NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.

Forum Discussion

Dlswyo's avatar
Dlswyo
Follower
Jan 15, 2016

Fvs318gv2 connectivity issues

i have a fvs318gv2 with the latest firmware installed 4.3.3-6. It works great for about 10 minutes then it crashes. After it crashes I can ping it, but I can't access it through the gui. I reboot and start over. Is this firewall a piece of crap or is it just me??? I have owned this wonderful device for about 6 months with intermittent connevtivity issues. Any help would be appreciated.

132 Replies

  • JohnRo's avatar
    JohnRo
    NETGEAR Employee Retired

    Hi DIswyo, 

     

    Welcome to the community! 

     

    The firmware version 4.3.3-6 is supposedly the fix for hang issues on the unit (see release notes here). My suggestion is to save the configuration, reload the firmware and perform a factory reset. To save the configuration go to Administration>Settings Backup and Upgrade. Download the firmware ​​here, and load it on the firewall using the same page. Once the update is successful, perform a factory reset by pressing and holding the reset button for 30 seconds and then turning off the router. You can now then, reload your configuration (Administration>Settings Backup and Upgrade).

     

    I hope this fixes your issue, please let us know.

     

    Thanks,  

     

    • rickgode's avatar
      rickgode
      Aspirant

      I am having the EXACT same issue as the above. I purchased this router because my old one (FVS366G) didn't have the WAN-LAN throughput that Charter now offers in my area.  I have had the FVS336G for YEARS and it still works flawlessly, but the speed tops out at 30mbps where ther FVS318Gv2 hits 60mbps (what I am paying for)

       

      It froze on me during the initial setup.  I would plug in everything and it would work for about five minutes then the internet led light would go out and nothing would work.  I couldn't even access the web based GUI unless i rebooted it.  It took me about an hour and I was able to figure out the sequence to plug in and turn everything on and it worked perfectly for about 3 months.

       

      Last month, I was uploading 300-400 photos into OneDrive and my entire network shut down.  I unplugged all the network cables from the FVS318 rebooted it, then plugged in the cable modem, rebooted it, then plugged in my desktop, rebooted it.  then i plugged in the other computers.  I continued trying to upload the photos and it would lock up again and the internet light would go out.  I went through the steps again, but this time, I only plugged in my desktop.  I could get the router to lock-up every time.

       

      I finally rehooked up the FVS336G, didn't have to reboot or unplug anything and I finished my upload.  The next day, I tried to setup the FVS318 again and after several tries of unplugging and replugging and rebooting, it finally "took" and the internet light would stay on for longer than 5 minutes.

      Interestingly enough, the internet light went out while I was typing this.

       

      1.png

       

      I went to create a new thread on this forum and I stumbled upon this one and it looks like we are having the same issue.  I tried to download the firmware in your link (I’m currently running 4.3.3-6) but get this error:

       

      2.png

       

      Also, we had some storms last week and the power went out (yes, I have the router on a surge protector) But it takes me about an hour to unplug/replug/reboot everything until it works.  With the old FVS336G when the power came back on, so did the internet.  I didn’t have to unplug/replug/reboot anything.

      Here are the steps I have to take just to I could finish this post.

      1)turn off unplug everything from the FVS318.

      2)  Turn on the FVS318 wait for the test light to go off.

      3)  Plug in the modem and turn the modem on, wait for it to reboot and the internet light to come on.

      4)  Plug in the Ethernet cord from my desktop.  If I’m online for more than 10 minutes, then I plug in the rest of the computers.

      It was delivered from Amazon on January 16th.

       

      3.png

       

      I'm at my wits end, please advise.

       

      Ricky

       

  • Same Issue....what works for me is that after I unplug it and plug it back in...go into the interface and reboot it.  If I do this, it stays up.  If I just do the unplug and replug, it stays up for about 30minutes to 1hr...and then stops passing data.  I can still ping the LAN port but cannot get to the GUI.

     

    This is a repeatable issue....

     

    Latest Version of the Firmware Installed.

     

     

    • rickgode's avatar
      rickgode
      Aspirant

      Thank you for this!  It's a headache, but if going into the GUI and rebooting it from there is the ticket, then I'll go that route.  Can you let me know where to reboot from the GUI.

       

      So the steps I use are:

       

      1) unplug everything reboot FVS, wait until the test light goes out.

      2) plug in the cable modem and turn it on and wait for the internet light to light up.

      3) plug in one computer into the FVS (my desktop)

      4) ?reboot FVS from GUI?

      5) plug in the rest of the network

       

      Thanks again!  When it finally "takes" it seems bullet proof and works flawlessly until the power goes out (which happens to only be once or twice a year during a storm)

       

      Ricky

      • Bitzerj's avatar
        Bitzerj
        Guide

        Login to the unit...look for the Diagnostics menu...there is a Reboot Button.

         

        Did it last night...the Router has been up for 24hrs working great.  Prior to that, it was down every 30 to 60 minutes like clockwork.

  • Have you guys trying to let the router sit for almost an hour after booting, but before using it?  My 318N works like that and is basically the same thing as the G.

     

    Also, try going back to previous versions of firmware (like the first release), those were probably more stable because they had to ship a working product.  Once the firmware upgrades start, stuff always breaks...

    • shiekh's avatar
      shiekh
      Guide

      I've tried this before, and it works; but I need a firewall that comes up by itself in a few minutes after a power glitch. My ZyXEL VFG6005N is just such a firewall.

       

      A living is made over this network, and messing around to bring it back up is not an acceptable solution.

      • SamirD's avatar
        SamirD
        Prodigy

        I can understand that.  For what its worth, I've not found any vpn firewall that comes up 100% in under a minute.  The cloest I've seen is the older Cisco rv016 and rv042--the rv042 was almost instant, but that was v1.0.  The rv016s take 45s at best on v2.0 firmware.

         

        Our Watchguard takes a few minutes and I usually give the 318Ns about 15-25m if not a full 30m.  But to give the watchguard and 318s some credit, I reboot them just a few times a year, if even that.

         

        The way I budgeted our router purchases was based on how much downtime cost us.  Then from there I'd give a 'pita' factor too and come up with a number.

  • One thing I just thought of that I've done to each of my FVS318Ns is to disable all flood checks and other firewall features and see if that helps.

     I know that on the Cisco rv016s we had, they would think they were under attack by the ISP because the ISP was sending 100 packets/second of ack/nak packets (it amounted to 4k/sec of data--the equivalent to the entire bandwidth of a dial-up modem).  And they would drop the wan and not come back up, which sounds oddly like this issue.

    The type of modem wouldn't matter since its the head end carrier equipment that would be the issue.

    • cclo's avatar
      cclo
      Aspirant

      I just did a factory reset.  Resetup my Router and this time everything working.  VPN and DMZ... everything.  I set the router to do a reboot every night at 4:50 AM.  Let see if it can stay up this time!

       

      Man, what the hell is this!  Does Netgear know this issues?  I just file a support ticket.  Does anyone of you have the same issues contacted support?  This is bull**bleep**!

      • shiekh's avatar
        shiekh
        Guide

        Don't reset!

         

        The way to get them to work is bring them up with nothing connected, then connect them up; they will work fine till rebooted...

  • Getting ready to dump my FVS318Gv2...same issues...when it runs it runs fine.  Last night it just stopped working, I could ping the LAN port, but Telnet didn't work and routing stopped. (Running the latest Firmware)

     

    I cycled the power...it came up for about 15 minutes and died...I then remembered the GUI reboot...did that and it stayed up for about 2hrs and died.

     

    I did a few more GUI reboots (after having to cycle power) and after the 5th try, it stayed up all night.

     

    I'm about done with this router...I need something that works and keeps on working. 

    • shiekh's avatar
      shiekh
      Guide

      Like you and many others I have found that once up and running it can go on indefinitely (till the next power glitch).

       

      We now have little choice but to remain hopeful about the next firmware.

       

      How to get Netgear to take this seriously?

      • Bitzerj's avatar
        Bitzerj
        Guide

        The problem is that mine is on a UPS...no power glitch.  It just locked up for no reason.  Did this twice in the past two weeks (after running for at least 30 days without a hickup).  I'm tired of chasing these issues, when it happens during the day work suffers...at night the family is yelling.  I need something that is stable and secure.

NETGEAR Academy

Boost your skills with the Netgear Academy - Get trained, certified and stay ahead with the latest Netgear technology! 

Join Us!

ProSupport for Business

Comprehensive support plans for maximum network uptime and business peace of mind.

 

Learn More