RBRE960 keeps dropping internet connection

Guru - Experienced User

Feb 24, 2024

I'd have the ISP check the ONT logs for any think they may find during this time frame when you've noticed the RBR is OFFLINE from the ONT and red in front. This led indication means the RBR is not getting internet services correctly from the ONT.

malachi1 wrote:

thanks for replying! appreciated

current firmware: V7.2.6.21_5.0.20

i bought a new cat6 cable for the modem a few weeks ago in case that was it (the modem and base station are only a couple of feet apart), but it didn't make any difference.

the fibre modem says Chorus (they handle fibre infrastructure here in NZ) Optical Network Terminal Model Type 200.

the QR code on it links to: https://www.chorus.co.nz/q/model-type-200

satellites: i have 2 RBSE960

size of the house is around 185 m^2, so 1991-ish square feet? 2 floors.. i have the main orbi upstairs, and the 2 satellites in separate rooms a good distance from each other (and the base station). is there a way i can check if they're too close? the backhaul status for both satellites is good

orbi lights are all good, except when it drops the internet connection in which case the base station light turns red

CrimpOn
Guru - Experienced User
Feb 24, 2024
Situations like this are very difficult to diagnose. My guess is the ONT is going to say, "Everything's fine here. No problems at all."

A couple of years ago, I used this same technique to discover that a Windows 10 laptop did not wake up correctly. If I closed the cover (to keep the cat from walking on the keys), when I opened the cover again, there would be no internet. The laptop was wired directly into an Orbi router How can there be NO internet???

Capturing the DHCP traffic on that Ethernet cable soon discovered a pattern:

Laptop says, "Tell me my IP"

Orbi says, "Offering you this IP"

Laptop says, "Tell me my IP"

Orbi says, "Offering you this IP"

Laptop says....

And this went on indefinitely. If I restarted the laptop, it worked correctly. If I opened the Network troubleshooting wizard, it worked correctly. The only thing that fail (every time) was opening the lid.

In this case, I would do the same thing. After the ISP says, "Here's your IP good for 300 seconds.", I would expect to see the Orbi router say (150 seconds later), "Please renew my IP". And then the ISP say, "Here's your IP good for 300 seconds." Over and over, 156 times every day.

If even one time, the ISP fails to respond, the Orbi will have to abandon the IP and begin the process again. DHCP uses the connectionless UDP protocol:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_Host_Configuration_Protocol#Operation

If either the DHCP request or the DHCP offer message doesn't get delivered, the whole process can fail. The renewal can have worked correctly 100's of times (maybe even 1,000's of times), but it takes only one packet collision to spoil the whole thing.

If the DHCP lease was the typical 86,400 seconds, then the Orbi has half a day to finally get a response from the ISP. With a 300 second lease, there isn't much time to recover.

If the ISP technical support has a response, I'd love to hear what it is. (Hint: there is a BIG sign at the front of the room where all the support staff can see it: "Tell them it's their router. They should rent one of ours."
- malachi1
  Guide
  Mar 02, 2024
  so i contacted the ISP support (orcon in NZ) and, this might come as a shock, but they weren't very helpful 🙂 as soon as i mentioned the orbi they said they don't provide support for non-orcon supplied devices..
  
  what confused me is that when i said my query was about the 5 minute dhcp lease time i was getting, they also said "not our problem" and that that was something set on my end.. is that right?
  - CrimpOn
    Guru - Experienced User
    Mar 02, 2024
    On the support for customer routers..... awful customer service. This must be a common question and they are just being jerks.
    
    On the DHCP lease, that is done entirely by the ISP. They offer an IP lease to the router which includes the length of time it is good for.
    
    Sometimes calling back will get you a different support rep who is more knowledgeable or empathetic.
    
    Or... ask, "Can you connect me to Level II support? The DHCP lease is set by the ISP, not by my router."
    
    Story.....
    
    As one of the half-dozen people who still have a Tivo video recorder, Spectrum Cable has to provide me with a Tuning Adapter so that it can access Switched Digital Signals. (They hate this FCC rule.) One day it started blinking and I could not get it to work. Called Spectrum. No good. Rolled a Spectrum technician. Support had him replace the Tuning Adapter with one of the spares on his truck. Had him replace all the coax cable and crimp on new connectors. No good. Went through All four Tuning Adapters on the Truck. After a full shift at my house and talking to support at least 10 times, he gave up. "I have to go now. Sorry."
    
    Before opening wine and looking up alternate networking companies, I called Spectrum one more time. Nice lady said, "oh. your account is coded wrong. it says you don't have a Tuning Adapter. Here. Can you reset it again?" Worked immediately. All those hardware swaps. All that rewiring. Worthless because some end of billing cycle process had removed the Tuning Adapter from my account.

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RBRE960 keeps dropping internet connection