5ghz wifi loses connection archer vr1600v

[BasilDV]

Hi SGT,

We'd like to look into your account for better understanding of the situation.

Please send me a PM with your TPG username or customer ID number to assist you accordingly.

BasilDV

[drewidd1]

So my latest modem arrived from tpg late february, after about 3 weeks we had to restart the modem to get 5ghz to have internet access. later we have had to try resetiing the modem. Now we have no 5ghz internet access at all no matter what we do.

Once again the router/modem is giving us an unidentified netork and a 169...... ip address. Even if i manually give myself an ip address of 192.168.1.105 it still says network is unidentified.

I can not even stream on one device whilst another is trying to play an online game with out crashing the game when on 2 ghz. this is 2021 and we are paying good money for NBN. TPG You need to fix your modems or replace with a different model. 

In the meantime could you please organise a new modem to be sent out yet again?

regards

Drew....

[Ahra_G]

Hi @drewidd1, 

I have since organised a call back to be made from a member of our Technical Team tomorrow, 18 May 2021 between 1-3PM, to assist you with this concern. 

Should you have a preferred time to be contacted, please do let us know. 

Regards,

Ahra_G

[applejack]

I have been experiencing this exact same problem over the last 1-2 weeks. 5ghz connection is dropping out and unable to connect to the SSID. Restarting/factory resetting the modem only temporarily fixes the problem.

I have tried all steps listed in this thread but unable to remedy the situation, including:

-Changing the wifi channel based on wifi analyser availibities

-Multiple factor resets

-Tweaking the bandwidth control > upstream number

I am not sure what has triggered this problem but my inclination, like many in this thread, is that it due to the dodgy tpg router.

I am running the following setup: Firmware Version:0.1.0 0.9.1 v5006.0 Build 200810 Rel.53181n Hardware Version:Archer VR1600v v1 00000000

TPG, any advice / remedy to this situation ? Based on experiences in this thread it seems like the easiest solution would be for me to pay for a new router out of pocket.

[BasilDV]

Hi @applejack

Welcome to the Community!

We can confirm that the modem/router has the latest firmware available.

We'd like to raise your case with our Tech team for further investigation.

Please send me a PM with your TPG username or customer ID number along with your preferred time and best number to be contacted.

BasilDV

[Falex]

I posted detailed updates in this message thread last February 2021 regarding 2.4GHz & 5GHz WiFi and speed degradation issues with my TPG-supplied Archer VR1600v v2 router, connected to TPG FTTB. All these issues continue to come back to haunt me every few days or weeks, and usually follow a surge of download activity eg. a Speed Test, downloading large files or viewing Security Camera footage. It happened again tonight ... after performing a Speed Test, where the 2.4GHz WiFi becomes inaccessible for most devices, and devices that were connected the 5GHz, lose their connection. When I tried to reconnect to my 5GHz SSID it says the password is incorrect etc. As usual, the solution is to reboot my Archer VR1600v v2 router, and then all 30+ devices can then successfully reconnect to both my 2.4GHz and 5Ghz WiFi SSIDs with 90mbps+ download and 37mbps+ uploads ... until the next episode. These issues have never been resolved by TPG despite numerous telephone support calls, two TPG site visits, numerous router setting changes, and even picking up & installing a replacement Archer VR1600v v2 router. My router currently has Firmware Version:1.1.0 0.9.1 v5006.0 Build 200826 Rel.77218n. I am certain that there is an unsolved Firmware, Hardware or Settings fault with the Archer VR1600v v2 supplied by TPG in my FTTB setup. It appears that this is a widespread issue for other TPG customers. I've given up trying to resolve the Archer VR1600v v2 issue with TPG and have accepted that regularly rebooting my router is a necessary evil to continue using TPG. However, my hope is that by continuing to share my experiences with the TPG Community, TPG will continue to understand that there is a genuine issue with their Archer VR1600v v2 router that needs to be investigated and resolved.

[bc01]

I have had the same issue whereby TPG thought there was a fault with the modem - the replacement modem did exactly the same - not broadcasting or unable to connect to the 5GHz Band.

For me - it seemed to be the security settings that were the problem.

I went into the settings of the modem/rounter via:

http://192.168.1.1

Passwords should be admin and admin

Go to Wireless Tab (on left)

Go to Sub Tub (on left) - Wireless Settings

In this setting do the following:

Click on the 5Ghz icon (at top of box on the right hand side)

Next to "Version" (in the right hand side box, third line down) change "WPA2-PSK" to "AUTO"

Next to "Encryption" - box is checked AES.

Click Save

...and hopefully that works for you. 

Worked for me - did this via trial and error.

[Falex]

Hi @bc01,

I’m glad to you had some success.

I did not get the chance to try your solution, as I have now found an alternative solution that is ideal for my situation and I hope others might also find it useful …

After my previous update on 21/06/2021, I continued to experiment with different VR1600v V2 settings.  I even brought Netspot’s WiFi analysis software (fantastic tool) to help me analyse my congested WiFi environment, and to identify the least congested WiFi Channels for both 2.4GHz & 5GHz and changing them accordingly.

However, I could find no router settings which could stop the WiFi segments failing and/or performing poorly.  The issues continued to happen immediately after the router was put under any WiFi download load ie. Speed Tests, watching Security Video (24 camera system) or DropBox downloads etc.

I found myself avoiding any activity that involved large data downloads, but regardless, I still needed to reboot my VR1600v router many times per day to resolve the WiFi issues.

I decided to try turning the VR1600v router into a “dumb” Bridge.  As a Bridge, the router logs into TPG, disables its’ WiFi signals and simply allows ethernet-wired traffic to pass thru to TPG.  This also disables VOIP via the VR1600v, so don’t proceed further if you need this for a landline via TPG.  I then connected my old Netgear Nighthawk AX8 WiFi 6 router (that I have previously used with a Telstra cable modem) via its’ Internet Port, to one of the VR1600v’s LAN ports using an ethernet cable.

This Bridge solution has finally given me a stable WiFi network!  I can now simultaneously:

• download Gigabytes of data.
• perform unlimited Speed Tests.
• be connected to VPN all day/night.
• videoconference on Teams & Zoom.
• stream Twitch, YouTube and Netflix.
• have numerous devices accessing our 24  12MP Security Cameras etc.
• 30+ IoT devices.

all connected to either the 2.4GHz & 5GHz WiFi segments of my bridged Netgear Nighthawk AX8 WiFi 6 router.  Since making the change, I have never had any WiFi stability issues or download speed issues.

With 5GHz connected devices, I now get a constant 90Mbps download speed from anywhere I my home, as the WiFi signal from the AX8 is stronger than the VR1600v.  I no longer get any router (now 2 routers) issues or WiFi connectivity, instability or performance issues.

Since setting up the VR1600v as a bridge, I no longer have any need to reboot my router(s) … never!  My only issue is that my Upload speed used to be a constant 38Mbps using just the VR1600v, but with my bridged AX8 WiFi setup I can only achieve a constant upload speed of 5Mbps thru the AX8 via 5Ghz or even, say, connecting a laptop using an ethernet cable via an AX8 LAN port.  I have not yet investigated what is causing the Upload performance throttling, but it is the least of my problems as everything else is fantastic … I finally have a stable home/office network!!!

I also tried connecting my laptop to a VR1600v LAN port to test the speeds, and got 90Mbps download and the full 38Mbps upload.  So my AX8 (or the bridge setup on the VR1600v) seems to have a throttled 5Mbps upload speed but I can perfectly live with that until I find a resolution at a future time.

The bonus of using my AX8, is that I can take full advantage of the WiFi 6 802.11ax signal which greatly improves the battery life of compatible devices eg. iPhone 12 Pro, iPad Pro, Yoga C940 etc.

If you are still reading this, you might be thinking of making your VR1600v a bridge and adding your own router.  This is what I did ….

On the TPG TP-Link VR1600v router, I did the following:

1. renamed the VR1600v WiFi SSIDs, so my AX8 could later be setup with the required SSIDs.
2. changed the LAN address of the VR1600v to 10.0.0.1, so it would not later conflict with the AX8 address of 192.168.1.1
3. via Advanced/Network/DSL, I clicked “+Add” and checked “Enable” for VDSL and type “2” in VLAN ID … if you get an error message typing “2”, then type “1”.  Click the dropdown, and select “Bridge”.  Scroll down and click “Save”.
4. the router automatically reboots, creating a “br_ptm” WAN interface (bridge) and disables the WiFi signals.

On the Netgear Nighthawk AX8 (RAX80) router, I then did the following:

1. changed the LAN IP to the IP address that the VR1600v had ie. 192.168.1.1 … it reboots.
2. connect the AX8’s Internet port to a LAN port of the VR1600v using a Cat5e/6 ethernet cable.
3. setup the AX8 2.4GHz & 5GHz WiFi SSIDs to the required SSID names.  All your home’s devices will now seamlessly connect thru the AX8 WiFi segments.
4. update the AX8 firmware.  It reboots.
5. backup the AX8 … the locked-down VR1600v from TPG cannot be backed up.

The TPG supplied VR1600v router definitely has issues that TP-Link and TPG definitely need to resolve; hopefully via a future firmware update.  It is ridiculous that I need to bridge to another router to achieve a stable home/office network, but such is life … at least TPG are offering a reasonably priced Internet service with great performance.

I hope the above is of help to anyone fed up with VR1600v stability issues.

Good luck!

[DatokI]

Thanks for the tip.

However I am not sure I am capable of perfroming the tasks you listsed.

Can a moderator from TPG jump in here please and help me out.

I have been having intermittent issues for some time with 5G dropping out. It is often not visible as a selection on my WIFI choices. It is now non existent despite re-booting. 

I have read all the threads here and it seems to be a problem with the modem.

I dont want someone telling me to do the chanell switch etc as it is eveident this is not the problem. 

I have  TP Link modem

Thanks in advance

[Ahra_G]

Hi @DatokI, 

We'd be glad to assist in checking the underlying connection issue you are experiencing. 

Any chance you can provide your Customer ID or username via private message so we can pull your up account? 

-Ahra_G