Weird connection problem, connection completely lost with every reboot.

[Shargrath]

Hello,

Recently I was forced to switch from my cable internet provider to a different company, much to my dislike. The new company I have is EarthLink and they offered me a fiber optic connection in partnership with Verizon. I got the modem and everything setup, and when the connection is on, it works beautifully. The problem is when the connection goes out, usually anytime I restart my computer or if it goes into sleep mode.

In order to get it to work again, I have to plug the line back in and out of the wall and restart the modem a few times, then magically, my computer connects again. According to the modem lights, the problem is not with it not getting a signal, the light for the internet is always on, but it's my computer not getting the signal.

The modem they sent me is SmartRG smartrg SR510n. It is connected to my PC via network cable through my on board NIC. My motherboard is MSI ms7816.
Note that I never had ANY connection problems back when I had my cable internet. This strange issue only occurs with this new Fiber connection.

I tried contacting the ISP, but their tech support is atrocious and some of the technician there don't even know the company offers Fiber in the first place, so I'm hoping somebody here can offer any tips or thoughts on a solution.

 

[mxnerd]

It seems that your PC somehow (for various reasons) can't get a dynamic IP address from the modem/router after a reboot. Try to set a static IP address/gateway and DNS server addresses for your PC.

Usually it's like 192.168.1.x (x ranges from 2 to 254, I usually set it above 10), gateway usually is 192.168.1.1

Set DNS addresses to 8.8.8.8/8.8.4.4 (Google) or 4.2.2.1/4.2.2.2 (Level 3)

 

[Shargrath]

It seems that your PC somehow (for various reasons) can't get a dynamic IP address from the modem/router after a reboot. Try to set a static IP address/gateway and DNS server addresses for your PC.

Usually it's like 192.168.1.x (x ranges from 2 to 254, I usually set it above 10), gateway usually is 192.168.1.1

Set DNS addresses to 8.8.8.8/8.8.4.4 (Google) or 4.2.2.1/4.2.2.2 (Level 3)

I'm sorry, where do I set these settings? On my computer or on the router/modem settings?

 

[mxnerd]

On your onboard network card.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR1Z0jDauJ4

Check your dynamic IP address first to make sure it's in the 192.168.1.x range.

If not, you have to change it accordingly.

 

[Shargrath]

Hello,

Thank you for the quick response. I tried changing the settings on my network card as instructed, but after I did so, I couldn't get any connection at all, until I reverted it back to automatic mode and then had to plug in and restart everything and wait for a connection to be established. Would you happen to have any other suggestions, or maybe I did something wrong? This is driving me crazy, each time I come back to my computer, I have to spend almost 30 minutes getting internet to work.

 

[mxnerd]

What's your PC network config info when you use DHCP (auto/dynamic IP)?

Did you make sure your gateway IP is 192.168.1.1? Sometime the gateway will get lost when you configure your network card's IP address and save it.

 

[Shargrath]

This is what the network config looks like,

LAN IPv4 Address: 192.168.1.1
Default Gateway: eth4.1 WAN IPv4 Address 173.68.112.192
Primary DNS Server: 68.237.161.12
Secondary DNS Server: 71.250.0.12

That's when it's done by default. I did make sure to set gateway to 192.168.1.1, but once I made those changes, no connection would be made...

 

[mxnerd]

What you have show appears to be your router setting, not your PC's IP setting.

Your PC's IP setting should be like

IP address: 192.168.1.xxx (xxx should be from 2 to 254, I always set it above 10)
gateway IP: 192.168.1.1
DNS1: 8.8.8.8 or 4.2.2.1 or 68.237.161.12
DNS2: 8.8.4.4 or 4.2.2.2 or 71.250.0.12

 

[ch33zw1z]

yup, need a screen shot of ipconfig when its working, and when its not.

what devices are in use betweeb pc and wan?

 

[Shargrath]

This is the IPCONFIG settings.

I have the modem plugged into the wall jack, then a line from the modem to my computer on line 1, line 2 I have plugged in a Netgear wireless router that sends a wireless signal that my Laptop and TV hook up to.

 

[ch33zw1z]

how do you have the netgear configed?

 

[Shargrath]

I just plugged it in and its sending the signal out, I didn't change any settings, my main computer isn't connected to it at all, only the laptop/tv.

 

[ch33zw1z]

the netgear could be giving out the same exact subnet and ips as the att gateway

set it up as a WAP

 

[mxnerd]

SR510n ia already a wifi router, and you cascade another netgear wifi router to it? Like ch33 said, turn netgear router into WAP (Wireless Aceess Point) mode. Uplink one of LAN port (NOT WAN port) of Netgear to SR510n's any LAN port. also turn off DHCP server fuction on Netgear. Leave Netgear WAN port empty.

Set Netgear LAN IP to 192.168.1.2

 

[Shargrath]

Followed these directions and now I have no connection at all either on my laptop or on my TV, and I cannot enter Netgear setup to change values back because the laptop doesn't load into router setup. The laptop is running Ubuntu Linux.
The reason I am using another router with the SR510n is that the SR510n is a joke as a router, it has literally no range...my laptop is in the basement, my PC in the bedroom on the second floor. The netgear on it's own will still be picked up in the basement but to get a good connection I use a range booster. The SR510N doesn't get picked up at all - complete garbage as a router.

Have no iidea how to get back into Netgear's settings now.

 

[mxnerd]

You didn't mention which model. So here is the Google result for resetting Netgear.

https://www.google.com/search?q=reset+netgear+router

==
Your wireless router and modem is combined as one on the left.

Focus on how Netgear is connected to SR510N.

===

This is probably the best I can help.

 

[ch33zw1z]

yup, dont panic, factory reset the netgear, connect directly to it and try again.

it wont be routing, keep that in mind.

once you get into it, disable the WAN, set the LAN IP to 192.168.1.2, like was said, but heres the catch. what you really need to do is login to the ATT device and see what its DHCP range is. aka, the set of IPs it will hand out, and set the Netgear to an IP outside the range.

once you set that IP, cable fro LAN to LAN, and get into it using the IP you set. the. reconfigure wireless on it.

this is a common thing, so youre not alone. most people trying to cover a house with a gateway from a vendor like ATT or Comcast are not happy with coverage.

other settings on netgear

-disable dhcp server
-no dns required
-no default gateway required

i prefer these settings because the WAP cant access the internet itself.

 

[pad23amg]

Followed these directions and now I have no connection at all either on my laptop or on my TV, and I cannot enter Netgear setup to change values back because the laptop doesn't load into router setup.

The reason I am using another router with the SR510n is that the SR510n is a joke as a router, it has literally no range...
my laptop is in the basement, my Windows 10 PC in the bedroom on the second floor.
once you get into it, disable the WAN, set the LAN IP to 192.168.1.2, like was said, but heres the catch. what you really need to do is login to the ATT device and see what its DHCP range is. aka, the set of IPs it will hand out, and set the Netgear to an IP outside the range to view the computers connected to it. The netgear on it's own will still be picked up in the basement but to get a good connection I use a range booster.

The SR510N doesn't get picked up at all - complete garbage as a router.
https://www.corenetworkz.com/2018/12/windows-setup-api-process-consumes-too-much-cpu.html The netgear on it's own will still be picked up in the basement but to get a good connection I use a range booster.

Once reset, Netgear router can be accessed by only using the default login IP address. It can be either 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 Or you can try http://routerlogin.com on address bar.

not getting a signal, the light for the internet is always on, but it's my computer not getting the signal.

Have you tried classical troubleshooting steps like resetting NIC, changing the port (unless there is only one port), setting a static IP on PC etc ?

 

[Shargrath]

Thank you for all your help guys,

I tried the steps you outlined again, but it still wouldn't work, I just wouldn't get a connection. I believe I worked out a fix, so if anyone else has this issue they can use it. So, I decided to try something else, I went into the settings of the SmartRG and turned of all wireless capabilities I could find, so that it would pretty much work like a modem. Then I hooked up my Netgear to the SmartRG and effectively, the SmartRG works purely as a modem now because all the wireless functions are turned off and the Netgear does the routing.

So far it's working perfectly, but Ive lost a lot of faith in this stuff so I don't know if it won't suddenly disconnect again in a day or two.

Until then issue resolved.

Thanks a ton for all your helpful advice!