Netuma R2 connection issue

[david]

Several times recently I have lost all internet connectivity and been unable to connect to the Netduma R2 via a browser or via the DumaOS app. The only fix is to power cycle the R2. This seems to happen once or twice a month, but just happened twice today. I'm hardwired to the R2 and wifi is disabled so its not a wifi related issue.

This is obviously a serious reliability problem when all network services in the house rely on the Netduma for internet connectivity, including security cameras and TV recording services which need internet access even when I'm away from home and I can't restart the router. I've reverted to putting the netduma on a wifi power plug so I can remotely power cycle, but this work around is not an acceptable fix because it can be several hours or days before I notice there is an issue when I'm away from home.

Is there anything I can capture from logs to figure out what is going wrong?

Any suggestions for what is wrong and what I can do to fix this?

Is there a way to schedule a regular reboot of the router?

David

[Netduma Fraser]

Sorry to hear you're having this issue, it's something we're actively looking into. Wouldn't be able to capture the logs if you don't have access. Scheduled reboot has been requested before and is on our roadmap. What is the model of the modem/router the R2 is connected to exactly? 

In DHCP settings, change the start address to 192.168.77.50 (or higher if you have more than ~50 devices) then give the devices reserved IP addresses, this may help to keep them online

[david]

The R2 is using latest firmware 3.0.205 and the internet router is a virgin media business Hitron CGNv4.

I’ve done a factory reset on the R2 and left most things at default to see if that helps resolv the problem.

Might help diagnose problems if the R2 supported syslog or datadog for remote logging. Datadog would be a great tool for capturing historical stats.

let me know if there is anything I can do to help diagnose the problem or test fixes.

[Netduma Fraser]

We do have some remote logging available but only when developers enabled this.

Do try the suggestion above and also on the Hitron assign the R2 a static/reserved IP (the same as is shown in the System Information page on the R2) and also put that in the Hitron DMZ.

[david]

I made the suggested changes but the problem keeps reoccurring 1-2 times per day. No internet connection on devices via ethernet or wifi and no connection possible to the R2, the only solution is to unplug the router and plug in again.

[Netduma Fraser]

When the disconnect happens, access the hitron, does it show the R2 as a connected device? 

[david]

The network disconnected again today, I managed to connect to the hitron and can confirm that the R2 is not seen as a connected device. However, I managed to connect to the R2 WiFi network and could access the console via wifi and download the log file.

[Netduma Fraser]

Okay so for some reason the disconnect is happening between the hitron and the R2 even though you've set a static IP. On the R2 instead of DHCP for WAN use static as well and mirror the details you used on the hitron, see if that keeps it connected

[david]

Also seem to lose all Ethernet, client devices on the network can’t connect to the R2 only WiFi connected devices can connect to the R2 GUI.

[Netduma Fraser]

When you switched to static or after awhile? May need to reboot the router after switching to static to have it work properly

[david]

I'm still losing the connection regularly - at least once a day - making the device unusable as the main broadband router - I've had to bypass the router for most devices which makes the QOS features obsolete. The R2 is completely unresponsive and only recovers if pull the power. The device does get quite warm - could this be a hardware fault? Can I get a replacement device since its still under warranty?

[Netduma Fraser]

It could be the warmth, if you elevate it so it has plenty of airflow does the issues reduce?

[david]

The R2 has been elevated for 12 hours now and has just failed again this morning - the room temperature is normal so the R2 should not be having any temperature problems.

[Netduma Liam]

4 hours ago, david said:

The R2 has been elevated for 12 hours now and has just failed again this morning - the room temperature is normal so the R2 should not be having any temperature problems.

Sorry to hear that, did the R2 still feel abnormally hot despite being elevated?

It's strange that you're still able to access the interface when connected via Wi-Fi, when you do this, does the R2 have a WAN IP in System information -> Network Status?

Could you please capture a log while the R2 is still down (assuming you can still access the interface) and send it over?

[P8rioticDissent]

Don’t let this “support” guy fool you. He is here to deflect any real issues and keep everyone busy doing their job, quality control, until their return policy runs out and they’re stuck with a defective router. I’ve had this router since February and it has never worked. I got the same “we are working on it” or “we are working on a bios update”…a year ago. It is currently an overpriced paperweight…still. If you’re still within the return policy, do that. They will never get it fixed. It’s just lip service. 

[Gunganator]

David you might want to take a look at my post, raises an interesting question. Purely because I am getting exactly what you are getting and my first concern was the temp of the units base area. If I cooled it with a fan the issue vanished. and the replies in here prove its not just a one off but a known problem with the design.
 

 

[Netduma Liam]

13 hours ago, P8rioticDissent said:

Don’t let this “support” guy fool you. He is here to deflect any real issues and keep everyone busy doing their job, quality control, until their return policy runs out and they’re stuck with a defective router. I’ve had this router since February and it has never worked. I got the same “we are working on it” or “we are working on a bios update”…a year ago. It is currently an overpriced paperweight…still. If you’re still within the return policy, do that. They will never get it fixed. It’s just lip service. 

Sorry to hear that, I can see we spoke over email back in March, I'm not sure if you saw my last response at the time but I'll resend it to you now as it contains full instructions as to how you can return your R2 and receive a refund if you still wish to. We're still happy to honour that as you initially emailed within the return period so no worries there! 

You're absolutely right that we've been aware of the issue for some time now and we have been working diligently ever since we first noticed it to identify the root cause of the problem. We've since been working closely with a few users who've reported the issue and have developed new tools to log the error in great detail. We are currently developing and testing with these users and are very hopeful that we will soon be able to resolve this complicated problem.

As I said though, I'll ping another email over to you if you'd still like to return your R2.

46 minutes ago, Gunganator said:

David you might want to take a look at my post, raises an interesting question. Purely because I am getting exactly what you are getting and my first concern was the temp of the units base area. If I cooled it with a fan the issue vanished. and the replies in here prove its not just a one off but a known problem with the design.
 

 

Sorry to hear you've also been experiencing this. I'll take a read of your post and respond to you over there, thanks for letting us know!

[david]

Liam - thanks for the offer for the return - I would prefer to help fix the problem than return the device - I've been a long time user of R1 and R2 and would miss the features. Perhaps a replacement rather than return in case I have an isolated/rare hardware fault. I'm wiling to put up with some pain if I can help improve the product. I'm an aging gamer with 30+ years of experience working with networks and software development - so happy to help if I can to test and help resolve the issue.

[Netduma Liam]

9 minutes ago, david said:

Liam - thanks for the offer for the return - I would prefer to help fix the problem than return the device - I've been a long time user of R1 and R2 and would miss the features. Perhaps a replacement rather than return in case I have an isolated/rare hardware fault. I'm wiling to put up with some pain if I can help improve the product. I'm an aging gamer with 30+ years of experience working with networks and software development - so happy to help if I can to test and help resolve the issue.

Hey David, we can certainly offer you a replacement and it would be really helpful for us to do some more digging with your particular issue. It got a bit buried but did you get a chance to check out my previous response:

On 7/7/2021 at 1:11 PM, Netduma Liam said:

Sorry to hear that, did the R2 still feel abnormally hot despite being elevated?

It's strange that you're still able to access the interface when connected via Wi-Fi, when you do this, does the R2 have a WAN IP in System information -> Network Status?

Could you please capture a log while the R2 is still down (assuming you can still access the interface) and send it over?

 

[david]

I had disabled WiFi so couldn’t test but will check next time it happens I did manage to capture a log on a previous occasion and can post here if your want.

[Netduma Fraser]

1 hour ago, david said:

I had disabled WiFi so couldn’t test but will check next time it happens I did manage to capture a log on a previous occasion and can post here if your want.

That would be helpful thanks! Let us know how you get on

[david]

Here are a couple of log files captured when the R2 has the issue. In both cases I can connect to the R2 via wifi but none of the ethernet ports seem to work.

log-1624195978367.txt

log-1627372848285.txt

[Netduma Liam]

1 hour ago, david said:

Here are a couple of log files captured when the R2 has the issue. In both cases I can connect to the R2 via wifi but none of the ethernet ports seem to work.

log-1624195978367.txt 73.75 kB · 0 downloads

log-1627372848285.txt 72.37 kB · 0 downloads

I've seen this before, your ethernet switch is having some troubles. Unfortunately this is a separate issue that's been uncovered by the latest hotfix firmware but we don't yet have a solution to it. We're investigating it internally and your logs will help that massively, but as I said I don't have an ETA as to when it'll be fixed. If you like, we can send you a replacement and recover your R2 to investigate internally?

[david]

48 minutes ago, Netduma Liam said:

I've seen this before, your ethernet switch is having some troubles. Unfortunately this is a separate issue that's been uncovered by the latest hotfix firmware but we don't yet have a solution to it. We're investigating it internally and your logs will help that massively, but as I said I don't have an ETA as to when it'll be fixed. If you like, we can send you a replacement and recover your R2 to investigate internally?

OK - whats the process for arranging the replacement R2?

[Netduma Liam]

Just now, david said:

OK - whats the process for arranging the replacement R2?

Could you send me an email at [email protected] with your original order number and a link to this thread? I'll then get one sent over to you and organise for the recovery of the defective one.