Troubleshoot Linksys by Cisco
Linksys by Cisco is a brand of wireless-G and -N routers for home and small office use. Like many other wireless routers, you may experience difficulty getting connected or finding your Internet connection after you get kicked off the network. In some cases, you may need to upgrade the router's firmware to keep it working properly. Follow a series of troubleshooting steps to get connected or reconnected using your Linksys router.
Instructions
Check Connections
1. Right-click the Internet connection icon in the lower right corner of your computer screen. Click either Repair or Troubleshoot problems to let Microsoft detect and automatically repair some problems, such as disabled network adapters. Attempt to reconnect to the Internet.
2. Look for the Ethernet wire running from the modem of your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to the port on your Linksys router labeled Internet. Unhook the Ethernet wire from the Internet port on the Linksys router, wait approximately 30 seconds and plug it in again. Attempt to reconnect to the Internet.
3. Look at the LED lights on the front of the router. Your Linksys wireless router must have a minimum of three LEDs lit for an active connection: the Power, Wireless and Internet LEDs. Confirm that each of the Ethernet port LEDs are lit for each physical connection you have from the router to a computer. Take note of a blinking Power LED light, as this means you must upgrade the router's firmware.
Check Router Configurations
4. Open your Internet browser. Type the router's IP address into the address bar and press Enter. Most Linksys routers use an IP address of 192.168.1.1. Enter admin as the password if you have not changed the default password. Press Enter.
5. Click Setup. Click Enable in the DHCP Server setting if you do not set your computer's IP address manually. Click Save Settings. Click Continue on the Settings are successful page.
6. Click Wireless. Click Enable in the SSID Broadcast so that the name of your Linksys network connection shows up in the list of available wireless networks on your computer. Click Save Settings and then Continue.
7. Click Wireless Security under the Wireless section. Write down the number or alphanumeric password displayed in the Shared Key field as this is the network key you must use to connect to the Internet if you have WPA-encryption enabled.
8. Click Administration. Click Enable in the Wireless Access Web section so that you can configure router settings on a laptop or another wireless device. Click Save Settings and then Continue.
9. Click Status. Click the DHCP Release button and then click DHCP Renew to refresh the router's IP address settings.
10. Attempt to reconnect your computer to the Internet to check that changing the router configurations worked successfully.
Upgrade Linksys Firmware
11. Go to Cisco.com and click Home Networking in the Support section near the top of the page. Type the model number of your Linksys router in the Search Support box and press Enter.
12. Click Downloads. Select the hardware version of your Linksys router. Click Download under the Firmware section. Save the file to your computer. If the file is in .zip format, extract the contents to a single, unzipped folder on your computer.
13. Type your router's IP address into the Internet browser and press Enter to go to the router administration page.
14. Click Administration. Click Config Management. Click Backup and save the router's configuration file to your computer.
15. Click Firmware Upgrade. Click Browse. Navigate to and double-click the saved firmware file on your computer. Click Upgrade. Click Continue and wait for the process to finish.
16. Press and hold the Reset button on the back of your Linksys router for about 30 seconds.
17.Go back to your Linksys router's administration Web page. Click Config Management under Administration. Click Browse or Choose File. Navigate to and double-click the saved router configuration file on your computer. Click Restore to complete the firmware upgrade.
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