[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] HYNRGEE:
First Day Survivor

My first day experience was not good.

I unboxed the unit, charged it as directed, and went about the setup just fine until I got to the point that the TP attempted to connect to my gmail account. After a number of tries I gave up on the setup process, determined that the TP was connected to the home network but not the internet, spent a bit of time on Google looking for situations like mine, and then used the ASUS customer support number included in the packaging to try to shortcut the search. ASUS had me reboot the router and reset the software without success. They told me that I probably had a defective product and they gave me two choices: return the TP to Amazon or ship it to them for repair. I was taken aback. I again mentioned having a good connection to the network and that it was only the internet that was the challenge. The customer service rep insisted it was a hardware problem. I didn't argue figuring that at worst I would return the product to Amazon, but I was determined to try other options before doing that. I drove to a nearby mall and sat in the parking lot about 30 feet from a building and connected to the internet from there to complete the initial setup process. I had no problems getting my Gmail synched and was pleased by how well the TP performed in some brief tests. I then downloaded and installed the ICS upgrade without a hitch and then went home to see if the upgrade solved my problems. It did not. I should mention that on my drive home I placed the TP on the driver's seat so that I could monitor the different access points along the way. I was very pleased by the number of networks that the TP recognized along the residential street I was on. I was also surprised at the number of what appeared to be unsecured networks out there. Folks need to be careful. Once home, I went about the process of confirming with my ISP that internet service was reaching my home, which it was, and that there were no recent system changes requiring changes to the configuration, which there were none. I then contacted my router manufacturer (I have D-Link 655) to determine if the TP introduced problems that I was not aware of. I receive free lifetime technical support as a result of my having purchased the router through CostCo. That was not a major consideration in my purchase of the D-Link, but I have a complicated home network with ten or more family connections/devices at any time over both cable and air to access our jobs, stream video, surf the net, play games, etc. Over the years I have made good use of the technical support calling about twice per year when something really bad happens or I have a new unusual device to connect. In less than 30 minutes working through different possible solutions including rebooting the router, resetting the TP, changing the router channels, ensuring DHCP was appropriately configured, copying my main computer's mac address into the router's profile, etc., we determined that the problem seemed to be an IP address that caused a conflict. We bumped up the router address to 198.162.10.100 from 192.168.0.2 and suddenly the TP was connected to the web. Problem solved and it wasn't the TP!

The TP is great. I've put a lot of hours on it already. Lots of TP envy in the household. No issues with GPS or the screen image. If I had to complain I would say that there appear to be some random browser crashes, the user guide is minimalist, and figuring out how to remove the micro-SD wedge needs to be better illustrated. I can see more impatient types damaging their units. In my case I have excellent tweezers that do the job. I wish the tweezers weren't necessary, but they work.

I am on a quarter acre lot and have walked to the furthest corner of the lot and get a signal without a problem.

I originally ordered my TP from B&H on about the 24th of November. I cancelled from B&H to instead order through Amazon in late December and received my unit on January 13. It is in the champagne finish.

As was suggested in another message above, my experience has been that with some thought and effort one can effectively troubleshoot the problems. Don't be surprised if the problem is not with the TP.