ISP Remote diagnostic tests reset router to default settings

[Scottie01]

I have been using the R8000P for a number of years and I have a lot of customised settings, including reserved IP addresses for 50+ devices.  The default admin password has been changed to a strong password.  The whole setup works well and enables me to easily identify devices attached to my network.  MY ISP is Virgin Media and I use the Virgin Superhub 3 in Modem only mode, with the R8000P behind it as the router. 

Recently, Virgin Media has been undertaking a lot of work in our area, resulting in frequent outages of the Broadband.  Whenever I ring their automated customer support line to confirm an outage, the process ends with them performing a set of automated checks on my equipment, presumably the Superhub 3.  However, as a result of these checks, I am finding that somehow my Router is being reset to factory settings, resulting in me having to reload my setup from a backup or manually re-enter.  I would not have thought this possible withou the admin account login and password.

Can anyone explain why this is happening and what if anything I can do to stop these tests resetting my router settings?

[plemans]

gotta admit, this is the first time I've seen an ISP be able to remote reset a router that isn't a modem/router combo device. 

what firmware version is on the router?

[Scottie01]

Router is using Firmware V1.4.1.68_1.3.28 which is the latest.  Auto uupdate is on.

I have had these problem several times before, at least twice, so this is not a new problem for me.  My ISP Superhub is set to "Modem only" mode (since it is such a poor router).  I don't know if this is evident to the ISP, I suspect it is.  

Anyway, somehow these diagnostic / reset signals sent from the ISP come through to the R8000P and cause it to reset to factory settings, something I'd only texpect to be possible by either pressing the reset button on the router (wherever that is) or by admin user initiation based on login to the router.  

I suspect that one way to avoid this in the short term will be to disconnect the ethernet connection between the ISP modem (Superhub) and the router (R8000P) before making a call to the automated ISP fault reporting service.  The service can then only reset the modem!   However, this does not address the problem with the R8000P allowing/re-acting to these diagnostics with a reset.

[plemans]

A couple things to try. 

1. the .68 isn't the latest. 1.4.1.82 actually is. Doesn't mean its the greatest though. I've seen posts before on versions that caused resets when people rebooted devices. If thats actually whats happening, then sometimes downgrading a version can help. 

2. the superhub might not be that great. but it should be capable of routing hardwired devices. Have you tried putting it back in router mode and then either putting the netgears IP address into its DMZ or putting the netgear in access point mode? 

[Scottie01]

I haven't tried using the R800P as an AP.  It is not really an option for my Network.  The reason I bought the R8000P was:

  1. the Virgin Media Superhub could not handle in excess of 30 Reserved IP addresses

  2. It could only handle 2.4GHz or 5 Ghz.  It was not SMART like the R8000P in being able to offer Dual Bands sultaneously.

  3. The user interface was terrible to say the least

So, I need it to decode the ISP signal only, leaving the Routing to the vastly superior R8000P.  

[plemans]

It would be ideal for the R8000P to handle all the routing. 

but cascading routers can cause issues, especially when they're sketchy/poorly coded devices (as you're finding out). 

that means sometimes you have to try different things to see what'll work decently with the gateway. 

did you try using the DMZ option I outlined?

Or did you try the AP mode to see if it'd work?