Is anyone here good with computers and wireless routers?

[DJ Disney Kid]

Just bought a wireless n router today, hooked it up and all my stuff is connecting fine, but when I look at my network, it shows up as 802.11g, shouldn't it say 802.11n? Granted the laptop im using doesn't have wireless n built in, but shouldn't the network be N and then let my wireless g devices connect to it?

Im buying a new xbox 360 tomorrow which has the wireless n adapter built in so I want to get use out of it. Will I have to change settings on the router or something to make the wireless n signal work?

 

[Scurvy]

It depends on your router. Some 802.11n routers will not work as "n" if anything on your network uses 802.11g. It will revert to 802.11g instead, which means if that's the kind you have then your xbox will connect to it as though it's a 802.11g router. The last time I was shopping for routers, that kind was fairly common. I don't know if that's still the norm, though. There are others which will connect at the appropriate speed for each device instead of being an either/or situation. You might want to google your particular router to see which is the case with yours.

 

[DJ Disney Kid]

This is the one I bought, any idea if this will be wireless g with my laptop but switch to N when I turn on my 360?

http://www.linksysbycisco.com/MEA/en/products/WRT120N

 

[Scurvy]

I can't tell. Sorry - this definitely isn't my area of expertise. It appears from one thing I found that somewhere in the settings is the option to set it as "g" only or "n" only or as a "mixed network". If it really has that option, then I would guess that (assuming you have it set that way) the XBox will connect as n. But I don't know that for sure. Worst case, you'll find out when you hook up the XBox!

I'm very jealous, by the way. We just bumped up to an Elite from a Pro last year, so I just can't justify buying the new one yet. I really want to, though!

 

[bdoyledimou]

Your wireless G network adaptor doesn't know about wireless N and as such will not report as connecting to wireless N.

Your wireless N network adaptor will connect at wireless N speeds (note that it really won't matter, because even streaming HD video will be less than Wireless G speeds.

 

[DJ Disney Kid]

I can't tell. Sorry - this definitely isn't my area of expertise. It appears from one thing I found that somewhere in the settings is the option to set it as "g" only or "n" only or as a "mixed network". If it really has that option, then I would guess that (assuming you have it set that way) the XBox will connect as n. But I don't know that for sure. Worst case, you'll find out when you hook up the XBox!

I'm very jealous, by the way. We just bumped up to an Elite from a Pro last year, so I just can't justify buying the new one yet. I really want to, though!

The only reason Im upgrading is because Gamestop has an awesome upgrade deal! Check this out: http://www.gamestop.com/gs/specialty/tradeins/

$100 for the system and you get extra cash for your hard drive. Im upgrading for less than $100.

 

[DJ Disney Kid]

Your wireless G network adaptor doesn't know about wireless N and as such will not report as connecting to wireless N.

Your wireless N network adaptor will connect at wireless N speeds (note that it really won't matter, because even streaming HD video will be less than Wireless G speeds.

So then whats the point of Wireless N if nothing will utilize it?

 

[Scurvy]

The only reason Im upgrading is because Gamestop has an awesome upgrade deal! Check this out: http://www.gamestop.com/gs/specialty/tradeins/

$100 for the system and you get extra cash for your hard drive. Im upgrading for less than $100.

Oh, wow - thanks for the link. We still have our Pro, so we might have to consider this!

 

[bicker]

So then whats the point of Wireless N if nothing will utilize it?

Loads of things utilize 802.11n.

It depends on your router. Some 802.11n routers will not work as "n" if anything on your network uses 802.11g. It will revert to 802.11g instead, which means if that's the kind you have then your xbox will connect to it as though it's a 802.11g router.

The way I addressed this is by having two routers, one 802.11g and one 802.11n. The inner router is the master, with DHCP running, while the outer router is just a slave, configured to just work like a switch, but also configured to only allow 802.11n connections, so it does not step-down to 802.11g when a 802.11g device tries to connect to it.

 

[bdoyledimou]

So then whats the point of Wireless N if nothing will utilize it?

Inter network communication speeds and distance of transmission.
If you are streaming video wirelessly from your home pc to your xbox, then wireless N will allow for easy HD transmission.

But since wireless G is 54Mbps and internet services top out at 50Mbps, the wireless transmission is still faster than your internet.

 

[bicker]

Yes, so for example, my TiVo downloads video from Amazon.com (rather than streams) - once the file is on my network, it could be played at Wireless N speeds (if necessary).

One other thing to keep in mind: Wireless is subject to other folks in the same area also trying to communicate using wireless, and therefore interfering with your communications. With Wireless N, thoughput with contention could be faster than Wireless G without contention.

 

[DisneyTarheel]

You didn't ask about this, and may have already taken care of it, but have you enabled the encryption on your router? Unfortunately, encryption can be one of the most confusing aspects of a home wireless network, since all of the devices on the network need to share the same encryption settings, and not all devices support the same encryption technologies. There is generally a lowest common denominator among your devices that will work, however.