Okay. My husband and I got internet from Suddenlink. They provided us with a modem, and we bought our own router. We can't seem to get any of the routers to work, and I'm about to pull my hair out...

Here's all the info:
The computer is a Sony Vaio with a Windows Vista operating system.
The first router was a Netgear, the current one is a Belkin.
The modem is a DSL (I think) hookup.

After both the routers failed, they kept asking for an IP address and crap. When I talked to Suddenlink, they said they are dynamic, not static, and their IP address changes everyday.


I am so sick of talking to rude, unhelpful people on the phone. Can someone PLEASE tell me what the hell is wrong??

Hi Katy and welcome to the new Teckie7 forums.

Here's how it is supposed to work. When you plug in (power) the modem, it is supposed to reach out to the ISP (Suddenlink) and announce its presence with its MAC address (a unique firmware number for a network devices). The ISP should see the MAC address and confirm that it is assigned to your account and then issue an IP address.

Then when you power up the router, it should announce its presence to your modem, which then should assign its IP to the router.

Then you power up each computer and they intern, should announce their presence to the router, which will then assign a new IP to each computer (and network printers, network storage devices, etc.).

So what I suggest is resetting everything by unplugging the power connections for EVERYTHING - modem, router and computers (if computer power supply unit (PSU) has a master power switch, you can set that to off instead of unplugging from the wall). Then with everything powered off, make sure the Ethernet wire from the router to the modem is connected properly. You did not say which Belkin you have but note most routers have 5 Ethernet ports on back. One is used to connect to a "gateway device" which is typically a cable/DSL modem. The other four are part of an integrated 4-port Ethernet "switch". The switch and router and actually two separate network devices that just happen to be in the same box.

Basically, all a router does is connect two networks. In this case, the Internet and your local network (everything on your side of the router).

So you need to be sure the Ethernet cable to the modem is connected to the correct Router port - typically labeled "Uplink", "WAN", "Internet" or something similar.

Then connect at least one computer to one of the 4 remaining switch ports.

Now, one at a time, connect the power - first to the modem. Wait about 30 seconds or so until all the lights on the modem stop flashing. At this point, the modem "should" have received its IP assignment from your ISP and it should be good to go.

Then power up the router and wait until it has stopped flashing. At this point, the router "should" has assumed the IP from the modem.

Then power up the connected computer. It should then receive a new IP assignment from the router. It should be something like 192.168.1.1 and you should be able to access the Internet. If not, see if you can access your router by entering the router's IP address in your browsers address bar. Check the router manual but for most Belkins, it is 192.168.2.1 and you should then be able to access the router's internal menu.

If that fails, I would start over - power off the modem router and computer and this time, connect the computer directly the modem (no router). Power up the modem and wait for lights to settle down. Then power up the computer and see if it has Internet access. If not, then you need to call your ISP again and tell them the modem is not connecting.

If you can get out, then it points to the router.

A couple other points. If you open a command prompt on your computer(s) and enter ipconfig, you will see the IP address assigned to your computer. When connected to the router, it should start with 192.168. When connected directly to the modem, it should begin with something different.

Also, note that Ethernet cables are low-tech and fragile and easily damaged. Swapping cables often fixes everything.