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Forum Discussion
Nighthawk c7800 frequent disconnect
I've had this unit for a little over a month at this point, and while the internet speeds I get with it are usually great there is one glaring issue I've not been able to find a solution for no matter how much Googling I do or how many topics in these forums I look at, despite the fact many others seem to have the same issue.
My fiance and I work from home, and do a decent amount of gaming. Prior to owning this unit, we didn't really have any connection issues, though our speeds were fairly slow. We upgraded speed with our ISP (RCN) and purchased this unit, and that very same day, issues started.
The issue manifests in two primary ways:
1. Online games frequently drop. I use a PS4, and in addition to games being dropped super frequently (3 matches of online MK11 dropped in the same 15 minutes at its worst, which didn't happen a single time using my older, worse hardware), any time I use an application such as Hulu or a game I purchased digitally, I periodically get a message telling me the application will close soon as it cannot verify my license, a message that is only served when the PS4 can't connect to PSN- in other words, when the network drops. Interestingly, the application never closes, since the network ends up coming back, but this doesn't prevent things from being interrupted.
2. This happens less frequently but still enough to be worrying- the 2.4 and 5Ghz networks disappear from the available networks list on our computers.
I have reached out to support several times and they've been extraordinarily unhelpful. Forums tell me all kinds of things could be going wrong but I have yet to find a solution. I have already tried using less congested channels, but if the solution is to change the channels each time this happens, I will be spending more time on routerlogin.net than I will actually using the internet.
Is there something I'm missing here? I'm pulling my hair out of my head at this point and I'm a second away from returning the unit and never buying Netgear again
28 Replies
cups wroteIs there something I'm missing here? I'm pulling my hair out of my head at this point and I'm a second away from returning the unit and never buying Netgear again
A couple things.
1. RCN is horrible at updating firmware. The C7800 has gotten a few updates to fix problems. But modem/router combo devices have their firmware controlled/updated by the ISP. And RCN doesn't do much (any) on that front. Its one of the reasons I usually push people to buy a modem seperate from the router. So you can control the routers firmware.
2. do you have a screen snip of the cable connections page and the event logs? that helps us check line connections. It wouldn't be the first time during swapping a modem that a cable went bad. Check all the cables/connectors for kinks, damage, old/bad/corroded/loose connections.
3. If you do return it, again, I'd push for buying a modem seperate from the router with RCN.
Thanks for the reply
I do have a couple screenshots of those screens; unfortunately I'm not savvy enough to glean very much information from them myself. Screenshots will be at the bottom of this reply.
Regarding the firmware issue, is that something I can reach out to RCN to resolve? Will they update firmware if I ask them too? For reference, my firmware version is V3.01.40 which I thought was the most up-to-date but I'm sure a quick Google will tell me if that's true.
photos have to be approved by a moderator and it can take a while. you can click on "choose file" and add them each individually
