Yes, your VPN could be causing your router to restart.
Yes, your VPN could be causing your router to restart.
I've been searching extensively but haven't located the reason for my router's frequent shutdowns. My setup includes a Netgear Nighthawk r6700(v3), a Verizon gigabit fiber connection, and Private Internet Access. The issue occurs roughly once to four times daily—three or four lights flash bright white for about a second before the router goes completely off, then restarts after several minutes of power cycling. It varies in timing and sometimes happens under different conditions. I've tried several fixes: giving the router a dedicated outlet, moving it away from heat sources, updating firmware manually, resetting it, and even changing its network settings. Logs didn’t provide clear answers, as they treated disconnections like power cycles. It seems the problem might be linked to the VPN service or a hardware fault. Could PIA be involved? Is there a background process running at startup that triggers this? I'm hoping you can help identify the cause. Thank you in advance for your assistance.
It depends on what's causing the problem. If you pull power and restart, it could point to hardware issues, while firmware or software glitches might differ. Your VPN is treated like any other data packet, so running the client on your PC without a direct peering tunnel likely won't affect it.
It's a solid suggestion. Based on what I've noticed on other sites, similar issues have come up. I use the client on my PCs instead of the router, and I'm planning to swap it out soon. I've been thinking about setting up a mesh network for a while now. Appreciate the feedback!
You might want to consider an alternative power source, as you've already tested many options. Changing the power adapter could indicate it's malfunctioning and can't supply enough current for your router under heavy use. I experienced this with a Dlink router in the past—random restarts eventually stopped working until we swapped out the adapter.