Constant disconnects, is it my router or ISP?

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Jaren Jackson

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Feb 10, 2014
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10,510
Router: Western Digital myNet n750
I keep getting these random disconnects every so often, I used to think it was my ISP, but I've noticed a few things and I think it may be my router instead. Whenever I have these periods of being unable to connect, I've noticed that the router's setting page at 192.168.1.1 will not work at all. I've test this on both my phone and computer. Also I cannot access any other computers on my network.
I'm not sure if this is a problem with my router, but I want to know if I need a new one or if there might be a way to fix it.
 
Solution
M
First, check the uptime on your router. If you haven't manually rebooted it, but it shows a relatively low uptime, then we can be guaranteed that it's rebooting on its own, and could be an indicator that it needs to be replaced.

Is your computer wireless or wired? If wireless, physically connect it with a cable (and disable the wireless on your computer), and send constant pings to both the router, and 4.2.2.2. To send a constant ping in windows, you add the -t flag on the end of the command. For example:
ping 192.168.1.1 -t
ping 4.2.2.2 -t

I would set up the pings when you log on, and then once you encounter the issue, check what you see there. If you're seeing all of your traffic being dropped, then the router appears to be failing...
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mzinz

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Feb 10, 2014
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First, check the uptime on your router. If you haven't manually rebooted it, but it shows a relatively low uptime, then we can be guaranteed that it's rebooting on its own, and could be an indicator that it needs to be replaced.

Is your computer wireless or wired? If wireless, physically connect it with a cable (and disable the wireless on your computer), and send constant pings to both the router, and 4.2.2.2. To send a constant ping in windows, you add the -t flag on the end of the command. For example:
ping 192.168.1.1 -t
ping 4.2.2.2 -t

I would set up the pings when you log on, and then once you encounter the issue, check what you see there. If you're seeing all of your traffic being dropped, then the router appears to be failing for one reason or another.

Your options at that point are to update the firmware (this could fix your issue, regardless of if it's rebooting on its own, or just temporarily becoming unavailable), or, if that doesn't work, replace the device.

Edit: It should be noted that a routers HTTP portal becoming unavailable usually indicates a problem with the device and requires device replacement more often than not, in my experience.
 
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Solution
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Jaren Jackson

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Feb 10, 2014
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10,510
I don't know how to check the uptime on the router, but when i previously asked for help from western digital they told me to use a previous version of the firmware which I noticed made the disconnects more frequent, so they told me to upgrade it back to what it was before. It seemed to fix the problem for maybe 1-2 days, but it just came back and since then its been getting worse and worse. Right now I've been getting these random disconnect 5-6 times a day and they can be anywhere from 1-30 minutes. I have had a disconnect last more than an hour but its very rare and usually i end up going downstairs to restart the router and modem after 5 minutes of it. I have also notice my internet has not been as stable as it used to be, my ping in online games used to be a stable 50ms, but now it hops around between 50 and 400. I'm not really sure which problems are with the router or which ones are my ISP, but I really need the random disconnections to stop.

If I do need a new router, would you mind giving me some good suggestions on picking a new one?
 
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Jaren Jackson

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Feb 10, 2014
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10,510
I went to go plug it in to the router but it ended before i got down there... but i noted something interesting. I plugged my computer in and did a speed test just to see what i would get when i had my computer plugged into the router. This is what i got:
http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3297959491
Then I did another test using my wifi while i was next to the router:
http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3297963269
Then I went back to my desk and did another:
http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3297965084

Although when i was running ping 192.168.1.1 -t while i was walking towards the router it did not work when I was next to the router... So I'm guessing I am having a signal problem too even when it is working.

Edit: fixed the link, The point is that the speed on my wi-fi is very different when I'm at my desk, about a 50% loss in speed. The speed seems to start going down once i hit the hallway.
 
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mzinz

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Feb 10, 2014
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This is usually in the "status" page, or "admin" pages on your router (192.168.1.1).

As for the firmware - we've now ruled that out since you've already played with it.

Your first two posted speeds were the same link, so I'm not able to make any determinations from that.

Take another look in the router settings for the "uptime" (this just shows how long the router has been on since a reboot), and do the ping test and then we can make some conclusions.



 
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Jaren Jackson

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Feb 10, 2014
9
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10,510
I found where the uptime was listed and it says: 2 Day(s) 20 Hour(s) 53 Min(s) 6 Sec(s)
That is about the last time I has Manually rebooted it. However yesterday I had more than 5-6 of these disconnects so I don't think the router is rebooting when it disconnects.
I fixed the link in the previous post.
 
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mzinz

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Feb 10, 2014
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I see.

I would recommend leaving the ping-test for a few hours on your (connected, with no wifi) desktop, and just take a look when you get the next "disconnect". This will be telling.
 
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