TP-Link Archer C80 issues - internet drops several times a day

[nicolasdeppe]

Hi!

I've had a TP-Link Archer C80 router for almost three months now. Over a month ago, I started to notice that once a day, the internet connection dropped for about 10-15 seconds and then it came back. But recently (two or three weeks), it got pretty bad, with my connection dropping at least 10 times a day, which is very annoying since I'm on a lot of work calls and then at night I usually play online, so it kicks me from the game every time the internet drops. When the internet drops, the wifi or ethernet connection never shows up as disconnected in any of the devices I have at home, it just won't open any websites or if I'm watching any live streams it freezes. The Internet LED indicator in the router turns to orange when there's an internet drop. At first I thought it was an issue with my ISP, because when I entered the router's configuration it showed no IP during those 10-15 seconds, and then it came back. My ISP's ONT is configured in bridge mode, and I connect the C80 to the internet with a Cat 5e ethernet cable straight from the ONT, nothing else comes out of the ONT.

In order to troubleshoot, I took that cable and I connected my desktop PC to the internet straight from my ISP's ONT for two days straight and I had no internet drops (I used an internet connection monitoring tool), so I'm sure there's something wrong with the router and I don't know what it is, I've tried resetting the router, restoring it to factory settings, changing the DNS servers to Google's, and nothing seems to solve the issue. The internet drops happen in all the devices.

These are the devices that feed from the router, the C80 is configured in router mode with the DHCP Server activated, NAT Boost (therefore no QoS), WAN connection type is Dynamic IP and both 2.4 and 5GHz Wi-Fi networks are activated.
1 Desktop PC (Gigabit Ethernet), this is the device with DMZ and also with an address reservation.
1 iPad Pro (WiFi 2.4Ghz)
2 iPhones (WiFi 5GHz)
1 PS5 (Gigabit Ethernet)
1 MacBook Pro (WiFi 5Ghz)
1 MacBook Air (WiFi 5GHz)
2 Smart TVs (WiFi 5GHz)

Any help is very appreciated,
Thanks!

[Donut417]

42 minutes ago, nicolasdeppe said:

Any help is very appreciated,

If possible take the router out of the equation. Plug your desktop PC directly in to the ISP's box. See what happens. If the dropping stops then you know for sure its the router. If the drops dont stop then you know the ISP needs to fix their problem. Now if the router is the issue the only suggestion I can give is to see if a firmware update exists. I know that many times updating the firmware can fix issues. If no firmware update exists then you might be SOL. Another thing Id check out is physically touching the router and seeing if its hot. When I flashed DDWRT on to a old  DLink router I have previously I noticed it started running very hot and had issues. Actively cooling it for the most part solved the issues. 

 

[nicolasdeppe]

1 hour ago, Donut417 said:

If possible take the router out of the equation. Plug your desktop PC directly in to the ISP's box. See what happens. If the dropping stops then you know for sure its the router. If the drops dont stop then you know the ISP needs to fix their problem. Now if the router is the issue the only suggestion I can give is to see if a firmware update exists. I know that many times updating the firmware can fix issues. If no firmware update exists then you might be SOL. Another thing Id check out is physically touching the router and seeing if its hot. When I flashed DDWRT on to a old  DLink router I have previously I noticed it started running very hot and had issues. Actively cooling it for the most part solved the issues. 

 

I did just that, I plugged my PC directly to the ISP box for two days straight and had no internet drops. The thing is that I don't want to buy a new router when the issue with the one I have can be fixable.

[Falcon1986]

20 minutes ago, nicolasdeppe said:

I did just that, I plugged my PC directly to the ISP box for two days straight and had no internet drops. The thing is that I don't want to buy a new router when the issue with the one I have can be fixable.

What kind of speeds are you paying for from your ISP?

 

Try turning off the ONT and router for about an hour, then power back on starting with the ONT followed by the router. How long does the router stay active before clients cannot connect?

 

Have you tried checking for a new firmware update? I see a few for this year alone.

[Donut417]

30 minutes ago, nicolasdeppe said:

have can be fixable.

Outside of updates you can’t really fix anything.  

[nicolasdeppe]

11 hours ago, Falcon1986 said:

What kind of speeds are you paying for from your ISP?

 

Try turning off the ONT and router for about an hour, then power back on starting with the ONT followed by the router. How long does the router stay active before clients cannot connect?

 

Have you tried checking for a new firmware update? I see a few for this year alone.

Hi!

 

1) I have a 600mbps download / 200mbps upload internet plan and I usually get those speeds in ethernet, it varies with wifi (I live in a place with hundreds of apartments around so finding the right wifi channel is tricky)

2) I did that a few days ago, I unplugged both devices for a whole night and when I woke up I plugged them back. I don't understand the question though, as the devices never lose wifi or ethernet connection, they just can't access the internet.

3) I have the latest firmware update for the router.

 

Thanks!

 

[Falcon1986]

12 minutes ago, nicolasdeppe said:

it varies with wifi (I live in a place with hundreds of apartments around so finding the right wifi channel is tricky)

Are you getting the sudden drops on WiFi, ethernet or both?

 

13 minutes ago, nicolasdeppe said:

I don't understand the question though, as the devices never lose wifi or ethernet connection, they just can't access the internet.

Was trying to see if it was an overheating issue or if the router's memory is getting overloaded.

[nicolasdeppe]

40 minutes ago, Falcon1986 said:

Are you getting the sudden drops on WiFi, ethernet or both?

 

Was trying to see if it was an overheating issue or if the router's memory is getting overloaded.

It drops on both WiFi and ethernet.

I was thinking that a router overload could be the issue, but like I said, I never lose access to the router admin portal. I really don't want to buy a new router just to have the same issue, but I think it's my only choice at this point as the issues only persist when using the router, the ONT works fine if I plug my PC directly to the ONT.

[nicolasdeppe]

I think I was able to identify the problem. I tried connecting two other routers, an old D-Link and an ASUS AC68U, and in all three I saw a similar issue in their system log: the WAN's DHCP had troubles renewing the IP, therefore the internet drops. With the ASUS router, I tried every configuration I could to solve the issue, but it kept happening. I contacted my ISP and they'll send someone to fix my modem or replace it.

[Allan B]

I had a similar issue with long network runs.  Do you have any long network cables or possibly any bad cables?  If you do, try adding a switch between the cables and the router.  My assumption is long network runs draw too much power from these cheap consumer routers causing them to randomly crash\reboot as the power supply can't provide stable power.

[nicolasdeppe]

1 hour ago, Allan B said:

I had a similar issue with long network runs.  Do you have any long network cables or possibly any bad cables?  If you do, try adding a switch between the cables and the router.  My assumption is long network runs draw too much power from these cheap consumer routers causing them to randomly crash\reboot as the power supply can't provide stable power.

The ethernet cable that runs from the modem to my router is kind of long as it goes from the living room to my second bedroom through a conduit inside the walls, but it's no longer than 15 mts. It was installed by my ISP and it's cat 5e, so that length shouldn't be a problem. I think the cable is definitely not an issue, as it works without any problems when plugged in to my PC straight from the modem instead of plugging it in to my router. And the new router I just bought is an Asus AC68U, which isn't cheap compared to budget routers with little to none capabilities.

[Allan B]

On 8/11/2021 at 5:22 PM, nicolasdeppe said:

The ethernet cable that runs from the modem to my router is kind of long as it goes from the living room to my second bedroom through a conduit inside the walls, but it's no longer than 15 mts. It was installed by my ISP and it's cat 5e, so that length shouldn't be a problem. I think the cable is definitely not an issue, as it works without any problems when plugged in to my PC straight from the modem instead of plugging it in to my router. And the new router I just bought is an Asus AC68U, which isn't cheap compared to budget routers with little to none capabilities.

I don't mean cheap, wrong word, more like consumer vs business class.   Did your ISP modem get replaced? Did that resolve your issue?

If not, try adding a switch between the router and your cables, just connect 1 short cable between the switch and the router.