Very mysterious behavior by wifi Router, please comment

today | self

[Bobbyvotes]

I have been using this TP-Link router for 9 years. In the beginning years, it ran without any problems or freezes. Last 6 months, it froze once every day like clockwork. Every morning I had to reboot by unplugging and plugging power. Usually it only froze once every day. On rare occasions it froze twice in a day but that was rare. I was getting ready to buy a new one thinking it is just getting old..

But.... Strangely, during last two weeks it has not frozen or crashed even once! Nothing has changed. Same PC's and phones and security cameras in place for ever. Every morning I check if wi-fi is on, and to my surprise it is running. I am totally confused. I am guessing something changed by Xfinity.

[gundog]

Solar activity?

[rmlew]

Get a new Router.

TP-Link is a CCP company. The Federal government is years late in warning people not to use TP-Link products as the company is legally obligated to spy for Beijing. Beyond that glaring issue, many TP Link routers have been compromised and are part of botnets. It is possible that your router is compromised, but that the bot net was shut down, so your router isn't acting up any more. But the threats to your data still remain, and your router can be used to compromise other devices.

[alexander_busek]

In the beginning years, it ran without any problems or freezes. Last 6 months, it froze once every day like clockwork. Every morning I had to reboot by unplugging and plugging power. Usually it only froze once every day.

Turn up your thermostat!

Regards,

[rarestia]

There are a half dozen or more vulnerabilities for older TP-Link devices. I would HIGHLY advise you to go buy yourself a new device. Firmware updates don’t fix issues for older routers, as the manufacturers usually drop support.

https://cybersecuritynews.com/tp-link-archer-zero-day-vulnerability/
https://www.cyfirma.com/research/comprehensive-analysis-of-cve-2024-21833-vulnerability-in-tp-link-routers-threat-landscape-exploitation-risks-and-mitigation-strategies/
https://cybersecuritynews.com/tp-link-router-vulnerabilities-code-injection/

[AnonymousConservative]

Neighborhood surveillance may find you interesting, and not want you posting here. I have a problem like that. See my tag.

[GingisK]

Did you know that electronic components age, and sometimes that results in failure? It is possible that the FLASH memory that holds the software has degraded, making the router make mistakes. Near hits by lightning can corrupt FLASH memory. Consider buying a new one.

[maddog55]

Possible firmware issues and updates. Check the update history.

[trebb]

Temp changes?

As electronics get older, temperature can play a big part - see if keeping it cooler helps..

Or, maybe your ISP suffers “hits” that require the router to be rebooted to regain sync.

[trebb]

Also - what about the wiring into the house? Are you sure it’s all water tight and has no issues? If anything is wrong, wind can cause issues...

[Merrick]

Bad capacitors.

[logi_cal869]

Some more info from my recent experience and the importance of checking your router logon & logs regularly:

We were having some issues at home (my wife works remote as tech support) and I was shocked to learn that somehow the router was on the default password for who knows how long.

Reset, firmware update for good measure and reinput our passphrase password, I was more shocked to find out that I couldn’t access the router a week later. Reset and password as recommended (18ch), I then began monitoring the log daily:

Someone within my WIFI range was using a bot to randomly attempt passwords. This was in addition to the regular DDOS attacks and port scanning I’ve always experienced ever since getting high bandwidth connections (now >400mbps fiber).

Unfortunately, my router - a gaming router with many features - has no effective firewall settings to permit me to block the sob who is attacking my network locally, so in my case a new hardware solution is approaching fruition...

...in addition to reverse hacking the sob who’s trying to access my router locally.

It is unlikely that you’re being subjected to the same intrusion attempts as in my case, but such actions are revealed by regularly scanning/saving your router logs. FYI

[Bobbyvotes]

Wow that is unbelievable. Why would someone try to break into your router? To avoid buying internet service for $55/month?
If you are doing financial transactions, make sure only connect only with HTTPS. That encrypts all communications making it very hard to hack.

[linMcHlp]

Dan Bongino personally stamped your file: NOTHING TO SEE HERE

[Mean Daddy]

Also, I name my router “backup dialer modem”

Great advice. The guy that helped me set up my network advised of using any inflammatory for my SSID (ex: BIDENSUX) and consider naming it after an internet ready device like a TV. I also created 30 character PWs for admin into my networking equipment & 20 character PWs to get into my guest accounts. Someone complains, tell them to use their phone data and not my wifi.

[Paul R.]

That advice is pretty good. Something like “back yard lighting controls” would deter anyone except pranksters, tho’ I suppose it might encourage such. (Ya’ just can’t win ‘em all...)

I’m using a 14 y/o D-Link router, and it’s plenty good for my purposes, and working fine, except, I suppose the security is outdated. It’s secure from me, too: After Microsoft got rid of “Homegroup” for easy networking, I just gave up on trying to communicate via network between our computers. WPS covers getting new wireless devices connected to the router / Web, and “sneakernet” with flash drives covers any file transfers I need to make.

I actually ran into this, this evening: I’m finally upgrading my main desktop to a Win 11 machine, and have about 200 GB to transfer to the new machine. Neither has wi-fi. I was going to try through the wired network, but, I need the router password to set that up. My 14 y/o password “hint” is not producing a working password. I “could” do an entire router reset, but, “screw it”. A USB 3.1 flash drive is currently being filled, and that can churn while I hit the hay, shortly...