Router number and DNS automatically changing on various devices, disabling the internet connection

[#1]

We have a solid connection into the house and all devices (MacBook, MacBook Pro 2018, Iphone 6, Iphone 6 and Smart TV panasonic) show to have connectivity. At random ALL of them stop to load pages completely and drop the internet while showing up as 'connected'. This happens several times a day and makes it impossible to use the internet effectively.

We have found a consistent pattern connected to this fault. On the devices that don't work(as per attached screenshot, the DNS Server number AND the Router change their last digit to 192.168.1.253, it is basically the last digit which changes from a 4 to a 3 at random times. This causes the internet to drop while the connection still shows up as active. We have manually changed the DNS Server number to 212.159.13.49 which works ok but only when the Router shows the correct number (192.168.1.254). As soon as the device dynamically changes Router to 192.168.1.253 again at random times it stops working all together. Where it says 'Router' there is no option to manually change the number this number seems to be logged in and we have no control over when this happens. There seems to be no way of locking in the correct number at the time that it shows up correctly. 

The only kind of work around is a lottery play and by disabling and enabling the connection often enough with a bit of luck the Router may show the correct number again 192.168.1.254 - with this number it always works all fine until it drops again. This can happen during a session or after the device has been asleep. 

We have already tried to completely reset the router as well as all devices to factory settings, split and merged 2.4 Ghz and 5Ghz and tried various channels with absolutely no success. We also manually changed the DNS which worked but had no effect on the Router number which throws up the error. 

Please can you advise urgently as this has happened for 10 days now and after numerous calls to the Support team we have ended up here which is our last hope in solving the issue before moving elsewhere. 

Thanks a lot! 

Lilli Thomas

[#2]

@danacrobat 

Devices on a network (usually) get their configuration from a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server. This supplies an IP address, gateway address (shown as router address in your case) and optionally DNS servers. This DHCP server is usually the router and it supplies its own address as the gateway. I suspect that you have another device on the network somewhere which is also acting as a DHCP server and supplying its own address as the gateway. The DHCP protocol is a broadcast system, so with more than 1 DHCP server it is indeterminate as to which server will respond to the DHCP request.

Prehaps you could describe what other devices are connected to your network and do you use powerline devices (Homeplugs)

[#3]

Thanks for your response. I would not really know what device this could be interfering. As mentioned we have connected: 

Apple MacBook, Apple MacBook Pro, iPhone 5, iPhone 6, Panasonic smart TV. Occasionally we have guests using our Wifi but as this has not been a consistent user for the last week I could not see the connection. I also checked on the hub a few times as you can see on the attachment and did not detect anything unusual.  

We have a little garden house with a plug in the mains socket to extend our Wifi to there. Is this what you would call a home plug? I never had to touch it in the last 3 years!? 

[#4]

May I add, we also have a WD My Cloud Hard drive plugged in text to the router but I have just unplugged it and it made no difference so I guess this can't be it. Also the same error occurs on the Ethernet connection too: both DSN and Router (Gateway) keep showing the wrong number ending in 3. 

[#5]

We have a little garden house with a plug in the mains socket to extend our Wifi to there. Is this what you would call a home plug? I never had to touch it in the last 3 years!? 

It's possible that is a Homeplug or it could just be a wireless extender. Do you also have another plug with a wired connection to the router ?

Give, that youre probably not using the garden house , it might be worth just unplugging that and seeing if that eliminates the problem

[#6]

Hi, 

We are using the garden house as we host guests in in quite regularly. I think it is actually just a wireless extender but we also have a cable run to the little house as well. We had this set up for 4 years though and never experienced issues with the connection of the garden house. As long as the main house connection is fine the other seems ok too. 

We have no other plug in. 

Could the problem be the router itself?

[#7]

@danacrobat It would help if you could state exactly what device is in the garden house such as manufacturer and part number. Is the cable from the house which I assume is an ethernet cable connected to the device? I have a suspicion that it could be another router acting as a wireless access point. If the DHCP server is still active it could explain your changing IP address problem. 

[#8]

I think you might be right. It is a Technet Wifi AP/Repeater as shown on the attachment. We have now unplugged it and it solved the issue for now on all devices which suggests this may be the interference.

As we never had problems with this Technet device and it has allowed a good internet connection in the cabin for a long time, is there a way that one of our guests may have changed the settings on the device? Could we try to reset that devise or do you suggest we replace it and if so what would we replace it best with? The ethernet cable runs straight into the Technet itself. 

[#9]

@danacrobat  The tecknet wifi device can be configured as a router with an active DHCP server and a default address of 192.168.1.253 so it looks like this is the problem. It has lost the correct config or it has been changed somehow. If it has worked OK before just try resetting it and configuring as an Access point, That should get it working again.😊

[#10]

Yup, I'll agree with that , it looks to have somehow got into router mode and as @RealAleMadrid  says, it needs to be in AP mode so that the DHCP server is disabled. I've just found what looks to be the manual here http://www.accessionx.com/download/documents_downloads/qxl/1247__english_manual.pdf , although the manual seems to indicate that the default IP address in router mode is 192.168.10.253 .

@danacrobat are you sure that your original 1.253 numbers weren't actually 10.253 ?

[#11]

Thanks both, we will have a look at the manual. The number was 192.168.1.254 so actually just as the one we are using now and it is actually only the last digit that had changed. 

I will try to reset it. 

[#12]

@MisterW  I think there are various clones of that device, possibly with slight differences. I have seen a review of the Tecknet  where it was defaulting to 192.168.1.253 as the router gateway address.

[#13]

Hi, so the Wifi repeater is definitely the issue as the interference from devise 192.168.1.253 disappears when I turned it off. I completely reset the repeater (TeckNet)  to factory settings but it still is sending the wrong Router number and causes the same issue. This is its number /192.168.1.253/. Please can you advise on the following: We have an ethernet cable running from the main house to the garden cabin which goes straight into the TeckNet repeater. Does that ethernet cable need to be plugged into the TeckNet into the LAN or LAN/WAN plug? Has that anything to do with it? Also are there any settings such as the WPS button that need to be pressed? I kind of think I may need to log into the hub to disable the DHCP function on the TeckNet, is that correct? I don't have the hub log-ins as someone set it up on my behalf a few years ago, is there any way to reset this and get it sent across? Any help will be much appreciated. 

[#14]

@danacrobat I gave a link to the manual earlier. You need to follow that , login to the repeater, set it to Access point mode and then, according to the manual, connect it via the LAN port