iChat connection drop frequent

[routerooter]

Hello,

I have a linksys BEFSX41 v2.1 router (not wireless, hard wired) router. Ever since I hooked my macbook to it is appears that it drops and the reconnects regularly in regards to iChat. I am using my AIM screen name, and I receive this message "Error: Serv:RequestTimeout" frequently. This makes it tough because I can never tell if the person got my last IM or not, and since my screen name signs off and then back on again all the time it drives my friends insane.

I can get AV chat going, and I can use screen share with other macs. I enabled UPnP on my router in hopes that would work but it does not appear to have fixed it. I tried opening up a port that I heard AIM uses (5190) but that didnt fix things either. I'm thinking opening ports probably wont work since if I can IM people, or AV chat without having opened any ports then the program must be already opening ports as needed on its own.

I read some other form post here (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/176574/) and another one here (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/386699/) but neither seems to offer much solution.

I tried this router when I use to have an old Dell PC and it did the same thing with my AIM software then. That Dell was 7 years old though so I thought maybe it was the computer and not the router. I've searched all over but havnt been able to find any fix for this, and it appears like its a fairly common problem.

I'm thinking that it is routinely killing my connection for some reason, maybe it has to do with UDP and packets not refreshing? I dont really know much about networking so i'm a little lost here.

I called linksys and was on the phone with them for about 2 hours and they couldnt even manage to help me upgrade the firmware (i've tried firefox, safari, and IE for mac but all of them give me an error message when I goto upgrade).

If it turns out that no one knows of any fixes, does anyone know of a hard wired router that does work with iChat? This router is only a year old, so I think it should still work fine. I dont know what to do.

Thanks

 

[JE-Illustration]

Someones else probably knows more about this than I do, but I've had problems on my iMac with iChat. A few minutes after I open it, it will log me out. However it doesn't show I am logged out or disconnected, only that the other person is in mid typing.

I don't have this issue on my Power Mac and both are updated on their software. I resorted to Adium and only use iChat for video chatting. Good thing is I don't get those annoying people I don't know just pop up wanting a video chat lol.

So I don't think it's your router. I've been on a wired iLinks router and now I'm on a wireless router and still have this issue.

 

[routerooter]

yeah, it never lets me know when i'm actually signed off either, i'll think i'm sending someone a bunch of IMs or something and then it'll just give me the error message and then refresh.

 

[MacFanBoyIIe]

I'd like to know what kind of ISP you both use.
If there are a lot of relays in UDP there can be connection problems.

 

[routerooter]

I'd like to know what kind of ISP you both use.
If there are a lot of relays in UDP there can be connection problems.

I use comcast, it does seems to work fine if I bypass my router and just connect straight into my mac.

 

[JE-Illustration]

I use a DSL service called Zoomtown through our phone company. I use to be on cable internet through Time Warner(local cable) and it did the same thing on my iMac. I use iChat like I said on my Power Mac and never have a problem with it disconnecting me and never telling me like I do on my iMac.

But the weird thing for mine is I don't get an error message... I just realize that the person I'm talking to has been typing for a really long time and I log out and log back in, and they say I went off line. But it showed me as online.

I'm not worried, Adium works fine and lets me have my Yahoo friends in there with AIM friends.

 

[zsicherman]

i have the same problem he was describing above. with ichat i get dropped freqently and get the error server requesttimeout. it will show me still being online but to my friends i will be offline, without any of my messages actually being sent. I tried switching ports like another thread suggested and no go, and i jsut downloaded adium and i've been having the same problems. are you sure it might not be the router or ISP?