Internet headaches

[trentklein]

We recently got charter 60mbs internet, and instead of paying $50/month for their router, I went out to the store and bought a router on the fly while the charter tech was at the house not knowing what to really get besides based on the very vague information he told me. The internet was great, for about a week until another tech came out and "fixed" what the first tech supposedly didn't do correctly. I am not sure what he did but he said that the previous guy did not know what he was doing and did things all wrong. Since then our wifi has been awful, it slows down so much that it even drops completely and we have to manually restart the router once a day and even then, we are having issues including streaming Netflix (we do have 4K Netflix but even 1080p and even 720p does not work the best stream we get upstairs is 480p). The router is in the basement because my gaming PC is hooked up to it via ethernet which at times, that even drops connection. The router is a Netgear WNDR3400. Is my issue the router? Should I get an extender? What is my best bet without spending a ton of more money?

[iamdarkyoshi]

 

Try a hard reset on everything

[Flowey]

2 minutes ago, trentklein said:

We recently got charter 60mbs internet, and instead of paying $50/month for their router, I went out to the store and bought a router on the fly while the charter tech was at the house not knowing what to really get besides based on the very vague information he told me. The internet was great, for about a week until another tech came out and "fixed" what the first tech supposedly didn't do correctly. I am not sure what he did but he said that the previous guy did not know what he was doing and did things all wrong. Since then our wifi has been awful, it slows down so much that it even drops completely and we have to manually restart the router once a day and even then, we are having issues including streaming Netflix (we do have 4K Netflix but even 1080p and even 720p does not work the best stream we get upstairs is 480p). The router is in the basement because my gaming PC is hooked up to it via ethernet which at times, that even drops connection. The router is a Netgear WNDR3400. Is my issue the router? Should I get an extender? What is my best bet without spending a ton of more money?

Your issue is the staff who did the "repairs". You probably got better connection then what you're paying for a week, then they realized they were greedy asshats and messed up your router in order to slow down the network.

[trentklein]

Just now, Flowey said:

Your issue is the staff who did the "repairs". You probably got better connection then what you're paying for a week, then they realized they were greedy asshats and messed up your router in order to slow down the network.

Uhh... can I fix it? haha

[trentklein]

1 minute ago, iamdarkyoshi said:

 

Try a hard reset on everything

With a hammer? Got it haha

 

[iamdarkyoshi]

Just now, trentklein said:

With a hammer? Got it haha

 

Well the hammer is if the standard hard reset doesnt work

[trentklein]

Just now, iamdarkyoshi said:

Well the hammer is if the standard hard reset doesnt work

Lol Hard reset as in? Is there more I am missing than unplugging the router then plugging it back in?

[Orangeator]

Run an internet speed test when connected to your router and make sure you are getting the 60mbs you paid for. Also read the fine print of your agreement with charter and check if they have a shitty bandwidth limit. If those check out go into your router settings "192.168.1.1" in your browser and format it, or factory reset it. What ever that is called. Also make sure where ever your modem is, it can breath. It getting too hot can make it drop connection. Also hard reset the modem, it should have a pen size hole to do it (if it doesn't unplug it and take out the battery if it has one). Once you have done all that and it still isn't working, call charter and tell them you are cancelling if they don't get out there and fix it.

 

It is not your router's problem I know because it supports up to 300mbs. You only have 60mbs, so it is not throttling your connection.

[iamdarkyoshi]

Just now, trentklein said:

Lol Hard reset as in? Is there more I am missing than unplugging the router then plugging it back in?

Unplug the router, press and hold the reset button, plug it in, and release the reset button. Do the same with the modem. This should return them to default. Depending on the model, they MIGHT need credentials to connect to the ISP again, but I doubt it. You will need to put a password and stuff back on your router though

[Howlingwolf101]

1 minute ago, trentklein said:

Lol Hard reset as in? Is there more I am missing than unplugging the router then plugging it back in?

no, that's considered a hard reset, you're on the right track.

[Flowey]

1 minute ago, trentklein said:

Lol Hard reset as in? Is there more I am missing than unplugging the router then plugging it back in?

Well there is a small little button called reset which is very similar to a factory reset. It's very small because they don't want you knowing that stuff.

IT guys hate him! Watch this video before it gets banned!

[iamdarkyoshi]

Oh before all of this, try connecting your PC directly to the modem and run a speedtest. If it works fine, then the fault is with your router, and if you bought your router outright, then its probably not their fault

[trentklein]

1 minute ago, iamdarkyoshi said:

Oh before all of this, try connecting your PC directly to the modem and run a speedtest. If it works fine, then the fault is with your router, and if you bought your router outright, then its probably not their fault

My speeds are fine 75% of the time connected to it via ethernet or via wifi. I did not try directly to the modem though just the router?

[trentklein]

6 minutes ago, Orangeator said:

Run an internet speed test when connected to your router and make sure you are getting the 60mbs you paid for. Also read the fine print of your agreement with charter and check if they have a shitty bandwidth limit. If those check out go into your router settings "192.168.1.1" in your browser and format it, or factory reset it. What ever that is called. Also make sure where ever your modem is, it can breath. It getting too hot can make it drop connection. Also hard reset the modem, it should have a pen size hole to do it (if it doesn't unplug it and take out the battery if it has one). Once you have done all that and it still isn't working, call charter and tell them you are cancelling if they don't get out there and fix it.

 

It is not your router's problem I know because it supports up to 300mbs. You only have 60mbs, so it is not throttling your connection.

Like I said above my speeds are fine 75% of the time until it acts up again. I have friends with the same charter plan they do not have issues whatsoever. I will try rebooting the modem though.

[iamdarkyoshi]

Just now, trentklein said:

My speeds are fine 75% of the time connected to it via ethernet or via wifi. I did not try directly to the modem though just the router?

The modem converts the ISP's connection to ethernet, and the router will split that ethernet into more ethernets, provide wifi, and do other packet routing tasks. I would rule out the router by just connecting your PC directly to the one port on the modem, and leave the router unplugged for now. If you get constantly good speeds on the PC, then the fault is the router. My router and switch were actually thermally throttling, so I added a fan to each of them and my network speeds became rock solid.

[Orangeator]

1 minute ago, iamdarkyoshi said:

The modem converts the ISP's connection to ethernet, and the router will split that ethernet into more ethernets, provide wifi, and do other packet routing tasks. I would rule out the router by just connecting your PC directly to the one port on the modem, and leave the router unplugged for now. If you get constantly good speeds on the PC, then the fault is the router. My router and switch were actually thermally throttling, so I added a fan to each of them and my network speeds became rock solid.

Yeah I told him to make sure the modem isn't overheating. I would do what this guy above me has said.

[trentklein]

Just now, Orangeator said:

Yeah I told him to make sure the modem isn't overheating. I would do what this guy above me has said.

Yeah, nah it shouldn't be over heating. it's set aside by itself. 

[Orangeator]

Just now, trentklein said:

Yeah, nah it shouldn't be over heating. it's set aside by itself. 

But is it in an enclosed area? Just when you have a whole bunch of stuff downloading walk over and put your hand on the modem and the router to make sure they aren't toasty.

[iamdarkyoshi]

Just now, Orangeator said:

Yeah I told him to make sure the modem isn't overheating. I would do what this guy above me has said.

I increased my network switch's INTERNAL LAN speeds from 15mbit/s to gigabit speeds just by adding a fan. Managed to increase the radio power by 3X on my router, ended up switching it off though because I have an enterprise grade AP

[trentklein]

1 minute ago, Orangeator said:

But is it in an enclosed area? Just when you have a whole bunch of stuff downloading walk over and put your hand on the modem and the router to make sure they aren't toasty.

The modem is sitting on top of the cable box on an open tv stand and the router is standing by itself a few inches over.

[iamdarkyoshi]

Just now, trentklein said:

The modem is sitting on top of the cable box on an open tv stand and the router is standing by itself a few inches over.

Feel them and see though. My network switch overheated in open air when mounted in the most ideal orientation...

[Orangeator]

I have had a router overheat and it was sitting on a table away from everything. It can overheat due to it not having good heat dispersion. Just run some torrents/downloads on a bunch of different devices and see if the modem or router is getting warm after 30 minutes or so. Just try it, generally it has do to the router having bad cooling. I have a night hawk router from netgear and it has massive vents and fans and it still overheats periodically.

[trentklein]

Just now, iamdarkyoshi said:

Feel them and see though. My network switch overheated in open air when mounted in the most ideal orientation...

Weeeeird. Alright, I will check along with a factory reset and restarting the modem. If that fails? 

[Orangeator]

3 minutes ago, trentklein said:

Weeeeird. Alright, I will check along with a factory reset and restarting the modem. If that fails? 

Also read my post after his, make sure you run downloads on different devices for about 30 minutes and check how hot it gets. If it is staying to where it isn't that warm to the touch (kinda room temp)(also check your modem) then call your isp and tell them you will be cancelling if they do not fix the problem. I say this because that means it is their end throttling the connection, not you.

 

Edit: (When you threaten to take your business else where you generally get service much faster and by a better guy)

[iamdarkyoshi]

Just now, trentklein said:

Weeeeird. Alright, I will check along with a factory reset and restarting the modem. If that fails? 

If that fails, just call the ISP honestly. If you are not getting your promised speeds from charter with a brand new router and their modem (I have the same plan from charter and get a solid 65+mbit/s and a 5 year old router) then something is clearly wrong...