Hello,

We are having an issue with our wireless router. In the house, we have one main computer and I use a laptop, which depends on the wireless signal to connect to the internet. The router is set up in the other room... but we've been having a problem where it spontaneously drops the signal and just doesn't work.

The problem is becoming more and more frequent. It happens about once or twice a day, now. I've noticed that if I just unplug it, switch to another port, and plug it back in, it works.. but only if I reboot the computer (which is highly annoying considering I have to do that every time).

Sometimes after just plugging it back in and refreshing the connection, I can access google... but it takes aaaages to load.

I'd read a few other posts about this problem and think it's either a problem with
1. Interference - There's a high school across the street, although the disconnections do not always occur around the same time.
2. Faulty Router - I'm hoping this isn't the issue, because I bought it less than a year ago.

Am I on the right track, or could it be a completely different problem?
Thanks in advance for your time. Sorry for the wall of text. :P

Interference can come from all sorts of places - cell phones, cell phone towers, nearby wireless networks, microwave ovens, or poorly shielded electronics in your house. It can be minimized by changing the antenna orientation of the WAP - wireless access point - in this case, integrated into the same case as your router, turning off other electronics in your immediate area, or moving closer to the antenna(s). If you are dropping out when in the same room as the WAP, then I would try another wireless device and try to determine if it is the wireless adapter, or the WAP.

You might check your router's website for new firmware update too. And, make sure your system is free of malware.

Claiomh, I actually had the same problem, with my old router (ZyXEL), but I changed it and got a different brand (NetGear), Netgear has not caused that problem since.