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Forum Discussion
Internet Connection Lost
I am having a frustrating problem where I lose internet connection with my LB1120 modem once or twice a day. I have it set up with a Ubiquiti Networks Router ER-X. Mobile carrier is AT&T. If I log into the modem admin when this happens it still shows that I have an internet connection, but I do not. Even if I connect a device directly to the modem with an ethernet cable I don't have internet access. I have tried a new SIM card and that didn't fix the issue. One caveat is that if I the device I am using is connected using a VPN I still have internet access. But any other device not connected through a VPN at that moment does not have internet access. The only solution is to reboot the modem which immediately fixes the issue.
Is this a modem issue, a carrier issue, something else?
15 Replies
So I've tried a new modem and this did not resolve the issue. My provider said that because I can maintain a connection using a VPN the issue is likely due to one of the reasons listed below. They want me to try to isolate the device that may be causing the problem. I ran scans on my computers for viruses, etc. and haven't found anything yet. Does this sound reasonable? Has anyone ever heard of this or experienced this issue?
Connections to:
Public TorrentTrackers
Abuse / Illegal Sites
Illegal Drug Sites
Malware, Spyware, or other malicious activity that could be damaging to the network or end user
Port Sniffing on the network- I’ve been having the same problem with mine for about a month now. I think it’s a software program. I’ve had mine for about four years now and never had an issue till recently. I’ve tried everything to fix it. Rebooting it fixes it
Thanks for the reply. I would think that if this were a software issue we would see more discussions around this in this forum. But I guess we just wait to see if others comment or Netgear has a software update.
One other detail on this is that if I am connected to a Zoom meeting it will continue to work and also Youtube videos will play. But other websites will not load.
I think I know what is happening. It happened to me, and I figured it out with a little investigating.
Let the problem return (where the connection is not working). DO NOT REBOOT OR FIX IT. While the problem is still present, do the following tests:
1. Can you ping, still? (yes/no)
ping portquiz.net
2. Can you access portquiz.net on port 80? (yes/no)
3. Can you access portquiz.net on port 443? (yes/no)
4. Can you access portquiz.net on port 666? (yes/no)
5. Which VPN were you using that worked? ______________________
6. What port # do you connect to this VPN server on? _______
7. Are you on an AT&T Connect Car Plan or an AT&T Ipad plan? _______
This will help you figure things out. I suspect you will be able to ping and will be able to connect to 666, but you will not have connectivity to 80 or 443, and I suspect your VPN is not using 80 or 443.
Thanks icaruspony for the reply. Please see below.
Pinging portquiz.net [52.47.209.216] with 32 bytes of data
Reply from 52.47.209.216: bytes=32 time=113ms TTL=44
Reply from 52.47.209.216: bytes=32 time=121ms TTL=44
Reply from 52.47.209.216: bytes=32 time=116ms TTL=44
Reply from 52.47.209.216: bytes=32 time=104ms TTL=44Ping statistics for 52.47.209.216:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 104ms, Maximum = 121ms, Average = 113ms
Correct, I was only able to connect to port 666.I've successfully held a connection using several VPNs.
- My work VPN(Cisco AnyConnect) - not sure what port number, but this VPN needs to be connected before I lose my internet connection. Other VPNs can be turned on after the connection drops to regain a connection. I don't know if this is significant, but when initially connecting it always connects and disconnects 3 or 4 times before successfully keeping the connection.
- ProtonVPN - according to support page it says "The ProtonVPN app’s default port is 1194 for UDP (which is the default port for OpenVPN) and 443 for TCP. However, the app is configured to work with other ports for both UDP and TCP. These ports are backups in case the main ports are blocked. If the app detects a block, it will search among the backup ports and use the port that offers the best performance. "
- Speedtest.net - Speedtest VPN uses the OpenVPN protocol on Android and the IKEv2 protocol for iPhone (iOS). The following ports are used for each specific protocol on the two different platforms:Android
The OpenVPN protocol uses the TCP or UDP protocols on port 443.
iOS
The IKEv2 protocol uses UDP port 500.So what would be the next steps to resolve this issue?
- This is intentional by AT&T for Connected Car plans (and maybe Ipad plans). They figure if you are in a car, you should be moving from tower to tower.
AT&T checks at (y) time intervals if you have yet used (x) amount of data on that specific session (connection to a tower on a band). If you have exceeded the limit, all outbound 80 and 443 ports are blocked. The web and many apps and some VPNs use these two ports. To reset this, you must start a new session (reboot, turn data on/off, switch bands, or move to new tower).
Of course if there was a tunnel from your network to the internet that did not use port 80 or 443 then a stalled/dead port 80 and 443 would remain irrelevant as all your packets get encapsulated and pushed through a different unhindered port... HMMMM...
Ask all your VPN providers for alternate ports than 80 and 443. They typically have alternative ports listening.
This seems to be a problem with AT&T. Port 80 and 443 eventually stop working and require a reboot.
https://forums.att.com/conversations/other-phones-devices/att-transparent-proxy-not-stable-hanging-connections-to-websites/5ee7bfdf483393542c96b341
