router

stanehyve

Do routers sort of wear out? our netgear router must be 4 or 5 years old and our internet keeps dropping off and have to restart the router sometimes 3 or 4 times a day to get our laptops etc reconnected and I am thinking the router should be replaced.

Regards Stanehyve

closed

no.

1st test is to find out if the connection to the internet is dropping, or the wireless is dropping, or if it's an isp/dns/routing problem, or a windows/av problem

login to the router connection screen to check the first 2, and ping www.google.com to check the isp

diable

Cable or telephone line, if telephone line it may be the ADSL filter at fault.

Laz123

Older routers can cope with ADSL 1 but not so well with the introduction of ADSL 2 a couple of years ago. I'd suggest getting a new router.

snax

Our "bigger better faster" netgear router was doing the same after working flawlessly for ages - tried everthing to get it to work properly - gave up and went back to "old" 54mb 'g' netgear I got for a £5ver at carboot - works perfik and is just as fast as makes no diff [we dont do streaming or downloading large amounts - cant be bovvered] - so answer to Q is yes - I think they do wear out, in the same way any electrical 'box' with circuitry will 1 day not function correctly whereas the day before it was fine.

photodgm

Had a similar issue a few years back - wireless kept dropping out, wired connection was fine. I could keep it going longer by increasing the cooling but soon bought a new router.

macman

If it's wireless, then retest using ethernet. If it's then OK, change the wireless channel to a better one, using InSSIDer to identify the least congested channel.

Gordon_Hose

I'd suggest the wireless channel, basically what macman said.

StuC75

use InSSIDer to see if any other access points using same channel.

Try swapping out the Filter if on adsl..

Is it dropping out at the router or is it the devices you are using that are losing it..

Cycrow

Electrical components can degrade.
This is usually caused by heat. But routers shouldn't really ever got hot enough to cause any permanant damage.

If it is running particularly hot then it might cause temporary problems, but u'll most likly have to have the router out in the sun for it to be effected.

however, if its wireless your talking about, this could be a problem with interference rather than with the actual router

Naf

They do deteriorate a little over time; but that's mostly getting slower rather than starting & stopping.
There's a lot more to check before just assuming you need a replacement;
1. Test your connection with a wired connection; if that works you have a wireless issue.
2. Get a new ADSL filter and try using the test socket in your house
3. Get a line test from your provider to see if noise levels are high - if neither of the above has worked then they need to troubleshoot your line.
Wireless;
1. Get INSSIDER and see how crowded the channels you're using are - try changing to a different wireless channel
2. When you get a disconnection, try rebooting the computers instead of the router; see if they reconnect.
3. Try changing your wireless security. Disable it altogether and if that works progressively step up one level at a time until it stops working.

Only if nothing above works is it time to consider a router change.