Re: R8000 5G modem drops connection when large files are copied

Rockmeister64 · ‎2022-08-03

Hi
I have R8000 Triband router that has been working very well for years (except of the DNS issus for which I had to downgrade). I just bought a new Minisform UM560 which has a rz608 wifi 6e card (rebranded MediaTek MT7921K). Whenever I copy a large set of files from my NUC that hardwired to the router and the new pc the 5G modem stops responding. 2.4G modem is still active and working. I have to reboot the R8000 router for the 5G modems to start working again.
I am currently on the downgraded Firmware Version V1.0.4.68_10.1.75 due to the infamous DNS issue.
Any help is much appreciated.
Thanks
Rockmeister64

plemans · ‎2022-08-03

have you tried copying the large files between other devices?

6E is pretty new and maybe there's an issue with that specific card/device.

Rockmeister64 · ‎2022-08-03

I should have mentioned it in my original post. I have copied the same set of large files between the same NUC and an older laptop using the exact same 5g Modem and had no issues.

Thanks

Rockmeister64

plemans · ‎2022-08-03

If it only happens when connected to the new device, it kind of points at that new device as the issue.

Got a spare usb wifi adapter around you could try it with on that device to see if its related to the card or the windows install?

Rockmeister64 · ‎2022-08-03

The issue is that the R8000's 5G radio becomes completely inoperable. i.e. all my other devices connected via 5G lose internet connectivity. Devices connected via 2.4G still works fine. Regardless of any new device, I would expect the Router to protect itself from going down.
Thanks
Rockmeister64

Rockmeister64 · ‎2022-08-03

Long post... I wanted to provide the latest update.

Issue: The 5G radio stops working when copying large number of files with PC using rz608 wifi 6e card (rebranded MediaTek MT7921K).

Router Hardware: R8000

Copying files from: An Intel NUC PC that has a direct hardwired Ethernet connection to the router

Copying files To: Minisform UM560 which has a rz608 wifi 6e card (rebranded MediaTek MT7921K)

Details: The files starts copying and I see a speed go up to 50MBps and then within seconds the R8000 5G radio stops. All other devices connected via either of the 2 5G radio lose connectivity. The only fix is to reboot the modem

First Attempt with Firmware: V1.0.4.68_10.1.75

Next Attempt: upgraded to the latest stock Netgear firmware V1.0.4.84_10.1.84 and turned on IPV6 set it to "6To4 Tunnel" for the DNS issue. Tried copying the same set of files and had the same issue of the 5G radio stop responding with in seconds. There was nothing written to the log. I cleared the log before starting the copy, the only entry was

[DHCP IP: (192.168.1.XX)] to MAC address XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX, Thursday, Aug 04,2022 00:16:24

Third Attempt: Took a Google Nest router from a friend and did a factory reset and went through and setup it all up from scratch. Tried copying the same set of files and was successful. Throughput around 30MBps

I believe there is an issue on the Netgear R8000 handing PCs with rz608 wifi 6e card (rebranded MediaTek MT7921K).

I have been on stock firmware for the past 6 years and the Netgear R8000 hardware has been rock solid. I may have to venture into open source firmware as a last ditch attempt to keep it going. I am not into any fancy QOS, VPN or other features. Just need stable WiFi and good throughput. Any pointers on which open source firmware to should I try? DD-WRT, Fresh Tomato or OpenWRT???

If you are still reading! Thanks a bunch!!!

Rockmeister64

plemans · ‎2022-08-04

Have you tried getting the RZ608 driver straight from mediatek?

Rockmeister64 · ‎2022-08-08

The issue seems to be the Netgear firmware. I upgraded to the latest V1.0.4.84_10.1.84 firmware and turned on IPV6 and set it to "6To4 Tunnel" for the DNS issue. However, the DNS issue remained unsolved. I tried reverting back to V1.0.4.68_10.1.75 the DNS issue was still there! Tried IPV6 to Disabled and still the issue remained. By now I was on thin ice with wife and kid!!! Between the unsolved DNS issue and the current issue, I was done with the Netgear firmware.

Did some quick research and chose OpenWrt as the firmware replacement. Used their wiki https://openwrt.org/toh/netgear/r8000 to install the router and https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-quick-start/basic_wifi to setup the Wifi.

No DNS issue (obviously) and the large file copy went through with out an issue.

To recap

Issue: The 5G radio stops working when copying large number of files with PC using rz608 wifi 6e card (rebranded MediaTek MT7921K).

Root Cause: Netgear Firmware (both V1.0.4.68_10.1.75 and the latest V1.0.4.84_10.1.84) has issue handing large file copy

Solution: Use OpoenWrt firmware

Hope this helps others.

Thanks

Rockmeister64

FURRYe38 · ‎2022-08-10

I put my R8000 FW v.84 online behind my CM1200 modem.

Connected a RAXE500 router wirelessly (wireless bridge) to the R8000 on a 5Ghz radio. Smart Connect disabled so I can ensure I'm connecting on a 5Ghz radio. 1300Mpbs connection rate seen on the RAXE500 connection status.

Wired PC connected to RAXE500 on 2.5Gb LAN port with 2.5Gb ethernet adapter on PC.

Sent a 4Gb file up to a drop box with no problems or disconnections being seen.

Sent a 32Gb file up to a drop box with no problems or disconnections being seen.