virgin's WGR614V9 drops WIRED connection

[Jawor]

Hi there,
I just obtained virgin WGR614v9 router from Virgin Media, and connected 3 computers to it - one wired (desktop) and two laptops via wireless connection. Everything worked fine, until I switched on the second laptop, and connected to the network - connections at ALL computers dropped.

Problem doesn't manifest when this laptop is switched off, otherwise router either drops connection, or makes it unbearably slow. Sometimes however, it surprisingly works for some time (on the 'bad' laptop) allowing me to watch some streaming video, but doesn't let me to use FTP or email client.

Moreover, it's not just internet connection problem - when it drops it, I can't even connect to router's configuration page (http://192.168.1.1) from desktop machine (wired to router). Usually connection comes back when I switch off the 'naughty' laptop, no router reboot required.

I changed MTU to 1400, doesn't help. I also wanted to upgrade firmware, but Virgin blocked that option.

It seems to me, that I might have to buy different router.. is there anything I can try before I go for that option ? Please help.

thanks

Przemek

[Welshchris]

Had the same issue with a friends DELL Laptop and home PC.

How i fixed it..... Replaced the router and all went well.

He now has a Linksys -WRT54G2UK Wireless G.

[AndyCalling]

Firstly, upgrade your firmware to the latest Netgear firmware using this procedure:

http://forum1.netgear.com/showthread.php?p=148146

There has been a new firmware released this month, so make sure you pick the latest one (the International one, not the US or Russian one). Make sure you hardware reset the router properly after upgrading.

Next, try to switch to either 'G' or 'B' wireless only. Mixed mode 'B+G' does not work at the best speeds on this router if there are both B & G computers connected at the same time. Mixed mode should be fine if B & G clients do not connect at the same time, but setting the router to one or the other counts out this problem.

Mine is great after dumping the Virgin firmware. There is no more chance of 'bricking' your router with this method than there is with any firmware upgrade.

[Welshchris]

bare in mind if u do this above and Virgin ask for the router back the warrenty is void

[Jawor]

yess... it works ! firmware upgrade went (almost) smooth, and now I have brand new generic WGR614V9 router !
thanks a lot!

PS. After unlocking the router for upgrade, I still couldn't upload firmware, getting 'invalid filename' message. I changed browser to IE, instead of Chrome that I usually use - and it went fine ! Maybe that was a refresh thing, not sure, but it uploaded smoothly!
:)

cheers!

[AndyCalling]

Nice to know it worked.

This router has had trouble with upgrading firmware from many browsers. I believe they have all been fixed by the latest firmware, so once you've found a browser that works for you for this upgrade, you shouldn't have problems with any of them in the future. That said, browsers keep changing so nothing is certain.

I have everything set on 'G' for wireless and so I don't have mixed mode enabled on the router, I have no 'B' clients. The only 'B' devices that people are likely to use are some handheld devices. If you need to enable 'B' as well as 'G' via the mixed mode setting, remember that whenever you have both 'B' and 'G' devices active at the same time the wireless speed will plummet. It will be OK, just not great. As soon as you disconnect either all the 'B' or all the 'G' devices the remaining devices should get a nice fast transfer rate. So long as you also remember that 'B' devices will not get the full 20meg anyway as the protocol simply can't handle such high speeds. Best to buy all 'G' devices from now on.

The only problem I have had is with Remote Assistance connections over the internet (I guess Remote Desktop would also have these issues). They rarely work, and the router reboots. This was with the firmware before the latest September 09 version. I had to plug the cable modem directly in to my PC to help my Dad with RA. Perhaps the latest firmware will fare better.

Otherwise, my experience with this router post Virgin firmware dumping has been flawless.

Did the firmware upgrade solve your problems?

---------- Post added at 19:09 ---------- Previous post was at 18:53 ----------

bare in mind if u do this above and Virgin ask for the router back the warrenty is void

If you find you have to buy a new router to get around your problems then this advantage is lost anyway. So you may as well try upgrading your firmware first. The WGR614v9 is a very cheap router anyway, so you're risking little.

[Jawor]

Yep, this solved my issue ! Now I can have all computers connected to the network, wired and wireless at the same time without any interruptions! And it's really fast too.

Thanks for B/G advice too, that's helpful.

Regarding Virgin T&C's , I don't really care - I just started new contract, and I think it's very unlikely that someone spots the difference after one year or more. If I happen to leave Virgin, and have to return it - I will change login and password to Vigin defaults - and the router will work EXACTLY the same as before (or actually even better!).

So it's very unlikely that they ask me for paying any 'damage' costs etc.


thanks again Andy!

Przemek

[AndyCalling]

Virgin won't care. In fact they'll probably never want the router back even if you leave them, almost certainly after the contract has ended. They're only really interested in your modem and TV box (if you have one) as these have been known to have been misused by the criminal underclass to get nicked services from Virgin through various dodgy means.

The only issue is that they will not replace the router under the two year warranty, and they won't support it over the phone if they get wind of what you've done.

Since it's so cheap though, you're risking very little.

Nice to know it worked. Let's hope it helps others as well.

[AndyCalling]

Jawor, if you liked my solution then report my reputation as good will you? I've now been marked down as risky by someone because they believe that Virgin will charge people for the router if they do this.

It is not true, I can't find any example of a case where this has happened. They simply will not support it and you void your warrantee. As I have said, if the router won't work anyway what have you to lose? If it works fine, why flash it? This is a self managing risk.

Everyone's entitled to their opinion, so if yours is good re this tip then click my reputation and counteract the bad.

Ta mate! :angel: