Can't Get Comcast and New Router to Play Nice

So here's my problem. A weeks or so ago, Comcast did some kind of reset to their system (I know this because my favorite channels always get deleted when they do this). After that, my old router wouldn't allow me to connect through them. Seeing as I just upgraded my laptop's wireless card (it died the week before), I decided it was time for a new router. The new one is a Belkin N150. After using Belkin's setup wizard, I continually got an error saying it couldn't connect to the internet. According to Windows, the problem is between the "Internet" (the modem) and the rotuer.

After being unable to fix it through Belkin, I tried Comcast's directions. This involved cycling everything (computer, router and modem). The first time I tried this, I got a connection. However, after setting up security on the router, it stopped working again.

Comcast says the problem is Belkin. Belkin says the problem is Comcast. Anyone here know what I can try to get this to work?
 
Solution
Btw, one of the things l like to do is visit Newegg.com and Amazon to check out customer reviews. Obviously you have to take some of this with a grain of salt since ppl tend to complain more than praise, and the reviews are filtered (at least one has to assume). But that said, I don't find the reviews all that encouraging. While there are only 8 reviews @ Newegg, 88% of them are 1-2 stars. I can tell you from years of monitoring their reviews, even w/ such small numbers do you rarely see a rating that low. Even at Amazon it’s at best a modest router. And among all reviewers I see a disturbing number of ppl with what seem to be similar issues.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833314045...
Did you verify a DIRECT connection between the PC/laptop and modem works (i.e., without the router)? And works reliably?

If it does, then see if a wired connection works reliably using the router. Wireless only complicates matters when trying to determine if the problem lies w/ the modem or router. Only once a wired connection works reliably through the router should you consider wireless.
 
I've been using the direct connection for over a week, so it's reliable. Once I add in the router, none of the connections work. I have a desktop connected through a wire and a laptop connected wireless. It's not a problem with the wireless alone, it's a problem with getting the router to work with the modem.
 
I recommend starting from scratch by resetting the router. Let's start w/ a KNOWN GOOD state.

Hold the reset button on the back of the router for 30 secs (while powered on, of course) and release. The router will be returned to factory defaults and wireless security will be disabled. Until you have a reliable wired connection, I suggest turning off the wireless radio (most routers will have this option), just to be safe.

Once you’ve completed the above, power off the cable modem, router, and PC/laptop. Wait 60 seconds. Make sure the modem is connected to the router (LAN to WAN, respectively), and the PC/laptop is wired to a LAN port on the router. Now power up the cable modem. Wait 60 seconds. Now power up the router. Wait 60 seconds. Now power up the PC. Try the connection. If it doesn’t work…

Go to Start->Run, type "cmd" (no quotes), and hit enter. In the command window, type "ipconfig /all > temp.txt" (no quotes) and post the file's contents here.

 
After resetting everything, it works for about two hours at low speeds. After that, the connection is dropped. If I restart the computer, it starts up again.

I tried the full string in the command window, but nothing gets returned. Using just "ipconfig", here's what I get:

EDIT: Removed IP info.
 
You mentioned "low speeds" which implies (to me anyway) wireless. Was this wireless?

Btw, the ipconfig results look normal.

I would like to see what happens w/ wire over that router. You initially mentioned wire was troublesome as well. But since resetting things, I'd be interested to see if there’s any improvement over wire.

What's your OS? What's the make/model of wireless adapter on your laptop?
 
All of the testing has been over the wire. I did get wireless to connect though.

After resetting everything, I would get a slower connection (pages loaded fine, but downloads were under 10% of normal speeds). After about an hour or two, the connection was dropped. If I restarted the desktop or switched to the laptop, the connection would pick up again.

I'm using Windows 7 on the desktop and XP on the laptop. My wireless adapter is a Rosewill RNX N1.
 
Btw, one of the things l like to do is visit Newegg.com and Amazon to check out customer reviews. Obviously you have to take some of this with a grain of salt since ppl tend to complain more than praise, and the reviews are filtered (at least one has to assume). But that said, I don't find the reviews all that encouraging. While there are only 8 reviews @ Newegg, 88% of them are 1-2 stars. I can tell you from years of monitoring their reviews, even w/ such small numbers do you rarely see a rating that low. Even at Amazon it’s at best a modest router. And among all reviewers I see a disturbing number of ppl with what seem to be similar issues.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833314045
http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Wireless-150N-Router-F6D4230-4/dp/B001V72S06/

Again, hardly definitive, but this is the kind of thing that sends up the red flag.

Over the years Belkin hasn’t been nearly as dominate as Linksys, D-Link, and Netgear among consumers (at least in my experience). But in spite of that fact, when I do hear about them, they seem to have an unusually high rate of complaints/problems when it comes to wireless, whether wireless routers or wireless network adapters. I just don’t have a high degree of confidence in that brand. I tend to stick w/ D-Link and Linksys. Occasionally I will consider a device from a less dominate player in this arena like ZyXEL or ASUS, but that’s often for a particular device which has developed a reputation of excellence.

As soon as I see a problem like this and the word Belkin, I just get that sinking feeling this isn’t going to end well. Perhaps unfair, but you develop a sixth sense for these things w/ years (decades) of experience.

Anyway, just a thought.

 
Solution
I'm fairly certain it's not the router. I had a Netgear before this one that started having the same problems a few weeks ago. I couldn't get it to work, and since it was old, thought it might be dying. Figured even if it wasn't it would be a good time to upgrade with the new wirless on the laptop. Plus, I had some gift cards left from Christmas to spend.

Doesn't really matter I guess. I bought it at a store, so I can easily return it. I'll do that and see if I still have problem. I believe the store had a Cisco router for $10-20 more, so I'll probably get that one. I'm assuming Cisco makes good networking stuff...
 
One last question. The store I bought the Belkin from had a Cisco unit (or possibly a Linksys labeled as a Cisco) in the store, and several D-Links online (DIR-601, DIR-615 and DIR-628). The 601 and Cisco were about the same price, the 615 was $15 more than those and the 628 was $35 above the Cisco/601. Any advice on which one would be the best?
 


Cisco owns Linksys, but of course you're not going to get a REAL Cisco router at these prices. It's probably just been rebranded for some reason (marketing).

Since you don't have a specific model # for that Cisco/Linksys, I can’t provide much feedback. But I've had good luck w/ D-Link over the years, esp. compared to Belkin.

I always find it difficult to answer this question of which is better. Assuming it's simply not an outright dud, it just comes down to the features you need vs. budget. That DIR-628 is dual-band (one at a time, not the same time), but do you need it? The second 5GHz band will require matching 5GHz network adapters. Are you prepared to invest in additional hardware? Do you need the USB port for external storage or print serving? I don't see a whole lot of difference between the DIR-601 and DIR-615, but the DIR-628 does seem to take you into another class. But if you don't need those feature, you can saves $40 compared to the DIR-615 (based on Newegg pricing).

My attitude is to go for basic features and stay in the $30-40 range. If I need/want the extras, then I jumped to the clearly superior solutions (e.g., DIR-655). I mean, if you're prepared to spend $80 for the DIR-628, then heck, spend another $10 and get CONCURRENT dual-band, Gigabit, three antennas, QoS, yada yada. 75% of ppl rate it 4-5 stars after 930 reviews on Amazon, that should breed some confidence. And I suspect a substantial number of the negatives are from users who are clueless, in over their heads.




 
Alright. I'll probably go with the "Cisco" one since I can get that right away. If that doesn't work, I'll either return it and order the D-Link or just give up on having a wireless signal dedicated to me...

EDIT: Thought I'd add that I picked up a Netgear router, and the problem disappeared.
 

cabwjb

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comcast cable modem/linksys wireless router users MUST go into the router configuration under MAC addresses and CLONE the machine you are trying to connect. I have two machines hardwired and a wireless laptop... all are working after Cloning the MAC addresses. It's a pain, but it also makes your wifi more secure I guess. Be sure to connect the laptop directly to the router to gain access to the web interface of the router and perform the cloning then it should work wirelessly. good luck!