Intermittent slow speeds/router reboots. Failing NIC?

[CheerUpEmoKid]

OK so here's the story: I currently have Verizon FiOS as my provider. I pay for their 50/35 plan. Most of the time, there are no problems, everything is great. The problem seems to come, strangely, after 8PM. I know with FiOS, you have your own line, so neighborhood bandwidth usage shouldn't affect you, so I'm quite confused by this.

I've noticed that my speeds after 8PM have been drastically dropping. Using multiple speedtest servers, sometimes I'm lucky if I get 10mb down, rather than the 50 I'm paying for. The upload speeds mostly seem unaffected.

In addition to the speeds, my router seems to reboot itself 1-2 times per day. Usually it's at night, but that might just be due to me noticing it, as I'm usually on the computer around this time.

I've called up Verizon many times, never getting this sorted out. So far, they have sent me 4 new routers (MI424WR FiOS router), they all have the same problem. I've told them multiple times that I don't think it's the router, yet they keep sending me replacements.

I've had 2 technicians come to try and figure out what's going on. The first guy flat out told me he has no idea what's going on. He replaced the ONT terminal in the basement, and that was that. This didn't fix anything. The problem was still ongoing.

Two weeks later, I have another tech come out to the house. This tech also mentioned he didn't really know what to do, but he found a loose wire on the ONT, which he tightened up. He said that could cause the router to lose connection to the ONT. He also replaced the router again, and switched it over to connect to the ONT through ethernet, rather than coax.

Later that night, my router rebooted again. Just to rule out the possibility of an electrical issue, I replaced the electrical outlet on the wall for my computer stuff.

Ever since the second tech visit, I haven't noticed any speed issues, and the router hasn't rebooted itself since I swapped the outlet. It's been two nights, now. That said, last night I had some issues. I seemingly lost an internet connection to most services, yet my router didn't reboot itself. I couldn't access any websites with any web browser, I couldn't connect to any game servers, but I was still signed into skype, and was able to talk to people on skype.

So I went to disable my NIC and re-enable it to refresh my connection. As soon as I disabled it, my computer became very choppy, but didn't quite freeze. Mouse movements and other commands were delayed and very choppy. This was in Windows 7. I rebooted into Linux Mint and performance was fine. At first, I still couldn't access the internet on anything other than skype, but it seemed to fix itself after two minutes or so.

I also need to mention that I am using a wired ethernet connection for my PC. Other devices on the network were also experiencing the same issues throughout.

Now that the big long story is out of the way, is this a sign that my NIC is failing? It's an onboard unit, so it's part of my motherboard. I haven't really noticed any other issues with my PC. The one listed in my signature is the computer in question. How can I go about testing and fixing this problem.

I said earlier that I haven't noticed any speed issues or router reboots recently, but I can't say for sure that the problem is gone now; it just hasn't happened since.

Sorry for the huge wall of text. Does anyone have any advice to offer? Thanks!

 

[CheerUpEmoKid]

just coming back to post an update. my router just rebooted itself again today. still not sure what's going on here. any ideas?

checked my router firmware, and everything is up to date. any help would be appreciated

EDIT: I just ran the inter driver update tool, and noticed there was an updated driver for my onboard NIC. Not sure if it'll help anything, but here's hoping

 

[nsafreak]

If other devices on your network are also affected by this issue I'm a bit doubtful that it's your NIC that's failing. What other devices are hooked into this router on your network? What is your typical network usage, are there any users that are using protocols that would open multiple connections such as bittorrent?

 

[QuietDad]

I also need to mention that I am using a wired ethernet connection for my PC. Other devices on the network were also experiencing the same issues throughout.

That statement makes me lean to in NOT being a NIC problem. If everyone is haveing problems, it points to the router or the line. If you google MI424WR you will find you are far from alone.

I was Cablevision for years and recently switched to FIOS for price more than any other reason and I work for a subcontracting firm that does Cablevision and Comcast installations and have many years of networking background.

The real issue is the FIOS router has TONS of issues. In my house it got so annoying that I Took my old router from the Cablevision days and had FIOS install it to the ethernet port of the ONT. The port has to be enabled and can be done over the phone if you want to run the cable yourself. I then hooked up the Actiontech to the cable and disabled the wireless. The Actiontech has to be on the network somewhere so VOD works. I also tried going from a LAN port on my old router to the WAN port on the Actiontech.

Both of these ways made my problems go away. I changed from the Actiontech connected to my router to the Actiontech being connected to the cable to separate it completely from my network. My network has been rock solid ever since.

 

[lif_andi]

Any device that is turned on at that time (after 8pm), and maybe turned off at other times ?

 

[CheerUpEmoKid]

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll reply to each below.

If other devices on your network are also affected by this issue I'm a bit doubtful that it's your NIC that's failing. What other devices are hooked into this router on your network? What is your typical network usage, are there any users that are using protocols that would open multiple connections such as bittorrent?

I've got a few things running off the router. Ok, maybe more than a few. There is only one PC on the router as a wired connection. The rest are other devices. I have two 4-port mini switches that I use around the two televisions for hooking up various things such as a slingbox, smart tv, ps3, etc. I also have a second router I'm using for wireless. I had the older style FiOS router that didn't support wireless N, so I set up a second router connected to the FiOS router to get a better signal. There are two laptops wirelessly connecting to the secondary router.

I do run a bittorrent client mostly 24/7 with 50+ torrents, but I've been doing this for years, and this problem has only come about in the last few months.

I know it's not an ideal setup, but I didn't take much care into setting all this up, and after reading what QuietDad wrote below, I'm interested if I can change things around here.

That statement makes me lean to in NOT being a NIC problem. If everyone is haveing problems, it points to the router or the line. If you google MI424WR you will find you are far from alone.

I was Cablevision for years and recently switched to FIOS for price more than any other reason and I work for a subcontracting firm that does Cablevision and Comcast installations and have many years of networking background.

The real issue is the FIOS router has TONS of issues. In my house it got so annoying that I Took my old router from the Cablevision days and had FIOS install it to the ethernet port of the ONT. The port has to be enabled and can be done over the phone if you want to run the cable yourself. I then hooked up the Actiontech to the cable and disabled the wireless. The Actiontech has to be on the network somewhere so VOD works. I also tried going from a LAN port on my old router to the WAN port on the Actiontech.

Both of these ways made my problems go away. I changed from the Actiontech connected to my router to the Actiontech being connected to the cable to separate it completely from my network. My network has been rock solid ever since.

It's good to know I'm not alone with this. I currently have a second router I have piggy-backing off the FiOS router. It's an Asus RT-N53 that I flashed with DD-WRT. It's mostly being used as a switch and wireless signal re-broadcast. I'm very interested in what you have set up.

I know that the FiOS router needs to be there for program guide downloads and VOD for FiOS TV, but reading what you have set up, I'd like to try that. There's a way to have my Asus router hooked in directly to the ONT, and STILL have the FiOS router taking care of my TV stuff? That would be fantastic. I had the last tech that came out here run an ethernet and switch it over to use that rather than the coax, so that part should already be set up.

If it's not too much to ask, would you be able to point me to a walk-through on setting it up for that? That would be perfect!

Any device that is turned on at that time (after 8pm), and maybe turned off at other times ?

No, I can't say there is. I thought it was the slingbox for a while causing this issue, but it also seems to be happening even when it's not in use.

 

[QuietDad]

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/16710 shows you basically how I have it and http://www.dslreports.com/faq/16077 shows you all the other different ways and the trade offs with each. It all depends of the features of FIOS you actually use. The first link allows CallerID on the TVs and the multiroom feature of the DVR to continue to work along with mediashare.

It's really a hit or miss and may take an afternoon of fiddling around to get it.

 

[CheerUpEmoKid]

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/16710 shows you basically how I have it and http://www.dslreports.com/faq/16077 shows you all the other different ways and the trade offs with each. It all depends of the features of FIOS you actually use. The first link allows CallerID on the TVs and the multiroom feature of the DVR to continue to work along with mediashare.

It's really a hit or miss and may take an afternoon of fiddling around to get it.

Awesome, thanks for the links! I reviewed the different tradeoffs, and I think I'll go with option 7, depending on the answer to this question. For option 7, Remote Access to DVR is listed as N3. Looking at note 3, it says: 3) Verizon does not officially support remote (web) access to the DVR or on-screen caller-id with a non-VZ router as primary. See option #8 for support of Remote DVR and On Screen CID.

It says web access is not supported for DVR. Will this affect my multi-room DVR? Will I still be able to access recordings from other rooms on the DVR?

Thanks again!

 

[QuietDad]

Not supported means if you have issues, Verizon ain't helping. It might work. It all depends on your router and it's capabilities. I've never tried to wire it that way so I can't speak from experience, but a quick trip though google found people using that option and making it work.

 

[CheerUpEmoKid]

Great to hear, thank you sir! I'll be trying this out very soon.

 

[CheerUpEmoKid]

Great to hear, thank you sir! I'll be trying this out very soon.

OK so to update, I tried out Option 7, but I seem to have run into a snag. I made a post over at DSLReports, seeing as this is more a specific problem related to their walk-through. I'll quote that post in case anyone is interested:

Hey guys, I seem to have run into a snag here. I've had issues with my FiOS service for months (poor speeds, router rebooting, etc.) Today I decided to set up my own primary router, keeping the FiOS MI424WR (Red band) for my TV services.

First off, I followed the Option#7 LAN-LAN guide from the tradeoffs
Link: »Verizon Online FiOS FAQ »Replacing the Actiontec (part 4): LAN-to-LAN keeps VZ MediaManager

Mostly, everything went OK up until after step 11. I don't get any internet access. The router I'm using is an Asus RT-N53 with the latest dd-wrt firmware installed. I'm not sure if my router isn't working or what, but the only light that's on is the power LED. I don't get any link lights or anything.

Previously, I just used this router to re-broadcast my wireless, and it worked fine. It handled all the wireless devices perfectly. Now, trying to use it as my primary router, I get no WAN IP. I tried cloning my MAC, nothing. I called Verizon up twice to break my lease, still no WAN IP. I had them reboot the ONT twice as well, still no WAN IP; it's listed as 0.0.0.0

I followed the steps completely and thoroughly. I went through them three times, factory resetting and starting from scratch each time. I verified with the Verizon tech that I am on an ethernet connection to the ONT.

One thing that had me a bit confused was step 9. It says: Click on Broadband Connection (Ethernet). The thing that held me up for a second was, mine says Broadband Connection (Coax/Ethernet).

Can anyone offer me some help here? Is it my router? Should I get a different one? Or am I screwing something else up along the way?

EDIT: So I currently have my FiOS MI424WR back to factory settings, and I have my Asus RT-N53's WAN port hooked in to the MI424WR's LAN port. My PC is hooked into the N53's LAN port, and my internet is working fine, so that should mean my router is functioning properly. The wireless off the N53 is also working fine, yet the only light on the display is the power LED, the rest are off (I've never seen any of them on, tbh). Could this be an issue with DD-WRT? Or could the other LEDs just be busted? I'm kinda confused on this one.

Also need to note, with this current setup, the WAN IP is still listed as 0.0.0.0. Is this correct?

Does anyone here have any experience with the RT-N53 and dd-wrt?

 

[QuietDad]

Since I'm assuming the ethernet port from the ONT is live (The actiontec was running off it..) I would lean to it being a MAC bound IP. Call Verizon tech support and let them know what your doing. The can talk you thru MAC cloning the dd-wrt modem. Basically your giving the DD-WRT modem the same serial number as the actiontech. FIOS mayy even be able to bind it to your modem.

 

[QuietDad]

As for the issue with

One thing that had me a bit confused was step 9. It says: Click on Broadband Connection (Ethernet). The thing that held me up for a second was, mine says Broadband Connection (Coax/Ethernet).

, FIOS usually has the ethernet port off. The fact that your configured to have the modem run either cable of ethernet, what your seeing makes sense.

 

[CheerUpEmoKid]

Thanks for the responses. I did call up earlier about releasing the MAC bound IP, and also tried the MAC cloning, both to no avail. I did flash my RT-N53 back to stock firmware, and I noticed the lights that were previously not on, were now on. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to connect to the router. I power cycled it, and it apparently seems bricked. Only the power LED is on again, and it won't detect any ethernet cables in the ports (a network cable is unplugged, says windows). Going to work on getting it back up and running. The factory reset button seems to not be working

 

[CheerUpEmoKid]

Since I'm assuming the ethernet port from the ONT is live (The actiontec was running off it..) I would lean to it being a MAC bound IP. Call Verizon tech support and let them know what your doing. The can talk you thru MAC cloning the dd-wrt modem. Basically your giving the DD-WRT modem the same serial number as the actiontech. FIOS mayy even be able to bind it to your modem.

WOW OK so it took me all day, but I think I've finally got it sorted out. I can't completely test everything and go through with the router switch right now, as people are using the services, but here's what I've found out.

Apparently, the Asus RT-N53 has LAN Port 4 and the WAN port swapped... So, for some reason, the 4th yellow port is the WAN port? Going with this logic, I connected this port into one of the LAN ports on the ActionTec router, and, magically, my router is getting an WAN IP. Unbelievable.

The 3rd post in this thread: http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=762911

has a link to here: http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=174693&highlight=rtn+wan

It looks like it's about the N10 router, but it seems to be the same case for the N53.

That said, my router's lights still aren't on. They seem to be on and functioning fine with the stock Asus firmware, but they don't seem to light up with dd-wrt. I'm assuming it's an issue with the dd-wrt firmware. I flashed back to dd-wrt to confirm, and yes, they are not on with the dd-wrt firmware.

I guess that's probably an issue I should take over to their forums?

 

[QuietDad]

Or just live with. If the only thing that isn't working is the blinking lights, is that a big deal? That's a quwstion to ask on one of the DD-WRT forums. I'm unfamiliar with your modem and dd-wrt, though I use DD-WRT on two routers here and all the lights flash. I think your really close and when you get it all wired up you should be OK.

 

[CheerUpEmoKid]

Yeah, good point, the lights mean nothing to me, really. In fact, the less lights blinking in my face, the better.

I'll have some time on Wednesday to try and switch everything over. Hopefully it'll go off without a snafu. Thanks for all the help, I'll report back when I get it all set up!

 

[CheerUpEmoKid]

OK so here's the update. I ordered an Asus RT-N66U that came in today. I didn't feel like using the N53 due to some reviews I'd read, and didn't want to trust it to handle everything. Instead, I opted for the more powerful N66U.

Everything went great. I followed the steps for Option #7 from the tradeoffs. I was going to throw dd-wrt on the N66U, but after looking through the config, it seems pretty powerful with the stock firmware, and has some nice tools, so I'm going to leave it as-is.

I've still got the N53 set up in another room as an access point to boost my signal, and Verizon's ActionTec router is only used for the STBs with everything else disabled.

So far, so good. Hopefully this will solve my problems. Thanks again!

 

[QuietDad]

If you really want to go all out, give all three modems the same SSID and encryption types and passwords. You'll expand your coverage by ALOT and your wireless devices will jump to the strongest signal as you walk thru the house without you even noticing.

 

[CheerUpEmoKid]

Thanks for the tip. I tried this, but I'm not sure if I screwed something up or not, so I just reverted back to different SSIDs to distinguish them.

I set them all to the same SSID, yet I left them unsecured, as I don't live in a busy area, and the neighbors aren't too close to worry about. Do they need to be encrypted for this to work properly?

Another thing to note, the new router, the N66U, is a dual band outputting both 2.4GHz and 5GHz, so it has 2 SSIDs.

I tested this earlier by walking around my house, keeping an eye on my WiFi Analyzer app on my Android, but it didn't seem to switch to the stronger signal

 

[QuietDad]

Make all your SSIDs the same. No worries if they are open with no passwords. Wifi doesn't jump until the signal your on is too weak and starts to error out. No worries. It's doing what it's supposed to. FIOS functionality working also?

 

[CheerUpEmoKid]

Perfect. I just switched them to the same SSIDs, we'll see how it works out.

I was just about to say that FiOS services seem to be working fine, but I just went to try and play a recorded program on the STB in the computer room from the DVR in the family room. In the past, there have been no problems with this. Now after trying it, the video freezes, stops, stutters a lot. Seems like it's not getting a good connection?

After I saw the video stuttering, I checked my FiOS router, and the coax network light was out. It was on earlier today when I set everything up.

So I logged into the router config to check things up, and the light seemed to come right back on. I only see one STB in the My Network section, though

EDIT: I take that back, all three boxes are now showing up in the My Network section

EDIT 2: Ok, it appears everything is cleared up. I went and rebooted the STBs and they're all showing up in My Network. Video playback from the DVR to the STB seems fine now, no stuttering, no problems!

 

[QuietDad]

Everything is just feeling out it's new home. And your computer's hitting the net ok?

 

[CheerUpEmoKid]

Yup so far so good. Hap a bit of trouble on one of the tablets getting it Internet access, but I think that was an issue with the tablet rather than the network. Reboot fixed that problem.

I had some issues getting a laptop going. Connected to the network fine, but no Internet access. Once I set a static ip and manually set the dns to the gateway, that cleared up. The main desktop pc hasn't had an issue yet.

Speeds look great, everything seems stable, no router reboots I think we're in business!

Much appreciated, sir! I'll be monitoring everything closely over the next few days and report back here.