Upgradeing Wireless Router G to N ?

[Chris Freeland]

I have bean having trouble with my wireless G router connections going in and out, mostly with 2 Macbooks , my Win XP desktop which is wired directly with router not as often or as many problems. I was thinking of just replacing my router with a new N wireless router. Are N routers worth the extra $? Will I also need to get N cards for my 2 Makbooks or are N routers backward compatible with the G built in to the Macbooks? Or should I save a few $ and just upgrade my antenna's and or move my router to another location ( currently close to my TV and other A/V equipment ) ?

[mjbehren]

I recently bought a Linksys WRT350N router.

I bought it for the N capabillity, and it has built-in USB, so it can be a file server as well.

All Linksys N-routers are backward compatable with G. It is just a setting inside the config.


Hope that helps.
Mb

[blmoore]

I have bean having trouble with my wireless G router connections going in and out, mostly with 2 Macbooks , my Win XP desktop which is wired directly with router not as often or as many problems. I was thinking of just replacing my router with a new N wireless router. Are N routers worth the extra $? Will I also need to get N cards for my 2 Makbooks or are N routers backward compatible with the G built in to the Macbooks? Or should I save a few $ and just upgrade my antenna's and or move my router to another location ( currently close to my TV and other A/V equipment ) ?

802.11n is still a draft standard, and isn't expected to be published until 2009. Hopefully, changes from draft to standard can be taken care of with firmware upgrades. However, if they're radical changes, that may not be the case, and you may end up wasting your money on it now.

[funhouse69]

802.11n is still a draft standard, and isn't expected to be published until 2009. Hopefully, changes from draft to standard can be taken care of with firmware upgrades. However, if they're radical changes, that may not be the case, and you may end up wasting your money on it now.

So the bottom line is you can take a chance with "Pre-N" equipment but it is just that "Pre" there is no guarantee that it will work with the actual standard when it comes out.

Also to answer your other question you will not need to buy new cards for your existing equipment unless you want to take advantage of the new functionality / speed. All of the new Pre-N equipment is backwards compatible. That said you won't really see a whole lot of improvement unless you upgrade to new cards. As as it stands if you go with say a Netgear Pre-N wireless router you will have to go with their wireless cards until the standard is set which will then guarantee the cross platform / manufacturer functionality.

[Chris Freeland]

Thanks guys, today I went to RS and bought a pair of longer antennas for less then $10 that I just installed, so far so good, I will see if this works long term before I go out and spend more $ on a new router. :).

[Chris Freeland]

Thanks guys, today I went to RS and bought a pair of longer antennas for less then $10 that I just installed, so far so good, I will see if this works long term before I go out and spend more $ on a new router. :).

Update, it appears that the new antenna's have not solved the problem and I am having to re-boot router over and over, some days like yesterday, I can go all day or two without a re-boot, other days like today it seams to need a re-boot every few minets. I have a Lynskys router and Comcast internet. Any sugestions?

[Cholly]

If you need to reboot the router, it sounds like you are having outages from Comcast. Could be poor signal quality -- particularly if new users have been added in your area recently. Their repeater may be overtaxed. I had a similar problem with Road Runner when I was living in upstate NY. I complained to them and they agreed their signal quality wasn't up to snuff.

[funhouse69]

Update, it appears that the new antenna's have not solved the problem and I am having to re-boot router over and over, some days like yesterday, I can go all day or two without a re-boot, other days like today it seams to need a re-boot every few minets. I have a Lynskys router and Comcast internet. Any sugestions?

Two things I can suggest off the top of my head. 1) Check the Router Manufacturers website to make sure the router has the latest Firmware. 2) Try connecting directly to the cable modem and see if you are still having the same issue. Just make sure you have some kind of software firewall on before doing so :D

I've seen this issue myself when my area got loaded up as well, no matter how much I complained they didn't fix it so I switched to another provider. I have also seen issues like this when a provider changed my IP Address every few minutes. This was resolved when I updated the firmware of my router.

If you connect directly to the modem with your computer and you are still having the same issues then you know it isn't the router. If you don't have the same issue then it is the router and at least you know where the problem lies.

Keep us posted.

[HIPAR]

If you connect directly to the modem with your computer and you are still having the same issues then you know it isn't the router. If you don't have the same issue then it is the router and at least you know where the problem lies.

Keep us posted.

If your direct connect holds, try changing the router base IP. I have fixed several Wi-Fi networks by doing that. I use 10.0.0.1 with the routers I maintain for myself, friends and relatives.

--- CHAS

[funhouse69]

If your direct connect holds, try changing the router base IP. I have fixed several Wi-Fi networks by doing that. I use 10.0.0.1 with the routers I maintain for myself, friends and relatives.

--- CHAS

You know this is a great point, I have also experienced this as well. It is possible that you are using the same IP Addresses internally as your ISP is using externally. Even if that isn't the case it certainly can not hurt in the troubleshooting.

[NorfolkBruh]

Chris: Last month I switched from G to N and I could NOT be happier! The speed is so much faster, the coverage is so much better, the spectrum seems to be less crowded, and my router log is not showing ANYONE else hitting my network (neighbors)... I'm guessing they don't have "N" capable equipment.

Both of our laptops have an "N" card in them and we use "N" only (not the mixed mode). We're using the Belkin N router because of the pretty blue lights and OfficeMax had them on sale for $69! Well worth the investment for the increase in stability (NO dropouts since switching) and speed.

[Chris Freeland]

Chris: Last month I switched from G to N and I could NOT be happier! The speed is so much faster, the coverage is so much better, the spectrum seems to be less crowded, and my router log is not showing ANYONE else hitting my network (neighbors)... I'm guessing they don't have "N" capable equipment.

Both of our laptops have an "N" card in them and we use "N" only (not the mixed mode). We're using the Belkin N router because of the pretty blue lights and OfficeMax had them on sale for $69! Well worth the investment for the increase in stability (NO dropouts since switching) and speed.

It has bean almost 1 week now with my new Buffalo N router, it too seams to have eliminated drop outs here too. We have 2 Mac Books with built in Air Port, to be honest I am not sure if they are N or G, but I am happy with the router so far.:)

[CoriBright]

I love my D-Link DIR-655.

[NorfolkBruh]

It has bean almost 1 week now with my new Buffalo N router, it too seams to have eliminated drop outs here too. We have 2 Mac Books with built in Air Port, to be honest I am not sure if they are N or G, but I am happy with the router so far.:)

I love my D-Link DIR-655.

Seems line "N" is a winner!