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Rating: 
Summary: Worst Product--never worked
Review: I bought this modem when the modem (2wire Home Portal) I got from SBC Yahoo DSL broke down (within a month.) But after trying this modem/router, I was so disappoined that HomePortal seemed a lot better.The modem/router seem to have an inbuilt PPPoE client, but it doesn't work. In addition, you need obscure parameters such as VCI/VPI information from the DSL service provider to configure it. After you go through the process of configuring the parameters, when you try to connect, it doesn't work. I tried evey thing, including installing EnterNet, using Linux's PPPoE client, upgrading the firmware--but why will it work? After one week of all this drama, I finally returned it. Don't, Don't, Don't, ever buy it--it won't work. If there were 0 stars, I would have given it that.
Rating: 
Summary: Upgrade firmware first
Review: I would agree that this modem does not work with the firmware that is shipped with the Netgears DG824M modem which was version 1.2, even 1.3 does not work. After upgrading the firmware to 1.4 it started to work. Note you must upgrade in sequence. 1.4 release 5 works great. I have had no problems with all the rich features within the modem after upgrading. I gave it 4 stars because the modem, firewall, wireless, switch, router was all stuck into one box and it worked once it was fully patched. The missing star is because Netgear sold the modem with firmware that was clearly defective.
Rating:
Summary: Didn't Work Even with Firmware Upgrade
Review: If this product had worked the way it was supposed to work (i.e., if it had worked *at all*) it might have been a great choice. As it was, I spent several hours trying to configure it myself, then several more hours with Netgear tech support (avg. wait >30 minutes) trying various ways to troubleshoot it. I upgraded the firmware to their latest version (l.4 release 05). It still didn't work. I called tech support back and after running me through all the same procedures for another hour or so, they concluded I had a defective router. So I sent it back for an exchange, got another one, and the second one failed to work as well. I again spent multiple hours talking to tech support and was transferred to a senior technician, who ultimately concluded the second unit was defective. Incredulous, I called and talked to another senior tech, who concluded that the unit was either defective (in which case I wish I'd saved my luck for the lottery) or simply didn't work with my setup. That was the final diagnosis -- they had no explanation for *why* it didn't work, not even a theory. So after a grand total of perhaps 6-8 hours of talking with Netgear tech support, my ISP, and my local phone company's tech support, plus a couple weeks of waiting while I exchanged my first unit and waited for email responses from Netgear's senior techs, I finally returned the thing for a refund. I now have an Actiontec DSL gateway that works like a charm. Maybe Netgear needs to come up with yet another firmware patch? In any case (as the other reviews here indicate as well) I'd hold off buying this particular product until it's clear they have worked out all the bugs.
Rating:
Summary: Didn't Work Even with Firmware Upgrade
Review: If this product had worked the way it was supposed to work (i.e., if it had worked *at all*) it might have been a great choice. As it was, I spent several hours trying to configure it myself, then several more hours with Netgear tech support (avg. wait >30 minutes) trying various ways to troubleshoot it. I upgraded the firmware to their latest version (l.4 release 05). It still didn't work. I called tech support back and after running me through all the same procedures for another hour or so, they concluded I had a defective router. So I sent it back for an exchange, got another one, and the second one failed to work as well. I again spent multiple hours talking to tech support and was transferred to a senior technician, who ultimately concluded the second unit was defective. Incredulous, I called and talked to another senior tech, who concluded that the unit was either defective (in which case I wish I'd saved my luck for the lottery) or simply didn't work with my setup. That was the final diagnosis -- they had no explanation for *why* it didn't work, not even a theory. So after a grand total of perhaps 6-8 hours of talking with Netgear tech support, my ISP, and my local phone company's tech support, plus a couple weeks of waiting while I exchanged my first unit and waited for email responses from Netgear's senior techs, I finally returned the thing for a refund. I now have an Actiontec DSL gateway that works like a charm. Maybe Netgear needs to come up with yet another firmware patch? In any case (as the other reviews here indicate as well) I'd hold off buying this particular product until it's clear they have worked out all the bugs.
Rating: 
Summary: Very, very good!
Review: Perfect! Easy to install, very good. I liked and recommend. I bought in the USA and use here in the Brazil.
Rating:
Summary: Wouldn't have written but...
Review: So many of the bad reviews here are by people saying "it didn't work... but when I replaced it with xyz brand DSL router, it worked first time."
If you have ADSL, then this A D S L router should work fine (though it is a bit dated now).
If you have DSL, you need a D S L router.
Rating:
Summary: Netgear Equals Superb Service
Review: This holiday season I was a good santa and purchased numerous wireless networking products for my various family members. Sure it was partially a selfish act as I wanted to be able to easily connect when I went to visit, but for the most part it was just an act of giving. I purchased mainly G products and they varied from routers to USB adapters to PC Card adapters. I did also purchase a couple of B products for those in the family that already had some wireless networking products (yes, I know they are backwards compatible but I didn't want to take any chances).
Only two members of the family had installation problems (considering my family is very non-technical I was quite impressed) and those two people both had yet to upgrade to Windows XP SP2. The rest of the family members were up and running within minutes.
As for the couple of family members that did have problems, well they called me first (of course) and I told them to just run back through the installation procedure again. This solved the problem for Uncle Dennis but Grandma Joyce still couldn't get it to work properly. I reluctantly told her to call Netgear's technical support (hey the reviews on Amazon haven't been too pretty for their tech support). I however was quite pleased when an hour later I got an email from Grandma Joyce thanking me for the great gift. I called her back and she told me that after fiddling with the settings with the Netgear people she was up and running within 30 minutes.
Overall, I consider this the ultimate test of product quality and support and I would give Netgear two thumbs up.
I hope this review was helpful to you in putting your mind at ease regarding ease of setup and trust of technical support if needed.
Rating:
Summary: Netgear DG824M what wrong with you lot?
Review: you need to know what you donig with this one and if you do it works great, if you don't know then leave it alone!!!
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