[SOLVED] TP-Link Archer C80 router with internet drops

[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 modem, nothing else comes out of the modem.

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!

 

[bill001g]

The router might have a log that gives you a clue. Key would be is does the router think the port went down or is there some other error.

Check that you have the latest firmware on the router I guess. There is not a lot you can do or set on the wan port.

I would try a new ethernet cable. Cables can be very strange and work on some devices and not others. It may make no difference but it is cheaper than a new router. It is rare to get a bad port in a route but you have pretty much eliminated everything else.

 

[SamirD]

I've seen weird things like this happen when the power supply isn't providing enough ampage. I'd test a higher ampage power supply from something else that fits and has the right polarity and if that solves the problem, then you just need a new power supply.

 

[nicolasdeppe]

I've seen weird things like this happen when the power supply isn't providing enough ampage. I'd test a higher ampage power supply from something else that fits and has the right polarity and if that solves the problem, then you just need a new power supply.

But that would crash the router, right? In my case, the router never crashes, it just loses internet connection. I can still access the admin page without an issue.

 

[SamirD]

But that would crash the router, right? In my case, the router never crashes, it just loses internet connection. I can still access the admin page without an issue.

Nope, not necessarily. I had a weird issue where a router would reboot when I did a speedtest, but was working otherwise. I checked the power supply and it was the wrong one--I had mixed it up with a lower amp model. Once I put the correct power supply, it worked perfectly again.

 

[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.

 

[SamirD]

Thank you for posting an update! I hope the isp is able to fix the problem on their end.