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Re: R6900P will not respond to ping from internet

charlie9203
Guide

R6900P will not respond to ping from internet

Sometimes I need my R6900P router to respond to ping from internet.  So I temporarily check "respond to ping from internet" on Advanced/WAN Setup page.  It worked fine on firmware ver V1.2.0.22_1.0.78.  However, on any V1.3 firmware version since that, including the latest V1.3.1.26_10.1.3, the router will not respond regardless of that setting.  A couple months ago I was able to reach tech support and they acknowledged there were issues, but it would be fixed on next update.  It appears it is not fixed.  Does anybody have any solutions to allow the router to respond?

 

I realize most people were having difficulty disableing this setting and no matter the setting the router appeared to always respond.  So it appears that instead of fixing the switch, Netgear just permanently set it to disable.

 

Any ideas or solutions?  Reason I need it to respond is that when I have uptime issues with my ISP, I use DSLReports monitor service to send pings to my router every 10 minutes or so and then send me a report as to the success rate.  I use this to prove down time with ISP.

Model: R6900|Nighthawk AC1900 Smart WiFi Router
Message 1 of 9

Accepted Solutions
antinode
Guru

Re: R6900P will not respond to ping from internet

> [...] However, I have not tried updating, factory reset, and reprogram
> all setting from scratch.  In reading many issues, it seems doing that
> usually does not solve the issue. [...]

   It should never be needed, but when actual behavior disagrees with
apparent settings, it's worth a try.  If you save your old settings, and
the settings reset doesn't help, then it should be easy to restore the
old settings.

> [...] When I revert to V1.2 above, the port forwarding starts working
> again with no other setting changes.

   "ping" response and port forwarding are entirely different, but...

   Sounds like a firmware bug (of which there is seldom a shortage), but
running the reset test is the most efficient way to determine whether
it's a waste of time.

   Some of the folks here seem to recommend a reset to cure everything
from bad breath to cancer, and then insult people who are less
enthusiastic.  It should cost no more than some wasted time, and you can
be pretty confident that someone will suggest/demand that you try it
before proceeding.

View solution in original post

Message 3 of 9

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charlie9203
Guide

Re: R6900P will not respond to ping from internet

Some additional details on my above submitted issue.  After trying the newer versions (any V1.3) and pinging the router not working, I revert back to the V1.2 I referenced above and it starts working again.

 

I have also discovered that with the V1.3 updates, port forwarding for access to my web cam has ceased working. I verified settings are what I had been using. I even deleted the entry and rentered it with no success.  When I revert to V1.2 above, the port forwarding starts working again with no other setting changes. 

 

Seems like with a lot of new security concerns, more secure updates are being supplied by Netgear that haven't been vetted with all settings/devices.  However, I have not tried updating, factory reset, and reprogram all setting from scratch.  In reading many issues, it seems doing that usually does not solve the issue.  But each issue is unique.  Do you recommend trying that - especially with a major version number change (1.2 to 1.3)?

Message 2 of 9
antinode
Guru

Re: R6900P will not respond to ping from internet

> [...] However, I have not tried updating, factory reset, and reprogram
> all setting from scratch.  In reading many issues, it seems doing that
> usually does not solve the issue. [...]

   It should never be needed, but when actual behavior disagrees with
apparent settings, it's worth a try.  If you save your old settings, and
the settings reset doesn't help, then it should be easy to restore the
old settings.

> [...] When I revert to V1.2 above, the port forwarding starts working
> again with no other setting changes.

   "ping" response and port forwarding are entirely different, but...

   Sounds like a firmware bug (of which there is seldom a shortage), but
running the reset test is the most efficient way to determine whether
it's a waste of time.

   Some of the folks here seem to recommend a reset to cure everything
from bad breath to cancer, and then insult people who are less
enthusiastic.  It should cost no more than some wasted time, and you can
be pretty confident that someone will suggest/demand that you try it
before proceeding.

Message 3 of 9
charlie9203
Guide

Re: R6900P will not respond to ping from internet

Thank you Antinode!  I appreciate your directness in your response.  Following your suggestion, I loaded the latest V1.3.1.26_10.1.3.  Then did a factory reset, followed by reentering my custom settings.  Now ping from the internet works, and my dlink web cam is accessible (via upnp) from the internet.  However, the old Panasonic web cam access still wouldn't get through.  Remembering your caution about "suspect everything, not just port forwarding", I tested just the router and found it did indeed forward.  The problem was the AT&T Uverse modem in front of it.  So I added a firewall rule in the modem to allow port 82 access, then the modem forwards it to the camera.  Not sure why I didn't need that on the prior Netgear firmware.  However, all is working now.

 

As a side note, after I tried the new firmware a couple days ago (and reverted back) it appeared the 5G wifi was intermittent - not working for hours, then mysteriously working.  (I have seen multiple people experiencing this issue in other threads).  After loading the new version and factory resetting - no 5G problems!

 

So while is may be a pain to reprogram all the custom settings, at least I get a very clean install that works!  Thanks again for the encouragement.

Message 4 of 9
antinode
Guru

Re: R6900P will not respond to ping from internet

> [...] The problem was the AT&T Uverse modem in front of it.  So I
> added a firewall rule in the modem to allow port 82 access, then the
> modem forwards it to the camera.

   If your (unspecified) "the AT&T Uverse modem" is really a
modem+router, and "firewall rule" suggests that it is, then you would
seem to be cascading multiple routers, which can cause multiple
problems, including problems with port forwarding.

   It might be worth some effort to get an accurate, detailed inventory
of the networking equipment, and of its configuration.  Generally, you
want exactly one router.  If you have two, then the usual options are to
disable the router functions of the outer one, or else configure the
inner one as a wireless access point.  Knowing nothing about your "the
AT&T Uverse modem" makes it tough to make specific suggestions.

Message 5 of 9
charlie9203
Guide

Re: R6900P will not respond to ping from internet

Sorry, yes the first device connected to the ATT Uverse twisted pair line is a Pace PLC 5268AC modem/router.  I turned the wifi off on that router.  There doesn't appear to be a way to put it into bridge mode, but by connecting the Netgear R6900P WAN jack to one of the Pace LAN jacks with DMZ Plus turned on, most everything just gets sent to the Netgear router. The netgear uses 192.168.1.65 from the Pace, then I changed the Netgear DHCP to use 10.0.0.x.  However, to get the webcam to work, I also had to allow port 82 to pass to the Netgear in the Firewall settings of the Pace.  That is working fine now, as well as outside internet access to the ping, my Ring doorbell, and another webcam that uses Upnp.

 

My new concern is that I spoke too soon regarding the 5G wifi dropping off.  It appears that still happens intermittently.  It can be working fine (as checked on iphone and on HP laptop) then all of a sudden it is gone.  Often the SSID still shows up, but if I try to connect, I get the "Incorrect Password" message.  Deleting the network on the iphone and reopening still gets the "Incorrect Password" error.  If I wait anywhere from 5 minute to 5 hours it will come back and work with no changes made by me.  If I restart the Netgear modem it will work - for a while, then problems repeat.  I have been using this modem for almost a year without this popular problem surfacing about 5 days ago.  There is no new firmware to load and as previously stated I did factory reset after latest upload.

 

I just don't know if it is hardware or software related.  Any clues?  One possible symptom is that the wifi lights usually "blink" at a 100 to 200ms rate.  Now the often appear to be blinking at at 10ms rate that is so fast, the light just sort of dims a little.  So I thought there may be some interference somewhere.  I do have one of the LED shop lights that senses when you walk close.  Supposedly it doesn't use IR but instead some RF near the 5G wavelength, and it has been reported that it can interfere with 5G wifi reception.  So I unplugged the light to see if that makes any difference.  But the setup has been the same for 6 months, so why now?

 

If I should start a new thread with this problem, let me know.  Thanks

 

Message 6 of 9
antinode
Guru

Re: R6900P will not respond to ping from internet

> [...] Pace PLC 5268AC modem/router. [...]

> [...] by connecting the Netgear R6900P WAN jack to one of the Pace LAN
> jacks with DMZ Plus turned on, most everything just gets sent to the
> Netgear router.

   Sounds to me as if configuring the R6900P as a wireless access point
(and using the 5268AC as your only router) would make more sense.


   Whether that would affect your wireless problem is a different

question.

Message 7 of 9
charlie9203
Guide

Re: R6900P will not respond to ping from internet

Yes, I agree using only one router would make sense, but that 5268AC router doesn't seem to have a way to reserve IP addresses for devices on the LAN.  I find my devices communicate better with each other when their IP addresses are fixed/reserved.  Thank you for your guidance.

 

I created a new discussion for the wifi 5G dropping, along with some possible solutions I am testing.

Message 8 of 9
antinode
Guru

Re: R6900P will not respond to ping from internet

> [...] that 5268AC router doesn't seem to have a way to reserve IP
> addresses for devices on the LAN. [...]

   Never having touched an ARRIS 5268AC, I know nothing, and trying to
find a User Manual for it at arris.com is more than I could manage, but

you might try something like: Settings > LAN > IP Address Allocation :
Address Assignment.

Message 9 of 9
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