Unstable Wireless

Lately during any time of the day my wireless internet will randomly stop connecting and then reconnect for a second only to disconnect again repeatedly. To remedy this I usually unplug the modem and router and switch the ends of the cords between the modem and router and plug them back in and it seems to fix it, only to have the same problem occur days later. I'm not sure what's causing the problem. I believe it is the router because my Blackberry is also connected to our home wi-fi and that stops working when the wireless on my laptop becomes unstable. Also my sister's internet was working fine and she was not using the wireless connection.

Is it the router itself? Or maybe the cord is not functioning properly and has a weak connection on one end? I'm not sure whether to ask my dad to buy a new router or what. If anyone could shed some light on this issue it would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

If it matters, the router is a Linksys WRT54G series. WRT54GS specifically.

Sounds like you might need a new one. Routers that's getting old tend to do that pomegranate.

^
This is the most likely situation.
Here's a list of routers I recommend you don't get: BELKIN.

Ah okay, I figured that would be the problem. Thanks guys.

And thanks for the heads up Derosis I'm sure we'll stick with the Linksys ones.

Before you spend some $$$ you might try reflashing the firmware, either with the official or something like dd-wrt. Won't fix anything if it's the hardware of course but worth a shot.

There are a lot of things that could be wrong though.

- wireless phone terminals interfering with the channel the wi fi is working on,
- lag in the IP renovation between the modem and router or probably the DHCP freezing retardedly
- old firmware in conflict with changes in data modulation done by your ISP
- plain old firmware
- damaged hardware / malfunctioning wireless antenna

You could directly change the router tho.

As for brands: D-Link / Linksys / TP Link or Cisco are good brands for routers. Comtrends usually have awesome firmwares that counter the not so good hardware.

Hope it helps and tell me if in doubt!