Wireless disconnection problem when using Netgear router

[nene4help]

Hi All,

I have recently got my O2 broadband(premium), on 23.04.2010 to be precise. Since day 1, I noticed that the O2 has issues. When I connect my laptop with cable to the router, I get around 16-17Mb but when I connect it through wireless I only get 9mb and sometimes as low as 4mb. Since I had my netgear router that I have used when I was with SKY, I flashed it and started using it instead. I noticed, with netgear, that the speeds are about same as what I get with the cable. I was so happy with this.

However, I noticed that the wireless connection to my laptop keeps on dropping in every 2 mins. Strangely the wireless light stays blinking on the router. It sometimes gets connected itself but I am having to do it sometimes. I tried with the cable directly and haven't seen any issues. Yesterday, I connected my O2 router back and there was no connection issue(still very slow speed with O2 router).

What could be the reason for this disconnection? Have I missed something in the settings? Or Did I do something wrong while flashing the router(just FYI..I have win7 on my laptop and I have flashed the router on it by running the programs with administrator rights).

I would be grateful if someone here could help me in resolving it. I do not want to use O2 router for obvious reasons.

Thanks alot,

-Nene.

[Saturday]

Can't say I found much difference in wireless performance between my O2 box and my old Sky Netgear. If you're seeing a big difference then it could be that the channel the O2 box is set to is seeing some interference. Try experimenting with different channels.

With regard to the wireless dropping out on the Netgear, I doubt it's anything to do with the flashing having failed in some way. Could (again) be down to a noisy wireless environment, incompatibility between the router and your laptop wireless card or a faulty router (wireless component).

[nene4help]

Hi,

Thanks a lot for the quick reply. I did try changing different channels but it didn't help unfortunately. Any thoughts?

Coming to the netgear..I had been using the same router and laptop for around 3 years before I moved to O2. So there can't be any incompatability issue unless flashing has done something.

What do you mean by noisy wireless environment? What can I do to cutdown the noisiness. I wouldn't mind using O2 wireless box if it is going to give me the same speed as what I would get with netgear. Else, I would like to stick with netgear itself.

Thanks,
-Nene.

[Saturday]

Originally Posted by nene4help

What do you mean by noisy wireless environment?

In the UK there are 13 channels available for either of your routers to use, unfortunately they are neither discrete (i.e. they overlap each other) and they are heavily used by other devices legitimately and polluted by such things as microwave ovens, Dect phones, baby monitors, TV senders and so on. You've tried changing channels but apparently that hasn't helped (which is unusual).

In many households it is near impossible to get away from radio frequency noise. All you can do is keep your router as far away as possible from sources of interference and the distance between the router and laptop as short as possible.

Netgear have regularly released new firmware for your router and it is quite likely that as well as changes to the ADSL side of things they've made changes to the wireless side. Are you using the latest (V1.03.23 unless it's changed again)?

[nene4help]

Hi,

My router is indeed at the same place as my telephones, which is just next to a radiator. Could this be an issue? I have changed the channel selection on my O2 router from AUTO to channel 2(I used some application to see the channel that is not being used in my neighbourhood and 2 was the one that was free 11 and 1 being the ones that are used by many). Coming to the distance between laptop and router...all my speedtests and experiments are being done with in a half a meters distance from router. So I dont think distance is a problem either.

I dont remember the exact version of the firmware that I have downloaded(and cannot check it as I am in office now) but have downloaded the most recent one from DGTEAM's website.

I am really pissed off with this issue. I am happy with the speed that I am getting with LAN cable but obviously I would want to use my laptop through wireless. Any pointers would be highly appreciated. Would calling O2 help? May be there is something wrong with O2 router that I got? OR would buying a new router help?

Thanks,
-Nene.

[Saturday]

I don't think that your O2 router is likely to be faulty and I don't see the point of calling O2 but that's your choice.

Changing from auto to channel 2 is a start and checking what other channels are in use locally is also sensible but channel 2 overlaps channel 1 which you say is heavily used. it could also easily be that channel 2 is also swamped with extraneous noise. You'll have to go through the channels one by one before you can be sure you're using the best one for your location. Yes, keep your router well away from any wireless/Dect phones - they squirt out huge amounts of noise.

Is there any reason you need to use DGTeam firmware? It's great if you need to have greater control over your router but it is different bits of firmware cobbled together and often not the latest drivers. The latest Netgear generic may be a better choice for you.

[nene4help]

Thanks a lot for the quick reply and all your help. I will try playing around with the channels tonight and will let you know.

reg the firmware..I saw some posts in this forum about DGteam and thought that was the only way that I could flash my router by. I didn't know that I could do it through netgear's. Can I now get the netgear firware on my router given the fact that it already has DGTeam's? If so, could you please direct me to the link where I can get the netgear's firware and the steps to follow to flash my router with it. I am using DG834GT. Would flashing it again cause any issues?

Also, does the fact that my O2 line is up only a week ago have any link to this slowness/link drop off? I understand that there would be some testing on my line for first 10 days or so. How can I know is my line is still under test or is it stable?

Thanks,
-Nene.

[Saturday]

As you've already flashed the router away from the original Sky firmware then you should simply be able to apply Netgear generic firmware. Download the image to your PC, log into the router, choose "router upgrade" from the menu, select the image file and click "upload" and then leave it to do its stuff. Don't use wireless for this - connect with wire. Of course, flashing a router carries some risk so you'll have to take this into consideration, but the chances of a problem are small.

Firmware

No, I don't think the newness of your line has any bearing. When testing is/was complete you should get an email.

[nene4help]

Hi Saturday,

I am in the process of reflashing my router..will keep you posted.

Meanwhile, may I know how to check my stats using super user?

Thanks,
-Nene.

[Saturday]

You'll find details in our tutorial section.