How to Troubleshoot a Linksys Wireless G Router

Linksys routers are simple to troubleshoot.

Linksys Wireless G routers are relatively simplistic if you just plug them in and use them. However, if you are an advanced, knowledgeable user and you make changes to the router's internal settings you might find that the router stops working. If the router stops working, the issue could be with aforementioned settings or it could be due to misrouted or loose cabling. If you take a logical approach to troubleshooting Linksys Wireless G routers, you can usually correct the issue quickly and with minimal disruption to your home network.

Things You'll Need

• Ethernet cable
• Small pin

Instructions

1. Turn off your complete home network. Turn off your computer, router and then your modem. Turn your network back on starting with your modem. Allow your modem a few minutes to establish Internet connection. When the "data" light turns on, power your Linksys router on. Give your router a few minutes to turn on. Once the "Internet" light turns on, boot your computer up. Give it a few minutes to fully turn on and gain Internet connection. If the Internet still fails to work, or one of those lights fail to turn on, go to the next step.

2. Inspect the cabling from your modem to your Linksys router. The Ethernet cable plugs into the "to Computer" port located on the back of the router. It is the only port large enough for an Ethernet cable to fit into. The other end of the cable plugs into the "WAN (Wide Area network) port located on the back of the Linksys router. Linksys segregated the port from the LAN ports. It is common to see this cable misrouted and placed in a LAN port. Correct the cabling if necessary. If the cable is correct, replace it with a new Ethernet cable. Complete step one again. If this does not correct the issue, move to the next step.

3. Place a small pin into the reset hole located on the back of the router. Hold the pin into the hole until the lights flash. This clears out any settings you changed inside of the router and resets everything back to the factory defaults. In essence, this recreates the first time you turned on the router. Complete step one again. If this does not work, move to the next step.

4. Remove the router from your network. Remove the Ethernet cable from the WAN port on the Linksys router and plug the cable into the Ethernet port located on your computer. This allows the modem to connect to the computer directly. Complete step one again omitting turning the router on and off. If the Internet works with the router removed, contact Linksys for a warranty repair. If the Internet still fails to work, contact your service provider to report an Internet outage.