Port Forwarding Randomly gets deleted - Nighthawk Mesh M80

[savio]

I seem to be having the same issue that is found in this post:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/General-WiFi-Routers-Non/Port-Forwarding-randomly-deleted/m-p/13256... 

I set up Port Forwarding for my Plex Server.

It works fine for a few weeks, then all of a sudden, the Port Forwarding deletes itself.

A couple of things about my set-up:

• I do have address reservations set for my NAS which the Plex Server is Housed on
• I just tried disabling UPnP today after the third time of the Port Forwarding randomly deleting
• I do try different ports but I get the same random auto-deleting of the Port Forwarding
• My router/modem are automatically power cycled/rebooted everyday at 4AM
• I did NOT have this issue with my previous Nighthawk Router - so it seems to be a glitch within the MR80
• My Firmware version is: V1.1.46

Any help is greatly appreciated as I would like for my Plex Server to be stable in terms of its Remote Access.

[michaelkenward]

It might help if you told people what the modem is in front of this router, if there is one. The model number could be useful. Is it, by any chance, also a router, with a set of LAN ports on the back?

The reason for asking is that a lot of people turn up here trying to put a router behind a modem that is also a router. That can complicate troubleshooting.

---

@savio wrote:

• I do have address reservations set for my NAS which the Plex Server is Housed on

---

These are fixed on the router?

Have you tried this?

Search - NETGEAR Communities – Plex Server

Lots of people asking about Plex.

The MR80 is very different from the basic routers covered in this section, so you might get more help, and find earlier questions and answers specific to your device, in the appropriate section for your MR80 hardware. That's probably here:

Nighthawk Mesh System - NETGEAR Communities

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.

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.

[antinode]

> o My router/modem are automatically power cycled/rebooted everyday at
> 4AM

   Why?

   What happens if you don't do that?  (Or check just before and after?)
Are any other settings customizations lost at the same time?  (Are you
seeing a loss of some particular customizations, or a complete settings
reset?)

> o My Firmware version is: V1.1.46

   Sounds unlikely.  Have you tried any others?

> It might help [...]

   I'd be very interested in your explanation of how that could possibly
help in explaining how port-forwarding settings might vanish on a
router.  Or do you always post the same boiler-plate regardless of the
actual problem?  Perhaps thinking about the actual problem would be
helpful.  You may have done this already.  I can't tell from your
message. 

[savio]

My modem is ARRIS Surfboard S33 DOCSIS 3.1 Multi-Gigabit Cable Modem with 2.5 Gbps Ethernet Port. It is a cable modem only - not a router.

The reason for me power cycling daily, is that I was having issues with an old Motorola modem before, so I did buy this to power cycle it daily and refresh it and the router: Outlet Timer, NEARPOW Dual... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H1D267F?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I did try my set up without power cycling daily when I first switched over to the new nighthawk mesh, it did lose the port forwarding settings even when not power cycling daily.

I hope this helps.

[michaelkenward]

---

@savio wrote:
The reason for me power cycling daily, is that I was having issues with an old Motorola modem before, so I did buy this to power cycle it daily and refresh it and the router: Outlet Timer, NEARPOW Dual... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H1D267F?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

---

Bit of a sledgehammer device. Electrical rather than electronic.

The people who design routers and other electronic devices might prefer their own switching regime. That lets things write to memory before the off switch kicks in.

I found that putting a modem in front of a router caused problems after power cuts. You couldn't control the order or speed at which things started. So I ended up with a dead network because the modem was taking so long to negotiate a link that the router behind it timed out because it couldn't find an Internet connection in good time.

You say that the switching regime didn't influence the problem you see, but if you don't have the problematic modem any more, why carry on with it?

[antinode]

> [...] it did lose the port forwarding settings even when not power
> cycling daily.

   Ok.

> [...] (Are you seeing a loss of some particular customizations, or a
> complete settings reset?)

   Still wondering.

> [...] Have you tried any others?

   Still wondering.

> The people who design routers and other electronic devices might
> prefer their own switching regime. That lets things write to memory
> before the off switch kicks in.

   Yow.  Do you _really_ think that cycling the power should cause a
loss of settings (some or all)?

> I found that putting a modem in front of a router caused problems
> after power cuts. [...]

   Was one of those "problems" loss of settings?  Whose problem are we
investigating?

> [...] You say that the switching regime didn't influence the problem
> you see, but if you don't have the problematic modem any more, why carry
> on with it?

   If it makes no difference, then what difference does it make?

[savio]

I appreciate the help - though not sure why the foucs seems to have shifted to the powercycling?  It doesn't seem that is the issue of the Port Forwarding being deleted.  If anything it should improve the performance as the devices are refreshed:

https://getinternet.com/how-often-should-you-reboot-your-router/

which is why I do it.  With the Switch I have the modem powers on first, then 4 minutes later the router powers on so that there is enough of a delay for the the modem to power up first and the router isn't powered on prior to the modem.

To get back to the actual question at hand though, I don't notice any other settings that get changed or deleted.  My address reservations are staying in tack, it is just the Port Forwarding entry that gets deleted and needs to be re-added.  Again, it is usually after a few weeks with no rhyme or reason.

It has happend 4 times now since I bought the MR80.

Also, I didn't realize there was a different forum for the mesh systems so I will try posting in there - I appreciate the tip!

[antinode]

> [...] I don't notice any other settings that get changed or deleted.
> [...]

   Ok.  I can imagine a hardware problem causing this, but it sounds to
me like a firmware problem.  Hence the (still) unanswered question:

> > [...] Have you tried any others?

   Or a settings reset and manual reconfiguration?

> It works fine for a few weeks, then all of a sudden, the Port
> Forwarding deletes itself.

   If you've been cycling the power daily through all this, then I don't
like the firmware hypothesis so much.  Various problems can be caused by
bad firmware exhausting some resource over time, but that typically
takes more than a day.  (My D7000 freezes after about a month, for
example.  But it doesn't lose settings.)

> Also, I didn't realize there was a different forum for the mesh systems
> so I will try posting in there - I appreciate the tip!

   An alert moderator should move this thread within a few days, so
there's no need to duplicate this post there, but reading/searching in
the appropriate forum might find more relevant info.

   If formal Netgear support (or a warranty claim) is still practical,
then I'd pursue that path.

[savio]

Thanks, sadly my netgear support ended on July 7th - which is why I am here.  I was thinking it was a fluke, but after this 4th time I decided to try and figure out a solution.

In terms of other Firmware - there have been three firmware updates that I have done since I got this - I don't recall the dates of all 4 times the port forwarding was deleted, but I am pretty sure they fell within the other versions as well.  Since I bought the MR80 when it first came out, my guess is I have been through all the firmware versions available.

[savio]

Still sadly experiencing this - port deleted again today 😞 never heard anything from NetGear - very frustrating!