NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.

Forum Discussion

Silyus's avatar
Silyus
Tutor
Nov 28, 2021

Nighthawk X6 R8000 ping spikes and DNS problems

I bought a Nighthawk X6 R8000 router (Firmware Version V1.0.4.76_10.1.82) for my domestic use.

 

I've a raspberry PI, a NAS (with 2 ethernet connections), and a smart tv connected to the LAN and two desktop computers, a laptop plus a few random devices connected to the WLAN. Desktop computers are generally connected to the high frequency band (5G-2) although one of them doesn't seem to see its SSID for some reasons, so it's connected to the hybrid (5G-1) band with one OS. Both the desktop PCs are on LOS from the router, with no walls between them.

 

Everything seemed to work fine at first, then I noticed that I kept receiving occasional DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN errors when navigating. This error disappears when I refresh the page. I'm not sure if this problem is only related to the WLAN as I can't propetly test it connecting a computer to the LAN due to the awkward position of the router.

 

I tried to switch to OpenDNS and GoogleDNS to no avail. During my tests I've also noticed a weird thing. If I ping the router from one of my desktop PC I have this latency:

 

$ ping 192.168.1.1
PING 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=3.74 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=2.35 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=6.19 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=4 ttl=64 time=2.11 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=5 ttl=64 time=1.95 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=6 ttl=64 time=1.93 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=7 ttl=64 time=1.88 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=8 ttl=64 time=2.55 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=9 ttl=64 time=1.85 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=10 ttl=64 time=3.28 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=11 ttl=64 time=1.86 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=12 ttl=64 time=2.49 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=13 ttl=64 time=2.69 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=14 ttl=64 time=1.88 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=15 ttl=64 time=3.23 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=16 ttl=64 time=1.85 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=17 ttl=64 time=2.55 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=18 ttl=64 time=6.10 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=19 ttl=64 time=6.36 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=20 ttl=64 time=2.70 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=21 ttl=64 time=3.23 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=22 ttl=64 time=2.45 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=23 ttl=64 time=2.40 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=24 ttl=64 time=2.84 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=25 ttl=64 time=3.49 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=26 ttl=64 time=2.35 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=27 ttl=64 time=2.54 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=28 ttl=64 time=6.27 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=29 ttl=64 time=1.82 ms
^C
--- 192.168.1.1 ping statistics ---
29 packets transmitted, 29 received, 0% packet loss, time 28043ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 1.820/2.996/6.355/1.391 ms

To me having 3ms of avg in WLAN pinging the intranet is weird, but what got me thinking is the 6ms of ping spike. If I connect to my NAS through ssh and ping the router from there (so a LAN ping) here's what I get:

 

 

$ sudo ping 192.168.1.1
PING 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.363 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.255 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=0.296 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=4 ttl=64 time=0.274 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=5 ttl=64 time=0.294 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=6 ttl=64 time=0.322 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=7 ttl=64 time=0.401 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=8 ttl=64 time=0.319 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=9 ttl=64 time=0.304 ms
[...]
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=84 ttl=64 time=0.287 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=85 ttl=64 time=0.394 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=86 ttl=64 time=0.242 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=87 ttl=64 time=0.341 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=88 ttl=64 time=0.236 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=89 ttl=64 time=0.288 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=90 ttl=64 time=0.415 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=91 ttl=64 time=0.240 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=92 ttl=64 time=0.413 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=93 ttl=64 time=0.289 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=94 ttl=64 time=0.339 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=95 ttl=64 time=0.649 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=96 ttl=64 time=0.456 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=97 ttl=64 time=0.295 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=98 ttl=64 time=0.299 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=99 ttl=64 time=0.322 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=100 ttl=64 time=0.297 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=101 ttl=64 time=0.359 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=102 ttl=64 time=0.393 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=103 ttl=64 time=0.316 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=104 ttl=64 time=0.279 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=105 ttl=64 time=0.297 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=106 ttl=64 time=0.402 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=107 ttl=64 time=0.295 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=108 ttl=64 time=0.272 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=109 ttl=64 time=0.289 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=110 ttl=64 time=0.317 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=111 ttl=64 time=0.380 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=112 ttl=64 time=0.294 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=113 ttl=64 time=0.412 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=114 ttl=64 time=0.260 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=115 ttl=64 time=0.364 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=116 ttl=64 time=0.294 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=117 ttl=64 time=0.245 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=118 ttl=64 time=0.342 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=119 ttl=64 time=0.257 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=120 ttl=64 time=0.298 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=121 ttl=64 time=0.411 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=122 ttl=64 time=0.297 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=123 ttl=64 time=0.399 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=124 ttl=64 time=0.256 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=125 ttl=64 time=0.199 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=126 ttl=64 time=0.300 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=127 ttl=64 time=0.291 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=128 ttl=64 time=0.256 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=129 ttl=64 time=0.299 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=130 ttl=64 time=7.83 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=131 ttl=64 time=0.315 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=132 ttl=64 time=0.258 ms
[...]
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=436 ttl=64 time=0.480 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=437 ttl=64 time=0.253 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=438 ttl=64 time=0.314 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=439 ttl=64 time=0.249 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=440 ttl=64 time=0.324 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=441 ttl=64 time=0.253 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=442 ttl=64 time=0.278 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=443 ttl=64 time=0.410 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=444 ttl=64 time=0.247 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=445 ttl=64 time=0.315 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=446 ttl=64 time=0.296 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=447 ttl=64 time=0.297 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=448 ttl=64 time=0.315 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=449 ttl=64 time=0.297 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=450 ttl=64 time=0.248 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=451 ttl=64 time=0.295 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=452 ttl=64 time=0.319 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=453 ttl=64 time=0.296 ms
^C
--- 192.168.1.1 ping statistics ---
453 packets transmitted, 453 received, 0% packet loss, time 486ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.188/0.343/7.827/0.363 ms

essentially, 7ms of ping spike on LAN.

 

Now, the ping spike is concerning to me but it's not a real problem. What I find troublesome is the failure to resolve the DNS in some occasions and, most importantly, I wish to know if there is a problem with the router.

 

Do you think that my router is broken (I'm still on time to send it back)?  Is this a known firmware problem? 

18 Replies

  • FURRYe38's avatar
    FURRYe38
    Guru - Experienced User

    There are known issues with the 8000 series FW. Best to revert back to what had been working until NG fixes this. 

    • Silyus's avatar
      Silyus
      Tutor

      By revert back you mean return the router?

       

      What I had before was the stock router from my ISP which is...well....not that good.

       

      I bought this router on a solid deal, my options now are troubleshoting these issues, return the router and roll the dices again on a new one or wait for a fix from NETGEAR (assuming it's indeed a FW problem and not an HW problem).

      • FURRYe38's avatar
        FURRYe38
        Guru - Experienced User

        No, revert back FW version to what had been working before you updated the FW. 

  • I have the exact issues you have noted...again...still.  Even replying to this community thread gives me a DNS resolution error and slow response time.  I previously upgraded my firmware from V1.0.4.68_10.1.75  to 82 a couple months ago and immediately had brand new DNS resolution errors.  I have Spectrum as my provider.  I reverted back to my old firmware version, and the issues went away.  Please NG fix this issue!  To restore older versions of firmware...

     

    Go to this site to download: https://www.netgear.com/support/product/r8000.aspx#download

    It's not intuitive, but look for the big + sign that say view previous versions.

    • Silyus's avatar
      Silyus
      Tutor

      Thanks for confirming the issue as I still have this problem. What is exactly the latest stable firmware version that worked for you?

      • rgsneed's avatar
        rgsneed
        Guide

        Firmware Version
        V1.0.4.68_10.1.75

         

        Just down-revved and it fixes the issue for me.