Mac/linksys wireless issues?

[yendi]

Anyone happen to have any experience with older linksys wireless routers losing their connections and having to be reset when a newer ibook (with airport extreme and the more recent 802.11 implementation) connects to it? 'song's new iBook seems to cause our wireless to go out on a recurring basis (and it's the wireless itself, not her computer -- I lose my connection, too), and it doesn't come back on until the traditional tech fix (unplugging the router and plugging it back in). is applied.

Comments

[aki-dreaming.livejournal.com]

So are, but ours didn't start until we actually networked the iBook and the eMac.

[angryvixen.livejournal.com]

Yep. Ours does that CONSTANTLY. It's annoying as hell. And the thing that made it even more frustrating is that the wireless card that came with the router got the WORST connection out of all of them. That makes no sense. I've been told it's just the router and we should upgrade to a better one. I don't have a fix for you, just commiserating.

[angryvixen.livejournal.com]

I should also add that we have no Macs, just PCs.

[ckd]

Have they released any firmware updates for that router? I don't have a feel for how Linksys is on update support for their gear.

For that matter, if it's one of the ones that can run a third-party GPLed firmware replacement, that may be worth looking at.

[merrick42.livejournal.com]

I don't have any systems that are actually using the wireless on my linksys wireless router, but those I have running via ethernet cables will occasionally stop being able to connect through the router, so I don't think your offbase. Computer-wise, I'm running a PC desktop and a G3 Powerbook (Lombard).

could it be...

[snesgirl.livejournal.com]

a fault in the airport of the new ibook?

I ask that because that because if the dropoffs only started since the iBook became networked, that to me suggests that something about the iBook is causing it.... good luck dioging it.

I'd say take it to the nearest store and leaev airport connected to their network for a few hours and then take it to genius bar....

Re: could it be...

[aki-dreaming.livejournal.com]

Okay, but... we've got a very similar thing - linksys wireless, two Macs, one iBook, one eMac and this just started for us when a friend networked the two computers. I'm not savvy enough to know of a reason that action would create this problem...

Re: could it be...

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

No, his desktop used to drop off sometimes before I got the iBook...

[xaeon.livejournal.com]

a bad network card (wired or wireless) can cause problems with any router. Usually its an issue of the said network card "chattering" (sending out lots and lots of mostly useless information), which eventually overloads the router and causes it to kill everyone's connection. It could still be the router, but if you have multiple machines connected to it besides that one, but only has problems when that one connects, its probably that one. try leaving that one off and using the others for a while, if there are no problems, take one of the others off and put that one on, if it has problems then, its the network card on that unit, if it has no problems, its probably the router.

[xaeon.livejournal.com]

to amend that slightly, if its just that machine, its also possible the software on the machine can cause the card to chatter, so you might need to check that as well

I've seen this...

[ottercat.livejournal.com]

annaoj had this issue. she updated the drivers for the card on her mac laptop and it fixed it (for her) -- I still have occasional flakiness when I go over there. The linksys is at the latest firmware on her router, too.

[uberjay.livejournal.com]

I had a similar issue with my wireless (802.11g) network, and resolved it by changing the wireless channel on my router. I'm pretty sure the problems started at or around the time when another wireless network showed up in my 'hood.

I guess it's worth a shot to try it out?

[zarq.livejournal.com]

As you suspect, it's a Linksys problem.

Some background: Linksys was originally a PC hardware networking company, and had no experience with wireless products when they began producing them. They went through the standard growing pains when they moved into that market and one of the results was that older Linksys wireless routers had cross-platform problems. That's also because their support for Macs was practically non-existent until relatively recently.

The company's tech support is India-based and 100% not Mac-supportive, which can be frustrating in the extreme. The last time I had a problem with one of their routers, I was told, "We can't diagnose the router on a Mac. You need to plug it into a PC." Something to keep in mind when purchasing their products for use on a Mac network. The "Live Help" option on their website is

So......
Check the Linksys site to see if there's a firmware update for the router. If so, install it. You should also be using the latest linksys router software on both computers, so check to make sure you're up to date.

If you're using ecryption, shut it off. See if that helps.

See if changing the channel on the router helps. (This is typically done through the software.) Also, if you have any devices that are 2.4ghz in the house, like a wireless phone, deactivate them and check what happens. They can interfere with a network signal.

If it's a double antennae router, they should be at least 15-20 degrees away from one another. (A right angle would be better). This will give you the maximum coverage while preventing interference.

There are other things you can try, but that's a good start.

[zarq.livejournal.com]

Oops.

That should read:
"The "Live Help" option on their website is a pain in the ass and not very helpful with macs."

[trochee.livejournal.com]

another direction that I haven't seen suggested here --

it's possible that the older routers freak out when they receive a wireless query over ipv6 instead of ipv4. I think a new mac might well peek to see if ipv6 is supported.

E.g.: my qwest Actiontec DSL modem/router has DNS freakouts when it gets ipv6 requests (http://trochee.livejournal.com/172165.html); those freakouts impact all computers downstream from the router, even though it's only imtboo's new spiffy PC laptop that makes those requests. Might be worth investigating.

[faire-raven.livejournal.com]

I have an older Linksys wireless router, and it drops connection without apparent reason. We have gone round and round with Bellsouth and Linksys support with no answer to the mystery. Probably twice a day or more we have to unplug and replug-in the router. Possibly just a coincidence that she bought the iBook when it started resetting.

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

*nods* It's actually been doing it for over a year prior to the iBook purchase - it was just more intermittent then. He could stay online for hours to a few days without resetting. Now that we have the iBook, it's a matter of minutes.

And I can stay online on the iBook longer when he's not in the house. They just can't be used at the same time, looks like.

[farrell.livejournal.com]

Eh, Linksys routers have plenty of issues, but then again, so do plenty of other routers. Mine has the exact same problem, only without the need of a Mac intervention. Just uTorrent will eventually kill the router, and it is a known issue... and sounds a lot like the problem you're having. As I understand it, over a few hours/days/weeks, the router hangs onto lots of connections in its memory that it doesn't kill, until finally the connection just dies and nothing short of direct intervention fixes the problem.

For solutions, Zarq and the others more or less nailed it on the head:

- Upgrade router firmware
- Upgrade wireless drivers
- Change the channel being used
- Dump encryption (provided your network is secure in other ways)
- Knock out any unnecessary network services on the computers

Not being a Macspert myself, I'm not too sure about whether the latest OSes have any funky deals going on with odd network service requests or anything.

Something you can try is to find a setting somewhere in the router's config and every now and then change it slightly. I simply turn on or off port-forwarding on a port that's used by a program I rarely use. On my router, this forces a reset of the entire network, but also seems to put off the Ungrateful Dead Network bug for a little while longer.

Or for amusement, wire up a remote on/off switch for the router :)

[texmorgan.livejournal.com]

Something that I'm noticing that people haven't mentioned here is that Macs run on HEX and PCs run on ASCII. This can cause problems. I bet the cause is that the wireless router isn't handleling the difference well. You really have two options here: spend a lot of time investigating the problem and possibly fixing it or save the hassle and go buy a NETGEAR router.

I have a NETGEAR router and I haven't had a single problem with my wireless. Well that's not true, my wireless card on my laptop overheated after being on for 40 days. But that is totally unrelated.

[kennycelican.livejournal.com]

I don't have personal experience with a Linksys wireless, but I've got plenty with Linksys routers in general, and a good friend has had a Linksys wireless network up and running for quite a while.

The company's customer service is indeed utter crap - doesn't matter if you use Macs or PCs. However, someone deep in the bowels of the company apparently finds out about problems and hands them to a half-competent techie, who then rewrites the drivers / firmware.

Short version - with Linksys hardware, keep your drivers / firmware up to date and you'll be in fairly good shape. Fail to do so and you wind up with endless problems.

[andor.livejournal.com]

Hummm, I didn't heard anything similar...

It's a router or a wireless access point? What model number?

I have like 6 linksysnwireless access points at home, 3 different models, one from 2 years ago, some from a year ago, and some very new models, and none of them give me any problems.

Most of them are using a 'custom' firmware, thought... not the standard one.
I use DD-wrt custom firmware.

We, at home, use a mix of an iBook, 3 different brand and OS PDAs, a windows PC, a Linux PC, a PSP... and no problems...

Anyway, I have a new router, with a standard (but updated), firmware in my parents home, and I connect with my iBook, and my PDAs, and no problem...