Wireless connection drops every few days

I posted a thread about this problem a few months ago, but due to the lack of information I could provide, no one could figure out the problem. One user suggested I try Tomato since I used DD-WRT before. Tomato has a great UI and plenty of options but it still did not remedy the problem. My wireless router is the Linksys WRT-54GL. Sometimes I'll come back to my laptop and my internet connection would be disconnected. When I try to connect back to my network, it'll say I can't and give me the option of connecting to another network or have windows diagnose the situation.

Here's some information I can provide at this moment before I go to sleep:

- Internet still works on a wired ethernet connection I believe, so for instance, my desktop will still be connected to the internet. Not sure if another laptop can connect to the router when mine cannot.
- Unplugging the power form the wireless router and plugging it back in solves the problem. I can connect to the router afterwards
- I scanned the channels using Tomato, I switched to channel 1 since it had the least amount of AP's using it. My default channel 6 had 6-8 AP's while channel 11 had around 4-6 AP's. Channel 1 had only 1 or 2.
- My router is about 30-40 feet away from my laptop, going through a long hallway and one wall
- My land line telephone is 5.8Ghz

Tomato provides plenty of graphs and logs, I just don't know what to look for in them. If you guys need any other information, I'd be happy to try and dig it up.

 

I'm just curious... if you find a pattern in your problem then maybe your router turned temperamental?
This happened to our Belkin Router...

I also noticed some - let me say interference - from Vaio Smart Network and Vista's networking capabilities - couln't get wireless internet without the Vaio utility having a profile for the network...

Just my personal experience...

Oh and my mother's laptop had wi-fi trouble due to drivers - updating solved the issue, or at least reduced the occurance of a lost connection.

 

Your problem sounds signal related, but can be the result of one or more things or a combination of them.

The easiest check is the signal strength settings for both your Router and your adapter, as well as the Mode setting. Most people don't know how to properly setup their Router to begin with, and as such can wind up with a signal that's less than needed.

That would account for your wireless signal drop-off, but not a drop when connected via hardwire Ethernet, which is why I mentioned that you could have a combination of 2 problems.

Depending on how many devices you have connected to your incoming broadband cable, it will adversely affect the overall signal reaching your Modem and eventually your Router. You've probably never bother to check or notice before, but the next time this happens, look at the Cable light on your Router or Modem. If it's blinking very slowly (enough to actually see it blink) then there's not enough signal strength at the Modem/Router to begin with. Normally it should be blinking so fast it appears to be a steady light.

As I said before, the amount of devices connected to your cable system affect the overall signal to your network. If you understand electronics, then consider signal strength as a function of voltage over distance, and each device as a resistance device dropping the voltage over the circuit in question. If you have more than 2 cable boxes connected to your network plus your modem/router, or if your cable street connection is a good distance from your house, the signal at the Modem may not be strong enough all the time to maintain a steady connection. Cable TV has nothing to do with it either, as they're separate digital bands.

If it sound like it might be a possibility, you can always ask your cable service to come out and take a signal reading at your incoming terminal to see if it's strong enough - if not they'll boost it. Or, you can always just get a cable line amplifier. They run about 30-40 bucks at Radio Shack, and plugs right into your cable inline. Some like mine are powered by AC, but their function in life is to compensate for the loss of signal drop due to the increased number of devices connected to your system. I have 3 cable boxes and my dual-band network connected to my system.

Back to wireless settings - Linksys recommends that if you're experiencing any problems with signal transmission on your Router that you flash the firmware with the most current version. Go to the Linksys Support site and lookup your Router, then download the most current firmware revision to your system. You have to install it from the Router Admin panel, so don't try and just double click it because it won't work. Open your Router Admin panel, then go to the Administration link. The Firmware update is usually at the bottom. Click on it then browse to the update file.

Depending on your Router and Adapter's wireless capability, they may be matched or not. For example, if you have a G router and a BGN adapter, the adapter has other wireless connection elements that need to be accounted for. Users tend to set their Router Mode to the wireless standard of the Router, i.e., G, N, B, etc. However, when dealing with devices that have mixed capability, you should always set your Mode setting to Mixed.

Your router's transmission setting should be set to high if you're having problems - same with your adapter. If you don't know how to set up your adapter, access it via your Device Manager, then right-click on it and open up the Properties window. Click on Configure, and in some cases Advanced after that to change the settings.

Even though your phone system isn't at 2.4ghz, there are other devices that can cause interference and will terminate a weak signal network connection. Baby monitors, microwaves, even a neighbor's phone set can screw up your signal if you live close enough. Your best option though is to try and increase the signal you have to the best possible strength. If you don't know much about Router settings, Linksys has good online tutorials, and they'll spend time on the phone with you to help you if you have problems. Just make sure you register your hardware on their site first before you call them or talk to a Rep via online chat as they'll only help registered users of their hardware.

 

more information than i expected, thanks!

my wireless card has the latest driver installed for it from intel's website.

i've already flashed the firmware to the latest edition. i was on the phone with Linksys tech support for an hour many months ago. i believe we did a number of things, including something with mac addresses but i don't quite remember.

so, I should boost the transmission setting to its max on my wireless router? unfortunately i can't try anything until may since i've already left to go back to college. my laptop's wireless card is the Intel 4965AGN and I have my wireless router set to transmit mix (B/G signal).

wired connection is just my desktop. wireless, i have my laptop, my cousin and sometimes one or two other users connected.

i have looked at my modem lights to see if the activity light is blinking and sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't, but i'm not quite sure, i haven't checked recently when i get disconnected.

if all else fails, i'll just call my cable provider to have them come check it out. sometimes my internet speeds slows to a crawl and I have to call them to "refresh" my modem remotely. i wish i had verizon fios in my area!

thanks again for the help guys.