Huawei HG659 - amending DNS settings in router for Netflix

Forums › One New Zealand (including Vodafone, WxC, Farmside) › Huawei HG659 - amending DNS settings in router for Netflix - help please Vodafone staff!

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hairy1

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#1186008 1-Dec-2014 05:16

The router has a problem where it loses the custom DNS on a reboot. If you reboot the router you will need to re-enter the DNS settings. I was supposed to send some screenshots to VF but never got around to it. They stick in one part of the UI but not in another part. I can't recall quite where at the moment as it is too early.

Cheers, Matt.

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xpd

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#1186086 1-Dec-2014 09:10

Ive had ongoing "battle" with V/fone regarding these routers, and they just arent interested. Its the only thing p*****g me off about Vodafone.

Use the real "admin" account (that someone posted) to enter the DNS settings. These will generally hold for a while - I say a while, because at random times, the settings will vanish. The manual DNS option will still be selected but the DNS servers will have gone AWOL. Enter them again and away you go again until they vanish again.

Ive had two of these routers from V/fone now and both have had the exact same problem (as well as flaky wifi).

<tinfoil hat mode on>
Its almost as if V/fone picks up you've changed the DNS and forces a change on the router to drop them out. (Effectively killing your connection until you realize).
<tinfoil hat mode off>

Very frustrating - I'm putting up with it until I get some funds together for a new router.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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JonnyCam

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#1186093 1-Dec-2014 09:18

xpd:

Ive had two of these routers from V/fone now and both have had the exact same problem (as well as flaky wifi).

The router really is a piece of junk, and I had to pay $150 to VF when I went to VDSL as I wasn't a new customer.
I want to call them and ask for a new router as it's still under warranty as such, but their terrible customer service wait times make that hard.

xpd

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#1186110 1-Dec-2014 09:42

I deal with them via email and Twitter, get the right answers rather than be transferred around looking for someone who has the right answers. The few times I have called them though, and gotten through quickly, the staff have been reasonably helpful, if not always clued up on particular things.

Im surprised you had to pay for the router, I would've asked for the router for free or Im leaving - your continued custom is worth more than a $150 router.

But getting another HG659 will still put you in the same boat.... the wifi on mine is now disabled, I purchased a 3rd party wifi unit instead which has been working perfectly. (Despite ppl telling me its due to wifi congestion around me - yup, the 2 other wifi connections around me are killing my wifi on all channels - /sarcasm/ )

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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nakedmolerat

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#1186118 1-Dec-2014 09:46

This is interesting. I bought one of this and setup for a decent 4-bedroom house. They use BigPipe though.

The DNS stick just fine, even after restart and the wifi performance (which has nothing to do with BigPipe) also seems good. There are at least another 4 other routers nearby that I could see that day.

jonathan18

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#1186157 1-Dec-2014 10:02

Thanks for all the replies. It's good to know I'm not going crazy and/or doing the wrong thing!

Come on Vodafone reps - would appreciate a response here, and what is being /can be done about sorting this problem.

I already feel my parents were a little bit hoodwinked into signing up for UFB (why would anyone in their situation really need it, especially a generation that's concerned about continuity of service through power cuts), and a cruddy router that can't get such a basic thing right doesn't help the situation. How can you expect a couple in their 80s ensure the DNS settings remain correct? My parents already struggle to remember to (and then how to) update the IP address on the Getflix site when it changes!

xpd

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#1186201 1-Dec-2014 10:47

nakedmolerat: This is interesting. I bought one of this and setup for a decent 4-bedroom house. They use BigPipe though.

The DNS stick just fine, even after restart and the wifi performance (which has nothing to do with BigPipe) also seems good. There are at least another 4 other routers nearby that I could see that day.

I think its just the custom firmware that VF use that stuffs things up so much.

Factory sourced ones are probably fine with recent firmware updates etc...

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

Ruphus

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#1186731 2-Dec-2014 08:15

I've flashed my Vodafone HG659 with the Spark firmware. No issues at all and the DNS settings stick between reboots.

Demeter

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#1186741 2-Dec-2014 08:21

@jonathan18 I replied to your PM.

xpd

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#1186754 2-Dec-2014 08:48

Why is V/fone so against admitting theres a problem with these units for those people who know what theyre doing ? Yes, probably 80% of the customer base are not geeks and will never ever log into the router, but for the geeks this has been an ongoing issue for quite some time.

I kept being told that someone from the h/ware team would be in touch with me to investigate these issues but it never ever happened and every time I complained I got told the same thing again..... extremely frustrating.

I'm tempted to flash my one with the Spark firmware as mentioned above and see how it goes....

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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Demeter

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#1186779 2-Dec-2014 09:30

xpd: Why is V/fone so against admitting theres a problem with these units for those people who know what theyre doing ? Yes, probably 80% of the customer base are not geeks and will never ever log into the router, but for the geeks this has been an ongoing issue for quite some time.

I kept being told that someone from the h/ware team would be in touch with me to investigate these issues but it never ever happened and every time I complained I got told the same thing again..... extremely frustrating.

I'm tempted to flash my one with the Spark firmware as mentioned above and see how it goes....

Neither johnr or myself are in the devices team, so we're not really able to answer your question. Sorry about that.

kenkeniff

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#1186796 2-Dec-2014 09:50

Tried disabling "Remote Management" and "STUN"?: http://192.168.1.1/html/advance.html#tr069

jonathan18

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#1187900 3-Dec-2014 12:56

Thanks again for the replies; still haven't managed to solve it, though Vodafone staff (Demter) are helping.

What's happening now is that I did manage to get the DNS addresses to stick (remain visible even on re-boot), by using IE (as opposed to Chrome). But... only for a minute or so did Getflix acknowledge that the DNS settings were correct, and then it reverted to saying it wasn't set up correctly (despite the Getflix servers' addresses still being in the DNS settings on the router!).

If anyone can help I have two other questions:

1. How can I determine WHAT DNS addresses the system is using (ie, if it's not using the Getflix ones despite them being loaded, which ones is it using)? I'm assuming that, given all of my parents' devices have DNS set to auto it's being determined at the router level (or reverting to the default Vodafone DNS). Is there an instruction I can enter at the Windows command prompt to tell me this?

2. If I were to enter the Getflix DNS settings at the device level, would this have any impact on my parents' use of their devices outside of the home environment? While this wouldn't concern their Apple TV (which logically doesn't move!), but I wouldn't want to cause them problems when using their iPad or laptop away from home.

Many thanks.

ckc

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#1187906 3-Dec-2014 13:07

Hi Jonathan.

1. In Windows, go start menu > cmd > "ipconfig /all" (no quotes) and you'll get your DNS server used on the machine. On Unix/Linux/Mac, use "cat /proc/resolv.conf" The DNS server on the machine is given to it by the router.

2. Yes, it could cause issues outside the home. However, most smart DNS providers are smart, so only requests for certain sites - Netflix, iPlayer - would go through the Getflix DNS. Otherwise the Getflix DNS service is bypassed.

jonathan18

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#1187910 3-Dec-2014 13:20

ckc: Hi Jonathan.

1. In Windows, go start menu > cmd > "ipconfig /all" (no quotes) and you'll get your DNS server used on the machine. On Unix/Linux/Mac, use "cat /proc/resolv.conf" The DNS server on the machine is given to it by the router.

2. Yes, it could cause issues outside the home. However, most smart DNS providers are smart, so only requests for certain sites - Netflix, iPlayer - would go through the Getflix DNS. Otherwise the Getflix DNS service is bypassed.

Thanks, ckc, for the quick and concise answers. If I can't resolve this issue with the router I may well give it a go sticking the DNS servers in the devices.

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