For a couple of years now, we have been having a regular flow of Netgear DG834 Router problems, at one point this router was probably the most widely used ADSL home router in the
UK sometimes also supplied by Sky and AOL to name but a few to their subscribers but most often bought outright for a wires only connection by end users.
Typical problems would be loss of connection / ADSL Sync. constantly trying to reconnect after seconds or minutes.
Unable to connect wireless clients even though SSID was being detected and password correct.
Poor wireless signal / range.
Router constantly rebooting and lights going off then coming straight back on.
Lights on router flickering in unusual patterns or seemed dim.
In 95% of cases we were finding a common factor, when we tested the DC voltage output at the connector jack plug it was showing out of range either having higher or lower than the stated voltage. Most Netgear router adapters are stated to be 12V 1amp. We were finding the faulty adaptors were either less than 10 Volts (sometimes 6 – 8 Volts) or over 16Volts (Often 17 – 18 Volts).
In virtually ALL cases, replacing the PSU with a new 12 Volt 1.5 AMP unit the problem was fixed instantly. Please note that we say 1.5 amp as this provides the unit with adequate power without causing overheating of the PSU and resulting in longer life of the power supply unit.
It is worth mentioning that repeated calls to Netgear support resulted in complete denial of any knowledge of such a problem which is totally unbelievable given the number of times we have encountered this issue.
WARNING! Only use the correct adaptor with these Netgear Routers (Or Any Electrical Device for that matter) as we had one customer MELT a Netgear DG834 by trying to use a 30 Volt PSU from a BT Telephone, luckily it still did not connect to the internet and he called us in to find out why and we found the router in a very hot condition and managed to replace it before the building burnt down.
If you have a faulty Netgear DG834 Router it is worth checking the PSU as it is quite likely the router will be fine.