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R8300 - Desktop WiFi Constantly Disconnects w/ "The default gateway is not available"
First post and I'm going absolutely insane trying to figure this one out. I've currently got an R8300 Nighthawk X8 AC5000 Smart WiFi Router. All my other devices 2.4 or 5 GHz maintain a steady wireless connection and my desktop appears to be the only one affected by this. The Win10 v1803 desktop wireless has maximum signal coverage but constantly loses internet connectivity every minute or so. It shows that it is still connected to the router but no internet. Using the Windows Network Diagnostics troubleshooting almost always shows "The default gateway is not available" resulting in being "Fixed" and internet connectivity temporarily resumes until the problem occurs again.
I've tried numerous fixes with no success thus far which include:
- Use the Windows Network Diagnostics troubleshooter
- Rebooted Modem and Router
- Disable then Enable the WiFi adapter
- Change WiFi settings from Automatically obtain to Manually Assign
- IPCONFIG /release , /renew, and /flushdns
- netsh int up reset
- netsh winsock reset
- nbtstat -RR
- Power Settings> Wireless Adapter Settings> Power Saving Mode > Maximum Performance
- Power Settings> USB Settings> USB Selective Suspend Setting > Disabled
- Router firmware updated to current release (V1.0.2.130)
- Wireless Adapter updated to current driver (Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260) (Driver Date 11-Nov-2018; Version 18.33.15.1)
- Changed Wireless Adapter> Configure>Power Management to uncheck "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power"
- Changed Wireless Adapter> Configure>Advanced>"Wireless Mode" to reflect value "3. 802.11g"
- Uninstalled the wireless adapter then rebooted
- Antivirus uninstalled
- Task Scheduler to constantly ping the Default Gateway every second to try and maintain an active connection
- Actually started with a clean Win10 v1803 baseline install and no other applications installed
As an extreme case I figured the clean install might resolve but the problem but it has not. All of the above items has made absolutely no change to the problem nor the frequency at which it is occurring. Keeping in mind that any of the above would temporarily fix it for only a very brief period before the issues occurs again. I've Googled for days with no progress it seems. Any assistance from the community here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your time
So I wanted to follow-up. I had continued researching and troubleshooting. Update drivers/chipsets, etc but still no luck. However, I came across something the other day that I believe may have done the trick oddly enough and I wanted to post it here in case someone else runs into a similar issue as it may solve a headache for them.
I went into Device Manager under Network adapters and clicked on "Update Driver Software..." but instead of searching automatically for the driver, I clicked "Browse my computer for driver software" and then clicked "Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer". I de-selected "Show compatible hardware", I selected "Intel" for the Manufacturer and selected the "Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 (Microsoft)" instead of the (Intel) one. So far it's been 48 hours without any disconnects. So the Driver Date is now 22-Feb-2015, Driver Version 17.15.0.15, Provided by Microsoft and Digital Signer: Microsoft Windows. Funny how rolling it back to the original install didn't work but the end-state solution still involved rolling back to an older driver provided by someone other than the manufacturer.
15 Replies
TonyRowlson wrote:
First post and I'm going absolutely insane trying to figure this one out. I've currently got an R8300 Nighthawk X8 AC5000 Smart WiFi Router. All my other devices 2.4 or 5 GHz maintain a steady wireless connection and my desktop appears to be the only one affected by this.
This sound suspiciously like a Windows issue. That everything else works suggests that your router is doing what it is supposed to do, churning out usable wifi.
I assume that you are using a wifi connection to get the PC to connect. Do you have an option to try a wired connection?
One of the regular issues that comes up here is that Windows sees new networks as suspicious and regards them as "Public". Making it "Private" can unblock the access.
In Network & Internet settings you should see Network status. If you go to Change Connection Properties this should be Private.
michaelkenward ,
Thinking it was a potential Windows issue with no previous luck resolving is exactly why I decided to try a clean install. I used a Tier I ISO of Windows 10 - Pro v1803 (dated Aug 2018) from MSDN. However, during the setup process of selecting my WiFi network and almost immediately after getting to the desktop for the first time, the problem started again. So I pretty much eliminated any extra applications, the Netgear Genie app, Antivirus (except Windows Defender), etc.. I've also got a laptop directly next to the desktop at the moment that is running Windows 10 - Home using WiFi flawlessly. So not sure if it is a Pro vs Home issue or what.In regards to your comments, I'm sure I may have missed a few details but under the Network Profile for the WiFi network, it is currently set as a Private network, Metered Connection Off, and IP setttings are back to DHCP. The desktop machine does have an RJ45 Ethernet port plus I also have a USB-to-Ethernet dongle. However, the problem is that I'm physically separated by the router by more than 50' and that's the longest CAT5 cable I have. Worst comes to worst I can just disconnect about everything and move it within the physical distance but was really trying to avoid it.
IrvSp ,
In regards to the information, I'm assuming by "correct" you're simply asking if those are actually the settings/information and maybe not a typo. I've attached a compiled screenshot for clarification. With the exception of the Wireless mode, those settings are correct. The wireless mode change was simply done as an additional step as I saw another post saying that their issue was resolved by changing the wireless band to reflect g only and it fixed it for them. I had no such luck and reverted it back to "6. Dual Band 802.11a/b/g". There's 2 wireless modes though: an option for a/b/g (currently set at option 6. Dual Band 802.11a/b/g") and an option for n/ac (currently set at 802.11ac). The Intel article about recommended settings matches the current state of my adapter properties.
I've looked at the various Google articles and it definitely seems like a rampant issue across various OS and computer models. The most common responses seems to be checking for updated drivers or uninstalling/reinstalling them which I've already done.
Thank you both for taking the time to help look into this.
TonyRowlson, dropped another important nugget here... "I'm physically separated by the router by more than 50' and that's the longest CAT5 cable I have. ". You are pushing your luck with that, especially with 5Ghz. Articles like this state 150Ft inside, but that is line of sight. It further states it can be 25% or less with obstructions in walls. 5Ghz doesn't do as well as 2.4Ghz either.
Some routers do have beam forming settings and that can help some. Personally, I'm at about a 65 foot limit in my house. Router (r8000 as well as the old R7000) has a hard time connecting to some devices at the far end of the house and some outside locations. iPad's and phones have the hardest time due to the low number of Antennea's they have.
You might be better off looking for Power LIne Adapters to spread the signal.
Is this correct?
============
- Wireless Adapter updated to current driver (Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260) (Driver Date 11-Nov-2018; Version 18.33.15.1)
- Changed Wireless Adapter> Configure>Power Management to uncheck "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power"
- Changed Wireless Adapter> Configure>Advanced>"Wireless Mode" to reflect value "3. 802.11g"
============
What other choices do you have?
Why did you set it to G speed? For N speed, see https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005544/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html for proper settings. Full list of settings are here, https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005585.html.
By the way, this problem appears to be common, see https://www.google.com/search?safe=active&client=firefox-b-1-d&q=intel(r)+dual+band+wireless-ac+7260+keeps+disconnecting&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjN35--h6fgAhXImuAKHRfQAXkQ1QIoAHoECAMQAQ&biw=1422&bih=896. Although some are old, they might have useful information.
- I had all kinds of problems staying connected on my 8000 router. I finally disconnected the Smart Connect feature of the router and have not been thrown off yet after several days. I had several sessions with Netgear tech support and they eventually sent me a new router that did not help at all. It appears Netgear has a problem with the Smart Connect feature.
