Router Shows Wireless Packet Drops

Yesterday I faced packet loss issues with a wireless router in my home. My laptop is successfully connected to the router via wireless but with lesser speed than normal. At first, I thought it is because of the slower Internet connection. I tested my desktop computer with a modem and find out that the Internet is working fine. Since the connection to the modem is perfect, I tested the connection to the router. I connected my desktop computer to the router using an Ethernet cable but couldn't find any speed difference. It is working fine but when I switched to WiFi, it is again slow. I repeated the steps on the laptop and pinpoint the reason. Wireless is acting strange and it is the packet losing issue. This article tells how to deal with packet losing issues by explaining the possible solutions. For your information, I use WRT54G  from Linksys in the home.

1. Power cycle
   
   We need to unplug the power cable from the router and wait for 30 sec. After 30 seconds you can reconnect the power cable. You need to wait until power, wireless and Ethernet lights are ON. Now check for the issue.
   
   
2. Reduce Wireless beacon interval
   
   If the power cycle doesn't fix the packet drops, it is the time to log on to the settings page and change beacon interval. Beacons frames (actually it is not a packet but frame because IEEE802.11 networks work in data link layer) are frames send periodically to announce the presence of WiFi network with necessary information. You can reduce the default beacon Interval to default -100 in advance wireless settings. Depends on different vendors, the page may be different but always check for the advanced settings page.
   
   
3. Update Firmware
   
   If WiFi drops even after reducing the beacons interval, I recommend you to update the firmware of the Access Point/ Router. Do a power cycle after updating the device firmware.
   
   
   • Steps to upgrade the firmware of Belkin Access Point is:
     Steps to update Belkin Access Point Firmware
     
     
     
   • To know how to upgrade the firmware of Linksys WiFi AP, click on the link below.
     Steps to Update Linksys WiFi Access Point Firmware
   
   
   
4. Reset and reconfigure
   
   
   
   • Press and hold the reset button for 1 minute.
     
     
   • Release the hold and wait for one minute
     
     
   • Reconfigure
     
     
     1. To reconfigure your Linksys wireless router, follow the link below.
        How to Configure Linksys Device
        
        
     2. To configure your Belkin Wireless router, click on the link below.
        How to configure Belkin Router

After performing these steps, check for the issues. If you are still seeing packet dropping, it is the time to replace it with a brand new device. One last possible fix is to replace the old antenna with a new one. However, since it is a consumer level product, I suggest you invest money in new Access Point rather than buying antennas.

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