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[wireless925]

I have a new DIR-655: H/W Ver. B1; F/W Ver. 2.00 NA

It is solid as a rock to my wired computers, but the Internet connection (not the wireless signal) to my wireless devices (laptops and smart phones) occasionally drops out for several minutes, many times each day. It is not necessary to reset my router to reconnect; after a while wireless Internet returns on its own. I upgraded from another D-Link router and never had this problem. In my judgment the problem appears to be the router. Does anyone know why the wireless Internet connection might disappear and then reestablish itself?

I used an app on my smart phone to select Channel 11. No neighbors have routers close to this channel. My cordless phones are DECT (1.9 MHz). My microwave oven does not cause this dropout.

The DIR-655 wireless settings are pretty standard:
 - WPA personal security mode
 - WPA mode is Auto (WPA or WPA2)
 - Cipher is TKIP and AES
 - Group key update interval is 3600 seconds
 - 802.11 mode is mixed n and g

When this wireless Internet connection dropout occurs, the router's signal strength does not decrease; the Internet connection just disappears. Time after time I have confirmed that the integrity of the Internet connection remains solid on my wired computers and disappears only from my laptops and smart phones.

I have checked the wireless spectrum when the wireless Internet connection disappears. There is no other signal, e.g., no neighbor's router on my channel (11), and the strength remains at 5 bars.

Could this be a defect in my router, or is this a known problem with this model? I have set up many routers and have never experienced this type of problem. Anyone have any suggestions? Or should I just return the router -- and stay away from another DIR-655? Thank you.

[FurryNutz]

Try manual channel instead of auto scan. If you do have some neighboring Wifi routers near by, it's probably some interference wit the other routers and its making the 655 stop and it has to rescan for a open or clearn channel. Try 1 or 6.

[wireless925]

I am the original poster of this thread, “New DIR-655: wireless Internet occasionally drops out.” Today I made a interesting discovery, and I am fairly confident that I have determined the cause of my problem, which is random loss of Internet connection on Wi-Fi. My suspicion is something called bufferbloat. To keep these comments reasonably brief, you can read an explanation of bufferbloat on Wikipedia (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bufferbloat.) In short, the article says “bufferbloat is a phenomenon in a packet-switched computer network whereby excess buffering of packets inside the network causes high latency and jitter, as well as reducing the overall network throughput. This problem is caused mainly by router and switch manufacturers making incorrect assumptions about whether to buffer packets or drop them. As a general rule, packets should not be buffered for more than a few milliseconds. While latency has been identified as more important than bandwidth for many years, the falling price of RAM encourages the use of larger buffers and exacerbates the problem.” It goes on to say “on older routers, buffers were fairly small so filled quickly and therefore packets began to drop shortly after the link became saturated, so the TCP protocol could adjust, and the issue wouldn't become apparent. On newer routers buffers have become large enough to hold several megabytes of data, which translates to 10 seconds or more at a 1 Mbit/s line rate used for residential Internet access. This causes the TCP algorithm that shares bandwidth on a link to react very slowly as its behavior is quadratic in the amount of buffering.” (My DIR-655 was purchased new in Feb. 2012).

There is a very interesting article on this topic in the Association for Computing Machinery, which includes a discussion on this subject with several experts, including Internet pioneer Vint Cerf, that you can read at http://goo.gl/efD6b.

I’m leaning toward returning my new router and going back to a less sophisticated router. Anyone have any suggestions for a rock-solid wireless N router – not a new DIR-655?

P.S. In my original post I said my cordless phones operated at 1.9 MHz. Of course that should be 1.9 GHz.

[FurryNutz]

I would return the router or call up DLink support and ask them for help.
Good luck.

[buckyswider]

Hmmm.  I have an older H/W version (A3) and recently have had this exact same issue crop up.  Wireless clients drop internet, but not local LAN.  Wired clients hum along just fine.  I notice because I see my VPN drop on my laptop.  Sometimes it comes back on its own, but sometimes I'm impatient and just reboot the DIR-655.

W925, what gives you suspicion about this "bufferbloat" problem?  And why does it only effect the wireless clients and not the wired?  I came here looking for upgrade advice, thinking my DIR-655 was about ready to give up the ghost.  For years, I had my cable modem stacked on top of it, not aware of the heat problems I could've been causing.  I only noticed the heat being generated when the router started dropping a while back (4 or 5 months, probably).

Another interesting sidenote:  I was in the admin interface (from a wired computer) this morning when the wireless signal dropped (as evidenced by the VPN dropping on my laptop).  The admin interface also hung.  I'm still leaning towards a hardware issue. 

[FurryNutz]

What Firmware version is currently loaded? Found on routers web page under status.
What region are you located?

What ISP Service do you have? Cable or DSL?
What ISP Modem do you have? Stand Alone or built in router?
What ISP Modem make and model do you have?
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.
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.

Some things to try:
Turn off ALL QoS or Disable Traffic Shaping (DIR only) GameFuel (DGL only and if ON.) options. Advanced/QoS or Gamefuel.
Turn off Advanced DNS Services if you have this option under Setup/Internet/Manual.
Turn on DNS Relay under Setup/Networking.
Setup DHCP reserved IP addresses for all devices ON the router. Setup/Networking
Ensure devices are set to auto obtain an IP address.
Set Firewall settings to Endpoint Independent for TCP and UDP under Advanced/Firewall.
Enable uPnP and Multi-cast Streaming under Advanced/Networking.

What wireless modes are you using? Under Setup/Wireless/Manual.
Try single mode G or mixed G and N?
Channel Width set for Auto 20/40Mhz or try 20Mhz only.
What security mode are you using? Preferred security is WPA-Personal. WPA2/AES Only. Some WiFi adapters don't support AES, so you might want to try TPIK only or Auto.
What wireless devices do you have connected?
Any cordless house phones?
Any other WiFi routers in the area? Use InSSIDer to find out.
Turn off Short GI and Extra Wireless Protection if you have it. Under Advanced/Advanced Wireless.

Turn off all anti virus and firewall programs on PC while testing. 3rd party firewalls are not generally needed when using routers as they are effective on blocking malicious inbound traffic.
Turn off all devices accept for one wired PC while testing.

Check cable between Modem and Router, swap out to be sure. Cat6 is recommended.

[tjkaz]

wireless925,
Without getting into bufferbloat (or anything else design specific), I have a very similar issue with my 655 (B1, FW 2.03).  I use it as a wireless access point and gigabit switch.  The wired switch works rock solid, but I get random hard dropouts on the wireless the require a power cycle to the 655.  I've had the wireless drop out when a laptop is no more that 10' away from the 655 and in the same room (no walls to go through).  I've performed a lot of the troubleshooting steps including selecting the channel manually; 1, 6, 11, etc.  I've experienced this with several wireless laptops and devices so I'm fairly certain it's related to the 655.  And, I'm interested in wireless N as the protocol; as opposed to G or other.
I've yet to find a way to keep this from happening, and not interested in spending much more of my limited time troubleshooting this much further as I sense this will become somewhat of a "snipe hunt."
Was wondering if you purchased another wireless router and if so, if it solved your random wireless connection problems.

[FurryNutz]

Any other WiFi routers in the area? How many? Use InSSIDer to find out.

wireless925,
Without getting into bufferbloat (or anything else design specific), I have a very similar issue with my 655 (B1, FW 2.03).  I use it as a wireless access point and gigabit switch.  The wired switch works rock solid, but I get random hard dropouts on the wireless the require a power cycle to the 655.  I've had the wireless drop out when a laptop is no more that 10' away from the 655 and in the same room (no walls to go through).  I've performed a lot of the troubleshooting steps including selecting the channel manually; 1, 6, 11, etc.  I've experienced this with several wireless laptops and devices so I'm fairly certain it's related to the 655.  And, I'm interested in wireless N as the protocol; as opposed to G or other.
I've yet to find a way to keep this from happening, and not interested in spending much more of my limited time troubleshooting this much further as I sense this will become somewhat of a "snipe hunt."
Was wondering if you purchased another wireless router and if so, if it solved your random wireless connection problems.

[tjkaz]

Thanks furry.  I'll check that this weekend, but I live in a corner house on our street.  The room the 655 is in is in the front/center/non-neighboring side of the house.  Assuming that the closest house has wireless on, then I would guess that it would be no closer than 60 feet to my 655 (and through interior and exterior walls).  Even if it were the same wireless device and on the same channel, etc., is it realistic to the that it could cause a drop to a connection with a device that's located in the same room?  Also, and I should have mentioned this previously, when my 655 drops a wireless connection, when I try to re-establish the connection I no longer see the 655 as an "available" network.  it's no longer on the wireless list when the laptop or other device scans for wireless connections, and doesn't reappear until I power cycle the 655.  This is why I think it's a 655 device issue irrespective of neighboring wireless devices.  And, my 655 has a unique name so I don't think there's any confusion with the SSID (which is is always broadcasting).

[FurryNutz]

Any cordless house phones?

Does a wired PC also loose connection to the router and internet when the WiFi goes down?

Maybe someone can review your router settings with you using teamviewer if your interested. Its safe and secure.

[buckyswider]

tjkaz- I've just bought a new 655.  Didn't want the hassle of recreating all the config customizations.  I'll get all posted on whether that fixes my issue.

Although I did also add another wireless access point on the other side of the house.  I tested turning off the wireless on the 655 and the remote signal (in my home office, same place where the 655 is) is strong enough for my laptop to switch over seamlessly. Not sure if in my 655 failure scenario (loss of IP, but still a strong wireless signal) would cause my wireless client to switch over.  If it does switch over, I'll never know if the issue is fixed.

Ah, heck- I'll wait a couple days before putting the new 655 in to see if my VPN drops...

[tjkaz]

Any cordless house phones?

Does a wired PC also loose connection to the router and internet when the WiFi goes down?

Maybe someone can review your router settings with you using teamviewer if your interested. Its safe and secure.

Thanks again furry.  Yes, I have a wireless phone - it's DECT 6.0 which is supposedly 1.9GHz.  The 655 is 2.4ish, so wouldn't think there's an issue there.
As I posted originally, the gigabit switch on the 655 is rock solid.  Even when the 655 needs to be power cycled so I can get the wireless working again, there's no issue with the wired switch.
Once again, even if there was interference by another wireless router or a wireless phone, would it make sense that the 655 drops the connection AND is no longer discoverable/available to any other wireless device until a power cycle??  
Thanks again for the help.

[bgarcia17]

tjkaz,

There are several users here experiencing the exact same problem with their RevB 655's.  I've had this happen to mine a couple of times since I installed it last December.  To my knowledge, nobody here (or at other forums) has found the cause of the 'wireless' radio just quitting for no apparent reason.  My symptoms are just as yours, the wireless signal just disappears until the router is power cycled (I haven't tried a software reset, easier to just pull the plug).  Wired connections are not affected.

If you do happen to find a cause/solution, please be sure to come back here to share your experience.  I'm sticking to my 655, cuz mine only fails every so often.  My wireless activity is limited too, so it's easier to live with.

[annoyedwifi]

So, I have this same issue.  I had this same issue on my Netgear, but thinking it was my router being old, I went out and bought the 655.  Same thing.  Here's the kicker. I moved a month ago, so when I setup my new network I did it using the brand new router.  I tried increasing the group key to max, and so far that I have not lost my wireless connection.  I will know soon though, and I don't think that should do anything to fix it?

[FurryNutz]

What Hardware version is your router? Look at sticker under router.
What Firmware version is currently loaded? Found on routers web page under status.
What region are you located?
Do you see this if your wired to the router?

What ISP Service do you have? Cable or DSL?
What ISP Modem do you have? Stand Alone or built in router?
What ISP Modem make and model do you have?
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.
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.

Some things to try:
Turn off ALL QoS or Disable Traffic Shaping (DIR only) GameFuel (DGL only and if ON.) options. Advanced/QoS or Gamefuel.
Turn off Advanced DNS Services if you have this option under Setup/Internet/Manual.
Turn on DNS Relay under Setup/Networking.
Setup DHCP reserved IP addresses for all devices ON the router. Setup/Networking
Ensure devices are set to auto obtain an IP address.
Set Firewall settings to Endpoint Independent for TCP and UDP under Advanced/Firewall.
Enable uPnP and Multi-cast Streaming under Advanced/Networking.

What wireless modes are you using? Under Setup/Wireless/Manual.
Try single mode G or mixed G and N?
Channel Width set for Auto 20/40Mhz or try 20Mhz only.
What security mode are you using? Preferred security is WPA-Personal. WPA2/AES Only. Some WiFi adapters don't support AES, so you might want to try TPIK only or Auto.
What wireless devices do you have connected?
Any cordless house phones?
Any other WiFi routers in the area? Use InSSIDer to find out. Try setting a manual channel to a open or unused channel.
Turn off Short GI, WLAN Partition and Extra Wireless Protection if you have it. Under Advanced/Advanced Wireless.

Turn off all anti virus and firewall programs on PC while testing. 3rd party firewalls are not generally needed when using routers as they are effective on blocking malicious inbound traffic.
Turn off all devices accept for one wired PC while testing.

Check cable between Modem and Router, swap out to be sure. Cat6 is recommended.

Maybe someone can review your router settings with you using teamviewer if your interested. Its safe and secure.