Router: Archer C1200 (Ver. 3)

Firmware: 3.0.4 Build 20180122 rel.42880 (at time of problem)

 

decided to drop cable and switch to streaming tv.  old cable modem was max 30Mb/sec. (old download speed was 20Mb/sec.) so i had to get a new cable modem from ISP (new download speed is 100 Mb/sec.).  at the same time of hooking up the cable modem i also hooked up a VOIP phone and turned on a streaming tv service.  so a lot of changes at the same time which i normally refrain from in case there is a problem.

 

within hours the streaming service would hang but then pick up where it left off.  originally thought is was just buffering by the streaming service.  kept happening every few hours so i checked on the cable modem (since that was the only new piece of hardware) to see it's status.  it was fine but then i noticed the router was rebooting.  for the next few days every so often (3 or 4 times per day) the tv would freeze and sure enough the router was rebooting.

 

at this point i checked the firmware and it was up to date (3.0.4 Build 20180122 rel.42880).  did on online chat (5/13/2020) and was advised to do a hard reset (press in recessed button on back of router) and then reapplied my configuration (e.g. SSID, etc.) .  within hours same issue of tv freezing because router was rebooting.

 

on 5/14/2020 i was all set to post the problem to this forum or email support but i decided to check for a firmware upgrade from the web interface (i.e. 192.168.0.1) once again.  and surprisingly there was one (3.0.6 Build 20200401 rel.71690) although it was not on the TP-Link web site for this router.  applied the firmware and since then i have not had one freeze on the tv so i'm pretty sure this upgrade solved the problem.  a day later (5/15/2020) it appeared on the support web site (even though it says a "Published Date" of 5/13/2020).

 

one of the fixes in the release notes says:

 

Improvided the connection stability, fixed the issue that router disconnected because of frequent DHCP requests.

 

i think the first word is suppose to be Improved.

 

so my question to the TP-Link guys that i see in this forum is:

 

what is meant by "router disconnected", is it just wi-fi dropping or the router actually rebooting?

where are the "frequent DHCP requests" coming from, my system, the ISP?

 

the only rationale i can think of is that due to the higher download/upload speed i upgraded to that this would cause a "burp" randomly in the router.  yet i would have thought others would have seen this since 100Mb/sec. has been common for some time.

 

anxious to hear the technical cause and resolution of this issue from the TP-Link guys.

 

i'm a happy camper now since i think the latest firmware addressed my issue.  i was getting ready to buy another router (and it was not going to be this brand).

seeing as to how a firmware upgrade was just released when the last one was in january 2018 instills some confidence in the company.

 

it is curious, though, that the other releases are "published" a few days after the date in the file name.  this upgrade was 1 1/2 months later!