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Router drop outs, Sonos and DNS

richardjoliver
Newbie
Posts: 1
Registered: ‎03-11-2013

Router drop outs, Sonos and DNS

Over the past few weeks we have been having problems with our music streaming and using iplayer/ITV player. So many drop outs that it becomes frustrating. I assumed it might be our Sonos music system at first but even browsing has too many downtimes. Restarting the router (Thompson) helps for a few hours then the problem returns.
I contacted Sonos about it and they told me "The Sonos Components are all using the DNS set in your router but the Server is unable to find the correct access points for your Music Services because it is unable to resolve the names of the locations. If you have manually setup primary and secondary DNS settings in your router then please change these to other DNS. If you have not made any changes then likely these were done by your ISP ( Internet Service Provider )" Can you advise me there?
I feel this is only half the problem though as other online streaming such as iPlayer and ITV player are similarly affected.
Might there be a problem with our router which is now over 3 years old?
Tried phoning but with an hour wait it was never going to happen.
Hope you can shed some light before the whole family have to resort to cassette tapes again!
3 REPLIES 3
orbrey
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 10,540
Registered: ‎18-07-2007

Re: Router drop outs, Sonos and DNS

Hi there,
The DNS addresses are allocated by us to your router each time it connects to us, I suspect the only way to set your own in there would be to use telnet and access the router's CLI - if you're happy to try that then there's details on how to do it here: http://npr.me.uk/telnet.html#dns (with thanks to community member npr Smiley )
The IP addresses in the quotes in steps 3 and 4 on that table are for openDNS, they're fine to use if you want to though you could also specify ours (212.159.13.49 and 212.159.13.50) or google's (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4).
Hope that helps.
miket
Dabbler
Posts: 14
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎05-11-2013

Re: Router drop outs, Sonos and DNS

I've had similar issues with my TG582n as well.  My layman's theory (from a position of ignorance) is that when a number of devices are connected, the router is getting overloaded, so a DNS request to the router cannot be processed in time and times out, resulting in an apparent DNS error.
I see this situation when my kids stay with me and bring their smartphones and tablets, and we go from around 3 devices connected to the wifi, to around 8 device.  We then get a lot of drop-outs.
So, I'm in the market for a more capable ADSL2+ wireless router/modem that can handle more devices in a stable manner.
Any recommendations?
Mike
PhyllisTyne
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 719
Thanks: 49
Fixes: 3
Registered: ‎30-08-2007

Re: Router drop outs, Sonos and DNS

The Asus N55U is only £85 at Amazon at the moment or you could get an N66 with an ADSL modem for not a lot more (£110 ish). It may even be possible to use an N66 with your current router as the modem.