My connection with my router always disconects..

[toru310]

I just finished installing my wifi card and configured my router..

But for some reason if I leave it alone it disconnects and I have to refresh it for me to continue..Is there anyway to fix this problem? I'm only 1 room apart from the router..

[SeijiSensei]

One possible explanation is radio interference. Try using a different channel, especially if you're on channel 6 which is the default for many routers. Some older cordless phones also operate in the same 2.4 GHz band as routers, or a neighbor's router might interfere as well.

Another possible explanation is that either the router or the wifi card is configured to "time out" after a period of inactivity. Here's one test for that. If you're using windows, go to Start > Run, type "cmd" in the box, then hit Enter. You'll see a window appear into which you can type commands. Type the command "ipconfig /all" and look for the "gateway" address. For most consumer routers, that will be something like "192.168.1.1" or "192.168.0.1". Now type the command "ping 192.168.1.1" (i.e., use the gateway's address); you should see responses that tell you how long it takes to "ping" the router. Let the computer continue to ping the router and leave the computer alone for a while. If the computer remains connected over a period of time when it otherwise would have disconnected, it's likely that either the router or the wifi card is disconnecting when it sees no traffic for an extended period of time.

[synaesthetic]

Linksys routers have the annoying tendency to be easily affected by any RFI present in the area. If you have a Linksys do yourself a favor and repurpose it as a door stop, then go buy a netgear. =P

[toru310]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

One possible explanation is radio interference. Try using a different channel, especially if you're on channel 6 which is the default for many routers. Some older cordless phones also operate in the same 2.4 GHz band as routers, or a neighbor's router might interfere as well.

Another possible explanation is that either the router or the wifi card is configured to "time out" after a period of inactivity. Here's one test for that. If you're using windows, go to Start > Run, type "cmd" in the box, then hit Enter. You'll see a window appear into which you can type commands. Type the command "ipconfig /all" and look for the "gateway" address. For most consumer routers, that will be something like "192.168.1.1" or "192.168.0.1". Now type the command "ping 192.168.1.1" (i.e., use the gateway's address); you should see responses that tell you how long it takes to "ping" the router. Let the computer continue to ping the router and leave the computer alone for a while. If the computer remains connected over a period of time when it otherwise would have disconnected, it's likely that either the router or the wifi card is disconnecting when it sees no traffic for an extended period of time.

I'll give it a try thanks!

Um, with my observation today it only loses connection if i download torrents..so what I did is I kind of limit the download speed and so far I didn't experience any disconnection what so ever but I'll give your instructions a try some other time.

[SeijiSensei]

If it disconnects during torrents, the problem is the number of simultaneous connections that you're trying to make. In your torrent client, limit the number of connections to, say, 100 to start with and see if that helps. If it still falls over, you need to cut the number down further. I think my wifi-connected box has a max of 90 connections for just this reason.

Connections and "bandwidth" are not the same things. Connections refers to the number of peers with which you have a session established. Routers need to keep a table of these connections in memory. Consumer routers often have too little memory to maintain large tables, so once a torrent has used them up, the router appears to be offline. In fact, if you look, you'll see the torrent client is happily working away, but you can't use a browser. Rebooting the router by unplugging it from the wall clears the memory.

[toru310]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

If it disconnects during torrents, the problem is the number of simultaneous connections that you're trying to make. In your torrent client, limit the number of connections to, say, 100 to start with and see if that helps. If it still falls over, you need to cut the number down further. I think my wifi-connected box has a max of 90 connections for just this reason.

Connections and "bandwidth" are not the same things. Connections refers to the number of peers with which you have a session established. Routers need to keep a table of these connections in memory. Consumer routers often have too little memory to maintain large tables, so once a torrent has used them up, the router appears to be offline. In fact, if you look, you'll see the torrent client is happily working away, but you can't use a browser. Rebooting the router by unplugging it from the wall clears the memory.

I'm kind of lost here..hehe my bittorrent client is bitcomet, how can I configure it from there?

[toru310]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

One possible explanation is radio interference. Try using a different channel, especially if you're on channel 6 which is the default for many routers. Some older cordless phones also operate in the same 2.4 GHz band as routers, or a neighbor's router might interfere as well.

Another possible explanation is that either the router or the wifi card is configured to "time out" after a period of inactivity. Here's one test for that. If you're using windows, go to Start > Run, type "cmd" in the box, then hit Enter. You'll see a window appear into which you can type commands. Type the command "ipconfig /all" and look for the "gateway" address. For most consumer routers, that will be something like "192.168.1.1" or "192.168.0.1". Now type the command "ping 192.168.1.1" (i.e., use the gateway's address); you should see responses that tell you how long it takes to "ping" the router. Let the computer continue to ping the router and leave the computer alone for a while. If the computer remains connected over a period of time when it otherwise would have disconnected, it's likely that either the router or the wifi card is disconnecting when it sees no traffic for an extended period of time.

If I'm going to change the channel what would you recommend? will it slow my speed if I change the channel?

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by toru310

I'm kind of lost here..hehe my bittorrent client is bitcomet, how can I configure it from there?

A little googling suggests it's under Preferences > Advanced > Connection. You want to limit the "global" number of connections.

Originally Posted by toru310

If I'm going to change the channel what would you recommend? will it slow my speed if I change the channel?

I think I've used channel 10 in the past; all the channels are identical.

[toru310]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

A little googling suggests it's under Preferences > Advanced > Connection. You want to limit the "global" number of connections.



I think I've used channel 10 in the past; all the channels are identical.

I see, If I change the channel of my router the wireless phones and routers won't interfere?

Edit: I'm migrating to utorrent since bitcomet hangs on me..so if I'll change the global number of connections on utorrent how can I do it?

[sa547]

Originally Posted by toru310

If I'm going to change the channel what would you recommend? will it slow my speed if I change the channel?

I have almost the same router as you do. There's no problem with bandwidth if you change the operating channel, and the wireless adapters will try to lock on to the new channel. The default channel used by Linksys routers is often a crowded frequency.

[toru310]

Originally Posted by sa547

I have almost the same router as you do. There's no problem with bandwidth if you change the operating channel, and the wireless adapters will try to lock on to the new channel. The default channel used by Linksys routers is often a crowded frequency.

Ok, so I changed the channel. So far I'm experiencing less disconnections..thanks I'll monitor this and give a feed back.

[toru310]

I guess wifi is not good for downloading torrents huh?

[jpwong]

Originally Posted by toru310

I guess wifi is not good for downloading torrents huh?

Unless you have an absolutely huge number of connections going, or have a lot of wireless devices connected to the router, I don't really see a problem.

Not sure what router you're using, but if it's a linksys, you may want to give third party firmware such as dd-wrt a try since it will let you change some of the settings you can't access on the default firmware.

[toru310]

Originally Posted by jpwong

Unless you have an absolutely huge number of connections going, or have a lot of wireless devices connected to the router, I don't really see a problem.

Not sure what router you're using, but if it's a linksys, you may want to give third party firmware such as dd-wrt a try since it will let you change some of the settings you can't access on the default firmware.

Oh I see..let me give it a try

[sa547]

^
Just that you must backup everything -- including the firmware -- before you start putting DD-WRT in the router, and before selecting your firmware you must carefully specify what variant of the WRT54G you're using. If the router's still new, be a bit careful as you might break the warranty.

[toru310]

I'll keep that in mind thanks.