RedM Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 I have a Netgear wireless router with Netgear wireless card. Connecting seems to be a bit hit and miss. I sometimes get a 'very good' connection at 54mbps but then it degrades and often drops out altogether, sometimes taking five or more minutes to reconnect. What gives? How can I make it more stable? The router is right next to the monitor as that's the only place we can put it that's both fairly high and presenting a clear line of sight to most of the flat. Cabling is also a limiting factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyT Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 Netgear's good stuff. Line of site shouldn't worry it. Are you sure you're connecting to the right router? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitesupraboy2 Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 Are there any stone walls between you and the lapatop / device. Also model of router please mate as the lowest range is actually not that good on range but the more expensive stuff of theirs is great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl0s Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 You probably need to try a different channel. What I tend to do is fire off an ongoing ping from the computer to the router, and watch for dropped packets and long return times. From a cmd prompt in Windows, do: ping -t [ip address of router] and leave that going. You shouldn't see any pauses (which are dropped packets or delays), it should be a constant "reply from" every second, with responses times of no more than a few milliseconds (I am seeing 1ms here). If there are delays, dropped packets or hundreds of milliseconds, then you should try changing the channel from the router. You can leave the ping running. When you change the channel on the router, the connection will be dropped momentarily, but it will reconnect and the ping will carry on. Most routers use channel 11 as default. If there is a problem on 11 I tend to try 1, then 6, then any others after that if still no improvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitesupraboy2 Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 http://www.netgear.co.uk/rangemaxnext_comparisontable.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitesupraboy2 Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 You probably need to try a different channel. What I tend to do is fire off an ongoing ping from the computer to the router, and watch for dropped packets and long return times. From a cmd prompt in Windows, do: ping -t [ip address of router] and leave that going. You shouldn't see any pauses (which are dropped packets or delays), it should be a constant "reply from" every second, with responses of no more than a few milliseconds. If there are delays, dropped packets or hundreds of milliseconds, then you should try changing the channel from the router. You can leave the ping running. When you change the channel on the router, the connection will be dropped momentarily, but it will reconnect and the ping will carry on. Most routers user channel 11 as default. If there is a problem on 11 I tend to try 1, then 6, then any others after that if still no improvement. Carlos i have a question about channels. I know 11 is default and 1 and 6 is then recommended, why is it those 3 channels are recommended first? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted November 24, 2007 Author Share Posted November 24, 2007 I have a DG834Gv2 with the latest firmware. Nothing stands between the router and the laptop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveK Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 I had this all the time, and changing channels didn't help. However - changing the configuration so it was only using 'b' not 'b&g' 100% solved it. Never had a problem with it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl0s Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 Carlos i have a question about channels. I know 11 is default and 1 and 6 is then recommended, why is it those 3 channels are recommended first? I go for 1 because it's far away from 11, and it's usually 11 that's being a problem since that tends to be set as default. The frequencies go up channel by channel so channel 1 is the lower freq and 11 (or 13 eu/14 whereever else) are the highest. They are generally talked about though because they do not overlap each other in terms of frequency band. Each channel doesn't use just its own different frequency, they use a bit below and a bit above, and this bit below and bit above crosses over (overlaps) with the next two or so channels above and below, so if you were wanting two networks which would not interfere at all in the same place, you would use channels 1 & 6, or 6 & 11, or 1 & 11. If you wanted three WLANs in the same environment that didn't interfere, you'd use 1, 6 & 11. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl0s Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 I had this all the time, and changing channels didn't help. However - changing the configuration so it was only using 'b' not 'b&g' 100% solved it. Never had a problem with it again. There's all sorts that can cause problems, but channel numbers is a good place to start. The 3com OfficeConnect 108mbps (Atheros) unit I have here was absolutely useless out of the box until I disabled WME (wireless multimedia extensions). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveK Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 There's all sorts that can cause problems, but channel numbers is a good place to start. The 3com OfficeConnect 108mbps (Atheros) unit I have here was absolutely useless out of the box until I disabled WME (wireless multimedia extensions). I wasn't suggesting otherwise. I'd already tried all channels - and would recommend that anybody tried that first - but it didn't solve the problem for me, and I did have exactly the same model of router. I only tried what I suggested above when somebody I work with - who had been having exactly the same problem - said he'd done that and it solved the problem. And sure enough, it did for me as well - totally. Never had another problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted November 24, 2007 Author Share Posted November 24, 2007 I've tried the b&g thing. Didn't work. I've tried the channel thing. Didn't work. When I first installed the card it found the 'Netgear' connection and I connected to it. Now it can't find it at all despite all the relevant lights being on at the router etc etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 Have you reset the router back to it's default config yet M? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted November 24, 2007 Author Share Posted November 24, 2007 I have, Michael. Made no difference! It's the signal strngth that seems to be the issue. It keeps fluctuating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl0s Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 Does your 'very good' signal show as not many bars on the strength indicator? Some buildings are just not wifi friendly at all, and you need to find alternate solutions. I have overcome these problems with HomePlug gear in a few cases. You can either use two HomePlug ethernet bridges and run cable into your workstation or use a switch with one if you have a few computers within cabling distance, or you can use one homeplug bridge on the router side and a homeplug wireless ap in the blackspot. Could just be an iffy Router/Access Point though if the signal is good and strong one minute then not the next. You don't have other 2.4GHz running close by like cordless phones, microwaves, bluetooth transceivers do you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted November 24, 2007 Author Share Posted November 24, 2007 Four to five bars. I've just downloaded some new Intel drivers for wi-fi after reading about a solution. While the card didn't see my network it has managed to connect to it and stay connected for the last eight minutes. If I can last for 30 minutes it'll be a record and, hopefully, a sign that the problem is cured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl0s Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 Your netgear wireless card is intel-based? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted November 24, 2007 Author Share Posted November 24, 2007 Your netgear wireless card is intel-based? Have a look at this thread: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/788538.html I'm not sure if I've fully understood it but it seems to be working. The speed does go up and down but the connection doesn't drop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl0s Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 Have a look at this thread: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/788538.html I'm not sure if I've fully understood it but it seems to be working. The speed does go up and down but the connection doesn't drop. I'm afraid that chap has an Intel wireless card in his laptop, so he's been instructed to go get the newest drivers for his wireless card. I'd be very surprised if your Netgear card used an Intel Pro/Wirelss chip, although I guess it could be possible. It's either not going to work or you're going to be seeing the placebo effect. If you tell us what model your Netgear wireless card is, we might be able to tell you where to get newer drivers than Netgear's own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted November 24, 2007 Author Share Posted November 24, 2007 It's a WG511v2 and it lost connection shortly after my last post. Even holding the laptop right next to the router won't get it to connect. It could be that the card is duff. Our first router had to go back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl0s Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 Go into Device Manager and bring up the properties on that Netgear card, then go to the drivers tab and click "Driver Details". What does it say? Ralink, Atheros, Broadcom etc.? Oh, also you could try turning off any non-standard features in there. XPress, Afterburner, x2, superhot, superfast etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted November 24, 2007 Author Share Posted November 24, 2007 Marvell Semiconductor Version is 3.01.01.07 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl0s Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 Marvell Semiconductor Version is 3.01.01.07 I have zero experience with them, except that I've seen their Fast Ethernet chip on some very cheap motherboards. Anyhoo, I have heard of them, but they aren't offering any drivers on their website for you (http://www.marvell.com ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted November 25, 2007 Author Share Posted November 25, 2007 I'm going to take it back to PC World in the morning and get it swapped. Hopefully it'll make a difference. All I want is to surf the forum while sat on the sofa. Is that too much to ask? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl0s Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 I'm going to take it back to PC World in the morning and get it swapped. Hopefully it'll make a difference. All I want is to surf the forum while sat on the sofa. Is that too much to ask? Good idea. If you can buy the Netgear 108mbps stuff, that's usually better. It's based on Atheros chips which I have always found to work extremely well, although they don't offer drivers directly to the end user either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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