Wireless connection problems.

[hunter412]

Hi,

I'm using an HP Pavilion DV6 laptop with a Shaw modem and a Cisco Linksys WRT160N wireless router. I was having wireless internet connection problems so I added a DLink DAP 1522 wireless bridge/AP to my Cisco router which solved the wireless connection problem for one day only but now I can only get internet access when the DLink DAP 1522 cable is plugged into my laptop.

I called HP tech support and the tech support rep said the WIFI in my laptop is working fine and he said the problem originates from my Cisco Linksys router.
I'm thinking I need to buy a new router but I would like some feedback from other members.

Regards,
Hunter

 

[prosnookerproducts]

Hi everyone. I'm also helping Hunter solve the wireless issues at his house. I have an access point as well and it solved the WIFI router reboot issues for me. I know home routers are well known for being flaky, overheating, rebooting, etc.

If anyone has recommendations for a wired router/firewall under 100 do let us know.

I have turned off WIFI on the Cisco router and set the AP to access point mode only.

Do I need to reset the Cisco to factory reset or download some new firmware?

Thanks

 

[hunter412]

Bumping for any feedback. Thanks

 

[sfx2000]

Grab the latest firmware for the WRT160N - Linksys has addressed quite a few bugs across all HW versions of that particular router.

I've got the WRT160NL at a site, and it's been fine... Linksys uPNP has been problematic, but once disabled, the router has been solid.

As an aside - make sure that there is only one DHCP server on the network... if you have multiple DHCP servers, you can see issues like this.

 

[hunter412]

Thanks SFX2000, prosnookerproducts has updated the firmware for my WRT160N router and he also made some adjustments to my DLink DAP 1522 AP and so far (for the past couple of days), my wireless internet connection has been fine. I'll keep an eye on it this week to see how stable it is.

 

[hunter412]

Even with the uPnP disabled in the Cisco WRT160N router (as suggested by SFX2000), I'm unable to get wireless internet access.

I can only get internet access when my DLink DAP 1522 AP lan cable is plugged into my laptop.

 

[overdrive31]

There are too many variables to pinpoint your problem. Is the wireless N 2.4GHz radio set to 20MHz only? When set to Auto(20/40MHz), some clients struggle to stay connected in such a crowded spectrum(using 40MHz). Since the wired connection is working from the bridge you should hook up an access point to it for your laptops needs.

If an AP doesn't help, maybe your laptop needs new wireless drivers or even a new wireless card perhaps.

 

[hunter412]

Hi overdrive31,

Right now I am able to get a wireless connection with the DLink AP but sometimes during the day, I will lose the wireless connection so it's not very stable.

Thanks for the suggestions; I will inform my friend 'prosnookerproducts' (because he knows more about this stuff than I do) about your suggestions and we will report back as to how it works out.

Maybe my Cisco router just needs to be replaced?

 

[overdrive31]

Are you saying the DLink AP is wired from the Linksys or is it wireless ethernet bridge? I thought the DLink was a wireless bridge. I don't know why I assumed such, just figured since most people these days will climb a mountain to avoid running cat5. Makes sense as an wired AP to provide your laptop wireless.

Make sure the AP is set to just 20MHz channel width, using a channel that is not occupied by another access point, and has an unique SSID.

 

[hunter412]

overdrive31,

Yes, the DLink AP is connected by wire to my Cisco router (my friend set it up for me).

The other day I just downloaded the latest Intel wireless drivers along with Intel Pro set & my wifi for Microsoft Windows 7 so I believe the wireless drivers should be OK. Regarding the wireless card in my laptop, is there a way to test it to see if it's working properly or do you think it's OK since I am getting a wireless connection right now.

 

[overdrive31]

What is the highest link rate reported by either Intel Proset or Windows at any given time? If it has ever been above 150Mbps, you need to make the change to just 20MHz channel width on the AP.

As a test you can maybe force the client to use WPA AES(not WPA2 AES) which should force it to use wireless G instead of N, thus being more stable.

 

[hunter412]

I'll need assistance from my friend to help me answer your question.
But thanks in advance.

 

[hunter412]

Here's an update as to what's happening so far;

For the past 4 days, my wireless connection has been very stable (no wireless disconnects at all) and I have not made any changes since last weekend when I disabled the uPnP for my Cisco router.

If I do get any more wireless disconnects, I'll change the channel width of my DLink AP to 20 MHZ to see if it makes a difference.

Thanks to all the members contributing to this thread for all your valuable feedback & suggestions. I'll keep you guys posted if there are any changes.

 

[hunter412]

My wireless connection has been stable since April 9th until earlier today when I lost the wireless connection.

So now I have changed the channel width of my DLink DAP-1522 AP from 20/40mhz to 20mhz and my wireless connection has been restored so I will keep you guys posted.

 

[hunter412]

OK, it's not working out; I just lost my wireless connection even though I changed the channel width of my DLink AP to 20mhz.

During the next few days, I will attach an external USB lan adaptor to my laptop to see if it makes any difference. If the wireless connection remains unstable, then it probably means that I have to replace my Cisco router with a new router.