Smart Modem 3 - Devices hanging until reconnected

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CommanderKeen

14 posts

Geek

#323293 15-Nov-2025 11:53

Hi all

I've been having an issue with my Smart Modem 3 and I feel like it should be diagnosable but I can't figure it out. The device is about 2.5 years old.

Basically, for the last few weeks, devices connected over Wifi will work for a while, and then appear to stall. They are still connected to the Wifi connection, but pages simply spin (like they are trying to load) but never load. If I switch the wifi off on the device, and turn it back on (so it reconnects) it will continue working for a while.

This has happened across a range of devices (laptop, phones). It doesn't seem to happen to devices connected via cable rather than wifi.

I have rebooted the modem multiple times (no luck). I have powered off the ONT for a while and back on (no luck).

A year or so ago I was having other issues with the modem (it would often reboot itself) and after research on here I purchased a new power cable, and the new power cable solved the problem. It's been going fine for another year or so until now, when this different issue arose.

Any ideas? If I need a new power cable or modem, so be it. If I do need a new modem, curious as to whether a new SM3 is the way to go or whether there's something else I should consider.

I am happy to post logs if they are useful and someone can point me to how to find them!

gzt

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#3434865 15-Nov-2025 21:13

No idea. I'm not familiar with it. Some modems have a function to reset the mac cache thingy.

I have had several modems fail on wifi only.

I'd update the firmware to latest and give Spark a call assuming it's provided as part of your plan. They'll ask to to reset and see if the issue continues, and then replace it.

Goosey

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#3434890 16-Nov-2025 08:11

Are you maybe having channel interference issues?

what channel are your 2 / 5 G wifi networks set to vs what the neighbours are using vs anything else in your house using the same bands (cordless phone, kids toys RF toys, Is there a rouge microwave oven near the router, does your tv or any other device pump its own wifi network)?

bfginger

1330 posts

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#3435062 16-Nov-2025 13:13

The firmware should have auto-updated.

Try doing a factory reset which is in the Administration - Restore part of the settings. If that doesn't help then try manually disabling Band Steering in the WLAN section. Set the 5GHz wifi to channel 100 - as a DFS channel some routers won't use it unless instructed because of the 1 minute radar standdown. It is possible some of your devices might refuse to connect to a DFS channel or you are in a radar area in which case also try channel 149.

If you are still having problems with 2.4GHz try manually setting the channel to 13 at 20MHz bandwidth then try with N Only Wireless Mode. 12 and 13 are not used in North America so there can be compatibility problems with some devices but it can mean that part of the spectrum is less used. I don't think all the Spark routers support them.

CommanderKeen

14 posts

Geek

#3436546 21-Nov-2025 23:52

Hi all

Thanks for your comments and assistance. I tried a few things and then decided to reboot my two Spark Mesh units. These had up-times of nearly 200 days each so hadn't been rebooted for a looong time.

Since doing that, the issue seems to have stopped (been nearly a week with no issues). I'm not sure if that was the cause, or something else I did following some of these ideas, but either way, thanks for tips.

Cheers