# Internet is constantly dropping. Having to power cycle modem/router



## easytoremember (Jan 25, 2014)

Firstly, I apologize in advance for using any incorrect terminology because I'm not the most tech savvy individual and my knowledge in the area of computers is limited.  My wifi is dropping with a frequency of every 30 minutes to 3 hours. When it does drop, the wireless internet drops across the board, and any and all devices with wifi functionality are not able to access the internet. I do not experience this wireless connectivity problem with my laptop while I'm at school or at my friend's house. The wireless network doesn't repair itself, and I always have to intervene. While the wifi network is in this condition, I have run Windows 8.1 manual diagnostics in an attempt to troubleshoot the issue. It passes everything but the ping test. The Windows manual diagnostic result is always "No response: default gateway DHCP server." Also, I'm sometimes able to use the "identify and repair network problems" in Windows to temporarily resolve the issue. This does sometimes fix this issue, but when it doesn't, it spits out "Wifi doesn't have valid IP configuration." More often than not, I am forced to power cycle the Frontier Communications Modem/Router (Model B90-755044-15). I have contacted Frontier Communications, but they haven't been the least bit helpful. The technicians have various answers to my qualms. One technician said it was a poor signal quality problem and the issue was fixed. Another told me it was an issue with the water line. The third, who I met with yesterday, told me the house's structure and walls alongside other electronic appliances were disrupting the signal. He recommended I buy a separate router to hook into the Frontier Communications Router/Modem. If you need me to do anything to pinpoint the root of the problem, I'd be more than happy to comply.


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

lets see if it is an interference or signal issue

As everything connected by wireless is having the issue - its most likely the router

would be interesting to see if anything connected by cable directly to the router also has a disconnection issue - if so, then its a router issue and not just a wireless issue - so that would be worth trying if you can

Please make a note of the status of the lights on the modem and on the router when working normally - post that light status here. 
Now when the internet disconnects make a note of the status of the lights for the modem and router here again. also note which have changed.

Please donwload xirrus and lets see a couple of screen shots 
1) when you are about 6 ft from the router and working 
2) in your normal place of usage so we can see if possible signal or interference issue

*------------------------------------------------------------------------*
* Run Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector  
Download and install*
If you cannot access the internet with this PC, then you will need to copy the program across to the faulty PC
Save the file to a USB flash drive or other removable media. Plug it into the working computer with internet access and copy the file and install the program. 
You will now need to take a screen shot and copy that back to the working PC and attach the screen shot in a reply on the forum here.

If you do not have another PC - do you have a phone connected to the internet - can you photograph the result and post the image in a reply

http://www.xirrus.com/Products/Wi-Fi-Inspector.aspx 
( the site now appears to require a business email, and does not allow webbased emails like gmail,hotmail or yahoo etc )

Use the links below

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_download/fid,77196-order,4/download.html
http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Xirrus-Wi-Fi-Monitor-Download-99109.html

Then run and install the program - on a wireless enabled PC/Laptop
if you get an error - You need will need to have NET Framework installed for the WiFi Inspector to function.
On windows 8 - (i do not have windows 8) but, it would appear that, When you first try to run, you may get a message that .net framework is needed, and included in that message is a link to download/install.

Run the program

A user guide is available here 
http://www.xirrus.com/cdn/pdf/xirruswifiinspectorguide1-2-0

post a screen shot of the program running.
if there are a lot of networks showing can you click on *"networks"* top lefthand area - so we can see all the network information.

*post which SSID name is yours, its located in the list, under network "Adapter Name" (1st column) 
*

Note:
For a reliable (or robust as the Xirrus user guide says) wireless connection you need a signal of about -70 dBm or better. "A desirable signal level for a robust Wi-Fi connection will be green".
note: the signal level is a negative number, so for example -88 is worst and -40 is better

To post a screen shot of the active window.

*Windows XP*
Hold the Alt key and press the PrtScn key. Open the Windows PAINT application (Start> All Programs> Accessories> Paint) and Paste the screen shot. You can then use PAINT to trim to suit, and save it as a JPG format file.

*Vista or Windows 7*
you can use the "snipping tool" which is found in Start> All programs> Accessories> Snipping Tool
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/how-to-use-the-windows-snipping-tool/

*Windows 8*
you can use the snipping tool > Open Snipping Tool (From the Windows 8 Start Screen, type "snip" and press enter.
>Press the Esc. key.
>go back to your Windows 8 start screen - Swipe from left or press Window Button
>Press Ctrl+PrntScr button to use Snipping Tool
see here
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/opinion/windows/3415854/how-take-screenshot-in-windows-8/
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/windows/3405830/how-take-screenshot-in-windows-8/

To upload the screen shot to the forum, open the full reply window ("Go Advanced" button) and use the Manage Attachments button to upload it here.
Full details are available here http://library.techguy.org/wiki/TSG_Posting_a_Screenshot


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## easytoremember (Jan 25, 2014)

Hi, I appreciate your swift response! I have done what you asked. The router lights when the internet is not working appear the same as when the internet is working fine. The power, DSL, wireless, and internet are all solid green. The internet light is green and occasionally flashes. I have attached below several images of xirrius wifi inspector in the different scenarios.

My SSID is Storholm.

The first picture is my laptop in its usual location with the internet working.
The second picture is my laptop 2 feet from my router+modem but not directly uplinked.
The third picture is my laptop in its usual location with the internet NOT working.
Connection Test result through Xirrius
The fifth picture was taken right after the second when I was previously unable to connect to the internet wirelessly. I was actually able to access the internet with the ethernet cable connected directly from my computer to the router/modem. When I unplugged the ethernet cable, it resumed its not working status.

All devices with wifi compatibility could not access the internet.


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

As the cable connection is working all the time, then the router is not losing internet connection completely

All devices are affected , then its a wireless issue with the router

You appear to have a reasonable signal in those locations - not below -70 
Although on your 2nd picture the graph has dropped quite low - do you remember what happened then

I cannot find a manual for that model of router 
is it the same as this netgear 7550 - some links below

How old is the router ? if 4-5 years , wireless can start to have issues as they do wear out

try unplugging the router and leave OFF for 30 minutes and reconnect - see if that works

Have you discussed with ISP and see if they will replace the router

Just confirm a cable connection - works without any disconnections at all

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&r...AbUxd_u_6zXC8B1Q1jLJhAQ&bvm=bv.59930103,d.ZGU

Frontier appear to use a few routers which the netgear is one - see link below for a list of routers - 7550

http://www.frontierhelp.com/faq.cfm?qstid=1048#Netgear

if you search for images for netgear 7550

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=n...forum%2Ftopic%2Fmodemrouter-question;1024;440

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=n...0229%26q_manufacturer%3D%26q_model%3D;228;374


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## easytoremember (Jan 25, 2014)

The router was made in 2011, but is really only 1 1/2 years old. The router/modem is the westell 7550. The wireless internet does work 100% on a device that is directly connected to the router/modem.

Leaving it off 30 minutes didn't fix the issue. 

As for picture 2, it might have had something to do with traveling downstairs to the exact location of the router. When picture 2 was taken, I was 2-3 feet from the router though. I do not know if in video game ping is anyway related to signal quality, but my ping often fluctuates and occasionally spikes anywhere to 300-400 ping before returning to normal levels. Although, I always took it as a good thing because it was better than the internet disconnecting altogether.

Unfortunately, I had originally suggested that it might have been a wireless issue in my initial confrontation. They tried to side step the issue and cast the blame on me in every instance. In fact, they said if I could access the internet while directly tethered to the router, they wouldn't be able to do anything. One technician even suggested I buy a separate/additional router to attach to one of the ports of the westell 7550. However, could that be an actual solution in the instance they refuse to replace the router/modem? Would there be anything else I'd need to do (bridging)?


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

> The wireless internet does work 100% on a device that is directly connected to the router/modem.


 need just to clarify this statement a little

When you connect device by cable to the router - you should not be using the wireless - usually a cable connection overrides, but on later models they can both work together 
if you turn the wireless off on the device , and then JUST using a cable for connection - if you get a 100% connection, then as outlined - it does appear to be a wireless issue from the router

you could try logging into the router and changing the wireless channel its using 
to use channel 6 
also you could stop it from using the wider band (on xirrus your showing 1,5) which indicates a wide band or 40mhz is in use 
you should be able to switch that off as well

that would be my next steps



> However, could that be an actual solution in the instance they refuse to replace the router/modem? Would there be anything else I'd need to do (bridging)?


 if the cable connection is solid then you could attach a separate router , as a switch to the existing router if necessary. you just need to connect and configure correctly , which we can help you with 
no need to bridge , although you could do that on the current modem if you wanted to ..


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## easytoremember (Jan 25, 2014)

Firstly, I would like to thank you for all your help so far 



> need just to clarify this statement a little
> 
> When you connect device by cable to the router - you should not be using the wireless - usually a cable connection overrides, but on later models they can both work together
> if you turn the wireless off on the device , and then JUST using a cable for connection - if you get a 100% connection, then as outlined - it does appear to be a wireless issue from the router


The cable connection does override the wireless connection. I get 100% no issues with internet disconnections when the cable is just supplying the connection.



> you could try logging into the router and changing the wireless channel its using
> to use channel 6
> also you could stop it from using the wider band (on xirrus your showing 1,5) which indicates a wide band or 40mhz is in use
> you should be able to switch that off as well
> ...


I changed the channel to 6 through the frontier router webpage configuration (192.168.254.254 in address bar). I don't understand what or how a wider band would affect the internet connection, so I have submitted below a updated Xirrus photo with the internet running exclusively on channel 6.


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

thats still using the wider band - It should not make a difference in your situation, however, it does with intermittent issues on some devices 
so i would suggest you change the setting 
i cannot see it in the image you sent 
But there should be a 
20/40Mhz - setting
or sometimes is called
WIDE


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