A while back I bought a Linksys BEFW11S4 (ver. 2) for the house I was renting. I put a wireless card in my roommate's computer in the next room and he had no problem getting a good strong connection. A year later, I'm living by myself in a new house and I just got a laptop with built-in wireless G.
The problem is that I barely get a signal when the laptop is right next to the router. What's weird is that it fluctuates...if I watch the signal strength in the connection properties, all the bars will be full, then it will drop to 1 or 2, stay there for a bit, jump up to full for a few seconds, drop back down, and so on. If I try to access it from the next room I get nothing at all. I know that the laptop is fine, as I've been able to get on other people's wireless networks in apartment complexes and whatnot, and a friend who came over recently couldn't connect with his laptop either.
On top of that, 2 of the 4 ports on the back don't work anymore. If I plug a cable in, I get nothing, no LEDs or anything. I'm guessing that maybe lightning zapped them, as they were the two ports I was using primarily, and they both went out at the same time.
Firmware is the latest version for the ver.2, which is 1.45.10. After updating the firmware, I did the long reset, everything is configured correctly in the router setup, and I've tried using different channels, all to no avail. I don't have any telephones or other devices that could interfere with the wireless signal, and my house is fairly isolated, so I don't think interference is the issue. Is it just time for a new router? It seems a shame that I didn't really get to use the wireless capabilities of this router that much before it crapped out on me. Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
The problem is that I barely get a signal when the laptop is right next to the router. What's weird is that it fluctuates...if I watch the signal strength in the connection properties, all the bars will be full, then it will drop to 1 or 2, stay there for a bit, jump up to full for a few seconds, drop back down, and so on. If I try to access it from the next room I get nothing at all. I know that the laptop is fine, as I've been able to get on other people's wireless networks in apartment complexes and whatnot, and a friend who came over recently couldn't connect with his laptop either.
On top of that, 2 of the 4 ports on the back don't work anymore. If I plug a cable in, I get nothing, no LEDs or anything. I'm guessing that maybe lightning zapped them, as they were the two ports I was using primarily, and they both went out at the same time.
Firmware is the latest version for the ver.2, which is 1.45.10. After updating the firmware, I did the long reset, everything is configured correctly in the router setup, and I've tried using different channels, all to no avail. I don't have any telephones or other devices that could interfere with the wireless signal, and my house is fairly isolated, so I don't think interference is the issue. Is it just time for a new router? It seems a shame that I didn't really get to use the wireless capabilities of this router that much before it crapped out on me. Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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