Looking for new Wireless Router or some Black Majic

sjpeckey · Mar 23, 2009

Ok my old netgear has made me angry enough. Its time to put him out its a
108Mps/2.4Ghz model. I have never had great luck with this with two computers (macbook pro, macbook).

I am looking for suggestions of a solid router. We have had WEP on WPA, they never seemed to work well with the computers.

Or if anyone has some black mojo that I can use in the settings to help me get some good results. Also at any one time I can see 4-5 other wireless out there.

I have played with the channels, B,G, B and G.

Thanks

Davidk02 · Mar 23, 2009

Well, the obvious answer is to get an airport extreme, but from other testimonials and personal use, I know that you don't have to have an apple router for an apple computer. I use a Belkin wireless N. It works great for me. I have heard that others have incurred problems with the same router. When you say that at any one time you can see 4-5 other wireless out there, do you mean your neighbors routers, or people using your wireless connection. It is very common to see other peoples wireless networks, but if there are constantly 4-5 others using your connection, you have a problem on you hands. I would then advise going into your router settings and setting up a password. Also, while you are in there, make sure that your connection type matches the ISP you use.

sjpeckey · Mar 23, 2009

Ok, I see 4-5 other networks. It just seems to drop out and or get slow all the time. I have been thinking about an Airport but....I always hear problems? On some days I actually can get better results from a neighbors open network than mine

also we are on Comcast cable just upgraded to the highest end tier

cwa107 · Mar 23, 2009

Here's the recipe for success with most wireless routers:

1. Make sure the firmware is up to date. (very important)

2. Make sure you are not using the same channel as your neighbors (do a site scan with a program like AirPort Radar), and experiment with different channels (avoid channels 11 and 9, which are common defaults).

3. Make sure the router is placed properly. This is key! If you have a two story home, the router should be on the second floor. Generally, the higher the router is, the better. Additionally, you want the router centrally located. If you have it at an extreme end of your house, near an outside wall, the signal will extend outward, away from your home. And finally, routers in a basement are a huge no-no. The combination of concrete walls, one or more stories of building material, electrical panels, HVAC systems, duct work and other mechanical items are signal killers.

4. For use with Macs, SSID broadcast *MUST* be turned on. Some people fear this because they think that with it turned off, others can't see their network. But in reality, all it does is make it harder for your computers to get and stay connected. Your SSID is still discoverable with a WiFi sniffer. So, just turn it on and use good encryption.

5. Microwave ovens and cordless phone bases should be kept well away from the router.

6. Finally, use WPA or WPA2/AES if available. WEP is old, dated, overly complicated, slow and insecure. I can not stress this enough - if you're using WEP, you might as well have security disabled.

Do all of that before you buy a new routers and you should be good.

If you really want a new router, the AirPort Extreme is OK, but way overpriced. I have a D-Link DIR-655 and would recommend it to anyone. It's one of the highest rated routers in its class and can be had for $100 or less these days.

cwa107 · Mar 23, 2009

sjpeckey said:
I have played with the channels, B,G, B and G.

Thanks

B, G and N are all different variations on the 802.11 standard, they are NOT channels.

sjpeckey · Mar 24, 2009

I have tried all of those things, to no avail. it takes forever to join my network when I have reset and added WPA. I get a "timed out message" all the time.
For now I am on an open network. I have use both my macbook pro as well as a macbook.

Is there any setting on the laptops that I can trash that my be a problem?

What about using "mac address" for our two laptops would that help?

cwa107 · Mar 24, 2009

sjpeckey said:
I have tried all of those things, to no avail. it takes forever to join my network when I have reset and added WPA. I get a "timed out message" all the time.
For now I am on an open network. I have use both my macbook pro as well as a macbook.

Is there any setting on the laptops that I can trash that my be a problem?

What about using "mac address" for our two laptops would that help?

Don't use MAC filtering, period. If it's turned on, turn it off.

At this point, I would do a hard reset on the router (unplug the power, press and hold the recessed RESET button on back, plug the power in and continue holding for 30 seconds). Then, remove the wireless networks from the network list on your Macs (System Preferences => Network => AirPort => Advanced => Remove all network names). Then configure the router with a new SSID, broadcast turned on, WPA (with new passphrase) and channel 3. Connect to it with the Macs and see how things go.

sjpeckey · Mar 24, 2009

Last night I did all of that except for removing all old networks. I will try that tonight. I also changed DNS today It may have helped? (Its like when you was your car, you think it runs better.) I will see what happens tonight

Thanks

cwa107 · Mar 24, 2009

If you did all of these things and it's still not working right, I'd say kick it to the can and pick up a D-Link DIR-655.

I would avoid Belkin and off-brands. Stick with the big three, Linksys, D-Link or Netgear and you should be fine.

sjpeckey · Mar 24, 2009

Thanks, I Will update

NilesL · Mar 27, 2009

cwa107 said:
Here's the recipe for success with most wireless routers:

1. Make sure the firmware is up to date. (very important)

2. Make sure you are not using the same channel as your neighbors (do a site scan with a program like AirPort Radar), and experiment with different channels (avoid channels 11 and 9, which are common defaults).

3. Make sure the router is placed properly. This is key! If you have a two story home, the router should be on the second floor. Generally, the higher the router is, the better. Additionally, you want the router centrally located. If you have it at an extreme end of your house, near an outside wall, the signal will extend outward, away from your home. And finally, routers in a basement are a huge no-no. The combination of concrete walls, one or more stories of building material, electrical panels, HVAC systems, duct work and other mechanical items are signal killers.

4. For use with Macs, SSID broadcast *MUST* be turned on. Some people fear this because they think that with it turned off, others can't see their network. But in reality, all it does is make it harder for your computers to get and stay connected. Your SSID is still discoverable with a WiFi sniffer. So, just turn it on and use good encryption.

5. Microwave ovens and cordless phone bases should be kept well away from the router.

6. Finally, use WPA or WPA2/AES if available. WEP is old, dated, overly complicated, slow and insecure. I can not stress this enough - if you're using WEP, you might as well have security disabled.

Do all of that before you buy a new routers and you should be good.

If you really want a new router, the AirPort Extreme is OK, but way overpriced. I have a D-Link DIR-655 and would recommend it to anyone. It's one of the highest rated routers in its class and can be had for $100 or less these days.

I too am looking for a new router and had all but settled on the one you like, the D-Link DIR 655. While researching it, I discovered that the included software does not support Mac Op Systems. I was told its very simple to just type the settings you need into it, but I'm skeptical and not all that experienced with my 2 Macs one a desk top, one a powerbook. Is that information correct? Can it be made functional for a Mac with simple (not simple for a Mac engineer, simple for a true novice) changes?

dtravis7 · Mar 27, 2009

You do not need any of that software to set up the Dlink router. You can do it all through a Web Browser.

I only used the CD with one older Netgear router and it was a nightmare! I never did it again!

cwa107 · Mar 27, 2009

NilesL said:
I too am looking for a new router and had all but settled on the one you like, the D-Link DIR 655. While researching it, I discovered that the included software does not support Mac Op Systems. I was told its very simple to just type the settings you need into it, but I'm skeptical and not all that experienced with my 2 Macs one a desk top, one a powerbook. Is that information correct? Can it be made functional for a Mac with simple (not simple for a Mac engineer, simple for a true novice) changes?

I have never used the discs that come with a wireless router, as I find that more often than not, they don't work well. To be honest, there's a fair number of people here who own a DIR-655 and I've never heard them say that the disc doesn't support Macs, so I was surprised to see you bring up that concern. Most wireless routers are easily configured through a webpage. The hardest part is finding out what address to put in your browser to connect to it and set it up. On the DIR-655, that address is typically 192.168.0.1, username: Admin, Password: <blank>.

Once you get into the webpage, you simply set up your wireless network name, the security you want to use (should be WPA or WPA2, NOT WEP) and the passphrase you want to use with it.

With that said, I can't guarantee you that you won't have any trouble. Worst case scenario, you could always come here for help, or call D-Link directly and have their tech support walk you through.

dtravis7 · Mar 27, 2009

CWA, I see Dlink has stuck with that same IP they have used for years now and same log in info too!

I like that. Makes it easy to remember if you are a network tech and work with all sorts of routers.

cwa107 · Mar 27, 2009

dtravis7 said:
CWA, I see Dlink has stuck with that same IP they have used for years now and same log in info too!

Yep. A lot of vendors are going to 192.168.1.1, or more wisely, 192.168.2.1. I believe that's because a lot of modems have their own simplistic router that uses 192.168.0.1 and it causes conflicts.

NilesL · Mar 27, 2009

Outstanding. Thanks everyone for the extremely quick response. Very much appreciated.