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Forum Discussion
RAX120 Router Random Disconnects
Hey everyone, I know that I'm not the only one with problems on the Nighthawk WiFi 6 devices, but thought I'd post my most recent headache. My hardware consists of a Motorola MB8600 DOCS 3.1 modem w/...
Does anyone have a working solution?
I've tried the latest release RAX120-V1.0.1.114
I've tried the latest beta RAX120-V1.0.1.118_BETA
No luck on either fronts.
I've also replaced the entire RAX120 with Amazon (thinking it was a defective unit). No luck.
I thought I had a solution by turning AX off, but it appears the problem still persists even after turning that off (turned it off last night, whole router lost WAN connection again today upon new WiFi 6 device connecting to WAP).
(Specific Setting: Enable AX - This WiFi mode will enable AX features such as OFDMA)
However I have pinpointed the trigger to WiFi 6 capable devices (Macbook Pro, latest iPhone, etc) when they connect to the Wireless Router, it'll drop every connection (even ethernet) via WAN. The only solution is a router reboot which will allow my Wifi 6 capable devices to connect too (within a brief period). However any new connections after ~5-10 min or so will result in the complete data disconnect again.
I'm literally to the point of thinking of using one RAX120 for Wireless and another for a Router. This is crazy.
This seems like a different issue than Hanz and I are facing. We are seeing the RAX120 randomly fail to resolve DNS requests from connected hosts, which bascally breaks connectivity cuz everything relys on DNS unless hard coded with IP addresses.
rax120_rax80 wrote:This seems like a different issue than Hanz and I are facing. We are seeing the RAX120 randomly fail to resolve DNS requests from connected hosts, which bascally breaks connectivity cuz everything relys on DNS unless hard coded with IP addresses.
Thank you. I noticed the mention of using CloudFlare (1.1.1.1) and Google (8.8.8.8) DNS servers.
I haven't actually tried using anything OTHER than these servers (I do not use what Comcast provides).I will test further to see if I can send an ICMP ping directly to an IP when I have the next connection drop.
Got referenced here from thread I started two days ago as well:https://community.netgear.com/t5/Nighthawk-Routers-with-WiFi-6-AX/RAX120-Connectivity-Issues/m-p/1871820#M6088. I also have a support case open with netgeart: Case# 42409064
Of course I got the standard apply hotfix .118 code above which i did already to no avail. This morning I did a hardware device reset. My problems also seemed to start on Evening of March 8th. Wonder if it has anything to do with Daylight savings time and TTL with DNS or something wierd.
So far network stable for almost 12 hours now with 16 devices and 2 kids level work load after factory reset. Support is asking me to place device in AP only mode now which seems just like trial and error method.. Is there no logs or debug output we can get captured and analyzed? It doesn't matter if I use different DNS servers, I've tried 3 now, and rest of my network that hangs right off my provider router works just fine, so its definately DNS proxy issue on the RAX120.
I've had the .115 beta firmware in for 3.5 hrs now and so far so ok. I'll let you guys know if/when this craps out.
I may just be sending this back to amazon. I don't have any wifi6 devices yet and was really just trying to get some more distance (and future proof). I understand the 1watt limit on these devices, but I was thinking this antenna aray would set it apart.
My ASUS RT-AC3200 has been solid, and espicially useful with the Merlin 3rd party firmware. I don't think I'm getting any better distance, but it's all down to measuring bars since this device doesn't tell me the dBm of each wifi client like my ASUS did. I may trade this for a TP-Link product...
This DNS issue doesn't seem to be isolated to the RAX120, but is a common problem over the years with other netgear devices.