Hey guys please help me with this stupid router problem

S

sram

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jul 30, 2007
Messages
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I just bought a new router for my home network. It is the Cisco linksys EA4500. It looks great and is rich with features but I just wish I didn't buy it!

My old wireless router started to have its wireless signal very weak, hence this new linksys router. When it is time to setup the router, I just did what was supposed to be done(which is very straight forward, just a matter of choosing pppoe and inputting a username and password) and went ahead to test the internet connection which didn't work! Upon inspection, I discovered that the lights on the internet port on the router(WAN port) didn't turn on at all as if the cable wasn't connected. I quickly checked all connections and to kill any doubt I reconnected the cable to the old router to make sure it is working and it worked. So there is nothing wrong with the cable!

Very weird. I tried everything one can think of to no avail. The only conclusion one would draw from this whole scenario is that the new router is bad. So, I took it back to the shop I bought it from and before giving me another one, he said he will test it out and I said okay. Surprisingly enough, it just worked !!! Don't ask me why but it just did work beautifully, although at my house if you plug the cat6 cable(that you know for sure has internet) into its internet port, it won't even turn its lights on.

The shop refused to replace it( I didn't insist anyway) because it is simply working and I went back home to try things out again thinking that I might have done something super stupid.

I'm at it again but still, no hope. I just gave up with the router, so I thought of something different. I'll just keep using the older router and disable its DHCP and its wireless signal and make it feed the internet to my new linksys router.

Now, how is that exactly done? I vaguely remember from my readings that bridge mode can be used for this, right? And what do you do ? You connect a cat6 from one of the ethernet ports in the old router and plug it into the WAN port still? or to the ethernet ports as well? I suspect it is the later because connecting to the WAN port doesn't make sense to me.

And what things do I need to input into the router after choosing bridge mode?

It will just be used as an access point and it will be assigning ip's to my home network.

I don't know If I narrated my story clearly, so please ask questions if you have any.


Any comments are appreciated. Thanks.
 
What's the model number of the old router? I'm wondering if it's a DSL modem plus a router, and you're trying to hook the DSL line to WAN port of the new router? (mentioning PPPoE and 'bridge mode' are what's getting me on this path)
 
toast0 said:
What's the model number of the old router? I'm wondering if it's a DSL modem plus a router, and you're trying to hook the DSL line to WAN port of the new router? (mentioning PPPoE and 'bridge mode' are what's getting me on this path)
Click to expand...


...and if this is NOT what you are trying to do, instead plugging the cable/DSL modem into the wireless router, then you need to disable PPPoE and enable Automatic DHCP Configuration on the WAN port.
 
toast0 said:
What's the model number of the old router? I'm wondering if it's a DSL modem plus a router, and you're trying to hook the DSL line to WAN port of the new router? (mentioning PPPoE and 'bridge mode' are what's getting me on this path)
Click to expand...

No, it is not DSL. I haven't been using DSL for 4 years now. It is supposedly fiber optic or at least that's what my ISP is telling me.

This is the old router:

Aztech HW550-3G

And here are the two pages concerned with the internet connection setup:



 
Liger88 said:
Switch from PPPoE to Automatic DHCP Configuration, see what happens.
Click to expand...

Where? When?

Are you trying to help me solve the original router problem OR helping me connect the 2nd router to the old one as an access point?
 
sram said:
Where? When?

Are you trying to help me solve the original router problem OR helping me connect the 2nd router to the old one as an access point?
Click to expand...



The original issue. Unless you gave up on that entirely. If the WAN port was confirmed working by a third party and then it doesn't in your house it's probably a configuration setting. AFAIK Dial-up and DSL are the only consumer connections that require PPPoE to be setup. Even then that would be on the modem, not your wireless router connected to the modem. I know Cable is definitely DHCP Auto Config and Fiber I'm a little iffy on unless they told you specifically to set up PPPoE with a username and password. Which even then if it's a consumer router there should be no reason if they already provided you a modem to connect to their offices since that device would be the one to set up for PPPoE.
 
Liger88 said:
The original issue. Unless you gave up on that entirely. If the WAN port was confirmed working by a third party and then it doesn't in your house it's probably a configuration setting. AFAIK Dial-up and DSL are the only consumer connections that require PPPoE to be setup. Even then that would be on the modem, not your wireless router connected to the modem. I know Cable is definitely DHCP Auto Config and Fiber I'm a little iffy on unless they told you specifically to set up PPPoE with a username and password. Which even then if it's a consumer router there should be no reason if they already provided you a modem to connect to their offices since that device would be the one to set up for PPPoE.
Click to expand...

It is PPPoE, 100% sure. It is the setup I do for the old router for it to work. And I have a user name and password given to me by the ISP.

In fact, the shop has the same connection type and he just did what I did and it worked which is killing me.

Maybe somehow at my house, the router isn't getting the right amount of power !?%%$^ ??
 
Can you change the connection method on the Modem to Bridged and then use PPPoE on your Cisco/Linksys?
 
Putney said:
Can you change the connection method on the Modem to Bridged and then use PPPoE on your Cisco/Linksys?
Click to expand...

The problem is that my cisco linksys doesn't see the PPPoE connection. When I plug in the cable, the lights doesn't come on as if the cable isn't actually plugged.
 
sram said:
No, it is not DSL. I haven't been using DSL for 4 years now. It is supposedly fiber optic or at least that's what my ISP is telling me.
Click to expand...

Since fiber doesn't work with copper cables, where does the cable you plug into the router actually lead?
 
LoStMaTt said:
Try a new cable, even if the one you have is "good".
Click to expand...

Stupid problem is stupid. I actually plugged the router power adapter to a different outlet and used another cable and it just WORKED !!!!!!!

I then came here and saw your post. If I hadn't seen it happen with my eyes, I would have said : what is this guy thinking?

BUT, it is not over yet ! It is been about 4 hours since I first configured the linksys router for the internet, and it just disconnects every now and then !!! The only fix is to reboot the router.

What a bad luck.
 
So now the original problem is fixed? But you are now experiencing occasional disconnects? When this happens are you just disconnected from the internet, or does the wireless itself go down?
 
LoStMaTt said:
So now the original problem is fixed? But you are now experiencing occasional disconnects? When this happens are you just disconnected from the internet, or does the wireless itself go down?
Click to expand...

I'm talking about the computer that's connected via wire, not wireless. It just disconnects, and when you go check the status of the router, it says connecting!

And yeah the original problem is partially gone.
 
Ah ok, so look for an option that lets you enable Keep Alive. Usually you'll have 2 options with PPPoE, On Demand and Keep Alive. Choose keep alive and see if that keeps the disconnects from happening.
 
LoStMaTt said:
Ah ok, so look for an option that lets you enable Keep Alive. Usually you'll have 2 options with PPPoE, On Demand and Keep Alive. Choose keep alive and see if that keeps the disconnects from happening.
Click to expand...

Come on LoStMaTt, that's too obvious. It is already set to keep alive.

I don't know if I should update the firmware.
 
I've had some weird problems with computer connection after implementing a new router config before. Usually I give it three days before it somehow resolves itself. Also the problem has occurred with Windows.
 
Well, I just reset the router and I'm now trying their cisco connect software. Maybe it will keep working this time. Maybe linksys did this intentionally to force people to use cisco connect.

It is funny when you try to do things normally via entering the router ip address in your browser, it will warn you as if you are accessing a rocket launcher system ^_^
 
sram said:
Well, I just reset the router and I'm now trying their cisco connect software. Maybe it will keep working this time. Maybe linksys did this intentionally to force people to use cisco connect.

It is funny when you try to do things normally via entering the router ip address in your browser, it will warn you as if you are accessing a rocket launcher system ^_^
Click to expand...

It is the same with cisco connect. It still disconnects randomly. Upgrading the firmware made it even worse! I got sick from this whole thing and went and bought a much cheaper dlink router that has an offer and came with a free range extender. Installed it at home and it worked flawlessly from the first time.

I don't know if it is a really bad linksys router or it is just my super bad luck that somehow made incompatible with my home setup.
 
Linksys routers are shit. Enough said. Personally I would have gone with an ASUS.
 
/usr/home said:
Linksys routers are shit. Enough said. Personally I would have gone with an ASUS.
Click to expand...

https://www.asus.com/Networking/


Man I wish you told me this before I buy anything, I just went to their page. Their offerings look great, and the design of the routers is sexy! I like how they look.

I was always thinking motherboards when talking ASUS, but they do have many great stuff. Way to go ASUS! I have been liking them more and more since the time I bought the mobo you see in my sig.
 
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