Question Unusual Problems with modem and router.

[Omnytrix]

Just need some simple advice.
I currently have a TP-Link Deco X60 system setup in my house. Three Decos, all hardwired with either cat5e or cat6. The internet comes into the house through a cable modem, Arris SB6190, then into the main Deco, then into an unmanaged TP-Link 8 port gigabit switch. From there, it’s distributed to the rest of the 4 jacks around the house, connecting the other 2 Decos with Ethernet back haul. Now the issues:
The main Deco keeps rebooting itself randomly, with no rhyme or reason, and I keep seeing Low Power in the error logs.
The modem is full of No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out errors, at least one every day.
The plug everything is attached to in the basement is also on the same circuit as our two chest freezers, if that could affect it at all.
The problems all started last year in December, been running flawlessly until then.
Whatever advice you have helps!

 

[Ralston18]

What connectivity path(s) are you using?

E.g.,

https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/658418

Sketch out a diagram of your network.

Scan or photography and post the image here via imgur (www.imgur.com).

 

[punkncat]

Have you checked the plug in transformer for the main Deco unit?
Do you happen to have a meter and know how to use it?

The little transformer that plugs into the outlet for this will have its expected output listed. I cannot recall if the Deco (and didn't research yours) is an AC or DC unit for the input, but typically speaking hardware which use DC input power have a fairly wide range they will operate within whereas AC must be pretty close.

 

[BFG-9000]

Note the meter may well show full DC voltage on a DC power brick which doesn't necessarily mean it's good--if it also measures a lot of AC on that DC power brick, then the smoothing capacitors in that power brick are bad

Think of it as like a poor man's oscilloscope for detecting noise/ripple on DC where it only gives an average value for the noise rather than showing you the waveform

Or if all of the Deco units are 12vDC 2A then you could just try moving the power bricks around.

 

[dingo07]

Without investigating the OP's equipment, why not upgrade the switch to a managed POE++ unit and get rid of the power bricks for each AP?

 

[bill001g]

Without investigating the OP's equipment, why not upgrade the switch to a managed POE++ unit and get rid of the power bricks for each AP?

Most consumer grade equipment does not support poe and then you have to worry about if it is using 802.3at poe or some proprietary form. Uniquity AP for example sell both units that use standard poe and their own proprietary form.

His problem seems to be the main unit which is even more unlikely to be able to be powered via poe.

As stated above it is likely all three units use the same power brick and he could just swap them around.

 

[Omnytrix]

Wow, so that’s weird. I set it to email me when somebody responded, and I only got an email just now. I’m sorry for the late response.
In order of responses:
1. Here is a link to my hand drawn diagram
https://9gag.com/gag/amooLAX?utm_source=copy_link&utm_medium=post_share

Best I could do on short notice

2. Plug in transformer means just the wall plug right? I don’t have a meter or a way to test how much current it’s outputting, best I can do is verify it’s providing electricity to the Deco

3. I guess I can try that next, see if a plug is failing rather than the Deco itself.

4. I wish. I have a Ubiquiti AC access point powered by POE I setup for my father. Rock solid for 5* years now, only issue with doing that at my current residence is the cost. Each AP is close to $100 last I checked, and I need 3 at minimum. Then there’s the managing router, I think the cheapest I found was $150. A new set of Decos is $200. I get the point, you get what you pay for, but I can’t currently justify the extra expense.

5. I’ll test the power adapters best I can. Thank you for the suggestions

 

[Omnytrix]

What connectivity path(s) are you using?

E.g.,

https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/658418

Sketch out a diagram of your network.

Scan or photography and post the image here via imgur (www.imgur.com).

https://9gag.com/gag/amooLAX?utm_source=copy_link&utm_medium=post_share

 

[Omnytrix]

Have you checked the plug in transformer for the main Deco unit?
Do you happen to have a meter and know how to use it?

The little transformer that plugs into the outlet for this will have its expected output listed. I cannot recall if the Deco (and didn't research yours) is an AC or DC unit for the input, but typically speaking hardware which use DC input power have a fairly wide range they will operate within whereas AC must be pretty close.

if you’re talking about the little plug that transfers power from the wall socket to the back of the Deco, I don’t really have a way to test if it’s outputting enough power, short of the Deco refusing to power on after I plug it in. I suppose I could order another wall plug, see if that fixes the issue.

 

[Omnytrix]

Note the meter may well show full DC voltage on a DC power brick which doesn't necessarily mean it's good--if it also measures a lot of AC on that DC power brick, then the smoothing capacitors in that power brick are bad

Think of it as like a poor man's oscilloscope for detecting noise/ripple on DC where it only gives an average value for the noise rather than showing you the waveform

Or if all of the Deco units are 12vDC 2A then you could just try moving the power bricks around.

That’s probably what I’m going to end up doing. Thank you for the advice.

 

[Omnytrix]

Without investigating the OP's equipment, why not upgrade the switch to a managed POE++ unit and get rid of the power bricks for each AP?

That’s what I setup for my father about 5 years ago, solid as a rock ever since. It’s just him, so I had him buy a DOCSIS 3.0 D-Link cable modem with a max speed of 300 mbps, to which I hooked a generic TP-link archer c7 or something similar, and then ran an Ethernet cable to roughly the center of the house. Attached the POE injector Ubiquiti sent me with my AC access point, and it was off to the races. No problems since then, except when he forgets to pay the bill or his neighborhood suffers an outage. Main issue with doing that now is cost. Access points are now like $100 a pop, and I’d need at least 3, plus the cost of their router. That’s like $500, and a brand new set of decos is like $200 tops. I guess I get what I paid for lol

 

[Ralston18]

Based on the provided network diagram my suggestion is to simplify as much as possible in order to establish a working "no problems" environment.

That may take some time effort to achieve. If not at all achievable then other actions will be necessary.

(As a brute method: unplug/disconnect all but one device. Such is the nature of troubleshooting. Including wall plugs....)

However, if stability is achieved then connections/devices can be added back one by one until the problem reappears.

And likely that specifc device or maybe the number of devices at that time could be the source of the problem.

Or just some combination of devices which may difficult to discover.

Key is to be methodical and to change only one thing at a time during the troubleshooting process.

 

[Omnytrix]

Based on the provided network diagram my suggestion is to simplify as much as possible in order to establish a working "no problems" environment.

That may take some time effort to achieve. If not at all achievable then other actions will be necessary.

(As a brute method: unplug/disconnect all but one device. Such is the nature of troubleshooting. Including wall plugs....)

However, if stability is achieved then connections/devices can be added back one by one until the problem reappears.

And likely that specifc device or maybe the number of devices at that time could be the source of the problem.

Or just some combination of devices which may difficult to discover.

Key is to be methodical and to change only one thing at a time during the troubleshooting process.

Damn, no magic bullet huh. I miss the days when it was just me and my desktop, no WiFi needed lol

 

[bill001g]

The only reason there is a need for wifi is all the portable devices. These actually do not need a lot of bandwidth. Most people could still use 1 central wifi router and it would be good enough. The marketing guys have messed this all up with their advertising. You have people chanting mesh mesh mesh when they have no clue what it is. They pay huge extra money for AI on the box now days also. I still do not get the young people who would rather watch a movie on their cell phone 5 inches from their face rather than the large screen tv on the wall.

In your case you are lucky your house is wired for ethernet so you have the choice to use wired connections in many rooms. The problem is if the main router has a actual power issue it will go down both for wifi and for ethernet.

In some ways you are lucky that the router even has a log entry when it reboots. Many times you lose the whole log or at least the most important messages that occur right as it dies. We can only assume that the low power message means there is some issue with the power block. These power block are fairly easily replaced. I have a large box of them collected over the years where I discard the equipmentnt but keep the power blocks just in case.

 

[Omnytrix]

The only reason there is a need for wifi is all the portable devices. These actually do not need a lot of bandwidth. Most people could still use 1 central wifi router and it would be good enough. The marketing guys have messed this all up with their advertising. You have people chanting mesh mesh mesh when they have no clue what it is. They pay huge extra money for AI on the box now days also. I still do not get the young people who would rather watch a movie on their cell phone 5 inches from their face rather than the large screen tv on the wall.

In your case you are lucky your house is wired for ethernet so you have the choice to use wired connections in many rooms. The problem is if the main router has a actual power issue it will go down both for wifi and for ethernet.

In some ways you are lucky that the router even has a log entry when it reboots. Many times you lose the whole log or at least the most important messages that occur right as it dies. We can only assume that the low power message means there is some issue with the power block. These power block are fairly easily replaced. I have a large box of them collected over the years where I discard the equipmentnt but keep the power blocks just in case.

Also probably doesn’t help that the modem, main deco, and Ethernet switch are about a foot away from the house circuit breakers.

 

[bill001g]

Should makes no difference the distance from the power panel. The panel itself does not put out interfering signals....there are all kinds of fcc rules on this topic. Any interference would go via the wires much easier than the air if there was interference.

I suspect it is as simple as a bad power block.

 

[Omnytrix]

Should makes no difference the distance from the power panel. The panel itself does not put out interfering signals....there are all kinds of fcc rules on this topic. Any interference would go via the wires much easier than the air if there was interference.

I suspect it is as simple as a bad power block.

Should makes no difference the distance from the power panel. The panel itself does not put out interfering signals....there are all kinds of fcc rules on this topic. Any interference would go via the wires much easier than the air if there was interference.

I suspect it is as simple as a bad power block.

The problems only started after we moved all the networking equipment downstairs and attached it to the wall right next to the circuit breaker. It worked fine for years while it was all on the first floor. I talked to a few IT professionals I know, and the consensus was that having sensitive electronic equipment anywhere near a circuit breaker can cause problems over time, since you are subjecting the sensitive electronic equipment to large amounts of electromagnetic fields coming from the circuit breaker. I found more than a few posts on other forums with similar issues, and most of them were solved by simply moving the modem and router away from the circuit breaker. I will try the plug, but I suspect it might be the location.