UPDATE: We've received a new wireless modem from our ISP, which has room for four wired connections, so it is functionally identical to the router(s) we were using, and everything seems to be working now. As such, I've decided to stop trying to make the router(s) work and be happy with working internet 
. Also, it turns out my dad loves plugging in cables without checking where they come from, so he stuck both ends of the same cable into one of our switches, which if I remember correctly is an absolutely great way to fuck up a local network, so that may have been the culprit. Thanks for your time and effort, everyone
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Hello everyone,
I have seen and resolved a few network issues over the years (thanks Google), but yesterday a problem came up that just completely stumps me.
Hardware/Setup
Modem: Arris touchstone telephony moden (15-ish years old, don't know the specific model) and Ubee EVM320b (for backup, not actually connected)
Router: TP-Link AC750 (Archer C2) and a freshly bought ASUS RT-N66R (both dual-band wireless routers)
PC: Asus PRIME B250M-A motherboard, Intel Core i5 CPU, Seasonic G Series 450 PSU. OS: Windows 10. Using integrated Realtek ethernet adapter, driver version 10.10.714.2016
NAS: None
ISP: Ziggo
My PC is the only wired computer, and there is a laptop which is occasionally used and connects wirelessly to the router (there are a few other devices connected via wire, such as a streaming box, TV, console, etc, connected via a TP-Link switch)
The Problem
After using the internet all day without an issue, suddenly we were unable to connect to the internet on any device connected to our router. On my PC, the error received is an 'invalid IP configuration' (It *should* get an IP address in the 192.168.etc range, but it gets an IP starting with 169, subnet mask of 255.255.0.0 and no default gateway or DNS). Meanwhile, wireless devices do seem to get an IP in the correct range but still cannot connect to the internet.
What Have We Tried?
- First, we rebooted the router by powering it off for a few minutes then powering it back on. When that did not work, we made it reset. This did not fix the issue.
- Second, we tried rebooting our modem. For some reason, after both the modem and router reset, we very temporarily had internet (a few minutes at most), but then everything went back to being less-than-useful. We also tried the modem's reset button, as per the advice of our ISP helpdesk, but it did not work.
- The ISP also informed us that there were no known service disruptions in our area.
- Third, we tried replacing our old modem with a newer one we borrowed from a friend (they hadn't used it since they moved some 6 months back, but it was working at that time). This also did not correct the issue.
- Lastly, we bought a new router (the ASUS), concluding that if the issue was not our modem, nor a service disruption, then the router was the likely culprit. After installing the new router, however, it was unable to get a connection to the internet on our old modem (it seemed unable to detect our 'connection type'). On the newer modem, it *did* get an internet connection, but for some reason any device connected to the router still could not access the internet.
- On the laptop (which I had to use since only wireless devices could connect to the router), the error given was 'unable to detect proxy settings', even though neither the laptop nor the router have any proxy settings enabled.
Additional Information
- The PC seems entirely unable to connect to the router. Its IP address places it outside of the local network, and in the router's admin panel the PC will not show up on a list of connected devices.
- The Modem seems to connect to the ISP just fine (all the lights are on, and the 'Link' light is blinking, which I gather is supposed to be the case when the network is in use)
- When plugged directly into the modem (well, via a switch with no other devices attached), the PC has working internet and seems not to have any issues whatsoever.
- We receive a dynamic IP from our ISP, no login credentials or special settings are required (I double-checked with them), so both routers should be 'plug and play' without the need for tweaking any special settings.
- Possibly irrelevant: This issue started exactly when we were plugging in our radio to the wired network (that is, into a switch connected directly to our router). I have no extreme networking knowledge, but could it be causing some network issues? One of my thoughts was it might have somehow damaged the old router due to faulty hardware, but then why does the problem persist with the new router? (we made sure the radio is no longer connected via a wired connection)
Concluding
I'm stumped. The modem doesn't seem to be the issue (plugging into it directly works fine and a second modem produces similar, though not identical issues), the router doesn't seem to be the issue (both the old and the new router won't work, seems extremely unlikely for both to be 'broken' in the exact same way), so what else could it be? The ISP seems to be of no use to me (so far, after our conversations all they've done is promise to send us a new modem, but that's unlikely to solve anything at all, and even if it would, it'll take 1-2 weeks to get here according to them). Which is why I'm hoping some networking wizards here may have some idea of what's going on. I'll provide whatever additional information required.
Thank you for your time and patience.
. Also, it turns out my dad loves plugging in cables without checking where they come from, so he stuck both ends of the same cable into one of our switches, which if I remember correctly is an absolutely great way to fuck up a local network, so that may have been the culprit. Thanks for your time and effort, everyone -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Hello everyone,
I have seen and resolved a few network issues over the years (thanks Google), but yesterday a problem came up that just completely stumps me.
Hardware/Setup
Modem: Arris touchstone telephony moden (15-ish years old, don't know the specific model) and Ubee EVM320b (for backup, not actually connected)
Router: TP-Link AC750 (Archer C2) and a freshly bought ASUS RT-N66R (both dual-band wireless routers)
PC: Asus PRIME B250M-A motherboard, Intel Core i5 CPU, Seasonic G Series 450 PSU. OS: Windows 10. Using integrated Realtek ethernet adapter, driver version 10.10.714.2016
NAS: None
ISP: Ziggo
My PC is the only wired computer, and there is a laptop which is occasionally used and connects wirelessly to the router (there are a few other devices connected via wire, such as a streaming box, TV, console, etc, connected via a TP-Link switch)
The Problem
After using the internet all day without an issue, suddenly we were unable to connect to the internet on any device connected to our router. On my PC, the error received is an 'invalid IP configuration' (It *should* get an IP address in the 192.168.etc range, but it gets an IP starting with 169, subnet mask of 255.255.0.0 and no default gateway or DNS). Meanwhile, wireless devices do seem to get an IP in the correct range but still cannot connect to the internet.
What Have We Tried?
- First, we rebooted the router by powering it off for a few minutes then powering it back on. When that did not work, we made it reset. This did not fix the issue.
- Second, we tried rebooting our modem. For some reason, after both the modem and router reset, we very temporarily had internet (a few minutes at most), but then everything went back to being less-than-useful. We also tried the modem's reset button, as per the advice of our ISP helpdesk, but it did not work.
- The ISP also informed us that there were no known service disruptions in our area.
- Third, we tried replacing our old modem with a newer one we borrowed from a friend (they hadn't used it since they moved some 6 months back, but it was working at that time). This also did not correct the issue.
- Lastly, we bought a new router (the ASUS), concluding that if the issue was not our modem, nor a service disruption, then the router was the likely culprit. After installing the new router, however, it was unable to get a connection to the internet on our old modem (it seemed unable to detect our 'connection type'). On the newer modem, it *did* get an internet connection, but for some reason any device connected to the router still could not access the internet.
- On the laptop (which I had to use since only wireless devices could connect to the router), the error given was 'unable to detect proxy settings', even though neither the laptop nor the router have any proxy settings enabled.
Additional Information
- The PC seems entirely unable to connect to the router. Its IP address places it outside of the local network, and in the router's admin panel the PC will not show up on a list of connected devices.
- The Modem seems to connect to the ISP just fine (all the lights are on, and the 'Link' light is blinking, which I gather is supposed to be the case when the network is in use)
- When plugged directly into the modem (well, via a switch with no other devices attached), the PC has working internet and seems not to have any issues whatsoever.
- We receive a dynamic IP from our ISP, no login credentials or special settings are required (I double-checked with them), so both routers should be 'plug and play' without the need for tweaking any special settings.
- Possibly irrelevant: This issue started exactly when we were plugging in our radio to the wired network (that is, into a switch connected directly to our router). I have no extreme networking knowledge, but could it be causing some network issues? One of my thoughts was it might have somehow damaged the old router due to faulty hardware, but then why does the problem persist with the new router? (we made sure the radio is no longer connected via a wired connection)
Concluding
I'm stumped. The modem doesn't seem to be the issue (plugging into it directly works fine and a second modem produces similar, though not identical issues), the router doesn't seem to be the issue (both the old and the new router won't work, seems extremely unlikely for both to be 'broken' in the exact same way), so what else could it be? The ISP seems to be of no use to me (so far, after our conversations all they've done is promise to send us a new modem, but that's unlikely to solve anything at all, and even if it would, it'll take 1-2 weeks to get here according to them). Which is why I'm hoping some networking wizards here may have some idea of what's going on. I'll provide whatever additional information required.
Thank you for your time and patience.
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