198.18.1.x address problems

[#1]

Hi Tony, I've had a config update pushed to your device that should help.

[#2]

Quote from: Bob

We haven't pinned down the exact cause Tony, but there are workarounds available if it's inconveniencing you.

Bob,
The workaround is very helpful, but is there any on-going work to "pin down the exact cause" please?

[#3]

Yes there is, although these devices run a pretty dated firmware by today's standards so it wouldn't make sense to invest too much time in the root cause. I suspect it will end up being a decision around whether or not to globally disable the 'feature' if anything.

[#4]

Bob,
That would be a good pragmatic solution, which means a factory reset would not defeat the fix.  The firmware might be old, but only its 20 months or so since the last update was applied to my router.  There the substantial number of these in the user base to consider.  Looking at the routers presently on offer with their user diagnostic inhibitions, I would be disinclined to replace the existing router on contract renewal.  I think one might expect these to remain around for a longtime.

[#5]

Quote from: Bob

Hi Tony, I've had a config update pushed to your device that should help.

Hi Bob
I have waited a few days to check things out fully and I can confirm that this change has sorted out my problems on machines using both Win 81. Pro and Win 10.  Many thanks.  Perhaps it is time for a mass update to all TGN users?

Tony

[#6]

I've just followed instructions in http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,134916.msg1298207.html#msg1298207
...which seems to have done the trick.
Thanks Anotherone and Townman for pointing me to this thread from here:
https://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,146026.0.html
Nonetheless very irritated at having to have spent half-an-hour of my Friday night sorting this out. This really should have been squashed with a mass update as previously suggested - Plusnet customer services please take note if you're reading this thread.
Thanks,
Tom
dick:quote

[#7]

Hi Tom,
Pleased that this solved your problem.  It is rather obscure and you kind of need to know that this problem exists so that you can 'profile' failing circumstances to this specific set of symptoms.  Confusion arises here because the failure is intermittent and whilst it is happening on other devices (if you have any) all appears to be absolutely fine with the internet connection!  Clearly if you only have one device, the internet looks borked until you reset the router, reboot the Pc... until it happens again!!!
Kevin

[#8]

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@bobpullen wrote:
Hi Tony, I've had a config update pushed to your device that should help.

---

I should be very grateful if the same could be done for me, please. A month or so ago I began to worry that my laptop had picked up something nasty because it was sometimes taking a long time to connect to web pages, timing out when trying to collect emails, and so on. Then, for the past couple of weeks in various parts of France, there was no sign of any such trouble. Really brisk performance.. Since returning home yesterday all the old problems are recurring. That does seem to suggest a problem with my router. Please perform your magic and I will let you know whether it helps.

Keith

[#9]

Hello kdiment.

Your best bet if you want this done quickly would be to follow the instructions in this post. If you use telnet, the TG582n doesn't need/won't reboot. If you edit the Config file, when you Restore the edited one, the TG582n will reboot. HTH.

Otherwise it will likely be Monday at the earliest that you are likely to get a response from Plusnet.

[#10]

Thanks, AO, for trying to help.We all have different areas of expertise. I have lots of experience in document production, which does not include the use of telnet or how to flush caches, for example. I have used telnet. I would guess the last time would have been about 30 years ago. I would have to (re)learn quite a bit to do what you suggest. I can wait for Monday. What I do not understand is that if Plusnet recognizes the problem and knows how to fix it, why is it not doing so without having to be asked? I do appreciate your advice, even though at first I am going to try not to take it!

[#11]

The second method does not require telnet, merely that you take a configuration backup file, make a copy of it., edit it and then restore it. The net result is the same.

[#12]

Yes, I am happy to do a little plain-text editing. I disabled WANDownSpoofing in the router which seemed to help a bit, then installed and ran CCleaner (being sure to include the DNS cache) which helped some more. I think the problem is solved. Time will tell.

With thanks,

  - Keith

[#13]

Wow, I just helped a friend track down problems with their connections after plus.net support had apparently told him the problems he was having with websites loading were due to plus.net's traffic shaping/prioritisation and were just to be expected, leading to my friend asking me which ISP he should switch to for him to get reliable web browsing.

Looking through one wireshark dump it was obvious that the router returning a 198.18.1.32 IP address for a DNS lookup was the issue. Googling then finally brought us here.

It's frankly unbelievable that:

a) plus.net support aren't aware of this issue

b) that at least 18 months since this issue was first discovered the routers haven't been updated with a fix / reconfigured to avoid the problem

Joseph

[#14]

Hi Joseph, sounds like you got an ill-informed agent at Plusnet Support.

a) They are/were/should be aware of this issue
b) We were given to understand that everyone who'd had the Firmware upgrade that really brought this issue to the forefront - had been pushed a fix - but note the fix doesn't survive a Factory reset.

It's easy enough to apply the fix via one of two methods - Telnet or Text editing of the Config file.
See this post for details. If you have any queries about the fix, probably best to ask in that thread as the title is more of a "catch-all" for those without detailed knowledge to track it as you have done, and will likely be more helpful to those that read it.

[#15]

Which is the best way in is debatable: it depends on how you assess the problem. Reference to the specific spoofed IP address is not as generic as "DNS Issues".

What is important is that the user found something which helped them after we spent months (indeed a year) profiling the problem before one of the PlusNET heroes personally took an interest out of a last-ditch direct approach.

I now do wonder if using the new tagging feature (on both threads) might help people locate this issue / resolution.

You do though need to understand the problem to find the solution - you need to know that this IP address is duff to know that it might be DNS related. Is does not help that in this scenario, other non Win platforms generally work without issue thus detracting for a DNS issue consideration.