Mysterious Wireless Network Disconnections?

Question

My computer is connected to the Internet by using a D-Link wireless adaptor plugged into one of my USB ports, and it gets its connection wirelessly to my 2-Wire gateway that AT&T Yahoo provided for our DSL.
My connection strength is always shown on the computer as being 100% or close to it. However, at random times I will not be able to connect to the Internet until I run the Network Diagnostics tool in IE7 to reconnect myself, or wait a few minutes and try again. My wireless signal strength is still at maximum during these disconnects, and I never get disconnected during a download. I am still capable of using the Internet, but it is such a pain in the butt to have to reconnect every few minutes or so.

Many thanks to whoever can help me make sure my connection is working all of the time. I don't know whether the problem comes from the D-Link adaptor, the 2-Wire gateway, or maybe both.

I checked my wireless adaptor, and it says it has the most up-to-date driver.

The random disconnects occur regardless of whether there is another wireless network nearby or not. The times they occur are also completely random; sometimes I get disconnected shortly after I start up my computer, other times I can be good for over an hour before I have to reconnect.

Maybe I would get a better connection if I just used an Ethernet cable instead?

Answer 1

I'm not sure signal strength is always a good indication of connectivity. Signal strength may just mean the computer is receiving the signal, but because of electrical noise, the messages carried back and forth by the signal may become garbled and need to be retransmitted. Too many retransmissions could cause one end to decide to break the connection.

On the other hand, weak signal strength makes reliable transmission just that much harder.

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

Your problem in a nutshell is the USB Wireless Adapter.
These are poor at best in comparison with a wireless card that plugs into your motherboard.
Not only do they require drivers many users forget to check for upgrades and updates to the drivers.
Not all require drivers but where the problem lies is the USB connection.
Generally speaking the less clutter you have the less abt you are to problems.
I have AT&T as well
I have a Speedstream Modem furnished by them I added a Netgear Wireless ROUTER. I have a Dell Desktop and older iMac and a Powerbook .
The Dell and the old iMac are ethernet cable connected and the Powerbook is wireless.
I have never had an issue connection wise with any so does that tell you anything.
Don

Answer 3

Disclaimer: I have no hands-on experience with 2-Wire products nor D-Link USB wireless adapters.

Other possibilities are wireless interference, conflicts with nearby wireless ethernet, and problems with encryption.
--Wireless interference. Some folks report networking problems corresponding to use of microwave ovens, cordless phones, and baby monitors. Read your 2-Wire documentation to learn how to choose a different channel for your wireless. You should not need to make any changes on your computer, which will adapt to whatever channel is used. This may work around some wireless interference problems.
--Nearby wireless ethernet. If a neighbor has wireless, it is possible your computer occasionally roams to your neighbor's network. When you roam, you do not automatically get a new IP address, and your current IP address may not work on your neighbor's network. A way to check is to temporarily turn off your 2-Wire gateway. See if you are still able to connect to the internet. If that's the case, check your documentation for the 2-Wire gateway and your D-Link wireless adapter for how to set and change your wireless SSID to help prevent your computer from roaming wirelessly. I guess your 2-Wire gateway is set to a default SSID, which is the same SSID used by your neighbor. Your D-Link wireless adapter may be set to associate with ANY SSID instead of a specific SSID, but most current wireless management software prompts or prevents you from roaming to another wireless environment with a different SSID. Your operating system may have its own built-in software to manage what SSID your laptop will use, such as Wireless Zero Configuration If your neighbor uses a different SSID, but you connect on the same channel as configured in your 2-Wire gateway, change your 2-Wire gateway to use a different channel than your neighbor -- see Wireless Interference above.
--Encryption. I found some Belkin wireless cards routinely drop off the network for no reason. A temporary fix was disabling encryption on the wireless router and the wireless card. If that's the case for you, a better fix is looking for an updated driver for the USB wireless dongle or buying a better wireless card. You may also check if your USB dongle is quite warm when your network failure occurs. The USB dongle may fail if it overheats.

Answer 4

So, your pc is working nice applying the instant community? if so, that advise your instant get right of entry to component has no problem. it may desire to be the sign on your computing gadget is susceptible. Are you applying 802.11a/b/g or n?