New Vodafone HG659 doesn't like Apple Time Machine or AirPort Extreme and NAS

Forums › New Zealand Broadband › New Vodafone HG659 doesn't like Apple Time Machine or AirPort Extreme and NAS - home network fail

Nakibloke

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#191597 9-Feb-2016 21:44

Hi there,
I am new and a bit slow so please show mercy.

The setup:

I have an all Apple environment (yes one of them) and am not very bright.
My Vodafone Station recently died and the kind people at Vodafone sent me a new Huawei HG659 for our adsl broadband as we are rural.
At home we have the HG659 at one end of the property connected by (LAN1) Ethernet cable to a 2015 iMac.
We then have another Ethernet cable (LAN2) connected to an Apple Time Machine Gen 2 at the other end of the house set to bridge mode as a wifi access point and router.
The Time Machine is then connected to a Mac Mini by Ethernet cable.
The time machine also connects to an Apple AirPort Extreme Gen 3 (also in bridge mode) in our shed via Ethernet cable.
The AirPort Extreme has a Western Digital 2TB powered hard disk which we store media, photos etc.

We have a bunch of airport expresses mostly connected via wifi to AirPlay music as well, one is via Ethernet cable to the AirPort Extreme in the shed.

The issue:

As soon as I plug in LAN2 ie HG659 to the Time Machine everything turns to custard.
The ethernet to the iMac appears visible on network settings on the iMac but the machine can not browse the net.

The Airport Utlity keeps losing visibility of the Time Machine and shows the Ethernet as orange and the AirPort Extreme and the Airport Expresses connect and disconnect randomly.
The whole home network has ground to a halt.

I spoke to Vodafone (many times as this has been going on for a week or so and the polite tech said if they are getting Ethernet and wifi to their modem router they have met their contractual obligations to me. In other words...burn.
I have seen others have had this problem and am looking for the simplest option for a non tech person.

I can follow basic instructions if you speak slowly and provide pictures.
I realise I may need to buy a new modem router, happy to do that if that's the simplest solution but might need some help to find one that will work and configure.

I hope someone can help and thanks for taking the time to read.
Sorry if this is not in the right spot...

Lias

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#1488442 9-Feb-2016 22:30

Yeah that's definitely NOT a Vodafone problem.

That is quite possibly the most bizarre jury rigged home network I've ever heard of, but what you are describing sounds like a broadcast storm.

The laymen's explanation of that is you have a loop somewhere in the network, which in turn causes broadcast packets to multiply and as you say things turn to custard.

I'm a geek, a gamer, a dad, a Quic user, and an IT Professional. I have a full rack home lab, size 15 feet, an epic beard and Asperger's. I'm a bit of a Cypherpunk, who believes information wants to be free and the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it. If you use my Quic signup you can also use the code R570394EKGIZ8 for free setup.

Nakibloke

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1488444 9-Feb-2016 22:36

Well the thing is that the whole system worked sweet as for four years, no drama, stable as, never had a problem,lit the whole property up with wifi, AirPlay from anywhere to anywhere, access everything from anywhere... But now... Googling people say it is the locked down Huawei modem... Any suggestions?

nakedmolerat

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#1488503 9-Feb-2016 23:53

I think the answer is in your first post.

Can you borrow a different modem/router to try it out?

HG659 is an OK device but there are a few threads on geekzone discussing lots of issues.

dylanp

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#1488540 10-Feb-2016 08:44

nakedmolerat: ... HG659 is an OK device but there are a few threads on geekzone discussing lots of issues.

Yes, there were a couple of issues, but the huge majority are fixed with the firmware update last year. Here's the link with more details and download http://help.vodafone.co.nz/app/answers/detail/a_id/24400/ The HG659 is a very good modem, it's worked very well for us.

To check the firmware version you're on, browse to http://192.168.1.1 then click on Status Information. If the firmware version ends in 19 or 20, no update needed. If it ends in 13, please update the firmware from the link above. The tech support team would have probably already checked this and modems should be shipping with the current firmware now.

shk292

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#1488597 10-Feb-2016 09:54

Could this just be an IP addressing problem? Some of the devices could be set up with static local addresses that are no longer in the range supported by the HG659. Easiest way to rectify would be to check whether the local address range supported by the HG659 is the same as that for your old router

sbiddle

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#1488613 10-Feb-2016 10:15

I'm still very confused by the setup. If you have an iMac connected via Ethernet to the HG659 and then a seperate router at the other end of the house you've potentially got devices on completely different subnets. If the first iMac tried to connect to the time machine it's easily got the potential to create a routing loop, hence a network flood which is very similar to what you're decribing.

Nakibloke

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1490443 11-Feb-2016 14:44

Hi all, I am pleased to advise that I tried an old school approach- turned everything off.
Factory reset each device as I turned each one on as per Apple specs.
And it's all fired up and working again - yay.
Thanks for your time and help.