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Forum Discussion
Performing hardware diagnostic on Nighthawk RAX50
I am trying to determine cause of slow and intermittent internet access. ISP test showed that their cable modem is working correctly and suggests that I do a diagnostics test on my router. When I log...
there isn't a "diagnostic test" that you can just run. It comes to checking details/issues for clarity.
1. What modem/gateway is the router connected to?
2. what firmware is on the router?
3. what speeds do you pay for?
4. What wired speeds do you get?
5. What 2.4ghz speeds?
6. 5ghz speed?
7. And what device/devices are you testing those speeds along with what program/app are you using for the speedtesting
8. More details about the issue you're running into with specifics. slow and intermittent could be different things. How often does it happen? When it happens, is it all devices or just one? etc. the more you tell us, the better we can help
Not sure how to answer all of the questions.
1. Modem is a Spectrum supplied cable modem
2. V1.0.16.132_2.0.92; router is set to update automatically.
3. 300 Mbps
4-6. Not sure how to find that information. Recent speed test showed 374.60 download; 11.85 upload; 15ms ping. Test completed using Nighthawk app (SPEEDTEST powered).
7. Home computer is hardwired to the router. All other devices (televisions, phones - iPhone 11 and 14 - and induction stove - IoT) are wireless.
8. Slow and intermittent most common when streaming movies or shows on TV (with only one TV on). We see this probably every few weeks, and when it occurs, the annoying buffering gizmo appears as often as every 5-7 minutes. This seems to go away if I cycle power (minimum 30 seconds) to modem and router, or just the router. The signal strength indicator on our phones also shows less than 3 bars at the same time we see the buffering issue on the TV. Not sure this is an internet drop out, but occasionally (typically when signal strength drops), the picture on the TV will freeze without also showing the buffering gizmo. When the TV recovers, it picks up where the show is in progress (we miss what was happening at the time the picture froze). During the buffering, the show resumes where the buffering started, after which, the picture is often very low resolution (even though we have 4k service through YouTubeTV, which, of course depends entirely on how strong the wireless signal is at the time).
The modem model is important. The label should have it on it.
Are you sure you don't have an RAX48? The RAX48 has that firmware version on it but no either V1 or V2 of the RAX50.
Is it only the one device with issues? You say streaming on a tv. What tv? is it streaming on a roku/apple tv or what are you using for streaming?
Are you on the 2.4ghz or 5ghz while streaming?
How far from the router is the tv with issues? And what is between the 2? (walls/appliances/etc)
I am absolutely sure that the Router is an RAX50, which is what appears on the router's label.
We see the internet issue only on our main TV which is a Sony Google TV less than 2 years old. We have other older TVs in the house that are not used very often, so we do not know if the issue also appears on them.
I don't know how to determine whether the TV is on the 2.4ghz or 5ghz while streaming. Both of the indicators for these on the router are always illuminated. The router is in a second floor room, less than 20' from above the TV on the first floor. The only thing between the router and TV is the floor and open staircase.
There also is a Netgear extender (AC750 WiFi Range Extender Model EX3110) less than 10' from the TV.
The Spectrum modem is EN2251, Hitron Technologies DOCIS 3.1 eMTA.
As for the firmware, here is what I see when I login to the router: