My Router Keeps Knocking My Modem Offline. - Bleeping Computer

#1 Kaljinyu

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Posted 21 February 2014 - 08:08 PM

Modem: Arris Touchstone CM820 Cable Modem. 

Router: Netgear N150 Wireless Router WNR1000 v3 

So recently I've been having these intermittent outages in my connection that my big name cable/Internet service provider can't seem to fix. My modem keeps losing its connection. Sometimes for 15 minutes, sometimes for hours. And I've recently discovered it might be a problem on my end.

An Arris Touchstone CM820 has five indicator lights. The Power light, the US (upstream connection) light, the DS (downstream connection) light, the Online light, and the Link light. When everything's working fine, the Power and US lights are green, the DS light is yellow, and the Online light is green. All signifying that I've got a solid "ultra high speed" connection. The Link light will be flashing. So that's how it is when it's working normally. 

But recently, during these "outages" I've been having, sometimes the Online light will go blank, obviously meaning the modem has lost its connection. And the US and DS lights will flash yellow, in succession, in an attempt to reconnect. But every time it tries, it times out and starts over. The modem fails to connect constantly, sometimes for 15 minutes, sometimes for hours. 

Then I found out that this only happens when I have the router plugged into it. I tried taking the router's ethernet cable out of the modem, taking off the coaxial as well, and power cycling it. Then I put the coaxial back on. It was able to achieve a normal connection, minus the presence of the router. And it stayed that way until I plugged the router back in. 

Any idea what's going on? I haven't downloaded or installed anything recently or changed any settings, and my router's firmware is up to date.

Gonna also see if the modem loses its connection when I plug my computer directly into the modem, as opposed to through the router.

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#2 Kaljinyu

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Posted 22 February 2014 - 09:17 PM

The Edit button is gone. I meant to update, could it be because my Wi-Fi is insecure? 

I don't remember who did it or when, but WPA2-PSK [AES] security was enabled for the router. And I don't think I've had any trouble since. So is it because a wireless connection is booting me off the Internet or something?  

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#3 jhayz

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Posted 23 February 2014 - 12:54 AM

Have you tried resetting the router to check on the difference? By resetting would mean configuring the wireless settings/security again. Try also using a different LAN cable just in case.

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#4 Kaljinyu

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Posted 23 February 2014 - 12:57 PM

Resetting the wireless settings/security? How do you mean? Like turning off WPA2-PSK? And about a different LAN cable, you mean a different ethernet cable? You mean a different cable to run between the modem and router?

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#5 jhayz

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Posted 23 February 2014 - 09:06 PM

The router has a pin hole that can be pressed for 10 seconds usually to restore to factory default settings. By resetting would mean reconfiguring the login, wireless settings and security. Using a different cable to double check if the WAN to WAN connection from modem to router  port is also an option to confirm if its not a faulty connection in between.

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#6 Kaljinyu

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Posted 24 February 2014 - 11:11 AM

I reset the modem by holding down the reset button inside the pin hole. Then I turned off the wireless security. Then it started having outages again.

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#7 jhayz

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Posted 24 February 2014 - 11:23 PM

If you can borrow or swap a cable and it happens to be of the same result then it would confirm that the router is at fault which needs replacement.

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#8 Kaljinyu

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Posted 25 February 2014 - 04:31 AM

Now, is it a broken router, or just a bad brand of router? Because it seems pretty normal when I've got wi-fi secured. Sure no device on the network is doing this?

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#9 jhayz

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Posted 25 February 2014 - 09:48 PM

Because it seems pretty normal when I've got wi-fi secured. Sure no device on the network is doing this?

 

Ahhh! It seems were on a different page regarding the problem.

Now, is it a broken router, or just a bad brand of router?

I don't remember who did it or when, but WPA2-PSK [AES] security was enabled for the router. And I don't think I've had any trouble since. So is it because a wireless connection is booting me off the Internet or something?

Does anybody have full access to your router configuration most likely? Secured or password protected on WPA@ AES is the strongest encryption key for current routers nowadays. I would put a password for trusted members or most preferrably only you on the router login page so nobody could access your router settings.

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#10 Kaljinyu

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Posted 28 February 2014 - 12:27 AM

Well, the thing is, when the wi-fi is secure, no one is using the wi-fi. 

I probably should've worded that differently. I meant that it seems pretty normal when no one is on the wi-fi because the wi-fi is secured and therefore people can't just drop in. 

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#11 jhayz

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Posted 01 March 2014 - 02:11 AM

Do you see the problem on both secured and unsecured wireless access?

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#12 Kaljinyu

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Posted 01 March 2014 - 03:21 AM

I don't see the problem on secured wireless, but that might be because no one is using the wireless when its secured. 

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#13 jhayz

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Posted 02 March 2014 - 01:22 AM

The only thing to verify and confirm the problem is if enabling couple of devices access to your secured network. Unsecured network could grant unwanted flooding of IP addresses to nearby devices connecting to your router that it cannot handle.

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