Configuration: modem connected by wire to a wireless router, wireless connection to desktop PC. Any way to determine if the router is broken or just 'too old' ? This 'fun' started before the weekend. Now I'm back to 'wired' again. Sometimes the router will work well for some time till it gets slow or stops working, more or less. The pages will just not be fetched properly, so to speak. According to the software of the adapter everything is fine, I can't see anything that's wrong. There have been connection issues on the part of my ISP in the past. Currently the ISP states that the signal to the modem is fine. I was inclined to think that there was noting wrong with the router as such, but now I wonder if it's just 'too old'. (A few years at least, cheaper model) Any way to determine 'what's up', or should I say 'down' ?
Routers don't slow down just because they get old. They may not keep up with upgrades to Internet speed increases provided by the ISP, but they don't slow down. If faulty, they tend to just stop or lose connection. The best way to isolate the router is to take it out of the middle. That is, connect your PC directly to the modem and see how it goes. But first, if me, I would do a full network reset. Power down your computer and unplug it from the wall. Then unplug power to your modem and your router and wait about 2 minutes or longer. Then plug in your modem and wait for the lights to settle down. Then plug in the router and wait for those lights to settle down. Then plug in the computer and boot and see how it goes.
@Bill_Bright, Well, I think I did pretty much that. Also, I did the 30/30/30sec thing with the router (is that the formal protocol) ? Now I realize that I could I have tried to reinstall the firmware too. I guess this will have to do. Currently the connection seems OK, but it has been like that before ... it remains to be seen what happens next. As a note, sometimes the 'gateway' seems to 'fall away' and somehow the IP adress (192...), subnet mask and gateway have to be 'downloaded' (). Sorry, not a techie ! That's the wireless adapter's software. But that's nothing new.What do I know ...
I have the same setup. You first have check your signal strength and connection speed as shown in the below screen shot. Signal strength should be three bars or higher. Connection speed should be 50 mbps+. Problems in these two areas usually are caused by physical barriers between the wireless router and the WAP/wireless adapter used by the PC. Make sure you are using the latest driver for the WAP/wireless adapter. Have you run the Windows network connection troubleshooter on the wireless connection to see if it detects any issues? Finally, if you are using a USB based WAP connection, the device might be defective; devices do go bad on occasion. This is probably DHCP refreshing the public IP address served up by your ISP. Depending on the router, it can be refreshed anywhere between 1 - 24 hours.
Check your speeds with Speedtest.net and Testmy.net. Then check your contract to make sure you are getting what you pay for. If not, contact your ISP and complain. Hopefully, the contract states a minimum and not something vague like “up to” some speed.
@itman, The signal strength has been OK, and the quality of the connection too. This is for a Windows XP computer. The wireless adapter uses the manufacturer's software for the adapter. I don't see a page like yours with the SSID, IPv4, IPv6 etc. Not in that fashion. I guess you're on different OS ? WPA2-PSK
That screen is from Win 7. I believe something similar exists in XP. Yes, XP doesn't show IPv4 or 6, media state, or SSID. Time you upgraded your OS. https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSpG4UgJevlAaYzRrHj-k3EMoEDtMjzgJQ4dlLBviR5J3slPYU9tA
@itman, It's just an an older computer that I have. It couldn't even run Windows 7. I have a system with Windows 7, but for plain internet access WinXP is just fine. I think that the problem has been solved. The connection has been fairly smooth the whole time. The router just needed that 30/30/30 thing. I'm just not sure why.