Connectivity Issues - Multiple Gaming

[Fhloston]

My wife, roommate, and myself all game online through our PC and two laptops. PC is connected to a cable modem, and we have a wireless router connected to that, which connects our laptops. Usually on weekends, we game together on all three computers, but we have been experiencing connectivity issues as of late. The internet connection seems stable, and the lights on the modem/router all seem to be on and blinking normally, but we get disconnected frequently.

Called Comcast and the tech said it is easy for the router to become "confused" if multiple people are gaming on the same game at once. He suggested we have a "professional setup" done, and that would solve our issue. Comcast wants $45 for the service though, but I figure it is something that can be fixed with a few clicks here and there. I'm pretty cheap, so trying to figure out a do it myself alternative. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!

Edit: Got a hold of a tech who got on my laptop via remote desktop connection, said the router seemed to be randomly dropping connection. It drops very briefly, but happens frequently as seen on the router log. He recommended a new wireless router, which Comcast supplies for free. Makes me wonder though if that will solve the problem, because our PC is having the same issues as well, and is connected directly to our modem...

[jmc]

Not actual advice.... just wondering what your exact setup is, if you have a desktop hard wired into a cable modem... and a router hard wired into the modem as well?

do you have 2 lan ports on the modem itself?

[Toxictaru]

This was happening with my old router. Nothing I could do fixed it, I tried a lot of stuff. Short of installing ddwrt. I just went ahead and bought a new router, my old one was 5-6 years old anyway. New router was beneficial for a) dropping connections and b) both of the computers we use on the router support 802.11n, so faster speeds etc.

[Astarael]

Not actual advice.... just wondering what your exact setup is, if you have a desktop hard wired into a cable modem... and a router hard wired into the modem as well?

do you have 2 lan ports on the modem itself?

This. Usually your modem only has one lan output, which is cabled into the router if you're using multiple devices. Then the wired PC would plug into the router, and the wireless devices would connect to the same router. It's essentially a complicated internet splitter. If this is the case then it's likely the router could be causing the issue.

It's uncommon for your modem to have 2 lan ports, one for the PC and one for the router?

[xerodok]

My wife, roommate, and myself all game online through our PC and two laptops. PC is connected to a cable modem, and we have a wireless router connected to that, which connects our laptops. Usually on weekends, we game together on all three computers, but we have been experiencing connectivity issues as of late. The internet connection seems stable, and the lights on the modem/router all seem to be on and blinking normally, but we get disconnected frequently.

Your problem is wireless. Having multiple devices, running the same kind of programs, doing the same kind of things will bog the channel and disconnect you. You will probably notice your wireless on your devices will say 'local only' or drop you all together. This is because the wireless channel in your router is getting flooded and can't handle all the requests. This is common with gaming.

The best solution for you is to try the new router Comcast gives you, and if that doesn't resolve your problem, buy a dual channeled router to handle your needs. Ideally, you should have everything hard wired, which is why I always say there is no such thing as a gaming laptop.

In reply to your edit, your wired connection is probably dropping because the router is either A.) stopping all traffic, wired or wireless to try and avoid collisions or errors and reestablish connection or B.) it's your actual router, which I doubt.