Re: My R6020 Router Disconnects Too Often from Internet
I have been teaching online for 8 years.
In 8/2018, I bought a R6020 router to replace my old router. About 6 months ago, it started dropping the WiFi signal. After researching the issue, I learned I needed to update the firmware which I did. That solved the issue for about a month, and then it started again. The firmware has been and still is up-to-date.
When the signal drops, it will drop from 15-45 seconds and come back in only do repeat this about every 2-3 minutes for a span of 5-10 minutes. It will stop for a little bit and start again. It is very inconvenient because it happens in the middle of my classes while teaching.
My signal is transferring about 44-60 mbps while I am teaching and when the signal drops it will go to 2000, 3000, 4000, up to 6000 mbps.
Since I am teaching, I cannot resolve any issues during that time. However, the modem is still working properly. When I connect to my internet account, all information shows everything is on and working well, and there are no outages.
I eventually need to change to my MiFi unit or tether to the WiFi on my cell phone. Given I can teach on my portable devices and the fact that I have taught for years, I do not consider the actual internet bandwidth to be an issue since this is a recent issue.
Re: My R6020 Router Disconnects Too Often from Internet
Did you reset the router to factory settings after the firmware flash?
New firmware sometimes introduces changes that are not compatible with the old configuration.
So while it isn't guaranteed to fix problems a factory reset is the first thing to try if you have issues with new firmware.
This is a nuisance because you then have to reconfigure the device all over again.
You can backup your settings before you reset and restore them later. But that may just bring back the fault. Then again, at least you will know if the reset fixed the problem.
The factory reset is more a "witchcraft" move than a technically informed solution, but it does seem to fix problems, especially on the wifi front.
How fast is your Internet service? The R6020 is a cheap and basic router.
According to Netgear's manual for this device the LAN and WAN support only 10BASE-T or 100BASE-TX. That makes it slower than many newer Internet services and most modern network hardware. This may not matter to you, but be warned that it will hobble you if you ever sign up for faster Internet. It also slows down whatever is going on in your local network. Newer devices support 1000BASE-TX.
