Question

Problems with Wireless Internet Access

Asked by: JRT55

We have a home LAN.  There are 3 laptops and a desktop PC.  Two of the laptops run Vista, the other 2 units run XP SP3.  The Vista laptops connect wirelessly, the others via Ethernet cable.  The modem and router are both by D-Link (I dont have the model numbers with me right now, but this shouldnt be relevant to the problem Im about to describe).

Access to the internet had operated without a hitch for some 2 years or so.  It didnt matter how many (or which particular) PCs were accessing the Net, everyone had unfettered access.  But in more recent times it appears that when the laptop that is connected via Ethernet cable is on line, the two Vista wireless laptops cannot connect.

The obvious fix of turning off both the ADSL2+ modem and the wireless router has been employed, with temporary success.  Ive also gone into the firmware of the modem (via http://192.168.1.0, or similar) and done a full reset, but the problem persists.

One other relevant fact  the wireless PCs still recognise the home network, but not the external one.  Weve also checked the Ethernet cable connection (physically) between the modem and wireless router.  The cable seems in as good a condition as when it was bought, and the connection to the two devices seems well made.  It seems to me that this points to a modem issue  yet how do you then explain the fact that the two Ethernet-connected PCs continue to enjoy internet access?

Im no comms expert so Ive run out of ideas for troubleshooting this one.  Can anyone suggest a likely cause  or logical approach to solving this?  Its causing more than just mere inconvenience, with university students at home and important assignment deadlines to be met.

Is it possible for modems and routers to somehow deteriorate?  Are there ways to boost the wireless signal?  Is there such a thing as a congestion factor?

Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks.

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Asked On
2009-05-31 at 17:12:19ID24452159
Tags

LANs

,

wireless

Topics

Networking Hardware

,

Wireless Network Cards & Adapters

Participating Experts
1
Points
500
Comments
3

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Answers

 

by: FirstDownMagePosted on 2009-05-31 at 18:00:37ID: 24514556

Well.... since you said any help would appreciated, I'll weigh in on your easier questions at the end :)

Is it possible for modems and routers to somehow deteriorate?
      Yes.  Absolutely.  I do a lot of work for non-profits and small schools.  They are small enough they buy a lot of retail consumer networking electronics.  There is a baby-switch, as they like to call it (me too really) that is by Linksys.  I have seen at least 4 of these switches, after years of use, begin to wear out.  Some of us, myself included, can sometimes get into the habit of thinking that it will either work, or it wont.  Its not true.  It can malfunction for months or years without being fully and completely dead.  In the case of these baby-switches, which are 5 port; would work fine, until you plugged something into port 4.  Plug something into port 4, and you needed to unplug the power cable, and restart / reset with no cable in slot 4.  It worked like that for about 3 months before, in addition to port 4, port 3 would have the same reaction.  They finally replaced it.

Are there ways to boost the wireless signal?
    Yes.  There are.  You could get a signal repeater, most commonly a WAP (Wireless Access Point).  OR... you can stronger antenna for the wireless router.  Here are links to both:  (just as examples, may not work with your equipment, but without model number, cant look up exactly what you'd need)
http://www.amazon.com/Eforcity-Booster-Antenna-Linksys-2400-2483/dp/B000FEDRN8
http://www.amazon.com/D-Link-DWL-7100AP-Wireless-802-11a-108Mbps/dp/B0001CLYDO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1243817523&sr=1-1

Is there such a thing as a congestion factor?
    Yes.  There is.  The great thing about Routers, is that they give the active users all the available bandwidth.  As opposed to what came first, Hubs, which merely divided the total speed by the total ports.  Routers divide total bandwidth by the total computers accessing the internet or home network.  Since there is a finite speed, yes, you can experience congestion.  IF you are both browsing the internet, you probably wont notice.  But if three people are downloading movies at the same time, yeah, you're gonna notice some congestion.  You could also experience congestion from the other side, if you go to a site that is just getting overloaded at a particular time.

As to your particular problem....  the easiest, fastest, cheapest route I can think of, to try and solve your problem, would be to replace the router.  IF you can get a hold of the same model that you have, switch it out, see if it solves the problem, you'll know its a hardware issue. (Especially since you've upgraded and reset the firmware).  The problem is similar to a few things I've seen, and replacing the switch or router was the solution.  
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Good Luck with it.

 

by: JRT55Posted on 2009-06-09 at 09:32:05ID: 24582829

Sorry for temporary absence FirstDownMage.

ADSL 2+ modem is a D-Link DSL 502T
Wireless router a D-Link DI-524

Both probably now discontinued I suspect.

 

by: JRT55Posted on 2009-06-28 at 22:00:24ID: 24733713

I solved problem by buying Netcomm NB6Plus4Wn dual-aerial modem/router.

Everything's now working great.  Higher wireless data transfer speeds due to the 802.11n WAP, and dula aerials for stronger signal.

Points to FirstDownMage - thanks.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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