are you people not getting?

pcscdma
hi
Premium Member
join:2004-01-14
Winterset, IA

pcscdma

Premium Member

I don't think they got the memo.