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Wireless connection keeps disconnecting

SBC DSL, Windows XP Home with Service Pack 2, Linksys WRT54GS v1.1 wireless router with SpeedBooster

I am in an office with a few Windows XP PCs with wireless cards talking to a wireless Linksys connected to an SBC modem. The connection from the PCs to the Linksys keeps dropping and will not reconnect again, even if you reboot. Certain PCs at certain times of the day talk to the Linksys and other don't. It seems to be random as to which PC can talk to the Linksys at a certain time. It isn't signal strength since this happens on a PC one foot from the Linksys and all the signal strengths come in as Excellent.

It also isn't a DHCP problem with the Linksys and the SBC modem since if I connect a wire to the back of the Linksys it always works.

It isn't the cards in the PCs because it fails using both the PCI wireless cards in the PCs and a laptop with a wireless PCMCIA card.

I also think it isn't collision with another wireless device in the building since there is only one other wireless device and it is on a different channel (it is on channel 10 and I'm on 1).

I've tried changing the channel and turning off WEP and that didn't have any effect. Also, I ran Network Stumbler and got the following numbers:

Chan Speed Vendor Type Enc Signal+ Noise- SNR+

1 54Mbps (Fake) AP WEP -40 -100 60

Do these numbers look OK?

Thanks for any help. Scott

Reply to
Scott Simpson
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RF interference other than another wifi device is possible too. You won't necessarily be able to detect it. However, I doubt that is the problem.

The -40 dBm signal is great, and so is the 60 dB SNR.

If you were experiencing RF interference we could presume that the SNR would be significantly reduced. Also, since this happens to a client that is sitting "one foot" away, and is random as to which client is affected, it just does not appear that RF interference is a likely cause.

Are the PC's getting IP addresses via DHCP? Try a couple of static address assignments and see if that changes anything.

Has this network configuration worked previously? If it did, and suddenly changed... think about purchasing a spare WRT54GS as a backup. (And swap it with the currently used unit just to make sure that isn't where the problem is.)

Reply to
Floyd L. Davidson

Yup.. go to

formatting link
on the right hand side of the page click "firmware"

you will get a page that says: Firmware Upgrade For

WRT54GS - Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster v1.0

Firmware Date : 1/3/2005 Firmware File Size : 3.43MB Firmware Version : 3.37.6 Click here to download the firmware file.

Click here to download the version information.

------------------------------------------------------------------- go there and click on the download firmware file.. an upgrader will be downloaded along with the new firmware....

------------------------------------------- Do the above... Then try it again.... If you still have probs then post again.. But until you have a current version (firmware is 3.37.6, your post said 1.1) it's hard to tell if your problem may not have already been fixed...

Reply to
Peter Pan

This is not a good evaluation, there is such a thing as all channel (band) interference. There could be a FHSS system nearby or as I found out a very noisy garage door opener that kills about 5 channels even when its idle (which I still dont understand)

. There are known heat problems with linksys (and others) especially if they have something sitting ontop of them. Make sure the ventilation is good. Set it on its side where both top and bottom can get air and give it a try.

Reply to
Airhead

I already have the latest firmware 3.37.6 but am still having the problem. Also, I swapped out the Linksys with another Linksys (that only speaks

802.11b and has the latest firmware) and still have the problem. The only thing I can think of that there is interference with an alarm system or wireless phone or something. We gave up and ran wires. Sigh... Scott
Reply to
Scott Simpson

Had to do that myself a few times (go back to wired).. I picked up one of those wifi finder things (I live in an apartment) and it turns out it was a neighbors baby monitor (and I didn't think they were gonna get rid of the kid... Luckily, they moved) :(

Reply to
Peter Pan

I also was having constant problems with wireless links dropping with a variety of Linksys Wireless Routers and Access Points.

Last week, I replaced 3 separate Linksys routers and access points at different offices with Netgrear WGR614 Wireless routers. Everything is now working perfectly.

I'm completely convinced that these Linksys products are really flakey. Note: All had been upgraded to the latest firmware.

Mike Schumann

Reply to
Mike Schumann

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