Child Item

Site Totals

61487 Questions Answered 271 Categories

Network problems from too many devices connected to verizon router?

Hi, We are having network problems, seemingly stemming from having too many devices on our router at the same time. My understanding had been that routers can accommodate up to 255 users...ours is having problems after 12 or 15.

We are using the VZ provided Actiontec router MI 424-WR and have the Fios 35/35 plan. The network is protected with WPA security. We have not had problems in the past and have experienced great speeds. We have family over and now we have 2x the usual devices on the network and many of them are experiencing problems (getting kicked off or not being able to log in altogether). Each device sees our network and have individually signed on to our network in the past, but not any longer. If we connect them physically to the network, they seem to work. The devices we have are:

- wired printer

- 5 laptops

- 3 ipads

- 3 blackberries

- 3 iPhones

- 2 android smartphones

- STB

- roku

- ps3

(yes this is a little ridiculous)

Can anyone help us / have experience with the same problem?

Comments

prisaz

Depending on what hardware revision, you could be having NAT table issues. Some of the earlier Actiontec routers had issues with the Network Address Translation Table size. It would run out of space for connections. I noticed that you mentioned PS3, and any gaming console is going to use many connections to the internet depending on the number of players or its use.

If all the laptops in addition to the phones are wireless, I would expect trouble with interference.

smith6612

My suggestion here is to try to get everything you can off the Wireless. This includes the PS3, the laptops (if at all possible) and the Roku device. The Set Top Box is already networked via the Coax cable with MoCa, so that is already off the wireless list.

I would also take a look at the router's System Logs to see if perhaps the NAT Table truly is the problem. You'll see entries that should stand out relating to being unable to make a new connection. Otherwise the issue is either Wireless Interference as suggested above, or there is just too much trying to run on the Wireless at the same time. With iPhones, iPads, Blackberries and other mobile devices constantly connecting and disconnecting while they're in sleep mode, that might be causing some software-related problems in the router. A few heavily trafficed public places I know tend to have their Wi-Fi networks (public) go down repeatably because they either run out of IP leases from a huge shared pool with a small expiry, or the access points just crash and lock up under the amount of mobile devices attempting to get on them at once. Either way, the mobile devices are just a pain to have on public networks just because they are constantly knocking out large Wi-Fi networks (try going to a shopping mall where you could have potentially thousands of people running on a handful of APs. Not a pretty sight especially when the Wi-Fi worked fine before the mobile boom).

Another suggestion might be to try using WPA2 Encryption over WPA. A lot of Linux-based routers such as the ActionTec run far more stable with WPA2 than WPA. Even 3rd party firmware such as DD-WRT is far more stable with WPA2 over WPA.

markiwright@verizon.net

I too have had issues recently. we have

3 Desktop PC's (wired), 3 laptops (mostly wireless), 1 tablet (wireless), 2 itouches (wireless), 3 kindles (wireless but usually disabled), 6 bluray (wired) and xbox/wii (wired). Usually things are OK but recently had guests with BB's, itouches and tablets all on Wireless and started having connection issues accross all the wireless devices. Had to keep restarting the FiOS router.

So maybe is a NAT issue.

Guests gone now and all back OK. Will look and see if a firmware upgrade to the router

pfgoergen

I have had this problem on and off for a couple of months. After a lot of trial and error, I''m 95% sure it's my Roku. With it connected, I consistently lose the connection of all my wired and wireless devices within a day or two. With the Roku disconnected, I have not lost the network connection after periods of 7-10 days, before I reconnect the Roku to continue testing..

smith6612

@pfdg3 wrote:
I have had this problem on and off for a couple of months. After a lot of trial and error, I''m 95% sure it's my Roku. With it connected, I consistently lose the connection of all my wired and wireless devices within a day or two. With the Roku disconnected, I have not lost the network connection after periods of 7-10 days, before I reconnect the Roku to continue testing..

I actually had a very similar problem with my old Linksys WRT54GX, which is in service but not in my home anymore (Gave it to a friend whose original router was too slow to handle his Cable connection). That router was working just fine for over a year with iPod Touches on the network, however, out of the blue one day it began acting up whenever we had the iPod Tocuhes on our network. No firmware or settings were changed. I isolated the cause to be due to the router starting to fail on the Wireless end of things. I found this whole issue odd as the radio was still transmitting without issue, but the router would refuse to give IPs after a few days of letting iPod Touches on the network. Nothing had changed with the network or the iPods, which made the problem difficult to troubleshoot.

Now with the router I have, a DD-WRT enabled ActionTec MI424WR, no more issues. The thing's been online for roughly 6 months without a reboot, and all devices have no issues speaking to the network. Includes iPods, iPad, Wii, Laptops, HDTVs, and Kindles (The laptops and TV are on Hardwire now, but they worked just fine on Wireless).

ksa2

@pfdg3 wrote:
I have had this problem on and off for a couple of months. After a lot of trial and error, I''m 95% sure it's my Roku. With it connected, I consistently lose the connection of all my wired and wireless devices within a day or two. With the Roku disconnected, I have not lost the network connection after periods of 7-10 days, before I reconnect the Roku to continue testing..

I have exactly the same experience as you. After weeks of experimenting, I've isolated my two Roku devices as the ones that cause the Verizon Actiontec router (MI424WR Rev F) to overflow NAT table. Every 24 to 36 hours, a router reboot is required as the security log is filled with "NAT out of memory" messages. With the Rokus disconnected, no such issue (I tested over several weeks with no NAT overflow).

My router is Rev F that is supposed to handle 30K connections, so this is both disappointing and disturbing. I'm not getting much help from Verizon tech support. Please do share if you find a solution as will I.

riggor9999

Hello -

I have been working this issues since Jan. I finally figured out it is my Roku.

I have a fairly robust home network, and since Jan I was having problems with my ActionTec router locking up every 2 ~ 3 days.

I looked at all the logs and could never find anything. I called Verizon - worked with their Techs, got a new router, etc etc etc - but could never figure it out.

So - I borrowed a friend's cable modem, and using an old router - I got Comcast only 25/5 internet service (promo$30/month). I separated out all the non PC devices (Wii, ATT 3G microcell, bluray players, Roku, etc). Once I did that - I had no problems on either network.

Then I started the task of adding devices back to the Verizon network one by one.

Yesterday I added the Roku back - BAM!! The Verizon router locked up in 24 hours. As soon as that happened I started to do a search for Roku and Verizon and found many many threads on this topic.

Today I switched it back and waiting to see / monitoring.

markiwright@verizon.net

Well got to stage where I'm fed up or resetting the router.

Anyone recommend a resonable Wifi router to piggy back off the actiontec just for Wireless connections?

Something that has decent range and not too expensive.

hracer

This is per Actiontec...

Is there a limit to the number of Wireless connections, that the Actiontec Wireless Router or Gateway will allow?
There is no limit on the number of wireless connections, but there is a limit to the amount of traffic or bandwidth that can pass through the Actiontec. It is good to keep in mind that each computer added to the network will reduce the bandwidth available to the existing network computers. It is recommended to limit the number of connections to 45, but this number can vary depending on the activities of the network computers. For example, downloading MP3s, ISOs, or other large files, require much more bandwidth than checking email or simple Web browsing. If the network is Hosting Web, FTP or Gaming severs the limit for the number of network connections may be much lower.

smith6612

45 devices? Seems quite steep to me. Rule of thumb for high density network is no more than 8 devices per access point/radio to ensure any form of qualiy of service. More than that, and congestion will bite if there's a bit of traffic. 45 is fine if most of the devices are light on traffic or the connections are not exceeding the max bandwidth the radio carries.

Pstreicher11

I'm glad I found this thread as I too have been having to reboot the router every other day now. I checked the router log and sure enough, I'm getting 'not enough memory' errors also. There are a couple other errors also that seem to point to my Netgear Stora backup device. I had added a second router to use as my wireless access point and have turned off the radio in the Actiontec Router. Since reading this thread I now have some investigating to do. Will let everyone know how it goes.

Child Item