March 17, 201115 yr Need some help. We have Insight Cable as our ISP. We have 4 computers and 3 gaming systems that link up with our wireless router. We are experiencing extreme slowness and lost connections pretty frequently. I'm trying to figure out if there's some upgrade I can get that would help reduce the lag and lost connections. Anyone have any suggestions on things I can do or router upgrades that will improve our connection issues?
March 17, 201115 yr I'm not even sure that matters, thats an incredible amount of bandwidth being pushed through all at once. Even if just 2 or 3 of them are up and running at times. Especially the gaming consoles. You have a few options but I'd go buy the best router with the biggest throughput you can find. And call Insight and have them bump you up to the highest service they have.
March 17, 201115 yr Author What wireless router are you currently using? I'm not even sure that matters, thats an incredible amount of bandwidth being pushed through all at once. Even if just 2 or 3 of them are up and running at times. Especially the gaming consoles. You have a few options but I'd go buy the best router with the biggest throughput you can find. And call Insight and have them bump you up to the highest service they have. I'm checking on the router name now.
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March 17, 201115 yr It might be a pain, but you could buy a good network switch and hook up the gaming systems hardwired instead of wireless. If any of the computers are desktops you could do the same for them.
March 17, 201115 yr Author It might be a pain, but you could buy a good network switch and hook up the gaming systems hardwired instead of wireless. If any of the computers are desktops you could do the same for them. I ran an ethernet cable to one of the game consoles and it didn't improve the lost connection issue.
March 17, 201115 yr If you have a quality router and a quality network switch, you shouldn't have that issue with 20.0 cable internet, imo. But I am no IT authority, just a guy with a lot of trial an error, with emphasis on the error, in my background. You could try running the ethernet cable directly out of your modem to the one game console that has been having lost connections, completely bypassing the router, and see what happens. If you have no issues, then the problem lies with the router. Of course you won't have any wireless access for anything else while you are doing this trouble shooting. If you have a good router, and it is just overloaded, you might consider buying a good network switch that will handle the throughput, running all the hardwired devices through the switch, and connecting one jumper from the switch to the router so everyone can share the internet connection. Then only using a minimal number of devices wirelessly. Somebody with more IT experience could probably tell you if that is feasible or if there is a smarter approach.
March 17, 201115 yr If you have a quality router and a quality network switch, you shouldn't have that issue with 20.0 cable internet, imo. But I am no IT authority, just a guy with a lot of trial an error, with emphasis on the error, in my background. You could try running the ethernet cable directly out of your modem to the one game console that has been having lost connections, completely bypassing the router, and see what happens. If you have no issues, then the problem lies with the router. Of course you won't have any wireless access for anything else while you are doing this trouble shooting. If you have a good router, and it is just overloaded, you might consider buying a good network switch that will handle the throughput, running all the hardwired devices through the switch, and connecting one jumper from the switch to the router so everyone can share the internet connection. Then only using a minimal number of devices wirelessly. Somebody with more IT experience could probably tell you if that is feasible or if there is a smarter approach. Thats a sound theory IF the 20 Mbps is enough to handle what he's trying to do. Hard wiring one console wouldn't change a thing with losing connection if you are either a)not truly getting 20Mbps (remember Insight is a shared line, meaning if Billy Bob next door is killing it downloading whoknowswhat, you're performance may suffer)or b)you are using you're 20Mbps by firing on all cylinders therefore it's going to drop what it can't handle. Hard wiring doesn't change the fact that you're sharing that same 20Mbps, and if you wired it through the router and not the modem (which I'm assuming you did) you're still at the mercy of whatever the router can handle. Whether you're hard wired to it or wirelessly connected to it the same amount of data i pusshed out and it can only push out what it can handle. I would start with Insight and have them come check the line and seeing how good your connection really is, before you spend any money. JMO.
March 17, 201115 yr ^Solid. I probably didn't say it the way I wanted to, but what I was trying to say with hard wiring the one console was that if he hard wired ONLY the console that had been losing connection and disconnected everything else, even the router, then he might be able to judge if the console was losing connection because of a router problem (or overloading it). If it still lost connection, while wired directly to the modem, then the problem would either be with the console or with Insight. If it didn't lose connection, then it might indicate the problem is the router (or overloading it).
March 17, 201115 yr Absolutely correct. ^Solid. I probably didn't say it the way I wanted to, but what I was trying to say with hard wiring the one console was that if he hard wired ONLY the console that had been losing connection and disconnected everything else, even the router, then he might be able to judge if the console was losing connection because of a router problem (or overloading it). If it still lost connection, while wired directly to the modem, then the problem would either be with the console or with Insight. If it didn't lose connection, then it might indicate the problem is the router (or overloading it).
March 18, 201115 yr I don't know much about routers, having bought my first one only recently. However, I will relate this: For my needs, I didn't need much at all. I bought a basic Belkin, and it was horrible. I took it back, got the most upgraded Belkin, and it was no better. I took that one back and got a NetGear and it's awesome. You may want to just try a different brand. Although someone I trust very much recommends Lynxsis, the guy at Best Buy talked me into the NetGear, and I must say I have absolutely no regrets in the purchase. It was a bit harder to set up for me (a novice), but in the end, it's completely surpassed my expectations.
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