Internet connection problems

Hi all. Been having some problems lately with my internet connection at home. It keeps cutting out on me every hour or so and it stays down for a while and then comes back up for a bit and then goes again. Don't know if it is the worm, hardware problem on my end, or Sympatico. I called Sympatico and they tell me that it is me and that there are no problems in my area with service. I am using Bell Sympatico High Speed, an SMC Barricade router, and i have 2 computers hooked up to the router.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

when it goes down, open your router config and renew the IP. See if that gets you back up. If it does, then your router is having a problem acquiring a DCHP address after the lease is up.

 

Do you think upgrading my routers firmware will help?

 

maybe, if there is a specific item that the firmware fixes, but I can't guarantee it. If you feel like updating the firmware, go ahead. I'd say it's worth a shot anyway.