Wireless Router Help...

This is the place to discuss the latest computer hardware issues and technology. Please keep the discussion ON TOPIC!
Post Reply
Hogfan2502
Legit Little One
Legit Little One
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2012 2:06 pm

Wireless Router Help...

Post by Hogfan2502 »

I have a D-Link DIR-655 wireless router and it keeps dropping my connection a lot now so i'm looking into getting a new one. I was going to get the Linksys E4200v2, but then the Linksys EA4500 just came out and now a lot more. I would appreciate it if you guys would help me in choosing the best one for what i need. I stream a lot in 1080p and play games online. My current router drops a lot and it messes up while watching. My internet speed is the best offered so its not that. SO which one would you guys recommend??
Also, I just bought a new home theater receiver and its network enabled, but u have to run an Ethernet cord to it and i cant from my router now because its to far so i need to get a media bridge or something that can talk to it wirelessly and then run another Ethernet cord from the bridge to the receiver so i can stream XM, Ipod songs, etc. What are ur suggestions for this???

Thanks, any help is appreciated!
User avatar
Neptune24
Legit Fanatic
Legit Fanatic
Posts: 190
Joined: Mon May 17, 2010 10:28 am
Location: Hampshire, UK

Re: Wireless Router Help...

Post by Neptune24 »

Well I personally would go with Dlink. I get very little issues with the products and a long life from them.

As for the home theatre have you thought about power ethernet adapters.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/D-Link-DHP-P307 ... 886&sr=8-3

This is the one I have and works beautifully. And as a bonus, it comes with all of the cables and two of the adapters.

Neptune24
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600)
Mother Board: Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H
BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: AMD PhenomII X4 965 Processor, 3.4GHz(Stock)
Memory: 16GB RAM
Graphics Card: GeForce GTX 550 Ti Memory: 1024 MB
GPU Driver:
8.17.12.7061
Direct X 11
User avatar
Apoptosis
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 33941
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2003 8:45 pm
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Contact:

Re: Wireless Router Help...

Post by Apoptosis »

Hogfan2502 wrote:I have a D-Link DIR-655 wireless router and it keeps dropping my connection a lot now so i'm looking into getting a new one. I was going to get the Linksys E4200v2, but then the Linksys EA4500 just came out and now a lot more. I would appreciate it if you guys would help me in choosing the best one for what i need. I stream a lot in 1080p and play games online. My current router drops a lot and it messes up while watching. My internet speed is the best offered so its not that. SO which one would you guys recommend??
Also, I just bought a new home theater receiver and its network enabled, but u have to run an Ethernet cord to it and i cant from my router now because its to far so i need to get a media bridge or something that can talk to it wirelessly and then run another Ethernet cord from the bridge to the receiver so i can stream XM, Ipod songs, etc. What are ur suggestions for this???

Thanks, any help is appreciated!
What wireless card are you running? Some routers need triple-stream dual-band cards to reach what they are rated to run, so just curious what card you are running. The Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 is the newest card of the bunch and it is triple-stream and triple antenna! This means it can do up to 450 Mbps per band or 900 Mbps on a dual band wireless router.
Find us on Facebook to discover the faces behind the names!
Follow Me on Twitter!
Hogfan2502
Legit Little One
Legit Little One
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2012 2:06 pm

Re: Wireless Router Help...

Post by Hogfan2502 »

Apoptosis wrote:
Hogfan2502 wrote:I have a D-Link DIR-655 wireless router and it keeps dropping my connection a lot now so i'm looking into getting a new one. I was going to get the Linksys E4200v2, but then the Linksys EA4500 just came out and now a lot more. I would appreciate it if you guys would help me in choosing the best one for what i need. I stream a lot in 1080p and play games online. My current router drops a lot and it messes up while watching. My internet speed is the best offered so its not that. SO which one would you guys recommend??
Also, I just bought a new home theater receiver and its network enabled, but u have to run an Ethernet cord to it and i cant from my router now because its to far so i need to get a media bridge or something that can talk to it wirelessly and then run another Ethernet cord from the bridge to the receiver so i can stream XM, Ipod songs, etc. What are ur suggestions for this???

Thanks, any help is appreciated!
What wireless card are you running? Some routers need triple-stream dual-band cards to reach what they are rated to run, so just curious what card you are running. The Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 is the newest card of the bunch and it is triple-stream and triple antenna! This means it can do up to 450 Mbps per band or 900 Mbps on a dual band wireless router.

I have an Intel (R) 82566DC Gigabit Network Connection, Whatever that means, lol. I don't know if thats what u are asking because its not wireless. Its in my desktop and i have a wireless router running everything as mentioned above.
User avatar
kenc51
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 5167
Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2005 1:56 pm
Location: Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Contact:

Re: Wireless Router Help...

Post by kenc51 »

Hogfan2502

First off welcome to Legit Reviews! :goodman:

Hold off on buying a new router.
My job is in this area. (at least for the next few weeks)

Post the following:
- Windows version
- Wireless adapter make & model
- Distance between the router and the pc(s)/laptops(s)
- Are the interior walls concrete?

- Have you tried changing the channels?
- When you search for wireless networks, how many do you see and are there many with high signal strength?
- have you tried updating the firmware on the router?

If you're unsure of anything above, say so. I can explain; that's what LR is all about :)

Ken
Hogfan2502
Legit Little One
Legit Little One
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2012 2:06 pm

Re: Wireless Router Help...

Post by Hogfan2502 »

kenc51 wrote:Hogfan2502

First off welcome to Legit Reviews! :goodman:

Hold off on buying a new router.
My job is in this area. (at least for the next few weeks)

Post the following:
- Windows version
- Wireless adapter make & model
- Distance between the router and the pc(s)/laptops(s)
- Are the interior walls concrete?

- Have you tried changing the channels?
- When you search for wireless networks, how many do you see and are there many with high signal strength?
- have you tried updating the firmware on the router?

If you're unsure of anything above, say so. I can explain; that's what LR is all about :)

Ken
- Windows version - Windows 7
- Wireless adapter make & model - How do i locate this?? My wireless router, if thats what you mean, is a D-Link DIR-655, pretty old i guess, but has done its job.
- Distance between the router and the pc(s)/laptops(s) - Well the main router is setup on my desktop in the far corner of the house, 2200sf, I have an 2 xbox 360's and ps3's all in the same room, BIG play room, so they are not far away. I have a TV in the master bedroom thats wireless, has wifi to stream, etc. It is approx. 30 to 40 ft. away going through walls, etc. I have a laptop thats usually 30ft away. I really have no problem with stuff connecting, my wireless router i use which is also with my desktop, drops its signal a lot, seems its gotten worse the last few months. Prob does it once an hour or so give or take. It always connects back within a min or two, but its just frustrating when watching a movie or even when using my desktop to browse the web and it goes down and u have to wait.
- Are the interior walls concrete? NO, walls are not concrete, well the wall going from the playroom, where the routers are to the living room and other rooms is brick, remodeled and added the playroom and put drywall over the brick, so i guess it could be but there is 2 open doorways and a huge window opening with no window, but all the other walls in the house are not concrete.

- Have you tried changing the channels? Have no idea how to do this, i'm sure its simple, but i dont know.
- When you search for wireless networks, how many do you see and are there many with high signal strength? There are usually 3 to 6 that pop up but mine is always the strongest and at full bars.
- have you tried updating the firmware on the router? I have no idea how i would go about this.

Thanks for the help.
User avatar
KnightRid
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 4295
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2005 5:21 am
Location: Dallastown, PA

Re: Wireless Router Help...

Post by KnightRid »

Wire everything you can.

Let me repeat - wire EVERYTHING you can.

I had the same problems with my dlink dir-655 and I bought the E4200v1 right as the v2 came out lol - love it!

I do not care what anyone says but wireless signals are so picky, temperamental and just plain wiggy that they are not ready to stream any HD content for any length of distance. Heck, I cant get a wireless signal from my router to our bedroom which is 1 floor up and maybe 50 feet away. ZERO signal, yet this E4200 wireless N has plenty of distance available, supposedly #-o

Find a way to run wires. Forget an extender and either buy longer cables or buy a cheap gigabit switch.

You will be 100billion times happier knowing you have gigabit speed to seamlessly transmit your movies and such than you will with a sporadic wireless connection.

I will even go way out and say this....if anyone says they can get a perfect, top speed wireless connection, they are either outside, really really close to the router or have nothing in their house, including walls.
Remember, I am opinionated and nothing I say or do reflects on anyone or anything else but me :finga:
User avatar
kenc51
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 5167
Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2005 1:56 pm
Location: Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Contact:

Re: Wireless Router Help...

Post by kenc51 »

Hogfan2502 wrote: - Windows version - Windows 7
- Wireless adapter make & model - How do i locate this?? My wireless router, if thats what you mean, is a D-Link DIR-655, pretty old i guess, but has done its job.
- Distance between the router and the pc(s)/laptops(s) - Well the main router is setup on my desktop in the far corner of the house, 2200sf, I have an 2 xbox 360's and ps3's all in the same room, BIG play room, so they are not far away. I have a TV in the master bedroom thats wireless, has wifi to stream, etc. It is approx. 30 to 40 ft. away going through walls, etc. I have a laptop thats usually 30ft away. I really have no problem with stuff connecting, my wireless router i use which is also with my desktop, drops its signal a lot, seems its gotten worse the last few months. Prob does it once an hour or so give or take. It always connects back within a min or two, but its just frustrating when watching a movie or even when using my desktop to browse the web and it goes down and u have to wait.
- Are the interior walls concrete? NO, walls are not concrete, well the wall going from the playroom, where the routers are to the living room and other rooms is brick, remodeled and added the playroom and put drywall over the brick, so i guess it could be but there is 2 open doorways and a huge window opening with no window, but all the other walls in the house are not concrete.

- Have you tried changing the channels? Have no idea how to do this, i'm sure its simple, but i dont know.
- When you search for wireless networks, how many do you see and are there many with high signal strength? There are usually 3 to 6 that pop up but mine is always the strongest and at full bars.
- have you tried updating the firmware on the router? I have no idea how i would go about this.

Thanks for the help.
- Check wireless adapter - r-click "Computer" on start menu and goto "manage" then click "device manager" on the left
You'll see "network adapters", click on the + beside it and it will show you

- Distance is your problem here

- Changing the channel the router transmits on might help.
In your browser open the following links - http://192.168.0.1 or http://192.168.1.1
One of those should have brought you to a webpage built into the modem?
By default D-Link username is "admin" and password is blank
You should see "SETUP" at the top, click this then click "Wireless settings" on the left
Untick "enable auto channel scan" (this only makes it hop from channels 1, 4 & 11 ignoring the rest)
Below that there's an option to set the channel.
It's best doing this on a pc connected via cable or at least one thats very close to the router in case you loose connectivity.
First try channels 1, 6 & 11 and see which are better for you.
You could try use the "inSSIDer" tool to check which channel might get the best signal.
http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/
Install this on a laptop or pc and run it when beside the router, in fact it might be worth turning off your router when doing it.

- Updating the firmware is done via this webpage on the modem too. Firmware is just the software / os on the router.
You could download it from d-links website and then load it through the http://192.168.0.1 page - if you do this, the router will loose all changes and go back to defaults, so you may need to change the channel back to whichever worked best.

- Since the strongest signal you see is your own network, updating the firmware might be your only option.

Mike has a valid point. Wireless is never going to complete with a cable connection, not unless you invest a lot of money.
If possible, run as many devices via cable and for those that can only use wifi, you could look into buying a wireless access point and locating this in the middle of the house. The access point could connect via cable or wireless to the broadband router, cable is preferred and the AP would be cheaper.


Ken
connie jones
Legit Little One
Legit Little One
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Aug 19, 2012 4:08 am

Re: Wireless Router Help...

Post by connie jones »

Netgear n600 wndr3400 offers dual-band which means twice the bandwidth. In other words less interference and better connection. Which also means, better performance with a wider range. Some of the network features in this router include the traffic meter, network storage support with a USB for external hard drive, and guest zone. For guests using the network, it has additional security features enabling access restrictions. Parental control is enabled so you can control the household Internet browsing experience. All in all, Netgear n600 wireless dual band routernetgear wndr3400 is a great value for money. And, the setup is also a breeze.
Post Reply