Wireless router hangs/reboots very often

Question

I have a five-year-old TP-Link 1043ND v1 wireless router running the following DD-WRT firmware:

DD-WRT v24-sp2 (12/22/14) std (SVN revision 25697)

I haven't made any firmware modifications in the last year and have made few configuration changes.

For the last two weeks, the router has started to hang and today I have noticed it reboots almost every hour. When the router hangs, only the Power LED is active. I also hear strange cracks and other weird noises coming from the area where the router is located.

Strangely, this only happens during weekends. I strongly suspect that this is a hardware issue, most likely the power adapter, which is usually the most common point of failure. The router is connected to an APC Smart UPS, which currently outputs 235V (5V over the nominal voltage in my country). I will check the voltage tomorrow to see if it's any lower than during the weekend.

Are there any ideas on how to test my theory? I currently don't have a replacement power adapter. Or are there perhaps other ideas on why this is happening?

EDIT: the cracking noises are not coming from the router. I have unplugged it during the night and something else is causing the noises (possibly the UPS). I have also borrowed an universal power adapter and will see if it's any better.

EDIT 2: I have changed the power adapter and the problem still persists. I guess there's something wrong with the router and I will probably need to buy a new one.

Answer 1

This is pretty much all you can do on consumer-level routers without having advanced electronics skills.

1. Power. Make sure unit is connected to clean power and there are no physical issues with AC adpater or wire.
2. Heat/ventilation. Make sure unit is not in a hot place and that heat can leave unit without obstruction.
3. Factory Reset. Look online or in manual for reset-to-factory settings. Typically you need to hold the reset button down for several seconds.
4. Firmware. Apply latest firmware to unit. If you just did this and unit is rebooting randomly, try to downgrade to previous version and wait for them to fix issues with the firmware. You can try a non-official firmware such as DD-WRT or OpenWRT if supported.
5. Replace. Replace the unit.

5 years is really long for one of these to last. Random resets are one symptom of overheating or power issues. You probably should replace the device.