Nighthawk Router XR500 Drops internet randomly in full

[Melisandrai]

Every single time it happens, i plug the modem directly into a computer and the internet is perfect. 

Plug that cable back into the router, no internet. 

I've switched out four cables minimum. 

Best I can tell, is this port is going out. Is this the case?

Upgraded the firmware to XR500 V2.3.2.114

WAN basically just shows no internet, so clearly its the port.

Unplugging it and putting it back in multiple times, seems to do the trick. Reboot not required. 

Click is 'there' - so I know it's connected, it's just not giving internet. 

Router is just a few days over 2 years old. Is this par for a $300 router?

I see this has occurred with other versions of the firmware, but  best I can tell this is really the port itself. Please don't tell me these are like the old linksys pieces of crap.

[Netduma-Fraser]

I'd recommend you upgrade to the latest beta as it does have a fix that has helped some people: https://community.netgear.com/t5/Nighthawk-Pro-Gaming-DumaOS-3-0/New-Firmware-v2-3-2-120-XR500/td-p/...

Also what is the modem/router the XR is connected to?

[Melisandrai]

It's connected to the SB6190 Arris, currently the best modem available with my service with COX. And there are no issues at all. Internet works every time I direct connect from the modem. 

I've downloaded this new firmware, and after I am done with work today, I will upgrade the firmware to this newest version and report back - once it's been up a week straight.. it's been failing lately every day or every 2 days sometimes. So should be able to tell within a couple of days whether it is resolved.

[Netduma-Fraser]

Okay keep us posted, thanks!

[Melisandrai]

Ok, I installed the patch last night. Validated it is on that page, even shows in the corner now.

Sure enough today, during a DHCP release renew, all items in the house went down and lost internet mid-day. still connected, but no internet. 

Modem direct to computer - works fine

Checked the logs, validated the event occurred. (attached picture)

Reboot the Router. Once the router is rebooted, I must then 'unplug and replug in' the brand new cable to the internet port, and quickly internet will be back. Until probably sometime tomorrow, when this occurs again. 

This didn't used to occur, why would this be happening?

[Netduma-Fraser]

It's an issue they're looking at currently, there doesn't seem to be anything specific that has caused it to occur. I'd suggest changing the DHCP start IP to .50 then reserving IP addresses to devices between .2 - .49 and then reboot from the interface and see if it is more stable after that

[Melisandrai]

This is tough, i have over 150 devices easily. 49 static IP's aren't going to cut it. If the 8 external cameras go out, and decorations get stolen, I'm going to be very upset. This shouldn't have to be something that we just live with and get to pick and choose what devices get to stay online. What is the reason that we cannot figure out why this is happening, if it Is occurring with so many people who have this router/interface? I pay for services that rely on my internet being available all the time as well. I cannot exactly do that if this happens in the middle of the night. It looks like this has been happening for some time now. Where are we truly at with a solution here?

[Netduma-Fraser]

Okay that's interesting, how do you have all those devices connected to the router exactly? The router shouldn't be able to handle all those devices directly connected. Netgear are looking into it and should have a more efficient fix for the next build, I'm sure they know what the issue is but I haven't heard anything about why it may start randomly for someone.

[Melisandrai]

I mean not usually all devices are connected all the time. But at any one point in time there are a full set of devices connected to 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz, as required. At least 16 on one, and 7 on the other, and that's only because i haven't gone and fixed the offline devices that need to be back on the network because they keep getting kicked off daily. At least 15 of those are cameras. I can't share my map, because it's private, but how close are we really to getting a solution? As i move from one room in my house to another, i may deactivate 2-4 devices in one room, and activate another 4 devices in another room. I may have my family come over, and that automatically puts 5 new devices on the network, and i might have a party that puts another 20 on the network. My internet never has issues, i have the newest lines set (replaced under the driveway) to the box, and all lines checked within my home. As i noted, i have switched out the cable between the modem and router 4 times - just to be safe that wasn't an issue.

So how close are we really to a fix? Because it sounds like a ton of people have this issue. 

[Netduma-Liam]

As Fraser mentions, we don't currently have an ETA from Netgear for the next build but like you say: It's been going on for a while now for quite a few users so we're hoping the problem has been identified and a fix is on the way.

Did you have this issue on the pre-beta firmware and that's why you upgraded to the 3.0 beta? You could try downgrading to the last known firmware that was stable for you and see if the disconnections continue.

[Melisandrai]

Thanks - Yes, I was on an older version of the firmware, I actually upgraded to .114 (highest current version from netgear) - so both the older version (I forget what version it was) and the .114 were a no go. Then I received the .120 via this post and tried that and it crashed yesterday. So I've tired three versions. I'm not sure what version is considered 'most stable' - this issue doesn't seem stable would be a word I should be using with a netgear router at this time.  I do appreciate the look of the .120 - I mean the software is fantastic, if it wasn't entirely unstable at this point. Especially as a gamer.

Obviously the next step will be to reset it entirely - which very much upsets me, but it will have to happen, and see if that at least stops the issue for a short while. Especially since we don't know what triggers it.

[Netduma-Fraser]

Did you ever factory reset after the updates? I assume not as you didn't want to setup devices again? It's recommended to factory reset after updates as it clears old low level code left over from the previous version that can cause issues. So I'd suggest if you're going to try a reset anyway to update to .120 first