D7000v2 LAN dies

[hrdubwd]

Since the last firmware update (to V1.0.0.56_1.0.1) all LAN connections drop out on abouit a weekly basis.  All lights stay normal.

I tried setting 2.4 GHz to Channel 6, and 5 GHz to a high channel, as suggested elsewhere, but no change sticks!  It always reverts to Auto on both. 

Elsewhere, it says "'factory' reset after firmware update": this is NOT good as all settings are lost.  Does this mean that restore from backup is required after every update? How tedious.

This kit used to be reliable, now I am getting annoyed.

[michaelkenward]

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@hrdubwd wrote:

Since the last firmware update (to V1.0.0.56_1.0.1) all LAN connections drop out on abouit a weekly basis.  All lights stay normal.

I tried setting 2.4 GHz to Channel 6, and 5 GHz to a high channel, as suggested elsewhere, but no change sticks!  It always reverts to Auto on both. 

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Changing wifi channels isn't likely to do much for wired connections.

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@hrdubwd wrote:

Does this mean that restore from backup is required after every update?

It does not mean that. Restoring from a backup is not advised.

You can backup your settings before you reset and restore them. But that may just bring back the fault. Then again, at least you will know if the reset fixed the problem.

You can revert to previous firmware to see if that repairs your modem/router.

By the way, it may not matter, but you have posted your message in the section of this community given over to Nighthawk WiFi Routers. (This is easily done, given Netgear's impenetrable community structure.)

If you need more help, you might get better and quicker replies, and find other answers, over in the appropriate section for your device:

DSL Modems & Routers

No need to repost there, unless you want to – that will just clutter up the place with duplicated messages – but you might find advice related to your hardware.

I have asked the Netgear moderator to move your message.

[hrdubwd]

Many thanks for the reply.

> Changing wifi channels isn't likely to do much for wired connections.

As I would have thought, but it was the only immediate thing to try, it seemed.  But the inability to change anything was odd.  No matter.

> Restoring from a backup is not advised.

I would have used a backup older than the update, but an odd remark, no?

> You can revert to previous firmware to see if that repairs your modem/router.

Ah ... That I wondered, but how?

>  ... Netgear's impenetrable community structure. ... move your message.

I did struggle!  Thanks.

Looking at the suggested area, there do seem to be a number of similar problems being reported. Netgear needs to address this.

What seems to be common is that few have the ability to diagnose at all.  I use Wireless Network Watcher (https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wireless_network_watcher.html) for a continuous display on a side screen of the status of all my kit on the LAN (not just wireless).  I can see that when the router goes down, everything is "disconnected", not just the browser's access to the web.  My NIC stays live, and the router, but absolutely nothing works - as though all physically disconnected or off.  It all comes back on a reboot of the router.  It would appear to have nothing to do with this PC or anything else on the LAN - my system has not changed since the last firmware update, or for a while before that.  I doubt a Windows update could be involved, but nothing was done after the firmware change anyway.

If I am away, and I get the SMS report from one system that access has been lost (after 30 min), how do I reboot the router remotely?  My system needs to stay live.

Thanks again.

BWD

[hrdubwd]

Why have I been notified of a reply that is a solution to the problem?  There is nothing new here.

[michaelkenward]

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@hrdubwd wrote:

Why have I been notified of a reply that is a solution to the problem?  There is nothing new here.

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Nothing here marked as a solution either. Could it have been a different discussion?

[hrdubwd]

No, it specifically pointed to this thread (in fact, I had two such messages, identical!).

[hrdubwd]

It has just done it again!  Reboot required.

[antinode]

> [...] all LAN connections drop out on abouit a weekly basis.

   By "LAN", do you mean only "wired" (or are you using the term
properly)?

> [...] All lights stay normal.

   Define "normal".  "All"?  Activity?  Color?

> Elsewhere, it says [...]

   "Elsewhere" is a very big place.

   If your problem is corrupt settings, then restoring old settings
could restore old problems.

   I don't know about the D7000v2, but on my D7000[v1], the data in the
saved-settings file have changed hardly at all over many firmware
versions, so I would expect restoring an old one to cause no trouble.

> This kit used to be reliable, now I am getting annoyed.

   If older firmware doesn't help, then at least one fellow claims to
have found (and solved) a hardware problem which might be relevant:

      https://community.netgear.com/t5/x/x/m-p/1856576

> Why have I been notified of a reply that is a solution to the problem?
> There is nothing new here.

   Recurring, known problem.  See, for example:

      https://community.netgear.com/t5/x/x/m-p/1701595
      https://community.netgear.com/t5/x/x/m-p/1733037
      https://community.netgear.com/t5/x/x/m-p/1749156
      https://community.netgear.com/t5/x/x/m-p/1764458
      https://community.netgear.com/t5/x/x/m-p/1766986
      https://community.netgear.com/t5/x/x/m-p/1667522#M519

[hrdubwd]

Thanks for the reply.

It did it again, last night, about 9 hours after the previous.  There is nothing obvious going on, the location is very stable

LAN: I hope properly - everything failed.

Lights:  all on, white (except port 2, which is amber, always), but none flickering when the fail occurs.

Elsewhere: on this site

So, how I do I revert to a previous firmware version?

Disassemble?  But even that does not appear to be definitive, judging by the follow up.

(That said, the device is rather warm on the outside, but not obviously unduly so.)

Solution: definitely a fault in the system, then.

[hrdubwd]

Just as I managed to send that last, it went down again.  All LAN connections lost.   This time I waited a bit and watched the device list on Wireless Network Watcher (for an hour).  Some devices came and went, but no obvious pattern for location or connection: Wifi, ethernet over mains, through local switches - but not everything on the same branch, and most were intermittent, now up, now down.  Local wifi traffic indicated by blinking (both channels), but definitely no internet connection.

I disconnected the DSL cable: Internet and DSL lights went off.  Reconnect DSL: DSL light flashes, but Internet never comes back

Power cycle the router: all come back in short order, as per usual.  Internet working.  Note: no time for the device to cool down (appreciably), so the heat sink problem seems unlikely.  (Room temp: 23 °C)  Device on a wall, not covered, 8" from the desk top: no airflow impediment.

[michaelkenward]

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@hrdubwd wrote:

So, how I do I revert to a previous firmware version?

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If you visit the support pages:

Support | NETGEAR

you can feed in the model number and find all the documentation for your hardware.

There is a whole library there of earlier firmware. To install it read the manual and its instructions for manually installing firmware.

Factory reset the thing and do not reload saved settings.

[antinode]

> Elsewhere: on this site

   Thanks.  I'll just look at everything "on this site", then.

> So, how I do I revert to a previous firmware version?

   Visit http://netgear.com/support , put in your model number, and look
for Downloads.  (For older versions, under Firmware and Software
Downloads, look for "View Previous Versions".)  Find the kit(s).
Download the kit(s) you want.  Read the "Release Notes" file for
instructions.

> Disassemble? But even that does not appear to be definitive, judging
> by the follow up. [...]

   Eh?  My complaint about that post was that it was labeled "D7000"
(implying "D7000[v1]") when it applied to (only) the D7000v2.

> (That said, the device is rather warm on the outside, but not
> obviously unduly so.)

   If the CPU heat sink were not attached well, then the CPU would reach
a higher temperature (without generating more heat).  If I suspected a
thermal problem, then, as a test, I'd direct a small fan (from some junk
computer) at the thing to push some air through it.  If that helped,
then I'd look inside.

> Solution: definitely a fault in the system, then.

   That's a "Solution"?

[hrdubwd]

OK, thanks.  Reverted to D7000v2-V1.0.0.53_1.0.2.  We'll see what happens.

I have not reset at this point, but I have made a screen shot of all relevant pages.

One oddity: an NTP connection seems never to have been made to the default - it was running as if 2003!  (And it was bought, of course, much more recently that that.)  I have now found a server that works, and the clock has been corrected. 

Oddly, too: traffic meter does not work: thwe setting does not stick.  Ho hum.

Thanks again.

[hrdubwd]

Elsewhere: a simple search for similar problems is all.  Nothing that I could see had been answered satisfactorily.  Putting in a long list of unhelpful links did not seem to be worthwhile

Disassemble: whichever model was involved, there is no sensible solution there.  I shall try to find a fan to use should the condition reoccur withe replaced firmware.  Even so, one would expect overheating to occur on hot days; it did not last summer.  All has occurred for me (at least) after the last firmware update.  I have not time to analyse all similar reports.

Solution: plainly, getting "you have a solution" message is nonsense when there is no such posting.  That is a system problem.

I apologize if my telegraphic keyword approach has confused you.

[hrdubwd]

Well, after the firmware reversion, the failure occurred again after a few hours, only this time most of the LAN stayed up, just internet connection lost.

PC and router rebooted.  The next step will be factory reset if it happens again.

[hrdubwd]

Soon after the last ...

failed, all devices down
reboot: OK
failed two hours later,
apply fan ... in a short time, local devices all good - but no internet.
unplug DSL line, replug: wait ... Internet and DSL lights >> solid white - but no internet!
Tried to connect to Broadband via "Network and Sharing Centre", failed, but no problem detected.
Tried that again, error 813 - already connected! (still not working, at any rate)
Reboot router - all good.

The PC, but not other connections to the router, were then off for 4 days: no failure in that time - I presume now to be due to the fact that the load on the device was minimal.

Since then, I have had the fan on it continuously. The case is clearly a lot cooler.  No failure in 11 days.  It would appear that inadequate cooling is the proximate cause.

Some further testing will be undertaken.

[hrdubwd]

I used a compressed air gun to blow through all vents.  No obvious dust emerged.  I then switched the fan off.  Within a couple of hours it had failed again.

Reboot, fan on.  It has now been up for a week without trouble.  This really does look like a problem with overheating.  There is clearly something seriously wrong, and this is a change all of a sudden - has something come adrift, a heatsink?  At some stage it is going to have to be opened.  Not impressed.

Firmware now updated again (V1.0.0.56_1.0.1). 

[hrdubwd]

Well, well.  Less than a day after the firmware update, with the fan on the whole time and the box very cool - it failed again!

This seems to be plain evidence of a a problem with the firmware.  I shall leave it for further testing as-is, just to be sure, but this is not looking good.

[hrdubwd]

Since my last, it has run without incident, with a dedicated equipment cooling fan attached, for more than a month.  Now, it has failed again - everything down.  It would appear that is not a cooling problem.  Now what?