Four days ago my internet connection failed, and at the same time my printer stopped working. I wasn't smart enough to see the common denominator and figured that once again my ISP was at fault. When they didn't show up to fix the problem, I started investigating myself.

After a while, I realized that my router (a WRT54G2, the one with the internal antennae that looks like a flying saucer), wasn't routing anymore. This was confirmed when I plugged the Ethernet cable from my computer directly into the cable modem and instantly had my internet back. Further confirmation came when I tried to log into the router (192.168.1.1) and got the "Unable to connect..." message. Another possible indicator is that all the lights on the router are lit up except the power-on light.

I've rebooted the router several times, and pressed and held the reset button for about 20 seconds, nothing works.

Is my router truly dead, or have I missed some simple trick that would revive it?

I have a never-been-used WRT54GL router still in its original box that I bought some years ago in anticipation of this eventuality. I have every configuration setting of the WRT54G2 router saved as a series of 24 screen shots. Are there any "gotchas" I should look out for when I try to swap out my old WRT54G2 for the new WRT54GL?

tanstaafl.

First step is to see if just swapping power supplies fixes the issue. Assuming the power supplies for the WRT54G2 and WRT54GL are the same voltage (12V, 1A)?

Different power supply, same symptoms. I should have thought of that sooner, but in any case it doesn't seem to be the power supply.

It may be significant that the power-on indicator on the router doesn't light up, although all of the other lights do.

tanstaafl.

Really? Wow. Yeah, time for a swap. Good luck with that. The balcony relay unit (if still in service) may have issues afterwards, but we can sort that out if need be.

Cheers.

The new router is installed and configured, and appears to be working correctly. SSIDs and passwords are updated. I won't know if the repeater on the balcony works properly until my neighbor returns. With my wife out of town, I don't have a single wireless device to test it with.

The firmware in the router is dated October 2009. If it is doing what I want, should I take the chance of updating the firmware and messing things up? I'm of the "If it ain't broke don't fix it" school of thought.

tanstaafl.

I shouldn't mess things up, and will likely include security patches.

What he said. Nothing may be broken, but there may be security flaws that have since been patched. Probably better to upgrade while you're still within the return period of the new router.

What router did you buy that ships with firmware from 2009?

While it is a new router, but pre-purchased in the expectation the original would fail.