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unusual router problem and solution

frank39
Grafter
Posts: 118
Registered: ‎19-03-2009

unusual router problem and solution

I bought an ultrabook a few days ago and, after the usual problems of corrupted installed programs and drivers, had it up and running on Sunday May 25.  I had added a gigabit Ethernet adaptor to the USB3 port.  The problem I found was that, with a wireless connection, some web pages were very slow (speedtest.net) and other web pages loaded slower and slower, then corrupted and finally wouldn't display.  The display was the usual IE11 message of page can't be found, search for the site.....  The same page could be found without problem by Ethernet and by any of the other three PCs and two tablets on my LAN.  Thus it was unique to this wireless connection and not due to the DNS translation problems at PlusNet that have been reported elsewhere. My router was a Technicolor 582n with 10.2.1.8 firmware. I fiddled with the adapter settings for power, channel width etc. but the situation didn't improve.
I put it down to a duff Wireless card (Intel wireless n 7260) and called product support at the vendor.  The guy was supportive and went through the steps I had done - download fresh driver, check AV interference (not likely with Windows Defender).  He was ready to replace the PC but felt that the symptoms were not, in his experience, typical of a failed wireless card and suggested that the problem lay with my router and I should first prove the duff card by logging on to a neighbour's network, running the same tests and, if OK, subsequently replacing my router.  I was sceptical and couldn't get a clear explanation other than MAC address specific caches in the router and it just didn't "like" my wireless card.
I tried a neighbour's sky network and the problem disappeared, I then put a Netgear 2200 in my system and not only did my system run faster but my page loading problem went away totally.  I guess I could have tried updating the Technicolor firmware, but that was just too much hassle compared with just plugging in a new router that I had considered doing anyway.
Has anybody got a clear explanation of what happened, if not, please file this under guidance for PN tech support.
9 REPLIES 9
Pettitto
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 6,346
Fixes: 5
Registered: ‎26-11-2011

Re: unusual router problem and solution

Hi frank39,
Thanks very much for posting, in so much detail, of your experience. Were you using any of the features on the router such as Parental Controls or any Port Forwarding? Did you try a Factory Reset on the Technicolor Router to see if this cleared the issue?
frank39
Grafter
Posts: 118
Registered: ‎19-03-2009

Re: unusual router problem and solution

Hello Chris
I'm so glad you picked this up.
No, no router features were being used.  I didn't try a router reset, maybe I should have, but I was so p****d off by this stage, I just wanted an end to it. 
I failed to mention that I tried both IE and Chrome - to no avail.  If I started a new session ie. sleep/restart ultrabook then the problem started again, that is access followed by slow then fail.  The website that usually went down first was Talkmobile-my account.
Frank
Pettitto
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 6,346
Fixes: 5
Registered: ‎26-11-2011

Re: unusual router problem and solution

If there is an issue with the particular firmware that was updated/loaded onto the router, it's something we need to make sure we're aware of.
Generally, a Factory Reset fixes such issues.
frank39
Grafter
Posts: 118
Registered: ‎19-03-2009

Re: unusual router problem and solution

The Technicolor firmware had been in place for a few years and had shown no previous problems.
frank39
Grafter
Posts: 118
Registered: ‎19-03-2009

Re: unusual router problem and solution

I'm happy to return the router for you to play with - just send me a mailing bag.
Pettitto
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 6,346
Fixes: 5
Registered: ‎26-11-2011

Re: unusual router problem and solution

That rules out the firmware then.
The only way that I'd be able to tel whether it was a hardware issue or not, would have been for a Factory Reset to have been carried out. If the issue was still evident from that, that's something we would need to look at.
frank39
Grafter
Posts: 118
Registered: ‎19-03-2009

Re: unusual router problem and solution

I'm reluctant to go back to the Technicolor to test your thesis.  It has a different address from the Netgear so a straight swap screws up my NAS, its automatic backups and my remote access point, so the swap will involve quite a bit of fiddling.  As I said, you can have it if you like.
Grff
Grafter
Posts: 359
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎02-08-2007

Re: unusual router problem and solution

If it's a USB adapter, have you tried it in another device to see if it's the machine or card. Or maybe a USB2 port?
Could this also be an issue with the MTU setting of the wireless? I had something similar where some sites loaded slowly, or not at all, and I had to change my MTU setting in my device. Granted I was using a Sonicwall UTM device instead of PlusNet's router, but maybe it's something to look into if you're wanting to go back to that router.  I'm sure someone with more networking know-how may be able to advise if it's something worth looking at.
frank39
Grafter
Posts: 118
Registered: ‎19-03-2009

Re: unusual router problem and solution

@ Griff
Thanks for your interest but please read the OP carefully.  The USB adapter is for the Ethernet connection and, as far as I know, the MTU is set by Win8.1 automatically and we know the MTU on the router is OK since it works with other devices.  I think we have nailed it down to something in the router, the only question (for the benefit of any subsequent victims) is what, how or why.