503 Service Temporarily Unavailable

[davemacrae]

Intermittently, I get the dreaded "503 Service Temporarily Unavailable" when trying to access my router. 

Now, I know that the suggested "answer" to this is to clear cache and cookies or use a different browser but neither of these solve the issue. The only solution I've found is to reboot the router which, as it's in a different part of the house from my desk, is a sub-optimal answer.

Is there a permanent fix for this issue?

[Lucy_F]

Hi @davemacrae Thanks for raising this issue. If the error seems to persist after attempting the suggested troubleshooting fixes, please contact our Broadband Support Teams on 03333040191 or Live Chat here for assistance. 

[davemacrae]

Thanks @Lucy_F. I contacted live support and they have raised a ticket with 2nd Line.

In describing the problem I was asked why I wanted to access the web interface on the router and said it was to alter the DNS settings and set up port forwarding. The support person was quite adamant that the router does not support this which was a bit weird. The then said that 

"Gupta: Previously, our router support these changes as we allow me to make any changes. However, now our router is updated and new version router which doesn't allow to make any changes."

Can you please confirm that this is incorrect?

[Ripshod]

This is a problem that has no suggested answers as it's only come up twice in 5 years (so hardly common). 

Either you have another device on your network acting as a dhcp server, or your router is faulty. 

[Ripshod]

The wording of that response indicates the agent has totally missunderstood what you were enquiring about.

Of course we can access the gui. We will always be able to with this device. Disconnect all your devices from the router, turn off the WiFi, and reset the router with the reset button at the back (hold it in for a good 10 seconds). Once booted up connect your pc/laptop with a cable and login to 192.168.1.1.

Now work out what is acting as a dhcp server (sky Q stuff is well known for doing this) , or if any device has two parallel connections back to your router (dhcp storm). 

[davemacrae]

I was pretty confident the agent was talking out their rear orifice.

I actually have DHCP switched off on the router as I run my own DHCP server (pihole).

However, when I switch off DHCP on pihole and revert to the router, I still experience the problem.

[Ripshod]

Time to start from scratch then. As I suggested above do the reset, but add everything back except the pihole device and soak test for 24hrs.

I understand the want for pihole, but that's outside the 'normal' operation of the router. May just find it's a messed up config, or the router just won't run like that. 

[Cynric]

@davemacrae By any chance did you look into the router logs for evidence?

[davemacrae]

Yes, I downloaded the full logs but couldn't see anything significant.

[Ripshod]

Too late to edit but you could also try disabling IPv6 on the router first.