The cooling fan never spins, regardless how hot the router gets. There should be a setting that would allow the user to have the fan turned on at all times.
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Ok, I’ll bite… How do you know it’s overheating?
Look at few of my other posts about the N900 and how I tested. Â The initial problem is 100% overheating with follow on problems based upon how many times it has over heated and started to dmg internals like ram/cache.
andÂ
If you are interested.
Solved the problem by downgrading to 1.03.11 and now the cooling fan spins, the router works and even the WDPhoto works again.
Of course, the WD Media Player cannot play videos anymore, but I can live with that for now.
Would you happen to know where I can find that? The only stuff I can find on the WD site is the source code stuff (not in there is it?)
if I downgrade the firmware, can I then just restore my settings (I have mac filtering on and all sorts), or will that not work because the settings were configured under a higher firmware version?
I found the link in one of the threads in this forum. Let me see if I can find it again.
Managed to find it on this forum (probably same link you were looking for). Have downgraded now, so will see how that goes.
Thanks for the tip!
I would like to try that file if you can point me in the right direction.
I got mine from here:
SInce I’ve installed it I must admit I haven’t stood over it listening for the fan, and it’s not obvious to my ear from a distance whether the fan is kicking in or not, but I haven’t had any problems at all since downgrading, and I didn’t have any bother with having to restore settings. Just make sure you get the right one, depending on whether you have the one with the internal disk or not.
Good luck!
Just to update wanted to update this post, since downgrading the firmware.
The router has been on constantly since I did the downgrade on Friday, and I haven’t had a single issue so far. Looks like the downgrade is the way forward until WD release an update that addresses this problem.
I have had the same experience with 1.3.11. Very stabile firmware, but the transfer rates to the internal HDD are half what you can get with 1.5.12.
I have installed and I am testing now 1.4.11. Does anyone know of what bugs I should be aware of in 1.4.11?
I’ve just noticed that WD have released a firmware update for this router. The new version is 1.06.18 but I see no mention of there being a fix for overheating in the release notes. Anyone applied it yet, and if so, any news on whether it has any impact on the problem?
Thanks
Oh. That’s not good is it. Very very disappointing. Thanks for steering me to this.
I applied it to my new unit which I replaced by RMA. I think it may have overheated once last night. My old unit took about 2 weeks before developing serious overheating issues…so I’m not sure. I just put my router on a thin plastic board, which while not optimal is a lot better than carpet. Some people posted some nice links to cheap router coolers and fans which i could resort to, but I’d rather not have to pay for something to blow and **bleep** electricity 24/7 for a problem WD should have solved. It’s chilly in my apartment now, which makes me concerned for summer, when my empty apartment will probably top 80 degrees.
I don’t even understand why the router generates that much heat in the first place. Most 2.5" external hdds don’t need any internal fan, right? Is it because the router components are so close to the drive? Would it be possible to open the router, take the HDD out of the case and leave it connected? You could stick it in a HDD heat sink too http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2430460&SRCCODE=WEBGOOPA&cm_mmc_o=mH4CjC7BBTkwCjCV1-CjCE&gclid=CPuckoGrgbUCFQSf4AodTCgAFw
That’s what I’m contemplating doing if this unit heats up too. My router’s plenty out of sight as it is, so it looking a little messy shouldn’t matter.
@chucklesmcgee: I’ve been having the overheating problem (or at least that’s what it appears to be), and I have the N900 without a hard drive. So, while the presence of a hard drive may compound the problem, I don’t believe it’s the source of the problem.
varxx wrote:
@chucklesmcgee: I’ve been having the overheating problem (or at least that’s what it appears to be), and I have the N900 without a hard drive. So, while the presence of a hard drive may compound the problem, I don’t believe it’s the source of the problem.
I agree with your assessment varxx.
Did some digging around different reviews of this router. Apparently this router, according to one review, suffers from memory leaks. This reviewer was also given a REPLACEMENT router which apparently after a firmware upgrade became stable.
"We also could not write this review without mentioning the fact that during our testing of the Western Digital MyNet N900, we had initially encountered an issue that other users on the internet had also experienced. This issue was that the router would experience a memory leak and over the course of four or five days would eventually lock up and drop all wired network connectivity while maintaining wireless connectivity without any problems. Other times it would simple drop connection altogether and the only way to remedy this issue was by restarting the router manually or through the web interface. We spent countless weeks working with Western Digital on this issue and they released a fix two weeks ago which has been working stable for us for over a week and a half now.
Western Digital had been extremely accommodating and did everything they could to help us troubleshoot the issue including replacing the router. The latest firmware did resolve the issue and that is why we are publishing the review now, because our issues have been permanently resolved. However, we find it extremely hard to believe that none of the other reviewers encountered this issue or perhaps none of them had been using this router long enough to encounter it since it took four to five days to manifest itself."
Draw your own conclusions!
