OT: wireless routers

mtb-idle

Any IT bods help me with this? My parents have bought an ipad and asked for my assistance to set it up.

Took me a while to realise that even though they have Orange/EE unlimited broadband @ 8mb speed they don’t actually have wireless.

I have recently had my own Virginmedia broadband upgraded from 20mb to 60mb which included a replacement wireless router. So I took the old virginmedia wireless router round to them and connected that to the the Netgear DG834 ADSL router.

The issue is that the reception on the ipad is very patchy even if sitting in the same room as the router. takes an age to connect and download with some processes failing halfway through due to a bad connection.

So is the answer that it’s a cheap router and I should buy a better one or is it something more fundamental?

If it’s a new router then what do you think of the Belkin N150 which I've only selected as it's avaialbe at John Lewis next door to my office and is £30. Will this resolve the problems or should I be going for something more expensive? (Belkin N300 is also in stock for £40)

BTW, it’s not clear what additional functionality you get when spending more on a router. All I can see is that they support increased wireless speeds which i dont think I will need for an 8mb connection.

CiB

I have that Netgear router and it's more than up to the job.

Check for channel number interference - if a neighbour is on the same or an adjacent channel number that can cause problems.

mtb-idle

Thanks CiB, will try that.

Just in case it's not clear, that Netgear DG834 router is not wireless. I have connected another wireless router (also Netgear but this is model DG820) to the Netgear DG834 to broadcast the wifi signal

greg66_tri_v2.0

So your set up is Internet ---> DG834 (non wifi) ---> DG820 (wifi) ---> ipad.

From the sounds of it, both your DG834 and your DG820 are configured as routers. If so, that's not a recipe for an easy life. Two routers on the same network will both try to hand out IP addresses to attached devices, leading to network conflicts and general PITA-time.

I suggest that you log onto the DG820 and configure it as an access point. If in doubt as to how, look in the Help feature of the router for Access Point.

After that, make sure that the WAN port on the DG820 is connected to a LAN port on the DG834. I tried LAN to LAN even with router #2 set as an AP and the whole thing was a gigantic clusterfuck.

ETA: for the long version see here: viewtopic.php?f=40012&t=12896946&p=18111189&hilit=lend+me+your#p18111189

mtb-idle

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

So your set up is Internet ---> DG834 (non wifi) ---> DG820 (wifi) ---> ipad.

edited: etc. etc.

That's correct.

Will try that too. From what I'm hearing the existing equipment should do what i require, I just need to configure it correctly.

Thanks all

meanredspider

You could go for an easy life and buy an Apple Airport Express. It does make printing from an iPad using a bog-standard printer easy too plus a few other tricks. Not the cheapest solution (like all things Apple) but one of the most robust and hassle-free (like all things Apple)

Ian.B

At risk of asking a stupid question (I know next to nothing of these things), why complicate life with 2 routers? Why not just dump the 834 and plug in the 820?

EKE_38BPM

Ian.B wrote:

At risk of asking a stupid question (I know next to nothing of these things), why complicate life with 2 routers? Why not just dump the 834 and plug in the 820?

That sounds sensible. I guess that is why you get paid the big bucks.

If the 820 can be configured correctly I would assume it would work but I still can't get my wireless router to do what I want it to so don't listen to me.

Initialised

ASUS N900 is the best on the market right now.

mtb-idle

so I leave the set-up as it is (cos the interweb comes in via an old phone line which wont connect directly into the wireless router and so i cant remove the non-wireless router from the equation) and log into the wireless router set up.

Under 'wireless connection setup' there's an unticked box labelled 'enable wi fi' or some such similar words. I tick the box and save and it's all working okay now.

would you Adam n Eve it :?

Kieran_Burns

I personally would never had admitted to that.

I would make up some story about multiple failed routers and configs and firmware flashing. Possibly thrown in some technical sounding words and acronyms

Admitting you forgot to tick the box labelled "Enable Wireless" on a Wireless router...? Oooooh baaaad.

greg66_tri_v2.0

What I don't get is that this

The issue is that the reception on the ipad is very patchy even if sitting in the same room as the router. takes an age to connect and download with some processes failing halfway through due to a bad connection.

was in the OP. Was the ipad inadvertently hooking onto a neighbour's unsecured wifi, I wonder?

mtb-idle

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

What I don't get is that this

The issue is that the reception on the ipad is very patchy even if sitting in the same room as the router. takes an age to connect and download with some processes failing halfway through due to a bad connection.

was in the OP. Was the ipad inadvertently hooking onto a neighbour's unsecured wifi, I wonder?

Yes, it probably was. I could see other networks but couldn't get access but who knows.

LOL re KB. The wireless router had been working at my house before it was replaced. No reason for me to think the settings would change. In fact has anyone aside from an IT bod ever had to go into the wirelss router settings and amend them?

BTW, 'plug and play' is BS

mtb-idle

So I received numerous additional e-mails, text messages and calls for help from the old lady. The iPad still wasn't doing what she wanted it to and even with my latest modifications to the strange set up service was patchy.

This was important because it was holding up her emailing bitmap files of cats to various people and she couldn't play scrabble or 'words with friends' which is the current app of choice for many middle to old-aged women.

So I bought her a new wireless router, a NETGEAR DGN2200 N300 Wireless ADSL Modem Router which allows me to plug the phone line directly into it and thus dispense with the internet -> wired router -> wireless router set up that i had previously had to bodge.

3 simple questions to answer/fields to input and it was all up and running seamlessly.

She is now happily mailing said cat pictures...