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Forum Discussion
Cannot Turn off Smart Connect!
Honestly, about ready to just be done with this RS500 router. Today, it decided to turn on Smart Connect all by itself....we suddenly could not find our network SSIDs. Logged in, found that Smart C...
I have posted this before...doing so again, as I am looking for further help. Each day, normally around 3pm. my devices lose connection and freeze up. Sometimes my digital photo frames and ALWAYS my Amazon Echo Show 5. I have done factory resets on the devices. I have unplugged the units and the RS500 router a hundred times. I even just did a factory reset on the RS500, but that was because it turned on Smart Connect by itself and grayed out the option to turn it off. Even with all that, each day, my items freeze around the same time. The only thing I can think of is the DHCP leases ending every 24 hours. Is there any way to exclude a device from doing so? I have already set a reserved IP address using the mac address of my echo show 5. Has not helped. I did an experiment and connected it to my phone as a hotspot around 250pm....it did NOT freeze up at 3 as it normally does. So it seems to be the router.
Does anyone have any ideas, solutions....does anyone else have this issue? I am on the latest firmware. I did also re-flash to last FW...same problem. So went back to the current FW. I have tried everything I know to do....turned off and on protection engine, QoS, etc. I really thought that by reserving the IP address, it would fix it for the echo show 5, but nope. Thanks.
What was the results of the PM with NG? Did they send you any information or a build of beta FW?
No. They just told me to do a hard reset. Which did get it so I could uncheck the Smart Connect. However, when I re-loaded the saved configuration, it went back to forced on, unable to be turned off. So there is SOMETHING in a setting that is forcing that on. They do not know what what or why. Told me to just do another hard reset. And still no answer on why my devices freeze up every 24 hours. Not helpful at all. Which is why I am posting here again. They have no idea why it is doing that, or forcing on Smart Connect all on its own.
If your loading the saved configuration from file, then you maybe introducing the issue. Older saved configuration files may get into a incompatibility state with newer versions of FW which new changes in FW can cause backup configurations to network right or induce problems. Seen this many times before with other users. With new FW, if issues are seen and factory resets are performed and backups re-loaded and problems are still seen, please factory reset the router and this time, don't load the backup configuration from file, setup the router from scratch. Once set up and things are running ok or good, Then save off a new backup configuration to file.
Hope NG can help with the device freezing. Possible the old back up could be causing this with newer FW version.
No. They just told me to do a hard reset. Which did get it so I could uncheck the Smart Connect. However, when I re-loaded the saved configuration, it went back to forced on, unable to be turned off. So there is SOMETHING in a setting that is forcing that on. They do not know what what or why. Told me to just do another hard reset. And still no answer on why my devices freeze up every 24 hours. Not helpful at all. Which is why I am posting here again. They have no idea why it is doing that, or forcing on Smart Connect all on its own.
The only thing I can think of is the DHCP leases ending every 24 hours.
DHCP on the LAN side, or on the Internet/ WAN side?
Don't own or operate any NTGR consumer routers. I would expect certain indications of DHCP renewal issues in the router system logs.
DHCP is a very smooth process in general. It's not that the renewal doe await until the last opportunity - technically, a DHCP client does refresh at about 50% of the lease time, long before the last attempt is made. It does not start the process from scratch with a new discovery.,.
When a device uses a DHCP lease, it automatically tries to refresh its IP address at 50% of the total lease time (known as the T1 timer).
The client sends a direct message to the DHCP server to ask for more time without dropping your connection.
How the DHCP Renewal Process Works
At 50% (T1 Timer): The device enters the renewing state. It sends a direct (unicast) request to the original DHCP server to extend the lease.
If the server replies with an approval, the timer resets back to zero.
At 87.5% (T2 Timer): If the first server does not answer by 87.5% of the time, the device panics slightly and broadcasts a request to any local DHCP server on the network for a renewal.
At 100% (Expiration): If no server responds by the time the lease fully ends, the device must drop the IP address and look for a brand-new configuration.
Its technically and logically the exact same process if the DHCP server on the router serving the LAN, or on the ISP WAN / Internet side.
Historical, few ISPs (eg in Germany) did use a forced disconnect if the Internet connection, leading to a forced close of all NAT sessions, all established IP and UDP, kind of a remaining reminiscence of the old dial-up Internet connections.
Thanks for the explanation, but that still leaves me....where? Once again today at 301pm, my devices froze. If not DHCP, then what else can I change? Should I just turn off DHCP completely? I have already turned off IPv6 too, just as a precaution. Did not help. It does not happen when on my phone hotspot. It can be on an ad or it can be on a photo. Could my router be just refusing to renew the dhcp to my devices at those earlier times you mentioned? I have given a static IP address to the Echo. Has not helped. I just do not know what to do.
Anyone have any ideas?
