Any wireless wizards out there? Belkin router help needed
 

Here's the story - got a Safecom cable/dsl wireless router a few months ago for my ntl home broadband and it just packed in. Got a refund and went for a Belkin instead. Excellent setup - running in a couple of minutes and fine for a couple of hours, then it just starts dropping out. Did some digging around and found it may be channel choice (maybe other wireless equipment on same channel interfering) so I changed channels a coulpe of times, but still get the same problem.

It seems to happen when the desktop (ethernet wire connection) and laptop (wireless) are connected. I also connect my lad's desktop from a wireless USB adapter in his room, but last night he was out and it was still doing it. The power light goes out (although the other leds are lit so the power is actually on) and the connection is lost from both wire and wireless connection. Switching off and back on again cures it, only for it to go again within an hour or so.

I'm thinking it can't be the desktop / laptop settings as the previous router didn't do this. Should I return the Belkin and get a Linksys (£10 more) or are there some router settings that may be at fault? Other than this problem it's great - good reception all over the house, high connection speed, good user interface and its a dinky little thing so it's not cluttering up the computer table. So if I can correct the problem I'd rather keep it.

Advice anyone?

Cheers Keith

If the power light goes out it's dodgy - get a refund

I'm on my 3rd Netger wireless router, and it's still playing up. I'd exchange it for yet another one if I could stand talking to their Bombay call centre again :roll:

We've got an older Belkin wireless router and it's appalling for dropping the connection- and not just that, but dropping it and then refusing to reconnect as it's already connected, or conencting and insisting there's no network despite test packets being fine. Useless thing. We're going back to hardwires soon...

Belkin have a terrible rep for this, do some googling... And also, google for Belkin and spyware, some very interesting stories out there.

I would say its probably faulty...

I've put one it that if you less then about 2 inches away from the router you couldn't get a signal. Got it replaced was all just fine... :D works lovely everywhere...

That was D-link...

The 40 quid unbranded one I got 3 years ago from germany on the cheap (ebay)... not the best signal, but has worked just fine all that time.

Those are exactly the problems that I have had with my belkin router. Bloody rubbish!

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/11...belkin_router/

nasty!

Got a belkin 54g AP. It was rubish and trashed its self during a rom upgrade on the day I baught it. Its been sat in the cupboard every since.

Netgear however, not had any problems with them.

Dan

To check the airspace around you for other conflicting networks on the same channel as you get a prog called NetStumbler. Its free and can check the signal strength and a few other bits, even detects hidden networks. Its not a cracker though. Just a usefull tool.

Anyway looks like your box may be stuffed.

Sometimes the power light going out does not mean much as on speedtouch modems it means that the software has crashed or that its booting (uses diffrent colours etc..).

I used to have a belkin router and was forever having problems. My stepsons laptop wouldn't connect into it. the signal strength kept ebbing and flowing etc.

Anyway.....it broke 2 days before the warranty was due to expire and PC world exchanged it for a D_Link router and despite the instructions being crap (ie written for computer wizards by computer wizards) it seems to work with no probs at all.

Good software.. though it don't reconise the USB network adapter I was using.

I'm surprise by the amount of people that never set encription or password on there route. I got on one the other day as I didn't notice I was on the wrong next work! I was like... we don't have a Belkin! Opps... thats not ours.
I could have just bumped them all off... screwed up there firmware or anything.

Do you know of any tools to send those people message that say "turn on your encription"?