HG659 limitations on connected devices

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RyanAnderson

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#243598 19-Dec-2018 21:17

OK, I'll try to explain as best I can, what the problem is (I'm a dinosaur at this stuff, so please go easy)

At work (a Digital Photo Lab) we have Vodafone Fibre and a Huawai HG659 Wifi Modem/Router. We use an implementation of Dropbox to allow customers to connect their smartphones to our Wifi to upload photos for printing. On busy days, we can end up with 80 to 100 people or more doing this during the course of the day, but after about 30 to 40 customers have been in and connected (and left) the WiFi no longer accepts connections. There seems to be only two ways out of this

1. Restart the modem/router

2. Login to the modem and manually delete smartphone connections.

The problem seems to be that the modem/router "hangs on" to connections even after the customer has left. I have personally confirmed this by connecting my smartphone, then leaving the shop and going far enough away so that I am no longer connected, then turning the phone off. When I come back and login to the modem, my phone shows as a live connection even thought it is turned off.

I have both the 2.4 ghz and the 5 ghz enabled, and also have the Guest system enabled on both 2.4 and 5 i.e. there is a choice of four wifi connections that customers can choose from;

shop

shop-5

guest

guest-5

Does anyone know of a solution to this problem?

Is there a setting that will allow me to force connections to be dropped after a certain period of time with no activity?

Is there any way to increase the number of connections?

I have a second identical HG659, and I also have a Linksys X3500 (non-fibre). Is there any way that either of these can be used to expand the number of allowed connections?

Linux

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#2148109 19-Dec-2018 21:27

Has the AP / Modem got software version B026 installed on it?

John

RyanAnderson

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#2148114 19-Dec-2018 21:52

I'll have to check that tomorrow when I get to work.

How do I find the firmware version?

Linux

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#2148115 19-Dec-2018 21:53

log into the modem user interface and you will see it in one of the tabs with B026 on the end of it

John

sbiddle

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#2148117 19-Dec-2018 22:01

The router has both limitations on the number of connected WiFi + Ethernet devices, and DHCP pool restrictions.

You should really be using hardware better suited to your requirements, especially as you're giving public access to your network.

hio77

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#2148118 19-Dec-2018 22:03

The latest VF Firmware does help a little with this, but to be clear it's kinda a device limitation.

16 devices per band or 32 maximum before it will start getting upset.

The VF Firmware fixes their issue where it would drop rules after a device dropped off the list.

For what your doing, I'd recommend getting a proper setup done even if it's just basic.

Will both improve the customer experience and allow you to segregate customer data from your business (which right now clearly would be wide open to someone nasty..)

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

RyanAnderson

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#2148126 19-Dec-2018 23:15

Linux:

log into the modem user interface and you will see it in one of the tabs with B026 on the end of it

John

Had to go to work to get my phone (Doh)

Is this it

Product type: HG659
Device ID: -------------------------
Hardware version: VER.B
Software version: V100R001C206B020

(Blanked the device ID - not sure if I should post that)

RyanAnderson

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#2148127 19-Dec-2018 23:22

hio77:

The latest VF Firmware does help a little with this, but to be clear it's kinda a device limitation.

16 devices per band or 32 maximum before it will start getting upset.

The VF Firmware fixes their issue where it would drop rules after a device dropped off the list.

For what your doing, I'd recommend getting a proper setup done even if it's just basic.

Will both improve the customer experience and allow you to segregate customer data from your business (which right now clearly would be wide open to someone nasty..)

A friend of mine who works for an IT company that installs Internet in remote locations suggested this

Thoughts?

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jonherries

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#2148128 19-Dec-2018 23:30

Seems dodgy to be letting them connect directly to your network.

If we disregard that, maybe an easy answer is to reduce the DHCP lease time right down?

Jon

RyanAnderson

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#2148131 20-Dec-2018 00:16

jonherries: Seems dodgy to be letting them connect directly to your network.

If we disregard that, maybe an easy answer is to reduce the DHCP lease time right down?

Jon

Unfortunately, its a necessary risk. We need to give customers access to our printers for document printing direct from their phones, and to our internet connection to upload photos. Uploading dozens, sometimes hundreds of photos via the customer's own 4G (and sometimes 3G) data is just too slow.--- the Wifi+Fibre is lightning fast; hundreds of photos is few seconds instead on the fibre, several minutes minutes via 4G. Customer don't want to (and in fact don't) wait around for several minutes while the stuff is sent to us.

We do take the precaution of turning the WiFi off outside of shop hours.

Aredwood

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#2148132 20-Dec-2018 00:20

You need a new router. The device linked above is a WiFi access point.

As you need a separate guest network separated from your company LAN for security reasons as already said. And you want the ability to run separate DHCP servers for the guest network and your company LAN.

You also need a commercial grade router, not an ISP all in one device. And with due respect to your friend, this sounds like it is out of his depth. As he suggested an access point, when you actually have a router problem. Not a WiFi problem.

Consider also the privacy of the photos that you are processing / printing. At least some of them are likely to be photos that your customers won't want to be leaked onto the internet or to hackers. So it is important that you do everything properly.

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#2148133 20-Dec-2018 00:50

You need to update the firmware B20 is a old version the update is on the VodafoneNZ site

John

sbiddle

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#2148141 20-Dec-2018 06:58

RyanAnderson:

hio77:

The latest VF Firmware does help a little with this, but to be clear it's kinda a device limitation.

16 devices per band or 32 maximum before it will start getting upset.

The VF Firmware fixes their issue where it would drop rules after a device dropped off the list.

For what your doing, I'd recommend getting a proper setup done even if it's just basic.

Will both improve the customer experience and allow you to segregate customer data from your business (which right now clearly would be wide open to someone nasty..)

A friend of mine who works for an IT company that installs Internet in remote locations suggested this

Thoughts?

You don't just need a WiFi access point - you need a new router and a properly engineered solution from somebody who understands what the issue is and how your network is put together. In fairness your friend if that's their recommendation they're not much of an expert in this space so you'll really need to get in somebody to look at your setup.

Exposing your internal network to customers via WiFi is just incredibly poor security wise in so many ways but without understanding exactly what your customers do and what access is required to these devices it's hard to recommend a solution. Any solution however will require an expert - it's not doing to be a DIY exercise.

RyanAnderson

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#2148184 20-Dec-2018 08:50

Excellent replies gentlemen (and ladies perhaps) and exactly the sort of advice I was wanting.

There is a local IT company who may be able to help with thus so I will be contacting them this morning to see if they can help.

Paul1977

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#2148692 21-Dec-2018 09:48

Aredwood:You also need a commercial grade router, not an ISP all in one device. And with due respect to your friend, this sounds like it is out of his depth. As he suggested an access point, when you actually have a router problem. Not a WiFi problem.

In fairness to the OPs friend, he does have a WiFi problem as well and the UniFi AP could certainly be part of a solution - it's just not the entire solution. And we don't know how much info his friend had when making the recommendation.

@RyanAnderson it sounds like you have previously made some assumptions on what is and isn't possible, as you thought allowing clients onto your internal network was "a necessary risk". As others have stated it is most certainly NOT necessary at all - and if any IT specialist you engage tells you it is, then look elsewhere.