Netgear Wireless Router Problems

Munchyface

Hi

Anyone have problems connecting with a Netgear Wireless Cable Router?

I am using the Wireless Router with ntlworld - I can find the router and connect but it fires back a message that there is no connectivity. I am not an expert, but it appears that the PC finds the router, but the router won't connect to the web (and yes, the cable is plugged into the Router from the modem).

When I try to repir the problem, the message comes up that it is unable to find/register an IP address. The only advice from Microsoft or Netgear is to contact the network administrator (i.e. me!!). The PC connects to the web without any problems when wireless is out of the equation and you stick the cable straight in the back.

Any help much appreciated!

Cheers

Browntoa

have you tried turning off the wireless modem for a few minutes, the letting it power back up ??

http://www.support.draytek.co.uk/cable_setup.html

1. If you have already been experimenting with the router; reset it to factory settings just to be safe. With the router turned on, press and hold the RESET button on the rear of the router until the left hand LED (labelled 'ACT') starts to flicker rapidly. Then release the button and wait until the router settles back to ACT flashing steadily. The router is now factory reset.
2. Put the router aside for a moment (disconnect it from everything).
3. Connect the cable-modem to the PC via the Ethernet cable and get yourself online.
4. Note the MAC address of your PC's Network card (use winipcfg or ipconfig - see earlier)
5. Remove the ethernet cable from the cable-modem and put it into the router
6. Renew your PC's IP address (press 'release/renew' in Winipcfg, or ipconfig /renew. Your PC should then get a new IP address in the router's subnet (192.168.1.xxx)
7. Go into the router's web configurator and in ISP setup, select 'Specify a MAC Address' and enter the MAC address you noted earlier, like this example :
   
   Once the MAC address is entered into the web configurator, click Okay to save those details.
8. Connect the cable modem to the Vigor's WAN port.
9. Turn the cable-modem off by removing the power cable (turning off the standyby button is not adequate; remove the power cable).
10. Wait 15 minutes (this step is not always necessary, but has sometimes been found useful)
11. Turn the cable-modem on
12. Reboot the router (turn it off, then on again)
13. Check the Online Status screen on the router ! If all is well, within 20-30 seconds the router will now show a WAN IP address:
    

mattp_3

hi

yes there is a common problem with netgear wireless connectivity - i have the same problem - it will connect but then drops the connection at varying times, sometimes minutes, sometimes hours after connecting. it seems the best solution is to avoid wireless altogether (not very helpful sorry!)
all the best

odowdchr

mattp wrote:

hi

yes there is a common problem with netgear wireless connectivity - i have the same problem - it will connect but then drops the connection at varying times, sometimes minutes, sometimes hours after connecting. it seems the best solution is to avoid wireless altogether (not very helpful sorry!)
all the best

Not very helpful at all to be honest

If your wireless is dropping out it could be because of multiple reasons, you can't just blame it on Netgear.
1. Compatible network card
2. Type of router and configuration
3. Distance to router
4. Obstructions between router and wireless card.
5. Interference.

thor

odowdchr wrote:

Not very helpful at all to be honest

If your wireless is dropping out it could be because of multiple reasons, you can't just blame it on Netgear.
1. Compatible network card
2. Type of router and configuration
3. Distance to router
4. Obstructions between router and wireless card.
5. Interference.

The op does say that the pc is connecting to the router and it is the router that is not connecting to the Internet so you can rule out 1, 3, 4, & 5.

I used to have a wireless netgear router that was dropping the wireless connection at random intervals(usually less than 5 minutes) and investigated all the points you mention. None of them offered a solution and I replaced it with a belkin which worked straight away. I do blame it on netgear.

albertross_2

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=2471408&postcount=37

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=2471410&postcount=38

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=121274

superscaper

thor wrote:

The op does say that the pc is connecting to the router and it is the router that is not connecting to the Internet so you can rule out 1, 3, 4, & 5.

I used to have a wireless netgear router that was dropping the wireless connection at random intervals(usually less than 5 minutes) and investigated all the points you mention. None of them offered a solution and I replaced it with a belkin which worked straight away. I do blame it on netgear.

Sounds like could have been faulty. We've got a netgear router (regularly with 3 pcs connected wirelessly) and I can't remember any time it's even dropped a wireless connection at all so I don't think it's fair to generalise an entire manufacturer. If it was then I could argue that since I've only ever had problems with wi-fi devices that are not Netgear then all manufacturers apart from Netgear are rubbish.

thor

I know it's not fair but that is my experience of them and I don't have the time or money to give them another chance(at least not until I have been let down by all the others). It's also why I will not buy a motorola mobile..but that's another story.

superscaper

thor wrote:

I know it's not fair but that is my experience of them and I don't have the time or money to give them another chance(at least not until I have been let down by all the others). It's also why I will not buy a motorola mobile..but that's another story.

Fair enough, I mean our best evidence is our own experiences. Which form our own preferences. In a similar way I'll never have anything to do with O2 ever again (that's another story as well). Because of my good experiences I actually try to only use Netgear when I'm networking. Also I can't really speak that much about other brands. I suppose it only matters when it's compared statistically in terms of how many people have had problems with netgear. If it's 50% then that's terrible and I've just been lucky. If it's 0.00001% then that's amazingly good but not from the point of view of the few people affected. Who knows, we each have our own experiences to share and it is up to other people to determine what to do with that information.

odowdchr

thor wrote:

The op does say that the pc is connecting to the router and it is the router that is not connecting to the Internet so you can rule out 1, 3, 4, & 5.

That was for mattp and his wireless problems, hence why i quoted him.

Wireless networks are fiddly, even if you set them up correctly they sometimes just do not work properly, or your NIC isn't compatible, or the way they apply security isn't standard across manufacturers.
I once had a Buffalo airstation picked up off ebay and a built-in wireless laptop NIC....never got it working properly...total waste of time and effort.

In the end i splashed out on a Netgear 108mbps router and matching USB NIC. It was more pricey than i wanted to pay, but saves money and time by not messing about trying to get incompatible parts working together.
I've since got more receivers from Ebay and we now have 4 connected. None have ever dropped a connection, nor failed to connect first time.
It's well worth doing the research on brands rather than thinking that all brands are the same and will work together, or going off a particular brand for one reason. They should all do the job, but only if they're set up correctly.
Stick to one brand, get the latest firmware for the router and drivers for your receiver and it should be a better experience.