Author Topic: WHR-HP-300N Must be Reset Twice a Day  (Read 9678 times)

eliascm

  • Calf
  • *
  • Posts: 6
WHR-HP-300N Must be Reset Twice a Day
« on: January 13, 2011, 06:25:02 PM »

I am very dissatified with my new router.  It has a strong signal but I (or my wife) have to unplug and plug in the power about twice a day because we lose the wireless signal to our computers that are wireless.  The wired signal is quite reliable.  Any suggestions?

 

By the way I have another post on this site which has gone unanswered for at least a week.  I am not sure why.  If the question is too stupid to answer someone should tell me so, otherwise I don't know why someone hasn't answered it.


Tychoash

  • Calf
  • *
  • Posts: 1
Re: WHR-HP-300N Must be Reset Twice a Day
« Reply #1 on: January 13, 2011, 08:41:46 PM »

What wireless network mode are you using b/g n/g this kind of stuff matters.  While the router should work solid with older wireless NICs it is hard to guarantee you have a good brand.  I upgraded to my 300N after Xmas and find it works flawlessly with N and newer G but it picking with older ones.  I would upgrade to an N card to get all of the use out of the router.  If it is an N connection I am not well versed enough in it yet to help more.  Sorry.


eliascm

  • Calf
  • *
  • Posts: 6
Re: WHR-HP-300N Must be Reset Twice a Day
« Reply #2 on: January 14, 2011, 05:45:47 AM »

Tychoash,

 

Thanks for the reply!

 

The Buffalo unit's wireless network mode is set to "Mixed" which is the way it came from the factory.  In fact, all of the unit's settings are default--I don't know enough about this sort of thing to change the settings.  I will check on the cards in the 2 wireless computers although I cannot understand why the cards in those computers would result in the  WHR-HP-300N having to be reset.  Perhaps someone can explain that to me.

 

 


mcg

  • Calf
  • *
  • Posts: 25
Re: WHR-HP-300N Must be Reset Twice a Day
« Reply #3 on: January 14, 2011, 09:21:41 AM »

Didn't say which firmware you were using, but with DD-WRT I have mine set to 1) automatically reboot in the middle of the night, and 2) automatically reboot when it cannot ping one of my wireless devices that is always connected.

 

On the Administration, Keep-Alive tab, use Schedule Reboot to force a reboot nightly, and then if you have an always-on wireless device (Tivo box in my case), make sure the device responds to pings, give device a static IP address or DHCP static lease (on Services tab) and then enable WDS/Connection Watchdog for that IP address with something like 300 seconds.  Then if wireless fails (device does not respond to ping), the router will automatically reboot.

 

We're all waiting for better DD-WRT firmware that doesn't have the wireless dropout problem.

 


eliascm

  • Calf
  • *
  • Posts: 6
Re: WHR-HP-300N Must be Reset Twice a Day
« Reply #4 on: January 15, 2011, 09:01:28 AM »

mcg,

 

Thanks for the reply. 

 

My firmware is DD-WRT.  I have 2 wireless computers.  If I picked one of them and it were always on, could I use its IP address (already assigned) to do what you do with your TIVO?  I don't think these are static IP addresses since they have an assigned client lease time (1 day).  Will there be a problem if I assign one of them a static IP address?.  I do not know how to do what you are suggesting about assigning a static IP address, but I am willing to try to follow your suggestion if you think it will work in my case.  I just looked at the info under the the "services" tab and have concluded that I will need detailed step-by-step instructions if I am to make the change that you suggest.


mcg

  • Calf
  • *
  • Posts: 25
Re: WHR-HP-300N Must be Reset Twice a Day
« Reply #5 on: January 15, 2011, 09:45:41 AM »

As long as one of your wireless computers is always on, then it will work.  If it is set to sleep when inactive then it would not be a good candidate.

 

First check that the computer you want to monitor responds to ping requests (some antivirus/firewall software prevents this). 

 

First turn off the other wireless computer so only the one you want the router to watch is turned on.  Go to DD-WRT Status Sys-Info tab and scroll to the bottom.  It should show only one wireless client now and you'll need to write down its MAC address and its IP address.  Write down Host name if it shows one (ignore if just shows an asterisk).

 

Now turn the other wireless computer back on and get a command prompt (Start, Run, cmd.exe) and type "ping 192.168.x.x" where the x.x completes the IP address of the computer you want the router to monitor.  If it responds with "Request timed out" then the machine you want to monitor does not respond to ping/echo requests so you'll have to resolve that with your antivirus/firewall software before you can continue.  If it responds with "Reply from 192.168...." then you can continue.

 

Go to DD-WRT Services tab and under DHCP Server section, click the Add button to create a new blank line.  Type in the MAC address (with colons), host name if it showed one or leave blank if not, IP address (192.168.x.x), and use 1440 for client lease time (24 hours).  Click "apply settings". 

 

Reboot the computer you want to monitor and then check again the DD-WRT Status Sys-Info tab to make sure it came up with the same IP address you wrote down before (it should always get the same IP address now when it connects to your router). 

 

Now go to DD-WRT Admin Keep-Alive tab and in WDS/Connection Watchdog section, click Enable, use 300 for seconds, and put in the IP address of the wireless computer to monitor (192.168.x.x).  Click Apply Settings.

 

Now you can test it by turning off the computer to monitor and wait 5 minutes for router to notice and reboot.  You can either notice the lights on the front of it cycling through reboot sequence, or check DD-WRT from the other computer - it shows "up" time since last reboot in the upper right corner. 

 

Of course if you turn off or sleep that computer that the router watches, the router will keep rebooting every 5 minutes until you turn that computer back on.  I have no idea if that is "bad" for your router if you turn your computer off nightly and let the router reboot itself all night long. 

 

You could change the 300 seconds to less if you want it to notice wireless dropout sooner, but I wouldn't go less than 120 seconds or so to avoid an endless reboot cycle if it can't find that computer.  You need at least enough time to get back into DD-WRT to turn off the Connection Watchdog if something goes wrong later on.  Five minutes seemed like a reasonable time window to me.

 

I have heard some rumors in the DD-WRT forum that DHCP static leases "don't work" but it seems to be working for me with Buffalo DD-WRT 14998.

 

Good luck.

 


eliascm

  • Calf
  • *
  • Posts: 6
Re: WHR-HP-300N Must be Reset Twice a Day
« Reply #6 on: January 15, 2011, 02:53:37 PM »

mcg,

 

Thanks very much for the detailed description of the workaround.  I appreciate your taking the time to spell it out in such detail.  If I go ahead and do it I will let you know how it works out.  Meanwhile I hope someone from Buffalo Technology is working on this problem.  I bought my unit from Amazon.com.  If they ask me to write a review, I don't think Buffalo Tech. will be pleased with what I write.  It would be one thing if I were the only one having this problem, but browsing this forum I can see it is a common problem--one that should not occur.

 

Thanks again.


stu1019

  • Calf
  • *
  • Posts: 7
Re: WHR-HP-300N Must be Reset Twice a Day
« Reply #7 on: January 21, 2011, 07:33:41 PM »

OK, quick question on clarification on how to set this up. I dont have a TIVO, but I do have a second router from Vonage that powers my phone connection. Would this work like your TIVO to keep my wireless connection alive or to restart it? 

 

I too am tired of having to unplug my router 3-5 times per day. I paid good money for a good router that should not need rebooting manually all the time. 


eliascm

  • Calf
  • *
  • Posts: 6
Re: WHR-HP-300N Must be Reset Twice a Day
« Reply #8 on: January 22, 2011, 07:26:57 AM »

I opened a case on this matter.  I asked if Buffalo Tech. was working on fixing this problem.  I got an email reply asking me what version of firmware I was using.

 

I did find a solution to my problem, albeit not the one I was hoping for:  I bought a Linksys E3000 wireless router.  I have been using it for only about five days now, but so far not one reboot has been required.  This is an expensive solution, but Cisco has been in the business for a long time and seems to know how to design an excellent router.  I wrote a review of my Buffalo Tech. router for Amazon.com.  Needless to say, it was not favorable--no rants, no expletives--just the truth.  This has been a expensive lesson for me: stick with the companies who have made a good name for themselves by producing equipment that is used by large organizations.


mcg

  • Calf
  • *
  • Posts: 25
Re: WHR-HP-300N Must be Reset Twice a Day
« Reply #9 on: January 22, 2011, 08:50:11 AM »

stu1019, for the DD-WRT wireless hang auto reboot you can choose to monitor any device that 1) uses wireless (not wired) connection to the router, 2) is "on" all the time, and 3) responds to ping.

 

eliascm, I share your frustration with this half-baked marriage between Buffalo and DD-WRT.  I suspect that Buffalo wanted to capitalize on popularity of DD-WRT but did not realize that their choice of Atheros chipset was not yet very stable on DD-WRT.  If Buffalo paid any license money to DD-WRT then I hope they got a refund, and in my opinion any customers who bought this router specifically because it was advertised as "Powered by DD-WRT" deserve a refund.  I was going to return mine as well, but decided it was working "good enough" for my purposes to continue using it until DD-WRT releases a stable Atheros version.

 


stu1019

  • Calf
  • *
  • Posts: 7
Re: WHR-HP-300N Must be Reset Twice a Day
« Reply #10 on: January 22, 2011, 01:19:50 PM »

So if I were to switch to the "easy" UI that Buffalo also lets me install, rather than DD-WRT (I know, I know, that is prolly a sin) would my connection stop dropping? If that is the case, I may do that until a stable release is made. 


Madnick

  • Tatanka
  • **
  • Posts: 62
Re: WHR-HP-300N Must be Reset Twice a Day
« Reply #11 on: January 23, 2011, 02:03:50 PM »

Yes, at the moment the Buffalo firmware is more stable than any of the DD-WRT releases or the Buffalo branded DD-WRT release.

 


buddee

  • Big Bull
  • *****
  • Posts: 547
Re: WHR-HP-300N Must be Reset Twice a Day
« Reply #12 on: January 23, 2011, 05:58:48 PM »

This must be the case on this particular model, which i have been curious about because i have thought about purchasing one. I recently purchased a WZR-HP-G300NH and use dd-wrt on it with much delight. I hope that another buff pro dd-wrt version is released soon.


mcg

  • Calf
  • *
  • Posts: 25
Re: WHR-HP-300N Must be Reset Twice a Day
« Reply #13 on: January 23, 2011, 06:20:05 PM »

Mine is the G300NH with Buffalo DD-WRT 14998 (AP with G+N mixed) and I have the occasional wireless hang, not every day, but a few times a week.  The daily reset definitely helps reduce occurences, and the reboot-when-detect-wireless-hang means I can tell my wife to wait five minutes and try again if I'm away from home.

 

 


Madnick

  • Tatanka
  • **
  • Posts: 62
Re: WHR-HP-300N Must be Reset Twice a Day
« Reply #14 on: January 24, 2011, 06:13:22 AM »

You might want to try to put the router switch on the back of your router to a different position.

If it's in "auto" put it to "on" and restart.

 

I resently put the 15962 release of DD-WRT in mine (G300NH) the router switch is in "on" and uptime at the moment is 32 hours with no wireless crashes! A record!