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The Graveyard - Products No Longer Supported => Routers / COVR => DIR-655 => Topic started by: adrianK on August 14, 2010, 05:51:10 PM

Title: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: adrianK on August 14, 2010, 05:51:10 PM
Hi everyone,

It sounds like I'm having a common issue as far as connection drops. I don't know what's causing it but when I look in the diagnostics portion I can see errors or drops in the wireless connection portion of the config screen. At the time I was on the wireless router, maybe 2 others were on via G and not N.

I realize the information provided here is scarce so I will try to repost with as much information as possible at a later date.

It's currently connected to a motorola DSL modem and all ports are being used for network printer devices (hp designjet, epson workforce, vonage telephone line, and one or other devices, I can't remember right now)

Is there any general reason as to why the wireless connection is dropping like this? Other users on the wireless network are on Macs, only myself and one other were using Windows 7 based laptops.
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: adrianK on August 19, 2010, 11:50:25 PM
91 views no responses? Is anyone else having any remotely similar issues?
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: EddieZ on August 20, 2010, 12:48:02 AM
Provide the log screenprint in which the drop outs show.
And try to describe if the drops occur in certain situations. For example, while downloading, when the VOIP phone rings etc.
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: dagger_99 on August 20, 2010, 07:30:13 AM
91 views no responses? Is anyone else having any remotely similar issues?


  It's not that we don't want to help, but we have all been through this scenario and there has not been a resolution to it. I have moved on and bought a Linksys, but just login every now and then to stir the pot :)
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: EddieZ on August 20, 2010, 08:53:05 AM
  It's not that we don't want to help, but we have all been through this scenario and there has not been a resolution to it. I have moved on and bought a Linksys, but just login every now and then to stir the pot :)

Hmmm, maybe I need to start poking around on the Linksys forum where the same exact complaints are posted about Linksys routers... ::)
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: dagger_99 on August 20, 2010, 09:56:14 AM
Hmmm, maybe I need to start poking around on the Linksys forum where the same exact complaints are posted about Linksys routers... ::)

  Sure Eddie, be my guest :) Bottom line... easy setup, no need for complicated network settings (since I wasn't smart enough to do it myself) and no dropped connections on 5 machines.

  You and I have been having some fun with this for quite some time, and have enjoyed the battle of wits. But for all those who are having problems and are tired of D-Links' "head in the sand" approach to the 1.21 - 1.34 Firmware debacle, head on over to Linksys. Who knows?
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: EddieZ on August 20, 2010, 11:38:38 AM
 Sure Eddie, be my guest :) Bottom line... easy setup, no need for complicated network settings (since I wasn't smart enough to do it myself) and no dropped connections on 5 machines.

  You and I have been having some fun with this for quite some time, and have enjoyed the battle of wits. But for all those who are having problems and are tired of D-Links' "head in the sand" approach to the 1.21 - 1.34 Firmware debacle, head on over to Linksys. Who knows?

They messed things up from 1.21 to 1.31 (due to the new dev kit from Ubicom and exactly this same time their product management suddenly had some new names coming in  :o), but starting from 1.34 they got it right again.

Linksys does have it's share of wireless issues. I know since I own two Linksys routers also. Can't say they satisfy me, it's those devices that cause me all kinds of issues, not the 655.

And, you will also know that local environment issues have been mistaken for bugs. Since there were some bugs with DNS relay suddenly everything that went wrong was blamed on this.

So, let's keep having fun here...no better way to pass some spare time than getting people actually pissed off about something trivial as a router  ;D

Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: swabby on August 21, 2010, 11:22:23 AM
"They messed things up from 1.21 to 1.31 (due to the new dev kit from Ubicom and exactly this same time their product management suddenly had some new names coming in  ), but starting from 1.34 they got it right again."


Also having some dropping instances so I thought I would upgrade firmware from 1.20.  At rev A4.  The "firmware" page in the router tells me that 1.21 is the latest even though I can see 1.34 on the Dlink website.  What's up with that?  Assume I can download 1.34 and install  as usual, true?  Is there a reason why the "show latest version" feature in the router does not show 1.34? 

I upgraded to 1.21 and will try unchecking "Short GI" (found on another post) to see if any help.
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: EddieZ on August 21, 2010, 03:43:01 PM
The 'latest version' thing just does not work.

My suggestion: get 1.34 and upgrade.
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: x5brown on August 23, 2010, 02:03:13 AM
I'm losing connectivity as well and cannot figure it out.  I've had the router over a year and all was well up until about a month ago.  Then my wireless connections began dropping on all 5 wireless devices.  I thought my router was bad so I went and bought a new one... same problem!  I've tried changing channels, etc and that doesn't fix it.  I think it must be some kind of interference.  I unplugged all phones, took batteries out of remotes, etc and still nothing helps.  some side notes that may not be related.  this started happening around the same day that I got the iPhone 4.  also Uverse has become available in my neighborhood recently and I now notice some 2wire networks that I'm picking up, but they are all secured.  grasping at straws... any ideas?
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: EddieZ on August 23, 2010, 11:19:33 AM
I've seen that amateur radio enthousiasts can cause quite some static in a neighbourhood. Seen any antenna's being installed somewhere lately? Or a new device somewhere around in the neighbourhood to keep tabs on a new baby? These device (mostly the cheap stuff) can have an astonishing reach.
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections - my solution
Post by: billy_kidd on September 02, 2010, 07:10:49 AM
I recently upgraded from 1.21NA to 1.34NA and when I did that one of my laptops started losing its wireless connection every hour or so (rough ballpark timeframe).  This laptop is running N-wireless using a Netgear WNDA3100 Version 1 USB Dual 2.4/5.0 adapter.  Since nothing else had changed in my environment, and since my other wireless G devices were working fine I concluded the problem was in my Netgear adapter.  There aren't a lot of configuration options available in the Netgear wireless utility, but I made two changes that solved the problem.  I don't know if either of these alone would have fixed it as I made both changes at the same time:
1) Changed Preamble from Auto to Long
2) Changed from 5/2.4 Up to 300mbs to 2.4 Up to 300mbs

That solved the main problem.  

UPDATE: Well, I thought Long Preamble fixed it; but I was wrong :-(

The thing is, the adapters show that they are connected, but can't access the internet.  they show speed = 270mbs for example, everything looks good, just no access to websites.  Need to restart / repair the adapter connection.  Also of note, this only occurs with N, everything on G works great, even while the N stops working.  Welcome to the Bizarro World.

switched to WNDR3300 and problems are solved.  For now...
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: Nodens on September 02, 2010, 08:24:46 AM
I also have the same problem for a while now. All devices drop their wireless connection after a while (iPhone 3GS, Sony VAIO Laptop, D-Link DAP-1522). This never happened before. They lose their wifi connection and when you try to find the network again you cannot find it even though DIR-655 shows it's broadcasting. I have to close and reopen the wifi in order to work again. This works but after a while the devices lose it again.
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: Patrick533 on September 02, 2010, 11:12:05 AM
Hello!

I am new to D-Link and throughly read through the posts on this router, and still purchased one.

I purchased a Linksys router, and could NOT take it back fast enough, a couple months back.

Heres the caveat, I am an ex electronics engineer (RF, they sent most of the jobs I did to India). I have a background in in IT also (hey, it pays the bills!). ;D

The router has been up and running for 2 days, it is getting PLENTY of use, no problem with the wired portion. I did update the firmware and configured it before I put it on line.

The question: I ran a log on the wireless last night, and over a 12 hour period, the wireless signal would drop to nothing as if the radio shut off and then would come back up. You could literally set your watch to it. I was on my way out the door for work, so I did not see if there was a setting that would cause the radio to "refresh" every so often. I have ran the same log on an Actiontec and a Linksys and the signal were solid for 12 hours on both the Actiontec and the Linksys. I surfed on the wireless part of the router last night for some time, there was NO problem getting the 30/2 that I pay for from my Internet carrier. Just the radio resetting is something I have never seen before in a wireless network. The Wireless is configured for G-Mode only! Also, auto channel of OFF!

I have 2 gamers at home and 2 video watchers (plus myself), if this router is a POS, I will know very soon. The temp in southern cal is in the 100 degree range, so if it has temp problems, we will know that too. Hopefully my experience with D-Link is better the my experience with the new Linksys routers.

After the Linksys I got a new Actiontec/Verizon router, it worked well but I need to upgrade my backbone to gigabit! The rest of my upgrade was purchased last night from newegg and it is all D-Link!

Please advise on the radio dropping like clock work.

Thank you in advance!

Pat
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: Nodens on September 02, 2010, 11:29:45 AM
Can we have please an official statement from D-Link? This is a very annoying problem! The WiFi practically doesn't work any more with these kind of problems. Is it the firmware, configuration options, heating problems? Please comment.
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: Patrick533 on September 02, 2010, 12:51:37 PM
Hello!

I am new to D-Link and throughly read through the posts on this router, and still purchased one.

I purchased a Linksys router, and could NOT take it back fast enough, a couple months back.

Heres the caveat, I am an ex electronics engineer (RF, they sent most of the jobs I did to India). I have a background in in IT also (hey, it pays the bills!). ;D

The router has been up and running for 2 days, it is getting PLENTY of use, no problem with the wired portion. I did update the firmware and configured it before I put it on line.

The question: I ran a log on the wireless last night, and over a 12 hour period, the wireless signal would drop to nothing as if the radio shut off and then would come back up. You could literally set your watch to it. I was on my way out the door for work, so I did not see if there was a setting that would cause the radio to "refresh" every so often. I have ran the same log on an Actiontec and a Linksys and the signal were solid for 12 hours on both the Actiontec and the Linksys. I surfed on the wireless part of the router last night for some time, there was NO problem getting the 30/2 that I pay for from my Internet carrier. Just the radio resetting is something I have never seen before in a wireless network. The Wireless is configured for G-Mode only! Also, auto channel of OFF!

I have 2 gamers at home and 2 video watchers (plus myself), if this router is a POS, I will know very soon. The temp in southern cal is in the 100 degree range, so if it has temp problems, we will know that too. Hopefully my experience with D-Link is better the my experience with the new Linksys routers.

After the Linksys I got a new Actiontec/Verizon router, it worked well but I need to upgrade my backbone to gigabit! The rest of my upgrade was purchased last night from newegg and it is all D-Link!

Please advise on the radio dropping like clock work.

Thank you in advance!

Pat

Does anyone know if the older firmware had this problem, say 1.2X?
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: mickeyfinn on September 03, 2010, 03:48:54 PM
Just to help, I run v1.21 and have a MacBook Pro laptop running during business hours over wireless N.  It runs rock solid for me.  I've been monitoring the forums here for months now, waiting to see if the new firmware versions are safe to upgrade to.  So far, I'm happy with what I have.  If you are having that severe an issue, downgrading may be a good option; though just because it works in my case is no guarantee, obviously.  Hope you get your issue resolved soon.  :)
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: Patrick533 on September 03, 2010, 03:53:37 PM
Just to help, I run v1.21 and have a MacBook Pro laptop running during business hours over wireless N.  It runs rock solid for me.  I've been monitoring the forums here for months now, waiting to see if the new firmware versions are safe to upgrade to.  So far, I'm happy with what I have.  If you are having that severe an issue, downgrading may be a good option; though just because it works in my case is no guarantee, obviously.  Hope you get your issue resolved soon.  :)

Thank you for the reply, are you using a wireless security mode like WEP or WPA?
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: thecreator on September 03, 2010, 04:02:10 PM
Thank you for the reply, are you using a wireless security mode like WEP or WPA?

Hi Patrick533,

I can't speak for Mickeyfinn, but I am rock solid at 1.21 with SecureSpot disabled. I am using WPA2 Only! Encryption.

When they posted that you can't go back to Firmware 1.21 after upgrading to 1.3# versions, I never upgraded.

Of course, when you lose Electrical power, I need to do a Factory Reset, then restore the Configuration file.
Saves a lot of time.

Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: Patrick533 on September 03, 2010, 04:37:23 PM
Hi Patrick533,

I can't speak for Mickeyfinn, but I am rock solid at 1.21 with SecureSpot disabled. I am using WPA2 Only! Encryption.

When they posted that you can't go back to Firmware 1.21 after upgrading to 1.3# versions, I never upgraded.

Of course, when you lose Electrical power, I need to do a Factory Reset, then restore the Configuration file.
Saves a lot of time.



Hi TheCreator!

I tried this version of 1.21 last night: dir655_firmware_121_no_securespot.bin, is that the one you are running, or just the straight 1.21?

Thank you!

 
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: thecreator on September 03, 2010, 04:52:23 PM
Hi TheCreator!

I tried this version of 1.21 last night: dir655_firmware_121_no_securespot.bin, is that the one you are running, or just the straight 1.21?

Thank you!

 

Hi Patrick,

I am using the Firmware Version 1.21 with SecureSpot, but SecureSpot is not checked and works just fine.

Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: ke4rzi on September 03, 2010, 09:52:16 PM
I am on my second 655 which I purchased from Meritline.com.   I RMA'd the first one once I saw it dropping wireless and wired connections.  This happens completely on a random basis...  My computer has the little windows alert pop up saying that a network cable is unplugged and then within a minute it reconnects.  The same thing happens on the wireless side as well.  So 2 of these 655's have the exact same problem.  When it happened to the first one I contacted Dlink support and told them that I had already updated the firmware to see if that would help and they asked me why I would want to update firmware?   What kind of complete noob tech support asks you why would you want to update firmware?  I then contacted meritline and they RMA'd it for me hoping that a second one would work correctly.  WRONG.  Same crap different router.  I have an all gigabit network and wireless N on my new HP laptop.  I thought the 655 was a top router but, it has been no where as reliable or offered as much range as my old Linksys wrt54gs. 

I am completely let down and can't believe that such a popular model of Dlink router has these well known problems and no tech support to offer a solution.  I'm just about to ask for another RMA.  This is ridiculous.
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: mickeyfinn on September 05, 2010, 04:50:54 AM
To answer the questions above I use the non-securespot 1.21NA firmware and have a completely stable wired and wireless service.  I also use WPA2 only on my main setup, and have my guest account set to WPA1/2 (TKIP and AES).  Also it is set to mixed mode (wireless G and N).
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: Nodens on September 05, 2010, 11:44:43 AM
Now it's not possible to downgrade to 1.21, right?
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: Patrick533 on September 05, 2010, 12:20:16 PM
Now it's not possible to downgrade to 1.21, right?

Sure is, do a search, it is fully explained! I have done it several times over the last few days. Follow the instructions to the letter! The older flash memory used to have write life cycles, so I suggest not doing it a bunch.
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: Nodens on September 05, 2010, 12:37:16 PM
OK found it!!!
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: Nodens on September 05, 2010, 04:41:58 PM
I downgraded to 1.21 and finally everything works fine again!!!
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: swabby on September 06, 2010, 06:38:11 AM
Hey NODENS, would you mind providing the link you found to downgrade?  Thanks!
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: swabby on September 06, 2010, 07:13:43 AM
Ok, found it at DSLreports.com.

Downgraded from 1.34NA to 1.31RU as the interim step.  Things are already working better. Wondering if I should continue on to 1.21.  Since I have owned this router I have never had a "good" signal.  Usually "one bar" or around 20%.  I have tried an upstairs and a downstairs location with only a slight improvement downstairs.  Guess I will have ask my neighbor what he is using because I receive "all bars" from his protected router!!
Title: Re: Dropping Wireless Connections
Post by: Patrick533 on September 06, 2010, 01:47:14 PM
Ok, found it at DSLreports.com.

Downgraded from 1.34NA to 1.31RU as the interim step.  Things are already working better. Wondering if I should continue on to 1.21.  Since I have owned this router I have never had a "good" signal.  Usually "one bar" or around 20%.  I have tried an upstairs and a downstairs location with only a slight improvement downstairs.  Guess I will have ask my neighbor what he is using because I receive "all bars" from his protected router!!

1.21 and full size antennas! It has me rocking a quarter acre, 2 story house in the LA area (the airwaves are polluted here just like the air!).

The full size antennas really made a HUGE difference with this router for range, E-Bay has some huge ones that claim a lot of gain, but after 3-6DB gain with an antenna, you run in to diminishing returns (unless you are using a dish!!!), especially if you have a 2 story house. I took the hi gain antennas (the ones that are 6.5in/16.5cm tall) off of of 2 Linksys routers that I had purchased antenna upgrades for a few years back. Even the 2 Linksys WAP's I have with the bigger antennas don't have the same signal strength as this DIR-655 at 30'. I am measuring -57Dbm at 30' through 1 wall. -79Dbm at over 100' outside the Stucco through the entire house across the yard! As far as how many BARS, that usually varies from each software/hardware manufacturer and depending on who you talk to, the Dbm measurement does NOT lie! These things only put out 32 Milliwatts, why attenuate that with a tiny antenna!