Hello All,
My first post here.
Short version: If the devices such as chrome-casts, tablets ALL show the message that they are connecting to the router but there's no internet. And if only the modem (not router) is unplugged, wait a minute and turned back on and there's internet again then the question is: are the internet drops caused by the modem and not the router?
Long version: Southern California Spectrum high speed cable internet connection was fine since July 2020 (first signup date), and until this March 2021. Since March, random connection drops about 7-8 times a day. It could happen any time. Especially when 2 kids have online classes. The single story wood frame house is small (about 1,200sf) and the router is the living room (middle of the house). Three times Spectrum sent technicians to replace with brand new modems (3 times), brand new cables from the pole to the point of connection box (2 times). They checked the physical condition of the cable from the box to the modem and no damage was found, Signal at the cable end right before the modem is good at the times they check. These checks do not tell if the signal is stable for the whole day, only tell how the signal is strong and stable for the period of time the technicians are at the house.
After 3 times Spectrum do the repair but the random drops still happen, I wonder if my T-mobile AC1900 (a rebrand of Asus RT-AC68U with stock firmware) is causing the problem. I have a brand new Asus single band N300 router laying around so I tried it and still the same problem. I then bought a brand new Asus RT-AC68U and before I connect it to the modem, I followed instructions on here to install the latest release RT-AC68U_386.2_6.zip from SourceForge website (main Merlin download site). The router portal now shows 'Powered by Asuswrt-Merlin' when logged in the portal. Besides the Merlin default settings, I only change a bit such as:
- Enable AiProtection: On.
- Enable QoS: Off.
- WAN IP address: Automatic IP. Enable UPnP: No.
Connect to DNS Server automatically: No. DNS Server 1: 1.1.12, DNS Server 2: 1.0.0.2. Enable Dual WAN: Off. Enable Port Forwarding: Off. SIP Passthrough: Disable. PPPoE Relay: Disable.
- IPv6: disable.
- No VPN.
- Firewall: On. Enable DoS protection: No.
- Wireless mode: Auto. WPA2-AES with tough passwords. 5GHz: Channel bandwidth: 80MHz, control channel 149. 2.4GHz: Channel bandwidth: 20MHz, control channel 11. WPS disable.
More info about the wifi network usage:
- Out of the total 14 devices, only 2 chromecasts casting the videos but never cast more than 2 hours. The rest of the devices are not actively using the internet. No gaming, porn sites, etc. No network usb hard drives connected to the router.
Since the new Merlin powered Asus router connected, the drops reduces to 2-3 times a day (it was like 7-8 times when the Tmobile router was used) when casting Youtube from two chromecasts. But unplug and plug back the modem (without turning off the router) solves the drop problems for a while until the next day. To me, casting Youtube from 2 chromecasts is not a huge task for a Asus Merlin RT-AC68U. The router should have handled the task without drops (my Tmobile router was handling the same tasks last year without problems).
My contract is about to expires in a month or so so I might switch to Frontier Internet (fiber optics instead of cables) to see if the problem still exists.
Any inputs is highly appreciated. Thank you.
My first post here.
Short version: If the devices such as chrome-casts, tablets ALL show the message that they are connecting to the router but there's no internet. And if only the modem (not router) is unplugged, wait a minute and turned back on and there's internet again then the question is: are the internet drops caused by the modem and not the router?
Long version: Southern California Spectrum high speed cable internet connection was fine since July 2020 (first signup date), and until this March 2021. Since March, random connection drops about 7-8 times a day. It could happen any time. Especially when 2 kids have online classes. The single story wood frame house is small (about 1,200sf) and the router is the living room (middle of the house). Three times Spectrum sent technicians to replace with brand new modems (3 times), brand new cables from the pole to the point of connection box (2 times). They checked the physical condition of the cable from the box to the modem and no damage was found, Signal at the cable end right before the modem is good at the times they check. These checks do not tell if the signal is stable for the whole day, only tell how the signal is strong and stable for the period of time the technicians are at the house.
After 3 times Spectrum do the repair but the random drops still happen, I wonder if my T-mobile AC1900 (a rebrand of Asus RT-AC68U with stock firmware) is causing the problem. I have a brand new Asus single band N300 router laying around so I tried it and still the same problem. I then bought a brand new Asus RT-AC68U and before I connect it to the modem, I followed instructions on here to install the latest release RT-AC68U_386.2_6.zip from SourceForge website (main Merlin download site). The router portal now shows 'Powered by Asuswrt-Merlin' when logged in the portal. Besides the Merlin default settings, I only change a bit such as:
- Enable AiProtection: On.
- Enable QoS: Off.
- WAN IP address: Automatic IP. Enable UPnP: No.
Connect to DNS Server automatically: No. DNS Server 1: 1.1.12, DNS Server 2: 1.0.0.2. Enable Dual WAN: Off. Enable Port Forwarding: Off. SIP Passthrough: Disable. PPPoE Relay: Disable.
- IPv6: disable.
- No VPN.
- Firewall: On. Enable DoS protection: No.
- Wireless mode: Auto. WPA2-AES with tough passwords. 5GHz: Channel bandwidth: 80MHz, control channel 149. 2.4GHz: Channel bandwidth: 20MHz, control channel 11. WPS disable.
More info about the wifi network usage:
- Out of the total 14 devices, only 2 chromecasts casting the videos but never cast more than 2 hours. The rest of the devices are not actively using the internet. No gaming, porn sites, etc. No network usb hard drives connected to the router.
Since the new Merlin powered Asus router connected, the drops reduces to 2-3 times a day (it was like 7-8 times when the Tmobile router was used) when casting Youtube from two chromecasts. But unplug and plug back the modem (without turning off the router) solves the drop problems for a while until the next day. To me, casting Youtube from 2 chromecasts is not a huge task for a Asus Merlin RT-AC68U. The router should have handled the task without drops (my Tmobile router was handling the same tasks last year without problems).
My contract is about to expires in a month or so so I might switch to Frontier Internet (fiber optics instead of cables) to see if the problem still exists.
Any inputs is highly appreciated. Thank you.