Saturday, December 1, 2012

What is the average lifespan of a router?

Q. I have a linksys wireless router and have had it since the summer of 2003. It gets used by three computers, and two XBOX360s. Lately on the computers and XBOX Live, it flakes out (signal lost, disconnected, that sort of stuff) pretty often.

Should I just get a new router or is there a way to fix this problem?

A. depends on how well you maintain and upgrade it ( firmware upgrades to fix stability issues and add new features )

first I have an old Linksys WRT54GS version 1 ( no version # on the bottom label ) that was first sold on: 03/01/2004 and I have updated this router's firmware 17+ times as the original linksys firmware sucked badly (reboots and random errors) went thru 5 versions from linksys and it got better but never perfect
so I tryed an aftermarket firmware DDWRT and it got better still but I was not in heaven till I installed tomato firmware and now I can run bit-torrent and 5 computers and 2 wireless laptops thru my dsl with only 2 restarts in the last 6 months
now if I had not done any firmware upgrades this router would have gone in the trash 3~4 years ago (or if I could get fibre or 50Mb+ cable as this router can not handel those higher speeds)
now as to maintenance I dust out my router 4 times a year and make shure that it does not get very hot (moving it to a cooler spot on mid summer when the temps hit 90+ upstairs)

so first post you router's model number and what version so we can let you know if it is a lemon or if it just needs an update


should I update the firmware for my Linksys wrt160n wireless router wen it comes in the mail?
Q. Are there problems with new firmware (like there are for the befsr41 router?)

I will use this for multiplayer network games, any additional configuration tips for gaming would be much appreciated ,thanks

A. Yes, it should check for any updates if not after you finish setup check for any updates.


Why does my internet connection keep dieing and the only way to fix it is to reset my router and modem?
Q. I get wireless internet using a Linksys router connected to my parents computer. About every day like clockwork my connection dies and the only way to fix it is to unplug the router and the modem. We've gone through 3 of these routers and each one has the same problem. What's wrong?

A. In a large majority of cases (particularly Linksys) the firmware needs to be updated. Check the linksysy support site, and compare the available version for your model to what you have installed.


How do I take more bandwidth from another computer on a router?
Q. I have a linksys BEFSR41 and 2 computers connected to it via ethernet cables. My computer, a much more powerful Dell than the eMachine also connected seems to go slower/loses connection when the eMachine is running, but the eMachine isn't affected at all with or without the Dell running. Is there a way to make sure that my Dell takes say, 75% of the bandwidth?

A. Some routers have this function. It is common for those that can do access points so no one can hog entire system. or use p2p the wrt54gl can put third party firmware that can do this.

There seems to be a problem on your system though I would see what programs are going on internet causing this perhaps even a virus. Your router may also be at fault try updating firmware.





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