Issues with Wireless Networking

[Veiled]

I've always used wireless networking in my home for every computer except the one I play wow with (hardwired of course). A few weeks ago, the wireless just randomly stopped working. I tried all the basic stuff.. power cycling, resetting to factory settings, etc. I finally went and bought a new router thinking that maybe it was just the wireless (wired was working perfect still). I bought the Linksys E3000 for $180ish bucks. Brought it home, it did the same thing. Spent 1.5 hrs on the phone with tech support and they had no idea what was happening. They told me it must just be a defective router and to take it back to the store. I took it back, got a Netgear router. Same thing happens, call tech support, they run me through all these tweaks and changes. Nothing works, they say the same thing about being defective. I take it back again and decide to get a router that is exactly like the original one that I had. A linksys WRT310N. I bring it home, same thing. I did actually get my iphone to connect to it but there was no connection to the internet.

I also called my ISP to make sure that my connection was strong and that my modem didn't have any issues. Everything is perfect with them. At this point, nothing will connect to it and if it does, there is no connection. Keep in mind when replying that I've already spent hours on the phone with tech support and they had me do the majority of the basic stuff as well as a bit of in-depth troubleshooting. It feels to me like there is an issue that isn't related to the router itself but I have no idea what it could even be.

My main computer (that is hardwired) is a Win 7 desktop. The additional computer is a Win Vista Desktop. I am also trying to connect 2 iPhone 4s and a X-box 360 (Halo: Reach one, btw, it's awesome).

Oh, also, before anyone asks... no there isn't a microwave or speakers near the router nor is there any kind of cordless phone in my house. Everything is still the same in my household as far as the environment is concerned and I can't imagine where any type of signal interruption would come from.

[Deleted]

Maybe it's a problem with your computer, try turning off UAC.
Also try checking your Ethernet cables.

---------- Post added 2010-11-15 at 02:59 AM ----------

UAC? What am I thinking, late night confusion. Try the latter.

[Metraon]

Try with another computer. I had the same problem 1 year ago. One of my laptops was lagging out and the other did not. I formatted and installed wow and it worked.

[MildCorma]

Hi Veritas,

Just to put you at ease a little i'm a qualified networking technician so I would like to help you out.

I've got a few questions that if you could answer would be fantastic just so I have a better idea of what's going / can eliminate some of the possibilities.

1. What level of tech support did you get bumped up to? (were they reading from a page or actually troubleshooting it with you?)

2. Is your network secure?

3. Did they mention anything about your default gateway?

4. Did they get you to assign specific IPs to your computers?

5. Can you connect to the internet from your other PCs when they are wired in?

6. Can you "see" the network from your PCs? As in, you can see it but can't connect, or can see and connect but not to the internet, or you can't see it at all and have to type an IP in to access the router.

If you could answer these that would be great! I'll give you a quick run down of some points I have deduced so far, but please correct any if I am wrong.

- You can connect to the router via ethernet cables which means the router is functional
- You can connect to the router via wireless (but not access the internet) which means the router aerial is working fine
- The ISPs end is sound as you can connect to the internet and they confirm it's all good

I know this isn't alot of help right now but if you could answer those questions I recon I will be able to give you an answer and a solution

[vesseblah]

Does the computer and Xbox work correctly when wired and it's just the wireless part which is broken?

[Deleted]

How is your network build up? Is it like this?

MODEM <--->ROUTER<--->Computers(Wired) + Computers (Wireless) -or-
MODEM <--->Computers(Wired)<--->ROUTER<--->Computers (Wireless)?

Can you try the first thing? Make sure the router is connected from a cable that uses the Ethernet Port (1-4), not the WAN port.

Also, try changing the SSID and channel.

[MildCorma]

How is your network build up? Is it like this?

MODEM <--->ROUTER<--->Computers(Wired) + Computers (Wireless) -or-
MODEM <--->Computers(Wired)<--->ROUTER<--->Computers (Wireless)?

Can you try the first thing? Make sure the router is connected from a cable that uses the Ethernet Port (1-4), not the WAN port.

Also, try changing the SSID and channel.

I really hope you are joking with this post, he's already made it expressly clear that tech have been talking to him for hours over this and they would have identified a bad setup as one of the first issues. Same with the SSID which is why I didn't ask for that information.

[Veiled]

Yeah, been through all this stuff. I'm not a noob to computers/networking by any means. I was messing around with MAC addresses yesterday and manually added the one from iPhone 4. It was able to connect but the internet was just ridiculously slow.

This is all so random for an issue that just started. I am going to work on it a bit tonight but I have Geeksquad coming out Tuesday to take a look. It kills me to have to pay someone for something like this cause I've always done everything myself for the last 12 years. Thanks all, for trying!