Having a REAL hard time with Compaq!

I'm not one to bad mouth anybody but I think I have to share this with you guys...

I bought a new V2000z on March 7th and received it on March 16th (2 days before delivery was expected) so that was great...

Then I started having problems with my Broadcomm wireless card: It was not detecting my 802.11b wireless network. I tried to fiddle with it for a couple days, experimented with the router positioning, etc. No success. So on March 29th I used the online chat support service to try and pinpoint what was wrong (BTW, I have a 3 yr old Compaq laptop that works perfect with the router I have)...

After checking a bunch of stuff (signal strenght, speed, updating driver, router, Advanced config, etc) the rep decided to send me a new wireless card to which I agreed...(sounded great right?)

Well, that's where it all began: I was expecting to receive the card a couple days later, but no...Compaq said the soonest they could deliver would be April 3rd...I was like: heck! that's a week away! What's so complicated about taking something off the shelf and shipping it?...Well I decided to wait...(like I had any options)

I didn't get it April 3rd so I went online and chatted again...thay said I would receive it within 24 hours...so I waited, not before letting everybody know that I was told originally that I wouldn't receive the part after 04/03...

April 5 came and I didn't receive the part so I called this time...they said that they were having a shortage of wireless cards and that that was the reason the card hadn't shipped yet...I was like what???? Hasn't shipped yet? But, but...(studdering...) ARGHHHH!!

That day they said I would receive it in 2 or 3 days...today is April 7th and nothing yet...So it's been 10 days since I reported my issue and Compaq hasn't even shipped the replacement part yet...how's that?

In the meanwhile, I'm stuck to the wall where my router is because I have to surf the web using a WIRED connection...

Sorry for the rant...I just had to let all this out...

 

Today is the last day of the 21-day return policy that you can send it back for free. Call term and RMA it immediately.

 

And to make matters worse, HP locks out non-HP miniPCI wireless cards in the BIOS so you can't just go on eBay and buy an Atheros card. Be sure to mention that next time you chat with HP. (At least, I think that BIOS whitelist is still in there, no one's verified that on the current models AFAIK.)

 

first off, i'm a network engineer with HP...

not that that really means much, but I have a great deal of experience with wireless networks. you might be running into issues with the AP... make sure you are not running on a channel that's being used by another SSID. someone may have recently put up a new AP that's running on your channel, this will cause issues most of the time

 

Do you know how to defeat that BIOS whitelist, or if HP has stopped using the **** things? It's the most infuriating thing HP has done (next to refusing to sell AMD notebooks with decent GPUs). I ran into it the hard way, after spending big money on a nice Linux-friendly Atheros card. The people I talked to at HP didn't believe me when I said the whitelist exists but I found it documented in the HP Hardware Guide for my old zv5000z. I hate being locked into Broadcom gear.

 

unfortunatly, i'm an engineer for global network operations, i'm in the group that handles core global connectivity within HP, i don't have any visibility into laptop manufactuting or development

i wish i could help, but in that regard, i'm just a consumer as well

 

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00444244.pdf

that's the indepth manual for it

 

Do you guys really think I should return it? (If I have the chance...) or should I keep it and wait...

Shoot I don't know anymore...I feel I'm running out of options...

 

returning it sounds painful at the moment, i'd troubleshoot some more -- but that's me, i always think i can fix it...

=)

 

Buy a cheap PC card adapter for now. Several places have a 14 or 21 day return period as well, so once you get your new internal card, you can return the PC card. Or, if it's cheap enough you can keep it for a spare. That sounds easier than returning the laptop. Of course, if you just mention the RMA to HP when you call about the status of your new card, they may get the hint and step up your priority.

Good luck!

Russ

 

I have to ask why are you still using a b-router? It's past time to upgrade to G! Upgrading to a new router would probably fix the problem.

 

I know...I grabbed a G router temporarily and, although is working better, is not perfect yet...

Still no sign from hp and the new wireless card.