Routers keeps having to be rebooted, suspected overheating

[Goi]

Hi,

I was using a TP-Link TL-WR1043ND v2 for a few years now, but about a week ago I noticed it started to lose internet connectivity, which was rectified by a reboot. This happened frequently (several times an hour), which was annoying, so I replaced it with an ASUS N56U that I had lying around. It worked, for a few days, but then I lost internet connectivity again, which was again rectified by a reboot. I noticed that the ASUS felt pretty warm to the touch, and it's actually placed in an enclosed area (the electrical box where the fuses, fiber termination point, ONT are). There's no way of getting more ventilation there short of opening the door 24/7, which is obviously not aesthetically pleasing.

Is there any way of knowing if it's a temperature problem (are there temp sensors on the routers that I can access from the router page?) and if so, how can I solve this?

 

[sdifox]

Moving the router out of the closet is not an option?

 

[Ichinisan]

[edit] WTF? This thread changed on me. Wrong thread...

 

[mxnerd]

If both routers doing the same thing - rebooting, are you sure it's not some program running on your network that causes this? Like torrent client?

Also like what sdifox said, pull the router out of the closet, maybe a few days, and see what happens.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Ensure you are using WPA2 (not WPA/WPA2), change password, and disable WPS. Reconnect all devices and see if it continues to lose connectivity.

 

[Ichinisan]

Could be upload getting saturated and the reboot disrupts whichever device on your LAN was doing it.

If upload is saturated and your router doesn't have QoS configured correctly, one device hogging the upload can kill the Internet connection for everything else. You can't load a web page if the request can't go out...

 

[Goi]

Moving the router out of the closet is not an option?

Not really, The closet is where the LAN connections are, so if I move the router out of the closet, there'll be wires running out to the router, and then back in, in order to reach the other rooms.

If both routers doing the same thing - rebooting, are you sure it's not some program running on your network that causes this? Like torrent client?

Also like what sdifox said, pull the router out of the closet, maybe a few days, and see what happens.

Yup there's a torrent client running, but it has always been running, so it's not like anything's changed. I could try opening the door.

I forgot to mention that I live in a tropical country where the temperature is perpetually ~80F.

 

[sdifox]

Not really, The closet is where the LAN connections are, so if I move the router out of the closet, there'll be wires running out to the router, and then back in, in order to reach the other rooms.


Yup there's a torrent client running, but it has always been running, so it's not like anything's changed. I could try opening the door.

I forgot to mention that I live in a tropical country where the temperature is perpetually ~80F.

Then cut two holes on the door and put two fans, bottom one sucks air in, top one blows air out. Or just aima fan at the router.

 

[Goi]

OK so I removed the ASUS from the equation by connecting the ONT directly to the ETH port that connects to my living room router, will see if it's still intermittent. If not, then it's probably a faulty ASUS router. Are there any basic routers that are more resistant to heat?

 

[sdifox]

OK so I removed the ASUS from the equation by connecting the ONT directly to the ETH port that connects to my living room router, will see if it's still intermittent. If not, then it's probably a faulty ASUS router. Are there any basic routers that are more resistant to heat?

Most consumer can't handle constant torrenting.

 

[Goi]

Most consumer can't handle constant torrenting.

I've been torrenting for over 10 years, always on consumer routers. The only difference I can think of is over the last 2 years they've been in an enclosed space without proper ventilation, I guess 2 years of this wore the original TP-LINK router down, and the spare ASUS was already older to begin with, hence the rebooting problem.

Anyway, so far so good when I connect it directly to my living room router. Any recommendations for a basic router (<$100) that has great GbE performance, and good heat resistance? It'll mainly be used as a GbE, and also to cover a WiFi dead spot, so WiFi performance is secondary Wireless N will do.

 

[sdifox]

I've been torrenting for over 10 years, always on consumer routers. The only difference I can think of is over the last 2 years they've been in an enclosed space without proper ventilation, I guess 2 years of this wore the original TP-LINK router down, and the spare ASUS was already older to begin with, hence the rebooting problem.

Anyway, so far so good when I connect it directly to my living room router. Any recommendations for a basic router (<$100) that has great GbE performance, and good heat resistance? It'll mainly be used as a GbE, and also to cover a WiFi dead spot, so WiFi performance is secondary Wireless N will do.

What speed is your internet connection? I think you might be better off with two pieces, an ubiquiti erlite-3 plus whatever wap. The erlite-3 tops out at one million packet per second.

https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/lanwan-reviews/32012-first-look-ubiquiti-edgerouter-lite

 

[Goi]

What speed is your internet connection? I think you might be better off with two pieces, an ubiquiti erlite-3 plus whatever wap. The erlite-3 tops out at one million packet per second.

https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/lanwan-reviews/32012-first-look-ubiquiti-edgerouter-lite

i have 1Gbps fiber network. My network looks something like that

The Main router is the one that's failing now. The living room is where the PCs are (connected via ETH) and the bedroom services mobile devices over WiFi.

Why would I be better off with 2 pieces?

 

[Ichinisan]

Do you think you might have 2 routers with the same IP? Like 2 that have an IP address of 192.168.0.1?

I have a similar setup.

The "main" router provides DHCP, but has WiFi disabled. It has an IP address of .1 and the first automatic DHCP address given out is .10

The 2 secondary routers are both configured to behave in bridged "access point" mode, so their clients are part of the same LAN and everything gets DHCP from the main router (instead of NAT router mode, which would create a private network behind a private network). Both of the secondary routers have manually-entered static IPs (.2 and .3). All channels are set to "auto."

 

[sdifox]

i have 1Gbps fiber network. My network looks something like that

The Main router is the one that's failing now. The living room is where the PCs are (connected via ETH) and the bedroom services mobile devices over WiFi.

Why would I be better off with 2 pieces?

At the minimum better heat dissipation. Torrenting on gigabit link will strain consumer grade routers. If nothing else, you are saturating the state table.

You've had gigabit link for over ten years? I can't even get ftth

 

[Ichinisan]

I personally wouldn't want that single-band wireless-N TP-Link device (the TL-MR3020). So you're basically stuck with single-stream 2.4GHz on that side of the house?

 

[Goi]

Do you think you might have 2 routers with the same IP? Like 2 that have an IP address of 192.168.0.1?

I have a similar setup.

The "main" router provides DHCP, but has WiFi disabled. It has an IP address of .1 and the first automatic DHCP address given out is .10

The 2 secondary routers are both configured to behave in bridged "access point" mode, so their clients are part of the same LAN sand everything gets DHCP from the main router (instead of NAT router mode, which would create a private network behind a private network). Both of the secondary routers have manually-entered static IPs (.2 and .3). All channels are set to "auto."

Interesting point, how do I confirm this? Also, if they had the same IP, wouldn't it not work from the get-go rather than work for a while and then requires a reboot?

 

[Goi]

I personally wouldn't want that single-band wireless-N TP-Link device (the TL-MR3020). So you're basically stuck with single-stream 2.4GHz on that side of the house?

Yup, but that's in the bedroom where we're using mobile devices and just doing non-bandwidth critical stuff so speed doesn't really matter. It's just something I had lying around so I didn't have to buy another router/extender

 

[Ichinisan]

Interesting point, how do I confirm this? Also, if they had the same IP, wouldn't it not work from the get-go rather than work for a while and then requires a reboot?

I've seen IP conflicts cause intermittent problems. It's hard to confirm if you aren't intimately familiar with the default settings and your custom settings. If I wasn't sure, I'd factory reset and configure each one using its web-based configuration.

- main router providing DHCP should probably be x.x.x.1

- main router providing DHCP should probably be set to give out something like x.x.x.10 as the first automatic address.
(so the automatic addresses don't conflict with your manual addresses)

- 1st secondary router should be manually set to x.x.x.2 and have bridged/AP mode configured
(if there's no AP mode, disable DHCP after changing its IP, then wire incoming connection to LAN)

- 2nd secondary router should be manually set to x.x.x.3 and have bridged/AP mode configured
(same procedure to force AP behavior if it doesn't have the option)

Then you can create bookmark shortcuts for each one in your web browser.

 

[Goi]

OK, right now my DIR868L is holding 192.168.100.1, and from memory, I think my ASUS N56U was holding 192.168.1.1, can't remember the TP-Link TL-WR1043ND v2's IP address.

I'll try connecting the TL-WR1043ND v2 as the main router, set it's IP address to 192.168.1.1, set it to give out 192.168.1.10 as the first automatic address, and set the DIR868L's IP address as 192.168.1.2.

How do I set the DIR868L to bridged/AP mode. Are bridged mode and AP mode the same?

 

[Ichinisan]

"192.168.100.1" on your router would conflict with any DOCSIS compliant cable modem. I guess you have fiber though, right?

For a router, bridged mode or AP mode are the same. Some combination cable modems with built-in router have a "bridged" mode that means something slightly different.

 

[Ichinisan]

Found in the D-Link manual that it requires you to manually configure as AP:

Connect to an Existing Router

If you are connecting the DIR-868L router to an existing router to use as a wireless access point and/or switch, you will have to do the following to the DIR-868L before connecting it to your network:

• Disable UPnPTM
• Disable DHCP
• Change the LAN IP address to an available address on your network. The LAN ports on the router cannot accept

a DHCP address from your other router.

To connect to another router, please follow the steps below:

1. Plug the power into the router. Connect one of your computers to the router (LAN port) using an Ethernet cable. Make sure your IP address on the computer is 192.168.0.xxx (where xxx is between 2 and 254). Please see the Networking Basics section for more information. If you need to change the settings, write down your existing settings before making any changes. In most cases, your computer should be set to receive an IP address automatically in which case you will not have to do anything to your computer.
   
   
2. Open a web browser, enter http://192.168.0.1 (or http://dlinkrouter.local./) and press Enter. When the login window appears, set the user name to Admin and leave the password box empty. Click Log In to continue.
   
   
3. Click on Advanced and then click Advanced Network. Uncheck the Enable UPnP checkbox. Click Save Settings to continue.
   
   
4. Click Setup and then click Network Settings. Uncheck the Enable DHCP Server checkbox. Click Save Settings to continue.

Section 2 - Installation [page break screws the numbering after copy-paste]

1. Under Router Settings, enter an available IP address and the subnet mask of your network. Click Save Settings to save your settings. Use this new IP address to access the con guration utility of the router in the future. Close the browser and change your computer’s IP settings back to the original values as in Step 1.
   
   
2. Disconnect the Ethernet cable from the router and reconnect your computer to your network.
   
   
3. Connect an Ethernet cable in one of the LAN ports of the router and connect it to your other router. Do not plug anything into the Internet (WAN) port of the D-Link router.
   
   
4. You may now use the other 3 LAN ports to connect other Ethernet devices and computers. To con gure your wireless network, open a web browser and enter the IP address you assigned to the router. Refer to the Con guration and Wireless Security sections for more information on setting up your wireless network.

NOTE: I think disabling DHCP should happen after you've disabled UPnP and set the router's IP address, before you connect the main router.

 

[Goi]

OK, so right now I haven't connected the TP-Link back as the main router, so the ONT is still connected directly to the DIR868L. I've disabled UPnP, DHCP, and saved settings, internet is still working.

The DIR868L's IP address is still 192.168.100.1 as I can't be sure what the TP-Link TL-WR1043ND v2's IP address is . A Google search seems to indicate 192.168.1.1. If so, I should change the DIR868L's IP address to something like 192.168.1.2, save setting, and then connect the TP-Link, right? The instructions you gave are a little vague on which router it's referring to, the DIR868L, or the main router.

 

[Ichinisan]

I'm surprised Internet is working if nothing is providing DHCP to your LAN devices.

The main router (whichever one you install closest to the incoming Internet connection) should operate in regular NAT router mode and continue providing private LAN IP addresses via DHCP to all the other devices in the home.

I've seen some TP-Link routers with a default IP of 192.168.1.1 and others with 192.168.0.1 -- even the same model with different firmware.

You can look at the IP address and default gateway address that a client pulls from the TP-Link.

 

[Goi]

OK just to make sure I got the IP addresses correct, I used the ASUS N56U as the main router. Here's what I did:
Disabled UPnP on DIR868L
Disabled DHCP on DIR868L
Set IP address as 192.168.1.2 on DIR868L
Disconnected DIR868L from ONT
Connected ONT to ASUS N56's WAN port and N56 to DIR868L's LAN port
Powered off everything, then power on ONT, followed by N56, followed by DIR868L.
Rebooted computer connected to DIR868L

After a while, I managed to get internet connection. I'm also able to access the N56 via 192.168.1.1 (both ping and router page). However, I'm unable to access the DIR868L via 192.168.1.2 (neither ping nor router page). http://dlinkrouter.local doesn't work either.

When I try to perform a traceroute, the N56 us the first hop, rather than the DIR868L. Is this normal? How do I access the DIR868L now then?