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Forum Discussion
Factory reset on a cable modem to deal w/intermittent internet
My Internet has been spotty for the past several days. The first time it happened, internet came back on after unplugging the coax cable and plugging it back in. It worked! And I cancelled the spectru...
lokilo wrote:
My Internet has been spotty for the past several days.
Can you tell us a bit more about what happens? Do the LEDs show any clues? Does in the Internet disconnect? Is it just wifi that goes down? Do wired devices stay on?
The first time it happened, internet came back on after unplugging the coax cable and plugging it back in. It worked!
That just interrupts the cable signal to the Internet. A reboot (power on/off) is more normal.
Trying to figure out if my issue is with the coax cable or with the cable modem router itself.
If you have another cable, try it. A faulty cable is far from unknown.
I have the C3700, running the latest firmware. What happens if I select “factory reset” on the admin page?
The firmware is beyond your control. Only the ISP can change that.
The factory reset, the same as pressing the reset button on the back, simply takes the device back to its "out of the box" state. This is a standard troubleshooting move and is worth trying if you have persistent problems.
As this is a cable modem/router, plemans, who understands this stuff, might be able to step in with advice on how to check the quality of your Internet service.
While many questions about routers are generic and could be answered anywhere, some things need specialist knowledge.
You might get more help, and find earlier questions and answers specific to your device, in the appropriate section for your hardware. That's probably here:
Cable Modems & Routers
I will ask the Netgear moderator to move your message.
In the meantime you could visit the support pages:
Support | NETGEAR
Feed in your model number and check the documentation for your hardware. Look at the label on the device for the model number.
Check for various troubleshooting tips.
You may have done this already. I can't tell from your message.
I mention it because Netgear stopped supplying printed manuals and CD versions some years ago and people sometimes miss the downloads.
Sorry. Forgot to respond to your first question. Yes when I lose Internet it is the Internet light that goes dark. All the other lights are doing what they do.
I did try the regular manual reset the first time the Internet went down and that did nothing. What has been a consistent fix has been to unplug the coax and plug it back in.
I feel that I’ve ruled out the cable modem router itself, as per Netgear tech-support and the coax cable itself. Alas. I was hoping this could be a simple troubleshooting…
I did try the regular manual reset the first time the Internet went down and that did nothing. What has been a consistent fix has been to unplug the coax and plug it back in.
I feel that I’ve ruled out the cable modem router itself, as per Netgear tech-support and the coax cable itself. Alas. I was hoping this could be a simple troubleshooting…
- Meant to add one last thing: whenever I unplug that coax cable, it feels very warm to the touch. Not hot and it won’t burn me, but definitely very warm.
lokilo wrote:
Meant to add one last thing: whenever I unplug that coax cable, it feels very warm to the touch.The router feels warm?
Most electronic kit does that.
No, I meant the cable itself. Since I don’t usually unplug the coax cable when trying to reset, I have no frame of reference, and maybe this is normal?
i thought of another weird thing. Yesterday, before finding the Netgear site, posting here, and subsequently calling Netgear, I first googled “Netgear phone support” and somewhat absentmindedly opened the first site that came up and called the number listed. “Hello?” the guy answered. I thought it strange that he didn’t provide the name of the company, so I asked to whom I was speaking. “Netgear” (or did he say Netgears — with and S — I later wondered?). So I told him the whole issue and his response was to tell me that there was a virus in my network and I needed to purchase virus protection for $149.99 or something like that. “And you know this how…?” I asked. He called me by my name, first and last, etc. said this was the fix. I thought it was fishy, so I found an excuse to hang up. Googled Netgear again, and realized that first site I had selected/called looked nothing like the actual, real Netgear site.
So… aside from from potentially having avoided a scam, is it possible that there is a “virus in my network” which could be causing these anomalies? Seems odd.