Flashing/steady power light, no other lights lit

[Retired-George]

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

[r1chardc]

This thread has been created to discuss, and troubleshoot a specific issue that some Sure Signal users may encounter during setup.

This issue presents the following symptoms:

• The power light (light 1) on the Sure Signal flashes constantly, or the power light remains steady
• No other lights on the Sure Signal flash or light up.

Please note that both the light flashing and the light being steady indicates the same issue, that is the Sure Signal hasn't established a connection to the internet. The only difference is that if the light is steady it means that 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 your Router/Modem.
In order to function, the Sure Signal needs to be connected to a spare ethernet port on your Router or Modem (or a Hub/Switch that is in turn connected to an Internet Gateway.) In some cases it is 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 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 which is on permanently to indicate 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 plugging the cable into a different port on your Router / Modem.

Check that you have an active Internet connection.
Make sure you are currently able to connect to the internet on another device, such as your PC, or a Wi-Fi enabled phone. If you are not able to make an internet connection, this indicates a problem with your Router or your Internet Service Provider. We recommend rebooting the Router to see if this then allows you to connect to the internet.

Reboot your Router / Modem
Turn off your Router or Modem at the wall for 10 seconds, then turn it back on. Wait for the lights on your Modem/Router to indicate an internet connection has been established, and then press the Reset button on the Sure Signal.

Check that your Sure Signal has been assigned an internal IP address by your Router
In order to connect to your network and the Internet, the Sure Signal must be assigned an internal IP address by your Router. If your Router supports DHCP, this must be enabled. Doing so will enable the Router to assign an IP address to your Sure Signal automatically.
For detailed instructions on how to enable this, please consult your Router manual, or contact your ISP or Router Manufacturer.

If your Router or network configuration does not allow DHCP, then you will need to assign a static IP address to your Sure Signal's MAC Address, using your Router's configuration panel. Please consult 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 unit.

Post your Router details
If you have successfully followed all of the above, or are struggling with configuring your Router, please post your Router's make and full model number below. Quite often other users of the same router will be able to share tips with you around setup and any extra security settings that may need to be enabled/disabled to get things working correctly. Wherever possible, we will also attempt to assist you with this, however due to the vast number of different manufacturers and models, it is not always possible, and we do not officially support any form of Router Configuration. For that reason we will always recommend contacting your Router Manufacturer or ISP for assistance first.

George
eForum Team

George

Is the old thread dead? I had an email notification of a reply to a post but the link but led to an error page: likewise when I tried to use browser history to get into the thread.

As regards the single solid light indicating a profile has been downloaded, a previous question (unanswered) was whether a factory reset removed or corrupted this profile. My thoughts are that since once a steady light has been achieved, the single flashing light is not repeated, (ie goes straight to solid) ,suggests something remains configured inside VSS

Regards

[sbraynor]

It seems that the thread containing my previous request for help has vanished. I have been trying to set up a new VSS for the past week, with no success. All I get is a flashing power light. The back of the box shows a green and amber light. I have followed the troubleshooting steps as shown in the top post above, but they make no difference . MY router is a DGN 2000.

When replying, please bear in mind that I have very little technical expertise, as I (wrongly it seems), assumed I could just buy this box and plug it in.

Thanks

Shirley

[shauny123]

Hi

I have the same issue, apple airport extreme router.

I waited 24 hours, as advised by support. Reset the unit, and the router.

I have set the suresignal to a fixed IP, and mapped 50,123, 500 and 4500 (all UDP). The router logs show a connection to the suresignal (i.e. it has an IP address), and all my other machines can see the internet perfectly well.

Is there something else I need to do - does anyone with an apple airport extreme have this working, or does the lack of UPnP mean it never works?

TIA
Shaun

[grmartin]

does anyone with an apple airport extreme have this working, or does the lack of UPnP mean it never works?

Some do, but I think you will have to look at problems with how the airport extreme is connected to the internet - search for posts concerning pppoe connections.

[shauny123]

Some do, but I think you will have to look at problems with how the airport extreme is connected to the internet - search for posts concerning pppoe connections.

Sorry, but there are no problems with how the AE connects to the internet. I have been connected to the internet perfectly for years.

Surely the fact that the Suresignal is the only device which can't connect points to a deficiency in the suresignal? My popcorn, pc, mac, htc phone, etc, etc all connect perfectly through the airport extreme.

If there are some specific ppoe settings I need to change, just for the suresignal, then please can you detail these, as the help desk are unaware of them.

Shaun

[shauny123]

Hi shauny123,

Firstly, a very warm welcome to the eForum Family, it's always great to see new faces on here .

I notice that you've mentioned PPPoE settings. The Sure Signal isn't currently compatible with PPPoE, it will work over PPPoA though. If you're connecting via PPPoE then it may be worth contacting your ISP to see if you're able to connect over PPPoA instead.

Give that a go and keep us updated with your progress .

George
eForum Team

Hi

Actually I only mentioned ppoe because the reply to my first post suggested I check it - I already connect to BT over PPoA (Draytek Vigor Router, Airport Extreme wifi). I have added the 4 UDP ports, set fixed IP, and have no problems with the internet connection in general, just the sure signal 😞

Any suggestions?

Shaun

[r1chardc]

George

As you might remember I have had a problem with VSS since July, both here and at a colleagues.
This week VSS connected and no matter what I did (turn off / on, reboot router to get another IP address, switch it off for 24hrs, hot swap leads) it still connected. I plugged it through another router (Netgear DG384) which had the same Firewall settings. No problem in connecting (but I noticed a lot of UDP 123 activity not noticed with the first router.

Pleased with my self I took the whole working assembly to my colleagues house: Single power light, outgoing on UDP 4500 / 500 to the 179 server only. Internet connection speed same slightly slower than mine.

Back to my house plug in, up and running again in less the 5 mins

The only difference is that I am with Virgin (ADSL broadband)and pathping to 212.183.133.181 shows routing through Virgin Media servers'

My colleague uses Fasthosts and the pathping route seems to be via Oneandone or Init7 in Germany (according to IP look up). Pathping often shows a packet loss somewhere to these servers and from my house the ping time is long and again pathping shows packet loss at times.

Obviously these packet losses and ping times suggest internet slowdown possibly not noticed in web browsing.

Fasthosts say they have no firewalls or devices restricting VPN or UDP traffic

Are there timeouts on the Vodafone servers that might be rejecting the VSS attempts to log in?
Are there measures that query the IP address of VSS?

regards

[grmartin]

I already connect to BT over PPoA (Draytek Vigor Router,

I'm guessing you may have a Draytek Vigor modem, rather than a router - or are using it as a simple modem. Again, look at threads re pppoe/airport/draytek. Problem seems to be down to Draytek, not the Airport per-se.

[shauny123]

I'm guessing you may have a Draytek Vigor modem, rather than a router - or are using it as a simple modem. Again, look at threads re pppoe/airport/draytek. Problem seems to be down to Draytek, not the Airport per-se.

Sorry, you're right - I meant Modem. The draytek modem is connected over PPoA. The router (apple extreme) does not support PPoA, only PPoE, so there's not a lot I can do about that.

However, plugging the VSS directly into the draytek still has the same problem.

I've searched the forums, the net and asked Vodafone, but no-one seems to know anything.

The modem is a draytek vigor 110, connecting to BT ADSL on PPoA, then connecting to Apple Airport Extreme. There is only 1 network port on the modem, which I use to connect to the router, and then the router (using the VSS mac address) gives a fixed IP to it.

Any suggestions?

Shaun