Router keeps locking up/freezing, even after being replaced, any ideas??

[drnick5]

Hey folks, I've been dealing with this problem for a few months now, and I'm at a loss of what is causing this.

I originally had an Asus RT-N56U as my router, I have a desktop PC hooked up via Cat 6 to the router, and a HP microserver running Freenas hooked into the router via Cat 6 as well. (used to store my Movies/Tv shows) I download media from my desktop computer directly to the NAS using Utorrent.
I kept having problems with the N56U totally locking up on me. It just seems to freeze. Won't respond to pings, can't connect via the web GUI, Wireless on my laptop and phone won't work, etc. When I look at the router, all the lights seem to be on, but nothing works. The only solution is to power cycle the router, which gets everything back up and running for an indeterminate amount of time. (usually a few days at least).

I tried upgrading to the latest Asus firmware, but still kept having the freezing issues. I also tried using the "Padavan" firmware that i found on google forums, but this kept freezing as well. I flashed back to Asus firmware which would still freeze. After looking up the problem, I see several people had this problem with the same router. I opened up a ticket with Asus and sent the router in for RMA.

I had a Brand new Asus RT-AC66u still in box that I "borrowed" from work to use while my N56U was being sent in for RMA. Its been set up for about a week, last night while streaming a movie with XBMC while downloading 1 other movie, the same thing happened! Router became entirely unresponsive, I had to powercycle it, which got everything working again.

My question, Any idea what is causing this to happen? Is it just bad luck I might have 2 bad routers? (I'm thinking this is unlikely, but possible). I have all devices plugged directly into the router. I'm thinking maybe torrent traffic plus streaming locally might be too much for it to handle? but this is a $200 router! Last night I had 7 torrents seeding and 1 torrent downloading while I was streaming, I'd think it SHOULD be able to handle that....

My only other idea is getting a gigabit switch to hook my NAS and PC into, and uplink that to the router, I'm not sure if this will help tho.

Any ideas, thoughts or suggestions?

 

[ohio_grad_06]

Is it overheating? I know I've used a couple of linksys routers that acted that way. Anyway, last time it did it, instead of setting it on it's base as it was designed, I leaned it at an angle so the vent holes were more open, don't think it's locked up since. Maybe put a cheap laptop cooler under it for ventilation? I've seen them for as little as 5 bucks in discount stores. Maybe rig something up using an AC to usb power plug, plug the cooler into that for juice to run it's fans, and set your router on top. I know doing that is rigging it basically, but for a few bucks, what do you have to lose?

 

[drnick5]

Thanks for the suggestion, The N56U did seem to be a bit hot to me, so I thought it might be overheating which is why I sent it in for RMA. But the AC66U doesn't seem hot at all. The room it's sitting in isn't any warmer than the rest of the house.

I could try rigging up a small fan to rule out overheating.

 

[ohio_grad_06]

Like I said, I know a Linksys I've worked on used to do that at times, and you could feel the desk under it was warm. You know what else would work.....

http://www.sears.com/universal-mesh...7605-pvblk/p-SPM11396333919?redirectType=SRDT

Turn it upside down, set the router on top to give the bottom room to breathe. Just an idea. Doing that may seem rigged, but just a thought. You can probably get something at a dollar store like that to try so you aren't spending a lot of money.

 

[mr m]

Man, this is a tough one since it goes for days to a week between failures. It sucks but at least it's your rig and you're not spending hours at a customer whose freaking out.

I'd use the divide and conquer approach since this is such an intermittent problem.

To narrow down the potential conflict I'd unplug the NAS system from the router for a week plus and see what happens. Just watch TV the old fashioned way for a while. I don't see how else to determine where the problem lies.

Good point ohio about heat. I've had issues with routers sitting on top of modems/desktops locked in computer desks with little or no ventilation.

 

[drnick5]

Haha yeah, I'd probably be more stressed if this was for a client rather than myself. But we all know how much is sucks to come home and have to fix your own IT problems!

Unfortunately, I can't unplug the NAS for a week as its my main source of entertainment. (I don't have cable, so all of my TV and movie watching is done by downloading them to the nas then streaming them to my PC which is hooked directly into my TV).

The thoughts I've come up with so far are:

1. Move the power cord from the powerstrip to the outlet directly.

2. if this doesn't work, Turn off DDNS on my router (maybe someone is DDOSing my router causing it to crash? I also had DDNS set up on the old router)

3. If it still crashes, try unplugging my Honeywell gateway (this allows me to control my thermostat from a mobile app, but I can live without that for a week or so to test)

4. Put my PC and NAS on a separate switch to alleviate some of the routers duties.

5. Find a sledgehammer

 

[glennd]

i'm going for the "unfortunate coincidence" theory. yes, you got two dud asus routers. unlikely but not impossible. try to replace with a different brand.

i have experienced my router doing weird stuff when the modem to which it's connected goes out to lunch. have to reboot both of them to get back online.

 

[drnick5]

My original router is due to arrive back from repair any day now, so I'll hook that up and see if I still have problems. If they are gone, then I know I had 2 bad routers, if it still crashed it means that either A) they didn't fix the broken router, or B) something else is causing this.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I know that torrent crap can bog down most home grade routers, with it's 8 katrillion concurrent sessions that simply pounds the sheet out of the routers state tables. But the newer Asus models are supposed to be able to handle many concurrent session well.

What make/model "modem" is in front of the router? Is it a combo modem/router (gateway)....if so..perhaps that's what's getting pounded.

Putting the PC and NAS on another switch doesn't alleviate any of the routers duties....it's CPU and RAM is used in "routing"....it spends nothing on the built in switch, that's all separate hardware on the switch side.

 

[Moltuae]

I've had configurations cause routers to behave like this. From memory, namely NAT Loopback and incorrect WAN settings. And sometimes certain configurations can cause the firmware to get stuck in a loop under certain conditions; sometimes because the configuration creates a conflict; sometimes because the configuration simply exposes a firmware bug.

I would take the router back to factory settings and start with a minimal configuration, avoiding any NAT forwarding, etc initially, then reintroduce your settings one by one.

 

[drnick5]

I know that torrent crap can bog down most home grade routers, with it's 8 katrillion concurrent sessions that simply pounds the sheet out of the routers state tables. But the newer Asus models are supposed to be able to handle many concurrent session well.

What make/model "modem" is in front of the router? Is it a combo modem/router (gateway)....if so..perhaps that's what's getting pounded.

Putting the PC and NAS on another switch doesn't alleviate any of the routers duties....it's CPU and RAM is used in "routing"....it spends nothing on the built in switch, that's all separate hardware on the switch side.

I used to torrent using an old WRT54GL for years until I upgraded it and din't have any issues. But as you said, these Asus routers are supposed to be able to handle a ton of connections. I usually only have 10-20 items seeding at any given time. I have friends who have 100's of torrents running without issues.

I have a Motorola Surfboard 6121 Modem (I'm very against modem/router combo Gateways). It's been pretty rock solid since I've owned it, I think i've had to reboot it twice in the past 2 years, once being after a hurricane.

 

[ohio_grad_06]

Asus has some good things don't get me wrong. But like their motherboards for example, I don't use. I tend to stick to Gigabyte. I do a lot of my part shopping at a Microcenter store, went in there a while back, and they had a bunch of return/refurb Asus boards in the display case at discounts. Even higher end ones. So I am a little wary of them. I've had gamers bring me systems with $200 Asus boards that had issues. In fact, one guy had one of their sabertooth boards, he'd already I think had it exchanged under warranty once before, and had trouble again as well. So personally I tend to go with Gigabyte or other brands.

 

[frase]

Same experience with Gigabyte - capacitor blown after 9 months? High end board..never used GB ever again.

Asus has some good things don't get me wrong. But like their motherboards for example, I don't use. I tend to stick to Gigabyte. I do a lot of my part shopping at a Microcenter store, went in there a while back, and they had a bunch of return/refurb Asus boards in the display case at discounts. Even higher end ones. So I am a little wary of them. I've had gamers bring me systems with $200 Asus boards that had issues. In fact, one guy had one of their sabertooth boards, he'd already I think had it exchanged under warranty once before, and had trouble again as well. So personally I tend to go with Gigabyte or other brands.

ASUS router? They are great with motherboards and Notebooks but not routers.
Netgear is one I would reccomend.

 

[glennd]

Netgear is one I would reccomend.

i don't recommend netgear. i've had three cook themselves in the last month or so.

 

[HCHTech]

Yeah, I wish there was a clear winner out there. I long for the good old days of the WRT54GL. Used to buy them by the dozen and never regreted a single one.

Now, get off my lawn!

 

[drnick5]

I couldn't agree more. I used the WRT54GL with DDWRT for years without problems. I used to use them pretty often for small businesses and residential clients. They were about as rock solid as any router I've seen. I haven't been able to find a perfect replacement.

I've never liked netgear or D-link routers, But I wasn't a fan of the newer style linksys that they made after the GL's. I've used the Asus N-12 routers recently for residential clients and haven't had a single complaint. I've been looking into the Ubiquiti routers, as I've used their access points with great success, but it seems all of their routers are only 10/100. not Gigabit, which is pretty surprising these days.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Yeah I remember those wrt54 models...hell, I installed some of the first 1,000 Linksys BEFSR41 routers to roll off the assembly line.

Then the later wrt54gl models...lots of those. Rocked with DD or better yet...Tomato firmware.

But lets face it...old "G" wireless...with its realistic 18-22 megs throughput, and that little 200 MHz CPU, and 16 megs of RAM....just don't cut it with todays faster fiber 'n cable connections..it's a real bottleneck.

drnick...the best replacement I've found for these is the Cisco e3000...I actually still have one at home as my primary. 480 MHz CPU, 64 megs of RAM, takes to 3rd party firmware well (I run Tomato on it). Can't bog it down! Disco'd by now...I don't have a current generation replacement in mind.

 

[ohio_grad_06]

See myself, almost never a problem with a Gigabyte board. I had issues with one, but it was probably 5-6 years old at least.

The only other one I ever had a problem with, get this.

1. Build client a system
2. Client seems happy
3. Client calls back months later, computer shutting off.
4. I check, computer is 90% stable, but will every once in a while shut off.
5. Replace board, no more issues.

Find out later that the guy apparently was doing drywall in the next room to where he keeps the machine, don't think he shut it off, didn't bother to cover it up. REALLY??? Glad that system is out of warranty

As far as routers, I'm surprised to hear of folks having issues. For me, netgear routers have been solid as a rock. I've had issues with belkins, ciscos, etc. Netgears for me never seem to miss a beat. I had one I just gave to the recycler that actually still worked.

An old wireless g router.

One like this in fact.

http://www.amazon.com/Netgear-WGR614NA-WGR614-Wireless-G-Router/dp/B00008SCFL

I bought it originally 5-6 years ago in a yard sale for like 10 bucks just because I needed one for the house and didn't have much money, so took a chance with it. Only bought a newer model because I wanted more speed.

Sadly enough my router at home is now laying sideways on the floor near the modem. We have ATT uverse DSL internet service, one working phone jack in our house as we don't have a landline so that's where it has to be plugged in. Of course we have 2 yorkies, one is 6.5 lbs, the other is 9 lbs, their pet bed is by the same area and it's surviving them lol. I need to get a table or something, but even then, we have these lamps.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays...bucket_id=irsbucketdefault&findingMethod=p13n

They are nice enough, but the pups at times decide to crawl on the shelves on bottom, the smaller one who is a male(naturally) is the adventurous one. That pup has got to be half cat the way he jumps. He will jump from the floor to couch in a single bound, I've known him to walk along the top of the back of the couch. If I get a snack and don't think, even if I put it on a table out of his reach, I've caught him climb up and pull it down and try to finish it off. Felt a little sorry for him once, he climbed onto the high arm of an easy chair we have and jumped on linoleum floor, must have hurt himself, because he hobbled around on 3 legs for a few days after doing that, but never has done it again.

Anyway, enough about my pets.


We got some for my 9-5, the netgear nighthawk.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2456...view-the-best-router-for-a-crowded-house.html

Should be interesting to set up. Physically, they seem huge for a wifi router, think like mac mini size, maybe a little bigger around.