Maximum number of items linked to wireless router

ShaneUK

Is there a maximum number of items that can be linked up to a wireless router?

Off the top of my head, we have around 10 items - possibly more - although not all will be running at the same time!

Also.... how often do people find they have to reset their router; we tend to have to reset ours 2-3 times a week. It shows as being "connected" on the laptop, but web pages etc will not load. This has been going on for some time. Could it be the number of items connected?

Various items vary from - iPod Touch, iPhone, Sonos, wireless printer, BluRay player, 2 laptops, Wii......

smos585

I believe it is theoretically 255 on a simple network - the same number of addresses that you can have on one network address (eg 192.168.0.1/255)- occasionally, and rarely, it might be less if using subnetworks, again if using a switch connected to a router it can be many times this depending on the network hardware/design.

Resetting the router is often caused by line glitch problems, or the router itself - what model is it? Can you check the diagnostics see see what noise you have on the line? Also any good ISP can tell you how frequently the line is dropped (radial issues).

Only other thing that has to be born in mind is that the equipment if used simultaneously will share the bandwidth, and you may get the appearance of problems if someone is streaming heavily.

leemoss

I wouldn't want to use much more than 10 items on a standard home wireless access point/router, although I doubt they are all accessing it at once so it should be fine. Even with heavy load it shouldn't require resetting that often though.

edit:
As said above, in theory you should be able to add as many as available addresses in the subnet which the router is connected to, reality is different hardware/software revisions probably have different limits and I would imagine a home router/AP could easily get saturated if you tried to add many devices. More so if the devices are streaming movies etc.

scheming_gypsy

You can have 254; 255 IP addresses minus the one used for the router.


My router does the same, it'll show as connected but they just stop communicating so i reset it.

S0litaire

how many are on at the same time?
Remember you'll only have a few Mb of bandwidth that can be passed between the wireless hub and other devices

So if the PS3 is trying to download something it will take up a chunk of the Bandwidth it will leave less bandwidth for the Wii or iPhones to connect (smart phones like to be connected all the time) add a laptop to that that's downloading mail and web pages and the bandwidth is all used up.

Best to get as many devices connected via network cable or fully turn them off when not in use.

free4440273

having to reset the router ever 2/3 weeks is not that unusual i suspect. i've seen far worse with some routers having to be reset daily (Belkin ! ). does depend on the router and your broadband supplier too i find. like i say, i've seen far worse and if , after resetting, the pages load instantaneously i wouldn't be overly concerned .

System

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

You can have 254; 255 IP addresses minus the one used for the router.

253

Lowest is the network address and highest is the broadcast address. 253 in between can be used.

(Assumes that you are using a /24 Class C network address)

robmar0se

I have a Netgear dg834n - have had it for approx 3-4 years.

I used to get the same problem, until I got BT to fix the line - there was a fault in an old overhead connection that had corroded. My ISP was able to confirm on the "radial" that I was resyncing several times daily.

Now I have to manually resync maybe once every 3-4 weeks, if that - I leave the router on 24/7 - max have 5-6 wireless devices on at any time, but not streaming.

So I would suggest that you shouldn't need re-syncing as frequently as you do, unless (i) it is a problem with over-saturation of your wireless bandwidth, and that is more to do what it happening at the same time; (ii) try another router to verify its not that (borrow one temporarily); (iii) line probs - and as a previous poster said check your line noise; (iv) if you are miles from your exchange you will also suffer more than most, but then your ADSL speed should be poor as well.

Hope it helps, and good luck.

ShaneUK

Thank you all. Seems that I am not over the maximum connections then!

I suspect it may be a line fault/problem. We used to be with Sky, and the problem was just getting worse all the time. Sky weren't interested in helping, so we moved to BT. It isn't as bad as it was, but still not "perfect".

I may contact BT and get them to test the line.

Hammyman

128 on my Netgear. Read the manual as most are less than the maximum number of IP addresses available which is what most posters are basing their reply on.