A bridge too short

My router died last night. It was just shy of four years old. At least, I think it died. I did all the usual troubleshooting steps, and finally called tech support; something I am almost always loath to do. After about 15 minutes on hold, during which I was repeatedly reminded how important my call was and that someone would be with me shortly, "Crystal" answered and asked for some personal info, as well as the model and serial numbers of my router.

The problem was a little different than most. For reasons I don't need to get into here, I was using it as a wireless bridge. When I explained the issue, the tech proposed that we try configuring it as a regular router or as a wired bridge. I explained that neither of those would work for me and that I was hoping she could help me with the problem I was having using it in wireless bridge mode. She said that my description of the issue indicated that there was nothing she could do, and that since it was out of warranty her only other recommendation was to buy a new router.

Although it was jarring and a little irritating how quickly she moved from support to sales mode, I was empathetic. Diagnosing and resolving problems with complex machines is difficult enough in the best circumstances, let alone trying to do it remotely; and through the eyes of someone who, in most cases, has little or no technical aptitude. And to make matters worse, some of these organizations use business practices that limit the amount of time a support rep can spend on each call. I don't believe this promotes positive results, but what's a manufacturer that's barely squeaking by on 5% margins to do?

I don't expect these devices to last forever, but I also don't understand how something with no moving parts could just stop working after less than four years. The tech didn't ask me any questions about the environment: upstream router, types of devices on the network, firmware version, etc. This leads me to believe that their strategy is to move out-of-warranty customers to newer devices when they encounter problems and not bother trying to fix the old stuff.

Of course, this isn't just an issue with the company that made my router. In a world where the miniature computers upon which so many of us depend for our jobs, education and daily routines have a lifetime that's limited by the batteries that power them, I guess this shouldn't be that surprising.

Image credit: "Unfinished" bridge in b&w by Cretense