Unifi USG dropping off Internet

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gcorgnet

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#288233 15-Jun-2021 10:53

Hey guys,

I have been rocking a USG for a couple of years on a 2Degrees Fibre connection without any issues.

ONT -> USG -> Unifi Switch -> (ethernet) -> Desktop PC

A couple of nights ago, the internet suddenly stopped working across the whole network. I spent hours trying to restart / reset things to no avail.
I ended up able to get online using the old Fritzbox but no dice with the USG.
When I would browse directly to the USG, I had a basic interface saying the USG could not reach the internet.
The Tech support guy said he could see my connection on his side and that things looked fine.

Eventually managed to get it working (not sure how, unfortunately) while on the phone to Tech Support who said he reset my broadband password to something I provided him.

Internet was working fine all night and dropped off again this morning.
Getting confused and frustrated around what's happening with this.

Would anyone have some personal experience I could draw from in terms of what to look for?

Thanks a lot!

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#2729018 15-Jun-2021 10:57

Any changes on the controller side?

One easy enough test - reset the USG so its not adopted. Browse to its private IP and setup the WAN link and check it connects.
Then setup the LAN subnet without the controller and see if you have any issues.

-- opinions expressed by me are solely my own. ie - personal

SumnerBoy

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#2729019 15-Jun-2021 10:59

Do you have any of the DPI options enabled?

I had these on and was having all sorts of problems with my USG, internet dropping out 2-3 times a day for 1-10 mins at a time.

Once I disabled DPI completely it has been fine.

hairy1

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#2729020 15-Jun-2021 11:04

Just as a heads up I had this happen with a USG. After a lot of headaches with factory reset and restoring backups the only thing that worked for me was a full factory reset and setup from scratch. YMMV.

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

gcorgnet

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#2729023 15-Jun-2021 11:07

Jiriteach:

Any changes on the controller side?

One easy enough test - reset the USG so its not adopted. Browse to its private IP and setup the WAN link and check it connects.
Then setup the LAN subnet without the controller and see if you have any issues.

I did this on the night it happened and it was not connecting to the internet (even while not adopted), or so it said.

Jiriteach

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#2729033 15-Jun-2021 11:30

gcorgnet:

Jiriteach:

Any changes on the controller side?

One easy enough test - reset the USG so its not adopted. Browse to its private IP and setup the WAN link and check it connects.
Then setup the LAN subnet without the controller and see if you have any issues.

I did this on the night it happened and it was not connecting to the internet (even while not adopted), or so it said.

Interesting. Could be firmware related then? or weirdly - have you checked ports/cables with a network tester etc?

-- opinions expressed by me are solely my own. ie - personal

gcorgnet

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#2729047 15-Jun-2021 11:54

SumnerBoy:

Do you have any of the DPI options enabled?

I had these on and was having all sorts of problems with my USG, internet dropping out 2-3 times a day for 1-10 mins at a time.

Once I disabled DPI completely it has been fine.

I think I do. I'll try this, thanks

gcorgnet

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#2729048 15-Jun-2021 11:55

Jiriteach:

Interesting. Could be firmware related then? or weirdly - have you checked ports/cables with a network tester etc?

I haven't tested my cables yet. I'll try and swap them out to eliminate this out. Thanks

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gcorgnet

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#2729049 15-Jun-2021 11:57

hairy1:

Just as a heads up I had this happen with a USG. After a lot of headaches with factory reset and restoring backups the only thing that worked for me was a full factory reset and setup from scratch. YMMV.

Thanks, pretty much did this. Factory reset and key in the PPPoE details. Even before I got it adopted to the controller, the thing wouldn't connect. Which really made me think the issue was between the USG, the ONT, or the Provider.

I have custom DNS settings (local Adguard) but my understanding is that getting the USG set up from scratch should take this out of the equation.

gcorgnet

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#2729307 15-Jun-2021 19:23

OK, just to send an update. I spent another 1h with a lovely guy from Tech Support.

He reckoned he could see my connection live on his end, even after I had disconnected everything (Nothing plugged to the ONT, no activity on the ONT lights)
He killed my connection on his end and after a factory reset of the Fritzbox, we were good to go.

Then I was finally able to plug in my USG back and got it working (after a power cycle)
We also ended up resetting my boradband password but I'm still not sure if that was a requirement or not...

Weird thing is that originally (while my connection was "stuck" live) I was not able to even get the Fritzbox to work, not even after doing factory resets..
So still not sure if the problem lies on my end or theirs... (or both!)

Cheers

fe31nz

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#2729399 16-Jun-2021 01:38

Depending on how the router your connection goes to works, it is possible that it is remembering the MAC address of the device it is connected to and will only connect to a device with the same MAC address, at least until some long timeout happens. To prevent that sort of problem, when I configured my ERL and later my ER4 I made them use my FritzBox's MAC address on their eth0 (WAN) port. So in theory I can swap between my ER4 and FritzBox at will without getting any problems.

I have a line line this in my config:

set interfaces ethernet eth0 mac 'xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx'

My FritzBox has its MAC address on the label on its underside.

I have no idea if this is actually necessary, but I had the ability to do it, so I did, just in case. If it is happening, then it would explain why switching quickly between your two routers does not work.

One other thing to think about - I have not seen a USG but on the web it looks very like my ERLs. So I expect it uses an external plug pack power supply. The plug packs that came with my two ERLs have both died in the same way, where the ERL looked like it was working, but did not actually connect to anything. A meter on the plug pack when not on load showed the right voltage, but replacing the plug pack with a much more reliable one I got from Jaycar fixed the problem in both cases. So if you have had your USG for more than a year or two, I would suspect that its power supply is gradually dying and that could be causing your problems. The failure mode of my plug packs was such that I thought they were simply unable to provide the peak amps required any more, so when the ERLs got busy, they would be starved for power and do funny things. So it might pay to check and see if you have another compatible plug pack somewhere and if you have more problems with the USG, try using that instead.

gcorgnet

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#2729404 16-Jun-2021 06:42

Thanks a lot @fe31nz for your detailed reply and good to know about the MAC address, something to keep in mind.
At the end of the day, I'm not really interested in running the Fritzbox (from memory, it wasn't all that stable and only has so many LAN ports)

Very interesting point about the power supply though and it made me realise I have been using a Sentry Lite to keep things powered up and there's a decent chance that the power it supplies to the USG is not what it used to be, making the USG crap out the connection (but looking like it's still up)

If/When this happens again, I will swap out the Sentry Lite for the original Power Supply and see how I go. Thanks a lot for this, I have a feeling this will help!

richms

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#2729415 16-Jun-2021 08:27

at another place with a USG there was many issues with it prior to it dying totally. where it would freeze up long enough that things didnt work, It seemed to be pingable on the internal but nothing worked for a long period of time. Couple of weeks later it wouldn't start up at all. Another dead USB stick inside it. When my one died it just did it outright one evening.

Hardest part about restoring them to working is finding a stick that physically fits in the board mounted USB socket. Then just image that stick with the file from ubiquiti using win32diskimager and its away again.

Richard rich.ms

gcorgnet

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#2729416 16-Jun-2021 08:30

richms:

at another place with a USG there was many issues with it prior to it dying totally. where it would freeze up long enough that things didnt work, It seemed to be pingable on the internal but nothing worked for a long period of time. Couple of weeks later it wouldn't start up at all. Another dead USB stick inside it. When my one died it just did it outright one evening.

Hardest part about restoring them to working is finding a stick that physically fits in the board mounted USB socket. Then just image that stick with the file from ubiquiti using win32diskimager and its away again.

Wow, interesting. Are you saying we can "repair" a failing USG by swapping a USB stick that's inside of it with a properly flashed off the shelf stick? fascinating stuff and strange design too!
I mean if this means a solid internet, I would be happy enough with paying $200 for a new USG in all honesty

Ge0rge

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#2729421 16-Jun-2021 08:44

USG-3 or USG-4?

I have a USG-3 that I no longer use, could be open to an offer if you'd like it. Probably got a Cloud Key sitting there somewhere too I could dig out.

gcorgnet

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#2729422 16-Jun-2021 08:47

Ge0rge: USG-3 or USG-4?

I have a USG-3 that I no longer use, could be open to an offer if you'd like it. Probably got a Cloud Key sitting there somewhere too I could dig out.

USG-3 mate. I'll see if it's as easy as swapping out the power supply first but thanks, will be in touch in interested!

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