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[evo77]

I have owned the router for 5 years and I foolishly never added the security password to my wifi network. I have never had any issues with performance or connectivity. Just the other day I finally password protected my network (WPA2-Personal, AES) and since then my internet has been slow or the signal breaks for a short period then regains connection.

Why am I experiencing these issues now and not before this?


•What Hardware version is your router? C1
•Link>What Firmware version is currently loaded? 3.01
•What region are you located? Midwest USA
•Are you wired or wireless connected to the router? Modem to router is wired.
•Has a Factory Reset been performed? No - for fear of further damaging the connection.
•What ISP Service do you have? Comcast - Cable
•What ISP Modem Mfr. and model? Comcast - Motorola SB5120
•What ISP Modem service link speeds UP and Down do you have? Wired speeds unavailable - Wireless speeds are 4.5 UP and 18 DOWN on laptop. 4.5 UP and 14 DOWN on phones.
•Check ISP MTU requirements, Cable is usually 1500, DSL is around 1492 down to 1472. Call the ISP and ask. Link>Checking MTU Values Requirements unavailable at the moment.
•For DSL/PPPoE connections on the router, ensure that "Always ON" option is enabled. N/A

[FurryNutz]

I recommend checking to see if your drivers on the laptop are up to date for the Wifi adapter. What OS are you using on the laptop?

A factory reset will not damage the connection. It only resets the router back to default settings. I recommend doing this reset and set up the router from scratch.

Wireless Configurations
Links>Wireless Installation Considerations and Managing Signal Congestion

• Ensure the default (dlink) SSID name is changed. Can be anything and not something thats already in use by any neighboring WiFi routers. Under Setup/Wireless/Manual.
• What wireless modes are you using?
• 2.4Ghz Routers only: Try single mode G or N or mixed G and N?
• Channel Width set for Auto 20/40Mhz or try 20Mhz only.
• Try setting a manual Channel to a open or unused channel. 1, 6 or 11. 11 for single mode N if the channel is clear.
• What security mode are you using? Preferred security is WPA-Personal. WPA2/AES Only. Some WiFi adapters don't support AES, so you might want to try TPIK only or Auto TPIK and AES.
• What wireless devices do you have connected?
• Any cordless house phones?
• Any other WiFi routers in the area? Link> Use InSSIDer to find out. How many?
• If you have any of these options, Try turning OFF or ON Short GI, WLAN Partition, HT 20/40 Co-exhistance and Extra Wireless Protection if you have it. Recommended settings are default. Under Advanced/Advanced Wireless.
• Enable WMM Enable Under Advanced/Advanced Wireless.

Review this as well:
 Router Troubleshooting Suggestions and Tips

[evo77]

I am using Windows 7.

Would the drivers really matter now that I have added the security password?

My connection was perfect before with no issues. The only thing that has changed from today and 2 days ago is adding the security. No other changes.

[FurryNutz]

Anything is possible. Since you did use security over the years, many things can change when it comes to security and modes it operates on and client HW and drivers they need to interact with. So having it OFF over the years, you wouldn't probably notice anything since the Wifi doesn't have to process anything, now you've turn on security and now the WiFi on the router and the Client HW have to process this thus performance can be slowed. AES has the best performance of them all however other things can effect performance, external sources and interferences, drivers and 3rd party security programs on PCs and Laptops.


I would update drivers first to ensure they are good to go. Then to a factory reset of the 615 and set it up from scratch. Use the suggestions mentioned. If your not using A or B modes, use Mixed G and N modes only or if all of your devices support N, use single mode N. Auto 20/40Mhz and WPA2/AES only.

Speed only on a wired connection, turn everything OFF accept 1 wired LAN cable PC and speed test. It's not recommended to speed test on WiFi, many factors can contribute to inaccurate results. As long as the wired connection tests fine, you'll be good to go.

There is newer FW as well...I recommend v3.11 to start with. If you do choose to update, please follow this:
FW Update Process

[evo77]

Thank you for the advice. I will try out what you recommended when I get home today and report back.


Thanks.

[FurryNutz]

  Let us know how it goes.

[evo77]

Hopefully I'm not jinxing myself but I believe my issue is sorted out.

Taking the advice from Furry, I did the following in this order:

1. Updated wireless adapter driver - Windows said the current driver was up to date however I googled and found a newer driver. After installing, Windows did not allow the driver to be used as it was missing the digital signature. I had to resort to the previous driver.

2. I reset the router - After doing so I became a little worried because I was not able to connect to the router home page for a little while. It took a few times rebooting of the modem/router/laptop to finally access the page. I then completed the internet and wireless wizards as well as setup of the password protection.

3. Router installation software - I no longer have the CD so I downloaded the .exe file from google. I'm not sure if this was really necessary but I did it anyway.


I avoided updating the firmware to see first if I was able to connect as I did not have issues before with the old FW. I will see how things work out the next few days. All the other settings that Furry recommended were default during setup (I believe) so no adjustments were needed.


Thank you Furry for your help. I hope this thread may serve to be useful for others in the future.

[FurryNutz]

You  an use the on board set up wizard on the router at 192.168.0.1.

Glad you got it working. Enjoy. 

[evo77]

Back with another update...

My speed has once again decreased and has become inconsistent. One minute pages take forever to load and sometimes don't load at all and another minute they load quick and fast. This on my android phone (as well the other 2 android phones in the household). I don't seem to experience any lag if any on my laptop via the wireless signal. Only the phones.

I have played with the modes as well as the channel widths and I can't seem to tell a difference. Although I have not tracked which combinations I have used and if I have used all of them.

There are no cordless phones in the house or other wireless devices connected. Only 3 phones and 1 laptop.

Can you recommend specific configuration combinations that I can try? Could the magic combo be somewhere with the modes and channel width?

[FurryNutz]

Try single mode G/ wpa2/ tpik only/ auto 20/40mhz

[evo77]

Try single mode G/ wpa2/ tpik only/ auto 20/40mhz

Unfortunately this setting has not improved speed. 

[FurryNutz]

Lets try Mixed G and N wpa2/ AES only/ auto 20/40mhz