RAX120v2 keeps randomly restarting

[tr4sh80]

I made this suggestion. You can set it to "always on" in the router debug page at 192.168.1.1/debug.htm . I also placed the router on top of this affordable fan/stand which I purchased on Amazon quite cheap.

https://a.c0/d/o4W1cCa

This combination has vastly improved the situation. This router gets very hot and has a heat dissipation issue which forces it to do a protective reboot when it gets too hot.

[FURRYe38]

Something like this would work as well:

https://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Massive-Adjustable-Notebook-CL-N004-PL20BL/dp/B00IGSATZY/ref=sr_1...

I keep a laptop cooler under any router I put online. Been doing this since 2012. 

We've made NG aware of these recent heat posts. Hopefully NG will fix this in FW though.

[tr4sh80]

Laptop cooling fans are not very powerful nor do they have speed control as the one I posted does. It also holds the router above the surface which a laptop stand does not. You must also enable the exhaust fan on top to "always on" as I stated. I'm at over 2 weeks without a reboot now using this method.

[FURRYe38]

I only posted a sample laptop cooler. Most any laptop cooler will work fine if one needs it. 

The one I have does have speed control and sets the router off the surface. Router does NOT have to be off the surface of the laptop cooler as well. There is plenty of air flow. Also you don't need high speeds for additional air flow, just some additional is all that needed. Based on size of fan as well, a larger fan liked the one I link here carries plenty of air flow at low speeds. Nearly silent as well. 

This is the one I currently have for about 5 years after my first cheapy I got from Walmart, fan blades busted on it:

https://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Massive-Adjustable-Notebook-CL-N004-PL20BL/dp/B00IGSATZY/ref=sr_1...

This has adjustable back legs too if needed. 

How mine is deployed:

[tr4sh80]

I mean off the surface of the stand itself. The fan I posted has feet that actually hold the router above the surface of the fan itself rather then touching an actual platform which creates more dissipation and a buffer zone of space between the fan and router.

[FURRYe38]

Either will work. Ive had zero issues with laptop coolers.

Just as long as there is air flow. 

[beachmiles]

The internal fan setting gets unchecked during a power cycle so this isnt the greatest fix.
192.168.1.1/Thermal_FAN.htm is showing my temperature to be "NaNC" which sure looks like it is not reading the temperature correctly and probably never turning on the fan.

192.168.1.1/debug.htm setting the fan to always be on didnt appear to turn the fan on for me and I tried both not clicking Apply and clicking Apply. When clicking Apply it causes the networking to reset on the router and I was reading in another forum this shouldn't be needed.

I will buy an AC infinity fan in the meantime in another attempt to fix this blasted router.

Curious if people claiming the fan fixed their reset problems also have the 2.4Ghz WMM enabled.

[tr4sh80]

Fan "Always on" started working for me when I reflashed firmware. I did first back up my router settings then reloaded them after firmware reflash. Hope that helps. Also, I left 2.4 wmm enabled.

[DannyLin]

I also have the "Always enable Fan" on and the /Thermal_FAN.htm shows also NaNC too.

Seriously, if this is a heating issue, then it is a hardware defect. Netgear should recall defective ones and maybe offer a better/comparable model, or simply just refund.

I've been working with Netgear's agency in Taiwan and trying to help offer them debug logs after they offered me 2 versions of firmware. So far, it still reboots. It's very hard to reproduce the issue. Sometimes, it reboots once a week, sometimes more than 10 days, and sometimes twice in 10 mins. This is definitely not a product that should be shipped to the market, especially considering its price, this should be a premium router.

[beachmiles]

Today I verified the fan came on when checking the box to always enable fan at 192.168.1.1/debug.htm
The fan doesn't generate much airflow so you have to really be watching when enabling the checkbox otherwise it's pretty hard to tell it's on. If this turns out to be the real base problem then Netgear will need to fix the reading of the temperature sensor so it doesn't read "NaNC" and ensure the fan comes on properly at the right speed. Im guessing this hack to enable the fan to always be on only runs the fan at the slowest setting which may not be enough when the router is under a heavy system load.

[tr4sh80]

You can force the fan speed at the 192.168.1.1/Thermal_Fan.htm page I believe. More importantly though get a fan like the one I linked to earlier to place under the router as a cool air intake.

[FURRYe38]

Thanks for the additional find info. I've passed this on to NG for review in hopes this can be corrected soon. No idea when. For now, enable the fan on the debug page and see if it's enough to keep the router cooler. If not, try one of the external fan cooling suggestions. I personally keep a laptop cooler fan under any router I put online 24/7 regardless if the router has a built in fan or not. Saves HW life from heat damage over time. 

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@beachmiles wrote:
Today I verified the fan came on when checking the box to always enable fan at 192.168.1.1/debug.htm
The fan doesn't generate much airflow so you have to really be watching when enabling the checkbox otherwise it's pretty hard to tell it's on. If this turns out to be the real base problem then Netgear will need to fix the reading of the temperature sensor so it doesn't read "NaNC" and ensure the fan comes on properly at the right speed. Im guessing this hack to enable the fan to always be on only runs the fan at the slowest setting which may not be enough when the router is under a heavy system load.

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[nestorsamelo]

Today I got another reboot after I turned on the fan always on via debug.htm.

I do not have any additional fan, but I am using a sine wave UPS.

Also, I do have WMM enabled for both 2.4 and 5 GHz.

After the reboot, it failed to synchronize NTP with Netgear NTP server, and the logs didn't have a timestamp. After I changed the NTP server to pool.ntp.org, it synchronized, and then the timestamps appeared in the log.

[FURRYe38]

See how well it runs with the NTP change. If it still reboots you may need additional cooling. 

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@nestorsamelo wrote:

Today I got another reboot after I turned on the fan always on via debug.htm.

I do not have any additional fan, but I am using a sine wave UPS.

Also, I do have WMM enabled for both 2.4 and 5 GHz.

After the reboot, it failed to synchronize NTP with Netgear NTP server, and the logs didn't have a timestamp. After I changed the NTP server to pool.ntp.org, it synchronized, and then the timestamps appeared in the log.

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[M-K-C]

Can you share the offered 2 versions of firmware Netgear send to you ???

[M-K-C]

Get 400 Incorrect request when I will change fanspeed after enable fan always on.
Any fix to this???

[tr4sh80]

Don't hit apply after turning fan on. Not necessary and it reboots router

[UnKnOwN-SiA · Accepted solution]

Installed beta firmware 1.2.3.33 on it and then turn fan on in debug.htm. Just check mark it , don’t click on apply.
And bought a cool pad from amazon $10 . 4 days in a row no restart and router works perfect.

Laptop Cooling Pad，ESGAMING Laptop Cooling Stand Laptop Cooler 10-15.6 Inch 2 USB Ports 2 Fans with Blue LEDs https://a.co/d/dXVVnxw

[nestorsamelo]

Today the problem got much worse. Instead of a reboot every few days, it started rebooting every few minutes (around 15 min).

The change was likely a new device streaming to another, both connected wirelessly. On top of that, my WAN speed went from 600 Mbps to 900 Mbps. This goes to support overheating as root cause. CPU utilization is a noticeable higher, but still under 15%.

The fan is already "always on" under debug.htm. Thermal_FAN.htm shows sensor temperature as "NaNC."

Now I turned off 2.4 GHz WMM hoping for an improvement on how frequently the reboots happen, and I also bought a FAN (140 mm, USB) that will arrive in a couple days. 

[tr4sh80]

The 140mm AC infinity fan I posted has helped me immensely. Hopefully we get a firmware fix soon that deals with the heat issue...but the fan has greatly improved performance for me.

[Kidhack]

So now with the fan always on (it makes a weird sound now), a laptop cooling pad, and the beta firmware update, it still drops every few days, but at least it auto resets rather than me having to power cycle like I used to.

[Oldtome]

I bought a usb fan and place on the router.  It did slow the reboots but does not stop the reboots.  The reboots dropped from 3-10 per hour to 6-10 per day.  Heat is a situation, but it is not resolved.  

[nestorsamelo]

I disabled 2.4 GHz WMM, enabled fan always on in debug.htm, put a 140 mm fan on top of it, and it still reboots.

After the reboot, the fan always on setting is disabled, and the internal fan stops. Has anyone else noticed that?

It is also pretty reproducible. I have a Tablo DVR via wireless (because of antenna location and no wiring there), and the router reboots after a few minutes streaming (HD 1080 8 Mbps) from the DVR to a TV wired to it.

I just can't understand why Netgear is not capable of releasing a new firmware to address obvious issues like the fan speed, sensor temperature, etc.

[milasido]

Because it's just a temporary solution. They probably know what caused this thing cuz it's already known for long long time. They just couldnt do anything with just software updates. I guess the main problem is hardware. Netgear just wants to take this longer and slower until we giving up and buy the new one. Shame on NG

[FURRYe38]

Try putting the fan under the router, not on top. Have the fan blow air in the direction from the bottom to the top. 

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@nestorsamelo wrote:

I disabled 2.4 GHz WMM, enabled fan always on in debug.htm, put a 140 mm fan on top of it, and it still reboots.

After the reboot, the fan always on setting is disabled, and the internal fan stops. Has anyone else noticed that?

It is also pretty reproducible. I have a Tablo DVR via wireless (because of antenna location and no wiring there), and the router reboots after a few minutes streaming (HD 1080 8 Mbps) from the DVR to a TV wired to it.

I just can't understand why Netgear is not capable of releasing a new firmware to address obvious issues like the fan speed, sensor temperature, etc.

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