PCTech Forums

has anyone ever heard that if a cell phone, microwave or similar devices are near a router (wired or wireless) it can cause communication problems between a modem and a router?

I've been having problems with a linksys wired router so i called tech support. Sometimes my internet comes to a hault so i login to the router and attempt to refresh the ip and i cant. If i reboot the modem then refresh, i get an ip. Linksys told me it might be caused by having a cell phone nearby. I've never heard of anyone running into that.

I had the exact same problem with a Dell wireless router

If i run the modem straight to the pc, i dont have problems at all.

Interesting scenario

liljim,

The tech support guy was right it's called RF interference and can be caused by anything that transmits a radio signal.
The lower radio band frequencies like AM radio usually don't affect much but higher frequencies like microwaves can.

When I was still doing circuit board design, layout and manufacturing I specialized in RF shielding for microwave applications, like self guidance systems and radars.
I was involved in some cool projects over the years most I cannot talk about but the Hubble satellite telescope was one of them. The motherboard for the Hubble has 26 different layers, we built two of these boards for JPL one is in use the other one is part of the full system backup.

The substrate material used for most circuit boards is fiberglass but for microwave applications the substrate used is Teflon because fiberglass will cause interference and distortion of higher radio frequencies.

You could try making a shielding box for your router out of fiberglass coated with aluminum foil.

Or you could just make an aluminum beanie for your router.

Thanks Gecko,
I've experienced the behavior of a cell phone next to a crt and a stereo but i never considered the effect on a router. I've seen a video on extending a wireless network using a cellphone, salad bowl, aluminum foil and a cat 5 cable but they failed to mention the possibility of interference from the phone itself.

Another thing that can cause a lot of EMF that could mess up things that are wireless: A defective fluorescent light ballast and believe it or not, a fish tank heater.