[SOLVED] Downloading through Powerline Adaptor causes Router to disconnect from Internet

[epicpotato]

Hi all,

Recently purchased a Netgear Powerline 1000 adaptor, and it causes the router to disconnect from the Internet in specific situations (troubleshooting gives me the error "default gateway unavailable").

So far, it only happens when I try to do a multi-threaded downloads; e.g. a multi-threaded speed test on speedtest.net, (single thread seems to work fine) or when trying to download games using there installers (e.g. Steam, League of Legends etc). Everything else (everyday browsing, YouTube, streaming, in-browser downloads) seems to work fine.

This issue does not occur when I plug the Powerline Adaptor into a wall socket close to my router.

It's quite a hassle at the moment, since all devices on my Wi-Fi also lose internet access every time it happens, and I have to restart the router manually to restore Internet connectivity.

Would be super appreciative if someone could offer advice/a solution, since I'm not sure what's the problem.

 

[kanewolf]

Hi all,

Recently purchased a Netgear Powerline 1000 adaptor, and it causes the router to disconnect from the Internet in specific situations (troubleshooting gives me the error "default gateway unavailable").

So far, it only happens when I try to do a multi-threaded downloads; e.g. a multi-threaded speed test on speedtest.net, (single thread seems to work fine) or when trying to download games using there installers (e.g. Steam, League of Legends etc). Everything else (everyday browsing, YouTube, streaming, in-browser downloads) seems to work fine.

This issue does not occur when I plug the Powerline Adaptor into a wall socket close to my router.

It's quite a hassle at the moment, since all devices on my Wi-Fi also lose internet access every time it happens, and I have to restart the router manually to restore Internet connectivity.

Would be super appreciative if someone could offer advice/a solution, since I'm not sure what's the problem.

You are going to have to run a long ethernet cable to determine if the powerline is the issue or the router. I could be the router is overheating with a heavy throughput load.

 

[SamirD]

I would try the long cable suggestion and confirm the router is working fine.

Then I would upgrade/downgrade the firmware on the powerline adapters as this could be an oddball bug that is resolved with changing the current firmware version.

 

[epicpotato]

You are going to have to run a long ethernet cable to determine if the powerline is the issue or the router. I could be the router is overheating with a heavy throughput load.

Sorry, but just to clarify, I should try plugging in an ethernet cable directly between the router and my laptop to test the connection?

How long would the ethernet cable need to be, or is that irrelevant?

Thanks

 

[kanewolf]

Sorry, but just to clarify, I should try plugging in an ethernet cable directly between the router and my laptop to test the connection?

How long would the ethernet cable need to be, or is that irrelevant?

Thanks

I didn't know that it was a laptop, that could easily be placed near the router. Any length ethernet cable will work. I only said "long" because I thought it was a desktop that was not easily moved.

 

[epicpotato]

I didn't know that it was a laptop, that could easily be placed near the router. Any length ethernet cable will work. I only said "long" because I thought it was a desktop that was not easily moved.

Thank you for the prompt reply,

After connecting the ethernet cable to my laptop the router still dropped out when making large, multi-thread downloads. However, it was a lot less frequent compared to accessing the internet through the Powerline adaptor.

Afterwards, I tried to plug the Powerline adaptor into another power socket closer to the router I noticed that the frequency of drop outs when doing large downloads increases. (So it seems to increase with distance from router)

Would it be a safe assumption for me to purchase a new router?

Thanks

 

[scout_03]

could what is the age of it and made sure it does not overheat .

 

[epicpotato]

could what is the age of it and made sure it does not overheat .

The router is about 5 years old. It's a modem/router combo that my ISP provided for free. Before I got the Powerline adaptor, there was only one wired connection and the rest were Wi-Fi devices.

Any idea on how I can check if its overheating?

 

[kanewolf]

The router is about 5 years old. It's a modem/router combo that my ISP provided for free. Before I got the Powerline adaptor, there was only one wired connection and the rest were Wi-Fi devices.

Any idea on how I can check if its overheating?

You can always point a desk fan at it. Also the power supply transformer is a frequent failure.
BUT, if it was provided by your ISP, they might replace it as part of your included service costs. It is worth checking that.
IF you do replace it, then try to find a separate modem that is supported by your ISP. You are then free to by ANY router.

 

[SamirD]

Would it be a safe assumption for me to purchase a new router?

No, I'm not confident that the router is at fault at this point. Do you have another computer that you can connect wired to your router to repeat the test?

 

[epicpotato]

No, I'm not confident that the router is at fault at this point. Do you have another computer that you can connect wired to your router to repeat the test?

I ended up borrowing a friend's router (newer model) and ended up testing the connection. Everything worked fine, including the Powerline, so I ended up buying a new modem and router, as suggested by kanewolf.

Everything now works perfectly! Thanks everyone for the help

 

[SamirD]

I ended up borrowing a friend's router (newer model) and ended up testing the connection. Everything worked fine, including the Powerline, so I ended up buying a new modem and router, as suggested by kanewolf.

Everything now works perfectly! Thanks everyone for the help

Glad you found the root cause and fixed it!