My Actiontec GT704WGB gateway (combination modem and router) seems to randomly and spontaneously reset, causing it to lose all the changes I made to the settings (SSID, channel #, WPA2 passphrase, MAC ID fltering, etc) and therefore, lose my connection to the internet. This can happen anywhere from once or twice a day, to once every day or two. (To clarify, I don't know that it is actually resetting. All I know is, it randomly reverts back to the factory settings). In addition, I can't power it off, because if I do, it again loses its memory and resets all of the settings to the factory defaults.
So, I have a 2-part question. First, regarding the spontaneous reset and loss of memory problems, is the Actiontec gateway defective, or is there some mode I'm not setting correctly? I've already tried replacing the unit and the problem did not go away. (I've also emailed Actiontec about the loss of memory when powering off, and incredibly, they claim that the GT704WGB does not have any flash memory, so it does not save settings when you power off. That I can't believe.) Can anyone with the same Actiontec GT704WGB confirm whether or not the gateway retains its memory after being turned off for a while (say, more than 15 minutes. If I turn it off for only a few seconds, the settings are still intact).
Second, if I can't get the spontaneous reset problem resolved, is it possible to disable the router part of the gateway, so that I can connect another router to the modem part of the Actiontec GT704WGB gateway? If so, can someone walk me through step by step, how to do it? (What settings do I need to change on both the Actiontec and the new router)
Thanks in advance for your help.
Has the ActionTec done this since you've had it or no? It sounds like you've either got a defective unit or it has a problem where it is unable to save the configuration file to NVRAM. It should be able to save settings through a reboot without an issue, otherwise it wouldn't have passed QA.
Give the unit a hard reset using the button on the back and set the unit up the way you like. Give it a few minutes once saving your final setting to allow it to perform any task it needs to, then go into the Advanced section of the modem and see if you can grab a copy of the config file. Once you've done that, reboot the gateway and see if your settings stick. If they do, see how it goes from there. If it resets itself back to factory settings, load up the file you saved to your computer to the modem and allow it to set itself back up. If it resets to factory again, replace it.
This is the 3rd unit I've tried. They all have this problem. So much for Actiontec's QA department. As far as a hard reset, I've done that many times (part of the troubleshooting procedure Verizon Tech Support has me go through every time I call them).
If I can't get a working gateway that doesn't keep on resetting itself, that brings me to the second part of my question. Can I disable the router part of the gateway, and just use the modem part, and connect an external router (one that has nvram that works and doesn't reboot all the time). This assumes that problem is in the router part of the gateway.
There is no way that I can find to download and save a configuration file for the settings, so I have hand enter everything everytime the reset happens.
Is anyone else using this model? Can you confirm if you are experiencing this same reset/loss of memory problem, or am I the only one?
#1 Do you have a computer connected by wire to your modem combo ?
#2 If so, you did check to be sure that your modem combo was really loosing it's settings
AND not one or more of your computers is connecting to another network that is not yours ?
#3 Did you make sure that the router was not reset "manually" ?
#4 By that I mean, someone could press and hold the reset button/switch and reset it to the defaults - manually.
#5 You did change the default "control" password of the router
AND that password is NOT simple to guess ?
#6 By that I mean, the password that you use to log-in to the router's web based control screen and make changes.
#7 I have heard/read that it is possible to put the modem combo into bridge mode and then use your own RJ-45 WAN port router.
#8 However, that site that I saw that info is having issues and I can't get the info at this time.
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