What is it with getting a router to work right?

I purchased one several years ago (2008 IIRC) when I got hi-speed internet from Comcast, and followed the directions to a T and... nothing. Finally had to pay a Geek Squad dood to come out here and get it to work.

Fast forward to 2013, and, same exact thing. Bought a Belkin. It had five steps to follow in order and said it was simple. Followed all five steps perfectly, and.... no go again. Then when it failed to "reason with my modem" (yes, it really said that at one point on my screen, it said "trying to reason with your modem") it asked me for several pieces of information and suggested I could get them from my ISP (Comcast, in my case). The five pieces of info it needed was 1) ISP address.... 2) Subnet Mask.... 3) Default Gateway.... 4) DNS Server (Primary)..... and 5) DNS Server (Secondary)...

So I contact Comcast, and they tell me they can't help me and linked me to a sight with another list of instructions to follow to get the the router set up, and I followed each and every step in order, to a T, perfectly and reduntantly (tried 3 times) and.... no go. Router can't hook up with my cable modem.

I am so pissed I'm ready to throw this router through the wall. Can anyone recommend a router that I can install, THAT WILL WORK, right out of the box?

If they can't activate your service with a WRT54GL router, I can only say that Comcast is beyond hopeless. Be sure to try a custom firmware like Tomato if you do go that... route. ;)

Yes, same modem and same company (Comcast).

At first I just had the wire running from my computer to the modem directly, as that was the only device I had connected to the internet. But a couple of weeks later I bought that first router (Lynksys) and as I said, it didn't work as per the instructions. Then the Geek Squad dood came out here and had it hooked up and running in less than 15 minutes (still cost me $75).

Now this time, same modem, same company, and this router (Belkin) has "5 Easy Steps" to follow, then you load the CD and the it goes through the song and dance of trying to connect to the modem and.... never did.

Comcast insists that I don't have an IP address, that it is automatic or changes or something, I dunno. Whatever that means. And then they never did give the me the subnet mask, default gateway, and DNS server info. Like I said, after the router failed to hook up with the modem on it's own, a screen came up saying I needed to enter those pieces of data to proceed and that I could get it from my ISP.

Gonna try calling again tomorrow and see if speaking with a different person at Comcast might get me the information, but honestly, at this point, I'd be good money that even if I got the information, the router still isn't going to hook up with the modem. Maybe because it's a few years old, or maybe because it's Comcast, or something, but man this is frustrating. I just want a router to have a wi-fi network in my house, yet it's never easy. I don't get it.

OK, make sure that you connect the network cable that comes out of your modem to the INTERNET port of your router, and not a regular LAN port. That's where most people fuck up from what I've seen.

Second, if you connect your computer directly to the modem does it give you an IP address or do you still need to configure something in order for it to work (like IP settings or a PPPoE username and password)? If so, what are the settings you are configuring?

Last point, try turning off your modem and router (unplug them), then connect the network cable from your modem to the router, then power back on the modem, wait a bit and then power on the router.

If you can tell me the make and model of both the router and the modem I can see if I can dig up more info.

I personally like TP-Link equipment these days. They're cost effective and reliable. I would recommend checking to see which one will take a custom firmware such as the one recommended earlier.

Yep, I can recommend a router that is painless to setup. Buy an Apple router and when you run the setup utility for windows, just remember to check the gaming option and that's it. Done. It is a high quality router that you will not find yourself needing to reboot the way cheap ones that crash do. I set mine up over six months ago and have never had to touch it. It took me about 3 painless minutes to do so. It will cost you more than a cheapo router at Best Buy or whatever but as always, you get what you pay for.