router question

DeSelby83

i have a netopia router and recently both the wireless and internet lights are flashing constantly, this never happened before. also the speed has dropped a lot. do these flashing lights have anything to do with it or is there anyway to get the speed back up a bit. i have 7mb BB and it used to always be around 5 but now its dropped below 2 constantly

mark17j

DeSelby83 wrote: »

i have a netopia router and recently both the wireless and internet lights are flashing constantly, this never happened before. also the speed has dropped a lot. do these flashing lights have anything to do with it or is there anyway to get the speed back up a bit. i have 7mb BB and it used to always be around 5 but now its dropped below 2 constantly

It's likely somebody is using your wifi if the wireless and internet lights are flashing at once, this will also slow your internet down.. change your wireless passphrase and set security to WPA-PSK

DeSelby83

mark17j wrote: »

change your wireless passphrase and set security to WPA-PSK

i did this and then my laptop wouldnt connect. it said the settings on this computer do not match the connection.

also would it have anything to do with channels. im in the country too so there isnt much around me that would be using it as well as me

mark17j

Well if your in a very rural location that rules out somebody using your Wifi, you must have some sort of wireless device connected to it whilst not in use, like a phone or laptop or kindle even - make sure you disconnect all wireless devices after use.
you can access the netopia settings via the http://192.168.1.254 address
you'll find everything you need in wireless settings..
wireless interference via any source like microwave tv remote etc can cause slow ups too.. you could change channels in hope for better wireless speeds.. either 1 2 6 7 or 11 are usually the best channels in my experience.
keep an ethernet cable usually (yellow) handy just incase you lose connectivity testing channels.

mark17j

DeSelby83 wrote: »

i did this and then my laptop wouldnt connect. it said the settings on this computer do not match the connection.

This can happen when you change settings,
fastest way around this,

if you get that error

assuming you have windows 7

click start
click control panel
click Network and internet
Click Network and sharing centre
Click Manage wireless networks

then delete the old eircom settings
and try and reconnect.
You'll need to input your wifi passphrase.

DeSelby83

mark17j wrote: »

This can happen when you change settings,
fastest way around this,

if you get that error

assuming you have windows 7

click start
click control panel
click Network and internet
Click Network and sharing centre
Click Manage wireless networks

then delete the old eircom settings
and try and reconnect.
You'll need to input your wifi passphrase.

iv changed channels now and its double the speed now so that worked. just out of interest what does the above do?

mark17j

DeSelby83 wrote: »

iv changed channels now and its double the speed now so that worked. just out of interest what does the above do?

Good stuff,

re the above: sometimes when you change wireless settings on your router/laptop your wifi list may show a red X or an error message similar to what u had.
the method above lets you delete the old wireless settings saved on the laptop and lets you create a new one with all your new settings incorporated.
No need to do it now as everything is fine!

DeSelby83

thanks for your help Mark