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Re: WN2000RPT - Internet Access Keeps Dropping

stevecman
Aspirant

Re: WN2000RPT - Internet Access Keeps Dropping

I purchased my WN2000RPT in April 2011 and it worked great for the first 6 months after which I experienced increasing disconnects requiring a manual rest (by turning the unit off and back on). After reading all 18 pages of the forum thread, and not being technically inclined, I decided to try a firmware update. If that didn't solve the problem, I planned to toss the unit and get another brand.

I updated the firmware to Version 1.01.24NA about 10 days ago and since that time I have had ZERO disconnects and speeds, both up and down, are great.

As a non-tech person, I had been very disappointed with the complexity of set-up and maintenance of D-Link and Linksys wi-fi products and have found Netgear to be the most user-friendly, with Belkin a close second.

From the comments on the forum, it appears there is a great deal of frustration that Netgear was not forthcoming on what the issues were with the WN2000RPT or that any effort was being made to address them.

Now that the .24 firmware is installed, my WN2000RPT is working great and my faith in Netgear has been restored. I hope those reading this message are as sucessful!
Message 176 of 193
vinceroebuck
Apprentice

Re: WN2000RPT - Internet Access Keeps Dropping

hey stevecman,
glad you got it going with the latest update. since my install i have had no problems with mine either.have taken it on trips to rv parks where the wifi signal was marginal and used the rpter on that system with no problems. keep us posted here on this site. vince.
Message 177 of 193
qbond
Aspirant

Re: WN2000RPT - Internet Access Keeps Dropping

I use one of these range extenders as an aerial to pick up my wireless in the house, and it is then wired to my main computer. I have had it about a year. It drops out all the time and then sometimes, but not all times, reconnects to the wireless signal. My laptop in the same room has no problem picking up the original wireless signal; shows 4 or 5 (out of 5) bars of signal strength all the time. It's obvious that the Netgear thing, which is supposed to pick up a signal, can't even pick up what my laptop can do all the time.
Now, the Netgear item used to drop out every hour or so but now drops out every 5 minutes. Or less. I am forever switching it off and on again and it works for a few minutes and then drops out. Again. It's driving me crazy.

I gather from the numerous posts that I am not the only one with this problem.
Any suggestions welcome.
Message 178 of 193
scoob
Aspirant

Re: WN2000RPT - Internet Access Keeps Dropping

I have 3 of these devices, I've updated their firmware, connected them to several streaming devices in the house, and both my DSL and Cable Modem connections from Qwest and MediaCom. This problem persists. I purchased these devices to be used as bridges for non-wireless streaming video devices. It will work fine streaming Netflix for about a half an hour or so and then will drop connection with the router. It appears in the Netgear WNDR3700 router log as the device is providing invalid security at the time stamp when it drops the connection. Obviously the correct key has been loaded into the Netgear devices, the problem appears with the ability of the Netgear WN2000RPT to maintain its connection.

Many of the post in this thread expressed by the users remind me of the problems I'm experiences with the extender.

When will Netgear resolve this issue properly? Will there have to be a class action case eventually to get this resolved?
Message 179 of 193
EdwardJ
Aspirant

Re: WN2000RPT - Internet Access Keeps Dropping

I have the exact same issue. I am at my end here with all these constant drops. Netgear, from my view, has shown no effort to address this issue. I am currently looking for a new wireless extender at this point in time. Netgear has lost me as a customer for sure.
Message 180 of 193
Edwe
Novice

Re: WN2000RPT - Internet Access Keeps Dropping

I have strugled a long time now, this appear to be a wery bad product.
Using a WNDR3700 that I want to extend with the WN2000RPT (do not now if ver 1 or 2). Internet ceeps droping, peering them again with WPS works until next drop.
We inly use phones, Ipad and sometime a notebook so its minimal trafic.

Werry unhapy with Nutgear at the moment 😞
Message 181 of 193
speedin
Aspirant

Re: WN2000RPT - Internet Access Keeps Dropping

Edwe wrote:
I have strugled a long time now, this appear to be a wery bad product.
Using a WNDR3700 that I want to extend with the WN2000RPT (do not now if ver 1 or 2). Internet ceeps droping, peering them again with WPS works until next drop.
We inly use phones, Ipad and sometime a notebook so its minimal trafic.

Werry unhapy with Nutgear at the moment 😞


I have the same setup with a WNDR3700 and WN2000RPT, and the same problems with the extender dropping out --> restarting the extender --> working for some hours and then drop out again.

I have just now updated the FW from V1.0.1.20 to V1.0.1.24, and i hope this helps... will report back.
Message 182 of 193
chruezoo
Aspirant

Re: WN2000RPT - Internet Access Keeps Dropping

same problem here. And, in addition, firmware upgrade is not working ("error firmware region"), altough it is for the right rpt-version (v1) and appropriate region (outside NA).

desesperating...
Message 183 of 193
scoob
Aspirant

Re: WN2000RPT - Internet Access Keeps Dropping

UPDATE TO MY EARLIER POST

Well I sent all three of my routers in to Netgear to swap out for refurbished ones. All three exhibit the same exact problem behavior with firmware versions 20 and 24 upon being returned to me.

However, after testing them, I started to play around with the settings on my WNR3700 router. Instead of setting the WNR3700 to "auto", I set the WNR3700 to a specific channel.

Previously when the extender would connect to the router (with router set to channel as "auto") the extender would indicate the current channel as "2 auto".

So in this case I set the WNR3700 to specifically use channel 3. THEN, I reconnected the extender to the WNR3700 wirelessly (re-enter security pass phrase and all) and the extender then displayed the channel for its connection as (3)p + (7)s (or something like that). Re-establishing the connection with the router (re-entering the pass key for the extender) is crucial as I don't think the channel setting in the extender will adjust otherwise.

At any rate, this attempt also dropped connections when using firmware builds 20 and 24. HOWEVER, I then rolled the firmware back all the way to version 1.0.0.2 and retried the stress test (transferring about 50 Gb wirelessly through the extender usually generates the error in about 30 min to 60 min). However, this time with WNR3700 set to channel 3 (not auto) and extender firmware 1.0.0.2 I've been able to continuously stream now for two separate sessions for several hours without a drop in connection.

Long story short. If you are having problems you may try these steps:

1) Make sure your router is NOT set to auto select a channel and take note of which channel you set the router to use.
2) Re-setup your extender with the router (re-establish connection with the router and re-enter the network key etc.)
3) Verify that the channel the extender says it is using is the one you setup with your router (and that it doesn't say "auto")
4) Roll back the firmware version for your extender to version 1.0.0.2

This particular set of steps seems to be working fairly well for me.

It appears that whatever they claim to have fixed in extender firmware version 1.0.1.24 (regarding dropping connections) in fact doesn't resolve all the drop connection issues.

Otherwise, I've noticed there are several other range extenders on the market out there (I've seen range extenders from Belkin and Cisco/Linksys) which might be more robust.

Good Luck, (btw - I'll update again if I prove that the fix above in fact is not a valid fix after several days of testing).
Message 184 of 193
scoob
Aspirant

Re: WN2000RPT - Internet Access Keeps Dropping

Just for clarification on the above for a few things:

1) I did not send routers back for refurbishment, it was the WN2000RPT extenders
2) I also have a static IP address setup in the router and extender (i.e. the extender is not set to receive a different IP address evertime it connects to my router.

Finally, after continued testing it appears the extender is stable (able to maintain connection at continuous data transfer for periods of several hours) and does not appear to drop connection any more applying the 4 step remedy above. That is, using firmware version 1.0.0.2 and ensuring that the router doesn't have auto-channel selection configured.
Message 185 of 193
deedward9
Aspirant

Re: WN2000RPT - Internet Access Keeps Dropping

In reply to Scoob.

I've tried just about everything else on this forum to try to get a stable and usable connection out of this device.

Your advice to roll back to the initial firmware release has done more for me than anything else.

Since installing it, I've had a good connection, with a green light and good speed. I was able to stream Netflix via this for a bit without problems.

I do have my primary router locked on channel 9 which is the clearest channel in my area, with WPA AES. DHCP is turned off on the extender.

I'll update the forum any further if I notice
Message 186 of 193
deedward9
Aspirant

Re: WN2000RPT - Internet Access Keeps Dropping

So, I did find something that seemed to have really made a difference in my connectivity.

On my DLink Dir-655 under wireless is a setting to change WPA mode, with the settings of Auto, WPA, or WPA2.

I changed mine from AUTO to WPA2 and have yet to again have a connection issue.

Caveat, I did place the repeater on an outlet timer that resets it once a day at 4am. But, without the change above, I was still continuing to have connection issues.
Message 187 of 193
weezie
Aspirant

Re: WN2000RPT - Internet Access Keeps Dropping

same here but my light stays green but i lose internet connection. i have tried everything that i can find on the web but nothing works. i downloaded the new firmware and it seems worse. this is the second and last netgear product i have bought. im using my verizon jetpack with the wn2000rtp v2 to use wyfi to ethernet but pc loses conect very quickly but my xbox 360 runs about 15 mins. this really sucks because i have 6 gb a month and ive used 2 gb just to figure this out.

i feel since netgear hasnt reponded they dont know whats the problem. well netgear heres your problem TEST YOUR PRODUCT BEFORE ADVERTISE AND SELL YOUR PRODUCT.

i really feel shafted if this doesnt get fixed soon then i want my money back. I PAYED FOR IT AND NOW I AM STILL PAYING FOR IT WITH TRING TO FIX IT.

it says in exacyt words from the box THIS PRODUCT HAS BEEN TESTED FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE AND THIS PRODUCT OR IT COMPONENTS MAY HAVE BEEN RECYCLED. WHAT WAS THE TEST A 10 SECOND TEST!? THAT CAN BE CONSIDERED ADVERTISEMENT WHICH IS FALSE AND ILLEGAL. DO I NEED TO TAKE LEGAL ACTION?
Message 188 of 193
mrdotson
Aspirant

Re: WN2000RPT - Internet Access Keeps Dropping

Ondart wrote:
I have resolved this issue. My Netgear WN2000RPT Bridge would disconnect randomly from my DLink DGL-4500 Wireless Router. The lights on the bridge always stayed green when this happened and it would occur about every hour more or less. All wireless and wired devices on the bridge would still be able to ping each other but no internet access was available. All wireless and wired devices on the Netgear router could ping each other and could access the Internet. The connection between the bridge and the router was the problem.

Looking at the router statistics, i was able to tell that the bridge MAC address was registered properly on the router as an active connection but the connection was not functional. I decided to start changing the Wireless Channels, there are 12 channels in the 2.4 GHz band for 802.11N. I started with channel 1 and I was suddenly able to ping a device on the bridge. I began with copying a 100MB file over the bridge to the remote device. Within 5 min, the connection would drop. I kept changing the channel until the bridge stopped disconnecting. I ended up setting the router to "Auto Channel Scan". This also worked so I left it at that. It's been up 24 hours now with heavy traffic over the bridge and no drops.

I found another problem and this is likely the root cause. I have an RF Logitech MX mouse and RF keyboard. Mousing around was intermittently jerky and keys would not consistently function properly when heavy traffic, i.e. copying a 100MB file over the bridge, was performed. I changed the router to each of the 12 channels on the 2.4GHz band with no change. When the traffic was low from the router to the bridge, the keyboard and mouse issues would go away. So i have a conflict on the 2.4 GHz band and the darn Logitech RF devices are not channel configurable unfortunately. I don't want to replace my $180 keyboard/mouse combo so I am not sure what to do about it yet.

Here are a few other things I did during troubleshooting that may also be of some help:
- Turn off DHCP on the Bridge (http://www.mywifiext.net/cgi-bin/hidden_dhcpd.html)
- Configure the Bridge with a Static IP address, i.e. 192.168.0.10.
- Change the wireless range on the Router to something like 192.168.0.100 - 192.168.0.200 for DHCP clients and set the Bridge to use a range of 192.168.0.201 - 192.168.0.254. This will prevent DHCP IP conflicts.
- Hard code devices that you want to have the same IP addresses in the lower range on the router, i.e. 291.168.0.2 - 192.168.0.99 for example.

Anyway, I struggled with all this and these changes resolved my problems. I hope this can help others with the same issue.

Got any ideas about my RF keyboard conflict? Please speak up!

Joe

This posting was so helpful. By the time I realized how difficult it was to get my bridge to work with my home network, the Staples return period had expired. So I was stuck with having to make the WN2000RPT bridge work or buy another one. Setting the static IPs was the key. Also, my security settings on my router was causing the initial problem with the broadcast range. When I changed my security settings on the router so that it was set for AES and TKIP, the range doubled immediately. However, my laptop, which I purchased back in 2005 or 2006, wouldn't connect with those router security settings. I reserved the first 100 IP addresses in the router and reserved the next 50 IPs in the bridge. I also assigned the bridge a static IP of ....10. I also change the security settings on the bridge so that the laptop could connect to it. By changing the settings, I was able to move the bridge to the ideal location, my living room, where I had the worst connection problem (about 1 to 2 bars with original router settings), connect my laptop at a speed of 54 to 48 Mbps to the bridge, and use the bridge Ethernet ports to hookup my DirecTV DVR and my Blu Ray device. Life is finally good. It has been more than 24 hours and none of the problems I was getting: Unable to connect laptop to bridge or router when security settings were optimal for wireless transmissions and unable to continually stream videos through Netflix without interruptions. Also, I connected my wireless gaming controller to my other DirecTV console and the bridge, and the stupid can no longer access playlist and DirecTV no longer connected to Internet messages stopped. So far, I'm in wireless heaven! Thank you so much!
Message 189 of 193
ZanderMichaelJa
Aspirant

Re: WN2000RPT - Internet Access Keeps Dropping

scoob wrote:
UPDATE TO MY EARLIER POST

Well I sent all three of my routers in to Netgear to swap out for refurbished ones. All three exhibit the same exact problem behavior with firmware versions 20 and 24 upon being returned to me.

However, after testing them, I started to play around with the settings on my WNR3700 router. Instead of setting the WNR3700 to "auto", I set the WNR3700 to a specific channel.

Previously when the extender would connect to the router (with router set to channel as "auto") the extender would indicate the current channel as "2 auto".

So in this case I set the WNR3700 to specifically use channel 3. THEN, I reconnected the extender to the WNR3700 wirelessly (re-enter security pass phrase and all) and the extender then displayed the channel for its connection as (3)p + (7)s (or something like that). Re-establishing the connection with the router (re-entering the pass key for the extender) is crucial as I don't think the channel setting in the extender will adjust otherwise.

At any rate, this attempt also dropped connections when using firmware builds 20 and 24. HOWEVER, I then rolled the firmware back all the way to version 1.0.0.2 and retried the stress test (transferring about 50 Gb wirelessly through the extender usually generates the error in about 30 min to 60 min). However, this time with WNR3700 set to channel 3 (not auto) and extender firmware 1.0.0.2 I've been able to continuously stream now for two separate sessions for several hours without a drop in connection.

Long story short. If you are having problems you may try these steps:

1) Make sure your router is NOT set to auto select a channel and take note of which channel you set the router to use.
2) Re-setup your extender with the router (re-establish connection with the router and re-enter the network key etc.)
3) Verify that the channel the extender says it is using is the one you setup with your router (and that it doesn't say "auto")
4) Roll back the firmware version for your extender to version 1.0.0.2

This particular set of steps seems to be working fairly well for me.

It appears that whatever they claim to have fixed in extender firmware version 1.0.1.24 (regarding dropping connections) in fact doesn't resolve all the drop connection issues.

Otherwise, I've noticed there are several other range extenders on the market out there (I've seen range extenders from Belkin and Cisco/Linksys) which might be more robust.

Good Luck, (btw - I'll update again if I prove that the fix above in fact is not a valid fix after several days of testing).

Had to register to just ask you this question as I'm having the same problem as everyone else!
For step 4 you say to downgrade the software to the initial release software but I cannot find it anywhere online - My model is WN2000RPTv2 but I can only find firmware for v1 😞
Is there any chance you could please link me to the firmware if you know where to find it?
Thank you so much 🙂
Message 190 of 193
glingglo
Novice

Re: WN2000RPT - Internet Access Keeps Dropping

Hi Guys,

I had the same problem. I thought I will throw it in the thrash. But finally I found solution. For first: I had this problem mainly during movie playback from my Synology NAS (NFS). Solution was/is Port Forwarding: I added manually all relevant NFS port (111, 2049, 892) in my Netgear Router (WNDR 3700 - port forwarding category) for the NAS IP. And now all is smooth without the interrupting for about 4 months 🙂 So try to add your protocol ports in the port forwarding option of your router.
Message 191 of 193
glingglo
Novice

Re: WN2000RPT - Internet Access Keeps Dropping

Hi Guys,

I had the same problem. I thought I will throw it in the thrash. But finally I found solution. For first: I had this problem mainly during movie playback from my Synology NAS (NFS). Solution was/is Port Forwarding: I added manually all relevant NFS port (111, 2049, 892) in my Netgear Router (WNDR 3700 - port forwarding category) for the NAS IP. And now all is smooth without the interrupting for about 4 months 🙂 So try to add your protocol ports in the port forwarding option of your router.
Message 192 of 193
x0a
Initiate
Initiate

Re: WN2000RPT - Internet Access Keeps Dropping

I've installed DD-WRT on this router (alternative firmware for those who don't know) and I still have a problem with internet access dropping. Usually after a day of stable connection.

Specifically, the router completely freezes for about a minute at a time (completely unresponsive, even the configuration page/pings hang). Eventually it'll unfreeze and internet connectivity will resume. Until it freezes again. Usually physically rebooting the router staves off disconnection problems for about a day til it starts hanging again. And once it starts doing that, it'll continue to do it every 5 minutes or so until I physically restart it. Sometimes (but not always), soft rebooting (through the firmware) fixes the problem too.

I'm guessing that netgear's firmware deals with this apparent freezing by automatically rebooting the router (which is why the lights flash for most of you when this happens).

Turns out that DD-WRT developers have had trouble with this "bug" for YEARS and they still haven't figured it out, in addition to a few other Netgear routers.

This leads me to believe that the problem is hardware and not software.
Message 193 of 193
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