Sure Signal stopped working after upgrade to BT Infinity

[JonasBrown]

Hi

Howe recently up graded our broadband and since this time the sure signal has stopped working, no lights at all. I we reset the lights do flash etc so power is not the issue.

I also keep receiving texts saying we have moved the unit and need to update the postcode, though it hasn't in fact moved.

any suggestions?

[JonasBrown]

Hi Peter,

Already got all that on this thread - http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Vodafone-Sure-Signal/Sure-Signal-stopped-working-after-upgrade-to-BT-...

I did try to put it into the DMZ as well - made no discernible difference unfortunately.

I'm pretty much at the end with this one - might take it home and try it there, rule out the work internet connection.

[allegoricus]

One thing to keep in mind is that the response to changing anything isn't immediate, it can take up to 24hrs for a correct configuration to result in a working VSS (although it isn't supposed to according to Alcatel info).

What I'm getting at is that if, for example, you've placed the unit in the DMZ and expected to see an immediate result, it's unlikely to have happened. It makes troubleshooting difficult to progress logically, especially when you haven't a clue what's going on at the other end. 😉

[JonasBrown]

I have mainly left every change 24 hours + but little has made any difference. I'm happy to put it into the DMZ again, leave it a couple of days and see if anything happens because there isn't a lot else left I can do - working way to hard on this, a very quirky system to get working

[allegoricus]

It's not so  much quirky as dependent on a system controlled by others - others who are obliged to be cagey about that system.

Apart from verifying that your unit is being given an address locally, that your external IP address is whitelisted, and that it's possible to connect it to a box you can't trace to, and that there are no firewall impediments, there's not much else you can do. [1]

[1] Apart from the infamous re-set process, and getting them to re-sync.

[Jimfew]

I have to say that when I set up my fibre recently using the business router I did a full reset to get it back to factory original and then set up from there. The tricky bit is getting the ports open and bound to the VSS as it does not allow MAC binding but it can be done through the "rules" for each device. Setting the MTU at 1500 was the easy bit as it just let me. I can't remember but I might have done a firmware update as well (I usually do with new hardware).

I previously had a Draytek 2820 and had to "fettle" it to get it to work on the VSS over BT Fibre. I did this by setting an MTU of 1492 and then fragmenting the packets. However, this option was disallowed recently and the Draytek became obsolete immediately. The BT fibre does work for me as it allows an MTU of 1500 on PPPoE (which is a stretch of the standard to allow for jumbo packets) and has been reliable since I set it up last week.

As boe32 said, a reset to factory defaults and set up again is not a bad test to see if there isn't a "gremlin" in your configuration.

I'll still have a look and see if any other settings need to be changed as well as the MTU one to 1500.

Jim.

[Jimfew]

OK, try this.

http://www.elifulkerson.com/projects/mturoute.php

Download that tool, to a suitable PC or laptop on your network.
Load a command shell (Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt)
Change to the directory where you downloaded the program (cd c:\directory\where\the\program\is)
Type "mturoute -t www.google.com"

Anything 192.168.*.* should list an MTU of 1500.
The first non 192 ip address will be the MTU of any routers outside your house.

This will tell you the MTU of your whole route inside your house to the outside WAN.

Let us know the result.

Jim.

[rederick]

Interesting tool; and interesting to read the VSS needs a MTU of 1500 which is a bit of a strange design as much of the world uses PPPoE ( and thus 1492 MTU ).

I'm using Infinity but with a Draytek 2820 router (as I need the VPN support) so I tried the MTUtrace tool:

C:\Apps\mturoute>mturoute -t www.google.com
mturoute to www.google.com, 30 hops max, variable sized packets
* ICMP Fragmentation is not permitted. *
* Speed optimization is enabled. *
* Maximum payload is 10000 bytes. *
 1  +-  host: 192.168.1.1  max: 1500 bytes
 2  No response from traceroute for this TTL.  Tried 3 times
 3  +-  host: 217.32.147.46  max: 1500 bytes
 4  No response from traceroute for this TTL.  Tried 3 times
 5  No response from traceroute for this TTL.  Tried 3 times
 6  No response from traceroute for this TTL.  Tried 3 times
 7  ...-.-  host: 109.159.249.232 not responding
*7 (An additional device responded for 109.159.249.232)
*7 (An additional device responded for 109.159.249.232)
 8  No response from traceroute for this TTL.  Tried 3 times
 9  .-.-  host: 109.159.254.181 not responding
10  .-.-  host: 195.99.126.107 not responding
11  +-  host: 209.85.252.188  max: 1500 bytes
12  No response from traceroute for this TTL.  Tried 3 times
13  No response from traceroute for this TTL.  Tried 3 times
14  .-.-  host: 72.14.236.191 not responding
*14 (An additional device responded for 72.14.236.191)
*14 (An additional device responded for 72.14.236.191)
15  No response from traceroute for this TTL.  Tried 3 times
16  .-++++++++.-++.-  host: 173.194.78.103  max: 1492 bytes

I think that trace is showing 1492 to the end (google) but 1500 works at hop 11 which is some unnamed router. The 209.85.252.188 IP belongs to Google's networks. I tried another web server I have access to (in the UK) and MTUroute returned max: 1500 for this box. 

Perhaps my Draytek 2820 is doing fragmentation for me - I have three green lights on the VSS but no visible signal on my mobile. (In fact I keep getting "No service" tonight instead of switching to 2G. Bizarre.

[Jimfew]

If you have three green lights on your VSS then it is working. It has proper access to the internet. Your MTU route analysis shows that you have 1500 MTU until the Google router, which is better than I get.

It could be your phone. The VSS must use 3G phones. It will not accept 2G phones. Even a 3G that is manually set to 2G will not work. Can you be sure that your phone is on 3G and that the VSS has your tel number in it's list of users?

Jim.

[rederick]

Thanks for confirming the lights.

My one and only Vodafone phone is my new (received last Weds) iPhone 5 and yes, 3G on and off switch played with a lot, airplane mode played with a lot.  3G works in town centre absolutely fine. Just no 3G at home, and 2G signals very poor.

I wonder if iPhone 5 doesn't like SureSignal.  Although my phone works with the SS in the office but that is in our lab that gets zero signal without the SS.  I get two bars of 2G here.

[Jimfew]

I think this is a phone issue. I don't know anything about the iP5. What you receive from your local VF mast (i.e. 2g or 3G) is a matter of signal strength.

The VSS needs 3G set to "ON" on your phone. In addition, it needs a while to register properly on the VSS. What phone number is registered as the owner on the SS? If you have only one phone then you, presumably, have registered that phone as the owner. If you have changed phone numbers, you will need to advise VSS of this.

I would speak to VF about the iP5 and whther there are any problems with the SS. But your SS with three lights on, must be working.

Jim.