pdoyle
join:2010-11-09
Waltham, MA | [Northeast] pls help fix expired DHCP static connections HI, (Please pardon the rambling text of a newbie)...I'm trying to set static IP addresses with fios actiontec mi424wr wireless G router, but several are expiring. Connectivity to internet is maintained usually, but slow download speeds fluctuating between 20Mbts to as low as 0.3Mbts; then back. Speed test from verizon shows 24Mbts/7Mbts; but bluray's test shows fluctuations, and smartphones show weak wifi signal interfering with phone call reception. (tell me if expiration is irrelevant; i'm assuming it's important and will improve speeds.)
I've left the STBs as dynamic, with actiontec assigning dhcp; and tried to solve losses of connectivity by assigning static IPs for pc's , bluray, tv, and netgear wireless N WNR3500 (netgear set as secondary router connected to LAN port of actiontec. Actiontec wireless radio is off; netgear provides the wireless N, with its DHCP shut off, assigned only by actiontec.) That gave me much more stable connectivity; but download speeds seem to be suffering, and I notice the static IPs expiring, and don't know how to renew (esp. for bluray and tv, which don't have CMD commands available.)
So now, I'm trying to renew the static leases...hoping it will give better speed. I tried manually reassigning IP outside of router's range of 192.168.1.19-.254; but won't accept duplicate MAc addresses. Should I delete the expired addresses and reassign for those devices?
If I restrict the dynamic DHCP range on actiontec from .10-.14, that would exclude the current static addresses of pc's and devices (including some static that show as expired).
Will that get me what I want?, and will that give me a stable LAN network with best download speeds?
I've got FIOS 15/5 basic package. Most devices are not powered on simultaneously; and I can only use the wireless for smartphones, as it has not been reliable for wireless laptops and other devices; had to run ethernet with netgear switch to wire the entire house.
Thanks! pdoyle |
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 More FiberPremium,MVM
join:2005-09-26
West Chester, PA
kudos:28 | I take it you're referring assigning "DHCP reservations" in the Actiontec. Actiontec incorrewctly refers to these as static leases. A true static IP address is assigned at the device, not the router.
Assigning DHCP reservations should not have any effect on your wireless stability. The device is still negotiating a DHCP lease with the router. The only difference is that the device receives a predetermined IP address rather than one at random. IOW, the value of the IP address has no bearing on the satbility of the connection.
You're getting 24/7 on a 15/5 plan using a wired connection, so there is no problem with your WAN connection.
You have other problems going on. This sounds like purely a wireless problem. Have you checked the wireless channel for congestion? Have you tried other channels?
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There are 10 kinds of people in the world; those who understand binary and those who don't.
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pdoyle
join:2010-11-09
Waltham, MA | Thanks for clear info! very helpful.
- the Netgear WNR 3500 i believe has a choice of either channel 6 or 10, or Auto...i'll try changing that value.
The only wireless connections are an Airport Express, and 2 or 3 smartphones.
- How do I check for wireless channel congestion?
Thanks!  |
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More FiberPremium,MVM
join:2005-09-26
West Chester, PA
kudos:28 | said by pdoyle:- the Netgear WNR 3500 i believe has a choice of either channel 6 or 10, or Auto...i'll try changing that value. Standard channels are 1, 6 and 11. Those are the only channels that don't overlap each other.
said by pdoyle:- How do I check for wireless channel congestion? »www.metageek.net/products/inssider/
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There are 10 kinds of people in the world; those who understand binary and those who don't.
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| See if you have a way of controlling QoS (quality of service) within the router. You will want to enable WiFI multi media within QoS. This gives priorty to your WiFI devices.
IMHO: WiFI is somewhat a hit or miss for multi-media. There is a cool app for a Kindle Fire that displays WiFI signal strengths. |
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pdoyle
join:2010-11-09
Waltham, MA | reply to pdoyle
used metageek program (very cool!) and set at "Auto", my wireless shows to be using a range from channels 1-5; with others in higher channels, so does not appear to be significant competition there. Shall I leave it at Auto? or select a specific channel? I also noticed that at 6am, the wired smartTV was showing consistently strong download speeds ranging from 18Mbts to 14Mbts; could time of the day have an impact (community using their internet over fios?)
- my router appears to be using WPA2 Enterprise.
not sure if this is relevant; but even though wired and wireless pc's had internet access, ping test was failing. I also noticed the pc's IP addresses were different than that listed on the FIOS primary Actiontec router screen...and ipconfig/all showed the external router IP address starting with 74.xxx was different, than that displayed on the FIOS router page...and I believe they are supposed to be identical. Perhaps I need to delete the static IP addresses altogether for every device (except maybe the secondary Netgear router providing the wireless;) and have the FIOS primary Actiontec router re-assign DHCP to the devices; I'm not certain how to accomplish that, but user manual should tell me.
any thoughts?
i will try to QoS with the primary router tonight.
thanks, pdoyle |
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Which one is your primary router, the Actiontec or the Netgear? You must disable DHCP on one of them. Also, change WPA2 Enterprise to WPA2 Shared Key. Turn everything off and back on starting at the main router and work your way up the message flow. |
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More FiberPremium,MVM
join:2005-09-26
West Chester, PA
kudos:28 | reply to pdoyle
said by pdoyle:Shall I leave it at Auto? or select a specific channel? I suggest setting it to a specific channel. I know the Actiontec has a bad habit of picking poorly. Don't know if the WNR3500 does that.
said by pdoyle:ping test was failing. From where? To where?
said by pdoyle:netgear set as secondary router connected to LAN port of actiontec. Please confirm that the connection is from the Actiontec LAN to the WNR3500 LAN (and not the WAN port).
said by pdoyle:I also noticed the pc's IP addresses were different than that listed on the FIOS primary Actiontec router screen Did you reboot the PCs after change Actiontec settings (or do an IPCONFIG /RELEASE /RENEW)?
said by pdoyle:and ipconfig/all showed the external router IP address starting with 74.xxx IPCONFIG (at least on XP) doesn't show the external WAN IP address. That's normally only visible to the router.
said by pdoyle:Perhaps I need to delete the static IP addresses altogether for every device (except maybe the secondary Netgear router providing the wireless;) and have the FIOS primary Actiontec router re-assign DHCP to the devices; I'm not certain how to accomplish that Turn off both routers and every device.
Turn the Actiontec on first, then the WNR3500.
Then start turning on devices.
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There are 10 kinds of people in the world; those who understand binary and those who don't.
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pdoyle
join:2010-11-09
Waltham, MA | thanks for all suggestions...
have changed all the static IP devices, to dynamic IP, and addresses are renewing automatically and all seem connected to the network and internet.
wired and wireless LANs are working better than ever. |
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pdoyle
join:2010-11-09
Waltham, MA | reply to More Fiber
as a followup; How can I keep my network printer connected to the home network , after losing it to the DHCP dynamic reassignment to another IP address? Shall I reserve just that address?
ultimately I removed all of what Actiontec called static leases, releasing then renewing the IP addresses as dynamic for all devices on the network. This worked fine for several weeks; but then last week I lost the printer. (I also had replaced my netgear router with an Asus RT-N5U as a secondary to put out wireless signal. maybe that was the cause of later losing the network printer connection; as the printer had been set at 192.168.1.15 at the device itself. Actiontec had reassigned it to 192.168.1.31. After figuring that out, i went to the printer and reassigned it to 192.168.1.31; and now its connected to network and usable. It's ethernet connected to Actiontec LAN port. How can I prevent this from happening again? Should i reserve the DHCP address on actiontec for the printer?.
Also trying to figure how to use actiontec as a bridge, so the Asus secondary can have internet connectivity to use all its features. But I want to retain the 4 actiontec LAN ports for devices, as well. But that's a question for another day i guess.
thanks!
pdoyle |
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More FiberPremium,MVM
join:2005-09-26
West Chester, PA
kudos:28 | said by pdoyle:How can I keep my network printer connected to the home network , after losing it to the DHCP dynamic reassignment to another IP address? Shall I reserve just that address? Not sure I understand what you mean by "losing it to the DHCP dynamic reassignment to another IP address". Are you saying the Actiontec issued a DHCP lease for the static IP address you assigned to the printer?
If you're going to use true static IP addresses, you need to change the default DHCP address range in the Actiontec. By default, it assumes all addresses from .2 to .254 are available for assignment. By changing the DHCP range to say .50 to .254, the Actiontec won't issue DHCP leases under .50.
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There are 10 kinds of people in the world; those who understand binary and those who don't.
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