Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with internet and wireless

What wifi-extending method is best for a garage-turned-studio?

acidic — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 14:32:04 -0800

My rented studio is located right next to the main house, but the wifi signal coming from my landlord is very weak. What can I do that won't inconvenience my landlord? The landlord has U-verse wifi (a password-protected 2Wire router). The router is located fairly close to my house; it can't be moved. There are no ethernet jacks in my studio, although the previous tenant had cable TV so there's a coax cable coming out of the wall (I've checked, and it supplies the free channels). So I figure my options are:

1. Wifi extender, located on the wall closest to the main house, or outside (weather?) I installed an extender at my parents' house, and it works ok, but I would like tips on finding the best one.
2. Ethernet over powerline. I think my landlord would be willing to plug the router into one of these, but I don't even know if it will work because my space was originally a detached garage.
3. Separate internet service. The wifi cuts out for a minute or two at a time several times a night, and it's pretty annoying, since I do a lot of streaming. I'd be willing to pay for separate internet service (Time Warner), if that's even allowed (we share a mailing address) and would solve the problem (or will the connection drop affect both services).
4. Something else? Access point, antenna, etc?

Internet, you're being weird. Stop it.

Rhaomi — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 18:01:41 -0800

Trying to set up a new wireless network and running into all kinds of strange problems. Connections dropped every few hours! Some machines work, some don't! Can connect to internet, can't connect to router! DOGS AND CATS LIVING TOGETHER (literally). Please help. The set-up is a little convoluted, but does work (until it doesn't).

The original router is an ISP-provided 2wire HomePortal 1700HW, a combination DSL modem/router that plugs directly into a phone jack and broadcasts it as a WiFi network. It's a few years old but has worked decently on its own up to this point, so I don't think the problem lies there.

The newcomer is a brand-new Western Digital My Net N600 router, acquired both to improve on the range of the old one and to provide networked storage capability for shared music and such.

Configuring the two of them to work properly was a bit of a dog, but I finally did get it working. The phone jack plugs into the old 2wire, now set to bridge mode to disable its built-in wireless capability. The 2wire plugs into the N600 via Ethernet. And the N600, armed with all the correct PPPoE login information from the ISP, correctly connects to and interprets the DSL coming in from the 2wire and broadcasts it out. Even the network storage works!

Problem is, every couple of hours this connection fails, and in the weirdest way possible.

Right now, I'm typing this on an old 'n' busted laptop running Windows XP. It's currently connected to the N600's wireless network and can browse the web no problem. All the status lights on the routers are green, running an ipconfig command returns normal IP address information (including the router's IP), I can ping the router at that location fine.

But I can't connect to the router's settings page (192.168.1.1). WTF?

Also, a visiting Chromebook can connect to the network but can't load any websites... except for AOL webmail, of all things. A test email sent from a phone showed up in the inbox fine, while Google, Facebook, etc. look dead. Not even Gmail, mail.live.com, or even just plain old aol.com work -- just mail.aol.com. This Chromebook doesn't have a data connection, btw, just WiFi. I say again: WTF?

Meanwhile, a newer Windows 7 laptop can't connect to the N600 network at all ("Unable to connect..."), and even plugging directly into the N600 router via Ethernet won't work -- I can ping it fine, but neither websites nor the router settings page itself will load.

Various mobile devices are likewise denied -- various iPhones and iPads can't connect to the network at all.

Power-cycling the N600 router solves all these problems and things work alright for all devices... for a few hours. Until everything craps out again, for no apparent reason.

What could be triggering this issue, and how do I fix it? I've dealt with wonky router stuff before, but it seems totally bizarre to me that:

- the status lights on both routers are fine, including the N600's "internet connection OK" light
- ONE laptop can connect to the router's WiFi and browse the web, and can ping the router, but can't access the router itself
- the other laptop can ping the router through a wired connection, but can't access the router settings or browse the web that way
- a Chromebook can connect to the network and can load *one* website (mail.aol.com), but nothing else
- no other device (apart from that first laptop that mysteriously works fine) can connect to the WiFi network at all

Any thoughts or advice appreciated; I'd love to get this problem fixed rather than have to venture back to Best Buy and try to find a replacement (maybe an N900? who knows).

Rural Internet Access: Help my Dad get a connection that can actually let him stream..., well, anything!

MMALR — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 07:43:40 -0800

Rural Internet Access: Help my Dad get a connection that can actually let him stream..., well, anything! At one point in my youth, I was heavily into hardware and could have probably figured out a way to do this, but at this point -- I'm all ears for help.

The scenario is this. My Dad lives in a small, central Illinois community whose internet access providers are slim to none. Right now, he has a tiny 'dish' on the side of his house that transmits to a wireless access point that is perched on an enormous grain elevator that towers over the entire town. That signal relays to a central station, and he's on the Internet. His downstream is steady at 0.5 Mbps.

We looked into WildBlue, but I'm uncertain as to what plan he would need. I haven't ever had to translate internet usage on a household into gigabytes, only on my phone since I have to abide by my 2 GB limit through ATT. I never hit that, but that's on a phone, not a computer that can stream Netflix, etc.

The other option is... he has a giant house TV antenna that sits outside and is roughly 50 feet tall from the ground. Is there a way to attach some sort of extender that could possibly get him to better providers?

What about other options? Monthly fees is a problem unless he's getting good service. If we can make purchases of hardware (one-time) to improve his service, that would be ideal.

Any suggestions are welcome! Help him enter the age of streaming movies!

This cat video better be worth the hassle...

fishmasta — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 11:20:30 -0800

Can you fix my streaming/download issues? For a while now I've been having trouble with both streaming video (primarily Youtube/Vimeo, but occasionally other sites like MSNBC/CNN/etc.) and downloading files. With streaming, the video starts to load and will go up to a point and then stop. I have to refresh the page and after that it'll usually go a bit longer (sometimes a few seconds, sometimes a minute or so) but often it loads even less than the first time. After enough refreshes, I'll eventually see that one of them took and the video will load completely. I don't have this problem with Netflix or Hulu though, so I'm not sure exactly what's going on and how to fix it. It happens on multiple computers too (both Macs running Mountain Lion connected to the internet by my wireless router). Live streaming video usually works OK for some reason.

I also have the same sort of problem with downloading files. They'll download for a while and then just stop. In iTunes or the Amazon MP3 downloader I can pause the download and resume and it usually fixes the problem. In Chrome or Safari, however, I have to just cancel and restart the download (and it usually takes several tries before it'll work).

Any ideas on how to fix this? I've tried resetting the router, but it still happens. Maybe there are some settings I can adjust?

If I get too far from the wireless port, my password is suddenly invalid. Why?

BuddhaInABucket — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 14:48:18 -0800

I'm having wireless internet connectivity issues that even tech support seems unable to resolve. I live in an in-law apartment and share an internet connection with the person I rent from. Her wireless network appears throughout my apartment with 2-4 bars. However, whenever I try to connect, it tells me that I have entered an invalid password.
This only happens in my apartment. If I walk upstairs, there is no problem- I connect fine. Currently the only way for me to get internet in my own apartment is to stand on top of the toilet, hold my laptop against the ceiling in the corner closest to where she keeps the wireless antenna, and then browse sitting near there.
My first idea was to buy a wireless extension, but I don't see why I should have to- I get the signal- it just doesn't work unless I'm close to it! What's going on?

(I have a MacBook running OSX 10.6.8)

Wireless internet up, PC internet down

ormondsacker — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 18:08:41 -0800

My wireless internet works fine. My PC, with ethernet line to same router, has no internet connectivity. What could be happening? A week ago, my Windows PC, connected via ethernet cable to my router, started intermittently failing to connect to the internet. Refreshing the IP settings via the diagnostic tool fixed the issue each time... up until Thursday. Since then, I've rebooted, rebooted the modem, checked the plugs, reset the adapter, changed ethernet ports, and nothing's worked. This while my wireless internet hums along just fine on the same router. Virus scans on the PC come up clean. Any thoughts on what it could be? I'm not much of a networking expert, so small words, please :\

I could use smoke signals. Those are wireless.

Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 08:16:18 -0800

My Internet connection is terrible. All efforts at tech support have failed. Could switching companies fix the problem? Details inside. My home connection uses Verizon's FiOS fiber-optic service. It's great when it's working, but whenever I do anything that requires a constant stream of data – downloading large files, playing a game online, uploading my music to Google - the connection is likely to drop out, and nothing other than rebooting or power-cycling the model (which is also my wireless router) will get it back. The weird thing is that neither the modem nor my computer “knows” the connection is gone – the PC reports that it has Internet access, and the “Internet” light on the modem remains green.

Verizon has sent me two new modems, one of which was a completely different model. They've sent a tech out to examine the lines and on-site hardware; he replaced the box that connects the house to the network. Nothing makes a difference. At this point, the company is blaming the fact that I and my upstairs neighbor (I live downstairs in a split-level home) each have a separate Internet connection and wireless network; they think the two are interfering with each other somehow. Both of us connect through FiOS; the house has two separate lines going into it. But that doesn't make sense to me: If this setup, where people living on different floors of the same structure each have their own Internet connections and modems, disrupted service so dramatically, then it would be impossible to get a personal Interweb connection in an apartment building. And yet that is possible. Maybe it's something specific to FiOS?

(And it's not just the wireless; my desktop is connected to the modem by Ethernet cable, and it's equally affected)

At this point I've pretty much given up on Verizon fixing the problem and would like to switch carriers. It doesn't help that they charge me sixty bucks a month to not be able to play Diablo or upload my music anymore. My question is: if there really is some disruption coming from my neighbor's connection, is switching to cable Internet likely to avoid that disruption? I'd gladly go back to DSL if I could, but that's not an option in my area.

Help me keep a connection for ten seconds!

LSK — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 08:56:19 -0800

TechSupportFilter: Internet connection drops out after five seconds regardless of whether I'm connected via wireless or ethernet So, the house has been having internet troubles. Previously - with an older modem and router - devices on the second floor couldn't get reliable wireless access, since the router was in the basement. So, we got a second router from the same brand and put it on the first floor, and we installed a new modem.

Now here's what happens: Computers anywhere in the house can start a connection, and it looks like it's constant - the wireless bars don't get an icon indicating "no internet access" or anything of that sort. However, around five seconds after connecting to the network, the computers lose internet access anyways. So, for instance, I can access MeFi just fine, but if I click on any links the connection will probably decide it's already had enough of me. This happens whether the computer is connected via a wireless connection or an ethernet cable.

I've tried to look this problem up, but the search terms are so vague that it's impossible to find an answer to this particular problem.

Confused about Internet access

trillian — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 11:17:05 -0800

In two weeks, I start a new telecommuting job, and I need to set up my home office. I'm totally confused about Internet access, though, and I have some questions... So, my new employer told me I need to get a work landline and Internet access. We currently have a personal landline and DSL (Frontier) and a wireless router. I have no idea what to get for my work stuff. (They're sending me a laptop, if it matters.) I want to have some better idea of my options before I call the phone company or whoever I'm going to call.

Here are my questions: (please bear with me -- I am kind of clueless with this stuff)

1. With DSL, we often lose Internet access during rainstorms... which is pretty sad for 2012. That would be really annoying if I'm depending on Internet access to do my job. Does that mean I should get cable?

2. And what if I get cable Internet (Time Warner in our area) -- I don't know if anyone in this house (1940s house) has ever had cable. How can I tell? If no one ever has, what does cable installation entail? Lots of drilling and wires? And does it mean that we have to get cable TV? We don't really need cable TV -- we're pretty set with Netflix...

3. If we stick with DSL, is it even possible to get a separate bill for my DSL work usage, since I could potentially just connect to our WiFi with my new work computer? I think that for tax purposes (or something), my new employer wants me to have a tangible "home office," and separate bills/accounts would probably support this. Is it even possible to get an additional DSL account if you already have one?

4. I should probably try to get some bundled service with phone/Internet, right? What does "digital home phone" from the cable company mean?

5. How do I fend off pushy salespeople if I don't really know what I'm talking about with this stuff?

Why is my broadband acting weirdly?

xchmp — Thu, 17 May 2012 07:47:41 -0800

Why does my wireless router stop some devices from accessing the web every now and then. So we have O2 home broadband with a wireless router (this one, I think). We connect to the internet through this with a number of devices - a laptop, a desktop (both running Windows 7), and two android phones (my Galaxy Nexus and my girlfriend's HTC something, probably Desire S).

All these devices can successfully connect to the internet. Every now and then the HTC and the desktop lose the ability to reach websites. The desktop provided some weird results. It was still connected to the internet and I could ping servers. Trying to access a webpage would result in firefox waiting for a reply forever. The laptop and my phone continued to have normal connectivity while this was going on.

This has never happened with the laptop or my phone.

The easiest way to fix this issue appears to be to go into the router's configuration settings and delete the connected device. It then works again immediately. I've noticed the last couple of times that the device is showing as being connected (or at least its IP was granted) just under 24 hours ago. This doesn't happen every day though so maybe it's not relevant.

I've tried setting the router to use the same IP address forever for the phone and that didn't work. So I'm pretty confused at this point!

Any ideas?

Computer, Y U NO connect to the Internet??

sunshine arakhan — Sun, 06 May 2012 01:16:34 -0800

Is there a somewhat simple solution to this problem? We recently installed new wireless Internet at home but my laptop (older Toshiba Satellite) refuses to connect to the net. It will automatically find our network and connect to it, but doesn't go that step further to actually connect to the Internet. This only happens with the wireless at home - it works fine with other networks I've tried out. Is my computer just not recognizing the new modem?

Make my laptop and router get along!

afx237vi — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 06:19:27 -0800

My laptop (and only my laptop) intermittently fails to see my wi-fi network. Please help me solve the problem. I have an Asus laptop running Windows 7 (64-bit) and a Netgear wireless router (branded Virginmedia). Until a couple of weeks ago, I'd never had a problem connecting to the internet, but since then my computer randomly fails to see my network.

If I click on the wireless icon next to the clock, I can see several of my neighbours' network, but not my own. Other computers in my house can connect without a problem, so it seems to be an issue with my computer rather than the router.

Things I've tried:

- Turning the router off, waiting a minute, then turning it back on again.
- Disabling the wireless adapter, then enabling.
- Updating the drivers for my wireless adapter (it was up to date already).

I'm not sure what else to do. Google leads me around in circles. Please help!

What's the cheapest, easiest way to offer monthly wireless broadband for a granny with a laptop?

waxpancake — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 00:33:09 -0800

My grandma lives in Las Vegas and got her hands on a MacBook Pro, but doesn't have a cell phone, digital cable, or any kind of Internet access. She lives on a very small Social Security payment, but wants to access the web to see her grandkids. What's the most affordable, simplest option currently available for cheap wireless broadband in Vegas (Zip code 89121) with a USB modem? Clear is too much for her ($35/month for unlimited bandwidth), and NetZero might be the best option (free for 300MB/month, $20 for 1GB/month) but charges an upfront fee for the hardware and doesn't offer the ability to downgrade once you switch to any higher paid plan.

Also, to complicate things, I live in another state and can't be there to configure it for her. So it either needs to be plug-and-play, or include on-site installation.

Do any of you people have experience with DEAD SIMPLE, standalone, single-device wireless broadband for my awesome 80-year-old grandma? Any caveats I should be aware of?

Why is my computer refusing to connect to the internet?

fight or flight — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:40:30 -0800

AskMefi, my computer is suddenly refusing to connect to the internet. I'm starting to go a little bit nuts. So my new-as-of-last-year computer can't connect to the internet. I'm running Windows 7 64 bit with a Linksys Wireless-G PCI Adapter (all drivers up to date), connecting to a wireless Linksys WAG160N router. I share the network my 4 housemates, who aren't (as far as I know) reporting any problems.

Over the last few weeks my connection has been dropping randomly every couple of days for a few minutes at a time - completely losing contact with the wireless network. Turning the router off and on usually solved this problem. Lately it has started to drop just the internet connection. I can find and connect to the router, but it either says it has no internet access or refuses to load any browser pages/chat clients. If I run a troubleshooter, it tells me: "Your computer appears to be correctly configured, but the device or resource (DNS server) is not responding."

I have tried:

- flushing the DNS server
- releasing/renewing the IP address
- resetting the router
- disabling/enabling the wireless adapter

I can connect to the internet just fine with my PS3 and if I use my iPhone as a hotspot connected to the wireless network, so I think the problem is (unfortunately) with my machine.

Here is my ipconfig when I'm trying to connect to the wireless network:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : MOYA
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection 2:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Linksys Wireless-G PCI Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1E-E5-A5-A2-6B
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::d41e:47a2:46e2:e029%18(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.7(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 23 March 2012 19:58:35
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 23 March 2012 20:58:35
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 469769957
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-15-60-8C-4D-BC-AE-C5-DE-7E-EC
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : BC-AE-C5-DE-7E-EC
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Ethernet adapter Hamachi:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Hamachi Network Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 7A-79-05-F7-49-FB
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2620:9b::5f7:49fb(Preferred)
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::298c:4dba:2554:1bec%12(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 5.247.73.251(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.0.0.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 23 March 2012 19:30:35
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 23 March 2012 20:02:42
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 5.0.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 5.0.0.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 427456862
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-15-60-8C-4D-BC-AE-C5-DE-7E-EC
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1
fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1
fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Tunnel adapter isatap.{5967EEC2-571F-451D-822B-1E8B83CCE26C}:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter isatap.{20B7AC2E-17E2-4177-9842-9C6F0567C5AD}:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2001:0:5ef5:79fb:1cda:2ab2:a9e1:cada(Preferred)
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::1cda:2ab2:a9e1:cada%11(Preferred)
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

This is really, really frustrating. Is this a hardware issue? Some weird bug in the gears? Please, AskMe, you're my only hope!

How to create a wireless network that uses another wireless network for internet access?

jsturgill — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 11:05:36 -0800

Network configuration question: I have a desktop with a wifi card, a wireless router, and an external wireless connection I have access to. I want to connect the desktop to the external wireless connection, then connect the wireless router to the desktop, creating a second wireless network with internet access. Desktop (D)
Existing Wireless Network (E)
Wireless Router (R)
New Wireless Network (N)

D connects to E via wifi.
D connects to R as the gateway directly via an ethernet cable.
N is configured such that connecting to N grants internet access via D & E.

The reason for this madness is that I live too far away from E to access it from everywhere in my portion of the house. I hope to basically extend the range of E by leveraging the fact that my desktop doesn't move, and does get good reception, without having to buy new hardware.

The desktop is running Windows 7. The wireless router R is a DIR-825.

why is my internet so slow

southern_sky — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 06:57:31 -0800

Why does my wireless internet work perfectly until I open my MacBook, and then grind to a near-total halt? Last weekend my partner and I got rid of our AT&T broadband internet, which was hooked up to a Linksys wireless router, because it was too slow. We replaced it with a Motorola SURFboard Cable Modem Gateway. I called Linksys technical support and they helped me reconfigure the router's settings for the new modem. We set up the new wireless network and everything appeared to be great.

Except here's the problem: When my partner is using his Dell laptop and my MacBook is turned off or asleep, everything works fine (he gets 17.5Mbps). But as soon as I open up my Mac, the speed goes way, way down, to the point where it takes several minutes for a page to load, and forget about watching video. If his Dell is off and I just try to use my Mac by itself, same problem -- it's slow as molasses.

We called Comcast tech support, who told us to clear our cookies and browsing history. This did not solve the problem. Comcast sent out a technician, who saw the problem, said he didn't know how to fix it, and left.

Does anyone have any thoughts about what could be causing this problem and what I can do to fix it?

Free NYC Public WiFi In My Lifetime, Please

hermitosis — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:46:31 -0800

Who are the people or groups that are most effectively lobbying for free public wifi in New York City? Having one of those days where I'm incredibly fed up with the crazy rituals that people have to perform in order to use wifi in the wild. It seems crazy that we don't have it. Who out there should I be supporting, promoting, etc. to help this along?

And yes, I do have wifi at home, and I know the usual places to go if I want access, so no need for advice on these fronts. And I do understand that there is an entire telecom industry that's got a vested interest in keeping things as they are, but having traveled to several cities where it's a total non-issue has got me thinking about this more often.

How can we turn our video cameras into wireless video cameras?

Hartster — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 06:46:23 -0800

How can we turn our video cameras into wireless video cameras? Very occasionally we broadcast events online. This involves two (maybe three) camera people, each wandering around trailing 100-foot of cable. This is both heavy, and a pain in the neck to tape the cables down and make sure people didn't trip over it etc.

What's the recommended/best way of making video cameras wireless: i.e. we plug a transmitter into the camera and a receiver into the mixing desk? As there's two of them they obviously need to be able to operate on separate shielded frequencies.

We're sort of semi-pro I guess, so we don't want to spend a $1000 a piece, but neither do I want a $30 piece of junk that will drop out/be lossy/be unreliable over 25-foot etc.

Is this possible?

How I Restore the Windows 7 Default Network Manager?

FireStyle — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 09:48:56 -0800

I have a NetgearWG111v3 wireless USB network adapter. I absolutely hate the software it comes with to manage internet connections. I'd rather use the default network management tool that is built into Windows 7 (clicking on the notification area to bring a drop down list of available networks). Is there a way to restore the windows 7 default?

Need help troubleshooting slow internet

nickhb — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:13:32 -0800

My internet connection suddenly slowed way down. I've tried all the usual things, but I need some expert advice. Here are the facts:
-I'm running a Windows 7 desktop with a USB wireless connection
-My internet connection slowed down significantly in the last month, speedtest.net consistently reports download speeds in the range ofof 0.5 Mps, but the upload speeds are around 3 Mps.
-No other computer on my home network has this problem.
-The problem remains if I connect via VPN
-The problem remains if I reboot my computer
-I have rebooted the wireless router and modem to no effect.
-Preliminary virus scans with Spybot Search&Destroy and Microsoft security essentials have shown no infections.

I'm not very well educated in networking, so I need some help

Running a wireless router off a Dell 24 switch router

ascetic — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 14:18:52 -0800

Is it possible to run a Linksys WRT54G wireless router off a Dell 24 switch router? Basically, I work in a residential facility with children. Recently, one of the kids got a new Xbox 360 as a gift and wants to play online. In one of our storage rooms is a Dell 24 switch router with a wired Linksys wired router running off it.

We tried running a wireless router off the Dell router but the Xbox wouldn't connect. Why doesn't this work? Is there a solution for this?

New wireless router help needed.

Jackie_Treehorn — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 07:49:26 -0800

Please help me find the best wireless, simultaneous g/n router that also functions as a print server natively or using Tomato or DD-WRT. More inside--> Hello everyone.

I'm looking to upgrade from my current Linksys/Cisco WRT54G2 router that is running DD-WRT firmware.

I'd like to bump up to a wireless N router that will simultaneously support devices that run G and N. Additionally, I want to relocate a USB printer to my router location so it must also function as a print server. The router can do this natively or using an alternative firmware like Tomato or DD-WRT.

In researching a new wireless router, my brain has turned to mush. I'm really having a hard time understanding the differences between dual band, simultaneous band, ect. That makes it really hard for me to find the router I need.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I really appreciate your time.

Answer as you would to an eight year old--no, let's say five year old child.

meese — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 20:58:00 -0800

SYN floods and LAN-side SYN floods? Please help me understand what my wireless router is telling me. First off, I have no idea what I'm talking about. This is the main thing I need help with.

I moved into a new apartment, in a new part of the country, just over a month ago. I got cable internet through Comcast. I used a wireless router I've had for several years to set up a wireless network -- it's a linksys, if that matters. Of course, I made it password-protected and so forth.

So, anyway, on the information page about my router, there is a link called "Administration." This page has a list of "Logs." And that list contains the words "SYN flood" and "LAN-side SYN flood" many times over. It also lists this information: "Count" (?), date and time, target, and source. I can tell you more about what this list says, but, as is, I have no idea whether any of it is important.

Here's what I understand about SYN floods: they're bad things. A hacker attempts to flood your system with requests, which then overwhelms your system so much that they can then get access to stuff that is supposed to be protected.

Here's what I really would like to know: should I be scared to see this stuff in my log? Is there anything in particular I should do? Is my wireless network somehow unsecure? Is this the sort of thing I should be contacting Comcast about? (And, if so, what do I say to them?)

What may be a contributing factor is that I downloaded Dropbox not too long after I set up my network. From Google, it appears that sometimes Dropbox can make it look as if you are receiving SYN floods? But I couldn't really understand that.

I'm sorry this question is so lame. I've been trying to Google information, but I can't understand what Google brings up.

Help, please! VPN-enabled wireless router not working

thatgirl1985 — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 02:39:56 -0800

How do I connect my Witopia VPN wireless router to my ISP's wireless router? I have my basic wireless internet up and running great through my ISP's provided wireless router. I plugged my Witopia Cloakbox wireless router into the ISP wireless router using an Ethernet cable. The wifi is working through the Cloakbox, but the VPN is not working. My ip address is the same. I need my VPN working so I can access Netflix.

I cannot access Witopia's wiki page because it is blocked by my ISP. Stupid censorship. Argh.

How do I get this working? *confused*

New wireless internet

kjl291 — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 14:01:59 -0800

Wi-fi filter: can you help me decide how to find the best broadband connection? BTW - Houston area. I used to really be up on all of the latest in tech news although in recent year I haven't kept up as well. I currently have a DSL connection via AT&T. It is just fine, and the speed is OK and the stability is very good (stability/reliability is as or more important than speed, but of course I want it all). I've had cable in the past, and it was pretty decent, although I had more reliability issues, and the speed was compromised during peak hours (presumably because there are mutiple people on the same pipe as opposed to dedicated DSL). The DSL is OK for my present uses, but would like to find out if there is anything better. I've heard of Clear, I've heard of Fiber. What the fastest thing out there that is reliable that doesn't break the bank? I'd be willing to pay more than I currently do for DSL, but perhaps slightly less than an arm and a leg. Suggestions?