IanC wrote

Do you have similar issues with your system?

@IanC 

once my machine has established a connection, it works perfectly; the dropped packets are a sign of, well, not having a connection.

I've been having this (similar) problem with my TP-Link VR1600v for months as well.

1. VR1600v supplied by iinet packaged NBN FTTN.

2. I was initially using a TP-Link C7 Archer wifi router to assign DHCP to 1 x ethernet and upto 10 x wifi devices, never had a problem.

3. The C7 Archer bricked itself out of warranty so I removed it, have been trying to recover it also via firmware flash on boot to no avail just powers up and then restarts constantly.

4. This issue occurs only on the ethernet connection to my PC (Realtek Gb ethernet adapter on Windows 10)

5. Loses internet, cannot access the VR1600v config page via 192.168.1.1, Firefox displays unable to establish a secure connection to 'Google'...

6. Occurs daily (for several months now) and is VERY frustrating, only recovery option is a disable/enable on the ethernet adapter tricking the vr1600v to reassign an IP OR after several failed attempts a full power cycle on the VR1600v.

7. Have searched this forum/whirlpool/ etc and done the following troubleshooting - replaced all ethernet cables, updated Windows 10 service packs, updated ASUS Realtek Gb ethernet driver to latest. Assigned permanent static IP lease to PC, Nothing helps, only constantly disable/enable and rebooting (takes several mins).

8. From reading this thread, I suspect replacing the VR1600v through iiNet will not help either as per other users.

It looks like there is a DHCP/DNS interfacing issue as mentioned by several other, Also - I've noticed on my work laptop connected via wifi that when I use OpenVPN to connect to my work's corporate network -  it is also hit and miss, by not properly passing the DNS through the connection? As in I'm on the network, and can ping all servers on our corporate via IP and access via direct IP input but cannot access it's name resolution. Strange. (a VR1600v reboot solves this issue).

To TP-Link support, is there going to be any light / permanent fix on this issue?

IanC wrote

I gather that both the Optiplex & the 82579LM are coming to the end of the support life time,

Do you have similar issues with your system?
 

i don't think the problem is with my lan card, because the same problem happens with different computers. seven months on, it's still happening. disabling the ethernet and re-enabling it (four times, this morning) is getting to be a daily ritual. i don't want to think that this is a solution, or that it's "just the way it is", because it isn't - the hardware isn't performing as it should.

All,

I have been reading this conversation and others, and there is a common factor.  It does not just affect the VR1600v.  I have the same problem with a VR200v.  Others do with other models.  This is a generic TP-Link bug.  Because it is intermittent it is often dismissed as an ISP problem, or a wireless propogation problem, but never "Lets take a closer look at our code".

My only fix is to reboot the router every day or two.  IanC gave us a clue earlier.  It seems that it is something to do with some WiFi connected devices (but not all) not getting a new DHCP lease after the old one expires.  Continually connected devices seem to keep working, but devices that are used on and off get dropped, and stay dropped.

It is nothing to do with the Internet or ISPs.  (The Internet and WiFi are two different networks.)  It is nothing to do with wireless propogation.  I can put my phone and other devices right beside the router antennae, and if it router is in a bad mood, it will not connect.

This needs a serious look by TP-Link developers, not random speculation by us amateurs without access to the source code.

If TP-Link do not fix this, it will go away after a few years when we all buy different brands of routers.

For what it's worth, if you have a standard Windows desktop PC that you can access, a cheap add-in network adaptor card will fix the Ethernet connection issues. (Not WiFi issues). A TG-3468 TP-Link PCI Network Adaptor card can be purchased for around $18.00 from many computer parts suppliers.  As long as you have a spare PCI-E slot in the computer it can be plugged-in.  Note: these network cards come in Versions or Revisions: 1, 2, 3, & 4. If you are running Windows10, you require the later Versions 3 or 4. Version 3 seems to work fine on Windows10. I find this network adaptor seems to have more current, updated standards than the older built-in (Motherboard) network adaptors and doesn't tend to go to sleep or drop the Ethernet connection. Windows10 should automatically find the new card and install it. It may require a couple of re-boots. Also note that if the computer is dropping the Ethernet connection on your old Network adaptor, it will not automatically switch-over to WiFi if the Ethernet plug is still plugged-in. It needs to be removed to switch-over to WiFi as the Ethernet is still trying to connect.