Bad Wifi or Bad Router?

[easysurfer]

For two nights in a row, I woke up to my wireless connection not working and in order to recover, I had to turn off the router and the cable modem, then turn back on.

This just started happening and the oddity is once rebooted, the wifi stays without a single drop off until the next morning when goes not available until turning off and on.

During the time when the wireless is offline, the wired internet on the computer still works fine.

I shall see tonight if the same think happens or not when I get up tomorrow.

Just wondering if others have had similar situations and what was the culprit?

 

[COcheesehead]

How old is your equipment?

 

[easysurfer]

How old is your equipment?

Bought in 2013.

 

[COcheesehead]

That would be my first guess. We had our router go after about 3 years.

 

[MichaelB]

Is the firmware current?

 

[easysurfer]

That would be my first guess. We had our router go after about 3 years.

Did your router have the same symptoms?

Is the firmware current?

Yes, checked and most recent firmware.

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I'm going to approach this as 1 time is an oddity. 2 times an coincidence. 3 times a pattern and 4 a problem. I still have 2 more times before getting more involved to roll up my sleeves .

 

[MichaelB]

I've had a number of issues with internet availability, including one similar to yours, and troubleshooting is difficult. First thing I would disconnect all the cables, shut down all the components, and then reconnect and reboot the entire system. Then wait to see if the same issue repeats.

 

[tulak]

Ping is your friend. Figure the IP addresses of your various devices and use ping either from the router or the hard-wired computer.

From what you describe though, it sounds like it's an issue with your wifi. You could try a different band (2.4 vs 5Ghz) and see if that makes a difference. It'd also be helpful to see if another wifi device is having the same problem.

These issues can be a pain to track down. I'm going through something similar in my house, but I suspect it's the internet provider. My ping times significantly increase when I upload a file to google drive. I don't upload often, so it's a minor inconvenience, but when I get more time I need call my ISP and have them investigate.

Good luck!

 

[easysurfer]

Ping is your friend. Figure the IP addresses of your various devices and use ping either from the router or the hard-wired computer.

From what you describe though, it sounds like it's an issue with your wifi. You could try a different band (2.4 vs 5Ghz) and see if that makes a difference. It'd also be helpful to see if another wifi device is having the same problem.

These issues can be a pain to track down. I'm going through something similar in my house, but I suspect it's the internet provider. My ping times significantly increase when I upload a file to google drive. I don't upload often, so it's a minor inconvenience, but when I get more time I need call my ISP and have them investigate.

Good luck!

A good suggestion about the pinging. Haven't tried yet as hoping issue won't happen tomorrow.

Both my phone and laptop weren't working when the wifi was off. As mentioned before, the hardwired desktop was up fine.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

my neighbor is having trouble constantly the repair truck lives there , their college daughter couldn't connect to their internet service, since we live so close she is able to pick up our wireless, they called to ask us our code so she could log on, and study, we said sure, if by any chance i get wiped out financially and hacked and all other happy things ill be back in here crying to you guys,

 

[braumeister]

my neighbor is having trouble constantly the repair truck lives there , their college daughter couldn't connect to their internet service, since we live so close she is able to pick up our wireless, they called to ask us our code so she could log on, and study, we said sure, if by any chance i get wiped out financially and hacked and all other happy things ill be back in here crying to you guys,

I don't know what kind of system you have, but my wifi router (Apple Time Capsule) lets me set up a secondary wifi network that has no connection with the one I use. Occasionally we have a guest spend a night or two with us, and I give them the secondary network name and password so they can do their internet thing. This has worked well for us for a number of years. You should look into it to see if you can do the same.

 

[meierlde]

Is the wifi access point part of the router or seperate. Since the wired connections still work it sounds like the wireless part. Can you see your network, when you browse available wireless networks?

 

[Whisper66]

Sounds like your router is going bad. When you turn it off and reboot, it cools and then works with it comes back on. On my router that was going back, I could even put a fan blowing across it to keep it cool and then it would run better for awhile longer. I could also test the speed using speedtest.net. When cool, I could get fast speeds but as it warmed up, it slowed down and stopped workng. I understand from talking to others that they just break down from the 24 hr operating heat on it's components.

 

[easysurfer]

Is the wifi access point part of the router or seperate. Since the wired connections still work it sounds like the wireless part. Can you see your network, when you browse available wireless networks?

Not sure if this is the answer to your question, but my set up is cable modem, then the modem connects to external router.

Yes, shows up as a wireless network.

 

[easysurfer]

Sounds like your router is going bad. When you turn it off and reboot, it cools and then works with it comes back on. On my router that was going back, I could even put a fan blowing across it to keep it cool and then it would run better for awhile longer. I could also test the speed using speedtest.net. When cool, I could get fast speeds but as it warmed up, it slowed down and stopped workng. I understand from talking to others that they just break down from the 24 hr operating heat on it's components.

Interesting about the router cooling then working, but makes sense.

I had a similar thing happen with an old car. Car would stall on me. After cooling would start again. Took a long time for mechanics to find out cause. Ended up something with the catalytic converter heating up causing a stall. Then cooling and starting up okay. Kind of digressing here.... .

 

[meierlde]

Not sure if this is the answer to your question, but my set up is cable modem, then the modem connects to external router.

Yes, shows up as a wireless network.

I assume the router then does the wireless link. In that case it would be the router, since most routers also do the wifi. Then the router/wifi access point is likley the culprit, although I would check with a second wifi device just to be sure.

 

[Dash man]

Some router brands work better with particular modems and provides. My Apple Wifi router works great with Comcast, but in our Florida condo it was worthless with their private fiber optic network. I bought the recommended router for the fiber optic system and it's worked flawlessly since then.

 

[marko]

My experience is that after 3-4 years it's time for a new set up.

 

[easysurfer]

Just a quick update. Woke up today, the wifi was up and running. I'll just keep an eye on but not do the pinging or replacing for now unless the wifi drop starts happening again on a regular basis.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[Whisper66]

Just a quick update. Woke up today, the wifi was up and running.

Run www.Speedtest.net when you first turn it on. Record the speed results. Redo the test periodically and see if the values change dramatically. For example, mine went from 20-25 when my router was cool / just restarted to less than 5 when it was hot. Changed my router out and speed stayed at 20-25.

Good luck.

 

[Freedom56]

For two nights in a row, I woke up to my wireless connection not working and in order to recover, I had to turn off the router and the cable modem, then turn back on.

This just started happening and the oddity is once rebooted, the wifi stays without a single drop off until the next morning when goes not available until turning off and on.

During the time when the wireless is offline, the wired internet on the computer still works fine.

I shall see tonight if the same think happens or not when I get up tomorrow.

Just wondering if others have had similar situations and what was the culprit?

Check your router logs. Some DOS attacks can cause routers to lock-up and shutting down the wifi transmitter. If the logs are clean, it could be your power supply or a defective router.

 

[imoldernu]

About once a year, we go through this. In our case, it's the ISP. When they are having problems with the cable, they make their changes between 2AM and 3AM. That said, the phone recovers automatically. Sometimes it happens over a period of a few days, when they're having problems.

 

[easysurfer]

Check your router logs. Some DOS attacks can cause routers to lock-up and shutting down the wifi transmitter. If the logs are clean, it could be your power supply or a defective router.

So, how would one go about checking the router log? Would the log say something like 'error...."?

 

[target2019]

Just a quick update. Woke up today, the wifi was up and running. I'll just keep an eye on but not do the pinging or replacing for now unless the wifi drop starts happening again on a regular basis.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Your router is giving notice that it will quit.
I've had a few that took power surge, and wifi quit forever.
You could try a firmware update.
Many routers will show problems as ISP cranks up the incoming speeds. One technology races ahead of the other.

 

[easysurfer]

About once a year, we go through this. In our case, it's the ISP. When they are having problems with the cable, they make their changes between 2AM and 3AM. That said, the phone recovers automatically. Sometimes it happens over a period of a few days, when they're having problems.

I'm hoping this is the case with me too. So, far the wifi not available only happened two nights in a row, then as of now, back okay.