TL-WDR4300: 2.4GHz band repeated signal failure, but 5GHz band just fine

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TL-WDR4300: 2.4GHz band repeated signal failure, but 5GHz band just fine

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TL-WDR4300: 2.4GHz band repeated signal failure, but 5GHz band just fine
TL-WDR4300: 2.4GHz band repeated signal failure, but 5GHz band just fine
2016-12-26 15:27:55
Model : TL-WDR4300

Hardware Version : WDR4300 v1 00000000

Firmware Version : 3.14.3 Build 151104 Rel.45874n

ISP : Comcast Xfinity

Greetings...

Please help me determine if I have a defective router:

Problem: After keeping this router in its box, brand new, I finally set it up about 3 months ago. Since then, it has been increasingly losing 2.4GHz band functionality at random times. This is observed by a rapidly deteriorating connection quality (~20 seconds) followed by the 2.4GHz band disappearing from the list of available wifi access points completely. To restore 2.4GHz functionality, I have to restart the router (power down, power up).

Observations: The 5GHz band remains stable, regardless of whether the 2.4GHz band fails or not. In fact, when the 2.4GHz band fails, I use my iPhone to log in to the router through the 5GHz band to restart it if I'm feeling too lazy to walk up stairs and press the power switch. Unfortunately the laptops in this home are too old to "see" a 5GHz band, so it's essential the 2.4GHz band performs reliably.

Also, the 2.4GHz band fails at least 3 times per day, sometimes minutes apart, but sometimes a few hours apart. This usually happens in the middle of the night, possibly because the temperature is 10*F lower. If I had to guess a pattern, I would say the failures occur whenever the house cools down at night, say ~70*F to ~60*F, but this is no excuse for this to happen.

Things I've tried:

1) Factory reset
2) Upgrading to latest firmware ( 3.14.3 Build 150518 Rel.70901n)
3) Factory reset again
3) 2.4GHz unreliable and failing even when router is used in factory default settings

I'm tempted to go back to the cheapo $25 Belkin router I had previously. It never had trivial problems such as this, and I expect far better from a product I paid nearly $80 for.

Any help/insight you could provide would be super helpful. Otherwise, I'm gonna fight with the manufacturer to send me a replacement, despite that it's been in the shrink wrap for a year. This is unacceptable performance.

FYI Current 2.4GHz settings:





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#1
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18 Reply
Re:TL-WDR4300: 2.4GHz band repeated signal failure, but 5GHz band just fine
2016-12-27 14:51:23
Hi,

May I know how many clients you connect the 2.4GHz wifi of WDR4300?
And what about the model No. of wifi adapter on your computer?
A suggestion to try, login the management page of the router, and then go to NAT, disable Hardware NAT function and reboot the router.
After, test again if this issue still exists.
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#2
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Re:TL-WDR4300: 2.4GHz band repeated signal failure, but 5GHz band just fine
2016-12-27 15:39:15

tplink wrote

Hi,

May I know how many clients you connect the 2.4GHz wifi of WDR4300?
And what about the model No. of wifi adapter on your computer?
A suggestion to try, login the management page of the router, and then go to NAT, disable Hardware NAT function and reboot the router.
After, test again if this issue still exists.


Hi...thanks for your response.

Currently there are 7 clients connected to the 2.4GHz band, and none connected to the 5GHz band. There are 3 laptops, and all 3 lose connectivity when the 2.4GHz band fails. It completely disappears on all laptops.

The model of the wifi adapter on my laptop is a Intel(R) WiFi Link 1000 BGN with driver version 15.11.0.7.

I'll try disabling that hardware NAT function you described. But how would that help?
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#3
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Re:TL-WDR4300: 2.4GHz band repeated signal failure, but 5GHz band just fine
2017-01-06 16:03:23
Bump...

So disabling the hardware NAT function did not solve the issue. The router continues to drop the 2.4GHz band beyond detection by any device.

This is absolutely ridiculous. I was trying to remotely assist my parents with a PowerPoint revision for a legal case and the internet kept cutting out, so I would lose the remote connection. It just blows my mind that an expensive router could be this finicky. Like I said really cheapo routers don't even do this (I'm using one right now).

I can't see how this could be anything other than a defective device. It was never dropped or banged around. It just started doing this right out of the box more and more frequently.
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#4
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Re:TL-WDR4300: 2.4GHz band repeated signal failure, but 5GHz band just fine
2017-01-07 00:27:52
I'm having the same issue with the Archer C1200 I bought three months ago. 5ghz works great but 2.4ghz has connection issues. I emailed support and I'm waiting to hear back. I suspect it's a hardware issue.
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#5
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Re:TL-WDR4300: 2.4GHz band repeated signal failure, but 5GHz band just fine
2017-01-07 13:53:35
I have this same problem with the Archer C5. I've been trying for months and nothing works. 5ghz is amazing, 2.4 is always terrible.
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#6
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Re:TL-WDR4300: 2.4GHz band repeated signal failure, but 5GHz band just fine
2017-02-08 02:27:53
Please help!
Same problem here...
model TL-WDR4300









Firmware Version: 3.15.1 Build 160831 Rel.56887n
Hardware Version: WDR4300 v1 00000000



5ghz ok, but 2.4 is losing internet connection randomly...

it is very annoying
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#7
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Re:TL-WDR4300: 2.4GHz band repeated signal failure, but 5GHz band just fine
2017-02-08 23:41:26
Thanks for your response. If you went through the same troubleshooting steps as myself and the issue is still occurring, then you have a defective device according to their tech support (I've been communicating with them via email and support ticket). They will replace it free of charge if you purchased within 2 years ago.
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#8
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Re:TL-WDR4300: 2.4GHz band repeated signal failure, but 5GHz band just fine
2017-02-10 05:04:45
Same issue here on a Archer C2600.
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#9
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Re:TL-WDR4300: 2.4GHz band repeated signal failure, but 5GHz band just fine
2017-02-10 15:56:11
Sorry to hear that. Recently I've had to reboot mine twice within half an hour. That's unacceptable.

So if you've ensured you have the most recent firmware, factory reset, etc etc...then you have a defective device according to the tech support I spoke with. You need to create a support ticket here. They'll run you through the usual boiler plate troubleshooting, and then if none of that works, they should start the process to replace your device.
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#10
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2 tl-wdr4300 lose 2.4ghz
2017-10-12 11:15:30
I have 2 of these TL-WDR4300 routers and both of them lose 2.4ghz connection only. I have tried to remove security, change the channel. I can't upgrade firmware because the router has newer firmware than what is on the website. not sure how that works, but I am not the only one that noticed that. I am looking now to replace them with something that has good range for my 2000 sq ft, 2 floor house. any Recommendation on fixing this issue or suggestions for a better router with good range?
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#11
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