Modem and/or Router No Longer Working - Help Needed

At home I have Charter Communication providing the connection to my RCA DCM425 which then runs into a Cisco E4200. All has been fine for months.

Last night there was a power outage at the apartment followed by 10-15 minutes of a soft reset on the modem which got things running again.

Two hours later the internet cut out again...no number of hard or soft resets on the modem fixed anything. I unplugged it all to see what happened after letting the hardware "rest" for a few hours.

This morning I plugged things back in, and still nothing. I am able to connect to the E4200 router just fine. I am able to get internet access by connecting directly to the modem via an ethernet cable fine.

The modem and router in conjunction get me nowhere though.

Any idea what's going on? Do I need to be buying a new modem...new router...both?

 

so the modem can just about be ruled out. explain what you mean when you say you're able to connect to the router--what happens when you hardwire to the router (and it's connected to the modem)?

 

The problem is likely either in the modem or router configuration. It's possible that either your modem is no longer in bridge mode if it's a modem/router combo or that some part of your router's configuration was lost.

 

I am able to go to the router's IP address and access it fine.

Oddly enough, after numerous soft resets, hard resets, and power cycles with no luck what so ever, I managed to get access again a few hours. This is after calls to the ISP only to hear "nope no outages in your area."

Still open to ideas on what could be causing this.

 

and probably not the modem's since hardwiring to it gets op a connection. it doesn't sound like it's a combo either so it's almost assuredly the router, assuming the pc isn't the culprit. any other devices able to connect wirelessly, op?

wait, so you're connected again or were able to for a little while? and you're accessing the router's configuration address via a wireless connection, correct?

 

Some modem/routers need to be manually set to bridge mode in order to be hooked to a dedicated router, others do the switch automatically if the router is properly configured.

As for the router, depending on your modem, you might have to set the router to PPPoE instead of DHCP and manually enter the login for your Internet connection in the router's settings.

 

yes, but we have a power outage as the catalyst to op's issue with a modem/router setup that was working. so maybe we agree that said outage could have reset the router's configuration. assuming op set up the router the first time, even a hard reset and reconfiguration (assuming he's now done that too) isn't bringing it back. what are the chances of a fried router?

 

Very small, but like any electronics it can happen. However, given that his wireless network seems to be working aside from the modem-router communication problem, i doubt that it was fried. The OP also didn't say he did a reconfiguration, only a resets and power cycles. I've had one instance with D-Link router that worked PnP and suddenly stopped functioning properly until i configured it (never figured out why either). I had to configure my router (E4200v1) to PPPoE personally to be able to use it with my 2wire modem/router, but we're talking about a different modem so the solution could be different.

downloads is more knowledgeable with that stuff than me though so he might think of something else.

 

to be sure, we still don't have an answer to some basic, but important questions:

1. is he getting an internet connection when he hardwires to the router? (then we can rule out a modem to router communication issue, although it sounds like he can't connect this way)
2. is he accessing the router's address wirelessly? (if the configuration settings are only accessible via hardwire, this points to a radio issue.)

the solutions you're suggesting can't be had until "fried" hardware is ruled out. plus, this...

...is still curious.

 

Coincidentally enough, 7 days later, same time on Sunday morning, and I have the same issue.


I only have one Ethernet so I cannot hardware to the router.

Hardwiring to the modem gets access, but there seems to be increased latency.

The modem and router are both plugged into the same surge protector.

I cannot access internet from any of two laptops, two iPads, a couple of phones, or a few media streamers.

 

you need to get yourself another cat5/cat6 cable and see what happens when you hardwire to your router, and/or borrow a friend's router to see if you get a connection through that when connected to your modem. if your router's been hard-reset then, at a minimum, you should be getting a connection on default settings. and the fact that the router seems to go in and out doesn't sound too promising.

Sent from my PI39100 using Board Express



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EDIT:
try flashing your router's firmware. power outages leading to corrupted firmware is specifically addressed in this cisco knowledge base article. the idea hadn't even crossed my mind till just now.

 

bump (in case OP didn't see yesterday's edit to the above post).

 

Sorry for being so in and out here; work has been running non stop. That said, happened again a few days ago. I do not believe the router is going in and out as I can still see and connect to it fine.

I am still looking at getting another cat 5 cable when I have the chance to see how the wired connection works. Based on device longevity, I would believe it to be the modem simply because it has given 5-6 years of service for me, plus however many for Comcast before my roommate "returned it via the mail." That was a swell $180 mistake to find out about 30 days later, but I digress.


If that is the case, then I just need to track down a Moto Surfboard I suppose based on all I have read.