Thread: Modem keeps restarting!

Hi,

Since the past two days, and especially today, my modem has kept on restarting every few minutes. First, I am not sure if its a modem or a router, of whether they are both the same (I dont know much about these things). It is Huawei Smart AX MT 882.

When I connect the modem, the second light (Link) starts blinking green, then stops blinking and remains green, and then turns orange, and after this, I can use the net.

But what has been happening is that after a few minutes, and sometimes even immediately after connecting, the Link light goes off all of a sudden, then starts blinking green again, turns green, then orange, and I can use the net again. This happens again and again. Now think what happens when you are downloading from Rapidshare, and you have have downloaded 90% of the file, and then the connections breaks.

The Wan settings are:
PVC number: PVC-0
Wan type: PPP
Connection type: PPPoE
VPI/VCI: 0/35
Encap: LLC
Default Route: Enabled

PPP:
username: xxx
password: xxx
Use DNS: enabled
Max Idle Time: Always On

The modem is connected by LAN.
The scheme is the rs. 500 2:00 to 8:00 free download one.

Now what is the problem: is it a problem with the modem, or the telephone line, or some software problem in the computer?

THERE, right now, when I am typing this, the modem has gone dead, and a file from rapidshare has downloaded till 99.5%, the transfer is showing 1 second left, and now its lost. What the hell do I do?

Take a look at this:



Please help!

does this happen only between 2 and 8 am?

I use the net mostly during 2 to 8, so I have noticed it during this time only; during the daytime as well, it does happen, the connection does break, but since I don't download anything at that time, I haven't really noticed it. Even then, nothing like what happened today has happened earlier.

Hey, can this be some kind of virus problem?

first of all go to your modem setting page(usually 192.168.1.1)& in status or something like that tab check these values----SNR(upstream & downstream or remote & local).similarly check LINE ATTN values.if any of your SNR values is below 10 then this can be a problem.also just for testing turn off your antiviruses/firewalls for 15-20 min & then try downloading from rapidshare.

The values as you asked for, seems to be ok. (SNR Up 30.9 db, SNR Down 25.5 db; Attenuation Up 23.5 db, Attenuation Down 44.0 db). I am including a screenshot of the summary page, where all this info is displayed:




Actually, when the net is working, it works perfectly alright, and downloads run at 230 kpbs, but then all of a sudden the ACT and LAN lights slow down (they don't go out, they just slow down in blinking; earlier, when the download was going on at full 230 kbps, they were blinking furiously), and then finally, they come to a halt, and the LINK light goes off, and after ten seconds or so, it tries to connect again (green blinking, then green stable, then orange stable).

I've already used the option of reseting the modem to company settings, and then entering the username and password again.

As for downloading with the antivirus turned off, I'm not so sure about doing it; just last week, with Bitdefender v 10, Zone Alarm, Spyware Doctor, Spybot, and maybe one or two other small utilities running, Trojan.Vundo got into my computer; in any case, I haven't changed any settings of the antivirus or anything at all from the last time I used the net without any problem.

Hey, thanx for the answers you have given me. I'd appreciate if you could sort of give me a handle on this problem, so that if there is a major problem, not from my side, but from the telephone link side, then I can go and get the BSNL guy, or else I will end up wasting up tomorrow's downloads as well.

Is it possible that the fluctutations caused by the AC can trigger a restart in the modem? Although of course, the AC comes out of sleep mode (or whatever it is called) every half hour or so, when the room temperature falls below a certain limit, while my modem is restarting like anything: at times, it starts, then ten or twenty seconds later it goes off, and then again starts. And also, the use of the AC began about two weeks ago, so the problem should have begun then. I just thought that I would mention this; I already have a stabilizer, it is not a UPS, it only controls fluctuations, and the modem has its feed through the stabilizer, and when the modem restarts, the computer doesn't seem to have been affected, I mean, the monitor doesn't blink or anything.

I've heard that a power cut, even with a UPS running, can cause a modem to restart; the SMPS can switch to the UPS immediately, but the modem has time doing it.

Try upgrading the firmware of the 883 modem

what firmware are you using?

I searched for the firmware upgrade, and found that most people had difficulty finding or installing it; anyway, I found it at a place, and I installed it, and the installation went smoothly, and at present, it says:

Current Firmware Version: V200R001C01B021SP03
Firmware Date: Jul 6 2005

But a new thing has happened; I don't know if it is good or bad: earlier, the second light (Link) was dark orange; after the firmware upgrade, the Link light is light orange, the next light Act blinks green, and the next light after this is LAN, which is dark orange, and there is a noticeable difference of colour in the Link and LAN light. Is this normal?

Yes this is normal. and i suppose the firmware which you have now is the latest one. have not seen any other firmware release after Jul 2005

They had made some changes in the LED to differentiate between full duplex and half duplex and also b/w 100 MB and 1000 MB connection

Don't worry about this

Just check your connection and see if it is stable now?

hey buddy... please check ur teleph line connection.. i also got this type of problem and i have xplained this in almost every thread...

it should be.. main xchange box to ur dsl splitter..(only one line.. no ph lines)from dsl splitter... two lines.. one is for ur modem and another one is for ur ph.

let me know if u r using two phones.

just last week, with Bitdefender v 10, Zone Alarm, Spyware Doctor, Spybot, and maybe one or two other small utilities running, Trojan.Vundo got into my computer

wow!with so many security applications you still got the trojan.i don't use any antivirus or anti-adware/malware & still no problems for last 4 months of running net on my computer.checkout my post about security precautions--
http://www.indiabroadband.net/bsnl-b...html#post21454 (Frequency of your OS installation.)

I'm not sure the problem has gone away or not; I can only know tomorrow morning when I do the heavy downloads; right now I have hardly about 280 MBs left of daytime usage (out of 2.5 GB), and I will need to download at least two or three 100 MB files to make sure the connection is stable and doesn't break.

As far as the phone line is concerned, as far as I can see, it is wired properly: the line comes from outside, goes to the splitter, and it goes to the telephone after going through the modem, so the modem is placed first.

I have only one telephone line. Is that what you are asking, Arun? Or do you mean to ask the number of telephones connected to the line? Cos downstairs, there are two units on the same line: one BSNL dabba and one cordless.

I might mention one thing: I have always faced static noise problem in the phone, and we have complained many times; we know a person in the BSNL office, so he has sent the cable guy many times, but that fellow just comes and smiles and says everything is alright. There is also something to do with distance: from what I know, the closer you are to the BSNL office, from where the line is coming, the better it is, and I live right on the edge of the city; the first time I had asked the BSNL office for a broadband connection, the guy there had said that he would have to check and then tell me if they provided connections to our area.

All this stuff about wireless modems, what is it all? Does it mean a modem, directly connected to the BSNL office, without any telephone line? Is it better, and of a reasonable cost? The other thing I see here is that many people have different modems here; when I first took the BSNL connection, they never offered me any option for the modem, they just gave this one MT 882, and I thought that is the only one available. Are there better ones available now? I have been using this one for almost two years now (since about the time the broadband service started).

Let's see now what happens...

Originally Posted by HydraHeaded

As far as the phone line is concerned, as far as I can see, it is wired properly: the line comes from outside, goes to the splitter, and it goes to the telephone after going through the modem, so the modem is placed first.

I have only one telephone line. Is that what you are asking, Arun? Or do you mean to ask the number of telephones connected to the line? Cos downstairs, there are two units on the same line: one BSNL dabba and one cordless.

exactly... how did u connected coredless into ur xchange box... i just need to know the exchange box to ph1,ph2 and modem connection.

just make sure that there are no phones connected before the splitter.after the splitter you can connect multiple phones.

I just saw a thing: the telephone line comes from outside, goes to ADSL splitter; at this point, two wires are coming out, one is going to the modem, and the other is going back, and then downstairs, and that is the telephone line. Is this the way it is supposed to be? This is how the cable guy fitted it, and it has been working like this all this time...

No phones are connected before the splitter.

Alright, the telephone line that goes downstairs, is then split into two; where the wire ends, two other wires connect to it, and one is the BSNL dabba, and the other is the cordless. If something happens to the main wire coming from upstairs, both phones go dead, but if something happens to one of the individual wires of the phones, then only one phone goes dead. The modem is not on this line at all; this line is coming from the splitter, and another line is going from the splitter to the modem. Its like this:

Main telephone line > Splitter > Modem
> Telephone > (goes downstairs)
> BSNL dabba
> Cordless

So far, it seems as if the modem has been stable, but I'll know for sure only tomorrow in the morning.

Apart from the line problem, are there are any settings that are supposed to be entered in the modem to prevent such problems? And are there any settings to make the modem work faster or better? There are so many things in the modem to configure; I have let it all run on default; the only thing that I change every time I reset the modem is: make it PPPoE, type in username and password, click on always on, and that is it. I don't remember messing with any other settings; I changed the IP and DNS settings once, changed them to OpenDNS, but I had done port-forwarding for Utorrent, and then Utorrent said that the line was not clear (as you probably know, there's a yellow / green icon at the bottom of Utorrent which shows if the connection is correctly configured or not), earlier it said that the line was ok, but after switching to OpenDNS, it said that the line was not ok, so I reverted back to the old (BSNL) DNS servers, which is what I am using at present.

In 192.168.1.1; Home > DHCP > the DHCP server is disabled; the starting IP address is 192.168.1.2, and the Ending one is 192.168.1.33, and lease time is one week.

The two DNS servers are: 218.248.240.208 and 218.248.240.135 (optional).

NAT is enabled; UPNP is disabled; VPN Pass-Through is enabled for both PPTP and IPSec.

Static Route > Destination IP address is blank (nothing entered); Subnet Mask is 255.255.255.0 (/24); Gateway again is blank; and below it, the values of the picture show 0.0.0.0 for IP address, 0.0.0.0 for Subnet Mask, 59.95.224.1 for Default Gateway, and Edit/Delete is Default Route.

If you need to know the other settings, tell me.

Thanx.

Originally Posted by HydraHeaded

I just saw a thing: the telephone line comes from outside, goes to ADSL splitter; at this point, two wires are coming out, one is going to the modem, and the other is going back, and then downstairs, and that is the telephone line. Is this the way it is supposed to be? This is how the cable guy fitted it, and it has been working like this all this time...

No phones are connected before the splitter.

Alright, the telephone line that goes downstairs, is then split into two; where the wire ends, two other wires connect to it, and one is the BSNL dabba, and the other is the cordless. If something happens to the main wire coming from upstairs, both phones go dead, but if something happens to one of the individual wires of the phones, then only one phone goes dead. The modem is not on this line at all; this line is coming from the splitter, and another line is going from the splitter to the modem. Its like this:

Main telephone line > Splitter > Modem
> Telephone > (goes downstairs)
> BSNL dabba
> Cordless

So far, it seems as if the modem has been stable, but I'll know for sure only tomorrow in the morning.

Apart from the line problem, are there are any settings that are supposed to be entered in the modem to prevent such problems? And are there any settings to make the modem work faster or better? There are so many things in the modem to configure; I have let it all run on default; the only thing that I change every time I reset the modem is: make it PPPoE, type in username and password, click on always on, and that is it. I don't remember messing with any other settings; I changed the IP and DNS settings once, changed them to OpenDNS, but I had done port-forwarding for Utorrent, and then Utorrent said that the line was not clear (as you probably know, there's a yellow / green icon at the bottom of Utorrent which shows if the connection is correctly configured or not), earlier it said that the line was ok, but after switching to OpenDNS, it said that the line was not ok, so I reverted back to the old (BSNL) DNS servers, which is what I am using at present.

In 192.168.1.1; Home > DHCP > the DHCP server is disabled; the starting IP address is 192.168.1.2, and the Ending one is 192.168.1.33, and lease time is one week.

The two DNS servers are: 218.248.240.208 and 218.248.240.135 (optional).

NAT is enabled; UPNP is disabled; VPN Pass-Through is enabled for both PPTP and IPSec.

Static Route > Destination IP address is blank (nothing entered); Subnet Mask is 255.255.255.0 (/24); Gateway again is blank; and below it, the values of the picture show 0.0.0.0 for IP address, 0.0.0.0 for Subnet Mask, 59.95.224.1 for Default Gateway, and Edit/Delete is Default Route.

If you need to know the other settings, tell me.

Thanx.

buddy... ur ph line looks good.. thats how it should be...
mm.. im sorry dear.. i dont have any other suggestion from my side..

if possible try to get some other modem & then check your connection & downloads.

The downloads were interrupted today as well: the modem kept restarting, though less than yesterday. I lost three files from RapidShare and one 400 MB one from netload.in.

Isn't there any way around this problem of broken downloads for free users? What Rapidshare does is, it checks the IP, and when a particular IP finishes downloading 100 MB, it is asked to wait for an hour, so what we all (with dynamic IPs) do is, we switch off and switch on the modem, and a new IP is assigned. At this time, a file may have downloaded half, but I think since Rapidshare detects that the old IP is lost, it stops the download; it does allow immediate start for the download again as now there is a new IP. In the Opera browser settings, in the Proxy settings, suppose I write down my current IP address, and then start the downloads, then after a modem restart, will Rapidshare detect that the same IP is requesting the download? Will have to try this out tomorrow; if anyone knows anything about this, please let me know. And if there is any file-server that allows download resuming for free users, please do let me know.

I'll have to go to the BSNL office today and complain.

Suppose the BSNL guy tells me that my modem is faulty, and asks me to buy a new modem; what should I do? Which modems does BSNL offer now, and which is better? Is the one that I have now, MT 882, good?

Can't understand why there are all these problems in an otherwise good-enough service. I suppose BSNL is the best value for money service available in India? Or do Airtel or others provide better services? I have heard that Reliance has either entered the market, or is going to enter soon, and its services are also good; anyone know anything about this?

I'll let you all know what the BSNL fellow tells me.

I had a similar problem and a similar setup

I was also getting static in my phone

Then i followed my cable form where it was coming and found many cuts in it

so i payed line man Rs 50 and asked him to get a new wire right form the port to my house with out any joint.

This resolved my issue and also the speed of the broadband improved
may be you can have a look at the condition of the cable, if it is very old and have more that 2 cuts try to get it changed

I spent yesterday in calling the BSNL office; I got some five or six different numbers, asking me to call this number and that; one number turned out to be a local landline number, answered by a woman!

Today the lineman came, and he said that there was nothing wrong with the line, but he said that the line going from the splitter to the phone was damaged, not the line going to the modem, and so he repaired the other line. The problem is still there; there are still disconnects.

I called another number; the man there said he would enquire; let's see what happens.

I asked some time back about the available options in modems (since the problem might be with my modem); does anyone know which modem is good? And how long have you people been using your modems, from the beginning? Have any of you had to change your modems?

Now it is too early to say this, but the problem seems to be solved: I woke up at about 4:30, and started the downloads, and as usual, I lost some three files from RapidShare. I noticed at this time that the lights would flicker (the room lights) whenever the modem would restart, and I saw that this was at the same time as the AC was coming out of power-saver mode. Then I went and switched off the AC, and I lost the first file after this, but after that, there was no restarting problem from the modem, and I could smoothly download from RapidShare. I was able to download around 1.3 GB today!

Like I said, I can't say with any conviction that this is the answer to the problem, but it does seem to be so. If anyone has any knowledge on these matters, do tell...

My internet was working fine till two days back when the modem started restarting. I searched through many forums and found out that in most cases, the prob was with the wiring or with the modem. So i traced my telephone line and guess what. It had a number of turns and twists among the other cables like the power cable, tv tuner cable, tatasky digicom box power cable etc. When I removed the internet cable from that bunch of cables , the modem started working fine without restarting. You could say that the power supply wires have an effect on the telephone line and hence you should keep it away from it. I learned it somewhere in my academic books that a current carrying conductor has a magnetic field around it.

So i would suggest all of you having the same problem to trace the line and keep it away from other power cables. If its not near power cables inside the house then it might be outside the house and make sure you see that the wire isnt damaged.

Please give a feedback.

What all of you are saying is that there is some twist or turn in the cable, the wiring is improper and/or the current supply is improper right?

Friends, i have a similar problem. Bsnl connection 759 unlimited plan. What happens in my case is that while using net the link breaks suddenly, then it blinks for sometime and becomes stable, after few minutes it happens again, this time bsnl connection is also lost and it redials. but it never connects again. i have to switch of the modem for about 20-30 minutes to reconnect again.
one thing i absorved, wheneve i t does not connect again, the third light ( data light0 which generally blinks when data is being transferred beomes stable, that is it doesnt blink but just continues to be lit. this happens whenever i am not able to connect the bridge connection.
plz help me.

whenever i am not able to connect the bridge connection.

(a)Try "PPPoE ":Always On" mode
( enter/store USERID PW in wan page of modem )
(b)mention your modem/make/model/number.
(c)Give details of Statistics ADSL SnR Attn data.

H6912/P13844