Router Intermittent Pause
Loudanew
Newbie

Since Verizon updated their system to increase speed, the Verizon router I purchased 2+ years ago has started to pause every few minutes and restart a few seconds later. I have spent hours with support in 2 calls and have had a technician visit. It is still happening. The technician suggested I purchase/rent another Verizon router. Does not leave a good taste in your mouth.

By the way, since I have FIOS TV and phone, the technician said I could not buy a non Verizon router. 

0 Likes
1 Solution

Correct answers
Re: Router Intermittent Pause
Capricorn1
Community Leader
Community Leader

From what I've gotten from the previous posts, I'm leaning toward some cabling issue, but it's possibly a faulty router. The G1100 should be able to handle up to 1GB Fios (though I’ve not tested that theory).

From one of the posts, “It pauses on wired and wireless. If the TV is trying to connect to Netflix during a pause, it fails. My caption phone stops giving me captions though it is connected to the router via ethernet. TV does not pause. The lights on the router do not change when a pause occurs.” Interestingly, the Fios TV does not pause. (Maybe the set-top box or DVR has enough buffered to handle the outage of 2-3 seconds.) I assume the coax in the picture (with the LAN light on next to the coax cable) is just going to the Fios TV device (DVR or STB), which is reasonably nearby.

If I understand how this has been installed, the fiber comes into the ONT, which is located in the basement. From the ONT, there is an Ethernet cable that was run through the floor and walls to the wall jack into which the G1100 is plugged. It sounds like the interior cabling worked at the slower speed, but at the higher speed is losing sync for some reason (such as cable length, cable quality [Cat 3 vs Cat 5 or Cat 5e, for example], or some outside interference that the lower speed could tolerate). The time of 3-5 seconds would be long enough for the ONT and G1100 to renegotiate the LAN connection.

One possible test would be to move the router and a test system (like a laptop) down to the basement next to the ONT and use only a short (Cat 5e or better) cable from the ONT to the router. (Leave the coax behind.) Run it for some time to see if the problem seems to go away. That would either point to or rule out the cabling between the ONT and wall jack as the issue of the issue is fixed or not. The problem with this test is that it probably takes out the rest of the house and there is probably no good way of knowing how long is long enough for testing if the shorter run works. On the other hand, if the network freezes with about the same frequency for the same length of time when using that short of a run, that pretty much points to an issue with the router. (Possibly the ONT.) The one sticking point in my mind is that the Fios TV doesn’t seem to be affected when the network freezes. I'm not sure what to make of that.

View solution in original post

Re: Router Intermittent Pause
dslr595148
Community Leader
Community Leader

Correction to what they said.

You can buy a non Verizon router but you may not use it for/with FIOS TV. But that is not to say that you can not convert it to act as if it was only a hub/switch/wap. By that, I point to https://www.dslreports.com/faq/11233

**

Anyways..

#1 What is the current brand and model of NAT router?

#2 While you have FIOS TV, what kind of FIOS TV do you have? Depending on the type of FIOS TV, you may be able to have your own NAT router handle the public IP Address vs acting only a hub/switch/wap.

#3 When the connection pauses, is that limited to wireless or does it happen on wired connections too?

Re: Router Intermittent Pause
Loudanew
Newbie

I had a nice long reply typed in and when I went to send it, I got error Exception ID: 37FF74E2 which made everything clear....NOT! So, here we go again.

Thanks for your quick reply. I started to read the DSL report and with my wealth of technical knowledge, my eyes rolled back in my head and I could no longer see the screen. 😁

Anyways,

  • Not sure what NAT stands for. The router says Verizon all over it.
  • I have basic FIOS TV with one smart TV connected via Cat 6 cable. I had a second TV and shared DVR but removed it due to lack of use. 
  • This is probably the most revealing question you asked. It pauses on wired and wireless. If the TV is trying to connect to Netflix during a pause, it fails. My caption phone stops giving me captions though it is connected to the router via ethernet. TV does not pause. The lights on the router do not change when a pause occurs. 

Again, thanks for your help! I am hoping somebody can help me resolve this issue without hundreds of dollars going towards the solution.

0 Likes
Re: Router Intermittent Pause
dslr595148
Community Leader
Community Leader

@Loudanew wrote:
  • Not sure what NAT stands for. The router says Verizon all over it.

Some where on the unit, it will say the model on it.

For example from https://www.verizon.com/supportresources/content/dam/verizon/support/consumer/documents/internet/fio...

On 11 of 191 pages, it shows this image.

imagesample back of unit

Where it clearly says that the unit is the G3100.

@Loudanew wrote:
  • I have basic FIOS TV with one smart TV connected via Cat 6 cable. I had a second TV and shared DVR but removed it due to lack of use. 

Sorry I was not clear.

Do you have any Fios ONE boxes?

Re: Router Intermittent Pause
Loudanew
Newbie

Again, thanks for all your help. It is great knowing I am not alone.

I was more persistent finding the model number. It is FiOS-G1100. Interesting when I turned it to look at it, the light went red on the front saying no connection. I figure a picture is worth a thousand words. No other fios boxes other than the set top box.


image

0 Likes
Re: Router Intermittent Pause
gs0b
Community Leader
Community Leader

That's a G1100, which is good router. 

What exactly do you mean by "pause?"

From the picture, I can tell you're provisioned for Ethernet WAN.  That's the Ethernet jack just above the coax jack.  There is another light on that Ethernet jack, what is it's status?  Does the status change when the router "pauses?"  Note a blinking green light is normal - it indicates traffic.  Solid light is good, too, it indicates a good link without any current traffic.

The "globe" light on the front may turn red at power on until the router connects to the Verizon network.  This shouldn't take too long; probably well under a minute.  Does the light turn red again when the "pauses" occur?  Does it blink?  If so, how fast?

My best guess at this point is a bad Ethernet cable between the router and the ONT.  Make sure everything is plugged in tightly.  If that doesn't help, try a different Ethernet cable.  This may mean you have to move the router closer to the ONT.  If that still doesn't work, it's possible the router has failed after many years of use.  In that case, know you can buy a used G1100 online for about $40.  No need to spend $300 on their latest and greatest model (unless you want WiFi-6, that is...)

Re: Router Intermittent Pause
Loudanew
Newbie

Dear gs0b,

again, thanks!

By "pause", the internet just stops. My yahoo email says "no internet" and I get "not connected" messages depending on what I am doing in the browser. It stops for3 to 5 seconds and picks right back up. I miss a few words from people speaking on Zoom. 

I turned the router around so I can see the lights in the back so I can observe it when the pause occurs. I will have to report back on that.

I replaced the wire from the router to the wall with a patch cable I have. During one analysis session I had with VZ, they observed I had a yellow cable going from the router to the wall and asked me to put the white one in place. I did that and of course, there was no change. 

The ONT is the box in the basement? That is connected by hard wire in the house so moving closer to it is not a good option. I have tried restarting that box as well as restarting the modem. I had a technician make a house call and he switched out one of the boxes. Obviously, did not solve the problem. 

The globe on the front does not change when the pause occurs. 

One observation I just made is that turning the router around causes the internet to drop so one of the cables to the wall may be bad. As I said, I replaced the one I was using. As I have also said, I am not optimistic this will get fixed in my lifetime.

In an effort to simplify things, I unplugged the ethernet cable to a computer I use periodically. It also had a green flashing light and suffers the same pause scenario.

That's my story and I am sticking to it. I will keep you posted if anything changes with the different cable in place. I am not on the computer much over the weekend so no rush to reply.

Thanks!

0 Likes
Re: Router Intermittent Pause
gs0b
Community Leader
Community Leader

What box did the technician replace?  Details are needed, as all we other users know about your problem is what you tell us.

I'm not suggesting a permanent move of the router to the ONT location.  Just move it there for testing.  If you plug the router directly into the ONT with a known-good Ethernet cable and everything works, that will tell you that the cabling you had been using has an issue.  Connect to the router via WiFi or a direct Ethernet cable on a LAN port for this test.  This is simple debugging.  

I've no idea where your ONT is.  It could be in your basement, it could be outside.  It has power, fiber, coax, phone and Ethernet attached to it.  Note it's not the Verizon labeled power supply that plugs into a wall outlet, although the supply could be next to an indoor mounted ONT.  The ONT may be mounted inside a black or beige enclosure.  If you're not sure if you've found it, post a picture.

You mentioned a wall jack, that suggests me the Ethernet cable is installed inside your walls.  Can you confirm?  The test I suggested will verify if any structured (in-wall) cabling is contributing to the issue.

What are the rear panel status lights doing during normal operation?  That is very good information to know, as we need both "good" and "bad" status to learn more about the issue.  Again, all we know is what you tell us.

If moving the router correlates to pauses, you may have found the issue.  In addition to a bad cable, it could be caused by a loose connection inside the wall jack or the router.  To test if it's the router's port, gently wiggle the Ethernet cable.  Note that the router's connector shouldn't fail like this, unless it was subject to mechanical stress (hanging by the Ethernet cable, pulling on the cable while it's plugged in, e.t.c.)

Re: Router Intermittent Pause
Loudanew
Newbie

Hi, sorry for the delayed response. The problem is annoying but not terminal. We are getting down to details that seem to ignore the original trigger which was the increased speed Verizon decided we needed even though the purchased routers do not seem capable of handling it. I will go through your last post and post answers but as you can imagine, this is a busy time of year and the router pause is not my highest priority. I must admit, I admire your quick replies and the questions you pose. You are very capable. I just cannot pursue it with the same aggressiveness at this time. I will get back to you after the holidays. Hope you have a merry Christmas if you celebrate Christmas and a happy New Year!

0 Likes
Re: Router Intermittent Pause
gs0b
Community Leader
Community Leader

@Loudanew wrote:

We are getting down to details that seem to ignore the original trigger which was the increased speed Verizon decided we needed even though the purchased routers do not seem capable of handling it.


Remember, everyone on this forum is a user, just like you.  We have no control or visibility into Verizon's system or any knowledge of what happened in your interactions with them.  All we know is what you tell us.  The goal of these tests is to determine if the problem is inside your home wiring, the router or in Verizon's network.  The results of these tests will guide you and us toward the solution.

Look back at the thread, it's not clear what your old speed was.  If you used to be on a 100Mbps or slower speed tier that used MoCA WAN, you were switched to Ethernet WAN as part of the upgrade.  If that's the case, that's another piece of data that points to a bad Ethernet cable.  Thus my requests for testing by moving the router and using a different cable.

If you were already on Ethernet WAN, a speed increase should not result in a problem like this.  We need to approach this issue by gathering data about the current system behaviors and then trying to figure out what is the cause.  All of my suggested tests are based on the info you've give us.

Give us more data, get better answers...

Also, if you could pick up a used G1100 online for $40 or so.  That would be another way to test if it's the router or something else.

Happy Holidays, Happy Festivus, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year!