Router needs a power reset

arlo

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I have a Netgear C7000V2 cable modem router. On WiFI I have a desktop computer Win 10 and a youtube TV. I have to remove power and reapply power to reset two times a day. What can be causing this?
 

Whiskey3JMC

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Disconnect one device at a time off the wifi for troubleshooting purposes and leave one connected. Does issue exist with only one device connected? Repeat process for 2nd device. Any change?
 

arlo

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Problem got worse after adding the TV for Youtube. If I get a new router, what spec should I look for to get better performance?
 

tweiss3

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Combination modem/routers are always a compromise. Without knowing your ISP, its hard to recommend how to approach improvements. Since I have Spectrum, the modem is theirs, which makes it their problem. I seem to have a tech out every year to replace something (modem, service line, etc.).

I would do you wifi/routing with a separate device. I used to like Linksys years ago, but went to Amplifi HD mesh for years, and last year ended up replacing everything with Unifi which is more of a top end "prosumer"/small business system then a home system, but it works wonders.
 

BinaryMode

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There's a small recessed hole at the back of the modem/router labeled "reset". Using a smartphone SIM card remover or a small screw driver, toothpick, etc press and hold that button for at least 7 seconds and release. Now wait till everything synchronizes about 5 minutes. And see if that doesn't improve anything.

Without being there it's hard to tell what the issue could be. On the surface it sounds like bad firmware, routing table or something with the DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)

When I had Comcast I used a Motorola branded cable/router and it ran well. As was mentioned, you'll need to see if a modem/router is compatible with your ISP. You just can't use any type.

I'm sure you have already heard this before, but if you're using Wi-Fi and 2.4 GHz, with a 20 MHz bandwidth (you can go 40 MHz and piss your neighbors off. I do lol), stay on channels 1, 6 or 11. If you use 5 GHz or both bands set the 5 GHz channel to 36 through 48 and use at least 80 MHz bandwidth. This all requires you to of course login to the modem/router. Refer to your manual which can be found online.

Want something REALLY nice? Go OPNsense or pFsense and a dedicated AP like Grandstream that has a built-in controller. But I'm sure that's far and away above your pay grade. I used to use consumer grade routers flashed with ASUS Merlin or DD-WRT, but it all seemed like beta and ASUS Merlin was a little bit more limited than DD-WRT, but DD-WRT was like more beta. So I just decided to go enterprise grade or "prosumer."
 

arlo

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My ISP is Optimum business (SuddenLink). I also have their cable TV which is on a separate cable drop.
 

bharvey2

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You might also try connecting your TV and computer via ethernet cable vs a wireless connection (if you can) to determine whether the issue is a wi fi or routing issue.

I'm not a fan of combo units either. I prefer separate modem, router and APs but thats not for everyone. At the very least, use a separate modem and router. As noted above though, you'll need to find out which modems Optimum supports. I've got Comcast and have found that the Arris Surfboard S33 is a realible one, at least for Comcast/Xfinity.
 

RT48

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I have a Netgear C7000V2 cable modem router. On WiFI I have a desktop computer Win 10 and a youtube TV. I have to remove power and reapply power to reset two times a day. What can be causing this?
What symptom are you seeing that requires you to do this?
 

BinaryMode

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UPGADE ROUTER FIRMWARE

This would be up to the ISP since it's a modem - err router/modem combination. That's why I indicated to reset the router/modem just in case the firmware was updated a reset will have to be completed.
 

arlo

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I have learned to read the lights on router/modem. When it stops working, the upstream light is off. What is upstream?
Also, what is WPS with a lock icon? It never lights.
 

tweiss3

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The WPS is, when enabled, a quick way to make a secure connection to the network without typing in the key.

When the upstream light is off, that means there is an issue on the modem side, you have lost connection to the IPS. You need to call and make a complaint, and insist they send a technician out to do testing.
 

bharvey2

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In the "olden days", signals on your cable provider's cable only went one direct: cable company to customer. However with the advent of smart cable technology, information travels in both directions. (Think buying a pay=per-view event, etc.) With a modern DOCSIS 3 modem, there are multiple channels or streams of data (on different frequencies0 all running together. Ideally, signal strengths on all of those channels should be equal and within a certain range. However, sometimes bad connections, lengths of cable and excessive numbers of splitters can degrade the performance.

When things get too far out of whack, your modem will trouble as it can mo longer make up for the deficiencies mentioned above. I had a problem a while back and my modem would reboot on its own and disconnect my home network from the internet. In my case, the wiring method in my house (and the cable drop to my house) wasn't up to current standards and it was too hard for the modem to send data back to the cable provider.

I was able to determine my problem by logging into my cable modem and monitor both the downstream and upstream signals strength as well as the signal to noise ratios and packet loss on each of the aforementiioned DOCSIS channels. In my case, I could open a web browser on my computer and access the modem's system info web page at 192.168.100.1 This may work for you but you may want to research if and how this is done with your cable provider. In my case my modem was trying to ramp up upstream power but was still falling short and was unable to overcome all of the points of signal loss. I ended up rewiring my house with new cable, installed an "active return" amp/splitter and showed the cable company that their cable drop was bad and needed replacing. (Getting in touch with the proper personnel at my cable provider was no easy task and it took a good deal of persistence.)

I'd recommend seeing if you can locate a sytem page on your modem to see if you can monitor its behavior. I've added a few links that will help you gain a greater understanding of what information you'll be looking to obtain and how to decode it.

I hope this helps.



 

BinaryMode

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I have learned to read the lights on router/modem. When it stops working, the upstream light is off. What is upstream?
Also, what is WPS with a lock icon? It never lights.

WPS being off is a good thing actually. You never want to go the "easy route" and use WPS for the security of your Wi-Fi connection. Since it's off that means you're not using WPS. So that's good. You just want to use a good password like you are now. If I'm not mistaken, NIST recommends at least 20 characters with a mix of upper case, lower case letters numbers and symbols. Although that I believe is more for online websites like this website or your bank, etc. But the same can be applied to your Wi-Fi password as well. Ideally, and if you can manage it, the password should be 64 hexadecimal characters long or 63 ASCII characters long. Doing that and you will truly use AES 256 for the connection. What I do is use 63 ASCII characters where I separate each group of characters with a hyphen. Something like this: A457-N64A-8HGY, etc 63 characters long. That way when I have to enter that long string into something I can't copy and paste like my TV or NVIDIA Shield, the hyphen helps me distinguish the character groups. Much like a Windows product key.

The fact your upstream is going down means either a bad modem or bad firmware. There might be other factors. A bad drop could be one. The type of splitters, the tap, etc. I once had a bad drop where some cable channels simply wouldn't work. It took some three technicians to figure it out with the last technician actually seeing it on the meter he used. What happens in the drop (the line from your house to the tap (peg)) is that old cable can get water inside causing ingress or egress. This is also true for phone line in the case of DSL.


If I were you I'd have a technician come out and see what the deal is. But as I said, you should preform a reset in the modem/router first, wait a good 5 minutes and see if the problem still persists.
 
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