Nighthawk A1900 R6900v2 loosing connection with devices

[Reggietaylor]

Currently running a Nighthawk AC1900 R6900v2 Router with Firmware Version
V1.2.0.62_1.0.1

I have recently started having issues with connected devices loosing connection to the router. The list is long with the devices that are connected. 

1 laptop, 2 iphones, 1 PVR 4 camera system (cat5 connection), 3 wireless cameras, probably a half dozen smart plugs, two smart switches, and 4 smart bulbs, 3 firesticks, and 3 Alexa's. Netgear Genie says I have a total of 35 connected devices.

Recently, I have noticed that we are having issues with our Firesticks and iPhones staying connected. Usually only one Firestick is in use at a time. The unused ones are powered down due to being powered by the USB port on the TV itself. 

All I have to do is reboot my router and the problem is solved for a couple of days. The strange thing is, we have a range extender in our kitchen so we can have Wifi in our shop. When one of our Firesticks won't connect to the router itself, it will connect to the extender. It's actually farther from the TV than the router itself. Although the signal is weak, we can connect to it when we can't connect to the router itself. 

Can anyone tell me why this is happening and is there a way to fix the problem with the constant connection problems? Sometimes I have to reboot 2 or 3 times per week. I am not a router or networking guru so please give it to me in simple terms.

Thanks in advance

[plemans]

Are the devices with issues connected to the 2.4ghz or the 5ghz?

What firmware is on the router? 

What modem/gateway is the router connected to? 

When its having issues, what actual error do you get? Does it connect but say "connected, no internet". Does it disconnect from the wifi entirely? What actually happens?

[Reggietaylor]

Currently running on 2.4ghz. Some of the smart plugs and smart bulbs will not work if 5ghz is turned on. I had to turn 5ghz off and leave it off to get them set up and keep them working.

Router Firmware Version V1.2.0.62_1.0.1

Arris TM1602 Cable modem from Spectrum

Here's a summery of what I see happen.

It's mostly with iPhones, laptop, and Firesticks. It also occasionally happens to our Honeywell thermostat too.

We still have the Wifi connection icon on the screen on our iphones but can't connect to any websites through the browser. In our area, we have no cell service and use Wifi calling and internet.

Firesticks simply says "no internet connetion" when trying to connect to directly to the router but will connect fine with the range extender, which is a cheap ZettaGuard I got free from Amazon for a review.

My laptop simply shows a grayed out Wifi indicator with an exclamation mark in it. My laptop does not like the extender. It will connect but the connection is extremely slow. 

When I reboot the router, everything returns to normal. All devices will connect to the router instead of the extender. 

Thanks for taking your time to trying to help me. I am very uneducated when it comes to routers. 

[plemans]

2.4ghz is a very slow network and sensitive to interference. 

If you're devices have 5ghz, that's what they should be connecting to as its significantly faster and suffers from much less interference. 

Your smart devices shouldn't care if they don't have 5ghz whether its on or not. 

And if they do have 5ghz, they're higher end IoT devices and should connect fine. 

I'd try turning 5ghz back on and select a channel in thee 149-165 range for its channels. 

For your 2.4ghz, try manually selecting a channel on either 1-6-11

[plemans]

also, something to keep in mind is Netgears consumer routers are limited to 32 devices per band. If you're having 35, whenever a new device connects, it kicks an old device or different device off. Its why you have the 2 bands so you can put some on each band. Plus with 2.4ghz being slow, its better to just put the IoT devices on it. 

So enable your 5ghz and just disable smart connect on the router. then you can setup the 2 bands separate. that might help the stability a bit. 

[Reggietaylor]

Now that I think about it, I never recall having any problems until I installed the smart dimmer switch on our ceiling fan and the three new smart bulbs in the guest bedroom. The smart dimmer was for me. Just so I don't have to get out of my recliner to slow the fan. The smart bulbs were for the grandkids in our guest bedroom. I like to surprise them sometimes with something new. 

I really appreciate your time and valuable knowledge. I will give your suggestions a shot later today or tomorrow. I am a 12 hour rotating night shift worker. I just got off two consecutive nights from hell. Gonna nap a while then give this a try.

Thanks once again. I will let you know how it goes. 

[plemans]

I hear you. I was on nights for 7 years on the 12 hours shift. Never feels like you're at 100%

[Reggietaylor]

Good morning! Well, After a good nights sleep, I got up this morning and gave Alexa a workout. Yesterday evening, I re-enabled the 5ghz on my router. Being the zombie I was yesterday, from the lack of sleep, I didn't do much more with the router. This morning, I was up before the sun, checking things out. Seems that the Alexa Shows, Echo Dot, Firesticks, and Iphones found their way over to the 5ghz channel. I had Alexa control every device in the house several times. All of the Firesticks were powered up. I was even accessing one of my outdoor PTZ cameras while bossing Alexa around. So far, so good! 

It was a simple thing to do to fix this but I wasn't sure whether I needed to leave the 5ghz off to allow the switches to work or not. I believe you have straightened me out. 

I really appreciate your help. 

Starting Monday, the company I work for is going into a maintenance shutdown until May 1st. Being in maintenance, and seeing that this is my weekend to work, I won't be on my computer too much until May 1st. Twelve hours a night for 12 nights is going to be rough. I will get back to you as soon as I can, to let you know how things are going.

Once again, I really appreciate your help.

Have a great day,

Reggie

[plemans]

hope it was the simple fix of having to many devices on the 2.4ghz band. 

You'll see a lot better performance on the 5ghz band. I usually make sure to have all higher throughput devices on my 5ghz if i can. 

[Reggietaylor]

Well, so far so good. Everything is working perfectly. IPhones, iPad, and Firesticks are all on 5ghz and working like a champ. All the other devices are still working correctly as well. 

I really do appreciate your help.

Have a great day,

Reggie