Weird problems with internet access
I have strange problems with internet access that mainly affect only a few devices.
I have an AX3000 and use an old Netgear R7000 as an access point as well as a Netgear AC2200 WiFi Range Extender hanging off the R7000. Internet is coming in via a ZTE modem before/into the AX3000.
Connection wise I have the guest network enabled from the AX3000, however the R7000 cannot mirror this exactly so I have to have it also broadcast it's own guest network with the same SSID. The spectrum's don't overlap much geographically so it tends to work well and the extender can only really touch the R7000's network area anyway.
I have also been trying to use the routers parental controls and have 3 rule sets each with varying permissions. None of them restrict by time, only content.
I also use other filtering services like Qustodio and NextDNS. They can do similar things, but in my case the overlap is desired, and I manage it accordingly.
I have it all setup like this for a mix of security reasons and catering for the myriad of devices hanging off it all.
Initially everything was working well, however as I've added more devices, rules, QoS rules and other things, the stability of the internet flowing through the AXE3000 in particular has really begun to suffer.
Specifically what I mean is devices will randomly stop reaching certain content types, certain browsers (mainly Firefox) will stop working, or other content will cease to flow. Sometimes rebooting the router will fix it, sometimes allowing the device to reach the internet via another method (e.g. laptop going to a hotspot) then back onto the AXE3000 wifi will then mean it keeps working for a time.
I've ruled out all the other components of my setup and am fairly confident it is the AXE3000 causing the problems.
The main difficulty is, I see very little or no blocks. devices don't even show as online even when they are, turning off family rules makes no difference half the time (although sometimes it does), and playing with the rules, like turning them all off makes no difference.
None of the other filtering products I've previously, or currently use have problems like this. It's almost as if the AXE3000 can't peer through multiple NAT's....but only sometimes. Other times it works fine, so I don't get it.
Any help appreciated!
Cheers