HDR LAN(Wi-Fi) Settings Mysteriously Corrupted

Black Hole

Black Hole

May contain traces of nut
RS reported my HDR4 had dropped off the radar. That's the one I recently switched over to WiFi instead of HomePlug (it's not uncommon for my HomePlugs to carry on talking between themselves but stop talking to the router - but then HDR1 and HDR3 drop off together, so I knew it wasn't that). Neither did HDR4 appear to be crashed, the other reason they typically drop off RS. The light on the dongle was flashing merrily, as usual (I must cover that up!). Sure enough though, HDR4 WebIF was unreachable.

I had a look on my router's "attached devices", and HDR4 did not show up. So I went "old school" and had a look at the menus, specifically Menu >> Settings >> System >> Internet Setting. Wi-Fi settings looked OK, but LAN(Wi-Fi) most definitely didn't - the IP address was completely wrong (192.0... instead of 192.168...).

Here's the thing: I had to reboot a crash, which I did at 10:09am yesterday (after a report it was last seen about 2:30am). RS then again reported LoS at 10:21am. It's not like the WiFi link didn't establish properly, otherwise RS would not have seen it at all and not reported another LoS.

Weird.

Possibly another reboot could have sorted it, but I went for a network settings fix. First I re-applied the Wi-Fi settings, which resulted in the LAN(Wi-Fi) settings reverting to DHCP so then I had to edit the LAN settings back to manual and the right IP address. In case I hadn't already, I have also saved the network settings in WebIF. All seems OK now, but I have no idea what happened.

Footnote: In case anybody is wondering, I prefer to type "WiFi" without the hyphen... but I will include the hyphen when I am quoting something that includes it, such as the menus, for accuracy.
 
This is nothing new, Samantha. I gave up fighting it years ago.
I let the boxes keep their apparent preference for reverting to dhcp and have the router set up to give them the correct ip addresses. About 25-50% of the time they fail to connect (with that default 192.0.0.1 ?) on coming out of standby, but as the connection is only used routinely for webif updates I'm not bothered much and can go in and poke it if I need it connected then.
More of a problem when you're using RS of course.
 
First time I've noticed it, but this is also the first time I've had a box running on a WiFi dongle for any length of time. The units on HomePlug hold their IP addresses fine (it's just the HomePlugs that fall over).
 
My supported user (on WiFi) is also complaining about this. And mine got altered again - this time to a valid IP address (so it remained in contact with RS) but not the one I expected... and the setting is still manual not DHCP.

What is going on with the WiFi link that the LAN IP address gets altered??? USB WiFi is the common factor, I could switch to a WiFi-Ethernet bridge as a work-around but that solves nothing.

zeroconf isn't proving any use either.
 
I'm fairly sure this was discussed a lot several years back. Despite setting it to manual the FOX boxes seem to randomly junk that setting and do some kind of default.
You might have more luck with an Ethernet-WiFi bridge, if such exists.

I've actually got a CAT5 run in now to the TV (for online services), so I could fit a local switch/hub to serve the boxes as well (2 FOX, a 1010s and a Bluray player). But I consider the cons of capital cost + running power cost (plus another socket needed) not worth the pros for me.
 
Isn't it a better bet to configure the Humaxen for DHCP and force the addresses from the LAN router (if it supports that)?

If a gamma ray or dodgy flash memory breaks your LAN settings the boxes seem to default to DHCP, so with Ethernet it's just the subnet that might get lost. WiFi adds further settings (in particular SSID, security type and password) to multiply the possible failure modes. And they're not stored in a way that would allow boot-settings to force them.
 
MikeSh said:
You might have more luck with an Ethernet-WiFi bridge, if such exists.
Click to expand...
That's how I run mine, so it probably does.
/df said:
Isn't it a better bet to configure the Humaxen for DHCP and force the addresses from the LAN router
Click to expand...
Probably the 'best' is static address on the Humax in case it loses contact with the DHCP server, and the same as a sticky reservation on the DHCP server in case it should revert from static to DHCP. But then you've got to configure two things.
I'm lazy and just use the sticky DHCP now. Haven't had any problems with it at all since I got rid of the TP-Link junk and the USB Wi-Fi dongle.
 
/df said:
Isn't it a better bet to configure the Humaxen for DHCP and force the addresses from the LAN router (if it supports that)?
Click to expand...
The problem is that there is what looks like a boot race between the FOX and the USB Wi-Fi dongle. About 60% of the time they get their ducks in a row and connect to the router and get an ip address, but the rest of the time they don't and the FOX/dongle end up with the FOX 'default' address which is usually outside the usual ip range of a domestic router. So they aren't even on the network.
It may even be a USB issue.

prpr said:
That's how I run mine, so it probably does
Click to expand...
Then I've learnt something new today :)
 
Black Hole said:
Could this be an effect of the particular dongle?
Click to expand...
Our two have slightly different dongles and both do this.
However, AIUI there is only one dongle chipset, or series of, which will work with the T2 USB port (which makes me wonder anyway), so it might be a characteristic of that (series).
 
The reason I mention it is because both machines fitted with dongles purchased very recently (different sources but apparently identical dongles) are suffering from this problem, but I have not noticed it on a machine fitted with a dongle acquired some years ago and now installed on my supported user's machine (for convenience when I visit and can link through my phone hot-spot).

That is a white dongle with swivelling antenna, and I ran one of my HDRs with it for a while when we were testing WebIF network config settings - I don't recall there being a problem, but I will now have a swap around and see what gives.

Strangely, HDR4 (the one I use to grab radio programmes and convert to MP3, then download to a UPD for the car) worked fine for several weeks after I fitted the dongle, data transfers to PC much faster and more reliable than HomePlug, I was in heaven. Now, suddenly, it's a bugger. IP address keeps getting lost, and even once I correct it transfers are slow. I can't account for why it was OK before and isn't now.
 
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Ours are both white with moveable antennae. They were bought at different times and the aerial shapes are different, though I suppose they might have the same base.
They aren't easily accessible - I'd need to move all the boxes and cables which I'm reluctant to do - but I can see the aerials over the top of the boxes. One is printed with Edimax and other small print stuff, the other plain.
 
I have had these two dongles in fairly constant use for some time, both have HDR Fox T2 > > Configure LAN (Wi-fi) = Manual and the router sets their MAC addresses to same fixed IP addresses, they have never had corrupted settings

dongles.jpg
 
Ezra Pound said:
Manual and the router sets their MAC addresses to same fixed IP addresses
Click to expand...
That may be the key step, ensuring that if the HDR requests DHCP (and I think we can all agree it shouldn't be doing that when "Manual") the router just gives it the same thing. I'm not sure I will be able to do that in the remote location though.
 
Ezra Pound said:
HDR Fox T2 > > Configure LAN (Wi-fi) = Manual and the router sets their MAC addresses to same fixed IP addresses
Click to expand...
Black Hole said:
That may be the key step, ensuring that if the HDR requests DHCP
Click to expand...
Though it's been a few years since I gave up, I'm sure that didn't work for ours - at least not for very long. Eventually the box drops the config, reverts to DHCP and becomes hit and miss again.
Probably worth a try before doing anything more expensive, but keep fingers crossed.
 
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