My Netgear Nighthawk RS700S suddenly started dropping the internet connection and slowing down across multiple devices. I already restarted the router, checked the modem, and updated the firmware, but the problem keeps coming back. I need help figuring out whether this is a settings issue, a hardware problem, or something else causing the WiFi and network instability.
RS700S drops like this for a few common reasons. Since you already rebooted, checked the modem, and updated firmware, I’d test in this order.
- Turn off Smart Connect. Split 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz into separate SSIDs. A bad band-steering bug will slow or kick devices off.
- Set channel width manually. Use 20 MHz on 2.4 GHz, 80 MHz on 5 GHz, and disable 160/320 MHz for now. Wide channels look fast on paper, but they get unstable fast.
- Change DNS on the router to 1.1.1.1 and 8.8.8.8. Bad ISP DNS often looks like internet drops.
- Check router temps. The RS700S runs hot. If it sits in a cabinet or near a modem, move it. Overheating causes weird lag and random disconnects.
- Disable QoS, Armor, traffic meter, and parental controls for a day. Those features sometimes tank throughput.
- Test one wired PC direct to router. Run ping to 8.8.8.8 for 10 minutes. If wired drops too, the issue is router WAN side, not Wi-Fi.
- Check logs for WAN lease renew, kernel errors, or DFS channel events. DFS hits will kick 5 GHz clients off.
If it started suddnely after a firmware update, factory reset the router, then set it up by hand. Do not restore old settings. Old configs break stuff more often then people think. If even that fails, I’d suspect bad hardware. Netgear has had a few units do this after a few months.
One thing I’d check that @andarilhonoturno didn’t really dig into is whether this is actually an IPv6 problem and not a pure Wi-Fi/router failure. I’ve seen Netgear units act “fine” locally but choke on certain sites/apps when the ISP’s IPv6 gets flaky. Try disabling IPv6 on the RS700S for a few hours and see if the drops stop. If they do, that narrows it down fast.
Also, don’t assume firmware update = clean firmware. Sometimes the update itself goes sideways without fully failing. If your router has the option, reflash the same firmware version manually, then power it fully off for a minute before bringing it back up. I know some people jump straight to factory reset, but I’d actually try a clean reflash first since it’s less annoying.
Another angle: check the Ethernet cable from modem to router and the WAN port negotiation speed. Seriously. A marginal cable can cause random slowdowns, packet loss, and link flaps that look exactly like “bad router” behavior. Swap in a known-good Cat6 cable, then see if the WAN link is bouncing between speeds.
If all devices slow down at once, I’d also look for a duplex or auto-negotiation issue on the modem/router side. Kinda boring, but boring stuff breaks the internet all the time. Netgear logs are usally not super helpful, but the modem event log might be.