Losing connection to internet by way of router

[brianb22]

so this has been happening for about a month now and i've done extensive research trying to find the solution without much luck.  basically i'm losing my connection to my router at really random times.  i haven't changed any settings lately or anything like that.  my modem has been fine through this whole thing so i'm pretty sure it doesn't have anything to do with my local ISP.  i have been connecting/disconnecting the router and that works but sometimes its for a day and other times for an hour.  no pattern.  i've changed a couple of things and got these suggestions from here:
http://besthubris.com/computers-internet/wireless-network-drop-connection-windows-7-error/

i've ran troubleshooter and hasn't found anything.  one thing i noticed on my routers web page was the LAN ip address.  i don't know much about these things so i was wondering if that ip address is supposed to match my computers ip address or if it has it's own specific one.  i just changed a setting in that link about an hour ago so don't know if it will fix this problem but from what it says i don't hold much hope. 

Running Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
Dynex Model DX-WGRTR v1000

also i checked for firmware updates on my router and there wasn't any.

[Geek-9pm]

Who made the router? The modem?
Is this DSL or Cable?
How old is the modem?
How old is the router?

Almost new hardware does fail. And it has a lot to due with your ISP. Many ISPs will offer their customers equipment that is marginal to hopefully get a better profit. They are wrong. Customers don't like it when equipment that should last for years breaks down in a few months.

Replace both modem and router with a single unit. Expect to pay $100 for a good one.

[soybean]

...  it has a lot to due with your ISP. Many ISPs will offer their customers equipment that is marginal to hopefully get a better profit.

I have some doubt about the validity of that statement; perhaps it's true for some ISPs but definitely not all.  Some ISPs provide the modem as part of the package to the customer and, if the router fails, the ISP replaces it.  So, providing unreliable modems would just increase the cost of providing support to the customer and create bad PR (Public Relations) for the ISP.

Replace both modem and router with a single unit. Expect to pay $100 for a good one.

I'd be more inclined to advise just replacing the router.  If you still have problems with an unreliable connection, then contact your ISP. 

By the way, are you connected to your router by cable or are you using a wireless connection?

[brianb22]

Yea my ISP provided my modem but not my router.  My modem is obviously run through the router and then the router connects to my PC.  I have a laptop that I connect wirelessly to the router as well as both of my smartphones.  I ended up doing one of the suggestions on the website I listed and if it changed anything it's minimal.  I'm still losing connection but instead of 5 times a day it's more random.  So far today no problems.  I restarted my router last night and has been fine since but it will go out eventually.  From a lot of things I've read on the net it seems like this could be a Windows 7 issue as opposed to a hardware one.  Then again that isn't always the case from what I've read so I don't really know which way to go.  Should I start with replacing the router or do you know of any settings in 7 that might do the trick?  If you need to know what setting I changed I can look it up.  Don't remember offhand. 

[Geek-9pm]

I will chime in again.
In windows you can do the whole network setup again and see if that makes any improvement. Maybe not, not, but worth a try.

[jason2074]

I have a laptop that I connect wirelessly to the router as well as both of my smartphones

Have you tried isolating the problem from a single  computer connecting first? Then allow one machine or device until the problem occurs.

[brianb22]

Are you saying turn off wifi on my laptop and phones and then turn one on at a time to see if one of them knocks the router connection out?  No I haven't but it never really occurred to me that it would make much of a difference.  I'll try it later this afternoon and see if it works.  Right now I'm on the longest connected streak I've had since this started happening.  Haven't lost it since my last post.  I mentioned something in my first post I think about the IP addresses for my PC and router.  I just built my PC about 3 months ago and it obviously was given a new IP address.  The IP address on my router's homepage is not the same and I didn't know if the router had it's own address or if it was supposed to be the same as my PCs.  Haven't done a lot of network stuff so little things like this aren't in my wheelhouse. 

[Raptor]

It seems like a very cheap router as it was made for Belkin. On top of that, you're also using wireless with many devices. I'd bin the thing and buy Linksys. Get cable installed.

Did you check for firmware updates, though? There's a version 1.01.08 available.
Make sure all your devices are set to DHCP ... Once it's stable, you can start manually assigning IP addresses.

[Geek-9pm]

Stop bad blaming the router!
The problem is more likely the modem and the ISP.
He did not say what modem they gave him. The low-end modems have a failure rate above than most routers If That is the case, the ISP already knows about it and is waiting for him to say something.

[Raptor]

He says he is losing his connection to his router. Not modem.

If you are losing the connection to your router, it's your router or your computer.

[Geek-9pm]

He never said how he tested the modem. Nor did he give the model number of the modem or its history. If the modem does not have self-diagnostics, it can take over a day to verify that it works. He seems to to to be a novice. He may have assumed the problem was from the router. An maybe it is. But if ,this had not happened before, there is little reason to think it would be some settings. Why would the settings change?

Pardon me for meddling. Just I think it is the modem.

[Raptor]

Actually, I was the one meddling. It's just that I saw "belkin" and "wireless problems" in the same post.

[Geek-9pm]

Actually, I was the one meddling. It's just that I saw "belkin" and "wireless problems" in the same post.

Fair enough. Wireless is always an issue. The OP ends to tell us if there is a situation where things are better with all devices working.

There is a situation where connection will fail after the first computer is turned off. Some ISPs look for the main computer as a form of ID for the user.

This is why routers have a 'MAC clone' feature.
Not knowing this you can run in circles.

Also, some ISPs will not like it if you have too many people on your connection. Or they may even forbid you for having extra devices, but not enforce the rule in a polite way.
Sp it is helpful to know who the provider is and what policies they have.

[brianb22]

alright so here's the info on the modem.  it's an arris touchstone telephony modem. i am about to go to their website and see if there's any firmware updates for it.  i already checked for updates on the router and there wasn't any.  yea it's a cheap one but it's lasted 4 years so i can't really complain.  definitely got my moneys worth.  so i'm thinking the easiest way to see if it's the modem or the router is to unhook the router and run the cable modem straight to my PC and see if i lose connection.  you have a better way?  i'm not just going to blindly assume it's the modem or the router or both and go spend a bunch of money replacing them.  more than likely my ISP will replace the modem but that's not the point.  right now it's still connected going on two days so even though it's stable i'm sure it will loose it again soon.

[Geek-9pm]

.  so i'm thinking the easiest way to see if it's the modem or the router is to unhook the router and run the cable modem straight to my PC and see if i lose connection.  you have a better way?  i'm not just going to blindly assume it's the modem or the router or both and go spend a bunch of money replacing them.  more than likely my ISP will replace the modem...

You got it! That is the sane way to troubleshoot. Direct replacement or elimination. You can save some money by getting just the router. Once you are sure it is the router.

[brianb22]

ok.  well i'll let it ride for now until i lose my connection again and then disconnect the router and see if that works.  if it does then obviously it's the router.  thanks.  hopefully i won't have to post anymore but if so i'll just come back to this one. 

[truenorth]

I am coming late to this party. But by sheer coincidence i was having a very similar issue this past week with an older Compaq laptop when i decided to rejuvenate it and create a wireless connection to the same system you have (DSL modem separate user owned router). The one difference that may be in play from the O/P is that i was using a wireless adapter on the laptop. Brand new adapter software and all. In my case the problem existed between the adapter (on the computer) and the router connected to the modem. If you are indeed having a problem with the router (and /or an adapter if one is being used) then i urge you to contact the appropriate hardware manufacturer and my experience is that they are very helpful. In my case either Trendnet or Lynsky . Your connecting directly via cable to the modem will definitely narrow down the issue. Then i would reintroduce each computer via the various methods of connect (wireless or cable) but only one at a time and determine if one alone will work uninterrupted. You may then find that it is only in combination that the problem arises. I note that another member has related to that being a possible issue. I have had on occasion up to 6 computers all connected at once (some wireless and one cable) and never had that kind of issue arise. When an issue has arisen it was always adapter related. truenorth

[brianb22]

am i wrong in thinking that if i have three computers using the net via router and one of them was screwed up then wouldn't just that computer lose it's connection and not kick them all off?

[Geek-9pm]

am i wrong in thinking that if i have three computers using the net via router and one of them was screwed up then wouldn't just that computer lose it's connection and not kick them all off?

This is fuzzy logic. When things are normal, nobody would have trouble. If one has trouble, the condition of the others would not be  never predicated on the failure of none. Is Thant clear?

[brianb22]

so here's where i'm at now.  bought a new router yesterday.  hooked it up with no issues.  connected my laptop and 2 phones to it with no problems.  get home this morning from work and my phone won't connect.  check the wife's phone and still connected.  woke up this afternoon and still can't get the phone connected.  just checked the laptop and it won't connect either.  all the while my PC that the router is connected to is working just fine.  don't know if it's just working for now or if it's actually fixed.
router i bought was a Cisco Linksys WRT 120N

[truenorth]

I suggest that you now disconnect everything and then trying them one at a time see which can continue to work uninterrupted for a few hours. Only test them one at a time until they have all been tested that way. Then with the PC connected try using it in conjunction with each other device again only one at a time. Eventually you can find which ones can work satisfactorily  together. Once you have completed that process you should have a clear picture of where the trouble lies(at least in terms of which device{s}). By the way is the PC as you relate in your last post cabled to the router? Whereas in the original post you were getting disconnects with the router now it seems the issue is with connected devices.truenorth

[brianb22]

my wife just got home and her phone connected right away.  laptop is back up to although i did reset the router so that might be why.  my phone is still not connecting.  i have a samsung captivate galaxy S I.  hers is the same model.  i've done pretty much everything but a full wipe of my phone and nothing has worked yet.  it shows the router i'm trying to connect to, it will say "scanning" then "connecting" then "disconnected".  just does that in a loop.  on the old router we would lose connection on everything, i would reset the router, everything would reconnect and stay that way for random amounts of time until it disconnects again.  with this new router i haven't lost a connection to the PC that it is cabled to yet.  which makes me think replacing the old router was a good start but who knows.  i'm def not wiping my phone until i have exhausted all my options.  i haven't changed any settings from last night when i first installed the new router and everything connected perfectly fine.  just don't understand why 12 hours later my phone isn't working.  could it be that once i got out of the range of my router something happened and when it came back it's not being able to connect because of that?  man i've read so many posts about router issues, phone issues, windows 7 being the problem, etc.  all i know is that i had 7 installed on this PC with the same router with 0 settings changed for months and then all of a sudden this crap started happening.