WiFi DHCP Problems


 
Q

Quincy

New member
Hello,

My newly built 4.2.4HM with V12 is very temperamental with consistently obtaining an IP over WiFI. Interface configurations seem to be OK because it will obtain an IP but not each time I power up the HM. I don't know what combination of actions corrects this issue but eventually I get an IP. I'm booting with only the WiFi adapter. Lights are blinking on the WiFi adapter, but no IP flashes on the HM LCD. When I reboot with a cable connected directly from my laptop my connectivity is very consistent. If I connect with a cable after not getting an IP and look at IFCONFIG I see all the RX packets being dropped on the WAN interface. I've deleted and recreated both the WiFi connections and WWAN interface a few times but nothing changed. Not really sure if i'm doing something wrong or if a true problem exists. Any help would be appreciated.
 
Hi,

I have had this problem intermittently and thought it was down to the distance the HM was from my Router, sometimes just holding the HM up in the air for a few moments resolves the issue. Having changed the channel my wireless network is on it stays connected much more reliably.

Might be worth rebooting your router if you haven't for a while.

Jon.
 
Do you have DSL? If so, make sure all your phones have a DSL filter. I had a customer that couldn't figure out why she kept losing her connection every time she was on one of her phones.

Are you using a 2.4GHz WiFi connection? If so, it could be interference from something in your house (or your neighbor's). Some cordless phones and microwaves also use that band and can interfere with the WiFi. Get a dual band router that allows simultaneous 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz connections (assuming your 4.2.4HM can use 5.0).

Does your neighbor has a wireless router that can be picked up where the 4.2.4HM is? If so, it could cause issues, especially if you're outside.

As Jon_Skeet mentioned, it could be a weak signal.

It could be a bad router or WiFi adapter.

Try temporarily running an unsecured WiFi connection (TEMPORARILY). If the problem goes away, your adapter may be having trouble with the security settings on your router, especially if it's an older router. Check several different settings to find one that works or get a new router.

Just a few troubleshooting steps I would try.
 
Quincy said:
Hello,

My newly built 4.2.4HM with V12 is very temperamental with consistently obtaining an IP over WiFI. Interface configurations seem to be OK because it will obtain an IP but not each time I power up the HM. I don't know what combination of actions corrects this issue but eventually I get an IP. I'm booting with only the WiFi adapter. Lights are blinking on the WiFi adapter, but no IP flashes on the HM LCD. When I reboot with a cable connected directly from my laptop my connectivity is very consistent. If I connect with a cable after not getting an IP and look at IFCONFIG I see all the RX packets being dropped on the WAN interface. I've deleted and recreated both the WiFi connections and WWAN interface a few times but nothing changed. Not really sure if i'm doing something wrong or if a true problem exists. Any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

I've found that these cheap, tiny wifi dongles are shoddy at best and seem to be a bit of a hit and miss game. I've got a couple that work fairly consistently, and a couple that are very intermittent. Quality control doesn't seem to a priority for these things.

I wouldn't go changing anything with your home network, since everything else is probably running just fine for you.

The simplest solution is to buy another wifi adapter and hope it works better than the last one.
 
Last edited:
I echo Steve's recommendation here. I fought with an Edimax and another unknown dongles both of which worked on my other media RaspberryPi. I gave up and purchased a RT5370 chipset unit off Amazon. Big antenna, great range and rock solid connection.
 
Quincy said:
Hello,

My newly built 4.2.4HM with V12 is very temperamental with consistently obtaining an IP over WiFI. Interface configurations seem to be OK because it will obtain an IP but not each time I power up the HM. I don't know what combination of actions corrects this issue but eventually I get an IP. I'm booting with only the WiFi adapter. Lights are blinking on the WiFi adapter, but no IP flashes on the HM LCD. When I reboot with a cable connected directly from my laptop my connectivity is very consistent. If I connect with a cable after not getting an IP and look at IFCONFIG I see all the RX packets being dropped on the WAN interface. I've deleted and recreated both the WiFi connections and WWAN interface a few times but nothing changed. Not really sure if i'm doing something wrong or if a true problem exists. Any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Under Network > Interfaces do you have a instance of eth0 setup to accept a DHCP? I recall reading that that can cause issues...

I'm having the same problems with 3 separate dongles. (all rtl8192cu) I suspect my problem may be related to roaming on my dual router/AP WDS setup. You wouldn't happen to be running multiple APs would you?

Steve_M said:
I've found that these cheap, tiny wifi dongles are shoddy at best and seem to be a bit of a hit and miss game. I've got a couple that work fairly consistently, and a couple that are very intermittent. Quality control doesn't seem to a priority for these things.

I wouldn't go changing anything with your home network, since everything else is probably running just fine for you.

The simplest solution is to buy another wifi adapter and hope it works better than the last one.
Click to expand...

Is there a specific WiFi adapter that you would you consider better quality?
 
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OK based on some of the suggestions above I started by rebooting my router and when it powered up completely the HM was able to obtain an IP. However when I cycled the power the HM would not pick up an IP again unless I rebooted the router. So I went on to remove the security(WPA-PSK (TKIP) and WPA2-PSK (AES)) from my router and ran it open. I then recreated the WiFI connection on the HM and every time I cycled the power on the HM an IP was obtained. I put the security back in place, recreated the WiFi connection again and I'm back to my original issue. It certainly seems the WiFi adapter doesn't like the security settings I'm running on the router.
 
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Ron Webb said:
I echo Steve's recommendation here. I fought with an Edimax and another unknown dongles both of which worked on my other media RaspberryPi. I gave up and purchased a RT5370 chipset unit off Amazon. Big antenna, great range and rock solid connection.
Click to expand...
I thought all of mine were rtl8192cu... I just double checked and the adaptor Im using now is RT5370. =/

While its sometimes a real chore to get it connected, the RT5370 has proven to be MUCH more reliable once it "warms up". :confused:
 
I'm running the Edimax EW-7811Un. Not sure if obtaining the IP is linked to the adapter drivers, OpenWrt or both.
 
Steve_M said:
I've found that these cheap, tiny wifi dongles are shoddy at best and seem to be a bit of a hit and miss game. I've got a couple that work fairly consistently, and a couple that are very intermittent. Quality control doesn't seem to a priority for these things.

I wouldn't go changing anything with your home network, since everything else is probably running just fine for you.

The simplest solution is to buy another wifi adapter and hope it works better than the last one.
Click to expand...

I'm going to grab some extras... Would this require a driver install? Would be nice to stick with something in the build.
 
Ron Webb said:
I echo Steve's recommendation here. I fought with an Edimax and another unknown dongles both of which worked on my other media RaspberryPi. I gave up and purchased a RT5370 chipset unit off Amazon. Big antenna, great range and rock solid connection.
Click to expand...

I'm going to order a few of these type Ron. Thanks.
 
Make sure you get a supported adapter from the HeaterMeter wiki. There is no "driver install" because there are no build tools on the device, and no manufacturer has binary drivers for this combination of Linux + ARM. Only rtl8192cu and RT5370 are supported.

The issue might be because of WPA TKIP and WPA2 AES being on at the same time and it is messing with the algorithm selection on the wpa supplicant on the HeaterMeter. It uses the OpenWrt-created version which doesn't have support for too many client options so you may be banging against its limitations. Try maybe just with PSK-WPA2 AES and see if it is reliable.

Don't mess with eth0's configuration, having one static and one DHCP eth0 is fine, so long as the static isn't the same as your DHCP range.
 
john frank said:
I'm having the same problems with 3 separate dongles. (all rtl8192cu) I suspect my problem may be related to roaming on my dual router/AP WDS setup. You wouldn't happen to be running multiple APs would you?

Is there a specific WiFi adapter that you would you consider better quality?
Click to expand...
With multiple APs, make sure that the BSSID isn't filled in on the wifi configuration page. When you "join network" from the webui it actually "join AP" in that it by default will only connect to one AP it saw on the scan. You can make it join any AP with the network name / security settings by making sure the BSSID is blank.

All the wifi adapters are pretty hit or miss. I've bought a dozen for testing, which is a small sample, from $4 to $20 but they're all borderline junk that mostly work. The driver software isn't the greatest and definitely has bugs as well, so that doesn't help.
 
Bryan Mayland said:
Make sure you get a supported adapter from the HeaterMeter wiki. There is no "driver install" because there are no build tools on the device, and no manufacturer has binary drivers for this combination of Linux + ARM. Only rtl8192cu and RT5370 are supported.

The issue might be because of WPA TKIP and WPA2 AES being on at the same time and it is messing with the algorithm selection on the wpa supplicant on the HeaterMeter. It uses the OpenWrt-created version which doesn't have support for too many client options so you may be banging against its limitations. Try maybe just with PSK-WPA2 AES and see if it is reliable.

Don't mess with eth0's configuration, having one static and one DHCP eth0 is fine, so long as the static isn't the same as your DHCP range.
Click to expand...


Bryan,

I tried WPA2 PSK (CCMP) only. I received an IP on the first try, then I couldn't get an IP on subsequent reboots. I will try TKIP only shortly. I'll order both types of supported adapters. Will not make any changes to etho. I have no problems on there.
 
Received my WiFi adapter with the RT5370 chipset this weekend. I now get an IP each time I cycle the power on my HM. Thanks for everyone's input on this problem.
 
Tom Steed said:
I use these with no problems, are you using the latest software?
Click to expand...

Yes, I just built a 4.2.4 board and installed the latest software. I tried several attempts at getting these to work with no luck. I put both of them in my laptop and they worked just fine, so I know it is not the devices.
 
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