Issues with DNS possible, more likely.
Issues with DNS possible, more likely.
Trying to stay concise. If you need more details, just ask—I'll help.
Issue: WAN drops often, no clear pattern, lasting seconds to minutes. LAN also down. No steady time window. Diagnostics show DNS issues or misconfigurations.
Hardware: Netgear R6400 with DD-WRT v3.0-r37015m (custom firmware). CM600 with stock firmware. SB6121 had T3/T4/T6 errors; CM600 shows ongoing issues.
Symptoms: 1–2 sec outages, sometimes longer. Always DNS errors or unresponsive DNS server.
Time: Last 48 hours.
Status: No permanent fixes found.
Turn off IPv6 settings and assign fixed IP addresses to your devices. Use DNS servers 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 for secondary connections, configure these on your PC and router.
The problems continue even when IPv6 is turned off. Sorry, I should have explained this more clearly. All four attempts used base IPv4 (v6 disabled on my router), only IPv6 with default DNS as fallback, and both IPv4 and IPv6. The wired client already has a fixed IP address (.12), while the wireless clients (especially iPhones) lack static addresses and previously had trouble reconnecting. For troubleshooting your message, I’m re-enabling IPv6 and checking with Google’s DNS on both the router and Windows network manager—this should take some time to confirm the issue remains.
Static IP 12 is assigned on the PC, but it's unclear whether the address is reserved or specifically for this machine. If other devices are struggling to connect, the problem might lie in your DHCP configuration—consider shortening the lease time on the router and resetting it if needed. Try connecting another device to see if the issue persists.
I think it's locked in place. The router’s MAC address is fixed, and the DHCP client list shows the same static settings. Without giving wireless devices static IP addresses, the problems don’t appear. It only happens when trying to make them static. When first connected, everything works until the devices exit the network—like moving out and coming back. Sometimes they reconnect, other times not. The DHCP lease lasts 1440 minutes (24 hours). For more details on settings, check https://imgur.com/a/NNFeYqB. I don’t have any additional devices to add; everything is already connected. The DNS issues continue—IPv6 is disabled, and using Google’s DNS caused the network to drop when trying to share screenshots.
IPv6 can be reactivated through DHCP configuration, though larger maximum DHCP user limits might help. This shouldn’t be a problem, but it seems the ISP is experiencing an issue. Regarding your wireless device, were you attempting to assign static IP addresses within or outside the DHCP range?
Next time you lose connection, you might attempt a connection to https://172.217.0.46 (google.com) via IP address in your web browser. You can verify the IP address using the command nslookup google.com.
The default setting for DD-WRT is 50. Based on my setup with only up to seven clients, it didn’t seem like much of a problem to keep it that way—it’s mainly for a small household of three. If I need to reach Spectrum, I’ll check if they have known issues. It doesn’t appear to be an ISP problem since I’m not using their DNS, though networking isn’t my area of expertise. When trying to assign a static IP to the wireless clients, I was using IPs outside the usual range (12.0 - 16.0). Regarding accessing websites via a domain versus directly by IP, I believe the processing remains similar.
dns functions similarly to a contact directory when using a phone: you input a name like "john doe," and the device translates it into a number such as (555)555-5555. the dns system manages this translation process. for the internet, you enter a domain name like "google.com," and dns checks the corresponding ip address. i questioned whether there might be an issue with getting the ip directly, but i suspect an isp problem since their dns, google dns, and open dns should generally work reliably, even if they cause difficulties.
the wireless connection point seems to be a secondary concern. i recall a past issue where setting a static ip within the dhcp range helped resolve it—though that was a workaround. whatever method proves effective is fine.
if you want alternatives without contacting your isp, consider using dns testing tools, switching to a different router, or employing a system with multiple connections (like 2 ethernet or more). you could also run a live linux environment from a usb drive or use software like smoothwall as a firewall and router. of course, these suggestions are for testing purposes only.