hav's profile

Contributor

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Wednesday, October 6th, 2010 5:33 PM

My 2wire modem/wifi keeps resetting

we noticed this a while back. never really cared for it, but now its getting annoying since i just bought a new modem thinking that there was something wrong with the old one. i dont know exactly whats going on.....it works fine for about 30 minutes then it just resets. streaming movies, playing online games and even browsing the internet have become a hassle....pls help!

Employee

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442 Messages

12 years ago


@desmolift wrote:

@David

Thanks for your efforts, I appreciate it. I believe the things you should try to address the problem are anything to do with reducing the frequency of access to memory by the internal subsystems. This is what I believe will help reduce or stop the DMA Errors. So going from "G" to "B", or reducing hits on memory by the CPU, reducing your DSL connect speed, etc. The only item that worked for me was reducing my wireless bandwidth from 54Mbs to 11Mbs.  I tried WEP and firewall modifications, it did not help in my case.

 

BTW.  If you are getting ERR_DMA, there is no sense in chasing any other problems other than this.  Once you have this problem stopped, then chase any other problems you may still have.  I simply say this because the ERR_DMA is masked by several problems, like, wifi drops, dsl disconnects and CRC errors.  These "side effects" are causing AT&T line guys to get involved in this problem!  Clean up your DMA errors then move on.


 

I think I may even have an answer to that via some research and some good clues by a few people. WHat you stated above might be the entire answer, or as least a good theory as to why.

 

The 2wire has an attack detection page on the 2wire firewall page. I thought something was up with the first time I hooked the 2wire to my network because when I dmz'd my wired router I couldn't access it from the outside even though it was dmz+ mode. Another thing I couldn't do is remote management as I had used to with the moto2210 in bridge mode. I also couldn't explain why the ping times increased between 15-30ms when going to the 2wire. Finally why would the wife's laptop have a problem with web traffic on the belkin/naboo access point ,that she had no problems with for a solid year before, now give her problems. I saw your post and came to some thoughts.... then...with these questions that came to mind I did some digging.

 

I tried an experiment.

  • I turned off all the attack detections on the 2wire firewall's page. Only one I enabled was stealth mode and block ping. That was it.
  • I returned the wireless to G, and wpa only.
  • (Optional and won't affect the results if you do or don't do it, I did it for my purposes) Changed the base IP to 10.0.0.1/subnet of 255.255.255.0, and gave it an ip range of 10.0.0.2 to 10.0.0.52.

 

So far in the last 6-8 hours after disabling all the "attack detections" inside the 2wire I accomplished the following

 

1.) the naboo router that was in DMZ+ mode can now be accessed from the outside world as it was before

2.) So far no wireless drops

3.) no ERR_DMA in the dsl diagnostic pages and it has only synced up once (initial setup)

4.) The wife reports no problems with the belkin access point or the 2wire's access points (both wireless).

5.) The ping times that were increased up to 60-90ms have decreased back to what they were on with just the motorola and the only naboo router (before I ever put in the 2wire).

 

So now all I would need is others to test what I may have confirmed so far. If I am right, you won't do any more damage to your 2wire or disable any more protections than the basic NAT you get with any router you buy off the wal-mart.best buy, or (insert your electronics store) 's shelves. They all come with basic NAT protection, the only thing you are doing is keeping the attack detections at bay from scanning every packet wired and wireless. 

 

 

 

 

 

Employee

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442 Messages

12 years ago

So far mine is still up and running, so I have a feeling I hit something. just not sure how to explain it. 

Teacher

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30 Messages

12 years ago

Unfortunately, my 2wire 2701 is dead!  I woke up this morning to witness the 2wire in a state of constantly rebooting.  I unplugged it and plugged it back in and now its just 100% dead, no leds no nothing.  I have a new 2wire being delivered tomorrow, in the meantime, I dug up an old Zyxel pk5000z I had from Qwest and I am back online.  I'll monitor the Zyxel for errors etc.

 

I think unchecking firewall features reduces the load on the 2wire, improving its performance and possibly its stability.

 

Tutor

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8 Messages

12 years ago

@desmolift

 

 

That constant rebooting is exactly what happens if I don't disconnect/turn off the wireless device I'm trying to use when the Wi-Fi crashes the modem. So do you think your 2wire died because of the settings you changed/messed around with, or do you think its the hardware issue I've been noting?

 

Honestly, I think if I were to have been able to push the model a little harder (since the other night I can't make any connection to the wi-fi period without a crash, so pushing it seems a little hard to do right now since its basically closed itself off as if it has amnesia after a traumatizing experience) I would have tanked the entire modem like your detailing.

 

@david

 

I see what your saying about the attack checking or whatever you called it, but isn't that putting a bandaid on a bullet wound? If your modem is being attacked,or feels like its being attacked, so much that its freaking out and having to reset/recycle itself, doesn't that mean turning off the detection is only masking the problem?

 

Also, would the attacks/attack detection come at the exact moment of the wi-fi trying to connect with a wi-fi device? Just curious considering the crashing happens at the exact moment that connection is initiated. Since the Wi-fi connection isn't always on, on my 2wire gateway, all I really have to go on is the fact that as soon as the connection turns on, the whole modem goes off. Even if I could turn it to always on, and see if it freaks on then, then maybe it'll say something about the situation not being the devices (that I know are) connected to it, since I could do so without any on.

Employee

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442 Messages

12 years ago


@BoomingEchoes wrote:

 

@David

 

I see what your saying about the attack checking or whatever you called it, but isn't that putting a bandaid on a bullet wound? If your modem is being attacked,or feels like its being attacked, so much that its freaking out and having to reset/recycle itself, doesn't that mean turning off the detection is only masking the problem?

 

Also, would the attacks/attack detection come at the exact moment of the wi-fi trying to connect with a wi-fi device? Just curious considering the crashing happens at the exact moment that connection is initiated. Since the Wi-fi connection isn't always on, on my 2wire gateway, all I really have to go on is the fact that as soon as the connection turns on, the whole modem goes off. Even if I could turn it to always on, and see if it freaks on then, then maybe it'll say something about the situation not being the devices (that I know are) connected to it, since I could do so without any on.


Not really, a configuration issue more likely. If it's checking each and every packet you send it (wired and wireless), it's wasting time checking things it really shouldn't.  For instance, if I have another router behind the 2wire and I put that router in DMZ+ mode on the 2wire  (knowing full well my router behind it can handle the traffic)  why should the 2wire still be "scanning" packets and closing ports"? 

 

Short answer: it shouldn't- no other router I have gotten off the shelf (linksys, netgear, belkin, USRobotics, dlink) or built myself (ddwrt, m0n0wall) does this level of protection that the 2wire has straight out of the box. So this is a bit "extreme" compared to more popular models.

 

99.999% of most routers you purchase have a basic NAT (network address translation) protection. YOu go in an open ports for such inbound traffic. Such as port 25 for unsecured e-mail, port 110 for unsecured pop. Port 995 for encrypted e-mail and so on and so forth. Port 3389 if you want to control your favorite windows machine from the outside world. Most virus scanners and malware scanners already monitor traffic on your machine. Why have it monitored more? Plus for Xbox360's and Nintendo Wii's they don't respond to common computer viruses. I can't say I have read yet of a nintendo wii being drive by hacked by surfing a web page from it's internet channel. 

 

YOu can replace it with a different router if you want, the only thing you would be doing is pretty much doing what I essentially did in the 2wire only because the off the shelf routers don't carry those protections and you paid for it. 

 

 

Teacher

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30 Messages

12 years ago

@BoomingEchoes

 

I think in my situation, the constantly rebooting 2701 and then completely dead is coincidental to my DMA errors.  Or someone attempted a remote upgrade and toasted my modem.  But I can't be sure of either.  Its weird that it just crapped out while debugging these issues.

Employee

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442 Messages

12 years ago


@desmolift wrote:

@BoomingEchoes

 

I think in my situation, the constantly rebooting 2701 and then completely dead is coincidental to my DMA errors.  Or someone attempted a remote upgrade and toasted my modem.  But I can't be sure of either.  Its weird that it just crapped out while debugging these issues.



Try a hard reset on yours and see if it comes back.  Over the years with some routers I have had a hard reset seems to be the best thing to clear the chips. 

Tutor

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8 Messages

12 years ago

At this point I'm not so sure who your talking to David, lol. 

 

If it was me, I have tried this already. It was actually the first thing I tried before I sought help at all, since I figured it was going to be the first thing any rep was going to tell me to do (and, oddly, its become the very last thing mentioned before I completely give up : / )

 

 

Tutor

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8 Messages

12 years ago

As for the Wii thing, idk where thats coming from -I've only talked about 3DS' and DSi's. But you are correct about never hearing anything like that has been hacked, I dont think it really ever happens.

 

As for the configuration thing, are you saying its a problem all of a sudden because of an attack, when the configuration hadn't been changed since the day I set it up? Only ask because its not like this has been building up, as far as I know. It just sort of dumped into this situation suddenly. If the problem is a mess of attacks that means I'd have to figure out what happened around that time (a week or so ago) that might have lead to the network being attacked like that.

 

Either way, I'm not getting a new router or trying to mess with this gateway any more. Nothing I've tried has worked, including the firewall stuff you mentioned (I had some time to do that today) and like I've prattled on about a few times, I'm pretty much done with the service as a whole and this wireless issue has been a bigger-then-it-should-be inconvienence for us. In fact I'm in the process of waiting for the router I'm being given to go with my new internet so I can be sure I have it before I call and cancel with ATT completely.

 

I wish everyone with these problems the best of luck, and I implore anyone else who may stumble on this post looking for answers to look over dave's suggestions and give them a try -he really has been great about this- but DO NOT fall for what the over the phone service reps will have you believing is the only thing you can do, DO NOT simply give in and pay out $100 for a replacement gateway without AT LEAST trying to trouble shoot the issue.  No one can really afford what those guys are pushing you into, and you need to let them know how idiotic it is to have to pay at all when the modem came from them, and is required for the service.

 

(Also, I spoke with another rep and he said that AT&T is in the process of switching its hardware with another companies -he thought it was d-link , but couldnt remember- maybe those will fare better then these have.)

Teacher

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30 Messages

12 years ago

d-link has product that supports 24Mbs download...  This is one of the routers I am reviewing.  Some have had trouble connecting to AT&T with it and its worked well for others.  I just found out something funny...my ZyXel PK5000Z from Qwest has NO LOGS or STATISTICS!!!!  You can't debug anything with this little router....unbelievable!

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