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Forum Discussion
Plumbuddle
Sep 25, 2019Star
Connectivity problems with Orbi93 + DM200 modem + Plusnet
Suddenly and out of nowhere about 3 weeks ago my internet started dropping and sites had to be clicked about three times before I could access them at all. They then drop in and out. I checked w...
Plumbuddle
Sep 28, 2019Star
In case anyone is interested, through long experimentation I have worked out it definitely is not the Orbi. If anything it is the DM which I now read on Amazon is unreliable for a lot of customers. At the moment the fault is that I can get some websites on it but not others and my mail comes in and out of usability. I am doing a full check on the connectivity of my internet service provider cable connections into my home and also buying a much better modem. I will be back further with any observations if the works are done before the better modem arrives, and if the works impact on the DM200.
michaelkenward
Oct 03, 2019Guru - Experienced User
Plumbuddle wrote:
If anything it is the DM which I now read on Amazon is unreliable for a lot of customers.
I don't know what you have read in Amazon, but I have seen few reports here of issues with the DM200.
Those that do crop up are usually because people do not realise that the DM200 has limited router features.
Remember, when you reset the DM200 it goes back into router mode. You need to turn off the router bit again.
I don't know what you mean by "bridge mode". As the manual says, it describes several things, including, but only in passing, "modem only" mode.
- PlumbuddleOct 03, 2019Star
Thanks for your comment. I do know the DM200 has limited router features. I specifically do not use it as a router but as a modem, in what the Netgear online instructions call "bridge mode". Hope that helps you at your end.
I am now getting my ISP engineer to come in tomorrow to see what is the problem. They say there is what they call"resistance" on the line rather than dropping, and they claim not to be able to tell if this is internal or external to the house. Meantime tonight, just to be sure, I am replacing the DM200 modem with an upmarket one that is said to be brilliant. If that cures the problem, I shall know I had a faulty DM200. If it doesn't, the provider will take this further.
But the way, someone official has marked this thread as "resolved". It is not yet resolved as I am still trying to determine whether the problem emanates from my ISP, my own failure to manage the machines correctly, or the DM200 I have. I'll be sure to post further when this is really resolved.
- michaelkenwardOct 03, 2019Guru - Experienced User
Plumbuddle wrote:
They say there is what they call"resistance" on the line rather than dropping, and they claim not to be able to tell if this is internal or external to the house.
Plusnet runs on the BT network. You may be able to run tests at your end that can indicate where any problem lies.
It isn't easy to find the test site on BT. I have no idea where Plusnet hides it.
Plumbuddle wrote:
in what the Netgear online instructions call "bridge mode".
That is not how the manual describes it.
By the way, have you got the latest firmware on the DM200? It is easier to do that when it is in modem/router mode than in modem only mode, which obscures the browser graphical user interface (GUI).
- PlumbuddleOct 03, 2019Star
HI, thanks for this.
(1) I agree about BT. Plusnet a few days ago got me to run the test at my end (taking off the master socket cover and using a filter) that established according to one operative that the problem is with BT. However they are now denying anyone said that -- so that is why I am having their engineer out tomorrow.
(2) google "netgear" and "bridge mode" and you will find many instructions using this terminology. I can assure you I have done much googling in the past month, in sheer desperation.
(3) yes part of the extensive investigations I have done into this issue has included updating both my router and orbi firmware. Believe me I have done it all. This new router and the engineer are hopefully going to tell me the real answers.
- michaelkenwardOct 03, 2019Guru - Experienced User
Plumbuddle wrote:
(2) google "netgear" and "bridge mode" and you will find many instructions using this terminology. I can assure you I have done much googling in the past month, in sheer desperation.
I am sure that you are right. Although anyone who trusts Google to deliver definitive answers is asking for trouble, especially with a search like "netgear" and "bridge mode".
As I said " bridge mode" can mean several things. I wanted to confirm that you had the device in "modem only" mode, a much clearer label and one that Netgear uses for many devices.
If you check the manual for the DM200, usually a more reliable source than Google, it refers to "bridge mode" several times. Only one has anything to do with disabling the router. Other mentions are about IPTV. I doubt if that is what you have in mind. (Did Google find those?)
Try it for yourself:
>>> DM200 | Product | Support | NETGEAR <<<
Given the possible ambiguity, I asked because I wanted to confirm what you had really done.
Believe me I have done it all.I admire your confidence.
- PlumbuddleOct 03, 2019StarYou have assumed wrong about google and netgear. All my information on this comes from official netgear sites though google can help to home in on specific topics.
Anyway you are bery much behind on this point. As explained right from the start I normally used to use the dm200 in modem only mode along with the Orbi as router. However it has mitigated the connectivity problem slightly to use it in modem & router mode although that stops the house having a network.
At the moment I’m still trying to make the new draytek vigor that I have bought work with the Orbi and I do suspect more and more as I go through the process that the problem is with the isp. I’ll update tomorrow when the engineer has come.