Wireless router problem.

[Deleted]

So apparently I'm having major troubles here, and it's gone on for the past god knows how many weeks. I'm hoping that I at least get an answer because my techno-illerate self and my WORSE techno-illerate family are driving me up the wall.

Here's the thing.

-I can get internet on the main computer (of course, since it runs through the modem) and typically don't have to worry about that.
-My wireless router is detecting the internet as well. When I tried to change my wireless settings on my PS3, it detected the router and said the signal was at 100%.
-It appears that when a device goes out of range though (cell phone on WiFi) or turns off (my PS3, my brother's Blu-Ray player both on WiFi), whenever you turn them back on or get back in range to my router, it can't connect to the WiFi, no matter what. You have to unplug the router and replug it in and then it'll connect like that, but then the same thing happens eventually.

We thought it was the modem and today, we installed it and everything THOUGHT was working fine, but apparently it's still not.

Is there any way to figure this out or help me, because I'm pulling my hair out over this? Thanks.

[Hugh Mungus]

What kind of router is it?

On any router, make sure you use at least WPA-AES encryption, and if the router allows it, use WPA-WPA2 Mixed setting. Avoid WEP encryption like the plague.

Also, make sure that you router's firmware is the latest version. If your model supports 3rd-party firmware (DD-WRT, Tomato), then install it instead of the stock firmware.

[Deleted]

NETGEAR WGR614v7.

[Triple H buried SnS]

I have had an issues in the past with dynamically assigning IPs with a netgear router. Had to go the static IP route. It is quite tedious to set up, but will work.

In laymans terms...
each device on the router gets(or is supposed to get) a specific and unique number(IP) to identify it on the network. That number can change, but at any one point in time a specific number can only be assigned to one device, otherwise the router has no idea how to flow the traffic correctly.

Now when you shut off a device and turn it back on, it will most likely try to pick up the same number it had before. But another device may have "swooped in" and taken the number instead. But that SHOULDN'T be a problem.

In my case, however, my netgear router was assigning the same IP address to two different devices and wasn't auto correcting it, and causing both devices to cease working properly. When the 2nd device comes on, it SHOULD have recognized that the IP address was already in use and assigned the 2nd device a new number. It was not doing that correctly.

Static IP means you manually set each device a specific number, that way you know exactly what numbers are being used by what devices, and once set up there is no chance of two devices having the same IP address. Downside, obviously, is that you have to do this on all devices that would get on the network.

Eventually tho, with 10+ devices on my network, plus any devices that visitors would have when they came over... it was not worth the effort to me to keep doing it. So I chucked my router in favor of a new one(cisco) and never had any more problems.