Posted on 11/24/2011 10:52:51 AM PST by PJ-Comix
I seem to be having a problem with my Netgear Router. It is over 3 years old and was given to me by a friend. Anyway, not problems with it UNTIL today. My wife's computer in the other room won't receive the signal. I switched computers and mine won't receive the signal either so the problem isn't her computer. Also her computer was picking up signals from other wireless sources in the neighborhood.
While my computer is attached by wire to the router it works fine even when I switch to wireless. But when not attached directly it doesn't pick up the signal.
Is there a way to fix this or am I due for another router. I prefer to fix it if possible. I notice in the illustration below that power light is on on the left, the #3, 5, & 6 lights are also on on my router. I definitely see what should be a checkmark light that isn't on. Am I missing a light? If so, how to fix?
Will I need to use the setup wizard by running the CD?
I finally did the reset but still didn’t work. Perhaps it is because this equipment is several years old. As I said it is only the wireless antenna that seems to be not working. However, all my green LED lights show okay. No amber.
Were you able to get to the login screen?
Yes. But what to put in the login boxes?
usually unplugging it and plugging it back in will do the trick
Normally that does work for me but in this case it seems like the wireless antenna is not working. It might be an hardware problem because the LED lights are all indicating fine plus I am able to use the router via wire.
The default password is: "password".
Once you get the other stuff configured I recommend changing the password.
That will put you inside the router and you can check your settings to see if the wireless my have been turned off by some neighbor thinking they are funny. Netgear also has a setup wizard in there that you can run that will do it all for you.
If a power-cycle reset doesn’t get it done, than consider either an ASUS RNT-16 or a NETGEAR WNDR3700. Bothe good pieces of hardware, decent firmware (make sure it’s up to date) and most importantly, good built-in radios.
The RF section of any wireless device is its most-stressed and therefore its weakest link. Cheap radios don’t last.
You’ll drop less than $100 on the ASUS box and a little more than $100 on the NETGEAR one.
Added bonus - they’ll also run open-source firmware like Tomato USB and DD-WRT (www.dd-wrt.com) which extends your control over the device.
Whatever you do, be sure to secure your wireless device by hiding your SSID and using decent encryption like WPA-PSK.
Okay, but will do later. My turkey is almost ready for cutting.
I have a downloaded copy of the documentation for your router and I should be able to talk you through the rest of the setup, assuming that the hardware is not fried.
I think I had an identical router. It started acting up and I plugged in a used Linksys router I had bought at at garage sale and I had no further problems. (two previous Linksys routers had failed so it is not unique to Netgear) It is possible that it was the wiring as it was hard wired into two desktops. The laptops worked fine. I’d swap the cables around and see if you can get it to work. They are not terribly expensive and I would consider replacing it anyway.
What happened to your Black Friday thread?
2. Make sure the antenna on the wireless card on the desktop computer is completely screwed on tight.
3. The signal reception is sensitive to the position of the antenna. Reorient the antennas on the router and on the computer until you at least get a signal indicated when you run the configuration program.
4. This site is not the best place to get info. What you do is call the help desk at your ISP (internet service provider) and they will get you set up quickly. Don't waste your time here.
I have one of these routers, there are two small buttons on the right side of it. One of them is the wireless on/off button. Press it, you should see the blue wireless led on the front when it is active.
Are you sure you mean my model of Netgear? I see no button on the right side.
Put Routerlogin.net into your browser's URL bar to access your router settings. (default is user: admin -pw:password)
Once there, make sure your wireless settings under setup/wireless settings and advanced/wireless settings are all ON/enabled.
I did that too. Nothing. Maybe my equipment is just old. 3 years.
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