WiFi Making Me Really Mad

[Ruin]

So I've seriously reached the level of wanting to use my Wireless Router for Skeet shooting. No... I mean it. I'm so fed up with this piece of ###### I can't stand it. I'm hoping you guys can save me from making a $60+ mistake.

I've got a Linksys wireless router (N, I think - not G). You're basic run of the mill setup. I've got a direct line from my Cable box running into the "Internet" port on the back of the router, and the two are just sitting there. Plugged into each other and the power-outlet. That's it. No other PCs. Just me and my little machine.

Here's the stupid stuff this does.

I will randomly lose the wireless network. It just drops, disappears and goes away:

Sometimes it comes back on it's own

Sometimes I have to reset the power on the router

Sometimes I have to reset the power on both the cable modem and the router.

Sometimes, doing that doesn't work.

Sometimes my "Connect To" menu in Vista tells me that the capabilities of my wireless adapter does not match that of the wireless network of which I'm trying to connect to.

Sometimes, it goes down and is back up on it's own in a matter of seconds.

Then, on a whim, it goes slow. I don't mean, damn, I feel like I'm on DSL slow. No, I mean - mother ######er, I think AOL might be faster. YouTube laughs at me 24/7. I don't really use it unless the video is short or is going to be really really good. No, seriously, I think it loads at a 3:1 ratio. Three seconds of load time for every one second of play time.

Then, on a whim, I see download speeds of over 600KB/S.

What the hell is going on?!?!

I'm really not sure what to do here. Bad router? What?

If it helps: I set this up on a PC I no longer have about 2 years ago. It's been acting up for about the past year, but recently has gotten worse. No idea where the drivers are, no idea where the CD is for setup, I just have the router. PC Specs are in the sig - that's not the problem, other laptops in the house do the same thing. I thought it was my mom's laptop that set it off, but she's not here now, so that's not it either.

Please help before I go crazy and lose my cool on this little blue box.

Yours Truly,

Ruin

[Tinker]

My only thought is...Only 1 guy at 9MS with a wireless router, playing games, he only 1, ever has bad lag. Cabled router possible?

[CR6]

My best advice is to go out and try a D-Link router. I personally own a Linksys Wireless G router and I had a tough time configuring it, and it still drops several times a month.

I have a Linksys-N router at work (yes, the one where the desktop Wireless adapter has 3 wires to a funny looking antenna that looks like a TIE fighter and takes up room on your desk) After 2 weeks I decided to put back in the box and go back to a hard-wired router because of constant dropping or the SSID not showing up.

I've installed 4-5 D-Links for several friends and offices, and have had NO problems. You can get a Wireless-G one on sale ~Cdn$40, so I'm sure it's cheaper in the States

[CrowmanUK]

It could be the router, it could also be the wireless card in your pc, does the other pc get disconnects and really slow speeds too? If it doesnt swap the cards over to see if that sorts out your problem.

If it doesnt it could be the router, try it on a different channel and or security setting, I had a belkin wireless card that would talk to my buffalo airstation on WPA but dropped the connection all over the place on WEP, I only found that out by messing around with the settings.

You may have other wireless devices like phones that are interfering with the signal so try changing channels on the router to see if that sorts it out, also see if the router has any firmware upgrades available, that might make a difference too.

Best of luck with it mate

[Nutlink]

What model router is it and what firmware are you using? I have a WRT54GL from Linksys and use the v24 DD-WRT firmware (custom firmware, not Linksys stuff) and it made my router a whole hell of a lot better just at default settings. Now that I tweaked everything as needed, it's a solid performer. Before that I had issues with the stock firmware and Tomato firmware, but the new version of DD-WRT improved everything.

[Ruin]

Thanks for all of the replies guys. I'll try to hit on some here real quick.

I have no clue what model router I have, firmware or anything. The PC I setup the network on is now in pieces and in the process of becoming my own server. The CD is... well, only God knows where.

It's not the Cable Modem. I've had it for years and have never had any problems from it. When running a hard line to my PC it's awesome. No problems at all. But, even with a hard-line through the wireless router to the PC, I lose speed. Obviously the network never drops (even when others complain of it dropping, mine stays up). Well, not sure if the network stays up, or if I just keep the internet connection. Anyway, I know the cable modem is good.

My wireless router looks like a Tie Fighter also. It's one contained unit though, no wires other than to the cable modem. I might break down and get a D-Link. It depends on the situation in a month when I move into my new place.

The wireless in my PC is built on to my MoBo. So it's basically brand new. But, like I said, the problem occurs on any wireless PC/Laptop in my house. It's not unique to my PC. My laptop does it, my mom's, my mom's boyfriend's does, my sister's PC with the wireless card does, my girlfriend's, my room-mate's... all of them experience the same thing.

Any idea how I "change the channel" on my router. It's extremely basic, and I don't recall seeing the settings for it on the router.

Nutlink, how do I "tune" the wireless?

Thanks again guys, I'm just really aggravated by all of this. I'm trying to update games, software, yadda yadda, and I keep losing 300MB+ downloads because 1)It runs so slow it takes hours and 2)During that time period the network will drop at least once, and my download is gone.

[Buehgler_AS]

@Ruin, to the best of my knowledge all the Linksys wireless devices use a web interface for configuring the device -- sure they give you the CD with the device, but you really do not need it. All you need to do is point a web browser at it and log in. I believe the Linksys default is typically a blank username and "admin" for the password. Once you get the web interface up you can adjust the channel that the router uses as well as its security settings.

As for the source of your problems, my first suspicion is that you are having interference issues. It may well be that a neighbor is running a wireless device on the same channel as you and degrading your performance. If you do not have any security set up, it may also be that your neighbor is "borrowing" your network connection and hurting your performance.

While the Linksys devices are not great, I have used them often and never had any really bad problems with them. As such, I would strongly suggest that you look into how your device is configured before you go dropping more $ on a new device that may have the same interference or "incidental borrowing" problem that may be plaguing your performance now.

[CrowmanUK]

This should get you into the settings on it mate

http://www.tech-faq.com/setup-linksys-router.shtml

If you turn the router upside down it should have the router details on a sticker somewhere, once you're logged into the you'll see what firmware is installed on the setup screen too

Edited June 27, 2008 by CrowmanUK

[Nutlink]

Any idea how I "change the channel" on my router. It's extremely basic, and I don't recall seeing the settings for it on the router.

Nutlink, how do I "tune" the wireless?

Thanks again guys, I'm just really aggravated by all of this. I'm trying to update games, software, yadda yadda, and I keep losing 300MB+ downloads because 1)It runs so slow it takes hours and 2)During that time period the network will drop at least once, and my download is gone.

Open up your internet browser and go to 192.168.1.1 and see what you can all find there. Sometimes it might show you the model number of your router, sometimes it'll just be a generic Linksys interface. From there, it's really up to you what you want to do, if you want to install DDWRT, or maybe just fix something in the router itself. The guide Crowman pointed out is a pretty good place to start as well.

DD-WRT website

[Ruin]

Thanks guys.

No luck with the log-on at that IP address. Used the ones suggested with admin as either a log-on or password. Tried it with my typical series of log-on/password combos also and still not luck getting in. Found out though that I have model WRT300N | v0.93.3 if that helps any.

I have natural interference at my house. I live on top of a mountain with only one other home - who I know is not "borrowing" our internet. Doesn't reach, too far. Anyway, we have issues with cell-phone service up here, so I hope that's not plaguing me also here. It worked fine when we first bought it which is why I'm thinking it's something related, and not a naturally occurring problem.

Giving DD-WRT a try now... I hope.

[Parabellum]

I don't know if this will help at all, Ruin, but some routers are incompatible with some modems. I had a heck of a time several years ago with a Linksys router that was causing trouble, almost the same issues that you're describing. I dumped the Linksys and got a D-Link and have had no troubles since.

[Ruin]

Thanks Para. I'd rather not have to replace my wireless a month before I move and get a second cable modem - this way my roommate and I can have hard lines. But, it would still be nice to have wireless in the apartment for our laptops.

Anyway, I reset the router and can now access all the settings through it's IP.

Now what?

[CR6]

No luck with the log-on at that IP address. Used the ones suggested with admin as either a log-on or password. Tried it with my typical series of log-on/password combos also and still not luck getting in. Found out though that I have model WRT300N | v0.93.3 if that helps any.

Yep, that's the same router I have sitting in a box in my office. Did you get it brand-new or used? Don't worry if you don't have the CD - you don't need to use it.

Glad you found how to hard-reset the router - http://192.168.1.1/ works for ALL linksys routers to login to the firmware (just like how http://192.168.0.1/ is the universal URL for D-Link routers)

Before you go on, make sure you don't need to register the MAC address of your router with your ISP. That was the main problem with my home router - my ADSL provider only lets me register 2 MAC addresses. However, my cable provider at work doesn't need to register a MAC address, so all routers are plug and play. If you are gettings the router to work some of the time, it's likely you don't have to register your MAC address.

This may sound obvious, but it's funny how many people don't do this: Make sure you make all changes to your firmware from a computer hard-wired into your router.

Once you log into the firmware, I'd suggest you reset it to default settings. Then look around for a reputable site find a step-by-step setup how to securely setup your wireless home network. If you know how to build your own system and reinstall Windows, it's really not that hard to click around the firmware and figure out what does what with some reference from the internet

Also, it's very unlikely that your laptop and family's computers have a Wireless-N network chip, so make sure your router is not set to "Wireless-N devices only"

If you're really ambitious, you can try upgrading your router's firmware to see if that helps

Also, for your desktop/laptop etc, I'd suggest just using the Windows wireless connection feature instead of any 3rd party sofware

Finally, I'd suggest just using WPA for security (not WEP). WPA2 is better, but I'm not sure how well Vista/XP natively supports it.

In terms of channels and interference, there are some freeware utilities that can detect what channels are least used in your neighborhood, although in Ruin's case it may not be necessary at your current location

Finally, I want to say that I was a Linksys "fan" for a years, even before they were bought by Cisco. I thought their products were generally of higher quality than competitors such as D-Link etc. Their products are still generally more expensive (e.g. like paying for a Sony instead of LG)

I've just had more problems setting up wireless networks with Linksys vs. D-Link since Wireless-G products came out. So I have recently just been recommending D-Link to friends. (No experience with D-Link Wireless N though)

Ruin, if you still keep having probs, consider getting a different brand wireless router at a place like Best Buy which will accept a return from you if replacing your Linksys doesn't fix your wireless network woes.

[Cpl Ledanek]

Ruin, yknow I'm not the clever one around here, but I tend to have most problemssss and post it all over the net

I remembered someone mentioning NON-OEM firmwares for Linksys...it voids your warranty, but what da heck, its on the fritz anyways...some even claims it removes the governors (like those in Humvee that prevents you from speeding)...sorry don't have link, but its out there...

any chance its weather related...I used to live around 12 tress, that when the wind blows real hard, my signals would drop (internet, satellite tv, toaster etc...)

I had bad experience with cheap D-link, I've read the expensive models work great. My Linksys WRT54GS v5 takes my hand and walks me thru set ups/troubleshooting as if I was in kindergarden....with animated pictures.

Its that easy.

Hope you solve your problems.

edit: found something...dunno if helps

Dark Deal: Linux on Linksys

WIFI-BOX - WRT54G(s) GPL Firmware