My first post here so hopefully we can learn from each other and maybe make a few new friendships along the way. Thanks for having me!
I have a problem at home. I am using a wireless netgear router which is connected to my machine via ethernet cable but my two house mates are using their wireless laptops to connect but the connection often drops and calls for the router to be powercycled to resolve the matter.
I also work in I.T support for a major I.T company and we often get a lot of calls in relation to the same problem but nobody seems to know how to resolve the problem but rather treat the symptoms!!!
Is there anyone here that knows the root cause of this and how to stop it from occurring? I would actually like to know the cause as it's been bothering me for some time.
What you need first is to obtain a airwave analyzer application. It is not as scary as it sounds... something like AirSnort or NetStumbler for Windows will probably do (disclaimer: I run Linux and has never tried either application).
Find out what channels all the neighboring access points (that would be your router) are on. Although 802.11 gives you 11 channels (in North America), there are actually only 3 non-overlapping channels: 1, 6, and 11. If it is easier, just forget all the other channels, and stick to these three.
Most wireless routers come with channel 6 as the default, so if you have other neighbors who also have their wireless router set on channel 6, it is likely that you are both stepping on each other's RF toes. This is the most common problem in most wireless connectivity issues: channel overlapping.
Feel free to email me to PM me if this does not solve your problem.
-Josh
Last edited by cscgal; Mar 8th, 2007 at 1:24 am. Reason: removed link and email.
Yes, I agree you should try something simple/basic first. I just fixed my brother-in-law's problem with the same symptom. Turns out, he's been associating to the neighbor's Access Point this whole time without knowing it! His AP and the neighbors are set to the same channel, and they overlap. Once I helped him to associate to the correct Access Point, he doesn't have the drop-off problem anymore.
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