Speaker 2
Thank you for calling Linxis. My name is Nathan. May I know who am I speaking with? Yeah, my name is Mike Calabrese. Mike Calabrese. Is this your first time calling us, Mike? No, I've called before, um, but it's a simple question. Go ahead. I have— I have the Linxis model number MX-4200, and I'm getting ready to, uh, basically dispose of these. And I wanted to make sure that I handle the— the erasing of information correctly. So, is all that's needed to do is plug the power in from the wall outlet to the router, and then hold the reset button down for several minutes? Yes, for 1 minute. For 1 minute? Yes, minimum. And when I do that, how do I know that it's working properly or that the erase is— is reset is taking place? Because the lights will change? Yes. It will change, it will blink, and then when you see the blinking blue, usually after a minute, you can release. Yeah. Wait around 2 to 3 minutes, roughly 3 minutes, it will turn solid magenta. Solid magenta, that's empty. And how long did you— how long did you say you have to wait, 20 minutes? No, no, 3 to— 2 to 3 minutes after the first 2 to 1 minute. Oh, okay. So you can— so since it won't take very long, I can do at least— I have 3 of them in my system. Yes, I will wait for you. You can— you can kind of walk with me while it's happening, right? Sure, sure. So I'm— Go ahead. I'm plugging it in right now. And plugging it into the power behind the— at the bottom of the unit. Mm-hmm. And right now there's just a solid blue light on, because they've been disconnected. At any point in time, can I hold the reset? Doesn't matter what the light's doing right now? Yes, you can do. Okay. So I'm going to push the reset button, and I'm going to hold it down for however long. 1 minute. What is the color of the light now? Do you see? It's orange, flashing orange. Okay. Now it's a solid orange. Now it's a solid blue. Wait until blinking blue. Now it's starting to blink. All right. Blinking blue, right? Yes. You can release. It's blinking blue. You can release. What's that? You can release now. I can release now? Okay. Yeah. Wait for it, 2 to 3 minutes. Okay. It's still— it's still blinking blue. You mentioned that you're going to dispose of the device. Yeah. Do you know the reason? Are you giving it to someone? Um, it— well, I was going to send it to a recycling center. Ah, all right. Yeah, okay. It's not the— yeah, it's okay. MX-4200, as long as it is working, we provide free support on the phone. Hardware is already— let's say it's a completed part, but— I think it's already out of warranty. It's already out of warranty, right? Yes. Yeah, that's— that's one of the reasons. That's for the hardware. The only other reason— That's for the hardware. Yeah. The only other reason I'm changing it out, though, is because I wanted to be able to run my VPN through— through the router, and your— your— your routers don't do that. Yeah, it doesn't. It's not designed for that one. Yeah. And I'm not— I'm not so sure I made the right move, because I've already had some issues with— once the— once the VPN has gone through the router, it's— some devices don't want to connect to Wi-Fi. It just depends. So anyway. So the light now is a solid, I guess, a— it's not really a blue, it's more like a— it's like a light blue, maybe. All right. Is it magenta? Light red? No, it's not a light red. Peel? It's— it's like a light blue. Peel, okay. Bluish green. I— I guess. I mean, I'm not that good with colors. It's okay. Can you tell me what is the default Wi-Fi name of that device you're holding? Turn it upside down. You're going to find it. And the default name? Yeah. It's VellumSetup, something like that. Let me see here. Uh, the name is VellopSetup_B5E. All right. Can you check in your phone? Go to the settings in the phone. Check if you can find the Wi-Fi name VellopSetup_B5E. Go ahead. You mean— oh, okay. You mean the network name? Yeah. If you can't find this Wi-Fi with the same Wi-Fi name, it means this is empty. Yeah, I don't think— I don't— I don't think I'll ever see that name, but let's see. Uh, because everything's been disconnected, but it could still be active, huh? Yep. Okay. So let me go to settings. And go to Wi-Fi. Go to available net— available network. Yeah, so the— the— oh, um, yeah. I see it. What? It's at the top. V-E-L-O-P-Setup_B5E. Yeah. It's still there. It's empty then. It's empty. What? Empty. Nothing in there. Oh, okay. So that— so it did what it was supposed to do. Yes. So if you give it to someone— if this somebody gave it to me, all I need to do: get my phone, connect to that Wi-Fi, and then run the setup, and then I can run it. I can have it. Then I can use it. Okay, so any— Because currently— Any personal— my IP— my— any of— any data related to me is gone, though, right? Any ports or any— Yes, 100%. Yeah. So what you did is you factory reset it, basically, to— to what it was when I first received it. To the Wi-Fi. Yeah. Yeah. Correct. Okay. So now I do the next 2. And— yes. One thing more. I just want to— okay, sorry, go ahead. Go ahead. Okay. Just for information, if you give it to someone, you can tell the recipient that they can call Linxis. If the hardware is already out of warranty, but the phone support, we will provide. There's no limit on the phone support. All right. I understand. You can— you can have them set it up. We can set up, and then if there's a trouble, issues, we can help them. But on the hardware, we cannot replace. That's the only limitation. Okay. So, um, when I do the next 2— because that was the first one, but I have 2 more to do— I should still see this name— network name showing up, correct? Yes. And that means— go ahead. That's— okay. Now, you have 3. The first one that you gave me is the— we did a factory reset, and it shows up. Now, the 2 other ones, when you do a factory reset, turn it upside down, there will be a VellopSetup with the last 3 digits. It will show up again. So that will be 2. You did the third one, you factory reset 1 minute. After a minute or 2, become peel, it will show up again as 3 new MX-4200 routers. Okay. Take note. These— these are interchangeable. These are all routers. When you plug one to the modem, becomes the mother, the 2 become the child. You run the setup. This— the other 2 will adopt what the mother node Wi-Fi name becomes, okay? So they will adjust accordingly. So right now, all of them is blank. There's no mother, there's no child. It's empty inside. When— only when they run the setup, they will align themselves. O-okay. So does that mean I— excuse me. Does that mean I don't have to reset the other 2, or I do? No, no. You have— you have to. Yes. But what will I see on the screen here for networks? Will I see it show up 3 times with that name, or just the 1 name? 3. But the last 3 digits will be different. VellopSetup, and then 3 digits. Another one will be another 3 digits. It depends. Well, it doesn't show any— it doesn't show any digits on the network. It just says V-E-L-O-P-S-E-T-U-P, B as in boy, 5 as— as the— as the number 5, and E as in Eric. Okay. B5E. Okay. Get another child node. I'll show you. Okay. Go ahead. Let's— let's go through it, because it doesn't take that long. It only takes a minute, actually. Okay, I'm plugging this one in. Turn it upside down. If you're not— Turn it upside down? Hold the reset button down? Not yet. Not yet. Turn it upside down. If you look at it, the default Wi-Fi name is VellopSetup, but the last 3 digits is different. Can you give it to me? Oh, yeah. Charles, the— the number 2, and the letter B as in boy. So you're right. Those are different. Yeah. Okay. And then the other one will also be different. That 3 will show up: VellopSetup, 3 different names, and then that's it. Go ahead. You're asking? Let me hold this button down one more time. Right now it's an orange, solid orange. It's starting to flash. Now it's a blue. Now it's starting to flash blue. Still flashing blue. Mm-hmm. Okay. You can release. If it's flashing blue, you can release the factory reset and then wait. Okay. And then we'll wait and see what it does. And I'll look on my phone and see if the new— new one pops up. Now it's a— kind of a white. It's like a light, super light blue, but you might call it something else. Teal. It's a real— it's a real light teal. Okay. Okay. And it's a solid teal now. Okay. Now check again on the phone. Yeah. So the V-E-L-O-P-S-E-T-U-P, the C as in Charles, the number 2, and the B as in boy is— it shows up now. All right. So there will be 2 VellopSetup, right? The first one is the previous? Well, the first— the first one— yeah, the first one went away. I don't see it on the screen anymore, but the second one, the one we just did, is. So— but I did see the first one on there earlier. So I guess it doesn't hold them all. It— it just drops them as— as it goes, I guess. Yes. Correct. You're right. Okay. You do the same? The third one? And then you're good to go. Yep. And then— so I probably will end up taking it to a recycling. You— you don't take these back, right? You don't take them back for— for credit or anything, right? Uh, no. We don't. Okay. And I don't really have anybody that I can give it to. And it's, you know, fairly expensive, but it's— it's over 3 years old, so I don't know that it's valuable anymore. It'll still function. You can use this one as a child node if you have another Linxis MX series. This can add as a— not as a mother node, but as a— just a backup. Yeah. But yeah, it's also a good thing if you want to donate this one. Many customers, especially if they upgrade, they up— they get the newer model, they have what to do with the older model, they donate it. And then we assure them that, yes, if you donate them, we can provide support to the recipient. Phone support. Well, depending on— depending on how much trouble I have with the— the current one I have now, I may end up going back to Linxis, because I like the customer support. It's a lot better than what I'm dealing with right now, so. What's the brand that you have right now? A TP-Link. Oh. TP-Link Deco. You try Netgear. I used to support Netgear before. They have the better VPN. They can go for open VPN. The RS series, that's a really good one. Orbi is very expensive. It's not worth it. Go for the RS or the RS series of the Netgear. We call it the Nighthawk. The Nighthawk series. Who— who is the RS series? Who's the manufacturer? Netgear. Net— okay. So I mean, I'm kind of— I'm kind of stuck with this— this TP-Link right now. So it's going to be at least a year before I change. Unless I have unbelievable trouble. Right. Just be aware that they usually do not provide free support. After a year, they charge you. But it's okay. Yeah. They don't usually— No. Yeah, they're— so their reputation is not that great, and it's really their customer support that's the problem. So that's just my— my— my take. I don't know. But I mean, the— the router works okay. It's just— the— the VPN is a little bit more than I thought it would be. I didn't realize it would be restricting certain— certain devices from connecting. Tell me— let's see about— maybe I can give you some advice. Not for the Linxis, but overall. Like, maybe I can help give you an idea. Go ahead. What is the objective? Why do you need a VPN? Well, it— it doesn't really serve much of a purpose, but what I was— the way I initially understood it is it just— it just— it— it changes the— your location, so it's— it's very difficult to track what you're— you know, who you are, what you're doing. I— I thought that was a good feature— I thought that was a good feature to have on— on my computer while I'm doing financial transactions on my computer. That way no one could kind of trace what I'm doing. The other— the other benefit I thought was to be able to have it go through a smart TV and have the ability to access certain— certain channels. Yes. Certain channels that are not available on the normal cable stations. I'm not talking about doing away with cable completely, but they don't offer— like, with the World Cup soccer going on, I could have gotten all different games everywhere and that kind of thing. So that's the other reason why I thought it would be a good idea to have it on the— on the smart TV. That's it. Those are the only 2 reasons. Yeah, I do the same. I watch English primarily. I do football. Or we call it soccer in our country, in the US. We call it soccer. But in Europe, when I was assigned in there, I was an attacking English Football League, and so I usually, when I go home, I usually switch back my VPN to Europe, usually in the UK, so that I can watch those channels. You're right. Correct. That's right. Now, there are 2 things that you need to understand. That is, VPN can run on the router side and protects the entire network. And then second, it can run on your computer or a specific device, client device, but not everyone. This is cheaper. Now, the disadvantage of a router-based is sometimes, especially the new iPhones, may not be able to work. The reason is macro-randomization. Solution: you may need to disable the macro-randomization on your phone to work with the VPN. Right? And then you need to check with the VPN if they support masking of the MAC address so that they can work. The reason is VPN tags the device based on the MAC address. If your phone changes its MAC address every time, it loses track. And then, hey, your MAC— your MAC address is 1, and then the following it becomes 2, the router will block the number 2 because I don't know you, although it's the same phone. That's one of the things that you need to check. Yeah. And the second one is open VPN and NordVPN. What else? There are many multiple VPNs in the market. Just make sure that the VPN that you subscribe to supports the router that you are working with or you have. That's— that's exactly why I went with TP-Link, because I have NordVPN. Mm-mm. And it is guaranteed to— they said it's guaranteed to work with NordVPN, right? Yeah. The only thing I'm trying to figure out now is, before I start messing with it again, is can I just assign the router or the VPN to target the smart TV in the back and— and nothing else? Because I have a hardwired fiber optic cable coming from AT&T, which is my service provider. It's connected directly into the house and into my computer. So I don't even rely on Wi-Fi when it comes to the computer. It's actually my home base where I can access the internet and everything through the fiber optics. I— I do have a wireless printer that is the only item that needs to be connected to Wi-Fi in the office right now in order to operate. And that is something that I have to set every time I— I basically turn on the— the computer. I have to make sure that before I print, that that printer is connected. So it— it doesn't hold the connection when I sign off. I have to reconnect it every time, which is not a big deal. It's not a big deal. But the— the other thing is, I— I just recently started working with my music collection, and I have. You have a sauna? I have a whole bunch of— I have a whole bunch of CDs. It's a compact disc. Ah. Okay? Compact discs that are vintage. They're, you know, they're— they're the— the first pressings a lot back in the early 1980s and 1990s. So it requires a certain amount of electronics to— to— to make them work, you know, to make the sound come out like it's supposed to. And I have a— a digital analog player, a very high— high-end expensive one, and that's the one that was having trouble. What's the brand? What's that? What is the brand? What is the brand of that analog converter? And— and Astell Kern. Astell Kern. Astell? Astell. A-S-T-E-L-L, and Kern, K-E-R-N. It's the— it's the best unit on the market. It's made in Korea, and it has the highest rating of any— anything that Astell Kern and Kern does. Any model is excellent. And, you know, these— these units are over $2,000 a piece. They can get up to be $4,000, depending on— on how— how, you know, some people put their entire music library on one, and they can run their entire system in the house or wherever from that. All their music is recorded on that device. And it's— But is this good? It's amplified. It's really, really good. It's the best sounding system I've ever— I've ever seen. So it's— you— you couple that together with some really good headphones. I don't know how much you know about this stuff, but if— if you do, it's amazing how it almost sounds like they're— they're playing right in front of you. All the instruments. You can hear the detail of every instrument being played. I may— thank you for this one. I may try to take a look at this one. I have a sauna. I have a sauna for converting my turntable into digital. I can roll it using the phone, and I connected all the Pioneers and the Bosch speakers all over the house so that I can control which— which part of the house will turn on using the thing. But I never heard about Astell and Kern. This is good. This is new. It's really— I may try to— It's— it's super high-end. That's why you haven't heard about it. It's because it's not on most people's radars screen, unless they want to spend, like I said, you know. The— the— the model— the model is an— the one that I have is an SP-3000M, which is a model that they made that's more lightweight. It's portable. It's very small. It fits in the palm of your hand. Maybe a little bit bigger than what the Apple iPods used to look like. But this piece of equipment, it's a little heavier than an iPod, but— and it's thicker. But it has in it 2 things. Number 1, it can convert digital to analog, and it also has amplification built into the system. So you're— you're getting, like, a high-end compact disc player in your hand. Now, you could do the same. You can— you can also get albums and records. You can get them to be recorded on there too as well. There's no stopping the limits. It's completely available to do anything you want. And then you couple that with a— a really good open-back or closed-back set of headphones, and now you're— you're talking. The only problem is it's too nice of a unit to take to the gym when you want to work out. So the next step— the next— the next step— the next step is to go back and get— which I have— an iPod, an old iPod, and make that the designated player now. In other words, they turn off everything. Noth— it's been erased. Everything's been turned off. The only thing that's on there now is just iTunes. No— no email, no internet, no Wi-Fi, nothing. And now I'm loading the same music down into that iPod, and now I can use the wireless earphones and go to the gym. Or if I want to go camping, I can take this with me. It's not as good a sound as the Astell and Kern, but at least I don't have to worry about it getting broken or dirty or anything like that. Because the Astell Kern is— Or stolen. Yeah. Or stolen. Exactly. Exactly. It's kind of a cool combination, but it's a lot of work. I mean, I had to rip— have to rip all these CDs and put— you know the term ripping. They have to— you know, you use special software to take the CD and— and— and basically make sure it's clean, make sure it's the right— it gets evaluated through the software. And then you copy it down onto your— your hard drive on your computer. And it's all cataloged and stored by artist, album, and— and the list of the songs. It's— it's kind of a cool hobby, but it's a lot. It's a lot of work. It's okay. Just so if you have— I'm an auto-fill myself. If you have— if you have 500— if you have 500 CDs, it's going to take a while. You know what I mean? Yeah. Not— I own not only CDs. I have turntables, the vinyl. I have those ones. I got it— I got it from my father, also an auto-fill himself. And he turned it over to me at first, way back in the '80s. I was young, and then I said, "Nah, I'm not interested." But as we grew older, I said, "Hey, where's those things?" And my sister— good thing my sister keeps it in Bakersfield. She said, "Yeah, it's just there, dust." When I go back to the house, our old house, I said, "Wow, the treasure is here. Nobody took it." And yes. Yeah. You're lucky. You're lucky. Good thing. Good thing with this one, Astell and Kern. I'm going to take a look at this one. Thank you. Check it out. Mike? You can go to a site called Moon Audio. M-O-O-N, like the moon. Audio, A-U-D-I-O. And they're out of, I believe they're North Carolina in the United States. So they have— that's a good shop. They're a good support and everything. I also have a turntable, and what I listen to in vinyl on my turntable is Frank Sinatra. Beatles? Frank Sinatra. Things like Nat King Cole. All the older '40s and '50s type of music, which I really like because it reminds me of my parents. I still have James Dean. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. How about Miles Davis and some of the jazz? I mean, you can't beat it, you know? The problem is locating the albums in good shape. That's the— that's the other effort. I wish the new generation can appreciate what we love, right? But yeah. The new generation has got its— the new generation has got its own set of problems. They got to worry about how they're going to buy a house. Correct. All right. Thanks, Mike, for the conversation. Really, it's not that you— I learned a lot from you on this one. Well, I appreciate that. I'm an auto-fill myself. I appreciate the kind words, and I appreciate the help. So now I can go ahead and— and move this forward and— and get back to what I got to do. So thanks for your help. Linksus is always in the back of my mind. I— I had good success with this until the VPN issue, and I realized it's got pros and cons. So we'll see what happens. Maybe next time around I'll go back to Linksus. All right then. And thanks for the call, Mike. My name is Nathan, an auto-fill myself. Thank you. Well. Thank you, Nathan. Take care. Have a nice day. Good luck. Good night. Bye-bye. Good day. Good day. Bye-bye.
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