I hope Santa Clause gave you many wonderful new technology presents to play with over the New Year. These days the average family has a heap of devices. My two girls have a computer an iPad, and an iPhone each! We have a smart TV and my wife and I share a computer and a couple of iPads and smart phones as well. All of these are connected through our wireless modem router and work in semi-harmony streaming media, internet and music throughout the house.
I find that many of my clients when buying the latest computer or tablet ignore the poor little modem router that is gathering dust sitting next to the phone. I usually suggest if you are upgrading your computer, its best to upgrade your modem router at the same time.
This little box with lights flashing and connected to the phone line is now one of the most important pieces of technology in your home. It connects all your devices, your smart TV and stereo to the internet. Nowadays even wireless security cameras, air-conditioning units and fridges are all set to use this little modem router as well.
I would suggest looking at replacing you modem router every three years, as more and more devices are connected. There are many different modem routers out there. You definitely get what you pay for with these devices, so don’t skimp on the cheapest one as it will only cause you headaches.
If you are on the hunt for a new modem router, look for one that is NBN ready, has 2.5ghz and 5ghz Wireless and using a 802.11ac network at around 1000mbps. I can explain the ins and outs of what all this means but suffice to say these specs will help future-proof the growing need for internet and for helping your household items talk to each other, and to stream media.
If you are having issues with your current modem router here are a few trouble shooting tips to help you get back on track. First, get to know your modem router. Find the instruction book (if you can) and understand what each of the flashing lights at the front of your modem router is for.
If any of these lights are flashing in an orange or red colour then your first issue is to work out what symbol the orange flashing means; is it the Internet, your LAN or your wireless signals?
If someone calls me with this issue, I first suggest they turn off all their devices. Then turn off the modem/router and wait for a couple of minutes. Check that all the plugs connected to your modem router and your computer and printers are not loose. Then turn on the modem router first, it takes a little while to boot up because if needs to connect with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) through your phone line.
Once you see all the lights are green, then turn all your computers and devices back on. If your internet light is still flashing orange or red once it has fully rebooted, it may mean you will need to call your ISP to get them to test the internet at their end. If the internet light is green and you have Internet connection on the computer that is connected to the modem/router via a cable, but your wireless devices don’t have internet, then this means that the device has lost the wireless connection and you will need to reconnect your wireless in the device with the modem.
70% of the time a reboot solves the problem, but if you find it doesn’t, then the next step is to check your Modem/router settings.
Open your Internet browser and type in http://192.168.1.1 in the address bar and, using the account name “admin” and password “admin” you can see the modem/router’s configuration settings, security and Wi-Fi settings.
Most router companies use the same default IP address but you can always check in the instruction manual in case yours is different.
Once you have logged in you may need to check or reset the settings inside the router with the help of your ISP.
If Internet access is slow but connected, check to make sure you are getting near the bandwidth promised by your ISP. Use a speed test tool such as speedtest.net. Keep track of bandwidth at different times of the day and night as well as weekdays and weekends. Contact your ISP for further troubleshooting if you are not seeing the bandwidth you are supposed.
I hope this helps with keeping your network trouble free and your Internet surfing stable. If you have any questions about this or any other troubleshooting issues, please give me a call.