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Solution

Flashing/steady power light, no other lights lit

Retired-George
Moderator (Retired)
Moderator (Retired)

We’ve created this thread to help with an issue that some people find during setup.

 

This issue has the following symptoms:

 

  • The power light either constantly flashes or remains steady
  • No other lights flash or light up

 

Please note that whether the power light is flashing or remains steady, this still points to the same issue - the Sure Signal hasn't established a connection to the internet.

 

The only difference is that if the light’s steady, then the Sure Signal has previously downloaded a profile from the server, if it's flashing then it hasn't.

 

Troubleshooting steps:

 

Check the physical connection between your Sure Signal and the router/modem.

In order to work, the Sure Signal needs to be connected to a spare Ethernet port on your router or modem, or a Hub/Switch that is connected to an internet gateway.

 

In some cases, it’s possible for an Ethernet cable to be faulty, in which case it may not allow your router and Sure Signal to talk to each other.

 

To verify that the Ethernet cable works, check the lights at the back of your Sure Signal where the cable is plugged in.

 

There should be a link light on permanently which indicates that an electrical circuit has been established through the cable.

 

There should also be a light which flashes whenever data is being passed through the cable. If either the data light or the link light do not come on, this could indicate a problem with the cable itself. Please try a spare cable, or plug the cable into a different port on your router/modem.

 

Check that you’ve got an active internet connection.
Make sure you can connect to the internet on another device, such as your PC or phone. If you can’t connect, this indicates a problem with your router or your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

 

We recommend rebooting the router to see if this then allows you to connect to the internet.

 

Reboot your router/modem:

 

  1. Turn off your router or modem at the wall for 10 seconds and then turn it back on
  2. Wait for the lights on your modem/router to indicate that an internet connection has been established
  3. Press the reset button on the Sure Signal

 

Check that your Sure Signal has been assigned an internal IP address by your router.

The Sure Signal must be assigned an internal IP address by your router. If your router supports DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), this must be enabled, as doing so will enable the router to assign an IP address to your Sure Signal automatically.


For more instructions on how to do this, please check your router manual, or contact your ISP or router manufacturer.

 

If your router or network configuration doesn’t allow DHCP, you’ll need to assign a static IP address to your Sure Signal's MAC Address by using your router's configuration panel. Please contact your ISP or router manufacturer for instructions on how to do this. The MAC address can be found on the sticker at the back of the Sure Signal.

 

BT Infinity customers.

If you’re a BT Infinity customer, you’ll need to log into your router admin page and select port clamping.

 

Once this has been selected please restart your router and Sure Signal.

 

Check your MTU settings.

Log into your router admin page and find the location of the MTU field. This varies depending on the make and model so you’ll need to look for it.

 

Change the value of the MTU size to 1500.

 

Log out of the router, this will usually result in a reboot.

 

Perform a reset of the Sure Signal:

 

  1. Hold in the reset button until all lights go solid
  2. Pull the power lead out with the reset button still pushed in
  3. Continue to hold down the reset button and reconnect the power lead
  4. Wait for all lights to come on and then release the reset button

 

The Sure Signal will now try to contact the network and download its profile. This can take up to 6 hours.

 

Post your router/ISP details and Sure Signal serial number.

If you’ve done all of the above, or you’re struggling with configuring your router, please post your router's make and model number below. Please also include your Sure Signal serial number and the name of your ISP.

 

We find that other users of the same router will usually be able to share tips with you, to get things working.

 

We’ll also attempt to help with this, but due to the number of different manufacturers and models, it is not always possible. We don’t officially support any form of router configuration, so we’ll always recommend contacting your router manufacturer or ISP for assistance first.

 

Thanks,

 

Jenny

1,304 REPLIES 1,304

sbraynor
4: Newbie

update: light(s) at the end of the tunnel?
Nothing seemed to work (just SFPL) and couldn't even get it attached to the router despite 'resets'

I don't know which of the following steps have had an effect but the result is that I now have a dancing light display in various sequences - fingers crossed that it is going to work.

First I phoned Vodafone - they checked the account, said all set up at their end and for me to check issues with my ISP (Plusnet)
Checked with Plusnet and they said no firewall issues and all should work from their end
Checked with Netgear and they said they would be pleased to help with any port issues when it shows up as an 'attached devise'

While waiting for VF to call back i decided one more last effort....
Router:
I removed all the 'services' and 'firewall rules' that had been suggested to put the router back to how it was before VSS (factory settings I think) -
then changed the advanced WAN setup to 'respond to ping....' and MTU size to 1500.
Then on LAN setup I reserved an IP using the mac address on the VSS box.
I unplugged the VSS ethernet and then resbooted the router (Netgear DGN2000).
VSS:
Tried a reset - but rather than the methods I have seen posted i did this - with the power light still slow flashing I just unplugged the power waited 10 secs then with the reset button pressed in i plugged the power in and kept the reset button pressed until the lights flashed in a sequence (20 secs??).
Then I plugged in the ethernet to the router.

After a few minutes (I wasn't really paying attention as I didn't expect any joy) the VSS showed up as an attached device on the reserved IP.
I looked at the VSS and low an behold different flashing lights.

Hope that helps in some way - especially Shirley with the same router and dreaded SFPL.

As I said - not fully working yet but at least it is now doing something.
Stephen


Thanks Stephen - I will try your suggestions when I get home from work.

Shirley

jamsterdm
10: Established
10: Established
hi, my ss has had only the power light on for about 17 hours now. the green one on the back is on and the orange one is flashing on the back.
im on sky broadband and have never had a problem before.
i have resetted both the routher and the box a couple of times

jamsterdm
10: Established
10: Established

hi, my ss has had only the power light on for about 17 hours now. the green one on the back is on and the orange one is flashing on the back.
im on sky broadband and have never had a problem before.
i have resetted both the routher and the box a couple of times


and i have a netgear router

jamsterdm
10: Established
10: Established
just to add a little update the @ light is now also on... i still have 0 signal though

sbraynor
4: Newbie

Thanks Stephen - I will try your suggestions when I get home from work.

Shirley


OK have tried these suggestions, but unfortunately no change. Still only the slow flashing power light. The amber light on the back of the box is solid, not flashing. It does not show as an attached device.

Can I have a response from a Vodafone team member please? I think this SS is faulty.

Shirley

jamsterdm
10: Established
10: Established

OK have tried these suggestions, but unfortunately no change. Still only the slow flashing power light. The amber light on the back of the box is solid, not flashing. It does not show as an attached device.

Can I have a response from a Vodafone team member please? I think this SS is faulty.

Shirley


vodafone on twitter told me id get a response over 3 hours ago and still waiting....

nickrg3
1: Seeker
WAG54GS here not working. I have opened the ports and can see it in the DHCP table. flashing power light only 😞

Hints or tips much appreciated. Thanks

sbraynor
4: Newbie

OK have tried these suggestions, but unfortunately no change. Still only the slow flashing power light. The amber light on the back of the box is solid, not flashing. It does not show as an attached device.

Can I have a response from a Vodafone team member please? I think this SS is faulty.

Shirley


I have phoned Vodafone and arranged a replacement SS for the one that was just giving the flashing power light. The guy on the phone told me they get a lot of faulty SS boxes returned!

We will see if the new one is any better.

Shirley

Retired-George
Moderator (Retired)
Moderator (Retired)
Hi guys,

As there's a few outstanding queries here, I'll attempt to answer you all at once. If I miss anyone, then please accept my apologies, but please let me know.

sbraynor, apologies for the delay in responding, I'm not sure why but I wasn't alerted to this thread until today. I'm pleased to hear that you've managed to arrange a replacement Sure Signal. Be sure to keep us updated with your progress once you receive it.


mozzas, is your Sure Signal working yet? If not then I'd recommend checking out our Sure Signal troubleshooting thread and then posting in the relevant thread that corresponds to the light sequence you're seeing. If none of these apply then please start a new thread.


Cyberped, are you still experiencing issues? If so, I'd recommend performing a factory reset on your Sure Signal as well as rebooting your router. This can be done by holding down the reset button, unplugging the cable, waiting 10 seconds, then plugging the cable back in and releasing the button when the lights come back on. Give that a go and let me know if you still have issues.


r1chardc, in answer to your questions. As the Sure Signal connects via an internet connection then that connection will definitely affect the performance of the Sure Signal if there is any latency, general issues etc.

It's difficult to say exactly why a Sure Signal will stop working without looking at each case individually. The most common cause would be latency on the broadband connection though. Another cause could be new firmware downloaded to the router that causes a change to the way it interacts with the Sure Signal. Finally, some ISPs will conduct deep data packet inspections which could cause problems with the Sure Signal.

In regards to your other questions, I'm not entirely certain on these so will pose them to our Sure Signal team, as soon as I have an answer I'll let you know.


JoshW88, please follow the troubleshooting steps in my original post and let me know how you get on :).


jamster, it sounds like your Sure Signal hasn't established a connection to Vodafone yet, troubleshooting steps for this issue can be found in our Sure Signal VPN Issue thread. If you're still experiencing issues then please post in that thread.


George
eForum Team

r1chardc
4: Newbie

Hi guys,

As there's a few outstanding queries here, I'll attempt to answer you all at once. If I miss anyone, then please accept my apologies, but please let me know.

sbraynor, apologies for the delay in responding, I'm not sure why but I wasn't alerted to this thread until today. I'm pleased to hear that you've managed to arrange a replacement Sure Signal. Be sure to keep us updated with your progress once you receive it.


mozzas, is your Sure Signal working yet? If not then I'd recommend checking out our Sure Signal troubleshooting thread and then posting in the relevant thread that corresponds to the light sequence you're seeing. If none of these apply then please start a new thread.


Cyberped, are you still experiencing issues? If so, I'd recommend performing a factory reset on your Sure Signal as well as rebooting your router. This can be done by holding down the reset button, unplugging the cable, waiting 10 seconds, then plugging the cable back in and releasing the button when the lights come back on. Give that a go and let me know if you still have issues.


r1chardc, in answer to your questions. As the Sure Signal connects via an internet connection then that connection will definitely affect the performance of the Sure Signal if there is any latency, general issues etc.

It's difficult to say exactly why a Sure Signal will stop working without looking at each case individually. The most common cause would be latency on the broadband connection though. Another cause could be new firmware downloaded to the router that causes a change to the way it interacts with the Sure Signal. Finally, some ISPs will conduct deep data packet inspections which could cause problems with the Sure Signal.

In regards to your other questions, I'm not entirely certain on these so will pose them to our Sure Signal team, as soon as I have an answer I'll let you know.


JoshW88, please follow the troubleshooting steps in my original post and let me know how you get on :).


jamster, it sounds like your Sure Signal hasn't established a connection to Vodafone yet, troubleshooting steps for this issue can be found in our Sure Signal VPN Issue thread. If you're still experiencing issues then please post in that thread.


George
eForum Team


George

Most helpful: The firmware issue does not arise: take working VSS + router + leads to another house with a different ISP (just plug into phon eline, change user and password): no connection (solid power light); bring it all back home: instant connection.

Your comments about latency led me to do some internet research ( anyone see http://www.dslreports.com/speed) and attach another extract that seems to sum up a general problem:

"For example, if on and off the ping test to some of the reputable websites shows more than 5% of packet loss and/or latency higher than 500ms, you might not able to login to these websites over HTTPS or secure connection, although, the effect is not magnified if you are simply looking at the download speed or browsing media-less web pages of these sites.
In other words, bad broadband reliability and network latency can minus the benefit of high broadband speed offered to you by the ISP.
Experience shows some of the ISPs are actually segregate subscribers’ broadband connection to the Internet by different default gateway, i.e. some users (especially new subscribers who are under cooling period or light-weight users who are below monthly bandwidth quota) are routed to a better Internet backbone while the less valuable users (like those who subscribe the slowest speed package or users in heavy-usage category) are allocated with a congested trunk that lead to the Internet.
In this case, you will likely have a good connection to some sites hosted in home country but face problem of high packet loss and/or latency with some websites hosted at other countries........"


In the case of the "won't connect" ISP, the path ping to 212.183.133.181 shows via oneandone in Germany and often shows packet loss and high latency.

I begin to see a pattern through the posts

regards