I really am losing the will to live now. I have two computers and I'm lucky if even one of them is ever working properly!!!

Right now I'm up to here *raises hand above head* with my wireless connection! Now, I am aware they they are ropey at the best of times, but this really is bordering on ludicrousy!!

I put my old pc in my room and attached it to my new telly. The other week I set up my wirless router so that I could play my wii online, which has worked fine.

I then decided it would be nice to go on the internet on said pc in my room. This pc I'm on now is hardwired as I previously hated wifi - although a quick reboot of modem/router usually sorted any issues....

Well, I bought a USB wifi dongle thingy as the old pc doesn't have the slot thing that the lil aerial whatsit attaches to (check out my techno jargon! ). So, I plugged it into my pc, installed it from the disc and hey presto, it worked! "A miracle" I exlaimed, thinking it would be no end of hassle, but no, for two or three weeks, as soon as I booted up, it would connect and be absolutely perfect! Until now

It just couldn't help itself could it? It couldn't bear to see me so pleased with a wireless connection and proceeded to drop the signal. And then again next time I came on. Then again. Last night I rebooted my pc/modem/router THREE TIMES before it finally decided to connect again.

Today I have just rebooted them all three times and it STILL claims to have no signal!!

My connection flashes up with excellent strength, then disappears, then comes back, then disappears and so on. Even when it's there it still wont connect and claims there is no signal.

I have one question...

WWHHYY!!??? Why is it so hard? Why has it suddenly stopped working? Why am I having computicial thoughts over this??

If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions then please do tell me. I'm so, so annoyed with it right now!!! :(

What router are you using and what USB wireless adaptor did you buy? Have you tried downloading the latest set of drivers for the USB adaptor, rather than using the ones on the CD that are probably out of date.

Also, what encryption are you running on the router?

Has anything changed between it working and now? Anything moved about in the house? Anything that uses radio been moved/introduced? Digital phone handsets etc....

Steve

my laptop/phone/pda along with my dads and brothers laptop all worked and connected brilliantly to my belkin N1 vision router but that seemed to stop working recently :( so we are now using the standard sky router which although reliable has nothing like the range and quality of the belkin, will have to have a good look into whats up with the belkin when i have time.

What router are you using and what USB wireless adaptor did you buy? Have you tried downloading the latest set of drivers for the USB adaptor, rather than using the ones on the CD that are probably out of date.

Also, what encryption are you running on the router?

Has anything changed between it working and now? Anything moved about in the house? Anything that uses radio been moved/introduced? Digital phone handsets etc....

Steve

The router is Sitecom and the USB thing is Belkin. I'd understand if it had always been cr4p, but it hasn't, and no, nothing has changed that I know of, it's just suddenly decided to be rubbish! :(

encryption? don't get too technical lol!

Turn your Wii off Loz, and try that

I had a similar issue a while ago - in the end I factory reset the router and set it up from scratch - it's worked flawlessly ever since.

Turn your Wii off Loz, and try that

Wii isn't on, that was just pointing out that it works normally!

nbr - thats too complicated for me :(

where is the wireless router sited in relation to the pc?

I think you will find the problem is with the WiFi USB dongle thingy, if you look up reviews about them they seem to have a short lifespan and overheat regularly, I have been testing one out on my sisters PC and it does warm up a lot, she hasn't had problems yet but I am expecting it to give up. Mind you she doesn't use the internet as much asd most people so probably has extended the life of the WiFi dongle.

where is the wireless router sited in relation to the pc?

In the next room

Wii isn't on, that was just pointing out that it works normally!

nbr - thats too complicated for me :(

If the LED is Orange on the Wii, then it's still on and connected via wireless.

OK, is DHCP on the wireless USB adapter? If not, you need it on. If you, or someone's given it a fixed address, then this could be the issue that it's been allocated for wired, and wont give it to a wireless device.

Also, if you're having signal issues, change the routers channel. If there are a lot of routers near you all running the default channels, then it gets congested and the signals clash

Try each channel until you find a stable one.

If the LED is Orange on the Wii, then it's still on and connected via wireless.

OK, is DHCP on the wireless USB adapter? If not, you need it on. If you, or someone's given it a fixed address, then this could be the issue that it's been allocated for wired, and wont give it to a wireless device.

Also, if you're having signal issues, change the routers channel. If there are a lot of routers near you all running the default channels, then it gets congested and the signals clash

Try each channel until you find a stable one.

i think you've just made Loz's head explode

Also watch out for other sources of radio signals -cordless phone base stations etc. I had to make sure that my router was at least a meter away from the phone base stations, or the signal dropped like a stone!

Phil

Yes sounds like a channel problem and I would try this first before saying the dongle is Fubar.

I had this a while back at home myself and it was doing my head in just like you, it was caused by a sudden increase in the number of wifi networks in close proximity to my house, sky broadband and bt routers popping up all over the shop. Most of these routers are set to a particular channel as a default (I think in my case most of them were around channel 6, the one i was using) all I did was go into the router config screen, then go to the wifi section and look down the numerous items on that page to see the channel selection (its usually a dropdown of some sort).

I would suggest trying to set the channel to one end of the range or other, either 1 or 13 or somewhere close to them. Obviously I can't say exactly how to do this as your router configuration may be different but usually you can just log in by typing http://192.168.1.1 (yours may be different so if that doesn't work try http://192.168.0.1) in your web browser. You will be presented with a login screen where you will need to put in your username and password (usually the defaults are in your router manual if you haven't already changed them.) Then find the relevant WiFi section and make the change, the router may do a reboot so give it a couple of mins to sort itself out and with a bit of luck and a following wind you should be sorted.

Philc is also correct in that most cordless phones, video senders and sky remote senders work on the 2.4GHz band the same as WiFi networks so they can all cause interference problems if they are in the local vicinity.

Hope this helps you out as I know just how frustrating this can be (especially me being a web designer and all).

Rich

Edited 16 June, 200917 yr by tricksta77
added agreement to philc

turn off all wifi items and just leave the pc on with wifi and do a scan, see if anyone else is using the same channel your wifi is set up on.

I wonder if Loz has carried out any of the suggestions, or has just keeled over from information overload and/or errant wireless radiation? :rubchin:

:P

I wonder if Loz has carried out any of the suggestions, or has just keeled over from information overload and/or errant wireless radiation? :rubchin:

:P

It's probably not a good idea to suggest switching from 801.11g to 801.11b, then, as I had to do with my old Netgear dongle before it finally went the way of all things and was replaced by a Belkin one (which strangely worked a lot better with my Netgear router than the Netgear one ever did!)?

Perhaps a straight swap of the stub antenna with a high-gain one might be a good starting point?

I'd be inclined to look at other antennas if there had been interference issues from the beginning. But something has changed with this setup I think. Either something else that broadcasts has moved position or its setup changed in some way, or the USB dongle is on the blink. As the make sounded like a dodgy one in Loz's response for the USB adaptor, I'm suspecting the latter at the moment.

Loz - can someone with a known working laptop drop in and try connecting in the same position as you have your PC? That should then show whether it's the adaptor or the router that's causing the problem. Or what happens when you connect to Wi-Fi with your G1 from the same position? Have you tried that?

Steve

Do any of your nieghbours have a baby or young kids? We bought a new baby monitor a while back and it completely obliterated the wireless signal, even with the laptop next to the router and the baby monitor at the other end of the house and upstairs.

Changing the channel for the wireless was the solution.

I've gone through lots of wireless routers, and the more modern ones do work better. However nothing beats a proper hardwired connection if you dont need the mobility.

At my ex-sis-in-law's place I could take out the wireless by parking my vRS in a particular place in front of their place. It could also be someone else has started using wireless nearby, interfering with your signal but not all the time.

Home use equipment just isnt stable enough - and even if you buy high end gear for use in warehouses for their handhelds, you still need to cope with dead spots as they can happen depending on the type of stuff they have in their warehouse absorbing more signal. It is a lot of work to map that out and ensure sufficient coverage.

I've had my wireless crap out on me being 2 feet away from the router, the LinkSys I am now using seems to work way better for some reason.

i think you've just made Loz's head explode

I should clarify that my "Thanks" above was to ric04 for making me laugh and not to gadgetman for making Loz's head explode :eek:

Might be worth changing the broadband filter (if you even fitted it) on the phone line. they can just stop working causing all sorts of weired issues. They are only a couple of quid to buy. As it stands, i'm having "issues" with my orange router. My PC (hardwired) to my modem/router keeps dropping the internet several times a day. i just re-set it and its fine after. but only for a few hours. Why cant things that work stay working.

This is what happens when women try to do technology

I hate wireless with a passion.. only way i have it working at the moment is having a big expensive router and a "im louder than yoooooo" approach against all the other wirless nets in the building

Lead-lined walls, and copious amounts of aluminium foil - that's the answer, I'm telling you all!

I'm waiting for someone to come along with the Faraday cage suggestion....

Lead-lined walls, and copious amounts of aluminium foil - that's the answer

Is that what Colin will need to protect himself when Loz reads his comment about women trying to do technology?