Bizarre Connectivity Issues - Tomato and DD-WRT

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Whyze
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Bizarre Connectivity Issues - Tomato and DD-WRT

I've had my NetGear WNR3500 for a while now (2+ years) and haven't ever had an issues with it.  I had been just running the stock firmware.  Recently, I decided I liked the idea of possible performance increases along with more features and configuration options.

My home network consist of just these devices - my laptop (wireless - Win 7), a wireless Bluray player, my Moto Droid phone (wifi), and a wired XBOX360, Bluray player, and Media Player (argosy).  I have a 6Mbp DSL internet connection.  I don't run any exotic network software configurations.

I flashed to ChillFire and decided it wasn't really what I wanted/needed.

I then switched to the Kong Mod version of DD-WRT.  I liked the featureset but almost immediatly started having issues with the wireless connectivty.  At first, it seemed to be just my wireless BR player that wouldn't connect (or would connect randomly).

Then I noticed my phone wasn't connecting via WiFi either.  I wasn't having any issues with my wired connections at all, nor was my PC having issues.

I tinkered with a few of the basic settings (channels, security, etc) but didn't make much progress.  Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. Sometimes it stayed connected, sometimes it didn't.

So I decided to switch to the Toastman's Tomato firmware.  I grabbed the latest one and everything seemed fine at first.  However, not 1 or 2 days had gone by and I started having issues again.  At first, it was just wireless.  I wouldn't lose connection, but I would be unable to gain internet access.  I could ping/admin the router via the webinterface even if other sites were not available.  This was not limited to just PORT 80 connectivity..other services also could not establish internet access.

For the first week, the issue seemed limited to wireless internet issues.  Seemed like a DNS issue or something, but with it being inconsistent, I was having a hardtime troublshooting it.  It just worked sometimes.  I tried changing my DNS servers with no real improvement.

Then I started to notice some other weirdness going on..perhaps a pattern.  The issues seem to be somehow related to how many/which devices were connected at the time.  I couldn't pinpoint the connection so  I just kept looking for other possiblities.

The XBOX (wired) never had connection issues.  It connected everytime and stayed connected.  But today my friend came over with HIS XBOX and I hit a new issue:  Each XBOX will connect fine on their own, but if I connect them both at the same time, they lose internet access within minutes.  This happened over and over.  First it was his being wireless and then we tried them both wired. 

 

I have no idea what would cause such a thing.  Has anyone ever heard of /expierenced such a set of symptoms before?

 

I just hit the Toastman site and grabbed the latest firmware again today in hopes that maybe the issue was addressed.  No luck, it's still that way. 

 

 

 

 

Whyze
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grimreaper1014 said: Hey

grimreaper1014 said: Hey Whyze, The stock Netgear firmware was the best for me in terms of wireless as well. This is because they are having trouble with the wireless drivers in the modded firmwares. For example Kong's last release of DD-WRT had some problems. He has a new release which is suppose to correct a problem with the wireless channels, and provide better wireless performance. It is version 16754. It was just released today. It can be downloaded from here http://www.myopenrouter.com/forum/thread/26992/Kong-Mod-Update-build-16754/ Give it a go to see how it worked out for ya. They are suppose to be trying to correct the problem with the wireless driver from what I read.

I'll give the newer Kong a try.  My issue isn't isolated to just wireless at this point so I'm not sure if the fix is relavent.

 

If that doesn't work, do you know if I'll be able to easily flash back to the stock firmware?  Will it load from the "upgrade firmware" option in the web interface?

Whyze
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grimreaper1014 said: Here's

grimreaper1014 said: Here's what I found on the Xbox issue with a google search using trouble connecting 2 xbox 360s online in one house. Try giving this article a read. http://www.unofficialguidetolive.co.uk/faqs/63-two-xboxes-using-one-router-in... Also make sure you are have the right ports forwarded for Xbox Live, or you have UPNP turned on. Hope this helps. Rocky

Thanks for the reply.

 

I've never actaully had any issues with 2 xboxes in the past.  The issu regarding openNAt tends to most be in reference to joining/hosting games...my issue is even more basic - it's simple XBL connectivity.  Anyhow, the router does fully support UPnP.  I'm almost certain it's a firmware issue

Whyze
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grimreaper1014 said: Hmmm

grimreaper1014 said: Hmmm sorry I couldn't be of more help for ya. I gave it my best shot. So you do have UPNP enabled right, and it still didn't work? Did you by chance flash to the new Kong DD-WRT release? I did last night, and it has given me the most stable wireless connection out of every version of Tomato and DD-WRT I have tried. I have tried a lot of them too. Hopefully someone will give you some answers on why you are having the Xbox issue. Are your wireless devices working any better?

No problem, I appreciate all the advice/tips/suggestions.

 

I did get a chance to flash the newest linked Kong Firmware last night.  It was pretty late and I didn't get much of a chance to test it properly, but so far, so good.  We played a quick game online with both xboxes (wired).   No diconnection issues.  And so far, my laptop (wireless) hasn't displayed any issues.  I'll give the wireless BR player a test and then see if it all works together and report back.

 

I guess I just decided to take the leap into a custom firmware at a bad time?  I just figured with such a seeminlgy large and active crowd here that it must be a fairly stable, reliable venture (and even more so with my router itself being overtly advertised for it's ability to accept many custom firmware mods.)   Oh well, I suppose it happens (but not to everyone).  Here's to hoping this latest fix does the trick!

 

Thansk again and feel free to add anything more you find.  I'll report back

Whyze
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Just wanted to update again.

Just wanted to update again. I've been running that version of Kong's Mod for about a week now. So far, everything has been working fine. I haven't done anything advanced nor have I run any benchmarks, but as far as basic functionality and reliability, it's been solid.

I plan on dabbling with VPN a bit and perhaps the built in Dynamic IP stuff too. And if I get enough free time I wanted to see how the USB + FTP/Samba works.

But for now, it just works. Wired + wireless, all my devices, no issues to report.

Thanks :)