Help! Ethernet connection failing.

By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics and access other forums reserved for members. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today by clicking here.

Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 4:14 pm

Hi all

Wondered if I could pick your brains? My dad is having strange problems with his internet connection which is driving him (and by proxy, me) completely mad. He has an ethernet connection with wireless router and homeplug adaptors. The router is plugged into the master socket, and he's using something called a facesplitter (sp?). Recently he’s noticed that his internet connection is becoming unstable, with the signal often being lost. He then is unable to pick up a signal to re-connect. This mostly happens in the afternoon - it can sometimes be okay in the morning, and at other times it can happen in the morning and be off all day. The system used to work fine, it’s only been happening since he changed his ISP to O2, but he’s checked with them and they say there’s no reason for it on the network. (Really, it's just coincidence? Hmm.) He worked on it with one of their tech supports over the phone this morning and they got it working nicely, but now this afternoon it's just stopped again. He’s going through methodically checking all the hardware and connections, but it’s taking a while. In the meantime he's getting more and more frustrated, and I'm seriously starting to worry about the impact it's having on his health.

If this sounds familiar to anyone, or if any of this board's technical wizards have an idea what may be causing this, all advice is gratefully received. (Unless it's of the 'hit it with a big hammer' variety - just remembered the mindset of some of this board's members! Shocked

)

Many thanks,
Cougar

Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 5:20 pm

Is this a failure of the Wireless connection, or a ethernet cable link between router and PC?
Wireless uses one of a range of channels, and if the change to O2 means you have a new router it's likely to be using a different channel. So the problem could be due interference from a nearby router using the same channel. If it tends to happen at the same time of day, it could result from something like a neighbour getting home from work and switching on the router.
The manual should show how to change channels on the router.

Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 5:53 pm

Was his previous ISP Bush Telegraph by any chance?

I have netgear and homeplugs and can operate any time wireless or wired in any room in my house and anywhere in my garden. I am with BT and apart from a roving IP Laughing

have nothing too awful to say about them.

Never heard of a facesplitter? what is it could this be the problem?

Baiting Guru Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 3193

A face-plate splitter is the best thing since sliced bread.

Trace the problem back.

Find out the IP address of the router. Typing IPCONFIG into a command prompt will give you the IP address of the (gateway or default route, can't remember which). It'll probably be 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 or something similar. The IP address of the PC will be in there too, don't get confused. If you don't see it there, try IPCONFIG /ALL.

When everything is working , open a web-browser and type HTTP://192.168.1.1/ (or whatever the IP address was.) You should see the web-page of the router. If you don't you've probably got the wrong IP address.

When it fails next time, open a web-browser and do the same thing again. If that comes up OK then the problem is beyond the router. If it doesn't then power-cycle the router and try again. If it comes up then, the router is bad. If it still doesn't then it's an ethernet problem - either the wiring or the computer's interface. The wiring is cheaper to try first.

If you have the router's web-page, does it report that it is disconnected or connected?
If it's connected then it's an O2 problem. Get back to them with what you know.

In all likelihood, it will be disconnected. Remove the face-plate splitter and plug an ADSL filter into the phone socket behind it. (One may have come with the router, or they are cheap enough to buy.) If that works, then the face-plate splitter is bad. If it doesn't then it still could be the router, although it's unlikely. Power-cycle the router and see if it then makes a connection. If that works repeatably then the router is bad.

If you still have not found the problem, then it is down to the ISP.

Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 11:27 am

Thanks guys, particularly Thud. I will forward him the info - fingers crossed!

C

Baiting Guru Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 3193

I'm back on Windows now. IPCONFIG is right, and the thing you're looking for is "Default Gateway"

Help! Ethernet connection failing.	View next topic View previous topic