Broadband router regularly becoming inaccessible

[mangocrazy]

I have an old TP-Link WD-9970 Broadband router that has been working fine for as long as I can remember, but recently has been acting up (although I don't believe the router is the problem). A month or so ago Mrs Mango bought herself a new Samsung Galaxy J15 (I think) phone and since then she has regularly been complaining that she can't connect to Wi-Fi. The only way to restore Wi-Fi is to re-boot the router.

If my (wired) desktop Windows PC is internet-connected that stays connected, but I can no longer connect to the router via admin - the connection attempt is rejected. I've tried updating the router firmware, but it makes no difference. Mrs Mango's old Samsung phone worked perfectly, it just connected and stayed connected, but the new one doesn't seem to play nice with the router.

DHCP has a pool of 99 IP addresses available, so there's no shortage there. Would it be worth binding the Samsung's MAC address to a fixed IP address? We've checked to see if there are any software updates available for the phone, but it's set to update automatically anyway. Next step is to back up all phone data and reset to factory defaults and hope that fixes it.

On one occasion when the router froze I was in the control panel and it just locked up. This happened at the same time as Mrs M lost WiFi connectivity, so I'm 99% sure that the issue is with the Samsung and it's doing something that causes the router to throw its hands in the air and give up - some kind of protocol violation or somesuch.

Any suggestions (that don't involve fire, preferably)... ?

[KungFooBob]

How old is it?

Does it do the auto 2.4/5ghz thing, maybe split it across two different ssid's if you can.

[mangocrazy]

How old is it?

Does it do the auto 2.4/5ghz thing, maybe split it across two different ssid's if you can.

I think it is dual band, so will check that out - thanks

[mangocrazy]

Just checked - it's only single band (2.4 ghz), so maybe a more modern router is indicated...

[Mussels]

Assuming the router is the same age as your broadband contract then shopping around for a new contract is probably a good idea, cheaper deal and will come with a new router.

[mangocrazy]

Assuming the router is the same age as your broadband contract then shopping around for a new contract is probably a good idea, cheaper deal and will come with a new router.

The only drawback with that is that routers supplied as part of a contract are normally pretty low rent. I think I'd prefer to choose my router based on its specifications; i.e. any router I'd buy I'd want to have Gigabit Ethernet capability on the LAN/WAN ports.

[Mussels]

The one I got a couple of years ago with a new contract is gigabit so that's probably pretty standard now. I found 'free' routers were usually poor for WiFi signals but I get around that with mesh systems.

[mangocrazy]

"If it were done when 'tis done, then t'were well it were done quckly"

Dual band Gigabit TP-Link router on its way...

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Buy a new one, they're not expensive, at work we're finding old Wi-Fi equipment is dying

[wheelnut]

"If it were done when 'tis done, then t'were well it were done quckly"

Dual band Gigabit TP-Link router on its way...

Is the right answer - life’s too short.

[KungFooBob]

I'm not convinced by TP Link. It looks smart and it's cheap, but the stuff I've had has either failed too soon (imho) or just not worked.

If you want feature rich, yet affordable, with good support. Draytek is the way to go.

Vigor FTW!

[wheelnut]

I'm not convinced by TP Link. It looks smart and it's cheap, but the stuff I've had has either failed too soon (imho) or just not worked.

If you want feature rich, yet affordable, with good support. Draytek is the way to go.

Vigor FTW!

Yep, that’s our favoured go to device as well.

[mangocrazy]

I'm not convinced by TP Link. It looks smart and it's cheap, but the stuff I've had has either failed too soon (imho) or just not worked.

If you want feature rich, yet affordable, with good support. Draytek is the way to go.

Vigor FTW!

Hmmm - affordable? The cheapest Draytek router I can find comes in at about £120-130. The TP-link is £45. I don't need loads of features or enterprise class performance, just a decent Dual band Gigabit router.

[Mussels]

I tried Draytek a few years back and found the wonderful extra features they advertised either didn't work or were so awkward they might as well not work. Their corporate stuff may be good but the SOHO offerings were pitiful.

[wheelnut]

I'm not convinced by TP Link. It looks smart and it's cheap, but the stuff I've had has either failed too soon (imho) or just not worked.

If you want feature rich, yet affordable, with good support. Draytek is the way to go.

Vigor FTW!

Hmmm - affordable? The cheapest Draytek router I can find comes in at about £120-130. The TP-link is £45. I don't need loads of features or enterprise class performance, just a decent Dual band Gigabit router.

The 286x are around £200, and while not exactly enterprise class they are perhaps overkill for home use. They are a good bit of kit for the money though, especially if you want to add a few APs.

[mangocrazy]

Our demands are fairly modest. The house is a smallish terrace, and I use wired access from my desktop and Mrs M uses a wired desktop and wireless work laptop and phone. There's also a wired printer, so not very demanding.

[Eclipse]

I'm not convinced by TP Link. It looks smart and it's cheap, but the stuff I've had has either failed too soon (imho) or just not worked.

I have a few TP Link products all hooked up and running constantly and have not had any failures yet,
the only problem I sometimes get (3 or 4 times a year) is a smart bulb stops responding,
turning the light switch off and back on again fixes it.

TP-Link products I have are which are in constant use are :-

TP-Link AC1200 Wireless Dual Band Wi-Fi Router
TP-Link WiFi Extender Booster, Dual Band AC750 (RE220)
TP-Link Nano USB Bluetooth 5.0 Adapter (UB5A)
Tapo Smart Iot Hub (Tapo H100)
Tapo Wifi Camera, 2K (Tapo C210) X 2
Tapo 2K 4MP QHD Pan/Tilt WiFi Outdoor Security Camera (Tapo C520WS)
Tapo WiFi Smart Bulb, B22 Smart Light Bulb (Tapo L510B)
Tapo 2K Indoor Security Camera (Tapo C110)
Tapo Smart Plug Wi-Fi Outlet Tapo P100 x 4
Tapo Smart Contact Sensor (TapoT110)
Tapo Smart Hygrometer, Thermometer & Humidity Meter (Tapo T310)

I am not sure if this is true as its just a hunch of mine but my old ISP supplied router used to reboot itself which I thought
might be the ISP forcing updates/changing settings and throttling my bandwidth/speed, I might be totally wrong though.

[mangocrazy]

I'm not convinced by TP Link. It looks smart and it's cheap, but the stuff I've had has either failed too soon (imho) or just not worked.

I have a few TP Link products all hooked up and running constantly and have not had any failures yet,
the only problem I sometimes get (3 or 4 times a year) is a smart bulb stops responding,
turning the light switch off and back on again fixes it.

TP-Link products I have are which are in constant use are :-

TP-Link AC1200 Wireless Dual Band Wi-Fi Router

That's the one I've ordered...

[roadster]

I upgraded to a TP-Link AX5400 wi-fi 6 about a year ago. I needed to support an IP Telephone Hub ( wired ) and numerous other devices. The wi-fi range is better than the router it replaced but I seldom use it for anything other than a Naim music player an I-phone and a laptop. Most of my devices such as a music server are wired and I also take advantage of the routers USB capability to connect a 1TB storage device shared with SMB protocol and accessed via windows and linux for things like common browser favourites and reference files for non-critical reminders etc.

The only thing I don't like is that TP-Link try to persuade you to use web/cloud based access for administration but if you insist on accessing settings locally it works fine.

[mangocrazy]

The only thing I don't like is that TP-Link try to persuade you to use web/cloud based access for administration but if you insist on accessing settings locally it works fine.

192.168.1.1 FTW...