Orcon Genius modem - wireless & wired communication problem

Forums › 2degrees (including Slingshot, Orcon, Flip, Stuff Fibre, MyRepublic, 2talk and Vocus) › Orcon Genius modem - wireless & wired communication problem

agent86

80 posts

Master Geek

#133828 4-Nov-2013 13:20

Hi all,

I tried tackling an issue over the weekend where devices connected through WiFi to my Orcon lite modem can't see the ones connected through an ethernet connection.
I've seen a similar thread http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=82&topicid=129112, but I made sure it was connected to the SSID "Orcon wireless" and the computer was plugged directly in the modem.

This is what I tried.

Connected my mobile phone to the modem's WiFi, Laptop wired into modem - ping from phone to laptop results in "Host unreachable".
Same as above - ping from laptop to phone results in "Host unreachable".
Desktop connected to a switch, connected to the modem - ping both the laptop and phone, laptop returns result but phone is unreachable.
Tried connecting from AV Receiver to a DLNA server on a NAS connected to the switch - it couldn't find the NAS.
I have an old router which I use to extend WiFi upstairs (DHCP off, set IP out of DHCP range, and connected to the switch), and can access wireless and wired devices both ways from it's SSID.

All devices on the entire network can access the internet no problem, and I'm fairly sure I didn't change any other settings other than the WiFi pass phrase and port forwarding.
Tried looking for a setting similar to wireless isolation mode, but nothing really jumped out at me.
This set-up was working with my old modem when I was with WxC.
I'm no network expert, can anyone please share their expertise?

Thanks!

ubergeeknz

3344 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Vocus

#926978 4-Nov-2013 13:26

Hi,

I have this setup at home and wifi and wired devices can communicate just fine.

I suggest you reset your genius to factory defaults, and try over.

Edit: Be aware you can't use LAN Port 4 as it's reserved for UFB...

Cheers

Dan

agent86

80 posts

Master Geek

#926983 4-Nov-2013 13:33

Hi Dan,

Thanks for your reply.
I thought about doing that yesterday, but I read (from the modem's admin interface) that I'd have to backup the settings before doing a factory reset otherwise it wouldn't reconnect to the internet?
I guess it wipes the account data too.
After I made the backup I browsed the xml file it created and saw that all wireless settings were also backed up as they should be.
But wouldn't restoring the settings just bring the problem back if in-fact it is a setting that's causing it?

Cheers!

ubergeeknz

3344 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Vocus

#926985 4-Nov-2013 13:40

Hi,

The modem will automatically download all of the settings required to connect you to the internet and get your phone up and running. Note that after you do a factory reset you should let it do its thing for 20 minutes or so.

You'll lose any custom settings, but it's most likely one of those causing the problem so restoring it is not a good idea :)

HTH Dan

agent86

80 posts

Master Geek

#926994 4-Nov-2013 13:44

Thanks Dan for the clarification, that was the only thing stopping me from attempting a factory reset.
Will try it when I get home, and post the result.

Cheers.

ubergeeknz

3344 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Vocus

#926995 4-Nov-2013 13:46

If you get stuck just PM me and I can take a look - i'll need your orcon u/n.

agent86

80 posts

Master Geek

#927290 4-Nov-2013 22:18

Thanks ubergeeknz, I'll keep that in mind.
Update:
So after several factory multiple restarts and a couple of factory resets it seems better.
I made my changes to the settings one by one, trying to ping.
At times, it would fail, but a reboot fixed that.
I changed the SSID to the wireless and the ping failed (hence the second reset, seems a bit temperamental).
So far the settings I've changed:

Changed Primary SSID name and hidden it (to match Netgear's SSID for wireless roaming).
Added Secondary SSID.
Changed wireless channel
Changed primary passphrase, added secondary passphrase
Changed router ip.

Now, I can connect to other devices such as the NAS with a laptop connected through the modem on wireless.
Strangely, I still can't connect with my phone or tablet both running Android. (OS discrimination?) :-P

ubergeeknz

3344 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Vocus

#927294 4-Nov-2013 22:22

Can I ask why you want a second SSID? I can't say I've ever tested that, so it may be causing some of your issues.

Edit: also I wouldn't bother with hiding your SSID. The security gains are minimal and it makes it more difficult to connect devices...

Here's a few more tips, based on personal experience...

I recommend channel 1, 6, or 11 and set to 20Mhz bandwidth. Use InSSIDer or similar to choose the quietest channel.

If you use channel 13 it might cause some devices to be unable to connect (as that's a channel not allowed in the US).

Hope that helps!

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agent86

80 posts

Master Geek

#927320 4-Nov-2013 23:05

Cheers Uber.
I've always used 2 SSIDs as my old Netgear router has a guest SSID for visitors giving them internet access only, stopping them from snooping around my network.
I know using the second SSID on the Orcon modern doesn't give the same control as the Netgear, but all my friends already have that SSID and passphrase stored on their devices. I put that down to laziness. :-P

Thanks for the tip, I'll try it on 20Mhz.
Number 3 in my list was the change to channel 11 after using inSSIDer. :-)

BTW the 2nd SSID seems to work fine. I still had the connection issues before I enabled it, which still puzzles me. It's not quite 100% but if it's just android devices that can't access my NAS I think I can live with that.

Hopefully someone else who encounters this finds this post useful.

ubergeeknz

3344 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Vocus

#927323 4-Nov-2013 23:11

Cool, sounds like you have got it sorted.

Not sure why you'd have problems specifically with Android devices, I have no such issues and have a couple of machines (a Pogoplug running Arch and a laptop running Ubuntu) attached via LAN. iOS and Android can all talk to them just fine and vice-versa. uPNP works fine too.

You can put the 2nd SSID in a seperate VLAN, if you want, and then control what that VLAN can talk to (eg, restrict it from talking to your own devices and give it internet access only). I just have never tried it myself :)

linw

2850 posts

Uber Geek

#927364 5-Nov-2013 08:20

I don't have any problem with Android connections to my NAS or other devices, either.

agent86

80 posts

Master Geek

#927441 5-Nov-2013 09:47

Yeah it's a weird issue.
There's no logical reason why one device should have a problem connecting while others don't.
I'm a little loathed go a second if not third round with the modem.
Maybe I'll give it one more shot tomorrow.
One thing I didn't test is testing the connection between a phone and NAS after s factory reset.
Which I didn't do because I'd have to change the static IP address of the NAS within the 10.1.1x IP range. (maybe I should bite the bullet and shift all static IPs within that range).

Are there any others out there changing the IP of the modem, wireless SSID names etc and don't have any internal connection issues (I'm guessing not everyone uses stock settings).

Cheers!

agent86

80 posts

Master Geek

#928391 6-Nov-2013 20:47

Update:
So once again I tried a factory reset of the modem.
I changed the IP address of my Netgear router and NAS to match the IP range of the default Orcon Genius modem.
With the factory settings the original problem had returned.
My phone and laptop connected to the Orcon-Wireless was unable to connect to or ping my NAS.
I used Fing on my phone to do a network discovery.
Only my phone and laptop appeared when connected to the modem's wireless.
But once I connected to my Netgear wireless, all the devices appeared.
I tried changing the ports and cables between my modem and switch, even bypassing the switch altogether but the result was still the same.
Curiously the DHCP list in the Orcon modem listed all the devices, but couldn't communicate them via its own wireless connection.
I might just have to live with it and just use my Netgear's wireless. :-(