21 replies to this topic

[ghostrider]

I set up our first Linksys wireless router over Mem Day weekend. It worked fine for a week, the network stayed up flawlessly. Then, all of a sudden, it started turning itself off, or something, daily - I haven't got the tech vocabulary to describe it. But I can't get onto its network from my laptop when that happens. Diagnosis on the laptop gives a message saying something about "Cannot find the access point. If this is your network, reset the router."

So I unplug the power from the router, plug it back in, hit the configure button - sometimes I am prompted to enter the network security code on the desktop, sometimes not. This was the only way I could figure out to reset the thing, after trhing everything I could find in both Windows and the "Network Magic" software that came with the router. Anyway cutting & reconnecting the power fixes things & I can get onto the network again for another day.

The desktop, which is connected physically to the router / modem / DSL line, remains connected to the wireless network when the laptop can't access it & shows no problems.

Why is this happening, what can I do? Why would it work fine for a week & then crap out daily? All this home tech stuff that is supposed to be simple is just confounding.

A friend from another board who was having similar problems reports:

finally while troubleshooting my Linksys unit over the phone with AT&T, I allowed them to access the router remotely so that they could set everything properly... they couldn't AND then could NOT return control to me... so they sent me a free one... it's their "Two-Wire", combination wireless router and modem all in one box.... pulled that sucker out of the box, connected everything and powered it up in the order described in the card that came with it...hit config... it told me where to look on the unit for the security code.. typed that in on the desk top, 2 laptops and wireless printer, and haven't had to give it another thought in over 2 yrs now... what had been a continuous problem is now GONE...

if you have AT&T I recommend getting one of these asap...

I do have AT&T. Is this my only solution?

[Wilfrid]

Technology sucks, is my observation.

[FoodDabbler]

Lots of things could cause your problems:

1) You may have a bad unit, one that's prone to overheating, say.
Call AT&T and see what they say. Also search the Web for
problems associated with your particular model.

2) You could be experiencing interference from other signals or
loss of bandwidth from poachers. Do you have a password for
the router? Are you using a cordless phone a lot while online?
Are you microwaving near the router? (It's particularly bad if
you microwave the router. You get signal interference *and*
overheating.)

3) Have you been wirelessly streaming hi-def movies recently?
There can be data congestion arising from the practice.

[Peter Creasey]

I do have AT&T. Is this my only solution?

G, Your reluctance to taking advantage of AT&T's excellent customer service seems misguided.

[ghostrider]

Lots of things could cause your problems:

1) You may have a bad unit, one that's prone to overheating, say.
Call AT&T and see what they say. Also search the Web for
problems associated with your particular model.

2) You could be experiencing interference from other signals or
loss of bandwidth from poachers. Do you have a password for
the router? Are you using a cordless phone a lot while online?
Are you microwaving near the router? (It's particularly bad if
you microwave the router. You get signal interference *and*
overheating.)

3) Have you been wirelessly streaming hi-def movies recently?
There can be data congestion arising from the practice.

I simply bought the router at Radio Shack.

Yep, it has a password. We do have a cordless phone, don't have a microwave.

No streaming of movies, only a few YouTube vids.

[ghostrider]

I do have AT&T. Is this my only solution?

G, Your reluctance to taking advantage of AT&T's excellent customer service seems misguided.

They've been OK in the past, but the last customer service experience I had with them, when trying to install our DSL modem, was horrible. Doesn't predispose me to try them again, but I suppose I should. Though since it's not their router I can't imagine that they'd care.

EDIT: now that I think on it, AT&T sold off its DSL business to Covad. They're an unknown to me.

I suppose I need to try Cisco customer service. It's just all so tedious. Wilf has it right but that won't fix my router.

[OTB]

I set up our first Linksys wireless router over Mem Day weekend. It worked fine for a week, the network stayed up flawlessly. Then, all of a sudden, it started turning itself off, or something, daily - I haven't got the tech vocabulary to describe it. But I can't get onto its network from my laptop when that happens. Diagnosis on the laptop gives a message saying something about "Cannot find the access point. If this is your network, reset the router."

So I unplug the power from the router, plug it back in, hit the configure button - sometimes I am prompted to enter the network security code on the desktop, sometimes not. This was the only way I could figure out to reset the thing, after trhing everything I could find in both Windows and the "Network Magic" software that came with the router. Anyway cutting & reconnecting the power fixes things & I can get onto the network again for another day.

The desktop, which is connected physically to the router / modem / DSL line, remains connected to the wireless network when the laptop can't access it & shows no problems.

Why is this happening, what can I do? Why would it work fine for a week & then crap out daily? All this home tech stuff that is supposed to be simple is just confounding.

A friend from another board who was having similar problems reports:

finally while troubleshooting my Linksys unit over the phone with AT&T, I allowed them to access the router remotely so that they could set everything properly... they couldn't AND then could NOT return control to me... so they sent me a free one... it's their "Two-Wire", combination wireless router and modem all in one box.... pulled that sucker out of the box, connected everything and powered it up in the order described in the card that came with it...hit config... it told me where to look on the unit for the security code.. typed that in on the desk top, 2 laptops and wireless printer, and haven't had to give it another thought in over 2 yrs now... what had been a continuous problem is now GONE...

if you have AT&T I recommend getting one of these asap...

I do have AT&T. Is this my only solution?

Which model Linksys router? if its the E3000, bring it right back, and get the E4200.

[prasantrin]

Hijacking this for a similar question.

I want to set up a router that can handle both wired and wireless computers (in this household, one person's desktop is not wireless, but all the laptops are). I did some googling, and the information/recommendations I found are outdated. So then I used Linksys/Cisco's router selector, and it recommended the Valet M10, but it appears it is wireless only.

We currently only have the modem from our ISP, and just switch the cable over depending on who is using the internet at any given time. We are luddites, what can I say? But I would like to move into the late 20th century, so maybe by the time I'm 50, I can be part of the 21st century.

Any suggestions for me? I don't really know what I should be looking for, so any other advice would be appreciated, too.

[FoodDabbler]

As far as I can tell from looking at specs that I found online, the valet M10 has
four ports -- meaning you can connect 4 wired devices to it, in addition to the
wireless connections it provides.

[prasantrin]

Oops. Is that what those things are for?

I will wander over to my nearest electronics store this weekend and take a look. The price is right, so hopefully everything else will, too!

[Rail Paul]

As far as I can tell from looking at specs that I found online, the valet M10 has
four ports -- meaning you can connect 4 wired devices to it, in addition to the
wireless connections it provides.

Yes.

Most wireless routers have at least one USB slot, as some wireless printers require a plug in for their final initialization. I know that both my HP printers required that last year.

[Daniel]

I just purchased a USB Modem from a company called Clear. The service is 35 bucks a month, works on a 4g, and it is month to month. I am trying to install the software for MAC and it is telling me that my Operating System is running a 64-bit and I need to change to a 32 Bit-mode.. Anyone have any idea how to do this? How to change my operating system to a 32-bit.. Sorry I am asking how to run my car on diesel fuel instead of unleaded.

[cstuart]

I just purchased a USB Modem from a company called Clear. The service is 35 bucks a month, works on a 4g, and it is month to month. I am trying to install the software for MAC and it is telling me that my Operating System is running a 64-bit and I need to change to a 32 Bit-mode.. Anyone have any idea how to do this? How to change my operating system to a 32-bit.. Sorry I am asking how to run my car on diesel fuel instead of unleaded.

Restart holding down the 3 and 2 keys. You'll probably need to be in 32-bit mode every time you need to use the modem. There's a way to set the default mode to 32-bit but I wouldn't do that.

[StephanieL]

We're currently having sort of the same problem ghostrider posted about. We have a home network with my iMac and N's Dell laptop (running Windows 7), using an AirPort Extreme router. Yesterday, N's connection to our network went on the fritz, though I still have normal access. I unplugged and re-plugged in both the router and the cable modem with no effect. This seems to happen every so often and the problem is always with her connection, not mine. Is this a general Windows design flaw? I updated the firmware a week or so ago--might that be the cause? We need to figure this out soon, because when I try to set up a new network I never get the DHCP settings quite right and ending up messing up the good connection, necessitating a long call to Apple. (And now that my AppleCare has expired, that call's going to cost me $49.)

[mongo_jones]

i have a 5 year old linksys router, and we have no trouble (two macbooks and a dell laptop connect to it). every once in while i think about upgrading at great expense to an apple airport or some other router running wireless n but these threads convince me to leave it well enough alone.