Problems with Linksys WRT160N wireless router

Hello there, I have a desktop computer and a Sony laptop, both the laptop and the desktop computers are installed with Windows XP Service pack 2. I use wireless connection to access Internet on both the computers. The Wireless Internet is provided by the Linksys WRT160N wireless router. Recently I am facing Problems with Linksys WRT160N wireless router. I am not able to surf the Internet using both the computers. Both the computers are not able to maintain connectivity with the router. I can connect to the router for sometime then automatically gets disconnected. I cant figure out if the problem is with the router or the Computers. So if anybody has any solutions about this problem then please let me know. Thanks in advance.

First check the configuration of the network which you are using. Many times it happens that the configuration of the network which we are using gets changed when some device tries to connect or gets connected. If the configuration gets changed then the devices are not able to connect to the network. Hence check the configuration of the network and then change the configuration if there are any settings which you have not done. Reverting back the changes will help you in connecting the computers to the router and you will be able to access the Internet without any problems.

Contact your Internet service provider and get the link which provides the bandwidth. It is possible that the router itself is losing the connectivity to the Internet due to problems in the Link. If the Link which is providing the connection is flappy then the computers will not be able to access Internet continuously as the router itself will be losing the connectivity. Hence contact the ISP and get the link checked before doing troubleshooting on the Device level.

Check the Link status LED on the router when the computer loses connectivity to the Internet. The Link status LED gives indication if the link is working or not. If the LED is not glowing then the Link itself is down and you need to contact the service provider for their support. If the LED is glowing and still there is no connectivity then there is some problem with the router. Log in to the router using the Console cable and then open the configuration page of the router. Check if all the WLAN settings are configured properly or not. Change the settings if needed. Try to change the SSID and the encryption of the router and save the settings. Reboot the router and then try to connect the computers to the router. You will have to search for the available networks on the computer as you have changed the SSID.

The DHCP on the router is not working properly and hence you are getting the problems while connecting the computers to the router. DHCP is responsible for assigning the IP addresses to the devices which are connecting to the router using Wireless mode. If the DHCP assigns same IP addresses to both the computers then there would be IP address duplication on the network. If there is duplication on the network then both the devices which are using duplicate IP's get disconnected from the network. Therefore you will have to disable the DHCP first on the router and then re-enable it again. Login to the router and open the configuration page. Now disable DHCP and then reboot the router. Once the router reboots connect console cable and then enable the DHCP again. Once the DHCP is re-enabled check if you are able to connect the computers to the router or not.

Every router works on an Algorithm. Algorithm is nothing but a software which can be seen as the operating system of the router. Like every software this also can get corrupt or can get stuck in some loop. If this happens then the router will not be able to provide proper services to the devices. Try restoring the router to the factory settings by pressing the Factory restore button on the router. If restoring the router to factory setting does not help then try to upgrade the firmware of the router. To do that, you will have to connect the router to a computer with Internet access using console cable. Once the router is connected to the computer, go to the official Linksys website and download the latest firmware for the router which you are using. Once the download is complete, install the firmware. After the firmware is updated, configure the router according to the settings provided by the network provider.