Updates kill my router

imick

It sure seems like anytime that I apply updates to either my iMac, or my MacBook, that my router needs to be reset. I notice this because my Vonage stops working, as does my Internet, of course.



I have a Linksys WRT54G router. All that I have to do is unplug it for a bit, then all works well.

This happens under Tiger and Leopard.



My network diagram is this:



Cable Modem --> Linksys WRT54G -->

1. PC*


2. iMac


3. Brother 7820N laser printer/scanner/copier


4. Vonage adaptor


5. MacBook (wireless)


6. HP DeskJet 6980 (wireless)


7. iPod Touch (wireless)

Does anyone else have this problem?



*I know that this should be listed last. It's my daughter's system.

joe_the_dragon

Try updateing the router firmware.

dfiler

If that doesn't work, it is possible your router has bad hardware.



I've owned (and witnessed) routers that routinely and/or sporadically lock up. Solution? New router.



Since switching to FIOS, my DGL-4300 has never dropped a connection or crashed even once. For a nearly two years now, it has worked flawlessly, only being rebooted for setting changes. Heck, I still have the original IP handed out by Verizon's dhcp server. It isn't supposed to be a static IP but it ends up that way because the router is that stable over FIOS.



(Just thought I'd share one positive story of router stability. It is attainable.)

dontlookleft

i have the exact same router and have not experienced these problems. i dont have vonage though, i am going through WOW.



WOW is occasionally a piece of garbage...maybe weekly as of lately...and they decide to work on the internet midday or early evening. They don't even warn you. They just decide that they need to fix it and stop you from accessing the tubes.



anyway. ill go with the guy above me and say get a new one.



good luck.

dfiler

What type of internet connection is the Vonage connection?



The best way to narrow down possible culprits is to take your router temporarily out of service. Find a download/task that routinely crashes your router. Attempt that same download/task with one of your computers directly attached to your WAN connection. (will require reconfiguration of that computer)



If the problem disappears, it's the router. If not, it is your internet connection.



I live in a 100+ year old home with phone lines dating from the 1930s. (Yes, there is a party-line filter still in the basement ) These old copper lines didn't provide a clean path for DSL service. My solution was to switch to FIOS. No matter the router or computer attached to my old DSL service, the connection would routinely drop. New copper in the house and to the pole would have fixed the problem too. But I wanted FIOS anyway and was already planning on a complete rewiring of the house too.

imick

Quote:

Originally Posted by dfiler


What type of internet connection is the Vonage connection?



The best way to narrow down possible culprits is to take your router temporarily out of service. Find a download/task that routinely crashes your router. Attempt that same download/task with one of your computers directly attached to your WAN connection. (will require reconfiguration of that computer)



If the problem disappears, it's the router. If not, it is your internet connection.



I live in a 100+ year old home with phone lines dating from the 1930s. (Yes, there is a party-line filter still in the basement ) These old copper lines didn't provide a clean path for DSL service. My solution was to switch to FIOS. No matter the router or computer attached to my old DSL service, the connection would routinely drop. New copper in the house and to the pole would have fixed the problem too. But I wanted FIOS anyway and was already planning on a complete rewiring of the house too.

Vonage is just a regular connection downstream of my router. I doubt that Vonage is causing it. It hasn't happened for several days now though, so maybe it won't happen again.



I can't nail down when it happens, but it seems like it's after doing an Apple software update.

dfiler

What is your "regular" connection?



With DSL, it is indeed possible that your router is not at fault. It is also possible with Cable, but problems tend to be less frequent because residential coax wiring tends to be newer than telephone wiring. Also, DSL operates over a pair of unshielded untwisted wires. These are quite susceptible to interference.



This is why it is useful to do a test without the router. Either a bad router or bad wiring could both result in dropped connections.

leonard

Quote:

Originally Posted by iMick


It sure seems like anytime that I apply updates to either my iMac, or my MacBook, that my router needs to be reset. I notice this because my Vonage stops working, as does my Internet, of course.



I have a Linksys WRT54G router. All that I have to do is unplug it for a bit, then all works well.

This happens under Tiger and Leopard.

I have version 2 and 8 of that router, my version 2 WRT54G router has no problem like that and it's hooked up to the internet and 3 Macs (PowerMac G5, Mac Pro, and iBook). The other version 8 WRT54G router isn't hooked up to the internet, just a slingbox, so I can't say if it gets that type of problem. They've definitely made some changes to the WRT54G router in the later version. Apparently v6 and later you can't change the antennas and the size of the firmware memory has changed too.

imick

Quote:

Originally Posted by dfiler


What is your "regular" connection?



With DSL, it is indeed possible that your router is not at fault. It is also possible with Cable, but problems tend to be less frequent because residential coax wiring tends to be newer than telephone wiring. Also, DSL operates over a pair of unshielded untwisted wires. These are quite susceptible to interference.



This is why it is useful to do a test without the router. Either a bad router or bad wiring could both result in dropped connections.

It's a cable modem. The house is only 5 years old, so all of the cable is new.

It hasn't done it for about a week now, so maybe the problem is done.