[Cialug] Wireless Router Repeatedly Drops Connection

Mon Dec 15 12:22:57 CST 2014

Right.  DD-WRT makes it very easy to configure your hardware in any way you wish.  But I wanted something that could use my 5GHz wifi network for video streaming, and I thought it would be a good idea to grab an AC device for future upgrades to my home wifi.

At the time I bought the Buffalo bridge, the DD-WRT firmware wasn't ready, and I didn't think that the Buffalo firmware would be able to function as both a router and bridge out of the box.  I needed the bridge functionality immediately, so I just bought the bridge.  

Now I could actually set the bridge up as a router using the DD-WRT firmware, but I still want the bridge functionality for now.

Back to the original topic:  I just wanted to relate my similar difficulties with my first two Linksys wireless-n routers.  Heat seemed to be an issue with the second one, while the first one simply wouldn't work no matter what.  I installed DD-WRT on the first one, and that increased the average uptime from ten minutes to about fifteen.

I really think the issue was that the first wireless-n routers from Linksys were iffy.  They seem to have managed to get some reliable routers on the market since then, from what I have seen in product reviews.  I will avoid their AC equipment until they have had a chance to work out the bugs that I imagine they have with this new generation.  My guess is that they dumped a quick, shoddy wireless-n product or five on the market just to keep up with the competition, then finally got things working when they had the time to.

By now, everyone should know how to keep the various wireless-n wifi chipsets happy, so losing connectivity every few minutes probably means that something gave loose in your router, and I doubt anyone would be able to figure out what changed in order to fix it.  I would just start looking for a new router.

-- Matt (N0BOX)

> On Dec 15, 2014, at 11:51 AM, David Champion <dchamp1337 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> If you're using DD-WRT, you can make any router into a WiFi bridge, no need
> to buy the specialized bridge devices. I've set them up this way several
> times.
> 
> -dc
> 
>> On Mon, Dec 15, 2014 at 11:48 AM, Matt <matt at itwannabe.com> wrote:
>> 
>> I did buy a Buffalo wifi bridge (they sometimes call it a "gaming adapter"
>> because it's often used with gaming consoles) that came with a Buffalo
>> firmware, but had a dd-wrt firmware in development at the time.  Since then
>> the dd-wrt firmware has come out.  I have the AC1200 (or 1300 or whatever)
>> model.  It works great for my purposes, and I have been considering getting
>> the matching router as soon as I have the cash for it.
>> 
>> -- Matt (N0BOX)
>> 
>> 
>>> On Dec 15, 2014, at 5:07 AM, Ron Houk <houk.ron at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Anyone ever try one of those buffalo routers that comes with dd-wrt
>>> installed by default?
>> http://www.buffalotech.com/products/wireless/open-source-dd-wrt/airstation-highpower-n300-dd-wrt-wireless-router
>>>> On Dec 15, 2014 12:48 AM, "Matt" <matt at itwannabe.com> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> When 802.11n routers finally dropped the "draft n" label, I bought an
>>>> expensive Linksys wireless-n router at CompUSA's going out of business
>>>> sale.  It refused to keep a connection for more than ten minutes at a
>> time
>>>> right out of the box, but they didn't allow returns, so I was screwed.
>>>> 
>>>> A few months later I bought a new Linksys wireless-n router with similar
>>>> features, but a completely different design, and it lasted about 6
>> months
>>>> before it started doing the same thing. I hobbled it along for a couple
>>>> more months by putting it on the floor over one of the central air vents
>>>> (it was summer, and this kept it relatively cool, which seemed to help).
>>>> 
>>>> Eventually, though, no amount of cooling was helping, so I bought a
>> third
>>>> wireless-n router -- this time a D-Link dual band N300 router marketed
>> to
>>>> gamers -- and I haven't had to buy any new routers for the past four
>> years.
>>>> 
>>>> Never will I ever buy anything Linksys ever again.  I've seen and heard
>>>> bad things about D-Link over the years, but I haven't had a single
>> problem
>>>> out of my router other than the fact that it took 3 years to get a
>> version
>>>> of dd-wrt released for it.  I will admit that the factory firmware for
>> it
>>>> was pretty weak, but it served my consumer needs well enough.  Now that
>>>> there is a version of dd-wrt for it, though, I can set up a guest
>> network
>>>> for it, and I have far more information about and control over my LAN.
>>>> 
>>>> -- Matt
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>>>> On Dec 14, 2014, at 8:55 PM, David Champion <dchamp1337 at gmail.com>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> Check for a firmware update. Try turning off any remote access.
>>>>> 
>>>>> -dc
>>>>> 
>>>>>> On Sun, Dec 14, 2014 at 8:26 PM, Scott Prader <rigrunn at gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> It's possible that your signal shares a channel with other routers.
>> If
>>>> you
>>>>>> can scan for whatever is around you, it should be relatively simple to
>>>>>> obtain the channel number/frequency that they operate on.  If you are
>>>> on,
>>>>>> say, channel 11 and there are 2 or more others on channel 11, I would
>>>>>> change my configuration to reflect an unused channel.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Best of luck,
>>>>>> Scott
>>>>>>>> On Dec 14, 2014 8:21 PM, "Todd Walton" <tdwalton at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> I have a Linksys EA6300 router (a somewhat nice home-grade router)
>> that
>>>>>>> just won't stay up when I have wireless turned on.  With wireless
>>>> turned
>>>>>> on
>>>>>>> it will drop connection, including wired, and reset once every ten
>>>>>> minutes
>>>>>>> or so.  I used to change my wireless network name and password and it
>>>>>> would
>>>>>>> stay up for a couple of hours before falling back into the ten minute
>>>>>>> pattern. But lately I can change my wireless network name and
>> password
>>>>>> and
>>>>>>> it's back to dropping within minutes.  If I turn off wireless
>>>> altogether
>>>>>> my
>>>>>>> desktop computer does just fine, never losing connection.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Could someone else in my apartment building be causing this? By
>>>> scanning
>>>>>>> and trying to crack the security, perhaps?
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>> Todd
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