While in use, wireless connection suddenly reverts back to default settings!

[apairofpcs]

What I'm about to write should be put under the heading "The X-Files", it's that mysterious.....

I've been fine tuning my Verizon FiOS/Actiontec router via it's webpage for the last few weeks, trying to squeeze out a few more Mbps of download speed for my laptop. In fact, yesterday I was on the phone with a tech. at a Verizon FiOS Support Center for over 2 hours, feverishly taking notes of what the 30 year veteran pc nerd was speaking on the subject of wireless communications. The guy was a wealth of information. Anyway, last night I was minding my own business with my laptop, enjoying another stable connection with the router, when all of a sudden my Firefox browser stopped working. I looked at the wireless connection icon in the system tray, and noticed that it had displayed a yellow warning symbol, meaning that there was no internet connection even though many were available. When I clicked on the icon, I was surprised to see that the network name/SSID code that I changed after my last router reset, reverted back to the default network name/SSID code on the back of the router. You all know that this is not possible, with only Thunderbird and Firefox being open. Either a hard reset at the back of the router or a Restore Defaults command at the router's webpage can initiate such a drastic action. Let it be known that the internet connection was re-established to the factory default settings, within a few seconds of the event. To confirm what I saw, I opened the router's webpage. Sure enough, every setting that I remember manually changing was back to the default setting. My desktop pc uses the same router with an ethernet connection, and everything is fine with it.

To further investigate, I switched from my FiOS connection to the Cablevision modem connection (with wireless router attached) of my next door neighbor, and it worked as always. This eliminated my laptop as the problem.

Does anybody have any thoughts on this event?

While on the subject, can anybody suggest a Wi-Fi monitoring program that will show me everything I need to know about my network and the many others around me, so that I can fine tune the router for better performance? I've been using InSSIDer since Aug. 2009, and it's lacking a few parameters that would be helpful to me.

 

[Mercutio]

It's actually possible that your router got re-flashed from your ISP. That does happen. Though I expect that would impact your neighbor as well, were it the case.

I normally monitor 802.11 signals with a program on my phone called Wifi Analyzer.The simple graph mode normally tells as much of the story as I need to worry about, but it has gobs of details on the other pages of its interface.

 

[apairofpcs]

It's actually possible that your router got re-flashed from your ISP. That does happen. Though I expect that would impact your neighbor as well, were it the case.

I normally monitor 802.11 signals with a program on my phone called Wifi Analyzer. The simple graph mode normally tells as much of the story as I need to worry about, but it has gobs of details on the other pages of its interface.

How would I know if the router was re-flashed? Why would Verizon do this anyway? What is actually done? Will there be a record of this event in the events log file that I can access on the router's website?

You are confusing my neighbor's setup, with mine. She has allowed me to access her Cablevision network. However, I have not allowed her to access my FiOS network. Oh, it's not that I'm selfish. The reason is that she is a very low profile laptop user and she doesn't need anything more in the way of wireless capabilities than what she already has. You might call me her onsite tech. support rep., since I keep her laptop lean and mean. She may not turn on her unit for days. There should be some law against this "irrational" behavior, right?

I have a very basic LG env2 cell phone with Verizon, so I'm lucky if there is a "Make/Get Phone Calls" app in it. I should have specified a Wi-Fi program for a pc, when I asked for a monitoring program. In the absence of advice here, I will seek a program on CNET.

 

[ddrueding]

It is quite possible that Verizon did a firmware update on your router (or something similar) that caused it to revert to default settings. It might be in the logs, but I doubt it.

 

[Mercutio]

I'm assuming this is for Windows so... many vendor-provided wireless clients have decent monitor features as well. My standard practice is to uninstall Lenovo's because it annoys me, but if you're looking the Wireless Zero Config Client instead of the one from Toshiba/Dell/Lenovo/Intel/Linksys et al, switching might be give you all the information you need.

 

[apairofpcs]

I'm assuming this is for Windows so... many vendor-provided wireless clients have decent monitor features as well. My standard practice is to uninstall Lenovo's because it annoys me, but if you're looking the Wireless Zero Config Client instead of the one from Toshiba/Dell/Lenovo/Intel/Linksys et al, switching might give you all the information you need.

Yes, Windows 7 Home Edition 64bit. Toshiba has no useful wireless network monitoring program. In fact, Toshiba's Diagnostic Tool would bore to death a kindergarten student. The components on the machine either PASS or FAIL. It's totally "useless." I'll investigate your recommendation.

 

[apairofpcs]

It's quite possible that Verizon did a firmware update on your router (or something similar) that caused it to revert to default settings. It might be in the logs, but I doubt it.

I'm reasonably sure that an automatic firmware update was the cause of the surprise router reset yesterday, which was followed by a return to default settings and a router reboot. Verizon "probably" had nothing to do with it. Below is what preceded the reset....

The day before the event, I was tweaking the router's settings on it's webpage. I saw the firmware update feature and noticed that the router's firmware version was more recent than the latest ActionTec version listed on the page. I've seen manufacturers avoid posting their most current update for the general public, while at the same time incorporating it in a very recently manufactured device. Lo and behold, the router's label showed the latest update, while the page showed a previous one as the most recent one. I was confused, so I mistakenly "forced" the update to the previous version. In addition, I changed the method of incorporating updates, from not checking for them to checking automatically but taking no action. In this case, an email was to be sent to me. I received no email at any point.

It's clear that I should not have reverted back to a previous update version, although everything worked the same with either version. At the time of the event, the router must have checked the ActionTec website, found the latest firmware version and updated it. Checking the router website after the event, I found that the latest version is indeed being used as it was before I intervened. I also recall that each time I manually reset the router, all of my custom settings were lost and the default settings took their place. I didn't notice the ability to save my custom settings to a text file, until recently. In the future, I will save to a file before I do a reset. A reset is sometimes the only way to return a non-responsive router to working order. But the end result is the same as when the router is first attached to a pc system.....the use of it's default settings. Naturally, I disabled the "automatic update check" feature, allowing me to see whether they posted an update and if so, choosing the time to install the update when it will have the least amount of impact on me. In this way, I won't be surprised!

By the way, my initial call to Verizon tech. support was to get a solution to a problem that has plagued me since my July 3rd FiOS installation, but not during the time I was using a DSL modem with the Linksys router. When I logoff, restart, return from hibernate or from a shut down, the laptop's wireless adapter detects the router's broadcasting of my network within seconds. But when I go to sleep mode via the power button or via the Start Menu and return to the desktop, the acquisition of my network connection is delayed by almost a minute. It finds my network, but can't seem to connect to it quickly. Even when I manually force the connection, I still had to wait.

I tried many things with the Verizon tech., and nothing worked. Then I started thinking of the many settings for the laptop's wireless adapter, and came upon something I'd seen countless times. In the Power Management tab was this check box "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power." I've always kept it unchecked, because I usually use my laptop in bed with the battery pack removed to enhance it's lifespan. As illogical as it seemed to me at the time, I checked the box and went into sleep mode. When I returned to the desktop, the laptop connected to the network within 1 or 2 seconds. Being a skeptic I repeated the test a few more times, and the result was the same every time. THAT issue has been resolved, although I don't know why allowing the wireless adapter to be turned off would be the solution. I'm thinking that this feature never entered the mind of the tech., since he didn't see the properties page of the wireless adapter, as I did.

I thank you ddrueding for opening my eyes to the firmware issue.