Light one on, light two flashing

[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’s on and light two flashes constantly
• Light two does not go solid

Troubleshooting steps:

Wait 24 hours.
It can sometimes take up to 24 hours for the Sure Signal to fully register with the server. Before attempting any of the steps below, please wait 24 hours.

Check for planned maintenance.

Planned maintenance can cause periods of downtime, so check the forum for any planned maintenance. If there is, this will be announced at the top of the Sure Signal forum.

Check that your Sure Signal has registered successfully.
Before your Sure Signal can connect to our network, you need to register it with us.

You’ll receive a text or email to let you know when the registration is complete and your Sure Signal won’t work until you’ve received this message.

To check your Sure Signal is registered, login to your My Vodafone Account and click on the 'My Sure Signal' tab. Your Sure Signal details should be listed, along with the status 'Registered'.

If you’ve not yet registered your Sure Signal, you can do this directly from the My Sure Signal page in your My Vodafone Account .

If you’re a Business customer, please register on our business Sure Signal page.

Manually configure your router to allow port-forwarding.
In most cases, routers support a system called Universal Plug-n-Play (UPnP), which sets up port-forwarding for you automatically. If you’ve got a complicated network setup, or a complex router, you may need to enter these settings manually.

Please see the following for a list of IP addresses and port numbers that need to be forwarded to your Sure Signal's internal IP address. For instructions on how to do this, we recommend you contact your ISP or Router Manufacturer, or refer to the default guide for your particular make and model, over at http://portforward.com.

Destination IP Addresses:

• 212.183.133.177
• 212.183.133.178
• 212.183.133.179
• 212.183.133.181
• 212.183.133.182
• 212.183.131.128/26

Ports and Protocols:

• 8 – TCP/UDP                 (All routers)
• 50 – TCP/UDP               (All routers)
• 53 – TCP/UDP               (Virgin Super Hubs)
• 67 – UDP                      (Virgin Super Hubs)                                                    
• 68 – UDP                      (Virgin Super Hubs)                                        
• 123 – UDP                    (All routers)     
• 500 – UDP                    (All routers)     
• 1723 – TCP/UDP           (BT Home Hubs)          
• 4500 – UDP                   (All routers)     
• 33434 – 33445 – UDP    (Virgin Super Hubs)

Please note that in the above list of IP addresses, the notation "212.183.131.128/26" means the complete range of IP addresses between 212.183.131.128 and 212.183.131.191

Your router also needs to assign the Sure Signal with a DNS (Domain Name Server) address via DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol).

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 (Internet Service Provider).

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

[mlr108]

I have had same issue ,first  with the December stoppage then it came back automatically after Christmas . this week back to light1 on and 2 flashing. after 3 days unit then stopped flashing and just 1 stayed on and network lights lost. been to shop got another box ,plugged in and light flashing again, network connection good. using Bt Home hub and no changes this end, swapped Hub outputs and computer /internet works on any. Would be great to get back in contact living in countryside away from main network coverage. Do hope VF get some support for this product. Thanks

[kewfriend]

OK - I'd like VF tech to read this carefully and comment. I've been doing some snooping and thinking.

The problem seems to come down to the very short time that the VF SS Server and Box give each other to maintain a SYNCH. I can see that there is a need for a short SYNCH response time to stop a mobile locking onto an external mast or continually yoyoing from VF SS Box and local mast.

The problem seems to be that when a large (in my case) cable ISP has either heavy traffic or is meddling with their equipment or some of their routers are responding slowly or has a bandwidth issue (less likely) OR the VF SS Server comes under heavy load, then the VF SS Box and Server either cannot make SYNCH or maintain SYNCH.

I surmised that in the late evening as traffic levels fell and routers became less loaded then SYNCH might (just might) occur. So I switched off the SSBox until 10:00PM. Lo and behold .... light one steady, light two steady (well nearly all the time), light three flashing and even for a brief time going steady.

The customer is not entirely in the clear. Certainly all the nonsense I was fed by VF Tech staff can be ignored - for instance I have removed ALL port forwarding (because all port forwarding SLOWS a router and can delay SYNCH). I moved my VF SS from behind two (dumb) switches directly onto the NATS router ... all to decrease response time for SYNCH.

The situation is much improved from this morning but a permanent lock on light 4 is not yet happening. However I am pretty sure that my brain is not that wrong on this.

Is the problem soluble ..... well I am going to suggest to VF to be more generous on the response times needed to maintain SYNCH because VF are making assumptions on the performance nationally of Broadband that in my view are unrealistic. For the local customer - dont hide the VF SS behind layers of switches and internal routers - you may be contributing to the problem.

am I right ????? .....

[rwhitetlc]

I will be VERY interested to read the VF response to this thought provoking post.

For me as a simple customer could you explain what you mean by hiding behind dumb switches. Mine is pulgged into my router which is in turn plugged into the adsl filter.

Thanks

[kewfriend]

A dumb switch or router is one which requires no external reprogramming to maintain its functionality. It's a 'Ronseal' - does what is on the can and nothing else. You may still have to maintain any Firewall or DHCP table in the switch or outer.

I can report back this morning on what happened overnight. My VF SS Box was able to lock lights one and two but was unable to lock light four continually showing an update occurring. Just twice did it lock four to solid that I was aware of: both for just five minutes or so. Then it started to recycle again, some flashing two, lock on two and then more flashing light four.

I'm going to stick my neck out here. I suspect that someone fiddled at VF recently and surreptitiously reduced slightly the SYNCH timings required on the VF SS server which threw a wide range of SS boxes as they could not respond fast enough to the slightly reduced SYNCH requirement. Was it then VF's solution was to try to update the VF SS boxes? Has VF now discovered that some boxes simply cannot take the update? I don't know but I smell 'techie fiddling here'.

There is a simple principle in the tech world: DO NOTHING IF IT ALL WORKS. When you upgrade - WARN CUSTOMERS. NEVER try mass upgrades because your systems will be downed by client responses if there is a smidgen of a problem. Be INCREMENTAL both geographically and in practice. Tell the TRUTH - every time.

Tx

[Retired-George]

Hi kewfriend,

Thank you very much for your detailed posts. I've forwarded your comments onto our Sure Signal support for their consideration. Once I hear back from them I'll let you know.

George

eForum Team

[Retired-George]

Hi kewfriend,

I've had word back from our Sure Signal team who have advised that nothing has been changed that would cause problems maintaining synchronisation.

What they've advised is that it's more likely to be down to latency on the broadband connection. If you could perform a traceroute to 212.183.133.181 this will help us identify whether this is the case or not.

George

eForum Team

[kewfriend]

The replacement box has arrived, been installed and is working.

Methinks now that (whatever VF may say) there was some tweaking going on because 2000+ boxes don't suddenly go into fail mode for no reason whatsoever, but these boxes may have been 'older models' with 'older firmware' and not tolerant to tweaking by VF.

Hopefully I am right.

[arcturus]

Where did you get the 2000+ figure from.  I don't doubt it, just curious that i might be missing a thread somewhere.

[kewfriend]

Rough estimate from the volume of calls being taken by Busines Tech support, the number of posts etc. Assuming that only about 1 in 10 actually either use the forum or get through to Bus Tech Supp: then 2000 may well be conservative. When the problem arose Bus Tech Supp described it as the busiest day that had had for years!

Anyway: it does seem to be restricted to the 'older boxes'. My guess is that there was a minor tinker on the SS Server which meant that a whole host of older boxes could no longer synch. The problem for VF is that the SS Box is very very popular and the more that connect make it imperative to expedite the synch on the SS server: the problem is that if the new SS Server code is too quick then perhaps the older boxes could not synch properly.

Interestingly the Bus Tech Supp were completely unaware that in France such boxes are available in supermarkets INDEPENDENT of any carrier. Take it home, plug it in: Bougytel, FranceTelecom - doesnt matter. In the UK its tioed to a carrier. (PS the VF boxes are made in France: the Francs are way ahead of us!)

[sphornby]

Just done a manual update and it is still doing the same thing. Solid power, flashing @ and nothing else