wireless router woes

So my wireless router's issues with holding a signal have hit my last shred of patience. So. Being me, I checked review sites! Then I came here, because, well, my flist is fangirls and we are know internet access. I currently have a netgear I bought about a year or two ago that is basically the problem child and nothing seems to be helping--I have to restart my computer, my router, and my modem all three when the signal goes out and it went out twice today while I was about to download, so yeah, this has got to be fixed.

So, any recommendations? Preferably something below 150 (ideally below 100!) that has really good range for two laptops that go everywhere in house and yard and also connected to one desktop. I have a cable modem that in theory could go up to 10MB but never seen that, but I get normally 1 to 2 MBs.

I'm looking at D-Link - Xtreme N Wireless-N Gigabit Router that got good reviews. Yes, no, maybe? Better idea?

Comments

[deadlychameleon.livejournal.com]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124190

Hey, 83% of 1,663 reviews give it five eggs.

Chances are, the laptop doesn't have a card that supports the N protocol anyway, so I wouldn't bother spending extra money on it. Also check to make sure that there isn't a virus issue on any of the networked machines, that can kill a connection too, sometimes.

[abbylee]

You're a geek, you want something you can do this with:

http://lifehacker.com/software/router/hack-attack-turn-your-60-router-into-a-600-router-178132.php

That is, I second deadlychameleon's recommendation. And also wouldn't bother with an N router either, a G's supposed to get you 54Mbps anyway.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

I hate you. I am taking my laptop with me and this list. I WANT TO DO.

[abbylee]

I refuse to accept your hate; it won't even take up a whole day of Fanlore editing!

I read that article when it was first published two years ago (aka, do actually find a better article) and I am still kicking myself that I didn't know I'd be able to do that when I bought my router a few years before. I mean, I'm glad the thing just keeps on ticking, but I would love to install some kicking firmware to it.

[lillian13.livejournal.com]

I loved my D-link, never gave me problems and was easy to set up, firewall, etc.

[fairlyironic.livejournal.com]

Before you scrap your current router, try changing the channel, making sure that you're not on the same channel that any other computers in the vicinity are on. Reset the router completely. If you currently control the connection through the router control icon, switch it over to the computer's general wireless control. Reset your password, and disable your firewall. All of these things have helped me get a better connection at one point or another. If you're in a computer busy area (apartment building), or have a crummy internet service, getting a new router may not help. I bought two new routers before I discovered that.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

No, internet service is great and the modem seems fine. *sighs* Yeah, and did the rest a couple of times to clear it and restart. But the channel thing I'll check when I run diagnostics in the morning. Thank you!

[solar-cat.livejournal.com]

I'm currently using a D-Link (not that specific one, but same brand), and I've liked it quite a bit. It was ridiculously easy to set up, has good range, and easy to troubleshoot. (Basically, if it stops working, I throw the disc in my computer, wire the computer up to the router, go through the wizard once, and it works again. I've never had it "offline" more than ten minutes, after my original setup.) And, y'know, it wasn't very expensive. *shrug*

[zoniduck.livejournal.com]

I have the Linksys WRT54G, and it's never given me a bit of trouble. I have not attempted to hack it yet, so I can't vouch for that part.

[wyomingnot.livejournal.com]

I've got an entry-level D-link N router. Not the gigabit. And well under $100. Worked great in the apartment. Works great in the house (I'm across the house and upstairs from the router and still have an excellent signal).

But I don't think they come in chocolate.

[http://users.livejournal.com/oceana_/]

Don't buy the d-link. I have a telekom router which works absolutely fine (Speedport W700V), but I had a d-link wireless card and whenever it lost the signel (like, every other minute) I had to restart, and restart, and restart, and restart...
So I don't trust D-link much.

Is you signal secure? sometimes if it isn't secure, it can get mixed up with other signals from neighbours and the router shuts down because it doesn't know which signal to take (happened to me in my old house). Check your wireless card, too. You can have a good router and a good card, if they don't go together, you will never have a constant connection.

Oh, the internets. Such a great thing if you can GET it...

Good luck!

[lazulus]

I have a Netgear and was suffering that same problem a few months ago. A bit of googling about and it was suggested that it may be due to more wireless setups being added to the area and the channel being crowded. I changed the channel it was operating on and it's been absolutely fine ever since. So, if you haven't already [which you very well may have], I'd try this first before shelling out more money on a new router.

[Oops! I meant to reply to the main post but I see that you are suggesting pretty much the same thing!]

[iphi1.livejournal.com]

I have a D-link router. It's ridiculously easy to install, just click and play. Works with as many computers you like and the only time my connection is lost is when my provider fails.

[quinn222.livejournal.com]

This has probably come up already in your troubleshooting but just in case, do you have a cordless phone in your house? Do you live in an apartment or house which is very close to another house? If so it could be that your router and the cordless phone (or your neighbor's phone) are on the same frequency and that is what is knocking your router off line.

You're looking at a wireless N router, do your computers have wireless N cards in them? If not there is no point in getting and N router.

In the course of my work I've found Linksys and Belkin to be the most reliable on our system.

[scarletts-awry.livejournal.com]

As per a meme that's going around (http://scarletts-awry.livejournal.com/326080.html), I just wanted to drop by and say that I really enjoy reading your LJ. I came because I think your fic is fantastic, but I hung around because you're cool and interesting.

[eal.livejournal.com]

D-Link gets the tech head seal of approval around here. That translates to: I bought one, love it. Dad bought one, loves it enough that he has purchased one for my sister (the non-techie member of the family) as her Christmas present.

Had a Linksys, also worked fine for as long as it lived, which wasn't super long, so I'm a fan of the d-link.

[writerlibrarian]

As others have said if your laptop doesn't have a wireless N access don't pay more for a Wireless N.

I've been using Linksys for over 5 years. Never had a problem. Never. Linksys came recommended by the network caretaker of the city. Easy to set up kinda like all wireless things.

[nestra.livejournal.com]

Our D-Link router was a pain in the ass. I'd go with a Linksys.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi,

So, I'm a geek (without a LJ account, sorry) who apparently can't resist a technical question.. The first step is acceptance, I've heard..

I'd advise to not waste money on DLink products; they're poorly engineered. Had two prone to overheating, one of which also spontaneously went dark and never lived again. Linksys or Netgear are safer choices.

Dunno if interference is actually your problem, since restarts are necessary. Routers should recover from bursts of interference automatically, and your PC shouldn't need to be restarted unless it's having trouble renegotiating a DHCP connexion. It sounds like your router is freezing up - could be capacitors, overheating, or firmware issues. Netgear routers have a firmware backup and update utility in their web-accessible admin consoles. So you might want to try a firmware update before spending any money.


If interference is an issue after all, Wireless-N has a wider band, so more "channels" and less interference: http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/sb/CS-025344.htm

If you want to take advantage of the benefits of wireless-N's greater throughput and less interference, you'll need to get a matching (same manufacturer if possible) N-capable wifi card for your computer. Otherwise, the signal will still be established in the 54G card's 2.4GHz band, and you'll have the same risk of interference, just with a stronger transmitter to hope you drown out the other signal(s). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11n - see Deployment Strategies sec.)

Lastly, these products are manufactured at a rate that QA testing can't keep up with. Try to buy in a retail store with a good return policy (Best Buy, this DOESN'T mean you!), somewhere you can get back to if the product is DOA or DO-just-after-A. Newegg is great in customer service, but you'll have to pay return shipping even on a busted product, which can add up.

HTH!

[elgraves.livejournal.com]

I love my airport extreme.