Netgear DG834 emailing with wrong month!

[stduc]

I have a Netgear DG834 v1 modem/router that works just fine.

I have it email me its log on a daily basis.

Suddenly in July it started emailing me using the wrong month!
For example today, the email said
Date: Fri,28 Aug 2006 06:00:00 -0000 (GMT Daylight Time)


It has the correct date & time. Individual lines in the email noting events, have the correct timestamp. It simply insists that it is August. It has to be an internal look up table issue as the day is correct (for July) and the year is correct. It just writes in August and not July!!!!!

The Firmware Version is V3.01.25
The ADSL firmware version is 4.01.02.00

Both the latest available I believe.

I could treat it as a joke and of no importance except that if the look up table is incorrect what is going to happen next month and what will happen in December? Will the router crash because it will try to reference an entry in the look up table that does not exist and get an internal error?

I have contacted Netgear but beyond suggesting I re-boot the router (I have) they have nothing more to say.

So is anyone else experiencing this?
Does anyone have a solution?

 

[DaveKb9]

Frankly I have now given up on the DG834. As well as the date issue I had a more compelling problem with it keep losing synch (dropping the line completely about 2x a day). Netgear replaced it and the new one did the same. They asked me to do a factory reset - I did and it still kept losing synch. I have now dusted off an old Vigor 2600 and it stays up for weeks at a time so I guess Netgear made their money from me and sold me a real pile of dogs p**.

 

[BionicJohn]

Sorry to hear you seem to have a dud.

I have a DG834 and it's faultless - easy to set up and only problems have been acknowledged by my ISP{/link] as being at their end.

LIVERPOOL FC - FA Cup Winners 2006.
Iechyd da! John
Glannau Mersi, Lloegr.

 

[stduc]

SlimJohnD
Unlike DaveKb9 the daily log email is all I have an issue with. I am curious to know whether you have yours send you a daily log and if so is the date showing correctly? Which firmware version are you using? I am on V3.01.25 which I believe is the latest. Although I did slog through all versions at one point to see if it made a difference - it didn't.

V3.01.25 is definitely the best as it solved some other issues - like dropping the ADSL connection of you changed the DMZ.

 

[BionicJohn]

Actually now I've looked more closely, I see what you mean:

Sun,3 (null) 2006 19:49:31 -0000 (GMT Daylight Time)

is incorrect as we're on GMT, and the month is not displayed at all, though the time is correct.

The entries in the log are consequently incorrect, e.g.:

Sun, 2006-12-03 20:48:11 - Administrator login successful - IP:192.168.0.3

as it was 19:48:11 when I logged in and there's another 25 minutes or so to go to 20:48:11

Is that what you mean?

I'm using Firmware V3.01.25 like you, and the model is DG834 V2.

I can't find where the colck is set…

LIVERPOOL FC - FA Cup Winners 2006.
Iechyd da! John
Glannau Mersi, Lloegr.

 

[BionicJohn]

Update:

I've reset the clock (via "Schedule") and linked the router to MS's time server - 131.107.1.10.

That's cured the summer time thing, but the month is still displayed as (null) in e-mail alerts.

Sun,3 (null) 2006 20:35:34 -0000

So you're not alone on this one.

LIVERPOOL FC - FA Cup Winners 2006.
Iechyd da! John
Glannau Mersi, Lloegr.

 

[stduc]

I believe it is a generic issue with the whole DG834 series and yet Netgear seem not to care. I guess the next interesting moment will be in January. Will it correct itself, or what?

My fear is that the bug is caused by the router marching away from some internal lookup table and if it strays too far the whole thing will crash.

You might consider logging your issue with netgear on the basis that the more people who moan, the more attention they may pay.

But don't let them persuade you to re-boot, re-load or downgrade the firmware. It makes no difference!

 

[BionicJohn]

You might consider logging your issue with netgear

I've done that - I've tagged on a recent thread entitled "Date header wrong in DG834 emailed logs". Is that your thread?

TGML insists on translating the link to the Netgear forum incorrectly because of the substring [ignore]Forum1[/ignore] - you'll need to copy'n'paste the URL below to find the thread.
[ignore]

http://forum1.netgear.com/showthread.php?t=526

[/ignore]

But don't let them persuade you to re-boot, re-load or downgrade the firmware. It makes no difference!

I expect that's Netgear's standard response, even if you say you've done that a million times without improvement, and you're calling them because their solution &c. doesn't work. They then conclude it's the user who's at fault.

It is a weird fault, as problems with date/time stamps are usually one of format (e.g. MM//DD/YY when you want DD/MM/YY) or time zone (e.g. the default is US West Coast and not GMT).

I imagine what's going on is that the router has an array of month names indexed from 0-11 and it's not correcting for 1-based month numbers. Probably easy to fix if so…

That seems to be an extremely likely explanation.

LIVERPOOL FC - FA Cup Winners 2006.
Iechyd da! John
Glannau Mersi, Lloegr.

 

[stduc]

No, that was not my thread - but I replied urging you guys to moan to netgear support and raise a support call.

Somehow I suspect they consider the DG834 an obsolete product and they just don't care.

But when I need to replace my router - or buy another I shall not automatically buy netgear!

 

[BionicJohn]

I've logged a support request with Netgear:

"Your support request has been saved:
The reference number is 4131466, a representitive will reply to you shortly.

Watch this space!

LIVERPOOL FC - FA Cup Winners 2006.
Iechyd da! John
Glannau Mersi, Lloegr.

 

[stduc]

Thanks - but I won't hold my breath LOL. I hope you have better luck than me.

 

[DaveKb9]

Odds on any reply will involve a firmware reset requiring three hands and an acurate stopwatch to complete! :-0

 

[BionicJohn]

Thank you for contacting Netgear Support. My name is Daljeet & I will be handling your enquiry. I appreciate the opportunity to assist you.

I understand your concern that the time stamp of the router is incorrect. It is in this context, I would suggest you to please follow the steps below to upgrade the firmware of the router:

You can download the firmware from the link below:

http://kbserver.netgear.com/products/dg834.asp

Please follow the steps given below to upload the firmware on the router.
1. You can upgrade by using the Web interface Router Upgrade menu.
2. Open a browser (Internet Explorer or Netscape).
3. Access the router (usually

http://192.168.0.1).

4. Login to the router (User Name = admin and Password = password unless you have changed it).
5. Write down all settings that you have entered during configuration.
6. Under Maintenance, click Router Upgrade.
7. Click Browse and locate the upgrade file for your router model.
8. Click Upload.
9. Wait for the router to reboot.

I hope this will resolve the issue. If you have any further concern please email back to us.

Do they even read the messages which users post?

Here's my reply:

At the risk of being patronising, I am here because

a) I have done that - many times - and without success

b) I would not be here if it was a simple matter of updating the firmware and rebooting

c) I don't think you have read anything I have written as you not responded specifically to the issue I have raised.

I have posted the problem in the Netgear forums where other users are experiencing the same issue.

Here is the link.

http://forum1.netgear.com/showthread.php?t=526

If you have any problems viewing or reading the thread, I can post it all here.

Iechyd da! John
17:55 05/12/2006 GMT

LIVERPOOL FC - FA Cup Winners 2006.
Iechyd da! John
Glannau Mersi, Lloegr.

 

[stduc]

Ah! Daljeet Don't you just love him.

 

[DaveKb9]

Based on your response, John, it will certainly get referred to 2nd line where there appears to be no obligation to actually update or respond on faults logged and passed to them. I'm actually thinking of getting shares in Netgear (if possible) because they have clearly found out how to keep their support costs low - don't provide any! :-0

 

[BionicJohn]

It might help if they were honest:

e.g. "This is a known fault. Development of this product has now ceased. This fault is minor and does not affect the functionality of the device. We apologise for the inconvenience."

LIVERPOOL FC - FA Cup Winners 2006.
Iechyd da! John
Glannau Mersi, Lloegr.

 

[gio2006]

Hello friends.
I thought I was alone until I saw this thread and joined the list.
I recently purchased a DG834PN (upgrading from a DG814 + an AP), and I was able to quickly configure it and everything was working fine until I upgraded to the latest firmware version, V3.01.30.
The router was shipped with V3.01.18, and at that level, I noticed that the month was ahead of schedule
I actually thought that it was a simple programming error, as they must have set the wrong field to be updated for Daylight saving time ... I wasn't going to bother, until I read in the Release Notes of logs improvements, so I thought of upgrading.
BIG Mistake! Not only have I not solved the month problem like all of you, but it's much worse now, as the email timestamp is now 1/1/1970!!! In addition I have lost wireless connectivity with 2 PDAs. Laptop's connection was still OK, but I haven't checked after all reboots/upgrades/downgrades ...
I logged the problems and I received the "standard message template" you all have had the pleasure to receive. Every 24 hrs on average I now receive an update which asks to basically do the well-known sequence of restoring factory settings and latest firmware.
I have now up/downgraded the firmware several times, and I am not getting anywhere, although the date issue has been passed to L2 support. I am thinking of returning the router to the shop, as it is less than 1 month old.

P.S.: FYI I attach another pearl from support:
... Please reset your router by holding down the reset button for 30 seconds with a paper clip, which you could find next to the antenna on the router. Look at the diagram provided on the bottom of the router to locate this button. Now power off & power back the router. ...
---> I couldn't see the paper clip next to the antenna of the router, maybe because I don't have an external antenna? :-D

Also at the bottom of the message it reads:
***PLEASE BE AWARE THAT YOUR CASE WILL AUTO-CLOSE AFTER 10 DAYS OF INACTIVITY. ***
----> And this - I think - says it all about how their support works.
Gio2006

 

[BionicJohn]

Welcome Gio!

And Netgear Support have now raised my case to Level 2, and we're still no nearer any solution.

LIVERPOOL FC - FA Cup Winners 2006.
Iechyd da! John
Glannau Mersi, Lloegr.

 

[gio2006]

Today I had another update to one of my open cases. It reads:
"Dear Giovanni,

Thank you for contacting Netgear Support. My name is Sumit & I will be handling your enquiry. I appreciate the
opportunity to assist you.

I understand your concern that . It is in this context, I would suggest you to

I hope this will resolve the issue. If you have any further concern please email us back.

Regards,

Sumit Sharma
Netgear Support"

I think this is the evidence that they use a form template to reply to our emails.
After this message there is a description on how to reset and reconfigure the router, including the following:
" ... reset the router by pressing the reset button (small button inside a circular hole) on the backside of the router using a pointed object ..."


The first reply to my case was from Karthik who was supposed "to handle my query". Now I have 2 support buddies .

On another note, I have reloaded the shipped version 3.01.18 and then re-configured (rather than restore from backup) the router. Then I powered it down and up again. All wireless functionality is now restored, the date within the emails is correct, but the date of the email itself is still 1/1/1970.
I added a filter to my email client to automatically move the messages from the firewall straight to a dedicated Folder.

A strange "feature" now is this. If I add a new Inbound rule exactly as the default one, i.e. "Block Any From Any, but set to log Always, I get messages from packets to Destination 1.0.0.0 in my firewall logs. Has anyone seen this?
The reason for adding the rule was that the Default rule can be edited, and it is set to Never log.

As I have wasted so much time on this, I think I will do the last attempt to load V1.03.30, by re-configuring it from scratch. I will report on the outcome.
Ciao

 

[stduc]

Interesting. So you are suggesting the solution may be to re-load the latest version 3.01.25 for a vanilla 834 which mine is and then re-key all the settings rather than re-load from a backup. Which is what I have always done.

Your finding might explain why Netgear can't re-produce this fault and therefore have lost interest.

I await your progress report with alacrity.

 

[BionicJohn]

So you are suggesting the solution may be to re-load the latest version 3.01.25 for a vanilla 834 which mine is and then re-key all the settings rather than re-load from a backup. Which is what I have always done.

I've never used a backup; I've always re-entered all the settings manually from notes stored in Notepad.

I have Firmware Version V3.01.25 and a (wired) DG834v2.

LIVERPOOL FC - FA Cup Winners 2006.
Iechyd da! John
Glannau Mersi, Lloegr.