Version 3 VSS Lights (Power - flashing, Internet - off, In Service - orange, In Use - orange)

[Retired-Lee]

This thread has been created to discuss and troubleshoot the version 3 Sure Signal when the light sequence is as follows:

• Power: Flashing
• Internet: Off
• In Service: Solid Orange
• In Use: Solid Orange

Cause

This light sequence indicates the Sure Signal's not active and it has been unable to authenticate on the Vodafone network

Troubleshooting

Please restart your Sure Signal. If the symptoms continue please add the following details to this thread:

• Your speed test results from here
  
• Your ping test results from here
  
• Your external IP address from here
  
• Your Sure Signal serial number
• The results of a traceroute

Traceroute command:

On a PC:

1. Click on Start and select Run
2. Type CMD into the Run box and press enter/click ok
3. A black box will appear
4. In this box type tracert 212.183.133.177 press Enter
5. Paste the output of this command into your reply

On a Mac:

1. Open Terminal (Applications, Utilities)
2. Type 'traceroute 212.183.133.177'
3. Press Enter

This will help us get the quickest possible resolution for you.

Thanks

LeeH

[Betenoir]

arukDave,

This is a very interesting piece of news and holds out a useful, if not rather expensive, solution to the frustrated Infinty + Sure Signal customer base.  

I have been spending some time going through the many posts on this subject in the past few days, hoping to find a gem or two that might help.  Certainly the contributions by you and Patrick Keys have been enlightening when it comes to understanding the drivers of the problem. So I am very pleased to hear you have managed to get yours working eventually.

Before I check out this Draytek router, could I ask whether you have a "standard" BT Infinity install or did you get them to up your MTU threshold as you suggested to me a couple of days ago? 

And yes, I for one would appreciate if you could share any subtle set-up details that you have applied to the router when it come the Sure Signal.

Regards,

BN

[arukDave]

BN:

Hi.

No, we just changed the router and modem for the new (expensive) DrayTek unit, left it's MTU as standard (AFIK) and once the IT chap had stopped fiddling with cables and plugs etc, the SS slowly came to life.   It was assigned a static LAN IP by DHCP of course.  We managed that much months ago!

We have a MS "Small Business Server" here, that has it's own VPN endpoint, so we can access the office remotely when traveling or working from home.   That need, coupled with the BT "Business" Hub's inability to handle more than one VPN at a time, was the main reason for the change, as our US HQ now want a pernamanent VPN between us and them, and our other offices in time as well.   The VSS needs were a relatively small extra push in the same direction.

We've also sprouted more WiFi abilities as a result of the change too.

But...  Yes, when the digital dust has settled, I do plan on documenting it all in nausiating detail, if just so we can adjust/replace it if needed later.   VSS related info will be posted here in due course.

Best Regards.

Dave Baxter.

(PS:  Dabbs.com seemes to have a good price on Draytek routers, they are also available via Amazon, as well as the usual IT suppliers.)

[Retired-Laura]

Hi guys,

@bevlyn51 – Please can you let us know the light sequence you’re having?

@RHannay – It’s just part of our trouble shooting process.

Is there anything further we can help with?

@Mustardears – If you contact us as requested we’ll be able to do a few more checks and we’ll be able to assist further.

@sidpr – I’m sorry to hear this.

As soon as we’ve got them in stock we’ll be able to get the new device out to you.

@Davis_Barker – So we can help, please get in touch with our Live help team.

@chipmaybury – Please can you reset the Vodafone Sure Signal.

This’ll help this connect to the network again.

If this doesn’t help, please can you let us know which internet service provider you’re using and which router?

@Betenoir – Please can you ensure that the IPSEC has been selected on the router setting, if you’re unsure on how to do this, please contact your internet service provider.

@efletcher – Please ensure that all the correct port forwarding is open on the router, and the IPSEC option is also selected.

Once this is done, if you’re still having issues, please let us know the light sequence you’re seeing.

Cheers,

Laura

[efletcher]

Hi Laura

Could you let me know the IP address of the Sure Signal so I know what ports to open?

I am using a Draytek firewall.

[arukDave]

@efletcher:

If not already done so, go to the Sure Signal website, and go through the registration process, in particular, tell it the numbers of the Vodafone handsets you want it to service/use with it.

You need to setup your LAN DHCP server, so that it always assigns the same LAN IP address to the SureSignal device.   You can find the SureSignals MAC address, on a label on it's rear, under the power plug pins.

Once you have done that, you can verify that the address works by "pinging" it from a PC, and a command line window, for example.   (In Windows, find the "command prompt" tool, in the "Accessories" folder under all programs, behind the "Start" button.)

C:\ > ping www.xxx.yyy.zzz

Where  www.xxx.yyy.zzz  is the LAN IP address where you hope the VSS is.

Do that first WITHOUT the SS connected to the LAN, or if it is NOT powered up.  You should NOT see any replies to the ping.

Then, plug in, connect it to a port on your router, and power up the VSS, wait a while, and once it's lights have settled to whatever state, ping the same address.   You should see a reply on your screen.    If, you can watch it's LED's by the LAN port, you should also see some activity while your PC is pinging it, but that is not always easy to spot.    Many routers and other DHCP servers have the ability to show you what devices are connected, so that's another way to tell if it's connected and has the address you expect.

Then, you need to configure the firewall in the DrayTek device, to pass traffic from Vodafone's public server farm external IP address ranges to the SureSigna's internal IP address on your LAN.   Making sure too, that there is no restrictions in place for outgoing traffic from the VSS to these external addresses.

At the last count, the SureSignal server public (external to you) addresses ranges are...

First        212.183.133.177
Last         212.183.133.179

First        212.183.133.181
Last         212.183.133.182

First        212.183.131.128
Last         212.183.131.191

And the ports/protocols they use are:-

Ports -    Protocols:

8     – TCP/UDP
50    – TCP/UDP
123   – UDP
500   – UDP
1723  – TCP/UDP
4500  – UDP

Check also the routers WAN side MTU value.   If you can, push it up to 1500, or at least as high as it will go if not all the way to 1500.   There is also a setting in the DrayTek setup, that allows for fragmented packets to get through, enable that if you can find it, and save the routers settings.

Then, power down the VSS, reboot the router, & when the router has settled, power the up VSS again, and LEAVE IT ALONE for a LONG time.    If the Red power light is steady, and the next light (white globe) is slowly pusling, leave it alone!...

The first time these things "see" their servers. there is a lot of traffic for a very long time, at a guess, they are updating their own internal OS etc.  You may also see signs that the VSS restarts all by itself, once or twice.

All that can take a few hours!!!!   Honestly it can!   (Once done, they will recover from a disconnection in a few minutes, so long as all the networking needs are correct.)

If you press the VSS's reset button, it seems to do a "factory reset", so it then goes through all the above again.   Take care with that button, it's a long time to wait.

Eventually, it should settle to steady lights, the Red Power light, and white Globe and signal lights.    You should then see a nice strong 3G signal on your Vodafone Hanset.   Enjoy!

If all you keep getting, is the infamous pulsing Red light, and two steady orange lights, you've missed something, your ISP is blocking the traffic, or your public IP address is not known to Vodafone as being in the UK!   (It happens!)  So they are ignoring you...

Go to:-     https://apps.db.ripe.net/search/query.html?

And enter your external IP address in there (scroll down) to see what it says.   If it says it's not a RIPE known/managed address range, or is not in the UK/GB, you need to talk to your ISP to get a UK registered IP address.   (You don't say who your ISP is, or what your external IP address is, but Plus-Net among others have caused this trouble for others recently.)

If RIPE does say you are in the UK, then someone from Vodafone here should be able to check that your public IP address, is in their "Whitelist" database, or if not, put it in there...

Hope something helps.   When they do work, they work very well indeed.

Regards.

Dave Baxter.

(Not a Vodafone member)

[chipmaybury]

Hi Laura, thanks for the reply but I managed to sort the issue. I was using a Draytek 2860 with the BT Openreach modem so I disconnected the modem and connected the Draytek router direct as the router has its own VDSL connection. The VSS3 started working immediately. I didn't expect it to be the BT Openreach modem causing the issue.

[sidpr]

Hi Laura

Do you kow when they will be available? Do you mean you will send me one when they are?

Thanks

Sid

[Mustardears]

Laura. I cannot tell you the level of frustration I'm feeling. I Contacted Vodafone again as you requested who now tell me that SSV3 is only for high line speed customers who must meet the following criteria or it won't work. The email I received is below:
1. download 4.13 mb 2. upload 1.5 mb 3. the handset should be set up for 3g connection. 4. The connection for the router should be PPPoA connection. contacting Internet service provider 5. on the router settings, MTU should be set for 1500 contacting Internet service provider 6. ip address should be static contacting Internet service provider 7. latency should be below 200ms. 8. Open ports 8 TCP UDP 50 TCP UDP 53 TCP UDP 67 UDP 68 UDP 123 UDP 500 UDP 1723 TCP UDP 4500 UDP 33434 - 33445 UDP
My SSv3 worked brilliantly for 7 weeks, often with an upload speed of less than 1.0 mb and an upload speed never better than 0.4mb. The fairly constant download speed of 3.5 mb has enabled SSV1,2 and 3 to work for the last 7 years. Apparently I'm mistaken!
Having spoken to Talk Talk my ISP they have confirmed my MTU is 1432 and always gas been. 1500 is only available over Fibreoptic due to stability issues and not surprisingly there is no Fibreoptic option in the countryside nor is there a phone signal which is why I need a SS in the first place. No Talk Talk residential customer has a static IP address although clearly there are many of their customers using SSv3 with no issues, as I was up until 3 weeks ago. A Vodafone forum staff member confirmed that having looked at my trace results that everything looked in order with no mention of the info above. He felt it was due to an interruption of the latest update but that appears not to be the case now. I've tried different cables, locations, routers, SS1 and SS2, checked settings,contacted my ISP but nothing has changed except that I'm now told that my SSv3 never worked and that it was my imagination. What now? Please can somebody.....anybody help? This is costing me £100's a week as I work from home and customers are going else where as they can't get hold of me. This needs resolving but Vodafone don't seem to grasp the fact that it did work nothing has been changed and it doesn't now. What now?

[Betenoir]

arukDave:

I've taken your advice and gone with the Draytek modem/router in place of the BT Business Hub 5.  And just as in your case my Sure Signal has, after being useless for weeks, suddenly sprung into life without any port forwarding/clamping at all.

I'm very pleased to have the problem solved and I really appreciate your input, but I remain to be seriously underwhelmed at the lack of technical insight being put forward by Vodafone or BT.

In some cases the set place support responses genuinely do work and this forum does a good job at helping here.  However, there is no escalation in the case where this approach doesn't work.

I'm left wondering just how many people there are out there who have already or will very soon give up on their Sure Signals based on the fact that it has been either too difficult or too expensive to solve. 

It's a such a shame as I am convinced with a little more effort these issues could be fixed more quickly and with less cost.

Anyhow, thanks once again.

BN

[bevlyn51]

I am also having ENORMOUS problems on a brand new Vodafone Sure Signal 3 connected to a Sky Hub.

I have applied a static IP address to the VSS3 and I have opened all the ports advised by Vodafone Support.

I have also re-booted the device many times.

I would appreciate some help !!!!!!!!

• Your speed test results from here

Ping           24 ms   Download       5.47 Mbps                   Upload            0.88 Mbps

• Your ping test results from here

Ping           27ms                Jitter                1 ms

• Your external IP address from here

176.249.6.44

• Your Sure Signal serial number

42143919779

• The results of a traceroute

C:\Users\xxxxxxxx>tracert 212.183.133.177

Tracing route to cluster4.vap.vodafone.co.uk [212.183.133.177] over a maximum of 30 hops:

1     1 ms     2 ms     1 ms SkyRouter.Home [192.168.0.1]

2     *       *       *     Request timed out.

3   29 ms   31 ms   31 ms ip-89-200-132-223.ov.easynet.net [89.200.132.223]

4   26 ms   118 ms   28 ms lndgw2.arcor-ip.net [195.66.224.124]

5   79 ms   29 ms   25 ms 85.205.0.86

6     *       *       *     Request timed out.

7     *       *       *     Request timed out.

8     *       *       *     Request timed out.

9     *       *       *     Request timed out.

10     *       *       *     Request timed out.

11     *       *       *     Request timed out.

12     *       *       *     Request timed out.

13     *       *       *     Request timed out.

14     *       *       *     Request timed out.

15     *       *       *     Request timed out.

16     *       *       *     Request timed out.

17     *       *       *     Request timed out.

18     *       *       *     Request timed out.

19     *       *       *     Request timed out.

20     *       *       *     Request timed out.

21     *       *       *     Request timed out.

22     *       *       *     Request timed out.

23     *       *       *     Request timed out.

24     *       *       *     Request timed out.

25     *       *       *     Request timed out.

26     *       *       *     Request timed out.

27     *       *       *     Request timed out.

28     *       *       *     Request timed out.

29     *       *       *     Request timed out.

30     *       *       *     Request timed out.

Trace complete.