Router Problem - Regular disconnects, Belkin

JonB

Hi all. I'm not sure if this is the right area to post about router problems. If not I'm sorry .
I have a Belkin Router for about 4 - 5 years now. This one http://www.productwiki.com/belkin-wireless-g-mimo/
I've never really had problems with it for the 4-5 years I have had it. It's being great to me. My setup is pretty simple.
I have UPC with the scientific atlanta modem connected directly to my belkin router. I have:
- Two laptops connected wireless.
- Two Xboxs connected wired.
- Two phones connected wireless.

Sometimes my router disconnects and I get a warning saying IP conflict detected. It can appear of any of the two laptops but when I connect to the router page. The ip addresses of all devices on my network are different. This rarely happened and usually just required me to restart the router and everything was hunky dory.

My second problem now is that router is disconnecting close to 15times a day. Disconnections are random but it is across all devices on the network including wired and wireless.

- First thing I did was check if it was my internet. If I connect directly to the modem I have no problems. So this leads me to believe it is my router.

-Also from what I can gather the internet light on the router shows up green. But my wireless light is off and even my wired devices can't connect to the internet. So this sort of eliminated a problem if it's wired or wireless problem.

- I then tried another ethernet cable that connects my modem to router. No luck.

- I then decided to check my router page for any settings that look strange or changed. I couldn't really see anything that looked out of the ordinary.

- I then tried a Factory reset with the router hoping this would solve the problem. It hasn't.

- Went onto the Belkin forums and found this link and so I tried these steps: http://en-us-support.belkin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/80
The section that I followed was:
Are all computers connected to the router affected?
However following this advice didn't lead to a solution.

Ok I will give you some of my settings. In the hope that this will help you to help me
My Wireless security is WPA/WPA2 Personal.
My router IP address is .1
DHCP Server is enabled
IP Pool starting from .2 - .100
Lease time set to forever.
My connection type is set to Dynamic
DNS is Automatic from ISP
NAT is enabled
UPNP is enabled
Firmware has being placed on auto update however for the last year I haven't seem to be able to check if there is a firmware update manually or automatically. My assumption is a result of the age of the router and it is not being supported by Belkin.
So can any one suggest any ideas?
I was thinking maybe I should set the lease time off forever and maybe disabling UPNP.
I'm thinking maybe it's time for a new router?
Thanks for reading :P

R3al

After 5 years I would say it is end of life and time to replace, wireless routers are not expensive and there is no point keeping your current model if it is no longer supported

hearny

Sounds like the router is dying alright.
Contact UPC tell them that the router is acting up and ask for a wireless one instead, its worth a shot.
One less device to keep plugged in too.