Wireless Router Signal Stops & Starts

[joe84780]

I have the inssider program installed and made sure I'm not on any channel close to the one my neighbors are on. still having the same problem.

Here's what I've checked so far...

Tried 3 different wireless routers. All had the same issue with dropping my connection every 20-30 seconds. All 3 can't be bad.

Brought my laptop to a buddies house and starbucks and was able to log onto those networks no problems and no slowness. It's not my laptop.

Next step I guess is to exchange my cable modem with Comcast and see if that fixes the issue. If it doesn't, I'm at a loss on what to do next.

[mecam]

I see this problem all the time and it's always the ac/dc power adapter of the router. I hope you didn't use the same ac/dc adapter for all three routers that you tried.

[GlockGuy]

Had this happen at my house and it was the city's "Smart" electrical meter. Also blocked my garage door openers and car key fobs. I covered it in a lead blanket and the problem went away. City hasn't shown up at my door yet, so....

[joe84780]

Thanks for the input guys. Not using the same a/c adaptor on each router.
Currently hooked up to a Netgear WNDR3700. No new meters or anything installed at my house that would cause this problem.

I'm going to exchange my cable modem today and see if that solves the problem.

[JDay]

I have the inssider program installed and made sure I'm not on any channel close to the one my neighbors are on. still having the same problem.

Here's what I've checked so far...

Tried 3 different wireless routers. All had the same issue with dropping my connection every 20-30 seconds. All 3 can't be bad.

Brought my laptop to a buddies house and starbucks and was able to log onto those networks no problems and no slowness. It's not my laptop.

Next step I guess is to exchange my cable modem with Comcast and see if that fixes the issue. If it doesn't, I'm at a loss on what to do next.

Comcast is not the issue if your wireless is constantly dropping (and you said wired connections work fine), your cable modem has nothing to do with your wireless connection. You are receiving interference from non-wifi devices that operate on the 2.4Ghz band. You would need a spectrum analyzer to detect this. You're going to need to get an enterprise class access point to get around this. I recommend the Ruckus Networks ZoneSwitch series. They have been proven time and time again to have the best speed and range, especially in noisy environments. They are a bit pricey though although the price is on the low-end for enterprise grade access points. Keep in mind that you will need to plug the Ruckus into a router since it is only an access point. Another route you can go would be to get a 5Ghz 802.11n (make sure it is 5Ghz and not 2.4Ghz 802.11n) consumer wireless router. Your wireless cards will need to support 5Ghz for this to work but there is much less interference on that band.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B007FIO10A/

This is the 5Ghz consumer class wireless router I would get. - http://www.buffalotech.com/products/...wzr-hp-ag300h/

http://www.amazon.com/Buffalo-Technology-AirStation-HighPower-Wireless/dp/B004UAL5AU/

Here's an article that covers Ruckus Networks BeamForming technology. - http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ckus,2390.html

This article put the Ruckus ZoneFlex 7363 up against 5 other models and it comes out on top. - http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/wi-fi-...iew-32231.html

And this is the 2.4Ghz model, it's a bit cheaper and works just as good. The only difference is the lack of 5Ghz. - http://www.protelecomsupply.com/ruck...em-poe-3-ports

[swissarmyca]

Just a thought - Buy the same router model as your buddy and have him set it up in your house.

[JDay]

Just a thought - Buy the same router model as your buddy and have him set it up in your house.

If interference is the issue that will not solve the problem. Remember, he connected to his buddies router at his buddies house.

[joe84780]

Well Comcast wouldn't do an over the counter exchange on my modem. They wanted to send a tech out. Been down that road with them several years ago. I was tired of them and their crappy customer service and $150 a month so on that note, I cancelled their service. Gonna try SureWest and see how they are. Less money too. I highly doubt its interference on the 2.4 ghz frequencies. I only have one neighbor next to me and he's not having any wireless issues on his 2.4ghz router.

[swissarmyca]

All the best with the new service.

[JDay]

Well Comcast wouldn't do an over the counter exchange on my modem. They wanted to send a tech out. Been down that road with them several years ago. I was tired of them and their crappy customer service and $150 a month so on that note, I cancelled their service. Gonna try SureWest and see how they are. Less money too. I highly doubt its interference on the 2.4 ghz frequencies. I only have one neighbor next to me and he's not having any wireless issues on his 2.4ghz router.

You said your wired connections are working correctly right? If that is the case it is not the modem. You might have a neighbor who thinks its funny to deauth your wireless sessions. When your connection drops is it the wireless disconnecting? In any case if your wireless network cards support 5Ghz I would upgrade to a 5Ghz router since that band is not crowded currently. You'll also get much faster speeds on your local area network. That Buffalo Technologies router I linked to is a rock solid dual-band if you decide to go that route. And as others have said using a UPS would be a good idea since they condition the power to the devices plugged into them, you'll also be able to properly shut down your systems if there is a power outage.

EDIT: I would stay away from Surewest. I used to have their DSL service and it was horrid. I currently have Comcast's 12Mbit package and I consistently get double that speed, this is due to them using channel bonding now.

[mag360]

I am always impressed with how smart as a group calgunners are. Good info. I need a new wireless router myself.

[Johnnyfres]

How many devices are connected to the router at the same time? I see this happen all the time.

It could be that your router is only handing out so many IP addresses or it could be too many devices are connected to the WIFI.

Check the DHCP settings on the LAN side of the router. Make sure it can hand out more than 10 IP addresses. Also Set the channel to auto that usually helps if it is a signal problem (which it does not sound like that to me).

I went through a similar problem and it turns out that I had too many WIFI devices connected at the same time causing connection drops to random devices.

Hope this helps.

[cfm117]

RF interference from somewhere would be my guess. Make sure your router is not next to cordless phone base. Most phones have a technology called DSS which randomly changes channels to prevent eavesdropping, so changing Wifi channel would be useless in that case. Dect 6.0- 5.8 ghz phone should fix that. Microwaves, fluorescent lights ,any video senderssuch as wireless cameras or devices to carry a video signal transmit at 10mw or higher. A typical wifi signal set on high power in the router is about 400mw. I've seen a lot of the fluorescent light cases, check for that.

[Nightron]

I'm at a complete loss here on how to fix this.

Yesterday, I started to lose connection to my home wireless network router intermittently on my laptop. My laptop would freeze/disconnect from the network every few minutes then re-establish. Today it's still doing the same thing. I'm stumped.

Anyone have a clue what might be wrong here?

Pardon me for not reading through the whole thread and replies...
I've experienced similar. As JDay said "interference".

Some suggestions:
-- get rid of any video baby monitors for a while, see if that improves it.
-- if you are using a wireless or bluetooth keyboard and mouse, go back to wired for a while. It is not that these interfere directly in the router/wifi frequency band, but they do "get confused", lose signal, and cause repeat packet transmissions causing burden on the PC's bus.
-- 2.4GHz cordless phone systems can interfere as well... so again, test for a period with those out of the picture

Report back if any success.

ps. if you have B & G configured, try to set to one mode only on your Router.

[monkeylice]

If either of your routers support dd-wrt (check here http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/support/router-database) you may be able to boost the TX power and possibly the antenna gain, which may allow you to keep the router where you want it. Be very careful and follow the directions closely when flashing the firmware, if you try it.