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| Wireless Router losing contact 09/07/2010 at 22:33 #1438 | |
Peter Bennet
5402 posts |
Possible an impossible question to answer but you never know. For the last 48 hours or so my laptop has started to lose contact at random intervals with my wireless router and when i go to try an reconnect I can't find it listed, then after a few attempts it appears again and I connect- sometimes it reconnects itself with no intervention. So is that potentially a router fault or a laptop fault? In favour of a laptop fault is that other routers nearby (there is one unprotected) also drop out if I connect. and as I type this my laptop is but 3 feet from the router. But on the other hand it still finds other routers in the area during this down time some with quite weak signals. The router itself is flickering away merrily so looks OK. Is it possible the hot weather has some affect? Any ideas as to how I might be able to test either one or the other? Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply |
| Wireless Router losing contact 09/07/2010 at 22:33 #10006 | |
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Peter Bennet
5402 posts |
Possible an impossible question to answer but you never know. For the last 48 hours or so my laptop has started to lose contact at random intervals with my wireless router and when i go to try an reconnect I can't find it listed, then after a few attempts it appears again and I connect- sometimes it reconnects itself with no intervention. So is that potentially a router fault or a laptop fault? In favour of a laptop fault is that other routers nearby (there is one unprotected) also drop out if I connect. and as I type this my laptop is but 3 feet from the router. But on the other hand it still finds other routers in the area during this down time some with quite weak signals. The router itself is flickering away merrily so looks OK. Is it possible the hot weather has some affect? Any ideas as to how I might be able to test either one or the other? Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply |
| Wireless Router losing contact 10/07/2010 at 06:41 #10008 | |
mfloyd
189 posts |
Peter, Is there any way someone else can try to connect to your router? Do you have a Wii or use your mobile WIFI? At least this would rule out the laptop side of things! Other than that, I have no idea! Ripley, Derbyshire Log in to reply |
| Wireless Router losing contact 10/07/2010 at 07:06 #10009 | |
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Peter Bennet
5402 posts |
Ah we have a Wii a XBox both should be connectable to it now you mention it. Thanks Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply |
| Wireless Router losing contact 10/07/2010 at 07:37 #10010 | |
postal
5265 posts |
Peter Has the router got adequate ventilation? They have been known to overheat. If it is in a confined space, can you move it into the open? If it is lying flat on a surface, can you stand it on its edge to give it a greater surface area to expel the heat? After that, I'm out of ideas. JG “In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe Log in to reply |
| Wireless Router losing contact 10/07/2010 at 13:52 #10021 | |
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UKTrainMan
1803 posts |
Peter, I've shown your post to someone a lot more technically minded than myself and they mentioned it may possibly be either interference from some other source (although they couldn't say any more than this without knowing where exactly your router is located and what else is near it) or it could just be something as simple as out-dated drivers on your Laptop. They also mentioned that if it were possible you're better off using a wired connection since it is almost always "more stable" than wireless. Hope this helps. Any views and / or opinions expressed by myself are from me personally and do not represent those of any company I either work for or am a consultant for. Log in to reply |
| Wireless Router losing contact 10/07/2010 at 22:54 #10025 | |
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Peter Bennet
5402 posts |
The router is under the desk on which my desk-top PC sits which is where it has been for nearly 2 years and has so far been trouble free. It is adjacent to all the other computer leads and power cables but, as I say, it's unmoved for several years. A wired connection is not really a solution as I normally sit with my laptop down stairs where I get a '5 bar' signal. Managed to get the Wii connected and it seemed OK- next I need to test it once the laptop loses the signal to see if it's gone there too. It is possible that the lap-top is overheating - it does get quite hot normally and recently it's got worse and I've had to start sitting it on a tray as it was cooking my legs. Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply |
| Wireless Router losing contact 10/07/2010 at 23:38 #10026 | |
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welshdragon
315 posts |
It happens to me and my mum too, I'm not sure yet as to the cause, however my dad complains that hen he's watching TV using a digi-link the router interferes with that. When my parents go away I'm going to do some investigating...
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| Wireless Router losing contact 11/07/2010 at 08:51 #10027 | |
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Javelin395
272 posts 
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This is a problem for me too. As I'd never experienced this problem before I moved (and was switched to a wireless modem/router by my ISP) I did the obvious thing and connected to my modem/router using the LAN cable that came with it. This made absolutely no difference so, being a computer dunce, I put it down to a crap service from my ISP. They wanted £120 to come and investigate so I'll live with it till my contract expires then switch ISP and see if this solves the issue. This problem is very intermittent - some days I lose connection every few minutes, other days it is stable for hours. I can't see a pattern with weather/time of day etc. Log in to reply |
| Wireless Router losing contact 11/07/2010 at 09:09 #10028 | |
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Peter Bennet
5402 posts |
This morning we lost contact on the Wii so I powered up the laptop and sure enough it had lost contact too. Fiddled around a bit and found a reset option on the router control page (had previously disconnected- reconnected) and all seems to be working at the moment. Think I saw reference to a lifetime warranty on the router so we shall see how things go. Peter Only problem is that my son now knows the Wii can connect to the Wii shop etc. I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply |
| Wireless Router losing contact 11/07/2010 at 09:21 #10029 | |
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postal
5265 posts |
@Peter There seem to be a lot of coincidences about. Last Sunday evening my laptop shut down twice when I was trying to run two processor-intensive operations at the same time. I have previously run the same two apps at the same time every Sunday since I got the machine in November 2007 and this is the first time that it has thrown a wobbly. The laptop is on a hard desktop surface; when it shut down it was very hot under the processor. My wife's laptop also shut down and was hot underneath on Monday or thereabouts. As far as my own machine is concerned, the vents all appeared to be clear(ish); I stripped it down on Monday thanks to the comprehensive instructions on the Dell web-site and blew out the insides with an air duster. There were no major accumulations of fluff but the bits I did shift seem to have done the trick. The proof will be this evening when I run the same two applications. Taking the problems with our 2 laptops together, I suspect that there has been some peculiar combination of heat, humidity, marginal capability of Dell cooling systems and minor build up of fluff in the airways that gave them both problems. As to your problem, are the vents and grilles on your laptop free of fluff (and have you either used an air duster or a bit of puff to blow through them)? Depending on your router, it may also have ventilation slots. If it hasn't been moved for 2 years, is there any accumulation of fluff interfering with the cooling of the router? JG “In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe Log in to reply |
| Wireless Router losing contact 11/07/2010 at 10:50 #10031 | |
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Albert
1315 posts |
The DVD recorder here that hasn't been moved for some months, continuously has a fan blowing inside against the heat the last days. My laptop also makes some more noise, but works OK. The new wireless router doesn't mind the heat. Two days ago, there was a connection failure, but not the router, but the ISP was the problem. AJP in games Log in to reply |
| Wireless Router losing contact 11/07/2010 at 10:57 #10032 | |
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Peter Bennet
5402 posts |
Just been on to Belkin 'live chat' and they suggested changing the channel number and that seems to have resolved the issue. Thanks everyone especially for the Wii tip as that helped narrow down the problem area. Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply |
| Wireless Router losing contact 12/07/2010 at 13:05 #10052 | |
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GoochyB
222 posts |
Just catching up with posts after a weekend away and was going to say that we occasionally get a similar problem and it can usually be sorted by changing channel number, but Belkin beat me to it! I think if you get someone else setting up a router nearby on the same (or an overlapping) channel then you get problems. There is a free program that you can use to show channel numbers being used by the networks it detects within range, but I'm currently at work & can't remember what it is. I can post it here later if anyone is interested! Brian Log in to reply |
| Wireless Router losing contact 12/07/2010 at 18:56 #10054 | |
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Peter Bennet
5402 posts |
Yes, as i intimated above there is an unsecured network recently appeared and it is Belkin too- I think mine was left on the default 6 (otherwise I can't think why I would have set it as 6) - so it's probable this new one is also default 6. If you can post the link it might be interesting. Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply |
| Wireless Router losing contact 12/07/2010 at 19:49 #10055 | |
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GoochyB
222 posts |
The program is called Netsurveyor - the website is here
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| Wireless Router losing contact 13/07/2010 at 00:54 #10057 | |
flymo
135 posts |
As a slight aside, laptop cooling pads (Google for photos of what I mean) are quite popular here in SE Asia, particularly in the summer months when temperatures are usually in the 31 - 35C range. The ones I've seen are usually powered by USB from the laptop itself but some also have an AC adaptor. They do help to improve the airflow through the computer as well as perhaps cooling its surface. There are various layouts of the fans depending on where the airflow into your computer is. Using USB only will obviously consume battery life a tad quicker. Just FYI Log in to reply |
| Wireless Router losing contact 13/07/2010 at 13:09 #10060 | |
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bill_gensheet
1414 posts
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Peter, There's also 'Netstumbler'. I did a bit of work with this when designing a wi-fi product. Things to note: There are only 3 independant channels, 1, 6 and 11. A drive around showed an equal spread between channels. It is no use setting channel 3 as that just overlaps on 1 *and* 6. The wi-fi control panel lies a lot. It can show routers/devices that are off and can take a while to see ones that are on. Some systems like trying to connect to those of the same manufacturer, and of course get kicked out if the security is set up right. Setting up for 'use this SSID' does help. It will be interesting to see if cooler weather makes it behave better. As for me, run hard wired all the time ! regards Bill Log in to reply |
| Wireless Router losing contact 15/07/2010 at 05:52 #10082 | |
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Peter Bennet
5402 posts |
flymo said:As a slight aside, laptop cooling pads (Google for photos of what I mean) are quite popular here in SE Asia, particularly in the summer months when temperatures are usually in the 31 - 35C range. The ones I've seen are usually powered by USB from the laptop itself but some also have an AC adaptor. They do help to improve the airflow through the computer as well as perhaps cooling its surface. There are various layouts of the fans depending on where the airflow into your computer is. Using USB only will obviously consume battery life a tad quicker.Have looked at these pad things and they seem a good idea. One thing though, presumably the suck the air away downwards which means it lands on your lap anyhow? I have found gel mats and I may try one of them. Thanks Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply |
| Wireless Router losing contact 15/07/2010 at 14:08 #10086 | |
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flymo
135 posts |
Peter, The ones I've seen out here blow the air up onto the bottom of the laptop and if the fan is in the right place directly into the air vent(s) on the base of the laptop. The warm air should still come out of the rear vent(s) of the laptop, the cooling pad just assists the laptop's in-built fan by forcing more air into the vent. There may well also be some that as you say draw air away from the bottom of the laptop but to me that doesn't seem quite as efficient. The gel mat sounds interesting though.
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| Wireless Router losing contact 17/07/2010 at 09:27 #10105 | |
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Peter Bennet
5402 posts |
Gel mat arrived this morning and WOW what a difference; bottom of the laptop is colder than when it is switched off and there is but a cool zephyr playing lightly from side vent in place of the raging inferno normally exhaled. Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply |
| Wireless Router losing contact 17/07/2010 at 12:16 #10106 | |
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David Russon
50 posts |
Peter, If it is not a rude question , which make / model did you decide on buying as I am looking for a cooler for my Vaio laptop which does get hot rather quickly. DavidR Log in to reply |
| Wireless Router losing contact 17/07/2010 at 12:51 #10107 | |
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Peter Bennet
5402 posts |
Appears to be 'Newlink' and was £8.45 'free' postage from 'emmacockayne' on ebay. Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply |
| Wireless Router losing contact 11/08/2010 at 07:41 #10637 | |
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Peter Bennet
5402 posts |
Going back to the original point. I've lost contact again as has the WII and Xbox so that would suggest a router problem. Except I can't find any wi-fi networks any where in cluding the very strong one that caused (possibly) the problem in the first place and there are normally 3 or 4 others around The net surfer did find something for a brief period but that's all gone too. This is not the first hiccup since originally fixed and it does seem to be that I lose contact with everything not just my own router and it's not just the one computer that loses contact. Have rattled through a number of chanels to no avail. Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply |