Connecting Router to Modem/Router

I have for some years been running a D-Link DI 524UP wireless router connected to an ASUS DSL modem. The router has a built-in print server, and I use it to provide printer access to the computers using the router. It worked well, but when the street telephone network was upgraded to provide ADSL2, I replaced the old ASUS modem with a Thomson TG585 V7 wireless router/modem provided by my ISP. When I had confirmed that my laptop connected OK to the internet through the Thompson, I tried connecting the D-Link router’s WAN port to a LAN port on the Thompson and was pleased to find that it also worked OK. I therefore have two wifi networks working side-by-side and have found that computers using wifi can connect to the internet using either one. Those that are set up to print through the D-Link router can do that also when connected to that wifi network. So, all seemed well.

After a while, I noticed that connecting to the internet using either of the networks was sometimes difficult, and connection would be lost at times. Printing through the D-Link router was at these times also difficult. The arrangement is perfectly satisfactory 90% of the time, but the other 10% is very irritating.

Could using a router to connect to a router be causing these occasional problems? Should I be changing any of the router or router/modem settings? Someone suggested that DCHP in one or other of the routers should be disabled as only one of them should be trying to assign IP addresses. Is this likely to be a contributing factor? I can’t see it as each computer connects to only one wifi network at a time. Could the two wifi signals be interfering with each other? The routers are almost side-by-side. I could remove the antenna off the Thompson as I only want it to function as a modem if it’s felt that this might help.

The plus of this arrangement is that when it’s all working (ie most of the time), the internet is noticeably faster than it was on my original very old modem. Any advice on how to make it more reliable would be gratefully received.

 

It sounds as if something is interfering with the wifi signal. Do you have any cordless phones as these are known to cause problems with wifi conections.