Problem with Linksys Router

Dear all,

I am by no means a Hardware expert, so I thought I would seek some opinions from those that are well versed in the area.

Recently, my Linksys Wireless Router has been playing up. My Internet access became intermittent and gradually ground to a halt. I blamed my ISP at first, but further investigation reveals that my modem is yielding a full broadband connection and directly connecting to the modem via an Ethernet cable gives me full Internet access.

The problem then remains to be my Router. I am able to receive a full wireless signal from it, but the Internet is just a no-go. Connecting to the Router via Ethernet gives no joy either. This comes all of a sudden, no changes have been made and all other computers in the house are the same way.

I have tried a reset and a hard reset of the Router to no avail. Hardware Networking is somewhat of a grey area to me, so I am a little uncertain of the next steps to take (short of buying a new Router, something I of course want to leave to a last resort).

I cannot pinpoint exactly where the problem is as it seems to change. I have done some ping testing, sometimes the DNS fails to resolve, sometimes it resolves but no reply, and sometimes pings are fine but access is still down. For a brief (say, 10 minute) period yesterday access seemed to be fully restored, but then dropped again promptly. I've tried releasing, renewing IP and flushing DNS also to no avail, but to be honest I wasn't expecting much good to come from that.

I am now at a loss of where to look next, and whether some settings can be changed within the Router to resolve this. Any assistance from your good selves would be much appreciated.

For reference sake, it is a Linksys WRT54GS.

Thanks guys,

-jp

If you are not able to connect with it hard wired as well as wireless then the router may be failing. Have you checked that the cable going from the modem to the router is good? (they do sometimes get a loose connection from the wire to the rj45 jack) Also, and please do not be insulted by this question, have you power cycled the router? (unplug it for about 10 seconds then plug it back in) The port on the router may have gone out, this is rare but does happen. (the port that the modem plugs in to) My guess is that some stress was placed on the cable going from the router to the modem and a connection was broken, try swapping out the cable.

JP,

Having done a Reset, you will have caused your router to revert back to factory settings.
There is a FIRMWARE UpGrade available.
http://www.linksysbycisco.com/us/en/support#
Depending upone the Model and Version of your Linksys Router, performance can be "VERY" unreliable without the FIRMWARE UpGrade.

There is a Firmware Upgrade Tutorial here:
http://linksys.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/linksy…ated=1160108009
_____________________

You will (probably) need to setup the router again.

Setting up a Linksys Router (as if for the first time)
Linksys telephone support actually does a pretty good of providing an automated step-by-step instruction for setup
The automated script can be paused, repeated, and go-back, in case you need to take it slow.
Here's a print version of setup:
http://linksys.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/linksy…amp;p_topview=1

The Automated script only sets up "wired" Router setup.
You can ask for "live" help to configure your "wireless" setup.
Ironically Linksys wireless support will only support WEP encryption and they may insist that WAP is not available.
Complete their instruction and hang up.
Then you can go back in and set your own WAP encryption.

Each machine in your network will require the WEP or WAP encryption Key before being able to connect wirelessly.

Don't hesitate to post back with specifics as necessary.
Setting up a home Router and Home Network can be one of the most Frustrating things that a home user has to do.
Fortunately once set up, it can perform for years without additional attention.
An occasional power-recycle may occasionally be necessary… But DON'T hit the Reset for routine power-recycle.
….. unless you want to go through reinstalling Firmware and resetting the Router configuration as above.

Doug

P.S. I also run a Linksys WRT54GS for both wired and wireless. In my opinion, it is practically "bullet-proof".
I have version #6 which ironically is more solid than the newer models.

Thanks guys. I will perform the power cycle, check my cables and then take a look at the Firmware upgrade you mentioned. Will let you know how that goes. Cheers, -jp

Hi guys,

No joy yet. I've tried two Ethernet cables from modem to Router. Both work fine from Modem to laptop for my LAN connection, but I still get nothing when going through Router with either of them.

I power cycled the Router (multiple times), and I've installed the latest Firmware upgrade. Again, I'm not getting any Internet through the Router. Wireless connection is fine, and wired is as well, but there just seems to be a problem with the Internet portion of the thing. I've checked every setting in the Router config and I can't see anything that would hinder it.

ipconfig /displaydns shows that the DNS server is configured correctly, but when I ping say, google.com, it tells me the host can't be found.

I am once again at a loss

Cheers for all your ideas and suggestions guys.

Just to clarify: Your DNS is setup correctly in your computer and also in the router? I have also found Linksys WRT54G to be pretty bullet proof but have no experience with connecting to a modem.

DNS seems to be fine on computer, and do indeed seem to be fine on Router (from what I can see anyway). As I say, /displaydns yields the correct DNS settings from what I can see, so I believe that is all fine.

I do see where you are coming from though Tomk, I keep thinking that there is a problem in DNS especially with that "Unable to find host" message. Accessing sites (and pinging domains) using their IP addresses doesn't work though.

Cheers.

What Firewall are you using? Do you have firewall configured to allow trusted addresses 192.16..1.1 — 192.168.1.110 (110 or whatever your largest address number is)

What encryption are you using WEP, WAP WAP2, and have you re-set encryption key for each computer?

Firewall = Comodo. Just checked settings and they seem fine + I have no problem accessing 192.168.1.1 to access Router config. Also, disabling Firewall (yes I know, naughty naughty) doesn't help. I am currently using WPA, and was using it before this all happened. I haven't tried any other Wireless settings because I wouldn't have thought that would make a difference as the wireless connection is fine. Likewise, the WPA key has been reset for the computers and this is reflected by the fact that they can connect to the Router without problem. Also, I thought the encryption type only applies to Wireless signal, and I am having the same problem when I am wired to the Router. Let me know if the encryption type could be a factor though and I will give WEP and WPA2 a try.

WAP is fine and I wouldn't bother changing. WEP is still widely in use, but is trivial to break hack into, so not advised. You are correct, Encryption should not have any effect on your wired connections.

The encryption would not stop you from connecting to the Internet by the wired connection. When you reset to factory default did you hold the button in for 10 seconds? You can access the Internet with out the router so your modem is fine, seems to be an issue with your router having the correct settings from your modem. On the router home page is your subnet mask 255.255.255.0?

When you reset to factory default did you hold the button in for 10 seconds?

Yeah I did. Definitely worked, all the settings I had altered when I first set this thing up had gone.

seems to be an issue with your router having the correct settings from your modem.

Indeed it does. What gets me is how/why it decided to stop working, I am certain no changes were made to it. I am the only one that knew the password for it and I haven't gone near the settings for a long time (bar post-problems). I will continue hunting through the settings for anything that might be causing this problem. If I get time I am also planning on:

1. Trying this Router in another house (i.e. another Modem/Network).

2. Trying another Router in this house.

Thanks again for all the advice guys, muchly appreciated.

On the router home page is your subnet mask 255.255.255.0?

Yeah, it is.

seems to be an issue with your router having the correct settings from your modem.

Or an issue with your modem having the correct settings to your router.

Have you investigated the modem settings.

I find it strange that you are able to direct link to your modem. At least in my setup my modem is bridged to the router therefore the Internet is passed from the modem to the router.

As the modem is set to bridge I cannot direct connect via the modem unless I unbridge it.

As to a possible cause for modem changes: power cuts and or surges can often wipe out settings.

Anyway just my thoughts.

I find it strange that you are able to direct link to your modem. At least in my setup my modem is bridged to the router therefore the Internet is passed from the modem to the router.

As the modem is set to bridge I cannot direct connect via the modem unless I unbridge it.

To directly connect to my modem I am unbridging it if you like, taking the Ethernet that runs from Modem to Router and placing it Modem to Computer.

As far as I know I don't have access to any Modem settings, all I can do with it is power it on/off and stick an Ethernet in.