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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

Pendarric
12: Established
12: Established
Hi Peter,

I like the cynicism but given that 90+% of all ISP's stipulate that you need a BT line for their services, doesn't it then follow that if BT change something then it may affect many users?

Just a thought.......

pgbj
4: Newbie

I like the cynicism but given that 90+% of all ISP's stipulate that you need a BT line for their services, doesn't it then follow that if BT change something then it may affect many users?

Depends...
Some ISP are just reselling BT Wholesale ISP products and so they are using BT IP infrastructure - however it is unlikely that they would be blocking any ports etc. The ISP's infrastrcture would do that.
The bigger providers are ADSL unbundlers - meaning that they take the ADSL from the DSLAM/BRAS in the exchange and have their own on-exchange equipment e.g. Sky Max, TalkTalk. In some areas they may just use BT kit and offer a lower service e.g. Sky Connect. Connecting to the DSLAM would almost certainly remove BT from any IP related issues. And of course the cable companies are completely different.

It is clearly a complicated picture!

philip42h
16: Advanced member
16: Advanced member

Hi guys,

Thank you all for posting. I spoke with the Sure Signal project team about this issue yesterday. The advice I've been given is that this issue is definitely down to the router or ISP as it indicates that an internet connection hasn't been established to the Sure Signal. If it was an issue at our end or a problem connecting to our servers then the first light would be steady and the second light would be flashing.

As such, I'd recommend you follow the troubleshooting guide at the beginning of the thread. If your Sure Signal has been working previously but is now experiencing these issues then you shouldn't need to amend any settings, however I would recommend contacting your ISP to establish whether any changes have been made at their end.

George
eForum Team
Hi George,
When you look at the number of folk that have lost and then restored their SS service by doing no more than a factory reset of the SS box and then waiting, it is very clear that the advice you have been given is incorrect. Yes, if a network connection to the SS hasn't been established the power light alone will be on, but there are clearly other conditions that result in only power light on or flashing. If the Sure Signal project team haven't yet recognised this fact it may explain why they haven't yet come up with a proper explanation and resolution for this issue ...
Philip

r1chardc
4: Newbie
Sorry to keep repeating, but from experience one flashing light means no connection ie check firewall and other settings. From an early confirmation from Vodafone, one solid lights means some form of connection has been made.

Apart from blaming ISP's who probably do not block traffic on ports 500, 4500, can Vodafone expand on a previous statement about how latency and packet loss might affect connections.

As I had it pointed out by IT at work, normal computer downloads deal with packet loss by requesting "sender" to resend lost packets: this can not happen with voice transmissions (VOIP) and I guess any other one -off transmissions when a lost packet means lost of context. If this is the case then ISP efficiency and contention ratios might be worth looking at. I know that my broadband down speed will vary between 6 and 1 Mbs depending on the time of day even when downloading same web pages, so can this affect VSS traffic?

regards

coastline
Not applicable
The simple fact is this - Vodafone have brought a product to market which they cannot support!

Judging by the number of problems in the last month it is obvious that there has been a problem with the VF infrastructure that is causing these issues. The simple variety of ISP's and routers involved would signify that, especially as no change was made to the Client Infrastructure of the affected SS's.

The idea that Packet loss could be a factor "all of a sudden" does not hold water IMHO!

As for some of us SS users having a "cynical" view of VF support dodging the blame - well, you only have to read the responses from VF on this forum to get a good idea of the complete lack of logic employed in diagnosing this problem and the roll out of the tried and trusted mantra of "it's your ports" or "it's your cable" or "do a factory re-set and wait a fortnight" or "we'll send you a new SS"!

I keep asking them what could possibly take the 12-48 hours we get quoted for an SS to begin functioning after a reset if it is not a VF infrastructure issue. Why do they sometimes "Re-sync" at their end what does this do?

No one from VF seems to have the foggiest how the system actually works so it is not surprising that they cannot figure out what's going wrong. I have never spoken to anyone at SS support who had even a basic understanding of it - add to that the complete lack of any useful diagnostics on the SS itself and you have an unsupportable product.

yaknip
Not applicable
Hi All,

I have a Thomsen Speedtouch 585v6 router, a shiny new Sure Signal, and no joy. The router shows the connection is good, and I have followed the instructions from gfendle (http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/topic/53369-thomson-tg585v7-setup-guide/), although these are for the v7.

Still have the flashing power light. Can anyone help?

Iain

brl4it
Not applicable
Just to keep this thread running.

Yesyerday spoke to technical support. My Sure Signal had just a steady green light at 1. They said the would do a resync, which would take a couple of hours to take effect. Later in the evening I now have a steady green light at 1 and a blinking green light at 2. Progress but still have no Sure Signal.

Vodafone needs to give proper support here to solve these issues as it seems that the issue is definitley on the other side of the router.

Frustrated from Penn Street.

joeevans1987
Not applicable
Could someone please please pleas help me, ive spent about 6 hours goingover and over trying to get my damn sure signal to work. I have a linksys wag54gs router. Ive been on portforward.com and followed the insturctions and still it doesnt work. anyone out there who can help me?

coastline
Not applicable
Can't wait til Monday - If my SS is still not working I'm going to go through VF for a shortcut! 🙂

Support is a joke!

Response on this forum is a joke!

But no one is laughing other than VF!

r1chardc
4: Newbie
Still waiting for a reply about packet loss and latency. (does the BT exchange or phone line supplier come into this?) If I subscribe to Vodafone's suggestion that ISP is at fault (and I begin to go along with this), how about a black list and white list of ISP's who are known not to support VSS or who are known to work with VSS. If it means spending more money to change ISP, at least lets have some statistics.

regards