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xiaojunch's profile

Contributor

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3 Messages

Tuesday, February 11th, 2014 5:29 PM

Uverse + Asus N56U router drops connection randomly

Hi there,

 

This problem has been bugging me for months, and cost me days of searching for a solution, but so far I haven't found one. This is the last place I can resort to, which is why I registered here today.

 

The problem: I have Uverse internet, not sure what the model of the modem is. I use Asus RT N56U in access point mode to use wifi. The wifi on the Uverse modem is disabled. The configuration on N56U router is automatically set to AP mode. Everything works just fine except the router drops connection just randomly, usually every day or two days. The symptom is that the wifi is suddenly disconnected, and cannot be re-connected. Even I try the wire, the connection to the router is not established. But other devices that are wire connected to the Uverse modem still work fine, which means the modem is still working properly.

 

When the problem first appeared, I searched the internet and thought the problem was in the DHCP part. In my original setting, the range of Uverse modem DHCP was 192.168.0.64-192.168.0.253, and the Asus router was automatically assigned to 192.168.0.67. According to the posts that I saw both here and elsewhere, I should change the router's IP out of the DHCP range of the Uverse modem. So I logged into Asus router and changed its IP to 192.168.1.1. But the problem persists.

 

The only solution I can do now is to unplug the router and then restart it. It will work for a day or two, then it will just randomly disconnect again.

 

Any diagonose of this problem? Thanks a bunch for your feedback.

 

Community Support

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1.7K Messages

10 years ago

Hi xiaojunch,

 

That is definitely odd on how the wireless just drops. When the wireless goes out, is the only way to get it back up by restarting the ASUS? If you restart the computer, does it come back up? Also, does it even get an IP address when trying to connect wirelessly, or does it just get stuck trying to get a connection? 

When it does go out next time, see if you can perform a tracert to a site, such as google.com. 

 

Let us know how it goes.

 

-David T

Contributor

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3 Messages

10 years ago

Hi David,

 

Thanks very much for your help, really appreciate it.

 

Yes, the only way to get back online is to restart the Asus router.

 

I will try to post the result of tracert next time the problem occurs. But I doubt if I can get any useful info, since the wifi is simply disconnected. I guess the system log from the Asus router or the modem might help, but not sure. Let me know if you would like to see this info as well.

 

Again, really appreciate your help!

 

 

Community Support

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1.7K Messages

10 years ago

Hi xiaojunch,

 

That is odd that it takes a full reset of the Asus router. When you lose access, also see if you can access the Asus GUI and the U-verse modem's GUI. But since it takes a reset of the Asus router, it sounds like there may be an issue with the routing configuration causing some kind of routing loop that can only be fixed with a reset.

 

-David T

Former Employee

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11 Messages

10 years ago

I have the same exact problem I am using U-Verse with a ASUS RT-AC68R - I have been updating to the current firmeware on the router and it is also in AP mode.  After a time it eventually fixes itself, but a reboot resolves it quicker.

 

I cannot determine if the ASUS router isn't talking to the U-Verse router or the U-Verse router isn't talking to the ASUS router.  I originally had the ASUS router have a static IP outside of the DHCP range, so I thought maybe changing it to a DHCP address would help - it did not.  Also because I am not sitting in front of my wired PC I can't tell if it also affects the ethernet connection as well (I would assume it does and it's something with with the connection between the routers - which by the way is a wired connection).

 

So using the ASUS wifi - I cannot reach the U-Verse router, I haven't tried connecting to the u-verse wifi and seeing if I could hit the ASUS router yet.  I usually have to deal with a screaming family that their wifi isn't working and have to get it back up as quickly as possible to stop them from yelling at me. 

 

It is frustrating.

 

Brian

 

I am an AT&T employee and the postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent AT&T’s position, strategies or opinions.

Former Employee

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11 Messages

10 years ago

Just found another firmware update - so also the DNS entries are both pointing to the U-Verse router, I did manually set them once and that didn't help either.

Mentor

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51 Messages

10 years ago

Do a 30-30-30 reset. This may or may not work, but maybe start from scratch?

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r28553644-Other-Asus-RT-N66U-connection-setup-problems

Try a 30-30-30 reset:
1) Press and HOLD the Reset button for 30 sec.
2) Continue holding the Reset button, and Disconnect the power from the router.
3) Continue holding the Reset button for 30 sec. with power disconnected.
4) Continue holding the Reset button while reconnecting power.
5) Continue holding the Reset button for a final 30 seconds with power applied, then release.
6) Wait 1-2 min. for router to reinitialize.

That SHOULD reset the router to it's Factory 'Out-of-the-box' configuration.

If that doesn't work, then the Router needs to be exchanged under Warranty (RMA).

ACE - Expert

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34.7K Messages

10 years ago

Another possible problem with consumer routers behind RGs is that the RGs don't follow the RFC specifications for DHCP renewals.  The IP address from which the renewal reply comes from isn't the same as most implementations and may be filtered/blocked/ignored by your router, which will cause an issue when the lease runs out.

 

There are posts on the forum on how to address this, but they're firmware specific.

Former Employee

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11 Messages

10 years ago

So if I change the DHCP lease time to be 999 hours, that would theoretically reduce the number of instances of losing connectivity to the U-Verse router?

 

I didn't see anything specific to my router and I didn't see any settings that had anything to do with DHCP (I think becuase I have it in AP mode which disabled DHCP).

 

we'll see how it goes, thank you.

 

Brian

ACE - Expert

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34.7K Messages

10 years ago

Unfortunately, these DHCP parameters are governed by the RG for its LAN (not the client router).  They cannot be changed and, IIRC, the lease time is 20 minutes, which means it starts trying to renew at 10 minutes and usually fails at 20.  Then it might get a new lease on the same IP and go back to working again.

 

Contributor

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3 Messages

10 years ago

Hi all,

 

It's been a while since I posted my experience here, and I appreciate all the feedback.

 

Unfortunately, my router has been doing the same thing, constantly dropping connections, and I found no solution so far. My wife has been complaining about it, and I have to buy an Apple airport extreme. I haven't tried the set up yet., but I hope it could solve my problem.

 

In any case, I will avoid Uverse internet from now on, and have suggested my friends to stay away from it as much as possible.

 

Why is it so hard to use my own router instead the free router by ATT, even for a guy who is relatively tech-savvy?

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