Someone please help me before I throw my Macbook and broadband router out of the flipping window!!!!

[FruitynNutty]

Why oh why oh why is my internet so sloooooooooow lately? I'm sure dial-up would be quicker . Sometimes it's really fast but mostly it takes so long that the page I'm trying to load up fails. Also, why does the airport signal keep disappearing?

I thought the whole point of having a wireless broadband was so you don't have to be wired up?

Unfortunately I know nothing about computers/internet but I have been shown how to re-connect if I lose the signal. So, to begin with, what is VPN (PPTP)? and does it need to be connected/configured? It says it is configured but not connected just now.

Also, when the airport loses connection (which is all the blardy time ) how come the name of our internet doesn't always come up? Meaning I can't always click it.

I'm in the same room as the router FFS, why should it lose connection all the time?

I'll be surprised if I can actually send this at all!..............................

Nope, just as I suspected "Address not found", I'll try again..................................

...what wireless router do you have?

Is it an Apple one? If so is it plugged directly into the wall, or shaped like a UFO, or a flat square box with an Apple on top?

VPN is usually used to connect to a network, perhaps you or your husband connect it to another wifi network at work. Whatever, don't fiddle with it now, 'twill come to no good!

Not an Apple one. It's a Cisco Linksys? TBH I imagine it was the cheapest DP could find. I always say, "You get what you pay for!"

Ah. What you want is an apple Airport Extreme or similar. Go to a reputable apple reseller and get them to talk you through it. Some routers and ISPs are known for not talking well to Macs.

ah right! Better start saving the pennies then! I imagine it won't be cheap with it being Apple n all
I might google it actually, see what they cost...............
Thanks for your help!

Just looked at the prices, I think I'll stick with the wire for now

The Macbook I used to bring home from work was rubbish with my router. I discovered that it never lost the signal if it was plugged in to the mains.

If it's not airport causing trouble then it could be your router-modem. We're with virgin and as soon as they updated our modem we lost the use of our router. We ended up buying a new router after DH spent several hours on the phone to both Belkin and Virgin, neither of whom could work out the problem. They were incompatible, was the problem - but neither company would admit it, Belkin kept sending us new routers...we just freecycled it in the end.

We had the same trouble with Belkin and Talk Talk. So we got a new router - this crappy cisco one We dont have much luck

....cheap routers are the problem!

You don't need to be as posh as to go for an Airport Extreme or a Time Capsule, a plain Airport Express (at about £64) will do the job nicely....

If your AirPort signal keeps disappearing you could be getting interference from other equipment. Try changing the channel to a different one. 1, 6 and 11 are good ones to try. You use the AirPort Utility on your mac to do it.

Just realized you don't have the AirPort router. You can still change channels on the management web page of your Linksys without using the apple utility.

Thanks SWM I'll get DP to try that.
Retired even £64 is a lot to us at the moment I'm still wired up here! Much less stressful than wireless right now.
I'll get DP to try changing the channels like SWM suggested a bit later