Router keeps disconnecting

Necronic

Necronic

Staff member
Having a weird problem with my router and can't figure it out, yet.

Basically it will disconnect every 3 minutes and stay offline for ~1 minute. It will do this for hours at a time, then wot do it for a while, then back again. It's happening more and more....

I've run through my modem and it seems fine. Call words and power levels are good. The problem durin these disconnects is that the router and modem stop talking.

It's an Asus RTN16 with the current Asus firmware. I updated the firmware after the problem started and it didn't fix it. I then reset to factory settings. This fixed it, for a while (3 days or so). Now it's happening again.

I've had some strange problems with Hamachi in the last so I've fully uninstalled that. I may reset the router settings again and see if hamachi was corrupting it?

I'm also going to put DD-WRT or Tomato on it.

Any other ideas of stuff?
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

I had a ZyXEL router that would do this, and it turned out to be simply that I was taxing it too much, and it would overheat/cool down/overheat/etc.

--Patrick
 
Necronic

Necronic

Staff member
I should clarify. I know the disconnect is happening between the router and the modem. When i lose connection I can log into the router but not the modem. It also affects every computer.

Ed: man it better not be a heat issue...wtf do I do abou that?

You know, I dunno about heat. If it was heat wouldn't it reboot the router? Even when disconnected I can access the router firmware.
 
Last edited:
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
I had similar problems with a dlink router some time ago, that it turned out it just couldn't handle the computational strain. Wasn't overheating or anything, just... was a shit router.

But I'm assuming your router previously worked fine? Otherwise I'd assume you would come to the same conclusion very quickly if this had been a chronic problem from the start.
 
strawman

strawman

Put a fan blowing across the router/modem. Get some good, strong airflow right across them. If it fixes it, then it's heat related.
 
Necronic

Necronic

Staff member
If the router overheats wouldn't it reset?

Also, I haven't really gotten any strange errors on my router log, but I did find these in my modem:

QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Wed Aug 21 10:03:23 2013 Fri Aug 23 12:09:24 2013 Critical (3) Unicast Ranging Received Abort Response - initializing MAC
Fri Aug 23 12:09:51 2013 Fri Aug 23 12:09:51 2013 Critical (3) Registration RSP rejected message syntax error;CM-MAC=00:24:2c:af:6d:73;CMTS-MAC=00:19:2f:e6:3b:60;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Fri Aug 23 12:09:51 2013 Fri Aug 23 12:09:51 2013 Critical (3) Registration RSP rejected unspecified reason;CM-MAC=00:24:2c:af:6d:73;CMTS-MAC=00:19:2f:e6:3b:60;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Fri Aug 23 12:09:51 2013 Fri Aug 23 12:09:51 2013 Error (4) T6 Timeout and retries exceeded
Fri Aug 23 12:09:51 2013 Fri Aug 23 12:09:51 2013 Critical (3) REG RSP not received;CM-MAC=00:24:2c:af:6d:73;CMTS-MAC=00:19:2f:e6:3b:60;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Fri Aug 23 12:10:15 2013 Fri Aug 23 12:10:15 2013 Critical (3) Registration RSP rejected message syntax error;CM-MAC=00:24:2c:af:6d:73;CMTS-MAC=00:19:2f:e6:3b:60;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Fri Aug 23 12:10:15 2013 Fri Aug 23 12:10:15 2013 Critical (3) Registration RSP rejected unspecified reason;CM-MAC=00:24:2c:af:6d:73;CMTS-MAC=00:19:2f:e6:3b:60;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Fri Aug 23 12:10:15 2013 Fri Aug 23 12:10:15 2013 Error (4) T6 Timeout and retries exceeded
Fri Aug 23 12:10:15 2013 Fri Aug 23 12:10:15 2013 Critical (3) REG RSP not received;CM-MAC=00:24:2c:af:6d:73;CMTS-MAC=00:19:2f:e6:3b:60;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Fri Aug 23 12:10:40 2013 Fri Aug 23 12:10:40 2013 Critical (3) Registration RSP rejected message syntax error;CM-MAC=00:24:2c:af:6d:73;CMTS-MAC=00:19:2f:e6:3b:60;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Fri Aug 23 12:10:40 2013 Fri Aug 23 12:10:40 2013 Critical (3) Registration RSP rejected unspecified reason;CM-MAC=00:24:2c:af:6d:73;CMTS-MAC=00:19:2f:e6:3b:60;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Fri Aug 23 12:10:40 2013 Fri Aug 23 12:10:40 2013 Error (4) T6 Timeout and retries exceeded
Fri Aug 23 12:10:40 2013 Fri Aug 23 12:10:40 2013 Critical (3) REG RSP not received;CM-MAC=00:24:2c:af:6d:73;CMTS-MAC=00:19:2f:e6:3b:60;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Fri Aug 23 12:10:56 2013 Fri Aug 23 12:11:12 2013 Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
Fri Aug 23 12:11:24 2013 Fri Aug 23 12:11:24 2013 Critical (3) Registration RSP rejected message syntax error;CM-MAC=00:24:2c:af:6d:73;CMTS-MAC=00:19:2f:e6:3b:60;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Fri Aug 23 12:11:24 2013 Fri Aug 23 12:11:24 2013 Critical (3) Registration RSP rejected unspecified reason;CM-MAC=00:24:2c:af:6d:73;CMTS-MAC=00:19:2f:e6:3b:60;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Fri Aug 23 12:11:24 2013 Fri Aug 23 12:11:24 2013 Error (4) T6 Timeout and retries exceeded
Fri Aug 23 12:11:24 2013 Fri Aug 23 12:11:24 2013 Critical (3) REG RSP not received;CM-MAC=00:24:2c:af:6d:73;CMTS-MAC=00:19:2f:e6:3b:60;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Fri Aug 23 12:12:07 2013 Fri Aug 23 12:12:07 2013 Critical (3) TFTP failed - Request sent - No Response;CM-MAC=00:24:2c:af:6d:73;CMTS-MAC=00:19:2f:e6:3b:60;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Fri Aug 23 12:12:07 2013 Fri Aug 23 12:12:07 2013 Critical (3) TFTP Request Retries exceeded, CM unable to register;CM-MAC=00:24:2c:af:6d:73;CMTS-MAC=00:19:2f:e6:3b:60;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Fri Aug 23 12:35:45 2013 Fri Aug 23 12:35:45 2013 Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
Fri Aug 23 12:37:19 2013 Fri Aug 23 18:19:52 2013 Critical (3) Unicast Ranging Received Abort Response - initializing MAC[DOUBLEPOST=1377363781,1377363480][/DOUBLEPOST]I'm having a hard time blaming the modem though. Power levels, S/N, and code words look good.

Frequency 639000000 645000000 651000000 657000000
Lock Status
(QAM Lock/FEC Sync/MPEG Lock) Y/Y/Y Y/Y/Y Y/Y/Y Y/Y/Y
Channel Id 5 6 7 8
Modulation 256QAM 256QAM 256QAM 256QAM
Symbol Rate
(Msym/sec) 5.360537 5.360537 5.360537 5.360537
Interleave Depth I=32
J=4 I=32
J=4 I=32
J=4 I=32
J=4
Power Level
(dBmV) 3.44 1.92 2.82 2.44
RxMER
(dB) 36.84 36.39 37.09 36.61
Correctable
Codewords 1193 1191 1133 1059
Uncorrectable
Codewords 1450 1427 1544 1396​
[DOUBLEPOST=1377363827][/DOUBLEPOST]hrm, upstream looks a little wonky. 2 bonded channels, one of which is getting a lot of timeouts:

Channel Type 2.0 N/A N/A 2.0
Channel ID 2 N/A N/A 1
Frequency
(Hz) 30200000 N/A N/A 36800000
Ranging Status Aborted N/A N/A Success
Modulation 64QAM N/A N/A 64QAM
Symbol Rate
(KSym/sec) 5120 N/A N/A 5120
Mini-Slot Size 4 N/A N/A 4
Power Level
(dBmV) 54.00 N/A N/A 54.00
T1 Timeouts 0 0 0 0
T2 Timeouts 0 0 0 0
T3 Timeouts 9 0 0 0
T4 Timeouts 2 0 0 0​
 
Necronic

Necronic

Staff member
Well, I'm replacing the modem right now. We'll see what that does. I have a vague suspicion that there may be problems with signal splitters.
 
Necronic

Necronic

Staff member
After replacing the modem I restored the router to factory defaults and everything was going fine for about 3-4 hours. None of the intermittent disconnects. Then, after about 3-4 hours the modem stopped working. It would repeatedly try to reconnect and it wouldn't stick. The problem seemed to be on the Upstream side with the db level getting too high (apparently it should be below 56) and it could never establish a connection. This would lead to a bunch of T3 timeouts.

I moved to another jack in the house and it seemed to do a little better, but then turned off again after a little bit. Right now it is working (for the moment), with a power level on the upstream of 52. Downstream looks good, but the upstream seems fucked. It probably will disconnect again. My understanding is that upstream issues are often caused by shitty spliters. I have a technician scheduled for Tuesday. This is the second time I have had one come out in like 9 months. First was for bad SNR on the downstream which was caused by an open splitter that was apparently working like an antenna and just dumping noise into the line.

Anyways. I think after the technician comes out I will probably transition over to ATT u-verse. The in person techs I get from Comcast seem to be competent and can usually find my problems, but I should not be having problems like I am, and the phone support is godawful. When I told the tech support person I was looking at power levels on my modem she didn't know what I was talking about. It bothers me a bit to go to ATT because there is no way I can get my 80mbps speed from them. But v0v, I don't see another option. I pay way to fucking much for this to repeatedly happen.

edit: ugh. Uverse will cost me like 150$ in installation fees at least. I do not understand how cable is not considered a monopoly. DSL is not really a competitor. Its a completely different service. Its like saying that minivans and dirtbikes compete in the same market.
 
Last edited:
PatrThom

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
I had similar problems with a dlink router some time ago, that it turned out it just couldn't handle the computational strain.
Click to expand...
That was what ultimately forced me to retire the ZyXEL. A couple extra heatsinks mounted atop the chassis took care of the heat problem, but once the number of devices inside my network hit double digits + the rules + other demands, the processor inside the router couldn't keep up and it had to be retired. It still works great, and has some really nice features (The port forwarding and DHCP reservation tools are amazingly easy to use), but once you exceed its capabilities, it just keeps dropping out and has to "rest" before it comes back online.

--Patrick
 
Bowielee

Bowielee

PatrThom said:
That was what ultimately forced me to retire the ZyXEL. A couple extra heatsinks mounted atop the chassis took care of the heat problem, but once the number of devices inside my network hit double digits + the rules + other demands, the processor inside the router couldn't keep up and it had to be retired. It still works great, and has some really nice features (The port forwarding and DHCP reservation tools are amazingly easy to use), but once you exceed its capabilities, it just keeps dropping out and has to "rest" before it comes back online.

--Patrick
Click to expand...
I used to have the same issue as well until my roommate started working out of town during the week so the amount of devices connecting on a regular basis was reduced by 80%. He's got devices galore that he connects to the router, whereas I have 2 max at any given time.
 
Necronic

Necronic

Staff member
Ok, looks like I have a solution, sort of, to the upstream issue. Apparently you can buy a signal amp for your upstream, which should fix my issues. There is a good video of this here:



Its going to cost me like 60$ for it, but hopefully it will help fix the issue. As for multiple devices I'm not too concerned about that. The Asus router is a beast. Good processor and a shit ton of memory. Although that could be leading to disconnects....

edit: ok so apparently putting an active return drop amp on your cable modem is a bit of a no no, and kind of a dick move. It will inject a bunch of noise into the lines and screw up your neighbors lines. It can also get you disconnected from service. I dunno if this will be a problem since my power is so damned low, even amped it will be pretty small.
 
Last edited:
PatrThom

PatrThom

Have you tried putting the cable modem further up in the chain? That is, closer to the point where the line goes to the pole?
As someone who has UVerse, I can vouch for the reliability of the network (except for the occasional 2am modem updates), but the tech support doesn't get much better (unless you go to the tech tiers, which are pay-by-incident).

--Patrick
 
strawman

strawman

It might be worthwhile disconnecting everything from the cable line but the router and see what the signal levels are.
 
Necronic

Necronic

Staff member
Cable modem must be powered by a UPS? Really? I kept reading after that tidbit though and its got some pretty solid info in there. One of the points in there was about upstream power, which should be <42db. Mine is reading 54 to 56. At 57 the upstream will die, killing the modem connection.

However, the upstream signal issue is independent of the repeated disconnects. Seems like I am lucky enough to have two problems with my internet. So far it looks like after I do a factory reset on the router I get a period of no disconnects. I am somewhat tempted to believe that the problem is with overheating. But if that were the case why would a factory reset temporarily fix it? Now, there is an interesting post here where someone with the same router as mine seems to be having the exact same problems, and it has to do with the router firewall killing the DHCP renewal requests.

So, I'm shutting off my router firewall. Tomorrow I will instal the DD-WRT firmware, apparently there is a script that allows you to disable this cleaner in there.

I'm also going to go grab a fan and stick it onto the router.

edit: hrm. my lease timer is 24 hours. I'm getting 5 minute disconnects. Doesn't add up.
 
Necronic

Necronic

Staff member
Yeah, shutting off the firewall didn't do anything. I'm going to check one other thig and them I'm calling Asus up. I think this is going to be an RMA.
 
Necronic

Necronic

Staff member
Actually I found my old Linksys WRT54G2 and plugged it in. It seems to boot up fine but I'm having issues with it as well. Here was my basic install path for it:

1) modem and router powered down.
2) plug in modem, wait until I get stable connection
3) power on router, once its on and stable plug it into modem.

I was able to connect to the router but no internet was getting through. I thought this may be due to MAC address issues, so I restarted the modem and plugged it into my laptop. I got stable internet. Then I unplugged the modem from my computer and plugged in my router to modem and computer. In the router firmware I cloned the MAC address from the laptop.

Still no joy. That should have fixed any MAC address issues right?
 
Necronic

Necronic

Staff member
Lol. Ok.

I got the WRT54g2 to work. But for SOME FUCKING REASON, I can't enable encryption through the router firmware.

Fuck it. I'm renaming the SSID to "Raw Dog" and just going bareback.
 
Necronic

Necronic

Staff member
So the WRT54g2 is now disconnecting every minute or two. I've replaced the modem. The problem seems to be with something upstream. Either outside wires or further on their end.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

I'm sure the tech support will want you to go through all the stuff you've already tried (but while you're on the phone) before they'll entertain the idea that anything is wrong on their end.

--Patrick
 
Necronic

Necronic

Staff member
Yeah, I was trying to explain the to my girlfriend. She though it was stupid for me to spend so much time on it. I have to remove my equipment from the equation or I won't get help easily
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

What's the modem doing through all this? Are the lights all on? It sounds like it is rebooting itself at the slightest hint of trouble. I had an RCA modem that would do that multiple times a day. Comcast swapped it out for an Arris, and that was the end of that... after they did some extensive work outside to fix some bad nodes in the neighborhood, too.
 
Shakey

Shakey

When you take your router out completely, and go directly to your laptop, do you get disconnects? Have you replaced the network cable coming out of your modem?

It sounds like it's most likely not your equipment, but it doesn't hurt to try if you haven't done it yet.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

I just hope this doesn't end up being that his modem is set to stealth mode (not respond to ping requests) so the ISP keeps resetting his connection. I am assuming you're not famous enough (or whatever) that you're being DDoS'd.

--Patrick
 
Necronic

Necronic

Staff member
Shakey said:
When you take your router out completely, and go directly to your laptop, do you get disconnects? Have you replaced the network cable coming out of your modem?

It sounds like it's most likely not your equipment, but it doesn't hurt to try if you haven't done it yet.
Click to expand...
Ok so yeah, that's the one part I can't figure out. When I connect directly from my laptop to my modem it doesn't disconnect. wtF. Maybe I need to mess with this some more to see if it will disconnect.
 
Shakey

Shakey

Necronic said:
Ok so yeah, that's the one part I can't figure out. When I connect directly from my laptop to my modem it doesn't disconnect. wtF. Maybe I need to mess with this some more to see if it will disconnect.
Click to expand...
You could go to the command line and run "ping google.com -t" Let it go for 10 minutes, or however long you want. It'll go until you do ctrl+c. When you do, it'll tell you if it lost any packets during that time.

Have you tried connecting to your router with a network cable? Maybe you've got something interfering with your wireless signal.
 
Necronic

Necronic

Staff member
Yeah, I've connected router with the cable, and I've swapped out cables. No joy. So the cable guy came out this morning. Showed up an hour late so I had to leave instructions with my gf to talk to him. Apparently the upstream power is now down to 45-47. So...that's weird. I'll see if everything is working tonight.

Either way I'm going to try and get a month free out of this, then I'm switching to U-Verse. I've noticed that it has a 250 gB monthly limit on it. Does anyone know if they enforce that?
 
Necronic

Necronic

Staff member
What about the install cost? It seems like a pretty big up front cost. I'm really stuck between a rock and a hard place here. I either stick with comcast and its unreliable problems, or switch to U-verse with a high up front cost, 12 month contracts, and possible data limits. Not to mention the lost bandwidth.

You know.....the whole internet situation just sucks. This is the exact reason why monopolies were abolished. Yet somehow the cable companies have been able to cut up the markets to create local monopolies. AT&T is the only source of competition, I'm not sure if it even counts since the service is so different. FIOS is dead. All we have left is Google.
 
strawman

strawman

Call up uverse and say, "I'm thinking about switching but can't stomach the upfront costs. Can you offer a better deal, or should I stick with comcast?" then call up comcast and say, "I'm having way too many problems to stick with you guys. You have to sort this out quickly or I'm leaving."

See which one jumps higher.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top