Wireless not constant..?

I recently got a wireless card for my friend. It isn't rly "notebook" related but more wireless, but I think you guys might be able to help me. Now he has a linksys wireless router, and a wireless card. Sometimes, his connection gets interrupted.. For exemple, when playing left 4 dead, his ping stays in the green, he still has 3 bars of connection, but he loses connection like at each 3-4mins. He needs to reset his router and it works fine after. So what do you guys think? Can it be the connection, like B,G,N? The router is G, and the card is G.

 

what grade router does he have ? (B,G,N?) and what grade wireless card are you using?

 

They are both G. I updated the first post.

 

Sounds like a bad router. I've had a few linksys that just won't keep a connection. I would change it out or try flashing it with DDWRT or Tomatoe firmware.

 

The WRT54G (revision 1-5 and the S version) are all notorious for dropping their connection (firmware/cache problems). Revision 6's firmware supposedly fixed the majority of the problem, but it'll be a cold day in hell before I purchase another wrt54 series linksys, despite the fact that the majority of my work is based around Cisco equipment.

 

It's not his connection - it's his Port settings. All online games have certain Single Port and Port Range requirements for proper communication between the system and the gaming server. Few gamers ever setup their Router properly for Port Triggering or Port Forwarding. Keep in mind also that if he's using any encrypted security (WPA2, WEP, etc.) that will also cause network drop issues with gaming servers. I'd be willing to bet that it happens at a certain point in the game also, particularly if it's at around the same time point after connecting to the game server.

The current Left 4 Dead Port setting is 27015, set to Both (Full Duplex) if you're using Single Port or Port Range Forwarding. If you use Port Triggering (preferable to Port Forwarding) then the TCP/UDP setting doesn't matter as the game initiates the trigger/port flow as necessary.

The way to tell whether it's a Network Port issue or a signal/connection issue is whether or not it happens when he's not playing an online game. If it happens only when gaming, and he doesn't have his Router set for Port Triggering or Forwarding, that's the problem. If it happens if he's gaming or not, then it's a signal/connection issue caused by settings or interference, and that's another matter entirely. Anything from a cordless phone to a fluorescent light can cause RFI and signal drops.

You can read my long post on Port Triggering/Forwarding on the PS3 Forums - it's also been used by some game sites, but the PS3 Forum has the latest edit with screen shots. It doesn't make any difference if you're playing a console game or a PC game - port requirements are the same, and Router setup is the same. Port Triggering/Forwarding & QoS Setup for Linksys Routers

If your friend isn't sure about how to setup Ports, there are 2 programs he can use - one is PC Config, which is a Port Forward program; the other is Port Trigger, which is a Port Triggering setup program. Both programs allow you to set ports without Router access. Port Triggering is always preferable, since it only opens (triggers) the necessary ports when required by the game. Static Port Forwarding keeps the ports open all the time, whether you're using the game or not, so it lowers your security profile.

You can get both programs at PortForward.com.