Computers & Electronics

Switched ISP's, Router Now Wonky

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  • Oct 23rd, 2014 4:37 pm
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Sr. Member
Aug 29, 2013
848 posts
737 upvotes
Waterloo

Switched ISP's, Router Now Wonky

I recently switched from Rogers to Electronic Box on account of the price. When my internet is working properly, I have absolutely no complaints. Typically, a couple of times a day, my wireless connection crashes and have to give the router a reset in order to get things back up and running. Sometimes it takes 2, 3, or 4 resets before things start working again. It crashed again today while my wife was in the middle of an online exam...not good!

The problem literally started the day after I made the switch. As we have totally cut the cable cord as well, our entire in-home entertainment relies on the internet...becomes a big p in the a when things go awry...is it possible the fault lies with my new ISP or is this just a coincidence and I will need to find a new router? My router is a Belkin N600 and is only about 1 year old...Is it also possible that I need to tweak some settings with the router in order for it to behave properly again?

Thanks for your help!
16 replies
Deal Addict
Jul 21, 2005
2087 posts
1134 upvotes
Alberta
Does your new ISP give you a modem or a modem/router combo with own WiFi built in?

If it has own wifi it could be interfering with your own router, so if you don't use the built in wifi from isp, disable it. Really you also have a double nat going if you do indeed get a modem/router from ISP, so may way to address that. Won't give more details until you figure out if its just a modem or a modem/router combo. Most isps nowadays do modem/router combo.
Sr. Member
Mar 6, 2012
783 posts
266 upvotes
I would be tempted to go with a coincidence. I would suggest to do a factory reset on your router and see if that helps. I'm also on Electronic Box (but in Quebec on videotron's network) and didn't have any issues at all when I did the switch. Granted I was already using Videotron before so all I had to do turn everything off, switch modems, turn everything back on and everything was back as before... only less expensive. I did however have to do a factory reset on my router lately as for some reason its NVRAM was running very low and it was causing stability issues. This has nothing to do with Electronic Box though.

If the problem persists, test if the problem is the wifi by plugging yourself directly into the router. If the problem still persists after that, plug a computer directly into the modem. If you still have issues after that... then yeah, it is the ISP.
Sr. Member
Aug 29, 2013
848 posts
737 upvotes
Waterloo
eblend wrote: Does your new ISP give you a modem or a modem/router combo with own WiFi built in?

If it has own wifi it could be interfering with your own router, so if you don't use the built in wifi from isp, disable it. Really you also have a double nat going if you do indeed get a modem/router from ISP, so may way to address that. Won't give more details until you figure out if its just a modem or a modem/router combo. Most isps nowadays do modem/router combo.
Thanks for the reply! Had to buy the modem straight from Electronic Box...it has no built-in wifi...
Sr. Member
Aug 29, 2013
848 posts
737 upvotes
Waterloo
toy187 wrote: I would be tempted to go with a coincidence. I would suggest to do a factory reset on your router and see if that helps. I'm also on Electronic Box (but in Quebec on videotron's network) and didn't have any issues at all when I did the switch. Granted I was already using Videotron before so all I had to do turn everything off, switch modems, turn everything back on and everything was back as before... only less expensive. I did however have to do a factory reset on my router lately as for some reason its NVRAM was running very low and it was causing stability issues. This has nothing to do with Electronic Box though.

If the problem persists, test if the problem is the wifi by plugging yourself directly into the router. If the problem still persists after that, plug a computer directly into the modem. If you still have issues after that... then yeah, it is the ISP.
Thanks for the reply! When my belkin light goes orange (instead of blue when it is operating correctly), my smart tv (which is hard wired directly to my router) will lose connection as well...is this indicative of anything? The next time the router crashes I will wire in a device to the modem to find the route of the issue...Thanks Again!

I will also try the factory reset on the router as I'm not sure I have done this as of late.
Sr. Member
Aug 21, 2012
824 posts
104 upvotes
When your internet goes out can you still ping the router okay?
Sr. Member
Aug 29, 2013
848 posts
737 upvotes
Waterloo
turnipx wrote: When your internet goes out can you still ping the router okay?
How does one go about "pinging the router"
Sr. Member
Mar 6, 2012
783 posts
266 upvotes
glfrboy wrote: Thanks for the reply! When my belkin light goes orange (instead of blue when it is operating correctly), my smart tv (which is hard wired directly to my router) will lose connection as well...is this indicative of anything? The next time the router crashes I will wire in a device to the modem to find the route of the issue...Thanks Again!

I will also try the factory reset on the router as I'm not sure I have done this as of late.
If you wired devices also lose connection this means the problem is not only with the wifi. It could be the router itself, the modem, or the connection.
glfrboy wrote: How does one go about "pinging the router"
try to access the router's settings page, from what I've seen on the web, unless you've changed something:
By default the password on the router is left blank, and the default IP address is 192.168.2.1

If you can access this, then technically the router should still be working correctly and you can assume the issue is either modem or connection related. When this happens, take a note of the lights on the modem too, that could help with the troubleshooting.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Mar 1, 2004
12861 posts
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Pickering
1. How old is the Belkin
2. What you've described is what they do on their way out...
Deal Expert
Aug 22, 2006
31271 posts
17295 upvotes
And people wonder why I'm so vocal about consumer routers....
Get a Mikrotik and call it a day. Last time I rebooted was the last time I had to move it which was 2 years ago.
Sr. Member
Aug 29, 2013
848 posts
737 upvotes
Waterloo
AudiDude wrote: 1. How old is the Belkin
2. What you've described is what they do on their way out...
My current router is probably just shy of a year old (I don't know if they have a 1 year warranty but I'm sure at this point I would not be able to locate the receipt)...I had a Belkin router before this as well and loved that I could go online to troubleshoot. They resolved a few issues over the years until finally I was told to buy another router...that is mainly why I chose to go with another belkin last year...I tried online troubleshooting with them recently on this issue and was told that since my router was 90+ days old, I no longer qualified for free assistance...not sure I will specifically be looking at Belkin routers this time around...

I figured it is likely time to purchase a new router but wanted to check with the RFD experts to see if this may be related in some way to switching ISP's...like the need to change a router setting or perform a factory reset (which I will do when I get home)...I appreciate everyone's input!
Sr. Member
Aug 29, 2013
848 posts
737 upvotes
Waterloo
Okay...router pooped out on me tonight...hard wired my laptop to the modem and all was good...obviously a router issue as each of you were indicating! Performed a reset and it crapped out on me again shortly after this...when I investigated through my laptop and Belkin diagnostic, it became connected again...not sure if I will just need to suck it up and buy a new router...if you think I do, is there a good one for a decent price out there? I am saving a few hundred dollars a month now without cable and with a significantly cheaper internet so if I have to spend a little today to get speed and longevity from a new router, I can easily justify it (I thought when I bought this Belkin it would be lasting me a few years at least!).
Deal Guru
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Mar 1, 2004
12861 posts
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Pickering
glfrboy wrote: Okay...router pooped out on me tonight...hard wired my laptop to the modem and all was good...obviously a router issue as each of you were indicating! Performed a reset and it crapped out on me again shortly after this...when I investigated through my laptop and Belkin diagnostic, it became connected again...not sure if I will just need to suck it up and buy a new router...if you think I do, is there a good one for a decent price out there? I am saving a few hundred dollars a month now without cable and with a significantly cheaper internet so if I have to spend a little today to get speed and longevity from a new router, I can easily justify it (I thought when I bought this Belkin it would be lasting me a few years at least!).
You have now learned what we all know about Belkin. Take this information and move forward...
Deal Guru
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Mar 13, 2004
13840 posts
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Ontario
Before you buy a new router I would update the router firmware to the latest from the manufacture website. Sometimes just updating it will fix the issue as it fixes known bugs.
Sr. Member
Aug 29, 2013
848 posts
737 upvotes
Waterloo
sickcars wrote: Before you buy a new router I would update the router firmware to the latest from the manufacture website. Sometimes just updating it will fix the issue as it fixes known bugs.
Thank you for the suggestion...I was checking it out last night and from what I could tell, the latest version of firmware (which is installed on my device) is from July 2012...can this be?
Deal Guru
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Mar 13, 2004
13840 posts
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Ontario
Yes thats possible, if its an older model router (Even if you only bought it a year ago) its possible they stopped creating new firmware for it.
glfrboy wrote: Thank you for the suggestion...I was checking it out last night and from what I could tell, the latest version of firmware (which is installed on my device) is from July 2012...can this be?
Deal Expert
Aug 22, 2006
31271 posts
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glfrboy wrote: Thank you for the suggestion...I was checking it out last night and from what I could tell, the latest version of firmware (which is installed on my device) is from July 2012...can this be?
You might get lucky and have 3rd party firmware options out there, but the main issue is that there are thousands of consumer routers and no real point (from the manufacturer's point of view) to release updates.
This means that critical security vulnerabilities remain unpatched and performance issues are almost always present.
Most consumers nowadays for some reason accept this and buy a new one every year or two.

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