Forum Discussion

pferron's avatar
pferron
Sophomore
6 years ago

This site can't be reached--after HughesNet modem replaced

Short story:  Hughes replaced our modem and antenna transponder after a nearby lightning strike fried both.  We had no problems restoring our WIFI to our desktop PCs and smartphones, but we immediate...
  • MarkJFine's avatar
    MarkJFine
    6 years ago

    Humor me... It's very possible that there is a corrupted DNS record that is just hopping from one device to the other - it happens. They propagate between devices depending on what each device uses as it's DNS 'server', so switching things around wrt to the DNS is just complicating things. Please try the following steps in the order stated, which is the only way to ensure it's been eliminated:
    1. Turn every device using the internet off (computer, phone, tablet...) - everything but the modem must be powered off first.

    2. Reboot the HughesNet modem by unplugging its power plug from the wall socket.

    3. Wait a minute, and plug the modem back in.

    4. Wait another minute until the modem is fully online (all front panel indicators are back on) and start turning your devices back on, one by one.

pferron's avatar
pferron
Sophomore

No, perhaps I wasn't clear.  After redirecting the Hughes modem DNS and rebooting everything, my phones CANNOT reach the Amazon etc. sites.  My desktop's access was unaffected by the reboot--it's been able to reach Amazon etc. since I changed its default DNS to Google a few days ago.  

 

Net-net:  Except for a brief period this morning, my phones can't reach Amazon and other sites thru the Hughes modem, both before and after changing the modem's DNS setting.  

MarkJFine's avatar
MarkJFine
Professor
6 years ago

Humor me... It's very possible that there is a corrupted DNS record that is just hopping from one device to the other - it happens. They propagate between devices depending on what each device uses as it's DNS 'server', so switching things around wrt to the DNS is just complicating things. Please try the following steps in the order stated, which is the only way to ensure it's been eliminated:
1. Turn every device using the internet off (computer, phone, tablet...) - everything but the modem must be powered off first.

2. Reboot the HughesNet modem by unplugging its power plug from the wall socket.

3. Wait a minute, and plug the modem back in.

4. Wait another minute until the modem is fully online (all front panel indicators are back on) and start turning your devices back on, one by one.

  • pferron's avatar
    pferron
    Sophomore
    6 years ago

    MarkjFine, I did those steps exactly as you described--and it seems to have worked!  Have been able to access all the usual sites including Amazon and others (AWS-powered?) without issues from our two desktops and my two smartphones.  It's been about 90 minutes and all is well.  

     

    I think I need to have my wife turn off her smartphone before she gets home, then boot it up when she gets here, so (a) she will be able to access Amazon etc. sites, and (b) so her phone doesn't pollute our network with any corrupted DNS stuff.

     

    Many thanks for the help.  I'll wait until tomorrow to confirm all is still well before marking this problem solved.

    • GabeU's avatar
      GabeU
      Distinguished Professor IV
      6 years ago

      pferron 

       

      Eek!  I should have had you shut everything down and then power cycle the modem after changing the DNS in order to clear all of the old entries.  With the things I've learned over time from Mark regarding DNS issues (he knows his stuff), I should have remembered that.  

       

      I'm glad it's up and running again.  :)  

    • MarkJFine's avatar
      MarkJFine
      Professor
      6 years ago

      Awesome. Am unsure exactly why this happens, but it's possible that something gets corrupted when there's a weak, marginal, or interfered wifi signal and a URL is repeatedly looked up. I've had this problem myself with several apps/sites and the process (albeit cumbersome) fixes it every time.

  • Liz's avatar
    Liz
    Moderator
    6 years ago

    Good morning folks,

     

    Glad to see Mark's suggestion helped! Thanks for sharing, I'm totally bookmarking this.

    • pferron's avatar
      pferron
      Sophomore
      6 years ago

      All is well a day later.   I've marked this problem as solved.

       

      Many thanks everybody!

      • Liz's avatar
        Liz
        Moderator
        6 years ago

        Awesome, have a great weekend pferron!