RV042 - Losing time settings + VPN issue

[MatthewVance]

Symptoms:

1. Time/date settings "forgotten" after approximately 6 days of uptime
2. After setting up time/date settings, a full power cycle "forgets them again"
3. Cisco quickVPN connection from INSIDE RV042 network to an OUTSIDE vpn server stops connecting... at all.
4. A full power cycle to the RV042 restores connectivity

Facts:

1. This router is 2 weeks old, right out of box
2. Upgraded firmware to latest prior to installation
3. This router is a 1:1 replacement for the SAME MODEL (RV042 V3 - 8 months old) that exhibited the SAME symptoms.
4. VPN tunnels (2x always-on site to site) work fine
5. port forwarding and firewall settings work fine for SBS server (HTTP, HTTPS, VPN, RDP, SMTP, POP3, outlook anywhere, etc.) even when symptom #3 is present.
6. The previous model was runnning the stock out-of-box firmware when it started to exhibit the above symptoms, and was upgraded to the latest firmware, where it was functional for about 6 days before re-exibiting the above symptoms.

At wit's end with this model...  I love it to death, but its the little things that really make you wonder if there's something better out there at the same price point ($150-$200 USD).

Anyone have any thoughts or ideas?

Thanks in advance,

Matthew

[janickle]

Hi Matthew,

The RV042 does not have a battery that keeps the date and time stored in the event of a power outage.  You will want to ensure that you have properly set the NTP server and the DNS on the router.  Once power is restored to the router the date and time will be set again, usually in under 3 minutes.  For part 3 of your question can you clarify the statement a bit?  Are you saying that if you initiate a connection from LAN side of the RV042 using QVPN to another router it stops working?  If so what router are you connecting to?

Thank you,

Jason Nickle

[MatthewVance]

Jason, Thanks for replying.

I know it doesn't have a battery...  but if I set the time and date manually, it shouldn't lose the manual settings in the event of a power outage, and change its configuration on its own.

For part #3, I'm saying that if I initiate a connection from LAN side of the RV042 using QVPN to another router, it will connect if it's not "acting up" with the symptoms above.  If it IS "acting up", then the only thing that will restore connectivity for the QVPN connection is a power cycle of the router only.  Power cycling the PC, modem, or network switch has no bearing.

The QVPN connection is from one of the user's PC to an outside company.  We have no control of the end-point, but I can assume that if they are utilizing the QVPN client, they are probably using a Cisco router of some kind.  Even when this RV042 is acting up, if I try the QVPN from another location (outside of this client's office, such as starbucks, my office, or via cellular internet connection), it works fine and connects as expected.

When the RV042 is "acting up", QVPN does not work from any other PC within the client's office as well.

So far we've tried the stock firmware, the latest and greatest, and several in between, and all exhibit the same functionality.  Please also bear in mind that this is the second RV042 that had the same issue, purchased from two different vendors.