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[jakertberry]

Greetings,

I'd like to report two issues of weirdness that I've been experiencing since I first got this router about 7 months ago, but have been too lazy to report until now (sorry!  )

Firmware: 1.11 , 23, Oct, 2013

Issue 1: Enabling Streamboost adversely affects gateway and Internet access
When I first got this router, I had cable internet. I had Streamboost on and everything was groovy. Several months ago I switched to U-Verse/DSL. I noticed immediately after switching that if I was behind my router, internet access was pathetically slow. Pages would time out continuously. Pings to the router would time out. Pings to google.com would reach times in the 2000-3000ms range.
I factory-reset the device a few times, but kept running into the same issue. If I plugged into the 2wire in front of the router, my internet access worked flawlessly.
Eventually I turned off Streamboost. Within seconds my internet access was back to normal, and I could use the router again! Pings to google.com were back in the <30ms range, and pings to the router itself were consistent.
Just to confirm, I re-enabled Streamboost and my Internet access almost immediately halted and my ping times were back in the 2000ms+ range.
To rule out my medium to the router, I tested this with the 2.4GHz (G) and 5GHz (N) networks (with a Centrino Advanced-N 6230 and a Centrino Advanced-N 6205), as well as plugging in directly via Ethernet. Each time the results were the same.
For now, I just roll with Streamboost off, but it definitely makes me sad looking at the router and realizing how little of it I'm using!

Issue 2: The 5GHz network is unreliable and usually unusable after 3-5 days of router uptime
I've confirmed with multiple notebooks of varying wireless chipsets (Intel, Atheros, Broadcom), as well as with mobile phones (Galaxy Note 2 and iPhone 5S) that the 5GHz N network on my router tends to cease working after a few days of uptime. Immediately after a reboot, the 5GHz band (N and AC) works great for everyone. After a few days of uptime however, most clients will connect to the network OK, but they do not get an IP address. Other clients just won't connect to the network at all. If I use a 5GHz AC client and the router's been up for a few days, I get network access--but any file transfers or other consistent data traffic brings all other traffic on the router to a crawl--even wired connections. Connecting clients to the 2.4GHz band results in no issues (although I don't get my awesome AC speeds anymore!)
My 5GHz band is configured as such:
802.11 Mode: Mixed 802.11n and 802.11ac
Auto Channel Scan enabled
Channel Width: 20 MHz
Security: WPA-Personal
WPA Mode: WPA2 Only
Cipher Type: TKIP


Other than that, the router has been a pleasure to use!
Thank you for your help!

~Jaker

[FurryNutz]

Firmware: 1.11 , 23, Oct, 2013

• Was a Factory Reset performed before and after any firmware updates then set up from scratch?

FW Update Process

• Was the router working before any firmware updates?

Issue 1: Enabling Streamboost adversely affects gateway and Internet access
When I first got this router, I had cable internet. I had Streamboost on and everything was groovy. Several months ago I switched to U-Verse/DSL. I noticed immediately after switching that if I was behind my router, internet access was pathetically slow. Pages would time out continuously. Pings to the router would time out. Pings to google.com would reach times in the 2000-3000ms range.
I factory-reset the device a few times, but kept running into the same issue. If I plugged into the 2wire in front of the router, my internet access worked flawlessly.
Eventually I turned off Streamboost. Within seconds my internet access was back to normal, and I could use the router again! Pings to google.com were back in the <30ms range, and pings to the router itself were consistent.
Just to confirm, I re-enabled Streamboost and my Internet access almost immediately halted and my ping times were back in the 2000ms+ range.
To rule out my medium to the router, I tested this with the 2.4GHz (G) and 5GHz (N) networks (with a Centrino Advanced-N 6230 and a Centrino Advanced-N 6205), as well as plugging in directly via Ethernet. Each time the results were the same.
For now, I just roll with Streamboost off, but it definitely makes me sad looking at the router and realizing how little of it I'm using!

• What ISP Modem Mfr. and model # do you have?
• What ISP Modem service link speeds UP and Down do you have?
• Check cable between Modem and Router, swap out to be sure. Link> Cat6 is recommended.
• If this modem has a built in router, it's best to bridge the modem. Having 2 routers on the same line can cause connection problems: Link>Double NAT and How NAT Works. To tell if the modem is bridged or not, look at the routers web page, Status/Device Info/Wan Section, if there is a 192.168.0.# address in the WAN IP address field, then the modem is not bridged. If the modem can't be bridged then see if the modem has a DMZ option and input the IP address the router gets from the modem and put that into the modems DMZ. Also check the routers DHCP IP address maybe conflicting with the ISP modems IP address 192.168.0.1. Check to see if this is the same on the ISP modem and if modem can't be bridged. If so, change the DIR router to 192.168.1.1 or .0.254.
  Example of a D-Link router configured for PPPoE with ISP Modem bridged: PPPoE Configuration on Router
• Check ISP MTU requirements, Cable is usually 1500, DSL is around 1492 down to 1472. Call the ISP and ask. Link>Checking MTU Values
• For DSL/PPPoE connections on the router, ensure that "Always ON" option is enabled.

Is the WiFi enabled on the U-Verse mode?

Issue 2: The 5GHz network is unreliable and usually unusable after 3-5 days of router uptime
I've confirmed with multiple notebooks of varying wireless chipsets (Intel, Atheros, Broadcom), as well as with mobile phones (Galaxy Note 2 and iPhone 5S) that the 5GHz N network on my router tends to cease working after a few days of uptime. Immediately after a reboot, the 5GHz band (N and AC) works great for everyone. After a few days of uptime however, most clients will connect to the network OK, but they do not get an IP address. Other clients just won't connect to the network at all. If I use a 5GHz AC client and the router's been up for a few days, I get network access--but any file transfers or other consistent data traffic brings all other traffic on the router to a crawl--even wired connections. Connecting clients to the 2.4GHz band results in no issues (although I don't get my awesome AC speeds anymore!)
My 5GHz band is configured as such:
802.11 Mode: Mixed 802.11n and 802.11ac
Auto Channel Scan enabled What channel is displayed that it's using?
Channel Width: 20 MHz Why are you using only 20Mhz Width? Its recommended to use Auto 20/40/80 unless your devices do not support 80Mhz or AC mode. Then I would switch to single mode N on 5Ghz.
Security: WPA-Personal
WPA Mode: WPA2 Only
Cipher Type: TKIP If your devices support AES, it's recommended to use AES only.

• Any 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz cordless house phones or WiFi APs near by?
• Any other WiFi routers in the area? Link> Use InSSIDer to find out. How many?
• If you have any of these options, Try turning OFF  Short GI, WLAN Partition, Extra Wireless Protection and HT 20/40 Co-existence if you have it. Also testing with HT20/40Mhz Co-existence enabled will impact results as well. I prefer to use this option OFF. Recommended settings are default. Under Advanced/Advanced Wireless.

Router Placement
Forum User - "Well I feel really dumb. After moving the router away from other electronic devices my speeds are back to normal. Just a heads up for anyone experiencing slow speeds, you might want to move it away from other electronics and see if that helps."
6" minimum safe distance between devices.

[jakertberry]

FurryNutz, Thanks for the feedback! I've got my responses below:

- A factory reset was performed before and after the firmware update. I did not restore from a backup, the device was re-configured from scratch.
- The 5GHz issue was persistent before the firmware update. The Streamboost issue was not apparent, as I was still on cable Internet at the time.

Issue 1 Replies
- ISP Modem is a Pace 3800HGV-B (Sorry, I keep calling them 2wires!)
- ISP service speeds are 24 down/5 up.
- I've cycled through a couple Cat6 cables between the modem and the router, and have tested the cable with another device.
- Unfortunately, I can't turn on bridging for this modem! It's my biggest pet peeve with UVerse. The best I can do is put my D-Link in "DMZ Plus" mode, which assigns the router an external IP address. There's still NATing going on though, and that's something that won't change with these modems.
- I'm checking for MTU requirements. I'll post again once I've got an update.
- Is this "Always on" option on the D-Link? Or should I be looking in the ISP modem?
- The WiFi on the U-Verse modem is disabled.

Issue 2 Replies
- The channel it's showing is
- I was using Auto 20/40/80; I switched it to 20Mhz as I thought I read elsewhere to set it to this as a troubleshooting step. Setting it back to Auto 20/40/80 does not show any measurable change in performance.
- I was using AES, but switched it to TKIP as I thought I read elsewhere to set it to this as a troubleshooting step. I've switched it back to AES but haven't noticed any change in performance.
- No cordless phones, but there are a handful of other APs in the area. I'll take a snapshot of a wireless scan tonight and post here.
- I will make these config changes tonight and report back!

Router placement: the router is currently placed on a table by itself, greater than 1ft away from other devices.

Thanks for your feedback! I'll post updates shortly.

[FurryNutz]

Ya, this particular modem configuration doesn't make it easy and if thats the only ISP option you have, then I guess your stuck. I don't much are for these kinds of modems when using external routers.

I recommend that since the ISP modem can't be bridged and you have to use this DMZ plus option that doesn't seem to fully put the IP address the router gets from the modem on the front lines, you may need to disable SB over all and not use it...which is bad since you will be losing this functionality on the 5500.

Since your not using PPPoE on the 5500, disregard the Always ON feature.

Keep us posted on the WiFi issue. 5Ghz is working good for me using Mixed all Modes, Auto Channel scan, Auto 20/40/80 and WPA2/AES only.

[FurryNutz]

Finally:  
http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=59817.0