What Would You Do? Netgear WT624 Problem..

[Hackbridge]

My Netgear Router is dropping the signal and re-connecting every few minutes.

I contacted Netgear and told I need to pay £49 something to get support for six months or nearly £80 for one year, which covers all of my PC related hardware, printers, scanners, everything. That's a big chunk of change that I can't afford right now.

The techie said they had people waiting to help me. Can someone here guide me as to what to do?

The routers on 24/7 connecting two PCs and we have three laptops in the house, not all going at the same time.

Would appreciate the help. I don't really want to have to go and buy a new one, as setting it up again is a bit beyond me.

Thanks in advance.

Brian

[mgmcc]

<font color="navy">"My Netgear Router is dropping the signal and re-connecting every few minutes."</font>

Which signal:

- the "wireless" signal between computer(s) and router?
- the "ADSL" signal between router and ISP?

I notice your comment about "setting it up again is a bit beyond me.", but performing a hard reset of the router back to factory default settings might be the way to go.

Also, if it is a computer-to-router wireless issue, there might be an interference problem; you could try changing the Channel number in the router's wireless settings. The default is usually 6 or 11 so try one of these or, if already using one of them, try the other.

[Hackbridge]

Thanks for your reply.

It's the signal between the router and the computers.

One of my main concerns is how to reset everything, but nothing ventured nothing gained.

I found the disk, but it looks like the kids have cracked it slightly, so I'm hoping it will still work

I'm hoping I can access configurations but will definitely try tonight.

Will let you know how I get on.

Brian

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="navy">"My Netgear Router is dropping the signal and re-connecting every few minutes."</font>

Which signal:

- the "wireless" signal between computer(s) and router?
- the "ADSL" signal between router and ISP?

I notice your comment about "setting it up again is a bit beyond me.", but performing a hard reset of the router back to factory default settings might be the way to go.

Also, if it is a computer-to-router wireless issue, there might be an interference problem; you could try changing the Channel number in the router's wireless settings. The default is usually 6 or 11 so try one of these or, if already using one of them, try the other.

[/ QUOTE ]

[Hackbridge]

Okay, I've reset the router. First of all, I want to share the broadband with the other laptops. I think I need to use the WEP setting, but I'm unsure. http://screencast.com/t/OvSuerXTRQ91

http://screencast.com/t/Cjsr7iSvus - I'm not sure about the WEP settings. Before I gave the other users a key so they could log on to the network and the image shows my options but what do I do?

Thanks for all the help.

Brian

[mgmcc]

I'd suggest using WPA-PSK with TKIP or WPA2-PSK with AES as these are more secure than WEP.

If you do use WEP, you only need one key which you can type in manually - 10 hexadecimal characters for 64-bit WEP or 26 hex characters for 128-bit WEP. The hexadecimal characters are the numbers "0" to "9" and letters "a" to "f" only, a total of 16 available characters.

[Hackbridge]

I have the setting on WPA-PSK with TKIP.

I set up the home network on the laptop, and choose the SSID name I'd set. I ticked the box for WPA. The wizard set it up very quickly and I was concerned that it wouldn't connect.

My problem was that I could only see "NETGEAR" as the available network, but after refreshing the Available Network screen I saw my chosen network.

I connected it with the passphrase I'd chosen.

All in all, I'd like to thank you Mike because I didn't have the confidence before to reset the router, and from your prompts I went for it and have reconnected everything, and it is working okay again.

Thanks very much

Brian

[mgmcc]

Glad you're now sorted.

[Hackbridge]

Since I've reinstalled, I notice I'm getting the message that the router is re-connecting again, so I have changed the channel to 6. Will wait to see what effect this has.

Thanks

Brian

[Hackbridge]

I'm still having a problem. There's a message saying one moment "Network Cable Unplugged" and then almost immediately it says it's back on again.

I have changed the channel to six and it hasn't worked unfortunately. I'm pleased that I went for it and re-installed the router, but I need to work out what the problem is.

If you are like me and you like being online, this is a real distraction.

Brian

[mgmcc]

Check that there are no "wireless" devices close to either the router or any of the Wireless Network Adapters (the computers), in particular cordless or mobile phones. Also, the router shouldn't be placed close to large metal objects, such as central heating radiators or filing cabinets etc.