Unstable wired router connection after installing powerline

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Jim_94

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Oct 8, 2016
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Hello,

I'm a little stuck. I have an ASUS AC88U router connected to a Virgin Hub 3.0. This has been working really well and I've received speeds of 211/11. However, because my house has thick walls, I don't get much internet connectivity at the back of it. I therefore bought an ASUS PL-AC56 (powerline network). It seemed fairly easy to set up and I can now receive stable speeds of 40/11 via the wired connection that comes from the powerline adapter (in a separate room).

The powerline connection seems to be stable. It doesn't drop out or lose connectivity. However, my original wired connection (PC plugging straight into my router) now regularly drops connection.

Has anyone else experienced this? If I unplug the ethernet cable that connects the router to the powerline adapter the connectivity problems cease and my base PC is back to normal. However, I obviously can't then connect the PC in the other room.

Does anyone have any advice for this? I would really appreciate your help. I'm a bit of a novice in terms of wifi connectivity but I'm a keen learner and I'm learning fast.

Thanks in advance for your help
Jim
 
Solution
RealBeast
Since you went with all ASUS gear, I would work with ASUS support on the issue.

In the meantime, I would reset both devices and set them up again, and do the main unit first followed by the extender unit. Also, check that the main unit (the one at the router with no antennae) is in AP mode, although it should default to that setting. You can attach a computer to the main unit and access the web based setup to check the details of the connection to insure that it is correct.

Also take a look to see that the powerline device IP addresses are not in the DHCP assignment range of the AC88U, which could cause an IP address conflict, although I would have expected that ASUS should have thought about that one.
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RealBeast

RealBeast

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Sep 13, 2010
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Since you went with all ASUS gear, I would work with ASUS support on the issue.

In the meantime, I would reset both devices and set them up again, and do the main unit first followed by the extender unit. Also, check that the main unit (the one at the router with no antennae) is in AP mode, although it should default to that setting. You can attach a computer to the main unit and access the web based setup to check the details of the connection to insure that it is correct.

Also take a look to see that the powerline device IP addresses are not in the DHCP assignment range of the AC88U, which could cause an IP address conflict, although I would have expected that ASUS should have thought about that one.
 
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Solution
J

Jim_94

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Oct 8, 2016
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Thank you for the help. I reset the router and the powerline devices and double checked that the powerline device is in AP mode. I also sent Asus Tech Support an email (good advice).

Out of interest, how do I tell if the powerline device IP addresses are not in the DHCP assignment range of the AC88U?

Thanks,
Jim
 
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RealBeast

RealBeast

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You can open the router configuration page by typing in the router gateway IP address (the default is 192.168.1.1) into the browser of a computer connected to the router, the the default user and pword is admin and admin if you have not changed them.

You can click on the LAN tab under advanced settings on the left side and then select the DHCP server tab and it will show the range.

Compare that to the address used by the adapters, if any (some don't use them but since that has an AP unit it may). You would find that by either attaching to the AP unit and using the web interface, or through the router configuration pages under the general tab network map, click on clients and look at the list of attached devices that should show each ip address for all connected devices.
 
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Jim_94

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Thanks for your prompt advice! The range is 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.254 on the router and the IP address of the powerline is 192.168.1.1. This appears to be out of the range. Could this be my problem? I really appreciate your help here. Thanks again.
 
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RealBeast

RealBeast

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That is a problem. Your router gateway address is 192.168.1.1.

You have two choices. Stated most simply you can either change the IP address of the powerline or the gateway address of the router, whichever is easier to accomplish. So either of these:

(1) change the router gateway IP address to 192.168.1.254 and make its DHCP range 192.168.1.2 to .253 (or some lower number that is enough to cover all devices).

(2) change the powerline IP address to 192.168.1.254 and change the router DHCP range to 192.168.1.2 to .253 (or again some smaller number like .128 to leave room for future static addresses if needed).

I'm pretty sure this is what is causing the issue. The router gateway address is in conflict with the powerline address. :)
 
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Jim_94

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Oct 8, 2016
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Never mind, sorry. The easier option was to go with your first suggestion. I did that instead.

All seems well so far. I'll report back in a little bit.
 
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RealBeast

RealBeast

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My bad, I thought that picture was of the router. So you actually have a third option, get an IP address automatically on the page that you posted by clicking the button to get an address automatically although I prefer to have APs on static addresses.

I'm a bit surprised that ASUS didn't think about the two being used together. :)
 
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Jim_94

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Oct 8, 2016
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You beauty! I had to reset the powerline adapters again to get them working but all seems well across both parts of the house now. My partner doesn't have to spend all her time in the same room as me any more. Not only have you helped me here, you've helped save my marriage! ;)

Sincerely, thank you very much for you kind, detailed and patient assistance. May the karma be returned.
 
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