March 24, 2005

• I have searched googlegroups about this, but the few clues I found dealt with registry issues, and one thing I do not do as a rule is a lot of skip-to-my-lou in my registry (a little knowledge being a dangerous thing and all that).
• I'm probably stating the obvious but have you updated the firmware of your router ? I've had exactly the same kind of problems when I installed mine and they all disappeared when I started using the latest firmware.
• Hmm. I have not done anything to the router other than installed it. Forgive me for being a stupe, my technical expertise is both spotty and tends toward applications - how would I go about doing this? Is it like acquiring and installing new drivers?
• I'll second that the router may be the problem... if not, a call to your provider may be necessary to sort it out. I've had this happen twice--once the problem was on their end, and once on mine.
• When I first got my cable modem, I also used a router. We had big outages, and it turned out that, since we were splitting the cable signal so many times (to three computers and one TV), our signal was too weak. We called the cable co and they came out and installed a "booster" (I think they called it) that ended our problem.
• I have had a similar problem on occasion but it happens far less frequently than you describe. In my case it seems to be a problem with renewing the IP address with the provider, where the router never picks up the new address. Unplugging the router and plugging it back in fixes the problem. Regarding updating the firmware on the router, it's certainly worth a shot. The router manufacturer's website should be able to walk you through the update.
• Would it matter if the TVs were on or off? I have four TVs and the modem splitting off the main line, and at least one of those TVs is on 24/7. Plus several cable splits going to various rooms, that right now don't have TVs hooked up to them. However, the cable modem connects into the main splitter - main cable line comes in the house, connects to an 8-port splitter, and the modem ine connects into that, so there shouldn't be any signal loss above the modem line (I think).
• We only have two TVs in our house, and our installer put a booster on the line for the modem.
• you can try plugging the modem direct into a PC with the ethernet when it's on the fritz as a way to make sure it's not the cable modem or your isp's connection. they go down from time to time but not that often. most likely upgrading the firmware of your router will fix it, go to 192.128.0.1 (sometimes it can also be ..1.1) and try admin/admin or admin/password and poke around for the firm version, then drop by the people who make your router's website and get the latest updates.
• sorry, i meant 192.168.0.1
• furl'd. Thanks monkeys, I've been dealing with this same problem for months, but never thought to ask here, or anywhere really. Just wrote it off as "comcast is shit." I'm moving in a day though, but at the first sign of trouble in the new place, I will return here. BTW mere, if you have the cable going into 1 TV and 1 cable modem, that's just 2 connections, one split. The router handles the traffic to multiple computers behind it, and doesn't draw any power from the signal or anything like that. That doesn't make any sense at all. It sounds to me like your cable techs just didn't have a fucking clue or were making shit up to cover for them having shitty service. Your router doesn't split any signal. It gets bits from each of your 3 PCs, and forwards them out onto the internet. When it gets bits back, it routes them to whichever PC requested them. In this way, all 3 computers look like 1 to the outside world, since all the internets just communicate with your router. Whether you have 1 PC drawing 3Mbps or 3 PCs drawing 1Mbps each, it's the same. Bleh. If the booster worked, that's great, but it's because of some deficiency in your cable service to begin with, not something you did.
• Oh my heavens, thank god for this thread. I thought I was the only one having this problem. This happens to me almost at least once a day and sometimes 2 or 3 times. I've updating my router firmware and it still hasn't fixed the problem. I just unplug both the cable modem and the router and it fixes the problem 90% of the time. The other 10% I have to reboot my laptop. The biggest complaint I have (self-made) is that my cable modem and router are upstairs, but I use my laptop mostly downstairs, so every time it happens, I have to run upstairs... I guess its good for my health!
• Another question: is it possible that having the router itself sitting on (and between) metal shelving might interfere with it's ability to broadcast?
• AUGH, what smallish bear and PigAlien said! Thank you!
• Possibly related AskMe.
• Here's another Monkey having the same problem. I just assumed, as others, that either Comcast sucked, our router sucked, or my card sucked. I also have the router downstairs and the laptop upstairs, and must walk the laptop to the router when I have problems connecting. I'm contemplating getting a signal booster for the router but I'm now unconvinced that it would help. I'm glad I'm not alone but it's frustrating to know that there are so many others as irritated and helpless as myself! I'll try the firmware update and I'll keep checking back on this thread.
• Is the lossage between your DSL or cable modem and the internets, between the modem and the wireless router, or between your wireless router and the wireless card in your laptop? The first is almost certainly something you should contact your ISP about. I used to have this problem with DSL in my previous apartment because my telephone lines were too noisy. Also I have had problems in the past with DSL modems going funky due to overheating. The second might be because your router is configured to give up its IP after some stretch of inactivity. Unless your ISP objects, set it up to hold on to the IP indefinitely. The third might be due to a flaky wireless card in your router or laptop. This is, unfortunately, getting to be way too common these days. It could also be that some punk on your block has discovered the joys of signal boosting; this, of course, is easily solved with a baseball bat to the head once you discover the culprit. However, the fact that your connection drops even when you have a wired connection leads me to believe that the problem is elsewhere. A cheap way to make sure that no connections time out is to have a background process pinging a distant host on the net.
• I used to have the same problem on my DSL which had a Dynamic IP address, so I switched it to a permanent IP address, and it all went away. As its reimbursed as a business cost (I use it for work) the additional cost of the static IP wasnt an issue. But that doesn't help you :-) I second trying the latest firmware - the MFR site will tell you how to do it. If that doesnt work, try swapping routers with a friendly neighbor for a few days to see if the problem moves to his house. If it does, you know its the router, if it doesn't you know its your cable or comcast. Of course, not many friends will raise their hands when you ask them...
• I have the same prob with Qwest dsl. It usually lasts about four or five minutes, but it`s sooo frustrating.
• I'm amazed people trust wireless cards. Or cell phones for that matter. Remember the stories about spooks sitting outside in a van tuning in on people's cordless phones? I think you might as well post everything you have to say to anybody to the Net under your full legal name as do that. And cable boosters could be bought at Radio Shack last time I checked; I bet they're at Kmart by now.
• smallish bear: Thanks! The cable guy also said the problem could be because the cable signal was split too many times on our block. Could that be it? I'm on Time Warner, and they were totally unprepared for the demand when they first started offering cable modem (in a college town... how could they not know?). Anyway, post-booster installation (which was free), we went from several daily outages to very infrequent ones.
• You may try logging in to your router (usually 192.168.0.1, as psychobum indicated above), and checking whether it is set to "keep alive" your connection. I had this problem when I set up our network at work-- turned out the router was logging us off after a bit of inactivity, and when we tried to use the 'net, it was having trouble logging in to the ISP's full servers, sometimes taking 30 minutes or more of constant retries to log back in.
• I had this same problem. Time-Warner replaced my cable modem. Problem solved.
• I'm a few days late reading this post, but if you haven't figured it out, here's a painfully easy way to pinpoint the problem. (I am assuming you're running Windows, though this works on any OS) Open a command prompt (start -> run -> type "cmd" and hit enter) Now ping the crap out of your wireless router. It's IP adress is likely 192.168.0.1, so at the command prompt type: ping -t 192.168.0.1 What this does is send li'l packets of data to your wifi router and waits for them to bounce back. The -t switch pings continuously unless you close the command prompt or hit ctrl+C. When your connection problem happens, look at the command prompt. If your ping times shoot way up when your connection goes down, it's the wifi router, or the link between your card and your router. Most likely, the ping times will stay the same. If this is the case, get on the horn to your ISP and get them to fix the problem. They may need to swap your cable modem or replace some cabling.