Router Freeze, Loss of Connection Possible Fix

[Sc00by22]

I'm going to try this, I've made is so Bounce Sky Router Application automatically reboots the router on NM of 6.2, Hopefully this should make it more stable

[leecovuk]

Thanks to the original poster here and others elsewhere;

My parents' Sky Broadband connection has been victim to the 'regular grinding to a halt after about half an hour' problem.
They use a laptop wirelessly with a USB dongle bought from Sky.
Following the advice here seems to have improved things, although their Noise Margin figures always seem quite high (15-20dB, which is good?) so I assume turning off UPnP in the router may have been the more significant fix (?).

I think I also finally set up their wireless security properly, thanks to another tutorial on this site.

I worked on their connection last night, and today they told me they successfully used the internet for a couple of hours with no problems, so apparent success there. I hope it lasts.
I've been grappling with their flaky connection on and off for ages, so hopefully I/we have finally got them sorted.

Lee

[Saturday]

Originally Posted by leecovuk

their Noise Margin figures always seem quite high (15-20dB, which is good?)

That rather depends.

If they are on a package which offers speeds below the potential for their line then this will lead to a high noise margin, otherwise it is often a sign of a capped connection i.e. Sky have detected a problem and have reduced the line speed/router sync to compensate.

If you would like help with further improving your parents connection then there are several bits of reading which may help you e.g. the first sticky in my signature plus the Cabling and Faceplate Help forum. You may wish to start your own thread in the Sky Broadband Help forum, giving connection details and very importantly, the router's stats.

[leecovuk]

Hello Saturday,

I believe they are on the Connect tier. If the exchange checker linked to on this site is correct, then their exchange is some reasonable distance away. I don't know if their line has been capped, but they seem to achieve around 2Mbps which seems reasonable to me.

If they continue to find they can stay connected for at least a couple of hours, I'm going to let things lie and leave well alone now ! They're not heavy internet users but as things were it was too poor even for their needs.

By the way, I read somewhere that the Netgear should still be connected via the ethernet cable when you first boot the pc up with the dongle plugged in; ie the first time you attempt to set up to go wireless .... is this true, and why would that improve things? I can't recall if I did things like that or not. I know I connected successfully via ethernet, then shut down the laptop, plugged in the dongle, and restarted the laptop. I think I unplugged the ethernet before that last start up.

If relevant, something I still noticed on their wireless connection was the message 'acquiring network address' which seemed to hang around for a while, if not all the time. Again, I can't recall offhand if I ever saw that status change.

Lee

[Saturday]

If they are on Connect and are some distance from the exchange then they're not capped and the high noise margin signifies that the exchange equipment has detected line problems (noise) and has reduced sync/increased noise margin to compensate.

Having the PC connected by wire at the same time as wireless won't improve the wireless. It is only necessary when setting up the wireless as making changes to the wireless settings may cause the wireless connection to be lost i.e. use a wired connection when setting up wireless.

If the PC is taking a long time to get an address this could be caused by a poor wireless quality connection. This will also significantly reduce speed and will often cause an intermittent connection. Even if you decide not to address the probable line noise issue I'd strongly advise improving the wireless connection - see the wireless forum for info and advice.

[leecovuk]

Thanks again, Saturday, all noted.

Presumably the logic behind being wired when adjusting the wireless settings (in the router's browser interface) is simply that you will lose the interface if the wireless connection drops. ie you won't be able to see and use the interface.

Lee

[Left Ova Crack]

Ive got a bizzare problem. Im all happily connected through wireless (after a lot of hassle of zero config and my housemate forgetting the password) and i get good speed. I have an iphone that i charge with the connected usb dock. nothing fancy just the standard little white block, essentially a usb extension to make the iphone stand upright.

Some times if i put the phone in or take it out, or if i recieve a text or phone call, i lose the connection and it wont locate it again unless i restart.

Has anybody had a similar problem or know a solution?