These days, having passage to wireless broadband is an absolute necessity for home offices and small businesses. And after more than a decade of innovations, you would think that the accepted wireless gateway/router would be a picture-perfect stock by now.
While many routers offer good features, most still come with flaws that can make life a lot harder, such as confounding setups or little security.
What follows are six router problems that, quite frankly, I find the most annoying. I looked for possible solutions, and while I didn't find one router that addressed all my concerns, I did inspect features -- and routers -- that could make things a lot easier.
1. Difficult configuration
The problem: How long does it commonly take you to set up your router? When was the last time you were able to get it right on the first try? What about when you wanted to add a new Pc to your wireless network? And how about getting your wireless printer to connect to your network?
Let's face it: Each network is different, and getting the right blend of settings can be confounding. For example, even some reasonably experienced Pc hands may not understand the differences between protection settings or know that Wpa-2 offers good protection than Wep and commonplace Wpa.
These and other hitches are why setting up any router can still be vexing, even to an experienced computer user. Some, such as the Buffalo AirStation Wireless-N 300Mbps Cable Router Whr-Hp-G300N (), have crowded menus with multiple layers that make navigation painful. Others, such as the Netgear RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router Wndr3700 (0), rely on a protected setup that has a long series of instructions that have to be followed to get a new Pc on your network.
Possible solutions: assorted vendors have tried to make things simpler with easy-setup Cds or one-click connection buttons, but they can't cover every possible circumstance. Buffalo's and Netgear's setup instructions go the extra mile by explicitly detailing the order in which you need to you plug everything in before you run the Cd. (Cable modems in singular should be powered on before you connect your router to them.) That's a nice touch -- but it assumes you've read the printed instructions that came with the router. When was the last time you read the hand-operated before you plugged in your new device?
Almost all routers have Web-based configuration screens, and as long as you remember the device's Ip address, default username and password (which you should have changed when you set it up), you should be able to get into the setup screens and make any adjustments you need. It's just a matter of figuring out which adjustments are necessary.
The Cisco Valet M10(0), part of Cisco's recently introduced Valet line, comes with a Usb key that has the configuration software on it. Once you set up one Pc on your network, you use the key to run the configuration on any other Pcs or Macs (the key also includes Mac software) without having to write down the wireless encryption key or other information.
Cisco has also made it a lot easier to set up other devices, such as wireless printers, by providing a overview screen with all the relevant information about your wireless network that you can print out for easy reference when you run the setup agenda on the Usb key.
Buffalo has a nice diagnostic disposition that checks to see if you have Internet connectivity and that your router is configured properly. You run it from the Web configuration console.
Apple's AirPort Express () is simple to set up and has some neat features, along with the capability to share Usb printers and to share audio across the network to a linked stereo receiver. You can also enlarge the range of your existing AirPort base station, which is something that most Wi-Fi routers can't well do. But if you've got a Windows Pc, you've got to install Bonjour, and adding a new Pc to an existing network isn't as easy as it could be.
2. Enabling file sharing from your router
The problem: Why spend money on a isolate network-attached warehouse (Nas) unit when you can use your router for sharing files? Many routers come with Usb ports to which you can connect an external Usb drive for simple backup or file sharing.
Sadly, although plugging in an external drive should be as easy as -- well, as just plugging in the drive -- getting that drive set up isn't all the time simple. The Linksys Wrt610N Wireless-N Router (0), for example, has a involved setup screen that you need to fill out when you attach a Usb drive to it.
It would be nice to have software that enables the sharing without a lot of setup hassles. It should be easy to connect the computers across your network to this shared storage, by using whether the router's Ssid name or Ip address. You also need to be able to password-protect your shared drive so that it isn't open for whatever who's linked to the network.
Possible solutions: assorted routers include Usb ports, such as those from Linksys, Belkin and Netgear.
It's all a matter of what software is used to configure the Usb drive and whether you need whatever else on the Windows or Mac client end to connect to the shared drive.
Best ready routers: The Belkin N+ Wireless Router (0) has a isolate software configuration utility that works for both Windows and Mac systems and needs to be run only once to set up the external shared drive. After that, you can connect to the shared drive by entering its Ip address, such as \192.168.1.1\sharename. The stock isn't perfect, though: There is no way to password-protect the files on the shared drive.
The Netgear RangeMax doesn't wish any additional software and can password-protect the files. It also offers a wide variety of passage methods, along with Ftp and Web sharing, from its setup screen.
3. Performing firmware updates
The problem: Router firmware is an foremost first line of protection defense on your network and needs to be kept up to date. But looking firmware updates on a vendor's Web site is not for everyone, and many vendors don't make it easy.
You have to bring up your browser, go to the vendor's withhold site and try to track down the current version for your singular router model. You then have to download the file to your Pc and upload it to your router in the right place in the router's Web control panel screen.
To complicate matters, vendors often have any dissimilar versions for each router model, because they make frequent improvements to the router, often changing chip sets but retention the version whole the same.
Possible solutions: Make the update automated or at least well selectable, so you don't have to go straight through the tortured process of downloading and uploading the file.
Check the firmware update section in each router's Web setup screens to see if the router can automatically upgrade itself.
Best ready routers: Belkin's N+ Wireless and Netgear's RangeMax both have a menu-selectable software switch to enable the updates. Once this is set, you can forget about it and be obvious that you will all the time have the most recent firmware.
4. Enabling temporary wireless access
The problem: If you have visitors or needy neighbors, do you well want them to have permanent passage to your entire network? Even if you trust them on your network, do you know how good their own protection is? (For example, will your neighbor's notebook end up in the hands of his teenager?) If you naturally give a visitor your router password, then you probably need to turn this information when he leaves your home or office -- which is a real pain.
Possible solutions: A good idea would be to grant them temporary guest passage that gives them just an Internet connection and nothing else on your network, such as shared drives or printers.
Vendors have begun to enable this on their routers in a variety of ways. Belkin, for example, has an selection it calls "Hotel-style," meaning that users are directed to a Web landing page where they enter a extra guest password. Other vendors make it easy to set up isolate wireless networks just for guests. (If you use Apple's AirPort Express, on the other hand, you're out of luck -- there isn't any guest access.)
Best ready routers: The Usb key that you can originate with Cisco's Valet can help here as well. You need to run an automated setup disposition from the Usb key (rather than from the Web Ui) on each of your guest computers. Once you do, it will set up a isolate wireless network with a dissimilar name and password that only allows Internet access.
5. Determining who is on your wireless network
The problem: Just because you think your network is regain doesn't mean that it is. It's probably a good idea to commonly check to see who is using your router -- especially if you haven't changed your router's default password. However, in a world where it's hard enough to remember to back up your computer, it's unlikely that most of us have the time or inclination to commonly check who has been on our networks.
And even if we want to, it's not all the time easy. Typically, most router Web Uis indicate who is currently connected, but looking this out requires digging straight through many menus. Sometimes the vendors hide this information under a title like "Dhcp client list" and/or give you just the Ip addresses and host names of current connections.
Wouldn't it be helpful if your router notified you every time someone connected? Even better, how about a historical view that shows you when and who linked to your network over the last week?
Possible solutions: There are lots of enterprise-class wireless monitoring tools, such as AirMagnet but, price-wise, these are typically out of the reach of home and Smb users.
Check out the screens that are commonly labeled "Attached devices" or "Dhcp client list" to see who is linked and using which Ip addresses. Some companies, such as Buffalo, clearly show how assorted clients have linked and what wireless devices they are using.
Best ready routers: When Cisco bought the business Pure Networks, it acquired a piece of software called Network Magic. The Windows version of Network Magic will show you a pretty map along with a more beneficial network histogram timeline revealing who has linked when.
For some reason, Cisco includes this software in some of its Linksys routers but not the Valet M10 series. You can purchase a license for up to three Pcs for that will work with any router. (The Mac version doesn't have the maps or histograms.
6. Changing your Dns provider
The problem: After you've set up your network, you probably don't give your Domain Name system settings any additional thought. If you have a cable or Dsl modem, you hook it up and it automatically gets its Dns settings from the cable or phone company's Dns servers. (If you're running a large business network, typically you have your own internal Dns server to provide this service.)
Home and small-business users may want to look into looking an alternative Dns provider. Why bother? Two good reasons: good browsing execution and good protection against known phishing and malware-infected domains. (Your actual execution will vary widely, depending on your Internet victualer and, if you are using a cable modem, how congested your cable line is.)
Possible solutions: Individuals and smaller businesses now have any alternative providers that are worth considering, along with OpenDns and Google group Dns, among others.
Getting your router vendor to withhold these servers is sometimes tricky. A few routers, such as 2Wire's Home Portal 3000 series that comes when you order assistance from At&T U-verse, don't even withhold alternative Dns settings. Development matters more difficult, most of the automated setup routines that routers include don't allow you to enter your own Dns provider.
So if you've decided to go with an alternative, first make sure your router supports alternative Dns settings. If you're not sure, see if you can enter your own Dns address on your router's Web-based setup screens instead of just using what your Internet victualer gives you.
Then try it out, along with installing its software to optimize your individual Pc, before messing with any of your router's settings. After you make the turn to your Dns, there is a Java tool that can test your speed to see if it makes a difference. Depending on how you're linked to your Internet provider, it can help whether a lot or not much at all. If it doesn't help, consider going back to your customary settings.
6 Annoying Router Problems And Solutions