Wireless router won't issue IP

**Chris** · 04-06-2005, 16:12

I am tearing my hair out in front of my mother-in-law's laptop. I set it up with a Belkin 54g wireless router some weeks ago and it has been temperamental to say the least. It (the connection) works for days, then apparently at random the PC loses its settings and I have to talk her through reinputting them over the phone.

Now it has gone completely screwey and her laptop won't connect - it can't get an IP address from the router. I have forced the router to renew all leases and have rebooted it. I am connected to the router currently by cable from my work laptop. When I first got here this afternoon my laptop connected by wireless succdessfully but then lost the connection within about 2 minutes.

Anyone got any ideas?

Paul K · 04-06-2005, 16:48

Wireless router on it's way out? Seems strange if you connected and lost connection within minutes on your laptop.
Not really had much luck witk Belkins but other people swear by them, I had a belkin router that used to lock up regularly

Have you tried loading the newest firmware into it and resetting it to factory defaults to start again from scratch?

**Chris** · 04-06-2005, 16:49

Nope, because it's started working again ...

I am wireless now. No idea how I fixed it, but mother in law is happy.

Hope the router's not on its way out, it's only a few weeks old!

Paul K · 04-06-2005, 16:57

If it carries on doing the same thing I would try installing the newest firmware, intermittent faults are a pig to sort out.

Raistlin · 05-06-2005, 11:23

I would have a look at the router settings and see if you can change the connection channel.

I had exactly the same problem with my connection (albeit on a Linksys router), it solved itself when I changed the channel that the router was operating on. All I did was change to a channel as far from the default as possible.

**Chris** · 06-06-2005, 09:18

Hmm ... M-I-L says that sometimes when she switches on, there is another network named in the list of those available (but not always). Could be the cause of interference?

Paul K · 06-06-2005, 09:20

Sounds like someone else has a wireless setup near you operating on the same channel. Would be one reason for the interference if the two networks are clashing.

**Chris** · 06-06-2005, 09:32

Well, I remember seeing the frequency settings in one of the router's set-up pages. I can change that easily enough. But will I need to alter settings on the PCs that are already configured for the router, or will they detect the change?

Paul K · 06-06-2005, 09:40

As far as I know the computers will sort themselves but someone else might know better. What wireless cards are they?

**Chris** · 06-06-2005, 09:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul

As far as I know the computers will sort themselves but someone else might know better. What wireless cards are they?

MIL's laptop has one built in ... brand of laptop escapes me at the moment, something obscure beginning with A (not Acer). Mine is the Belkin wireless NIC that PC World gave her free with the router, but which she didn't need due to having one built in.

Paul K · 06-06-2005, 10:27

Looks like you have to change channel in the settings for the router and card
Linky