Router problems?

Do you have Router problems?

Occasionally, your internet connection can go awry. In the old days of dialup, this was almost always due to a problem with the modem. If you rang your ISP to abuse them, the first thing they would ask you to do is uninstall then reinstall your modem.

These days, they will blame the broadband router. As much as we hate being told the obvious, they are usually right! These marvelous pieces of electrickery do some pretty complex things when you think about it. They have firewalls, ports (many little virtual 'doors' into your pc) and a multitude of adjustments and settings. They can pick and choose where all kinds of data can go and how to treat it. They can broadcast it wirelessly on secure networks if you have a wireless version.

Most of the trickery is the software of course. Its called firmware, as its built in via a programmable chip, but its still a bunch of instructions to tell the router what to do.

Routers are never usually turned off. These little electrical brains are accordingly never turned off, and sometimes I guess you could say they get a little tired and start producing errors.

If you find you are getting a lot of dropouts, or you cant connect sometimes, or wierd things happen like no images display on web pages, or some programs can connect and some cant; then its worth checking out your router, just in case.

How to fix it?

The first thing to try is power cycling your router. This basically means turn it off for a couple of minutes

Disconnect the power cable from the back of the router, wait a couple minutes and plug it back in. The router should automatically reboot and reconnect, and its entirely possible that your problem is fixed, as easy as that. Just like restarting a frozen computer.

Restoring your router to factory settings.

If that doesn't work, then you can try resetting the router. Now all routers are different, and the software/firmware that runs them is also different. They will all have similarities though, and the basic information they need is the same.

I'm going to show you how its done with my D-Link DSL-604T Wireless ADSL Router. The information I input here has only to do with the internet connection, and doesn't touch on things like using the wireless network or setting up security on the wireless. If your computer is connected to the router via a cable, regardless of whether it is wireless capable or not, then these are the only settings you will need to input.

IF YOU ARE USING THE WIRELESS NETWORK CAPABILITIES OF YOUR ROUTER, THEN YOU NEED TO INVESTIGATE HOW TO RESTORE YOUR NETWORK CORRECTLY BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH FACTORY RESETTING. You should have no trouble using Googling instructions for your model of router.

For any of the information you see on my screenshots, your ISP will be able to tell you what to enter in your case. Its also likely they will have information on most routers, and will be able to walk you through setting up the router by phone pretty easily.

Accessing the router settings

To access my router, I use the address 10.1.1.1 as shown in the screenshot below. Simply typing the number into my browser will access the router. Your router will probably require a different address though, as most routers are different.

To find the router address:

In XP click start>run> then type cmd and click ok. Now type ipconfig and press enter on the keyboard. In the list that appears, you'll see a heading 'default gateway' or 'gateway address'or something like that. It will be an IP address. That is your router address and you will use that instead of 10.1.1.1

In Vista or Windows 7, click start and type into the search box at the bottom cmd then press enter. Now type ipconfig and look for the gateway address.

Enter the number into your browser (it doesnt matter which browser you use. I use Firefox, you can use Internet Explorer too of course) and press enter.

When you press enter, you'll be asked for a user/password.
If you have never accessed the router before, it will be set on the default username/password of that particular router. You should be able to find this information among any literature that came with the router, or you can
go to http://www.routerpasswords.com/index.asp to easily find the default password for your model of router.

This default password can be changed within the settings once you're there, but factory resetting will always result in the default password being restored.

CHECK OUT THE SCREENSHOTS BELOW, BROWSE THROUGH THE SETTINGS IN YOUR ROUTER UNTIL YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND WHAT YOU NEED.
WRITE DOWN THE EXISTING SETTINGS, AS RESETTING THE ROUTER WILL REQUIRE THEM TO BE RE-ENTERED. YOU WILL HAVE NO INTERNET ACCESS UNTIL THIS IS DONE CORRECTLY.

RESETTING TO FACTORY SETTINGS.

On my D-Link there is a tiny button, recessed so its necessary to use a pen or paperclip to depress it. Its labelled 'reset'. Most other routers will have something similar. With the router turned on, hold it down for about 3 seconds, and let it go. The router should reboot, ie all the lights will go out then they will all come back on again, one by one, till they all stop flashing and appear normal.

Now I'll access the router by typing in my routers address into my browser as in the shot above.

It opens on the default start page. On my router, the wizard simply connects you to the internet. Other routers will have a similar feature, you just need to find it. Conveniently, the wizard is the first thing you see on the D-Link setup.

Throughout this tutorial, you should use the settings which you have written down. Its likely that they were correct, but we are basically just refreshing the router, wiping it clean and starting again. If, once you have tried this with your original settings and it hasnt helped, you should call your ISP and ask them for the correct settings, just in case something is different.

You'll probably also find that everything in your router is different from what I am showing you below. The settings are what matters, you just need to find where and how to input them into your own router.

So I'm going to use the wizard. Clicking on Run Wizard, a quick description...

Time zone....

Connection type. Like it says, PPPoE/PPPoA(for most DSL Users). If you arent sure, try this setting first. If it doesnt work, call your ISP and ask them, they know.

Connection type details, Username and password. The username and password will have been provided to you by your ISP when you opened your account. The other settings are most likely the ones you see, but if your old settings said something different here you should use your old settings.

This is for wireless networking. I'll cover this subject another time.

Click on restart and the router will reboot.

Once the router has rebooted, check to see if your problem still exists. If you have reset with all the settings as provided to you by your ISP and the problem still exists, your problem is unlikely to be your router.