Unstable connection using a Linksys BEFW11S4 and Netopia 2241N

BACKGROUND:
After searching several forums for the past few days, I have decided to
post a new thread because I cannot find anyone that has posted a
solution to solve my problem.

The only conclusion that I have come to is that this router is junk,
and I would probably be better off without it. Several people have
reported that the router looses its connection on random intervals of
time, for me it is close to every hour.

Please note that I have tried the latest firmware 1.52.02. It amplified
my problems by 10, so I went back to the previous revision that I was
using.


PROBLEM:
I cannot pin-point a specific time that the router looses its
connection, but it happens too often for me. Usually within an hour of
resetting (pull the cord, wait 15+ sec, plug it back in).

The mysterious thing for me is that it only affects the wireless
clients. The hard-wired machines still operate fine. Also, when the
router looses its connection, I cannot access it via its web interface
(192.168.1.1) until I reset it again.


Past Setup
----
Cable Internet Provider connected via "Obtain IP Automatically"
Linksys BEFCMU10 ver.2
Linksys BEFW11S4 ver.4 firmware 1.50.14
(192.168.1.1)

Present Setup
----
DSL Internet Provider connected via "PPPoE"
Netopia 2241N-006
(192.168.1.254)
Linksys BEFW11S4 ver.4 firmware 1.50.14
(192.168.1.1)

Network Setup
----
MacBook Pro uses wire & wireless
(192.168.1.52) & (192.168.1.152)
WinXP PC #1 uses wire only
(192.168.1.4)
MacBook uses wireless only
(192.168.1.188)
WinXP PC #2 uses wireless only
(192.168.1.162)

All machines are manually assigned an IP using the gateway
192.168.1.254.


SPECIFIC QUESTIONS:
Should I use NAT from the linksys router or the DSL modem?


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The only reason I included my Past Setup was to state that I had no
problems at all with that setup. Everything was working great with an
occasional hiccup, but now I am ready to upgrade if necessary.

This new DSL modem has built-in router features that I was not
accustomed to with my previous modem. I have disabled DHCP on both the
linksys router and the DSL modem. The linksys router has 4 ports plus
the internet (WAN) port. My Past Setup with the cable modem was
connected through the internet port, now with the DSL modem I have it
plugged into one of the 4 normal ports.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I could have something
setup wrong, and if there is any other information that is needed that
I have not provided, please let me know. I wanted to avoid buying
another router, but if that is my last resort then I will do so.

In article <(E-Mail Removed). com>,
(E-Mail Removed) wrote:

> The mysterious thing for me is that it only affects the wireless
> clients. The hard-wired machines still operate fine. Also, when the
> router looses its connection, I cannot access it via its web interface
> (192.168.1.1) until I reset it again.

I know that this gets bandied about like a panacea (you're a Mac guy,
it's like "did you repair your permissions?" which is touted as the
solution to everything in the Mac world) a lot, but it sounds like
telephone interference. 2.4 gig phones in the building?
--
W. Oates
Teal'c: He is concealing something.
O'Neil: Like what?
Teal'c: I am unsure, he is concealing it.

Yes sir, as a matter of fact we have 3 of them in the house not to
mention 2 cell phones which I am unsure of.... Is there a settting on
the BEFW11S4 that I can change that frequency, or some other solution
to this problem without getting another router? I completely
over-looked this as being a possible problem even though it is in huge
letters on the front of the router. I really appreciate your input for
my stupidity. What are my options?

Thanks!

In article <(E-Mail Removed) .com>,
(E-Mail Removed) wrote:

> Yes sir, as a matter of fact we have 3 of them in the house not to
> mention 2 cell phones which I am unsure of.... Is there a settting on
> the BEFW11S4 that I can change that frequency, or some other solution
> to this problem without getting another router? I completely
> over-looked this as being a possible problem even though it is in huge
> letters on the front of the router. I really appreciate your input for
> my stupidity. What are my options?

You can try changing the channels on your router (most default to
channel 6 -- try channel 1 or 11), but the _real_ solution is to move
back to 900 mHz phones, or buy 5.8 gig phones, although I'm told that
those may soon cause trouble.

Try playing with a cordless phone -- see if you can kill your wireless
internet connection by making a phone call. Phones may not be the
problem, but they could be.
--
W. Oates
Teal'c: He is concealing something.
O'Neil: Like what?
Teal'c: I am unsure, he is concealing it.

On 12 Nov 2006 16:31:37 -0800, (E-Mail Removed) wrote in
<(E-Mail Removed) .com>:

>Yes sir, as a matter of fact we have 3 of them in the house not to

Likely issue.

>mention 2 cell phones which I am unsure of.... Is there a settting on

Not an issue.

>the BEFW11S4 that I can change that frequency, or some other solution

No.

>to this problem without getting another router?

Only 802.11a (A, not G) would help. Otherwise replace the phones.

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>

On Sun, 12 Nov 2006 20:08:23 -0500, Warren Oates
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
<4557c5d6$0$12774$(E-Mail Removed)>:

>In article <(E-Mail Removed) .com>,
> (E-Mail Removed) wrote:
>
>> Yes sir, as a matter of fact we have 3 of them in the house not to
>> mention 2 cell phones which I am unsure of.... Is there a settting on
>> the BEFW11S4 that I can change that frequency, or some other solution
>> to this problem without getting another router? I completely
>> over-looked this as being a possible problem even though it is in huge
>> letters on the front of the router. I really appreciate your input for
>> my stupidity. What are my options?
>
>You can try changing the channels on your router (most default to
>channel 6 -- try channel 1 or 11), but the _real_ solution is to move
>back to 900 mHz phones, or buy 5.8 gig phones, although I'm told that
>those may soon cause trouble.

No, but some 5.8 GHz phones also use 2.4 MHz, so won't help.

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>

Thanks a lot for the feedback. I will try out the suggestions. Do the
phones have to be in use before they cause a conflict, because we
haven't used the phones all afternoon?

On 12 Nov 2006 17:36:58 -0800, (E-Mail Removed) wrote in
<(E-Mail Removed). com>:

>Thanks a lot for the feedback. I will try out the suggestions. Do the
>phones have to be in use before they cause a conflict, because we
>haven't used the phones all afternoon?

Some (not all) phones cause interference when the base station checks.

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>

(E-Mail Removed) hath wroth:

>The only conclusion that I have come to is that this router is junk,

In my limited experience and having used a BEFW11S4 v4 at home for
about a year, I would say it's junk. I've been told that some of the
non-v4 versions are tolerable, but I have no experience.

>I cannot pin-point a specific time that the router looses its
>connection, but it happens too often for me. Usually within an hour of
>resetting (pull the cord, wait 15+ sec, plug it back in).
>
>The mysterious thing for me is that it only affects the wireless
>clients. The hard-wired machines still operate fine. Also, when the
>router looses its connection, I cannot access it via its web interface
>(192.168.1.1) until I reset it again.

Yep. That's about it. Mine would hang erratically when doing
nothing. It would always hang about 10 minutes after playing
streaming media (video or audio). It would also hang when I tested
stability with a variety of router exploits. When it didn't hang and
appeared to work, one or two wireless clients would magically get
disconnected, could not reconnect, and were locked out until I power
cycled the BEFW11S4 v4. At one point, I was running and AC lamp timer
to cycle the power twice a day to keep it up. I eventually replaced
it with a WRT54G v1.1 running DD-WRT firmware and lived happily ever
after.

--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

I enabled NAT on the router and disabled NAT on the modem. The
connection has not failed on the wireless side for almost 12 hours now.

While the cordless phones may be an issue, they have not caused any
problems with my past setup. I felt pretty certain that it had to be
some part of the setup that I had configured incorrectly.

As you have stated Jeff, in the past I can recall the router hanging
shortly after streaming audio/video. The problem I was having was
happening close to every hour no matter what.

Also, the WRT54GS w/speed booster is about the same price as the
WRT54G. If I do replace my router, is it worth getting the one with
speed booster?

Thanks again to everyone who has replied.