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Kylejarrett's profile

Tutor

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5 Messages

Tuesday, May 29th, 2018 3:53 PM

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Fixed Wireless Internet DNS Error

Hello, I have had fixed wireless internet for 5+ months with little to no issues, until recently, I have been constantly getting the message from the router settings saying “DNS Communication- Unable to contact the domain name server” I have had several  technicians on site that were unable to fix the issue, they do not understand why or what this error is. All lights on the router are green. The DNS server will eventually connect, but only temporarily, then it will go back to the same error message as stated above. Curious to see if anyone has had this issue, and has a possible fix.

Tutor

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11 Messages

6 years ago

I am going to try this out.  

 

When your connection goes out how do you re-establish it? I find that resetting the gateway does not work for me.

Tutor

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5 Messages

6 years ago

Hey guys, I’ll try that myself, and just an update on my DNS issue, I had yet another tech arrive and fixed the issue “For now” what he had done was re position my Outdoor antenna to another tower, after he did this, my DNS connection went to the “UP” status, and “knock on wood” it has been up for about a week. Maybe have your techs do the same. 

Tutor

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11 Messages

6 years ago

I wish there was a map that indicates all the possible towers to use.

 

The open connection makes sense, yesterday i was remoted into my pc from work and it stayed active all day.  But as soon as i got home and closed the connection the internet was out a few minutes later.

Tutor

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5 Messages

6 years ago

I use two options. One, I turn off the power to the antenna and then unplug the router. Wait for about 15 seconds and then turn the power back on to the Antenna. It is the button on the little black box. Wait for about 15 seconds and then plug the router back in. Wait for about 3 to 5 minutes for everything to come back online.

Or two, what I usually do, I open up to http://192.168.1.254/ or whatever IP you are using for the routers admin interface. Then go to Settings/Diagnostics. Select Start to test. Keep pressing it after each completed test until you see all 'Ups'.

Or three, which I never do. Of course with this option, one would simply need to wait!

Not sure what the other commenter was referring to in regards to a tech fixing DNS issues. Name server time outs have nothing to do with the actual connection to the tower. It has to do with the AT&T name servers. Of course, he/she could have had issues with the actual connection. Thus issues with retrieving the DNS. If it were the connection, nothing you or I did on our side would prevent the connection from disconnecting. They obviously have very strict timeouts on their servers.

Tutor

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11 Messages

6 years ago

Thank you so much for this information.  I am going to try this as soon as i get home.

Tutor

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11 Messages

6 years ago

Karin,

I have implemented the method you mentioned by just leaving firefox running with a tab open that auto-refreshes every 5 seconds.  So far the connection has stayed up all morning.  If this continues to work it will help out a lot.

 

I have reported the DNS issues multiple times to AT&T and I always get the same response is that my service request has been escalated.  There has to be a way to get this fixed without customer leaving an outgoing connection up all the time.

Tutor

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11 Messages

6 years ago

Karin,

Your suggest fixed has worked great for the last few days.  While it is nice to have the internet connection stay up I also realize this is just a band-aid.  How do we escalate this issue with AT&T so we can actually get the DNS timeout issue resolved?  

Tutor

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5 Messages

6 years ago

They would need to grow their infrastructure, for starters. Since they want every single customer to utilize their DNS servers. Lots of traffic!
Or, convince them not to strip the manufactures software, where DNS server changing is available. Allow us to run our own routers would be even more awesome.
I use to be a OpenDNS paid customer with my last service. Really miss it. Can't use them obviously with AT&T.
Their setup also has very small nat tables, which clogs up very fast when using custom DNS via the client side. Also extreme double nat issues.
When I did a tracert, to check for double nat, I noticed that one of their DNS servers timed out. Being that they only have two DNS servers, that is troubling.
In time, they will come to realize that they will either need to buff up their DNS servers or be less restrictive in their router configurations. of course, there is more involved here. But, it certainly can be updated in a way to allow for a more robust setup.
Honestly, as much as I am unhappy with this particular setup they have given me, I am happy that I have this service. I live in a rural area, so having the ability to work from home without paying a kings ransom for bandwidth is great.

Tutor

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5 Messages

5 years ago

I want to make an update to my recent responses. Apparently AT&T DNS servers have gotten even worse. Also, the router is completely out of sink, as it doesn't recognize that it doesn't actually have a connection. IE; Missing communication with the DNS servers. When I run diagnostics, everything is up except for the DNS communication.

My earlier responses use to work. Now, my connection doesn't work at all during the day and maybe at night. DNS comes and goes about every 10 to 15 minutes. Last night I was lucky, in that I was able to watch a movie with no issues.

I wish AT&T would simply allow us to use our own DNS providers. Problem would be solved. If they want control, block ports. But, for god sakes allow us some sanity with your services. I do not feel like spending my day, when I should be working, trying to get this equipment to work. At some point, I need to schedule a tech to my house. Which is a waste of time. The purpose of the tech visit is to insure that someone actually takes a look at their DNS servers. The only way I know how to wake someone up on their side. Then again, this might be wishful thinking on my end.

I ended up having to pay for another internet service so I can work. This is costing me money! The alternative service I purchased is a lot more expensive than AT&T. But, at this point, the cost doesn't matter. As the alternative service has never had any issues. Use to use it prior to getting AT&T. Had it for 10 years prior to AT&T. Never an issue.

Teacher

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25 Messages

5 years ago

I've been suffering with this as well in Tx. What I've found is that when the antenna connects to band lte 2 1900mhz i get the no dns. All green lights.  If i reset everything  through the router page it reloads and no change.  If unplug everything and wait a minute to turn it on then I get a red service light because it lost the saved ip address.  It keeps the ip address while it bounces signals.  The only time everything works is when it connects on lte band 30 2300mhz.  Lte band 2 does not work.  Why does it even connect to it? 

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