Need big help

[mbday630]

I am writing this on hubby's laptop. around 3 a.m. I noticed that netflix was out and hulu was out and so when I got up I unplugged the modem and router and reset. nothing changed. did that multiple times. so then hubby went to walmart and bought a new router and I still couldn't get on the internet. and this ticks me off too - after paying almost 50 dollars for a new router, they wanted 49 dollars to initiate it! but, I digress, hubby put back old router and hooked up his laptop to the modem directly and voila we have internet. so, he said that it has to be my computer ethernet card. but, he said that the ethernet thingy was connected to the motherboard (I had several old ethernet thingys in my computer box) so, do I need a new computer? is there a way to just get an ethernet thiny hooked up? i hate typing on this computer so I hope that I am making sense. so, when hubby hooked up his laptop directely to the modem, it is working.

[Jen]

Look for a WiFi USB adapter for PC. It looks like they cost around $20-$50 US.

[Jen]

Sorry for the new post. I am the OGFF (original gangsta fat finger). That will only work if your WiFi router isn’t on the blink. Can you connect to WiFi on Hubby’s laptop or do you have to plug it in?

[mbday630]

we have the laptop directly connected to the modem and that is the only way I can be online. we bought a new router, thinking that was the problem but that wouldn't connect to my computer either so it has to be my computer - at least what we are thinking now.

[Jen]

Then try the WiFi USB adapter. You should be able to plug it into a USB port on your computer and connect to the WiFi. I would just hate to see you buy something that you don’t need, so if you do get one, maybe go for the cheapest

[draclvr]

I've used the little USB adapters many times and they work fine. I've had 3 of them start overheating on me, so I finally ended up installed a WiFi adapter inside the computer.

I've had a lot of internet problems lately and the way to make sure it's something like your router is when you also cannot connect on any of your devices. Routers do go bad, but if you can connect with one device and not another, then the router is not the culprit. I have never heard of a new router needing money to connect to the internet and I've installed a LOT of them for people? Who is your ISP? I DID have to get a new router when lightning blew mine out a few weeks ago. I just hooked it up and set up the new network and away we went.

For the time being, I'd just get a USB adapter and see if that helps the problem. If you can connect it directly to the router, that might be an option even if you need an extra long ethernet cable. They are pretty cheap.

[mbday630]

it was a netgear router that we paid almost 50 dollars for and they wanted more money to initiate it. I told them no. I never had this problem before. but, with hubby's laptop directly linkned to the modem and my desktop computer not being able to connect, it has to be the computer. so, what do I do? buy a new computer? hubby says that the ethernet is linked to the motherboard and so every ethernet car that I have been saving won't work.

[JKEerie]

MB...your ISP will have to activate your router on their end in order to provide you service. I needed a new modem router when I decided to stream...one that could handle the faster speeds. Once I got the router and set it up, I called my ISP and gave them the router information and I was good to go. Didn't cost me anything. I also used the USB wifi adapter on one of my older laptops since it was a Window's XP and couldn't handle the higher security protocol of my router. It's a D-link and it only cost me $20 at Office Depot.

[JKEerie]

MB...I have a Netgear router and you need to contact your ISP for activation. I didn't even have to contact Netgear during the setup process.

[draclvr]

Not all ISPs require activation. Mine doesn't, but may in the future... it's a security thing. And, mbday, you keep saying "they" wanted $50 to activate the new router. Who is "they?"

$50 for a new router is extremely cheap. I hope it's one that can handle new WiFi protocols. I paid over $100 for mine and it's a long way from the best.

[JKEerie]

MB....do you have a separate modem and router? Or do you have a modem-router?

[mbday630]

I have a separate modem and router. I called netgear and besides the initial price of paying for the router they wanted another 49 dollars because they said it wasn't a secure connection that we had before. argh. bottom line, do I need a new computer?

[JKEerie]

It sounds like someone in tech support wants to charge you for something you can do yourself. You can log into your router and set the security protocol yourself.

[JKEerie]

Did you totally lose your streaming services even after rebooting your old router? Did they come back with the new router? If so, can your hubby connect to the wifi via the new router? I think we are all missing some info in order to determine what your problem is. What is the model of the new router?

[Jen]

I copied these instructions from a netgear website for how to access your router settings via a browser:

Launch a web browser from a device that is connected to your router's network.
Enter routerlogin.net or http://192.168.1.1 in the address bar.
The router login window displays.
Enter the router admin user name and password.
The user name is admin. The password is the one that you specified during setup. The user name and password are case-sensitive.
If you forgot your admin password, see How do I recover my NETGEAR admin password?.
The BASIC Home screen displays.

Here’s the part about recovering the password:

Launch a web browser from a computer connected to your router’s WiFi network.
Enter routerlogin.net or routerlogin.com into your web browser’s address bar.
A login window displays.
Click CANCEL.
The Router Password Recovery window displays.
Enter your router’s serial number.
To find your router’s serial number, see: How do I find my NETGEAR home product’s serial number?.
Click CONTINUE.
Answer your security questions.
If you cannot answer your security questions, see: How do I perform a factory reset on my NETGEAR router?.
Click CONTINUE.
Your admin password displays.

Chances are you will do the initial setup when you first log in, because it sounds like nobody has done that yet on your router. Edited to add: if you name your network the same as before and use the same password, you will not need to re-login on your other WiFi-needing things like Netflix or smartphones or what have you.

Also, look at the papers that came with or on the router to see if there is a default login. Last time I ever bought a router, it had a little card with that info tucked into a slot on the router itself.