Wireless Network Question

[DaddyMac]

I have a question also about wireless. I have qwest and have a desktop at home that is hooked via ethernet cable to the modem. The modem is also wireless capable so when I bring my work laptop home I can work on it from home. I have no problem keeping signal here at the office off a wireless router but taking my computer home using the wireless modem I can't keep a signal. I called Qwest three times last Friday and I would get signal, would hang up and it would be gone. Someboday mentioned getting a router hooked up to the wireless modem and that would solve it????????

Any help would be appreciated and I don't want to hijack the thread so you can respond or PM me.

When you lose signal, how close are you to the router? I had/have trouble at my house and my parents' house. Most home wireless routers are lacking in power and it doesn't take much to interfere with your signal.

FWIW, I kept my 8 port linksys router and took my wireless router and "transformed" it to a wireless access point. I then put the wireless in a better position to cover the house - still routed through the 8 port, as is my desktop. No problems anymore.

 

[ISUFan22]

I have never liked the all in one modem/wireless access points. My opinion is that they are just not as good. If you have some extra cash, do yourself a favor and get a dedicated access point or router/access point and connect the modem to that.

I agree. We could've bought the all-in-one and didn't. Granted, I already had a wireless router, but I still would have stayed away from the all-in-one. As you are having troubles, a few others I know struggle with similar issues.

I have one of the older routers...nothing fancy but I can get signal anywhere in the house - up or down. When we finish the basement, it may be tougher to get a signal as the office (including the router) will move down there - so I'll likely upgrade at that time.

 

[Cyclonesrule91]

When you lose signal, how close are you to the router?

I was having basically the same problem when I had my laptop 5 ft in front of the modem as I was having 1 floor beneath the modem. At times the wireless light would be flashing just as strong as the internet light and other times it would just be a brief bleep on light every couple seconds.

 

[DaddyMac]

I...when I had my laptop 5 ft in front of the modem as I was having 1 floor beneath the modem.

Huh? Was it 5' away, or a floor down. Is your signal strength going from strong to nothing? Or is it weak all the time?

Regardless, I don't think you should have a problem. Mine is a floor above where I usually use my laptop - physically maybe 10'. But even that degrades the signal substantially. BTW, I have a basic D-Link wireless router wired to a Linksys router.. Sounds like you're getting a crap signal/consistency fromt the modem/router. Might be others comments about the combo modem/router. I haven't had one, so I can't speak to them. Might want to try getting a nicer wireless router and see if that helps.

The wireless routers are usually less expensive than wireless access points. But you can effectively turn your router INTO an access point. I have instructions at home and it worked great for me. Basically, it amounted to nothing more than turning off the DHCP server on the wireless and allowing the DHCP from your modem/router. Then you can hardwire your wireless router to any location.

Take it fwiw - I'm not any sort of expert on this by any means. Just a little experience with a similar issue.

 

[keepngoal]

Yep, I secured it with WEP, as opposed to WAP. I have heard that although WEP is less secure, WAP can slow down transmission speed.

That is a misconception for the most part. If your router is 54Mbs and your Internet speed from DSL is roughly 7Mbs, does the security of WAP really slow down your speed to less than 7Mbs? Of course not, so the more secure your network the better. Even though your router can handle faster speeds, you are only getting your Internet at 7Mps. If you are worried about getting all of your 54+Mps speed between PCs in your local network, then lower the security.

 

[TykeClone]

That is a misconception for the most part. If your router is 54Mbs and your Internet speed from DSL is roughly 7Mbs, does the security of WAP really slow down your speed to less than 7Mbs? Of course not, so the more secure your network the better. Even though your router can handle faster speeds, you are only getting your Internet at 7Mps. If you are worried about getting all of your 54+Mps speed between PCs in your local network, then lower the security.

WEP security is absolutely not secure: How To Crack 128-bit Wireless Networks In 60 Seconds

 

[isucyfan]

That is a misconception for the most part. If your router is 54Mbs and your Internet speed from DSL is roughly 7Mbs, does the security of WAP really slow down your speed to less than 7Mbs? Of course not, so the more secure your network the better. Even though your router can handle faster speeds, you are only getting your Internet at 7Mps. If you are worried about getting all of your 54+Mps speed between PCs in your local network, then lower the security.

Interesting. I got my info from the Linksys tech guy who I was chatting with when there was a glitch in my installation.

 

[bos]

I wouldnt worry too much about people hacking your network at home. WEP and MAC address filtering should be enough for you.

 

[burtonjk]

I would try a factory reset of the modem first and see if that fixes the problem. Typically this is done by holding in the reset button when it's off (or unplugged) and plugging it in while holding the reset button. Continue holding the reset button for 20 or so seconds then unplug and plug it back in again.