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

[juliancumbria]

I keep trying to post this message - but keep getting an automated rude answer saying i've posted in the wrong place. maybe this will work.

i bought a sure signal some 4 weeks ago (since the new iphone i got didn't work in my house after the previous cheap phone did!) and connected it to talktalk dlink dsl264dr - and it worked fine until 2 days ago - when it died.
power light is the only one on (constant)
tried restarting router and suresignal - with no success.
all ports on router work ok with pc.
any suggestions - other than move to a mobile supplier than does actually work properly (if there are any).

[Geromino]

I keep trying to post this message - but keep getting an automated rude answer saying i've posted in the wrong place. maybe this will work.

i bought a sure signal some 4 weeks ago (since the new iphone i got didn't work in my house after the previous cheap phone did!) and connected it to talktalk dlink dsl264dr - and it worked fine until 2 days ago - when it died.
power light is the only one on (constant)
tried restarting router and suresignal - with no success.
all ports on router work ok with pc.
any suggestions - other than move to a mobile supplier than does actually work properly (if there are any).

Im in exactly the same boat, I think something has happened as mine has been working perfectly up until the other day

[mozzas]

Update from me

Turns out to be my Netgear DGN2000 that was the problem.
I had an issue with another piece of kit (Sonos) that wouldn't work. Sonos Tech support narrowed it down to the DGN2000.
Put my old DG834G back in action - the Sonos worked straight away and VSS worked within an hour (without any changes to any settings), I now have 5 bars.

The point to note here is that the DGN2000 worked perfectly with all the other equipment in the house all the time - PS3, macs, pc, internet radio etc.
We do not know why it caused problems with the VSS and Sonos - couldn't pinpoint it.

Hope that helps some of you - How did you get on Shirley?? Have you got another router you could try?

Good luck

PS - to Vodafone Management - the 'fast_response' geezer/geezeress needs sorting out - the 'sorry for your trouble.... I am going to ignore your post and close it.... look at the help section regardless of what you have said in your post' is unhelpful, disrespectful and angers many forum users.

[r1chardc]

Mozzas

Well done
Nobody at Vodafone seems to listen when trying to help to isolate and pinpoint the problem.

Would someone also kill Survey Monkey. Never means Never and this is without clearing cache / cookies / anything.
perhaps Survey Monkey could remove the spanner in VSS works?

regards

[grmartin]

Would someone also kill Survey Monkey. Never means Never and this is without clearing cache / cookies / anything.

Here, Here! I'll say it louder "NEVER" means "NEVER"

[Mikey_O]

I've just joined to add to this thread.

Our VSS box also stopped working last week - just the top light on, solid.

Other lights flash just after power-on but nothing happens after that.

We have Orange internet through ADSL via a BT line.

We use an Orange livebox.

The VSS has been plugged in and working perfectly for months - suddenly now stopped. Nothing has changed in the Router settings or anywhere else on our set-up.

This has become very frustrating as out VF signal at home is virtually nil.

[mrbigcog]

Quite a lot of people seem to be reporting the same thing here that the first light is on constant, and no other lights, since the last few days.

I have exactly the same issue and have spoken to Vodafone and been asked to check the usual things, ports, the physical connection.

All of these things have been checked and all is normal, nothing is blocked, the physical connection is fine, I have sufficient speed.

Still the same issue for me, and from the thread above it seems a lot of other people too.

So please Vodafone clarify, there appears to be a Vodafone issue affecting some SureSignal users.

[Retired-Lee]

Hey everyone,

If you're just getting the power light and no other light lit, then this is not a Vodafone issue and there's nothing we can do to rectify this.

The symptoms described indicate there is no internet connection found, and that troubleshooting steps such as checking cables and router configuration should be the next steps.

Cheers,

LeeH
eForum Team

[r1chardc]

Hey everyone,

If you're just getting the power light and no other light lit, then this is not a Vodafone issue and there's nothing we can do to rectify this.

The symptoms described indicate there is no internet connection found, and that troubleshooting steps such as checking cables and router configuration should be the next steps.

Cheers,

LeeH
eForum Team

Lee
Long ago in another post, a flashing first light indicated no connection through the internet.

However, a solid first light was supposed to indicate that the config file has been downloaded, but that further communication was restricted in some way.

If the config file has been downloaded then VSS must have been able to log onto the Vodafone servers and the next stage is the one causing problems, hence my latching onto Vodafone's own posts that latency and packet loss can affect the process. All it would be nice to know so that the forum can get together is how latency and packet loss can affect the logging on process afte rthe config file has been downloaded.

I have days and days of router logs that seem to indicate Vodafone servers only respond occasionally.

regards

[JayBM]

When is Vodafone going to take some responsibility for this?!?!

I have had a very lengthy technical chat with a sympathetic ISP tech support guy this evening. My ISP tech support has been round the houses and back again with the SureSignal long before my call and confirmed that there were no traffic issues for VPN through their network. Some of their users can use it, some cant. It makes no difference what exchange, or area they are in and there is nothing they can see from their logs that would indicate a pattern on their behalf.

They are adamant that the SureSignal box or the Vodafone servers are to blame. My own tests seem to support this as I can traceroute with no packet loss from here to the SureSignal servers fine, my firewall log clearly shows the VPN traffic being passed correctly in and out, so the problems are in the Sure Signal box or the VPN server after the handshake.

After a 4th separate so called "Sure Signal" specialist emailed me and told me the same exact thing, "Reboot modem/Reboot Sure Signal/Check Cables/Check Firewall ports 8, 123, 50, 500 4500" I am just throughly exhausted of explaining the same problem over and over. Have you never heard of a ticket system? Support continuity? let's just try Customer Service to start...

I even stupidly went out and bought a brand new router, just to prove I wasn't going mad. So thats now 3 different Sure Signals on 3 different Routers.

Routers used: Netgear DG834 v2; Netgear DG834GT; Thomson TG585n v2

I have seen at least 2 or 3 posts for the DG834G v2 and DG834GT saying they swapped to these routers to get them working with no config. Although you'll have to go back in time to see them now as Vodafone wiped about 36 pages of people complaining about this exact problem. Hence now why we are on page 4. My father is on the exact same broadband ISP package as me and using the router I just bought (Thomson TG585n v2) and he connected fine first time no config. His broadband line is flakey as he is miles from his exchange yet even he can get a connection. I'll say it slow again.. SAME ISP... SAME ROUTER... SAME ROUTER FIRMWARE... SAME ROUTER CONFIGURATION...got it? His works and mine does not.

And if I get one more email from another Sure Signal specialist asking me to reboot my Sure Signal I'm going to explode.

I work in IT and I know my way around routers, ports and VPNs. I have sent countless logs from my router, countless packet traces and every time I do the response is the same. "Reboot the VSS with the button held in". Will an IT manager at Vodafone please hire someone with a clue as your "Computer says no" staff are of absolutely no use to anyone.

Is there a comprehensive list of what routers and firmware are supported? No.
Is there a list of ISPs that are known to cause issue? No.

Why not?
Because it is irrelevant. A small number of people may have had issue with their routers or ISP (eg. Plusnet firewall) But I think these Sure Signal boxes are inconsistent. I think they are bad at establishing a secure VPN connection to the Vodafone VPN servers and Vodafone have absolutely no idea what is causing all these people to have such a headache trying to connect. It's easier for them to just blame ISP/Router/User and most ridiculously I even had a suggestion that connecting the Sure Signal to a 4way power adaptor could stop it from connecting. SERIOUSLY!? Come on!!!

Do I sound frustrated, disappointed and exasperated?