Netgear D6400 wired devices issue

bobblebob

Had this router for just under a year and no issues. However abit ago all wired devices attached seemed to disconnect, no data was passing to them. wifi devices remained connected and data was passing through to them. Checked in the router device list and noticed no wired devices attached, however all wifi devices were fine, and checked them all and were working Rebooting the wired devices didnt fix it, so needed to reboot the router which appears to have worked. Anything in particular that could have caused this? First time ive ever encountered this

Neil_Jones

Router may have run out of memory, a reboot clears this.

Seems to be a common issue with this box.

bobblebob

When you say run out of memory, what would cause that? Long uptime? Downloading more? More devices attached?

The router was up for 40 days since last rebooot. Previously it was over 100 days with no issues

cooltt

bobblebob said:

Had this router for just under a year and no issues. However abit ago all wired devices attached seemed to disconnect, no data was passing to them. wifi devices remained connected and data was passing through to them. Checked in the router device list and noticed no wired devices attached, however all wifi devices were fine, and checked them all and were working Rebooting the wired devices didnt fix it, so needed to reboot the router which appears to have worked. Anything in particular that could have caused this? First time ive ever encountered this

A known issue, update the firmware.

Mickey666

Interesting - have never come across this sort of thing before.

What sort of devices were wired to the router and were they all DCHP?  I'm wondering if the regular switching off/on of attached devices could affect the various data-tables the router has to maintain if a new address is handed out each time, thereby gradually increasing memory usage until it runs out of space.  Bit of a shot in the dark, I admit, but if it's a known problem with this router model, as Neil_Jones suggests, then who knows?   Would it be convenient to change the devices to fixed IP addresses? 

One other thought, is the router running the lasted version of firmware?

Alternatively, if a reboot always solves the problem how about plugging it into a mains timer that periodically switches off for a few minutes to reboot the router - say, 3am in the morning every Monday? 

Neil_Jones

This page might be of interest:

https://superuser.com/questions/921282/what-happens-when-router-memory-filled

Different router software implementations do different things and behave in different ways; there is no "right" way to do a router, suffice for the standards they support.  Subsequently when something goes wrong in the software for whatever reason, behaviour goes a bit screwy and  in this case it managed to completely forget about your network connections.  Updated firmware may solve the issue.

bobblebob

cooltt said:

bobblebob said:

Had this router for just under a year and no issues. However abit ago all wired devices attached seemed to disconnect, no data was passing to them. wifi devices remained connected and data was passing through to them. Checked in the router device list and noticed no wired devices attached, however all wifi devices were fine, and checked them all and were working Rebooting the wired devices didnt fix it, so needed to reboot the router which appears to have worked. Anything in particular that could have caused this? First time ive ever encountered this

A known issue, update the firmware.

You got a link that says its a known issue? Ive Googled and cant see anything. 

bobblebob

Mickey666 said:

Interesting - have never come across this sort of thing before.

What sort of devices were wired to the router and were they all DCHP?  I'm wondering if the regular switching off/on of attached devices could affect the various data-tables the router has to maintain if a new address is handed out each time, thereby gradually increasing memory usage until it runs out of space.  Bit of a shot in the dark, I admit, but if it's a known problem with this router model, as Neil_Jones suggests, then who knows?   Would it be convenient to change the devices to fixed IP addresses? 

One other thought, is the router running the lasted version of firmware?

Alternatively, if a reboot always solves the problem how about plugging it into a mains timer that periodically switches off for a few minutes to reboot the router - say, 3am in the morning every Monday? 

Just my PC and Smart TV are wired and yes on DCHP. Firmware is up to date too.

bobblebob

If the issue persists im thinking of just having everything in the house wifi, would be the cheaper option. Only have 2 devices wired anyway. 

Only issue would be my PC which doesbt have built in wifi. I could get a card and install it but are usb wifi adaptors any good?

[Deleted User]

I have the same router. It's forgotten wired devices maybe a couple of times a year. I just reboot and tend not to worry about it.

Neil_Jones

bobblebob said:

If the issue persists im thinking of just having everything in the house wifi, would be the cheaper option. Only have 2 devices wired anyway. 

Only issue would be my PC which doesbt have built in wifi. I could get a card and install it but are usb wifi adaptors any good?

You could just set static IP addresses on the two wired devices - if the issue in the firmware affects new wired devices and giving them new IPs when the leases run out, that may solve your problem in the short term.  Only caveat with this is if you do replace the router you need to either change the fixed addresses on the devices if they fall out of the default range, or change them back to "obtain an address automatically".

USB Wifi adaptors work and are cheap, but depending on the environment Wifi can be more of a hindrance than an asset, especially if you're further away from the router or there are walls or objects in the way.