I need to know how to disconnect a router.

November 13, 2024 10:48 AM

My desktop computer accesses the internet via cable connection. Years ago, my son connected a router to my desktop computer so that I could use my laptop via the router. My laptop will no longer connect to the internet via the router. The router seems to have died from old age (everything is blinking and it looks okay ... it's like the lights are on but nobody's home), and so I've decided to disconnect it, but I don't know what steps I need to take to do so.

I clicked around on my laptop and encountered a diagram that shows the laptop is active, and the diagram has an arrow that points to a router icon and shows that the router is active, and there is an arrow that points to a globe icon and shows that the worldwide web is NOT active.

I assume that I should assume that the router has died, and so I want to disconnect the router to get it out of the way. How do I do this?

Is it a matter of just unplugging the router and all of the connections? If I do this, will my desktop that is connected to the internet via cable still be able to access the internet without the router, or do I need to somehow tell my desktop that the router is gone and that it needs to start using the cable, instead, now?

I'm usually quite successful finding answers via YouTube tutorials, but I have had not luck with this so far.

posted by SageTrail to Computers & Internet (15 answers total)

Your desktop computer is connected to A router. Whether it's THAT router is the question. You might have a second router, but you're definitely connected to one. Before you do anything, verify that there's a second router. I don't understand how your son connected a router to your computer to allow your laptop to connect to the internet. That's not really how they work. By "cable connection" I assume you mean an ethernet cable? And on the router you want to get rid of, what are "all of the connections"? What else is plugged into it besides a power cable and a coax cable?
posted by jonathanhughes at 10:56 AM on November 13

Is it possible for you to share a photo or a diagram of the different pieces and the wires that connect them together? What you have described is very unconventional and doesn't sound right.
posted by ssg at 11:25 AM on November 13

What I'm getting from this is that you have a cable internet provider, so you've got a box we'll call the modem connecting to a coax cable port in your wall somewhere. What ports does this have? Most such modems these days have 4 available LAN (Ethernet) ports. But it may be the case that it only has one.

The router your son connected, it sounds like you mean wired Ethernet router, which is turning the single cable connection port in your modem into 4 or 8 or 12 or 16 available ports. These consumer routers are basically there to give you more ports than what came in your modem, and also set up some architecture, i.e. one router upstairs, one router downstairs so you don't have to run 10 cables from the modem downstairs to the upstairs; 1 will do.

If I understand correctly, your question is, can you plug your laptop's ethernet cable directly to the modem? If that is your question, the answer is yes. The brains of the network are in the modem, in all likelihood, unless your son did something uncommonly fancy with your setup, like put the router in charge of network control. In all likelihood, it's your modem that is running the network services that manage addresses and routes between equipment. As for your internet provider, they can only see in as far as the modem they sold you (or rented you-- if you are renting, please replace it with a purchase as the payoff time is usually less than a year).

I would suggest replacing the router as soon as practical, but if you don't need it because you have no other devices plugging in, well, you don't need it.

Also, yes, it's legit that routers can go braindead, even with the lights being on. Usually a router lasts at least 5-6 years, but some of them last forever, and IT people know better than to question their fortune when that happens.
posted by Sunburnt at 11:37 AM on November 13

The router your son connected, it sounds like you mean wired Ethernet router, which is turning the single cable connection port in your modem into 4 or 8 or 12 or 16 available ports.

What you're describing here is a switch.

And what SageTrail is calling the 'second router' is very likely an access point. It could also be an actual router that also provides a wifi access point, the router part of which would be a bit superfluous but it would work (which it clearly did).

It's rather essential to have a picture (or pictures) of what cables go where, before we can start telling which cables to pull and which to leave alone (or replug somewhere else).
posted by Stoneshop at 12:57 PM on November 13

I assume that I should assume that the router has died, and so I want to disconnect the router to get it out of the way. How do I do this?

Sometimes (or, actually, rather often) computers, laptops and network gear just get their knickers in a twist: the lights on but nobody home situation. One thing you can then do is to power off the device suspected of having its knickers twisted by unplugging its power cord or wallwart, leave it off for about a minute at least, then plug it back in.

This tends to untwist things surprisingly often, and I've had to deal with gear that needed that treatment about once a month. Apart from that (rather irritating) aspect it just worked OK; it wasn't easily replaceable so we had to deal with that behaviour.
posted by Stoneshop at 1:57 PM on November 13

Try just pulling the power cord to the router out of the wall, leave it alone for a minute, then replug it. It may solve your problems. I have to do this a lot. It is often, I have learned to my sorrow, the sign of a dying if not yet dead router. If it works plan on buying a new one soonish - but it gives you time to get your son over to provide tech support on the critical switchover day.
posted by mygothlaundry at 2:11 PM on November 13

networking terms are so often misused by laypeople that we can't really do much with what you've described unless you can verify that what you are calling a router is actually a router and not a switch, AP, cable modem, ONT, or something else entirely. pictures of the wiring and the devices and the labels will be very helpful. brand names, model numbers, maybe sketch a diagram of the topology would also be helpful.
posted by glonous keming at 2:31 PM on November 13

Nthing the power off and on the router before you do anything more complicated. That seems to resolve most of my networking problems.
posted by koahiatamadl at 2:54 PM on November 13

Thanks, people! Your responses have made things more clear to me.

Sunburnt's, "...it's legit that routers can go braindead, even with the lights being on. Usually a router lasts at least 5-6 years..", is good to know. The router is old!

I had already tried the basic Help Desk, "turn it off and turn it back on; unplug it and plug it back in" attempt as a fix, but it didn't work, unfortunately.

My desktop's coax cable is plugged into the modem and always has been.

After using the desktop for quite some time, I purchased a wireless router to connect to my desktop so that I could use the wireless router to access the internet on my laptop via wifi. There is a yellow cable that goes from the wireless router to the desktop's modem. There is gray cable that goes from the router to the actual desktop.

I think what I need to do is unplug from the router the yellow cable that goes from the wireless router to the modem, and plug it into the desktop so that it goes directly from the modem to the desktop - and then just get rid of everything else related to the wireless router.

So sorry, I can't provide a photo at this time!
posted by SageTrail at 6:19 PM on November 13

One more thing: I googled, and found that after you connect a WiFi wireless router to a desktop computer that has a modem, you have to open your computer's WiFi settings; select the network name (SSID) broadcasted by your router, and enter the password when prompted. My question related to this is, when I disconnect the WiFi wireless router, do I need to navigate somewhere on my desktop computer to tell it the WiFi wireless router no longer exists?
posted by SageTrail at 6:46 PM on November 13

What happens when you power off the wireless router, can your desktop still access the internet?

My desktop's coax cable is plugged into the modem and always has been.

If it's the cable that actually plugs in to the desktop computer (and goes where? modem? wireless router?), that's not a coax cable, it's CAT5 or CAT6, with RJ45 connectors each end. Coax, with screw connectors, is between the cable entry point and the cable modem.

One more thing: I googled,

Which tends to give you 'answers' (likely helpfully augmented, iow totally mixed with nonsense by ShitGPT nowadays) that apply to a generic situation. Also, that 'answer' assumes even a desktop will have a wireless network interface and will connect wirelessly (only). Your configuration isn't generic, so a generic answer won't apply. Unfortunately your description still doesn't help figuring out what, exactly, is connected to what.
posted by Stoneshop at 12:24 AM on November 14

If I'm understanding your description correctly, you should be able to directly connect the modem to your desktop, as it was before (because the modem also contains a router). But you might need to make configuration changes to the modem in order to make that work, which would require logging in to it in a browser, details would depend on the specific unit. Doesn't hurt to just try removing the router, plugging the cable from the modem directly in to your computer and seeing what happens as you always have the option to just reconnect everything again.
posted by ssg at 8:20 AM on November 14

The coax cable is connected from the wall to the desktop computer just as it has been all along.

I unplugged from the wireless router the yellow cable that ran between the wireless router and the modem, and I plugged it directly into the desktop, instead - so now the yellow cable runs directly between the desktop and the modem (no more wireless router middle-man). Internet access on desktop is working great!

(It used to be yellow cable connected to wireless router and modem; gray cable connected to wireless router and desktop. Gray cable is gone and wireless router is gone. So now it is yellow cable connected to modem and desktop.)

Thanks ya'll for your help!
posted by SageTrail at 3:50 PM on November 14

p.s. I totally lied (but not on purpose). The coax cable is connected from the wall to the MODEM just as it has been all along. (I previously said from the wall to the computer; oops.) The yellow cable is now connected from the modem directly to the computer. All the "knee bone connected to the leg bone" makes total sense now. I'm usually not this dense; I've been under a lot of stress lately ... mostly since Nov 5th. Okay, I'm done thread-sitting. Thanks again!

p.p.s. My internet is through Spectrum. Their website says, "Spectrum uses coaxial cables, also known as coax cables, for internet service."
posted by SageTrail at 5:15 PM on November 16

Yes, try it.

As ssg noted, it my work, it may require changes in your modem; the modem could be set up to expect a router, not a computer, at the other end of its yellow uplink cable.

Give it a shot, and if it doesn't work, then contact Spectrum and perhaps they can walk you through changing it.

Take a look on the modem for an IP address (probably 192.168.0.1 or 10.0.0.1) along with a username and password, probably in teeny tiny print. If a username isn't given, it's probably admin or administrator.

Anyway, have that info handy when calling Spectrum.
posted by Sunburnt at 7:06 PM on November 19