Steam resetting my router...?

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10 Dec 2007
Posts
445
I'm having a problem with Steam that started a couple days ago for no apparent reason. Every time I try to play any game through Steam, I join a game and after about 20 seconds my router will reset itself, as if I have pressed its physical reset button. This is incredibly annoying because almost every game I own on Steam is for the purpose of multiplayer, so my entire Steam account is rendered useless by this.

My router is a BT HomeHub (I know) with the most recent firmware. The ports Steam requires to be open have been forwarded appropriately. I've been using this router in conjunction with Steam for close to 2 years with no issues and this router-reset thing only started happening, like, three days ago. Googling around shows that this is a known issue which has been occurring for a while (I've found threads detailing this issue from as far back as 2005, google search) and it has affected a wide range of routers. There does not appear to be a concrete solution. Because I did nothing to cause this problem to start, I am not sure where to begin to try and make it stop. Can anyone help?
 
I have the exact same issue (also with BT Home Hub.) i've recently got it to semi-work by following some instructions via steam support. I don't have the link but I saved the instructions:

Question

Whenever I attempt to refresh the server list for my game, my internet connection dies. How can I fix this?
Answer

This indicates that your router or modem is getting flooded when receiving pings from servers. To resolve this issue:

1. Look for a firmware update for your router and/or modem that may resolve the issue.
2. If no firmware update is available, set Steam's Internet Connection speed to a lower setting to reduce the speed that the server list populates. This setting can be changed in Steam, in "Settings" under the "Downloads" tab.
3. If this still fails to resolve the issue, you may artificially limit the speed at which the list populates. To do so:
1. Go to Start > Run and type in: regedit.
2. Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Valve\Steam\.
3. Create a new string value registry setting named CafeRate.
4. Give the CafeRate regkey a value of 10000 and progressively decrease the value until the issue is resolved. A rate of 3000 should be considered the minimum value.
4. If you are still unable to resolve your issue, you should strongly consider replacing your router with a higher-grade model.


I've set mine to the value of 4000, that seems to give the most stable connections, however I'm looking for a more permenant fix, as it does still cause problems and seems to limit the number of servers available to me. Could anyone recommend a decent router?
 
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