Frequent Conntection Issues

[Zythyr]

I have a Linksys E1200 router.

I frequently have connection issues. By connection issues, I mean that all of a sudden, my internet stops working even though I am connected to the wifi network. Or I often notice that my smartphone are not connected to the wifi network and when I try to connect to the network, it fails to connect. In order to resolve these issues I have to one or all of the following troubleshooting methods:
1) Turn off Wifi on my laptop, turn on again, and reconnect to the wifi network
2) Remove the power plug from the router, wait 10-15 secs, and reconnect the power to the router

This issue happens daily, almost 1-2 times a day. It could be happening more times during the day but I might not be home to observe it.

I have roommates 3 more roommates that are also connected to the network with their devices. In addition, I live in an apartment complex with nearby networks also.

My wifi settings are set to the following:
WPA2 Personal security
Mixed mode: B, G, N
Channel width: Auto 20/40 Mhz
Channel: 11

I chose channel 11 because it was furthest from all G networks.

How can I resolve the issue for the frequent connection drops?

 

[sfx2000]

Two things with the E1200...

1) Older Linksys builds have a memory leak issue with uPnP - try turning this off and see if it helps.

2) Good chance that the AC Adapter is going soft - before replacing the router, source another adapter and see if this solves your problem.

good luck!

sfx

 

[Zythyr]

Two things with the E1200...

1) Older Linksys builds have a memory leak issue with uPnP - try turning this off and see if it helps.

2) Good chance that the AC Adapter is going soft - before replacing the router, source another adapter and see if this solves your problem.

good luck!

sfx

What does it mean for the AC adapter to go soft? Is there a way to check if the AC adapter is bad without trying to find a new one?

 

[fistv]

What does it mean for the AC adapter to go soft? Is there a way to check if the AC adapter is bad without trying to find a new one?

The wall warts go bad over time, I've had a few go south on me, HP jet direct external print servers used to go regularly in our old building mainly because they were plugged into outside power, since we moved into the new building they are all plugged into my 80KVA UPS's, so far so good. Had one go on one of my Niles HDMI to Ethernet tranceivers, it was plugged into outside power, got one from Radio Shack for $8 or so and fixed it. The local RS had a pretty good assortment so that may be an indication that people are replacing them. Do you keep that router plugged into a good relatively new power bar with surge protection ? When I say new I mean ~3 years, they do degrade with use and 'hits' from the power grid.
As for checking it, sure, Oscilloscope and a volt meter.

 

[Zythyr]

The wall warts go bad over time, I've had a few go south on me, HP jet direct external print servers used to go regularly in our old building mainly because they were plugged into outside power, since we moved into the new building they are all plugged into my 80KVA UPS's, so far so good. Had one go on one of my Niles HDMI to Ethernet tranceivers, it was plugged into outside power, got one from Radio Shack for $8 or so and fixed it. The local RS had a pretty good assortment so that may be an indication that people are replacing them. Do you keep that router plugged into a good relatively new power bar with surge protection ? When I say new I mean ~3 years, they do degrade with use and 'hits' from the power grid.
As for checking it, sure, Oscilloscope and a volt meter.

My router, and all other electronics are connected to a surge protector. The surge protector is fairly old, at-least 7 years, however, the "Surge" light is still on, thus indicating it is protecting. I recall there being a lightning strike 1-2 months ago near my building, it even knocked the power in my building...

All my other electronics connected to the surge protector are working perfectly fine. Haven't had any issues.

In regards to the AC adapter for the router, am I suppose to connect the adapter to the wall and test with an oscilloscope? What am I suppose to test for? Is there a specific voltage/current I should be reading for?

Even if I get a new AC adapter, its difficult to see if the router is working fine because the disconnection happens randomly... So it could be happening when I am not home...

On a side note, when I mention "connection" problem, it can also be a sitatuion where my devices (phone/laptop) are connected with no problem, but my roommates have issue connecting to it... It happened yesterday also. My laptop internet was fine, but my roommate was having issues. I connected my laptp directly with Ethernet cable, and it wouldn't connect... I have to remove the power and reconnect.

 

[fistv]

My router, and all other electronics are connected to a surge protector. The surge protector is fairly old, at-least 7 years, however, the "Surge" light is still on, thus indicating it is protecting. I recall there being a lightning strike 1-2 months ago near my building, it even knocked the power in my building...

All my other electronics connected to the surge protector are working perfectly fine. Haven't had any issues.

In regards to the AC adapter for the router, am I suppose to connect the adapter to the wall and test with an oscilloscope? What am I suppose to test for? Is there a specific voltage/current I should be reading for?

Even if I get a new AC adapter, its difficult to see if the router is working fine because the disconnection happens randomly... So it could be happening when I am not home...

On a side note, when I mention "connection" problem, it can also be a sitatuion where my devices (phone/laptop) are connected with no problem, but my roommates have issue connecting to it... It happened yesterday also. My laptop internet was fine, but my roommate was having issues. I connected my laptp directly with Ethernet cable, and it wouldn't connect... I have to remove the power and reconnect.

As far as testing the wall wart, you can plug it in and check it with a vtvm but that wont show any ac leaking through, only an O scope will show that.
As far as the connection issues, I've had a wrt54G with DD-wrt running here for over three years, it worked fine as long as there were not a lot of people connecting and disconnecting, with it morphing into a public network for visitors and customers I just set it to reboot every 8 hours, then every 6 then every 4 finally ended up every hour, cleans the cache out. I noticed when the history of connected clients, not the active clients, hit around 100+ the problem started and with customers connecting, leaving, etc it tended to build up fast, figure memory issue. Nobody even noticed, the reboot lasts maybe 20 seconds. We have customers with laptops that come in and work in our lounge for a few hours, once they are connected there are no issues, the issue was always with new clients connecting.