I think my router's gone bad.

gamefreak94 · September 13th, 2009, 08:28

All day yesterday, I was having internet problems. It turned out that the light on my router which indicates that a network cable is plugged into it kept going of for about 3-6 seconds before turning back on for a few seconds and so on. I found that slightly altering the position of the cable made it work correctly (i.e. very fast flashing, good connectivity), but then after a few minutes it would go bad again.

I initially thought this was a mere problem with the RJ-45 connector, so I had a service guy from the ISP come in and change it. But just 30 minutes later, same problem started happening again. I thought maybe the contacts inside the port had dirt on them so I cleaned them out with a cotton bud, but again, 30 minutes or so later, the problem started happening again.

To confirm that the router itself is to blame I then hooked up the network cable directly into the PC's ethernet slot, and viola! It worked perfectly. Today, I reconnected the cable to the router, the problem is sorta semi-fixed, but keeps happening every now and then (a lot less often then yesterday though), also, this time it auto-fixes itself in a few seconds. It's still pretty frustrating though, cuz any weak download connection with online servers breaks instantly due to this.

I'm pretty sure the router itself is somehow damaged (it's a Linksys WRT54GR). Other then RMAing it, is there anything else which can be done? I only bought this like 2 months ago and it's not like Linksys products to break down this soon

Thanks.

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makotech222 · September 13th, 2009, 08:36

Okay people say that linksys router is so good, but my family has bought 3 and ALL OF THEM ARE BROKEN. they are pieces of crap and i will never get anything from that company again. D-link and trendnet are the way to go.

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**cooliscool** · September 15th, 2009, 03:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by makotech222

Okay people say that linksys router is so good, but my family has bought 3 and ALL OF THEM ARE BROKEN. they are pieces of crap and i will never get anything from that company again. D-link and trendnet are the way to go.

I've had bad experiences with Linksys as well, starting with a v1 wrt54g. Like others have said the wrt54g's firmware sucks, but DD-WRT fixes that.

__________________

gamefreak94 · September 13th, 2009, 08:42

Well the 2-year warranty suffices I guess.

Anyway, the problem here is, it's either Linksys, or some other companies which few people ever know existed, like ZyXEL, Planet or TP-Link (I think the latter is a bit known) and their el cheapo $30 routers with not even a day's warranty.

Sorry, I'm gonna go for Linksys in the face of all these :/......well there were ASUS ones like this but I chose Linksys since everyone says they're the best.

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makotech222 · September 13th, 2009, 08:49

oh thats right you live out there. no access to newegg

well can't help you there then :P

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Master_DX · September 13th, 2009, 16:16

Well, maybe u just had bad luck I guess, I've been using a Linksys WRT54GS for about 3-4 years now and it's working flawless, heck it is even faster now that I updated it's firmware. Just RMA that one and hope that the same doesn't happen again.

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gamefreak94 · September 13th, 2009, 16:20

I sure hope so, there was also a period of ~a week almost a month ago when the wireless signal would give problems. It was similar to this i.e. the wireless signal would cut itself, only unplugging/replugging the router several times fixed the issue, but then it went away all of a sudden, shoulda RMA'ed it back then.

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masta.g.86 · September 13th, 2009, 17:36

If you have problems with range or the signal randomly cuts out, you should try changing your routers broadcast channel.

One of your neighbors might be broadcasting on the same channel.

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gamefreak94 · September 13th, 2009, 17:48

The signal didn't cut out on the receiving end, but rather the router itself was unable to broadcast it (similar to the current issue, the little light indicating wireless transmission kept going off momentarily).

Anyhoo, I haven't faced that problem in a month, but this current problem is really annoying, gonna RMA this sucker tomorrow. Until it gets back, no internet on the laptop while in bed

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masta.g.86 · September 13th, 2009, 17:59

The fapping possibilities are no longer endless. Poor gamefreak94.

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gamefreak94 · September 13th, 2009, 17:59

__________________

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Squall-Leonhart · September 14th, 2009, 04:59

BAD CAPACITORS.

the original AG, WAG, and WRT models resulted in the Capacitor that controls power to the lan ports to boil dry and then end up having cold start issues.

gamefreak94 · September 14th, 2009, 15:57

Hmm....the one I have is revision 1.1.

I'm really confused right now. Just a few hours ago my net started giving problems when hooked up directly to the PC as well (ping was inconsistent and speed was really sluggish), a guy from the ISP came over and changed the RJ-45 connector yet again, now I have it hooked up to the router again and have had zero problems since then.

I think it's these cheap connectors which are to blame, not the router. I'm guessing the router is somehow more vulnerable to faulty connectors then the ethernet port in the PC is, which would explain why, initially I didn't have problems while connecting the cable directly to the PC.

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IamWhatIam · September 14th, 2009, 16:33

get a Netgear router

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Spyhop · September 14th, 2009, 16:51

The WRT54G routers are awesome. It's the firmware that's ****.
I've been running DD-WRT on mine forever, and it's solid as a rock.

**n_w95482** · September 15th, 2009, 03:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyhop

The WRT54G routers are awesome. It's the firmware that's ****.
I've been running DD-WRT on mine forever, and it's solid as a rock.

Same here, I've been running a WRT54GL v1.1 with DD-WRT for three years and it's been great. It even handled ~3000 concurrent TCP/IP connections with BitTorrent without crashing and running at full bandwidth

.

__________________
Later.

Squall-Leonhart · September 15th, 2009, 07:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by n_w95482

Same here, I've been running a WRT54GL v1.1 with DD-WRT for three years and it's been great. It even handled ~3000 concurrent TCP/IP connections with BitTorrent without crashing and running at full bandwidth

.

now try that with a dlink. it'll die at 300!.

gamefreak94 · September 14th, 2009, 17:39

I think I'll do a firmware upgrade on mine too, this one was manufactured way back in Nov 06, probably age old firmware.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IamWhatIam

get a Netgear router

Sure, and waste the $55 I spent on this just 2 months ago even though it's still miles within warranty period, and even though I'm having a hunch my ISP is to blame, nice idea......

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Last edited by gamefreak94; September 14th, 2009 at 17:39.. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

**n_w95482** · September 15th, 2009, 09:03

I SSH'ed into the router while I was doing that (running a few Ubuntu 9.04 torrents shortly after release) and ran top, it said it was using about 85% CPU. That was with the router at 200 MHz and downloading at a solid 8 Mbps. Now that I've upgraded to 16 Mbps cable (usually somewhat less, damn congestion) I cranked the router up to 233 MHz

.

__________________
Later.

Squall-Leonhart · September 15th, 2009, 10:53

I hope you know how to replace capacitors -_-. the additional power load is gunna waste the pathetic jamicons linksys used to build with.

September 13th, 2009, 08:28	#1
gamefreak94 Registered Anime Hater Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Karachi, Pakistan Posts: 8,678	I think my router's gone bad. All day yesterday, I was having internet problems. It turned out that the light on my router which indicates that a network cable is plugged into it kept going of for about 3-6 seconds before turning back on for a few seconds and so on. I found that slightly altering the position of the cable made it work correctly (i.e. very fast flashing, good connectivity), but then after a few minutes it would go bad again. I initially thought this was a mere problem with the RJ-45 connector, so I had a service guy from the ISP come in and change it. But just 30 minutes later, same problem started happening again. I thought maybe the contacts inside the port had dirt on them so I cleaned them out with a cotton bud, but again, 30 minutes or so later, the problem started happening again. To confirm that the router itself is to blame I then hooked up the network cable directly into the PC's ethernet slot, and viola! It worked perfectly. Today, I reconnected the cable to the router, the problem is sorta semi-fixed, but keeps happening every now and then (a lot less often then yesterday though), also, this time it auto-fixes itself in a few seconds. It's still pretty frustrating though, cuz any weak download connection with online servers breaks instantly due to this. I'm pretty sure the router itself is somehow damaged (it's a Linksys WRT54GR). Other then RMAing it, is there anything else which can be done? I only bought this like 2 months ago and it's not like Linksys products to break down this soon Thanks. __________________ "Don't worry about what people think. They don't do it very often." - Anonymous

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September 13th, 2009, 08:36	#2
makotech222 The one and only Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Chicago Illinois Posts: 3,609	Okay people say that linksys router is so good, but my family has bought 3 and ALL OF THEM ARE BROKEN. they are pieces of crap and i will never get anything from that company again. D-link and trendnet are the way to go. __________________ Desktop: [Windows 7 x64][Asus P8P67 Deluxe][Intel i5 2500k @4.4ghz][EVGA GTX 570][Corsair DDR3 8gb] [Corsair 550w][Viewsonic 23inch 120hz 1680x1050 Display] Lenovo X200Tablet: [Windows 7 x64][L9400 @1.86ghz][Intel GMA 4500MHD][2gb Ram][160GB 7200rpm][LED-lit Touchscreen/pen-abled]

September 13th, 2009, 08:42	#4
gamefreak94 Registered Anime Hater Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Karachi, Pakistan Posts: 8,678	Well the 2-year warranty suffices I guess. Anyway, the problem here is, it's either Linksys, or some other companies which few people ever know existed, like ZyXEL, Planet or TP-Link (I think the latter is a bit known) and their el cheapo $30 routers with not even a day's warranty. Sorry, I'm gonna go for Linksys in the face of all these :/......well there were ASUS ones like this but I chose Linksys since everyone says they're the best. __________________ "Don't worry about what people think. They don't do it very often." - Anonymous

September 13th, 2009, 08:49	#5
makotech222 The one and only Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Chicago Illinois Posts: 3,609	oh thats right you live out there. no access to newegg well can't help you there then :P __________________ Desktop: [Windows 7 x64][Asus P8P67 Deluxe][Intel i5 2500k @4.4ghz][EVGA GTX 570][Corsair DDR3 8gb] [Corsair 550w][Viewsonic 23inch 120hz 1680x1050 Display] Lenovo X200Tablet: [Windows 7 x64][L9400 @1.86ghz][Intel GMA 4500MHD][2gb Ram][160GB 7200rpm][LED-lit Touchscreen/pen-abled]

September 13th, 2009, 16:16	#6
Master_DX The Master of Disguise Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Dominicano de Pura Sepa! Posts: 794	Well, maybe u just had bad luck I guess, I've been using a Linksys WRT54GS for about 3-4 years now and it's working flawless, heck it is even faster now that I updated it's firmware. Just RMA that one and hope that the same doesn't happen again. __________________ PCSX2 : Valkyrie Profile 2 Videos \|\| Intel Core i7 920 @ 3.6GHz \|\| Cooler - Prolimatech Megahalems \|\| OCZ 6GB DDR3 2000 RAM \|\| \|\| EVGA GTX 275 CO-OP PhysX Edition 1280mb\|\| HDD 2x750GB Raid 0 \|\| \|\| Mobo - Asus P6T \|\| OCZ Game X Stream 700W \|\| \|\| Windows 7 Ultimate \|\|

September 13th, 2009, 16:20	#7
gamefreak94 Registered Anime Hater Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Karachi, Pakistan Posts: 8,678	I sure hope so, there was also a period of ~a week almost a month ago when the wireless signal would give problems. It was similar to this i.e. the wireless signal would cut itself, only unplugging/replugging the router several times fixed the issue, but then it went away all of a sudden, shoulda RMA'ed it back then. __________________ "Don't worry about what people think. They don't do it very often." - Anonymous

September 13th, 2009, 17:48	#9
gamefreak94 Registered Anime Hater Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Karachi, Pakistan Posts: 8,678	The signal didn't cut out on the receiving end, but rather the router itself was unable to broadcast it (similar to the current issue, the little light indicating wireless transmission kept going off momentarily). Anyhoo, I haven't faced that problem in a month, but this current problem is really annoying, gonna RMA this sucker tomorrow. Until it gets back, no internet on the laptop while in bed __________________ "Don't worry about what people think. They don't do it very often." - Anonymous

September 13th, 2009, 17:59	#11
gamefreak94 Registered Anime Hater Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Karachi, Pakistan Posts: 8,678	__________________ "Don't worry about what people think. They don't do it very often." - Anonymous

September 14th, 2009, 04:59	#12
Squall-Leonhart Banned Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 23,270	BAD CAPACITORS. the original AG, WAG, and WRT models resulted in the Capacitor that controls power to the lan ports to boil dry and then end up having cold start issues.

September 14th, 2009, 15:57	#13
gamefreak94 Registered Anime Hater Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Karachi, Pakistan Posts: 8,678	Hmm....the one I have is revision 1.1. I'm really confused right now. Just a few hours ago my net started giving problems when hooked up directly to the PC as well (ping was inconsistent and speed was really sluggish), a guy from the ISP came over and changed the RJ-45 connector yet again, now I have it hooked up to the router again and have had zero problems since then. I think it's these cheap connectors which are to blame, not the router. I'm guessing the router is somehow more vulnerable to faulty connectors then the ethernet port in the PC is, which would explain why, initially I didn't have problems while connecting the cable directly to the PC. __________________ "Don't worry about what people think. They don't do it very often." - Anonymous

September 14th, 2009, 16:33	#14
IamWhatIam I has got Anatidaephobia Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Never the Same Place Twice Posts: 1,345	get a Netgear router __________________ Intel Core2 ExtremeQX9770 @3.2GHz, 2 x XFX GeForce GTX280 1GB @650/2210MHz SLI, 2GB DDR2 RAM, ASUS Striker mobo, Western Digital Caviar 500GB, GALAXY 1000w PSU,

September 14th, 2009, 16:51	#15
Spyhop Banned Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: SPAAACCCCE Posts: 7,343	The WRT54G routers are awesome. It's the firmware that's ****. I've been running DD-WRT on mine forever, and it's solid as a rock.

September 15th, 2009, 09:03	#19
n_w95482 Gone Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: California Posts: 6,336	I SSH'ed into the router while I was doing that (running a few Ubuntu 9.04 torrents shortly after release) and ran top, it said it was using about 85% CPU. That was with the router at 200 MHz and downloading at a solid 8 Mbps. Now that I've upgraded to 16 Mbps cable (usually somewhat less, damn congestion) I cranked the router up to 233 MHz . __________________ Later.

September 15th, 2009, 10:53	#20
Squall-Leonhart Banned Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 23,270	I hope you know how to replace capacitors -_-. the additional power load is gunna waste the pathetic jamicons linksys used to build with.