Internet Freezes - Do I need a new Router

[#1]

I have a internet problem…..

My internet frequently freezes on an almost daily frequency. I have had some problems establishing what the problem is. To my family it looks as if Plusnets supply is substandard (we used to be with BT which occasionally would freeze but not quite as often).

As the family were complaining that my switch to Plusnet Fibre was the cause I initially called customer support (a number of weeks ago). The support technician said the fibre link didn’t seem to be showing disconnects from Plusnets end. He suggested changing the channel number to one less used by local wifi networks. This helped for a while but the drop outs restarted a few days later (we sometimes have a good few days and then days with 10-15 drop outs).

The only way I can get the internet back is to reboot the router.

I have tried the Plusnet Hub One and also switched to a TP-Link wr841n (my old router). The drop outs continued. I currently have installed DD-WRT onto the TP-Link to see if that would help (still drops out but less frequently).

To trouble shoot when we have a freeze I try pulling the network cable from the router and linking my laptop to the fibre modem (I only use the BT modem with the TP-Link router) - after a few minuets of configuring I can browse the intent on the laptop. Although this looks as if it proves that the problem is with the router Im not sure if I can conclude this is the case as it takes me so long to link the laptop that maybe its fixed itself?

I am highly suspicious that its my router (the TP-Link WR841n and the Plusbnet Hub one) that isn’t up to the job. 

We are a family of 5 who have 30+ different devices connected (not all at once). There are PS4’s (3) iPads (x4), laptops (x3), TVs, Media centres, Amazon Echo, iPhones (x5) etc. I’m aware that the TP-Link has a 400mhz processor and not much ram in it. I just need to know that if I send £100+ on a new router that that will solve the problem.

I  am considering either the Asus AC58U (AC1300) (£90) or the Asus RT-AC66U (AC1790) (£125).

Can anyone confirm that spending this kind of money will fix my issues or should I explore other areas first.

Thanks,

Andy

[#2]

Anyone from the Plusnet Help Team able to advise?

Thank you,

Andy

[#3]

Hello @andybonny - As you have tried two routers from two totally different vendors I do not think that you need to get a new one as the issue you have still exists regardless of the device you are using.

Could you elaborate a bit more on what you mean by ‘freezes’ please.

If left along does the service return?

What are the conditions on the LAN when this happens, i.e. How many devices are connected and what are these devices doing etc.

What do you do to get the service to return?

How far apart do these issues occur?

Are they at the same time of day?

Are they predictable?

[#4]

Thanks for getting back to me.

When the Internet freezes we can't load any further web pages or if we are watching a movie it's just stops saying network problem. My boys who would be upstairs playing on my PlayStation come down saying who's turned off the Internet. It randomly occurs there is no set a time.

It won't come back on its own if we give it time perhaps half an hour or an hour the only way we can get it to come back is to switch the Rueter off and then turn it back on again.

Even my laptop and TV which are connected to the lan freeze too.

When I spoke to the first technician plus net he did suggest that the supplied router wasn't amazing. My TP Link router is an old £19.99 one. When you see that you are modems coming out advertising they have four core processors etc. I do begin to wonder whether we're bombarding our cheap router with far too many data requests and it simply can't cope. Is a £19.99 router up to to job?

[#5]

Hi Andy,

It does not look like the TP Link router has a VDSL modem. How do you connect it to act as the router in place of the hub one?

You will need a VDSL modem.

I am not aware that a hub one can be configured to operate in modem only mode.

I see that the asus routers are both cable routers which would require an external modem for VDSL.

Richard

[#6]

Yes - when I use the TP link it's plugged into my BT modem (I used to have BT fibre).

When I use the plusnet hub it uses its internal modem instead of the BT modem.

Now when I use the TP link set up I have read that when the Internet freezes a good way of testing if it is the connection causing the drop is to plug my laptop directly into the BT modem. I have done this but it takes me five minutes or so for me to to configure the laptop to work like this directly. The Internet does work when I go directly into the modem. If I then plug the router back in instead of the laptop the Internet stopped working again which is why I think the Router is the cause (again when I reboot the Rueter every thing works again).

[#7]

Just my two pennies worth...

When you refer to 'BT modem', are you in fact referring to the white Openreach fibre modem ?

When you suffered a loss of service, were the status lights on the Hub One any different to normal?

Also, did you try connecting laptop direct to LAN port on your Hub One (or your tplink) using ethernet cable to see if it had internet access without using wifi ?

Sounds like the Plusnet agent you spoke to thinks you are suffering from wireless interference issues. 

See this advice about configuring Hub One's wifi.

https://community.plus.net/t5/My-Router/2-4ghz-and-or-5ghz-best-practice/td-p/1351950

[#8]

I would be inclined to just use the PN Hub, and to look at the logs to see what is happening if it freezes, rather than anything else.

[#9]

Going back to the beginning. Does it freeze on a computer left connected directly to the router via an Ethernet cable? It is not clear to me from what I have read. Obviously if it does then it's not a wireless problem.

[#10]

Ok -I'll try to list what I've tried:

Plusnet Hub one - plugged into the phone line. This would work but every few days it would seem to crash. The internet would stop working and Netflix on the TV (lan connection) would stop too. Initially we would wait for it to resolve but after 15-30 minutes we would reboot the plusnet router would fix it (Sometimes for 5 minutes and sometimes for a few hours). Now when it crashes I can't recall what the led lights were doing.

Next we've tried the TPLink router connected to the BT fibre modem. I tried this as an alternative set up which does work a little better (i.e. Fewer crashes but we do get the crashes a number if times a week). When this crashes all of the led lights on the front rapidly flash all in unison. Again the Lan stops too. As a extra test when we've experienced this router crashing I pull the network cable which links the tplink router with the BT fibre modem and connect my laptop to the BT fibre modem by setting up using my plusnet login details. Instantly the internet works. Bearing in mind that nothing has been restarted why does the internet work? My tplink router seems to be frozen and as all of the LED light are still flashing madly I do wonder if the router has crashed.

[#11]

You say you have many different users connected. Have you tried logging off all users that are not actually requiring to use the internet to see if that makes a difference.

[#12]

---

@andybonny wrote:
 tried the TPLink router connected to the BT fibre modem. I tried this as an alternative set up which does work a little better (i.e. Fewer crashes but we do get the crashes a number if times a week). When this crashes all of the led lights on the front rapidly flash all in unison. Again the Lan stops too. As a extra test when we've experienced this router crashing I pull the network cable which links the tplink router with the BT fibre modem and connect my laptop to the BT fibre modem by setting up using my plusnet login details. Instantly the internet works. Bearing in mind that nothing has been restarted why does the internet work? My tplink router seems to be frozen and as all of the LED light are still flashing madly I do wonder if the router has crashed.

---

Based on that description  I would buy another router. It could be that the TP links power supply is failing causing the lockups.

Richard

[#13]

Hi Andy,

In addition to the above suggestions,

When you've tried a direct ethernet connection to the Hub One router, are there any other devices connected to the router via the other ports? If so, could you remove those devices and re-test?

[#14]

Hi,

Thanks for all your suggestions so far. Since starting the thread I've been relatively free of problems. I haven't had any freezes which require rebooting the router. Ive had a couple of glitches where we've lost the connection for several minutes where all connections are lost (wifi and lan).

My problem is that they're quite intermittent. I may have one this evening or I may not. This makes it difficult to troubleshoot when they happen. Being in a family environment during the school holidays I cant keep everyone disconnected for hours at a time.

I will report back here when I have more news. 

I almost purchased a new router last night for £80 - I just cant justify the spend before Im sure it will fix it.