I know there are a few really techie people on here, so would really appreciate your help on this one-

I have a Linksys WAG160N router, and had it about 18months, with no real problems.

Typically I get a download speed of 7-10mb using the wireless connection. Until that is the last couple of days. It is now between 0.5-1.5mb depending on the wireless channel I use. At the moment I am on -

Radio Band - Wide Channel(40MHz)

Wide Channel - 9

Standard Channel - 11 (2.462GHz)

With the ethernet cable connected I get the full bandwith again (7-10mb), and have contacted my provider who confirm there are no problems with the line.

Linksys have been OK(ish) with there support, and I have contacted them via live chat, and by phone but they only gave basic info as my product is now out of warranty.

I have also updated the firmware this morning, which again made no difference.

Is it stuffed, or is there something that I can try before buying a new one? :(

Try inSSIDer: http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/

That will help you find which is the least crowded channel in your immediate locale, you then logon to your router & select the least crowded channel and that should (in theory) help things along.

Try inSSIDer: http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/

That will help you find which is the least crowded channel in your immediate locale, you then logon to your router & select the least crowded channel and that should (in theory) help things along.

Cheers, will give it a go

Try inSSIDer: http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/

That will help you find which is the least crowded channel in your immediate locale, you then logon to your router & select the least crowded channel and that should (in theory) help things along.

+1

Check to see if an updated driver is available for your wireless card in your computer. This may now be an issue due to the updated firmware. Although generally better to run the latest drivers where possible, it is not necessry if things work!

Also if possible ensure your router is at the very least not behind anything, clear line of sight is preferable but, not always possible. Is it nesr any electrical devices as these can have an impact if the they are giving off electrical noise. Difficult to both detect and resolve. Does the performance improve the closer you are?

Good luck

+1

Check to see if an updated driver is available for your wireless card in your computer. This may now be an issue due to the updated firmware. Although generally better to run the latest drivers where possible, it is not necessry if things work!

Also if possible ensure your router is at the very least not behind anything, clear line of sight is preferable but, not always possible. Is it nesr any electrical devices as these can have an impact if the they are giving off electrical noise. Difficult to both detect and resolve. Does the performance improve the closer you are?

Good luck

I have tried all the different channels, to no avail. Also I have the computer within 2 feet of the router at the moment to try to eliminate any issues with receiving the signal.

As I said, I have had no problems with it over the last 18 months and nothing has changed that I know of. I am aware that interferance could be coming from external sources, but I can't find any at the moment. Not looking good :(

Any new baby monitors, cordless phones, or other radio devices nearby?

I know there are a few really techie people on here, so would really appreciate your help on this one-

I have a Linksys WAG160N router, and had it about 18months, with no real problems.

Typically I get a download speed of 7-10mb using the wireless connection. Until that is the last couple of days. It is now between 0.5-1.5mb depending on the wireless channel I use. At the moment I am on -

Radio Band - Wide Channel(40MHz)

Wide Channel - 9

Standard Channel - 11 (2.462GHz)

With the ethernet cable connected I get the full bandwith again (7-10mb), and have contacted my provider who confirm there are no problems with the line.

Linksys have been OK(ish) with there support, and I have contacted them via live chat, and by phone but they only gave basic info as my product is now out of warranty.

I have also updated the firmware this morning, which again made no difference.

Is it stuffed, or is there something that I can try before buying a new one? :(

If you login to your router and navigate to status - dsl what download speed is showing there ?

Are you using just one device to connect wirelessly or do you have multiple devices? If you are using only one device do you have anything else that you could borrow to try and narrow down the route cause?

If you are using multiple devices remember that they all share the bandwidth available both in terms of the internet connection and the radio in your router i.e. 54Mbps (if you are using G) divided by the number of connected devices. Try disconnecting all other devices if you have multiple devices. You should be able to see what is currently connecting to the router by logging into it.

I am assuming that you have secured your wireless connection with some form of security! If not I would advise to secure it with WPA2 and AES encryption if available and a secure password. Secure would be something like this: Br15k0d4

It would be worth checking the age of your current driver on your computer and updating to the latest version if one exists.

Also try unplugging the router from the mains for at least 30 seconds to reset everything hardware wise. Sometimes this helps sometimes not.

Hope some of this helps

If you login to your router and navigate to status - dsl what download speed is showing there ?

Info from status / dsl

Status: Up

Downstream Rate:8189 Kbps

Upstream Rate: 1021 Kbps

Assume that means 9mb to router (cable), 1mb out of router (wireless)?

Not looked at that screen before, useful info. Any ideas?

So have you only had the router 18months?

Linksys come with 3 years warranty so maybe you could claim under that if the wireless is deemed to be at fault.

Have you got another laptop or phone to test the speed? How are you testing the speed?

Are you using just one device to connect wirelessly or do you have multiple devices? If you are using only one device do you have anything else that you could borrow to try and narrow down the route cause?

If you are using multiple devices remember that they all share the bandwidth available both in terms of the internet connection and the radio in your router i.e. 54Mbps (if you are using G) divided by the number of connected devices. Try disconnecting all other devices if you have multiple devices. You should be able to see what is currently connecting to the router by logging into it.

I am assuming that you have secured your wireless connection with some form of security! If not I would advise to secure it with WPA2 and AES encryption if available and a secure password. Secure would be something like this: Br15k0d4

It would be worth checking the age of your current driver on your computer and updating to the latest version if one exists.

Also try unplugging the router from the mains for at least 30 seconds to reset everything hardware wise. Sometimes this helps sometimes not.

Hope some of this helps

Thanks for you input, all info is welcome.

Encrytion is wpa2 with AES.

Have checked the wireless with other computers / phones, all confirm low bandwidth. Have turned them all off, whilst having this problem to eliminate any sharing etc.

Have done the hard reset, and new firmware. Have also reset the gateway to factory defaults and re-entered all user details again. Still pants

So have you only had the router 18months?

Linksys come with 3 years warranty so maybe you could claim under that if the wireless is deemed to be at fault.

Have you got another laptop or phone to test the speed? How are you testing the speed?

I'm saying 18 months, thats what I seem to remember, but SWMBO digging out the receipt, can't find it at the moment. 3 Years sounds promising though!

Measuring speed with Speedtest.net, seems widely recognised. Also see my post above, also checked using the info found on the DSL tab on the Linksys gateway. Should be OK?

Info from status / dsl

Status: Up

Downstream Rate:8189 Kbps

Upstream Rate: 1021 Kbps

Assume that means 9mb to router (cable), 1mb out of router (wireless)?

Not looked at that screen before, useful info. Any ideas?

Downstream = Download = Data coming into your router from the internet

Upstream = Upload = Data going out to the internet

Neither is to do with the wireless speed directly.

I'm saying 18 months, thats what I seem to remember, but SWMBO digging out the receipt, can't find it at the moment. 3 Years sounds promising though!

Measuring speed with Speedtest.net, seems widely recognised. Also see my post above, check DSL on the status tab on the Linksys gateway. Should be OK?

Yes the speed is good and I regularly use speedtest at work as a bench mark test or at least a test to see if something is wrong with the network performance! It is not scientific but a good starting point!

It would be worth checking the age of your current driver on your computer and updating to the latest version if one exists.

This is probably the only thing I haven't tried yet. How do you go about this?

I have a Sony Vaio Laptop.

That said, the problem seems to be confirmed using my phone and daughters laptop, so may be unlikey?

Downstream = Download = Data coming into your router from the internet

Upstream = Upload = Data going out to the internet

Neither is to do with the wireless speed directly.

Ok. So pretty much agreeing with the speedtest.net I did.

This is probably the only thing I haven't tried yet. How do you go about this?

I have a Sony Vaio Laptop.

That said, the problem seems to be confirmed using my phone and daughters laptop, so may be unlikey?

If other devices have the same issue then this reduces the chance of this being a driver issue. Have you tried the performance with only one devie connected?

If other devices have the same issue then this reduces the chance of this being a driver issue. Have you tried the performance with only one devie connected?

Yep, Currently only the laptop using the Wifi

Ok. So pretty much agreeing with the speedtest.net I did.

Are you getting those speeds on the ethernet cable?

Try turning off all security on the router to test. If that doesn't work then it looks like it is faulty to be honest. It can't be the drivers on the laptop if other devices are experiencing the same issues.

Are you getting those speeds on the ethernet cable?

Try turning off all security on the router to test. If that doesn't work then it looks like it is faulty to be honest. It can't be the drivers on the laptop if other devices are experiencing the same issues.

Yeah, about 7-10mb usually.

Tested a few times today with the cable and about 7.5mb recently, dropping to 1.5mb with cable out

Will turn security off in a minute, see if it makes a difference.

Just turned security on and off, no difference :(

Looks like it maybe goofed, unless someone has any other ideas.

Will probably nip to Staples tomorrow. They have a good returns policy so if it doesn't fix it I can return it later.

Cheers for your help guys

Linksys come with 3 years warranty so maybe you could claim under that if the wireless is deemed to be at fault.

Just checked on their website, only 12 months warranty.

Found receipt, bought Nov 2009

I know the last router I bought only lasted 2 years

Just checked on their website, only 12 months warranty.

Found receipt, bought Nov 2009

I know the last router I bought only lasted 2 years

Just checked - it is a 24month warranty. As you are only just out, I would still try and claim and calmly quote the Sales of Goods Act if you get no joy in the first instance.

http://homesupport.cisco.com/en-eu/linksyswarranty

Try pingtest.net with wired and wireless to check the quality of the connection.

Interesting comments about channels. Five of my neighbours all use channel 11. I take my lappy outside every now an again and pick up 10 routers and check that I'm not sharing a channel with any of them

go onto a wired comp login to your router and try this -

On the set-up tab change the MTU Size to 1365 and click Save Settings... Click on Advanced Wireless Settings Change the Beacon Interval to 75,Change the Fragmentation Threshold to 2304,Change the RTS Threshold to 2304 and Click on Save Settings... Now see if you can locate your Wireless Network and attempt to connect

record all your previous settings before you change them just in case