I purchased the Nighthawk AC1900 router last spring. I had been using the router provided by my cable company but was not satisfied with the coverage in my house. Since I've had this new router, I've had consistent issues with the connection dropping. I could be on my laptop on a Zoom call and I get booted out, browsing on my phone, etc. The fix is a relatively quick one...just disconnect on the device and then reconnect. I'm back up and running in seconds, but I pretty much deal with this issue at least daily. I didn't have a chance to follow up with with Netgear during the window when they would have provided free customer support (90 days, I think), and paying for support costs about as much or more than the router itself. I'm a generally tech savvy person, but not in terms of the innerworkings of wifi routers. Hoping someone on here can steer me in the right direction. Thanks in advance!

Dunyduke16 wrote: I purchased the Nighthawk AC1900 router last spring. Is that the R6900P in your footer (Netgear has made around a dozen devices with the AC1900 label, which is no more than a wifi speed indicator used by many brands.) If so, what firmware version do you have on the device? A number is more useful than "the latest". (It may not be by the time people read this.) There can also be newer versions, or "hot fixes", that do not show up if you check for new firmware in the browser interface.It might also 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. Dunyduke16 wrote: Since I've had this new router, I've had consistent issues with the connection dropping. Is that a wifi or wired connection? If wifi, you could see if there is local wireless congestion and try changing to channels you use. Apart from that, with so little information to go on, we can't do much more than guess.

Thanks so much for the response. As for your questions... 1) Yes, I have the R6900P model.2) Can you let me know how I can find out what firmware version is on the device? Can I find that in the Nighthawk app or elsewhere?3) The modem I'm using with this router is the Arris Touchstone TM822G. I don't use a device that is a modem/router combo.4) When I lose my connection, it is a wireless connection. In fact, when I just opened my laptop to see if there were any responses to my original post, I had to disconnect and reconnect because I had no connection.

Dunyduke16 wrote: 2) Can you let me know how I can find out what firmware version is on the device? Can I find that in the Nighthawk app or elsewhere? Try the manual. Visit the support pages:Support | NETGEARFeed in your model number and check the documentation for your hardware.Read the bit in the manual Update the Firmware of the Router. Dunyduke16 wrote: 3) The modem I'm using with this router is the Arris Touchstone TM822G. I don't use a device that is a modem/router combo. It isn't how you use it that matters, but how it is set up. It looks like a modem-only device, which eliminates that from the picture. Dunyduke16 wrote: 4) When I lose my connection, it is a wireless connection. In fact, when I just opened my laptop to see if there were any responses to my original post, I had to disconnect and reconnect because I had no connection. We don't know if that is the wifi or your laptop. These things try to save energy by turning things off when they are using them. So Windows laptops, and maybe others, will turn off the wifi when they don't see anything going on. But that shouldn't happen in the middle of a session. What happens when you "disconnect and reconnect"? That could describe many things. What are you doing to wake the device up?

OK, I'll see if I can find the manual. And I'm definitely losing connection when I'm in the middle of accessing the internet (i.e., Zooming, checking sports scores, etc.). On my phone, I just turn off my wifi and then turn it right back on. I then am reconnected in seconds. Same for my laptop. I see the icon on my laptop in the taskbar when it loses a connection. I click on it, it brings up wireless connection, I click to disconnect, and then immediately click again to connect. Again, connection is restored within seconds.

I wasn't able to find the manual, but my Nighthawk app tells me it's running version 1.3.1.64. Thanks again for trying to help me with this.

Nighthawk AC1900 Connection Issues

17 Replies

michaelkenward
Guru - Experienced User
Dec 30, 2020
Dunyduke16 wrote:

I purchased the Nighthawk AC1900 router last spring.

Is that the R6900P in your footer (Netgear has made around a dozen devices with the AC1900 label, which is no more than a wifi speed indicator used by many brands.) If so, what firmware version do you have on the device?

A number is more useful than "the latest". (It may not be by the time people read this.) There can also be newer versions, or "hot fixes", that do not show up if you check for new firmware in the browser interface.

It might also 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.

Dunyduke16 wrote:

Since I've had this new router, I've had consistent issues with the connection dropping.

Is that a wifi or wired connection?

If wifi, you could see if there is local wireless congestion and try changing to channels you use.

Apart from that, with so little information to go on, we can't do much more than guess.
- Dunyduke16
  Aspirant
  Dec 30, 2020
  Thanks so much for the response. As for your questions...
  
  1) Yes, I have the R6900P model.
  2) Can you let me know how I can find out what firmware version is on the device? Can I find that in the Nighthawk app or elsewhere?
  3) The modem I'm using with this router is the Arris Touchstone TM822G. I don't use a device that is a modem/router combo.
  4) When I lose my connection, it is a wireless connection. In fact, when I just opened my laptop to see if there were any responses to my original post, I had to disconnect and reconnect because I had no connection.
  - michaelkenward
    Guru - Experienced User
    Dec 30, 2020
    Dunyduke16 wrote:
    
    2) Can you let me know how I can find out what firmware version is on the device? Can I find that in the Nighthawk app or elsewhere?
    
    Try the manual.
    
    Visit the support pages:
    
    Support | NETGEAR
    
    Feed in your model number and check the documentation for your hardware.
    
    Read the bit in the manual Update the Firmware of the Router.
    
    Dunyduke16 wrote:
    
    3) The modem I'm using with this router is the Arris Touchstone TM822G. I don't use a device that is a modem/router combo.
    
    It isn't how you use it that matters, but how it is set up. It looks like a modem-only device, which eliminates that from the picture.
    
    Dunyduke16 wrote:
    
    4) When I lose my connection, it is a wireless connection. In fact, when I just opened my laptop to see if there were any responses to my original post, I had to disconnect and reconnect because I had no connection.
    
    We don't know if that is the wifi or your laptop. These things try to save energy by turning things off when they are using them. So Windows laptops, and maybe others, will turn off the wifi when they don't see anything going on. But that shouldn't happen in the middle of a session.
    
    What happens when you "disconnect and reconnect"? That could describe many things. What are you doing to wake the device up?

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Nighthawk AC1900 Connection Issues