I have a quick question that I could use some help from anybody who's good with computers. I'm using the Safari internet browser on a wireless internet connection and though it isn't often the internet will randomly stop working for a decent period of time with only the message that the server isn't responding. I don't know but I'm fairly sure the problem is in my router. Is there anything I can do to fix this problem?

 

Just for this site or for the internet in general?

 

Like Darius said: first determine if the problem is between your computer and the router or between the router and the internet.

(Can you ping your router? Can you ping google.com?)

 

No its the internet in general when it happens and the reason that I believe the problem is in the router is that when I reset the router that fixes the problem for a while but eventually it starts to happen again.

 

Your router spits out ip addresses to all the computers on the network. Occasionally it gives the same ip to two different computers and you get this problem.

 

Hmmm okay but what can I do to fix that?

 

How long is a 'decent period of time'? 5 minutes? 20?

Is it ADSL, Cable, Satellite? Is there a phone using the same line?

Can a direct connection to the router (not wireless) still surf the net?

How many other devices (PC's, laptops, etc) are communicating with the router?

My internet connection is suffering the same syptoms, but on a wired connection. The disconnect lasts for anything up to 5 minutes, and sometimes will happen many times in a day and other times not at all (at least not that I notice).

I suspect my ADSL router is playing up when it receives a phone call. I don't have a phone plugged into the line, so I'm not sure if that's what's kicking the connection or not. Phone calls aren't supposed to interfere with an ADSL modem, but stranger things have happened.

Another possibile culprit is that someone else is soaking up your bandwidth. Perhaps someone in your household running bittorrent, or an unscrupulous neighbour or wardriver. Or even malware sending out it's daily flood of spam.

 

Thats one of the problems, the time it lasts changes, sometimes it can last 5 minutes or sometimes almost an hour. I'm using a DSL connection and now that you mention it I do think that idea about someone else tapping into the connection might be possible because I know my router is powerful enough to pick up about 10 other wireless networks in the area so I guess that could work in reverse.

 

First off, it sounds like you need to lock down your network.

How you do it depends on your router, but most wireless APs will allow you not to broadcast your SSID, to enable WEP/WPA, and to whitelist your hosts.

Second, does reseting your router generally solve the problem, do you have to reset the modem to fix it, or do you actually have to sit and wait for an hour for the problem to go away?

 

The problem is though Nukular that my router is secured its just one of those random ideas I had because nothing else seems to be working, and yes resetting my router generally seems to solve the problem but only for a short time.

 

Does anyone actually use the wireless part of the router? I find wireless connections to be trashy and unreliable, even with a good connection. If you don't have any computers using wireless, try turning off the wireless internet and see what it does. I despise wireless internet.

 

Heh uh actually I'm the only one in the house who does use it and sadly enough, my room is in just the right spot where I can't use anything but wireless. I do agree though wireless does suck and I'd much prefer to use a wired connection if I could.

 

Well that sucks. You don't have any wires long enough to reach your room? Does this problem happen with all of the computers, or just yours?

 

Why can't you just drill through the walls? Or floor? Or go ceiling cat route?

 

1. Open up Internet Explorer type in http://192.168.1.1 (or http://192.168.0.1 for some types of routers) under password type admin1 and proceed to your router interface. Most people don’t even know how to go to their router interface. Linksys wireless routers all have default passwords of admin1 or admin. Your wireless routers interface is where your entire configuration takes place. If you don’t know your routers default password just go to Google and type in your routers model number and “Default password” some website will have it.

2. Reset your router – Some times after many changes and many restarts your routers configuration files can get messed up. Even after you made many changes via your routers web interface they won’t stick. So you might need to reset you router by taking a paper clip and pressing the button in back of the router for about thirty seconds. This will reset it and give you a fresh start.

3. Reset Part Two, another option to reset your wireless router is to proceed to your wireless routers web interface and find the setting that says factory defaults. Don't forget to configure a new password after you've reset your router, otherwise anyone will be able to use your network.

4. Upgrade your wireless routers firmware. If you purchase a new wireless router and it isn’t working you will want to upgrade the firmware. Firmware is the programs that run on the wireless routers motherboard. You can download your wireless routers firmware from the manufactures website. Follow the directions to a tee or you will brick your router. Do not upgrade your wireless routers firmware via a wireless connection and don’t turn off the wireless router when it is in the middle of upgrading.

5. Bad signal = Bad placement. Before you return your wireless router because you don’t get a signal try to place it in a new spot. Remember the default Di-Pole omni-directional antennas do not transmit from the tips they transmit from the sides radiating in a doughnut type pattern. So if you have your wireless router near a outside wall half your signal is going outside.

6. Can’t acquire a network address means that you don’t have your wireless routers DHCP settings configured or your wireless adapters not configured correctly?

7. If you can’t seem to connect to a wireless router even though you know that you have the correct pass phrase, the wireless router might have might have MAC address filtering on. Either add your MAC address to the filter or disable it.

8. If you keep seeing your wireless adapter connecting and reconnecting then you might have interference from somewhere so change your channel to something else.

9. Can’t get to the Internet but can connect to the wireless router? Then go to your wireless routers web interface and check to see if you have a DHCP address from your Internet provider. If you do or you don’t try to renew it then you might be able to connect.

10. After many hours of trouble shooting a wireless router and you still can’t figure out what to do just go to Google and type in your wireless router model and trouble shooting and you will find many more tips

10.5 If all that doesn't work smash it with a hammer, it won’t make it work but at least you will feel better.

Source : Google

 

I don't. One of the first things I did was to disable WiFi on my router and my motherboard in BIOS.

 

I do, but that's because the gaming consoles are a bit too far away form ethernet ports. I don't use it for anything else.

 

This...
A cordless phone can cause all types of headaches

I second this

 

Seriously a cordless phone? I just put one into my room, ach fucking hell thats annoying. I'll take it out and see what happens. Thanks very much for the help y'all.

 

Very welcome. Glad we could help (or try).