It consists in a router, supported by a wi-fi extender. Typically we have four devices connected to this network. The maximum number of devices that are ever connected to it is eleven but I don’t think this ever actually happens, and have not seen this problem to have any particular association with the number of connected devices. It happens even when only a few are connected.
What happens is, it the network works fine for a day or two, and then one by one certain devices stop being able to get IP addresses. They can see the network, and connect to it, but cannot get an IP address. This doesn’t happen all at once–just one device at a time, though I haven’t been able to establish whether the devices drop out in the same order every time. But it’s always the same three devices, whatever the order is. It happens over the course of a day or two, such that every two to four days after resetting the network, I have to reset it again. (By trial and error I’ve discovered the only way to do this successfully is to first unplug the extender, thereby powering it off, then powering the router down, then powering the router up, then having the extender go through it’s network attachment process.
As far as I can tell, the problem is not affected by signal strength.
And once I do reset the network, everything’s peachy again for a day or two.
I had my cable company (the router is theirs) come out to take a look but the guy said he thinks it’s because we have so many wi-fi networks in our area it’s causing interference, and that all I can do is get my own router and hope it’s better than the cable company’s.
Does this sound plausible to you? I had a feeling he just didn’t want to bother with it.
Unfortunately, I’m unable to test what happens when I move these devices around or plug them directly into the router etc for logistical reasons.
Has it always has this issue since being set up? Or only since what change or update?
It’s plausible but they really should have ways of determining if it is so, not just shrugging and guessing.
In any case my first suspect would be the router, then the extender. When the devices cannot get an IP, which of the two wifi devices are they attached to ? Or can it be either?
Inability to get an IP address is a failure in the DHCP protocol. I have seen something similar a long time ago, but it seemed to clear. If the DHCP server thinks it has run out of addresses it will cease to provide them, However this isn’t supposed to happen. DHCP supplied addresses have a “lease time” after which they are returned to the pool and a device needs to re-request an address. But it is conceivable that the particular WiFi router has a problem (bug) and is getting swamped.
One way out is to explicitly set IP addresses for each device you have. If you use the DHCP control page on the router you can associate a given MAC address with a specific IP address. From then on the router will only give out that IP to that MAC. So there should be no way it can think it is unable to provide a lease when asked by one of your devices. You need to be quite sure that the address provided is within the range the DHCP server can allocate and the router will use. Writing down the configuration when the system is working OK, and then forcing the router to explicitly use that configuration is a good way of making sure.
It seems to be since setting up my PS4 and new TV (which connects as a Roku). They were also the reason I got the extender. I thought it was the extender at first, but I am not sure this is so since simply restarting the extender does not help–the devices can’t even connect to the router itself, not even weakly, when once I reset everything, they can.
Welp as far as I can tell I don’t have a DHCP control page on my router.
Is that a thing that happens or am I most likely just not seeing it somehow?
Edit: There is an option to disable DHCP under LAN settings. However I don’t see any interface for doing what you described above–it appears I’d have to manually enter the IP into the devices themselves I think? Does that sound plausible?
I have never used the cable company router (I have always supplied my own modem that has the router, and have recently added a separate wifi router to be able to have both the 2.4 and 5 GHz capabilities.
It is more time consuming to add the MAC addresses, but it gives you more protection in that you can control who uses the router.
But also, in general, I am a fan of providing your own router so you have complete control (we use Xfinity and they offer a side xfinity wifi to all xfinity users so someone could be surfing through my router as a “guest” and while I am sure I am protected, I just don’t care for that set up.
Also my general experience is the people that they have sent out to set up stuff for me over the years have not really been knowledgeable, and I would rather them just give it to me to set up.
They have no magic and in fact, have to call the same support number to get something set up that you or I would have to call.
Hopefully the suggestion of setting up the MAC address for each IP address will resolve the problem.
One thing that came to mind, the extender does have a different SSID than the router right?
And the technicians statement about too many other routers in the area is silly. There are tons of routers that I can “see” at my house and I have not had to reboot my router in recent memory.
And I typically have 4-5 laptops, 1 desktop, 4-5 smart phones, 3-4 tablets, 2 smart TVs, 1 smart blu-ray, 2 Nest thermostats coming online and leaving at any given time. I also have run the extender with no issues.
Most likely the IP lease time of your router and/or wifi extender is expiring every 24 hrs and the router/modem is getting confused with which device is providing Internet service. Sometimes it works out fine and they connect in the right order with each other again, sometimes it doesn’t and you have no services until you manually restart the units.
To avoid these issues, just put a power plug timer (see link) to the power outlet of the router & extender.
This will reset the IP’s automatically at let’s say 3am or 4am each day or when ever is convenient for yourself.
The other alternative is better performing gear, meaning more cost.
The plug timer thing–that sounds good. Really wish I could just get away with resetting the router. Unfortunately it seems the only thing that works involves not only powering both router and extender down, but also going through all the button pushes involved in setting the extender up in the first place. So the plug things may help but it will still be an annoyance.
Get a phone app like “WiFi Analyzer” [for android] and see which WiFi channels are free. All those other wireless networks in your vicinity are causing interference. Make sure you are on a free channel. I use g-band “3” for this reason, no-one else around here is on it.
