Do you mean the Internet connection is the laptop itself, and the router picks up the Internet from the laptop, or is the router connected to the Internet, and the laptop gains access through it? It's a little confusing the way you described it.

Anyway: If you have two devices and can't tell which is at fault, borrow a friend's wireless laptop and see if the condition occurs. If so, it's the wireless router, if not, it's the computer.

Also, if your wireless signal goes out, are you still able to connect via the wired PC upstairs? If so, it may be the wireless' radio signal is faulty, and a new router will fix it.

I just fixed a problem we'd been having for some time. We changed ISPs (Internet Service Provider) and got a new router. But when I tried using it the way I had the old one, we couldn't find the printers we had plugged into the router, so I turned off the radio in the new router, and used the old router to feed a signal, via cable, to the new one. The problem was that the new router's radio eventually 'woke up,' and two signals interfered with each other, resulting in dropped signals to the several laptops in the house. I finally went back to using the new router alone, and figured out how to configure the laptops to find the printers. The problem was terminology -- Windoze asks for your 'print server,' and I finally cottoned onto the fact that the router serves as such, instead of any given PC. The Mac, by the way, handled the change flawlessly (of course).

So anyway, try a different laptop, and if it breaks, the router is the culprit. If it doesn't, the laptop is the weakest link.

Good-bye!

Bob