Diagnose restarting router

Question

I recently moved, and since then, my router (Nighthawk X6 R7900, firmware version V1.0.2.10_10.0.29) keeps restarting randomly.

Some details:

• A day before I moved, the router still worked in another location (at the other address)
• After I moved the router to the new location, it kept restarting and showing errors relating to the wrong date
• I reset the router to factory defaults, and since then it went from restarting every ~2 minutes to a few times an hour (seems random)
• The logs seem to wipe every time the router restarts, so I can't see whats causing it
• After it restarts automatically, it keeps working for a period, and then the cycle repeats
• I suspect that I can predict when my router is going down by looking at the max speed in the preceding ~30 seconds, but I don't know a way to run a continuous speed test, so I can't prove that

What could be causing this/how can I stop my router from restarting? Open to pretty much any options.

Answer 1

There are a couple things I know for sure cause this.

1. The router/chipset overheating, put a small window fan blowing on its vents and see if it stops. (I have had to ziptie 12v PC fans to Verizon actiontec routers that get these symptoms. It's always the rev-e and up for some reason)

2. Something is wrong with the power supply. You can try testing it with a digital multi-meter to see if it's within spec. (If it seems hot, is making any kind of whine or abnormal sounds in general, just replace it.)

3. Bad caps on the router motherboard, depending on what your time is worth to you. You could open the router and look for buldging / poped caps and replace them. Or just replace the router.