Today I decided to attempt a second round at configuring the router FON sent me a few days ago since my first out-of-the-box experience hadn’t been that good. Emails to tech support unanswered, which seems to be an endemic problem, as can be seen on FON’s forums, I finally gave up.
After plugging in the WRT54GS router as briefly
described in the brief manual supplied with it (a third of one side of an A4
sheet of paper), I connect to the FON_HotSpot SSID detected by the MacBook.
Fire up Firefox, and I’m promptly greeted with a welcome page that states the
router could not configure itself, and thus has no connection to the Internet.
It shows a few scenarios that one can check for problems, also suggesting one
should consult again the third-of-a-page-handbook, and, failing all this, to
try manual configuration of the router.
After about an hour of changing IP addresses of the
WAN and LAN interfaces (and where is the WiFi interface? or is it linked to the
LAN or WAN?), I have finally given up again. I’m not a networking überguru, but
I know a bit about routing and setting up IP interfaces, and this thing just
managed to get on my nerves. You cannot find a clear manual with diagrams of
network connectivity, setups and scenarios, a description of the theory of operation
of the hotspot, and as it has been shown, sending emails to FON support is
usually futile. The forums are more helpful, but not because there is a healthy
bunch of FON staff there, but because a number of talented and skilled
individuals have taken upon themselves the task of helping others through the
ordeal.
I’m sure that a lot, if not most, users that plug in
the FON router can simply connect to it, register, and start surfing, but in
cases like mine, where I simply have a DSL router to which I plug in the FON
router and it’s supposed to work - but doesn’t - a blank void is all there is
left to stare at.
Maybe a last attempt will be to flash the new release
of the firmware, once they have fixed the problems in
v.0.6.6…
The bottom line is that FON cannot expect to create a WiFi
planet with people roaming for free on the 1 million routers they are going to
distribute, once they get their logistics right, based on complex hardware that
requires from either skilled operators, or very good tech support and clear
setup and troubleshooting guides. A couple of days ago, someone posted on the
forum that FON was a beta company. How can a company class itself in beta? It
can have a service in beta, but the company must be running, if not totally
smooth, at least with agility and responsiveness, fixing
its problems quickly and providing first-class customer service.
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