Evaluating online technical support forums for wireless router and iPad connectivity issues

¶ … Online Help Sites

The problem of attempting to connect a Linksys WRT54G Wireless Router to an Apple iPad2 via a 128-bit secured, encrypted connection on an internal network at the company I work for is the basis of this analysis of online technical support and troubleshooting sites. From the very simple recommendations of going to the Apple Genius bar in my local Apple store, to basically rewriting the 128-bit encryption with specific custom codes for the iPad2, the responses were diverse and varying in quality. The crowdsourcing of technical support varies drastically in quality and veracity, yet all forums and platforms share the common attribute of encouraging shared ownership of concerns and solutions (DeSanctis, Fayard, Roach, Lu, 2003). This is certainly true from this experience, as is the observation that altruism and mastery of a given topic or area reinforce each other in online communities and forums (Li, Wu, 2010). The most altruistic providers of information were also the ones with the greatest expertise and suggestions of multiple avenues of support and problem resolution.

Sites Visited for Assistance

The following are the sites visited for assistance:

Apple iPad for Enterprise Forums: https://discussions.apple.com/community/iPad/ipad_in_the_enterprise

Cisco Home Community: http://homecommunity.cisco.com/t5/Wireless-Hotspots/bd-p/Wireless_Hotspots

iPad Forums: http://www.ipadforums.net/

Effectiveness of Interaction

Starting with the Apple forums, the discussions immediately progressed into discussions of having Apple Genius bar employees in store help out with settings for both the router and iPad2. The initial suggestion was to print out the router settings and bring the iPad2 into the store. The ability it provide a multichannel support strategy is unique for Apple and apparently very successful given their customer satisfaction ratings. The router settings were printed out and taken to the store and the problem analyzed. Apple technicians recommended resetting the router to factory condition and redefining the password and also redefining the DHCP connection protocols. Apparently the DHCP protocol was acquiring and releasing addresses very quickly, too fast for the iPad2 to keep up.

Second source of support was the Cisco home community which provided insights on how to reset the router but no real input into how the iPad2 needed to be reconfigured. This forum was very product-centric to the router yet did little to help solve the integration issue with the Apple iPad2. The third forum was a dedicated iPad forum site, which also provided insights into how to reset the router and also how to interpret the settings. The responses didn't offer more support than Apple; in fact some of the recommendations contradicted what was learned at the Apple Genius bar.

Overall Assessment of Exercise