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[timferius]

Good morning!
I hope this is in the right place, I'm not usually this far down in the forums, but could use a hand and google is not helping me.
Lately, my wireless router has been behaving oddly. About once a day, no devices will be able to find the network (except the desktop, which is plugged directly in and has no issues whatsoever accessing the internet). This is fixed simply by unplugging and re-plugging in the router (with standard ten second wait).
I have no idea what's causing this issue. Is something interfereing with the signal? Is my router dying? (it's only about a year old).
It's a Dlink router, if that makes a difference.

[Aklyon]

is there anything that would interfere with wifi signals nearby when it goes out?

(Also, have you tried hitting it when it goes out like that?)

[Telgin]

I think these sorts of threads usually end up in Life Advice, but it's no biggie.

Anyway, the router probably just has buggy firmware or some minor hardware defect that cause the aberrant behavior (such as some old, cheap or otherwise damaged capacitors).  In any case, there's probably nothing you can do for it.  There's a small chance there might be updated firmware available for the router if you check on D-Link's website.  If there is, you can try following their instructions to update it.  It probably won't help though, if there even is any update.

It's unlikely to be interference of any sort.  I have a wireless router that is just flat mysterious.  For two devices it works flawlessly, but if you add more than that to the wireless network it will randomly stop receiving or transmitting to those devices.  Even if you're right next to it with an excellent signal.  Rebooting it helps most of the time, but it will eventually get back into screwy territory.  I eventually just gave up on using the wireless portion past those two devices.

[XXSockXX]

I had that once with a D-Link router. I thought it was interference, because the place had terrible cellphone reception too. But after reading Telgin's post, it did start after using more than one wireless device, so maybe they are just crappy like that sometimes.

[MrSparky]

Which D-Link model is it, the DIR-615?

[Sir Finkus]

I've found wireless routers these days are almost universally junk until you spend more than about $120 for one.  They'll often work decently for basic internet browsing, but become unstable if you try doing lan transfers or things that require them to maintain many connections (like bittorrent).  I don't understand how they get away with it, or why people tolerate such terrible hardware.

[timferius]

Well, I'll check for a Firmware update when I get home, though it is sounding more and more like it's just crummy hardware.

MrSparky: I'm not sure of the model, it may actually be DIR-615 because that rings a bell, but I'll have to check.

Also, as an update, I decided yesterday to switch Internet suppliers due to issues with our previous supplier, and I've just found out that the new guys have a routher/modem hybride they install now. So I'll let you know if the problem seems to persist with this new router (fingers crossed that it's not crap).

[Aklyon]

Probably because some ISPs provide the router for them, which means its never noticed as long as its not a defective one and it works well enough, Sir Finkus. I know Verizon does, and while I wouldn't say its a great, its stable, and doesn't have the problems mentioned here.

[nenjin]

When I had the problem described in the OP, it's because my router was dying. It went from doing it once every couple days, to doing it multiple times a day months later.

Just to eliminate all possibilities, you might also want to inspect the hardline running to your cable modem. I've had issues where the line has been compromised (by the dog, the weather, improper installation) that occasionally manifests itself as a problem with your router.

[timferius]

When I had the problem described in the OP, it's because my router was dying. It went from doing it once every couple days, to doing it multiple times a day months later.

Just to eliminate all possibilities, you might also want to inspect the hardline running to your cable modem. I've had issues where the line has been compromised (by the dog, the weather, improper installation) that occasionally manifests itself as a problem with your router.

I don't think that would be it, mainly because the Desktop runs perfectly fine while this issue is happening. Honestly, with the quality of electronics these days, I wouldn't be surprised if my modem WERE dying........

[olemars]

Might want to try switching the wifi channel on the router.

[Tilla]

Consumer router models are generally pretty bad for power users. Low memory and really unstable programming generally mean problems come up frequently. Mine started behaving the same so I had to replace it (it was a few years old and didn't support Wireless-N anyway).

Got an ASUS RT-56U which is pretty nice. ASUS are also one of the few companies that allow you to load custom firmware natively without any sort of hacks (and in fact built their own form of DD-WRT to replace their older firmware on this model). By all means try some of the stuff mentioned here - also check for dust and so forth - but if it doesn't work out, consider looking up a good model online.