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Forum Discussion
C6300 Frequent disconnects
Seems to be a common topic here, but don't think I've seen a definitive answer so gonna try again.
Purchased a C6300 because it was (seemingly) the best modem / router out there supported by Comcast. Not cheap, IMO, so kinda had high hopes, but...not so much.
Some background....
Prior to puchasing this I had a comcast box that just wasn't cutting it. The range / power of the device that I was "renting" from Comcast couldn't reach many parts of the house so wanted a solution. First thing I did was to purchase a Lynksys LAPN600 Access Point, which did the trick wonderfully. However, I was still renting they modem / router from Comcast, so to be rid of them once and for all purchased the C6300.
The pros - the signal is strong. Like the interface as well and set up seemed easy enough. But the Cons - ugh - Frequent Disconnects. A better discription would actually be "micro" disconnects because they last about 15 seconds. They are so fast that the wireless devices (iOS devices and 3 Windows 7 laptops) don't even show they are disconnect. In fact, hovering over the network icon shows it's connected, but if I'm surfing the net during a micro-disconnect it will say page cannot be displayed. Again, it's all Wireless devices at the same time, so I know it's not a laptop / iPad / iPhone issue.
Thinking that perhaps it's the Linksys AP that might be the issue - as in, maybe the AP is too close to the C6300 and somehow they are competing for connection. Hope. Disabled the Linksys completely - both by powering it off physically and by turning the Radio on the AP off. Still, disconnects.
I've tried to read the logs on the C6300, but the only logs I can find are really of no help. There's something about repeated DoS attacks, but the timings dont really correspond to when the micro-disonnects happen. Methinks events such as this SHOULD be captured somewhere, but...where?
I was actually frustrated enough that I called Netgear support since the device is sitll new. And then I got REALLY frustrated. The tech I spoke with told me to reboot the device since it had done a recent Firmware update. I explained that I was current with Comcast - v1.02.21 - but he was rather insistent. So I reset, per his request. It had been up just a few minutes after the reboot and he asked if I saw the disconnect issue. "No", says I, "but it's very random and I don't know what a reset would do anyway!" I inquired if there were logs to look at, to which he had a snarky response to the effect of "If I thought there was something to learn from the logs I would have done that already." Well, Mr. Smarty pants was a huge fail, because even though I had no drops in the five minutes we spent after the reset, it started the mico-disconnects but a few minutes after I hung up with them. Brother....
So, I've tried everything I can think to do and yet get the haunting suspicion that I'm missing something - probably something very...basic. In summary...
- I don't believe it to be my wireless devices because when it happens to one device, it happens to all of them.
- I don't believe it to be the AP that I have since the issues persists with the AP offline / disabled
- I've also disabled the Wireless 2.4 and 5 on the C6300 and used the signal from the AP, and the frequent micro-disconnects still happen.
- I suppose it COULD be a Comcast issue, but given that I've one all "rogue" on them and am no longer renting my modem / router from them, they probably won't give me the time of day if I open a case with them.
Would love to figure this out. I want to make this device work because I've heard others say very good things about it and stats & feature wise it looks to be better than anything else out there that comcast supports.
Any suggestions? Am I missing some logs that might give me an indication of what is happening, either on the 6300 or in Windows maybe?
Thanks for ANY help...
- S
64 Replies
Hi Sloy,
Welcome to the community!
We apologize for the frequent disconnect that you are having. When the disconnection happens, what LED lights are on from the C6300? How frequent is the disconnection in a day (every day, hour, 30mins. etc.)? You may want to try adjusting the MTU size on your unit. Check this link to get the proper MTU size on your unit. MTU can be adjusted by access the GUI of your C6300 under Advanced > WAN setup. By the way, what is the firmware loaded on your unit? Can you verify if you have the latest fw version from this page. Let us know the result.
Regards,
Holy cow, ElaineM - was out of town and didn't see your reponse a few days ago. Thank you SO much for trying to assist!
So, to answer your questions...
1. Not sure about LED lights since I don't sit within view of the Device.
2. The Micro-disconnects happen about every 10 - 15 minutes, but sometimes only once an hour, and sometimes once every five minutes. As I test, I opened cmd and did the following - ping -t 192.168.0.1 I ran this from my desktop hardwired to the device AND my laptop. When the micro-disconnects happen, on the Desktop there is no change - just repeated pings to the device. HOWEVER, on the desktop there are 4 ping attempts each time that are unsuccessful - "Request Timed Out" exactly 4 times each micro-disconnect. Always 4, so even though each disconnect is NOT on a fixed inverval, each is exactly the same amount of time.
Also, noticed something interesting that hadn't noticed before. Even though I answered the prompt to automatically log into my SSID, it never does anymore. I can see it, and select it, but it never auto connects to it. Curious.
Anyway, when home I will for sure check out the MTU size - very interesting.
Lastly, my firmware is v1.02.21, which, according to Comcast, IS the latest, greatest?
Thanks again for your help...
-S
OK, did the MTU test and that's definitely not the issue. Did the test you suggested and @1472, things were fine, at 1473, got packets need to be defragmented. So, 1472 it is, plus 28 that equals 1500. WHICH, as it turns out, is EXACTLY what was already in WAN Setup.
Given that nothing happens to the computer that is hard-wired to the C6300 and the micro-disconnects only affect devices connected WiFi - regardless if it's to the AP or to the Router, am I missing some WiFi setting?
Any OTHER suggestions?
-S
Having the same exact issue as described by other users, I bought a new modem and its frustrating me so much that i am connected via ethernet and completely shutdown the wifi. It has been pissing me off that i feel like throwing this in the garbage. I opened a TAC case with Netgear and that has been just a waste of time. I am down with 250$ and have a device that does not work.
Hello sajjadazamkhan
In the event logs of the modem are you getting any type of errors or timeouts if so what is it saying?
DarrenM
I think I have finally solved this on my Win 10 desktop. After looking through the Windows system event log I saw that the disconnects were an hourly issue. This led my to discover that it was a DHCP issue. Something about my Win 10 desktop doesn't play well with the C6300 DHCP. My Win 10 laptop generally is fine, although I've seen it do the same thing once or twice.
So I ended up reserving a small address range for static address in the modem settings. I then configured my adapter properties to a static IP address and also manually configured my DNS servers which I had previously looked up via ipconfig /all when I was still using DHCP.
I too am having the same issue. It will drop my Wifi signals completely. I verified using the Wireless Channel page that I am not seeing conflicts. Doesn't mean there aren't any, but I've changed to many different empty channels with same result.
I've also moved since I got this modem and it happens at both my old and new residence.
Wifi signals drop off after a couple hours and require a reboot/unplug to get them going again. I'm extremely disappointed with this purchase.
I've tried disable one or the other wifi radio and still run into the issue.
I've changed the MTU to the recommended setting as described in a previous post, no help.
I'm running the latest firmware.
I changed CTS/RTS Threshold to 2304 as recommended in previous post.
Any additional thoughts?
Hello Pfunk
You may want to contact Netgear support at this point if the router is still under warranty if its only just the wifi dropping. Have you tested the Ethernet when you get the drop outs to see if its still working?
DarrenM
- Same problem. It seems like to navigate these solutions you must be a computer expert. I think it's awful customer service that you can call the support line for free for 90 days but for the rest of your warranty period you have to pay.
Hello Thehawk
Can you describe the issues that you are having is it the wifi dropping or the modem dropping Internet?
DarrenM
Well from searching around these disconnects are a design issue and in sure netgear isnt going to do anything about. Darren the administrator seems like hes trying to help but based on the number of people that have submitted the EXACT same issue there isnt a solution and Im guessing that darren is allowed to tell you that.
I guess its time to get something from Cisco.
- Yes I'm sure it's a net gear issue and I'm hugely disappointed with them. Their phone service dept want to charge me $150 to fix the iproblem which they tell me is an issue with broken network protocols.
Comcast says there's no problem on their end - my modem is still under warranty but netgear has been no help in fixing the problem.
I have changed the frequency that the modem transmits at. That didn't fix the problem. I am yet another C6300 owner with frequent internet disconnects. I posed my issue in a new thread before finding this one. I was amazed to log into this forum and see so many of us. I am seriously regretting my purchase right now and floored that netgear hasn't addressed it properly.
- I'm still having the same problems. I changed the frequency on the router and it still disconnects
Right now I'm using my phones wifi service as a hotspot because the netgear C6300 has disconnected itself again - I love that DarrenM the moderator keeps asking us to describe the issues we are having. Read the thread Darren.....
My first problem with this router was trying to get the HD Homerun network tuner to work plugged into the ethernet port. No luck. Finnally had to put a 4 port 10/100 switch I had between to HD Homerun device and the router. That took care of that issue.
My second issue was packets being dropped when connected to the WiFi. A continous ping to the just to the internal gateway address would drop 1 or 2 packets every 30 seconds or so. Most pings would come back in the 2 to 3 ms time frame. Every 20 to 30 pings the time would be in the 3000 ms time frame or just drop a packet or 2. This does not affect most devices. It is a problem when I make a VPN connect to my work network. The VPN connection drops then reconnects and my online classes will time out and then reconnect.
My work around was to dust off my old Neatgear N300 router. Plugged the Internet port of that router to a giga bit port on the C6300 and I connect my laptop to the WiFi of the N300 router. No more dropped packets. No more losing connections when connection to the VPN or online classes.
- Amazingly ingenious work around. Sadly doesn't change the fact that the C6300 doesn't do the job it is meant to do. Or that no one at netgear is prepared to offer assistance or fix the problem
This is a bit depressing - I am having the same wifi dropout issues, so add mine to the list of problem routers. C6300 V2.01.14. This device was supposed to be plug and play - I have better things to do than learn how to be a router technician.
I just finished checking for new updates for the router, it is current. I tried several soft resets and let the router try to fix the wifi on its own. I also tried the hard reset button once, with no success, then finally unplugged the DC power supply and that did the trick. This is a rather frequent series of events, and it comes in bunches. I can rock along just fine for a month or two, then whammo - I have lots of trouble for a week or two. This is probably the third or fourth spat of problems since I purchased the modem last May. I am using more devices - just added a Nest, a Google Home, a Pixel phone and a 4th Chromecast device. However, I expected this router to be up to the task.
Sadly I have been waiting 2 + years for an update to fix the problem with connections dropping but the problem still exists.
