I keep having to reboot my primary Linksys Velop mesh unit

Participant · 23 Apr 2023 at 10:56

Hi all

I've had a Linksys Velop mesh system with 3 nodes for about a year, using TalkTalk FTTP 500.

I'm generally very happy with it, but I sporadically (about once per week) have to reboot the parent node because it drops internet connectivity.

In my previous house using a Virgin Media router, I almost never had to do this, so something is wrong.

A key point is that I've ditched the TalkTalk provided Eero and connected the Linksys node straight into the fibre box. I did this just to simplify the network and remove unnecessary (?) components.

I suspect that my issue stems from this somehow, although from everything I've read about most mesh systems, this should work fine as they can be modems and mesh nodes both.

Does anyone have any ideas what might be causing this? Could it be something to do with when my ISP refreshes my IP address?

Many thanks.

CaNsA · 23 Apr 2023 at 11:04

I'm assuming this will be the same as most fibre setups.
Have you cloned the mac addy of the eero / informed your ISP of the new mac addy connecting their wan?

Participant · 23 Apr 2023 at 12:21

CaNsA said:
I'm assuming this will be the same as most fibre setups.
Have you cloned the mac addy of the eero / informed your ISP of the new mac addy connecting their wan?

Hi, no I have not done (or even heard of) this. I'll look into it, thanks.

CaNsA · 23 Apr 2023 at 12:28

With it being the weekend, it might be quicker to do the clone thing.
Get the wan mac address of the eero kit, put it in the mac cloning bit of the wan section of the velop.

ChrisD. · 23 Apr 2023 at 12:40

CaNsA said:
I'm assuming this will be the same as most fibre setups.
Have you cloned the mac addy of the eero / informed your ISP of the new mac addy connecting their wan?

TalkTalk is just DHCP, there should be no requirement to tell them of any new MAC addresses.

Participant · 23 Apr 2023 at 13:49

ChrisD. said:
TalkTalk is just DHCP, there should be no requirement to tell them of any new MAC addresses.

Thanks for this - are you aware of any other reasons why TalkTalk's network configuration would cause issues with connecting a non-TalkTalk modem?

Caged · 23 Apr 2023 at 13:52

Narrow down what the problem is - have you tried rebooting just the ONT when the connection dies? How about unplugging the WAN cable and connecting it again?

Participant · 23 Apr 2023 at 14:14

Caged said:
Narrow down what the problem is - have you tried rebooting just the ONT when the connection dies? How about unplugging the WAN cable and connecting it again?

I've tried neither of those so far but will do the next time.

When the problem happens there's a red light on the Velop unit connected to the OST (indicating that it has lost internet connectivity), but the OST still indicates internet connectivity, so I've never gone beyond the Velop being the problem.

I might try contacting their technical support, but I assume they'll just point to TalkTalk being at fault.

Caged · 23 Apr 2023 at 14:36

Could be something as simple as the link between the ONT and the Velop

Participant · 23 Apr 2023 at 17:31

Caged said:
Could be something as simple as the link between the ONT and the Velop

If it was a bad connection I guess power cycling it wouldn't fix it?

Maybe I'll try swapping the cables over between the two ethernet ports on the parent node.

It's peeing me off so much I'm actually considering getting rid of it and spooging on a Netgear setup.

ChrisD. · 25 Apr 2023 at 20:27

Have you contacted the manufacturer and opened a support ticket?

Participant · 26 Apr 2023 at 06:57

ChrisD. said:
Have you contacted the manufacturer and opened a support ticket?

"I might try contacting their technical support, but I assume they'll just point to TalkTalk being at fault."

I also had a terrible experience with them the first time I contacted their technical support. It was a total waste of time and they were useless, so I'm reluctant to bother again but I suppose I can't lose too much.

ChrisD. · 26 Apr 2023 at 07:39

Bet they have good reviews, though?

Participant · 30 Apr 2023 at 08:32

Caged said:
Narrow down what the problem is - have you tried rebooting just the ONT when the connection dies? How about unplugging the WAN cable and connecting it again?

Caged said:
Could be something as simple as the link between the ONT and the Velop

Well it happened again this morning and this time I did the troubleshooting advice in this thread, specifically starting with unplugging the black cable between the ONT and the Velop (acting as a router) in this picture:

This time, the internet re-established without needing to reboot anything.

What could be causing this? My first thought was bad cable, so I've immediately swapped it out for a new one to see if if happens again.

Many thanks for the help and ideas, also @ChrisD. I never thought unplugging an ethernet cable it and plugging it back again would achieve anything!

Edit: I guess if it happens again it could be a fault ONT and I'd need to go back to TalkTalk? Unless the Velop is somehow at fault and loses connection with the ONT until reconnected?

Caged · 30 Apr 2023 at 11:07

Next step, though slightly tedious, would be to put a small unmanaged switch in the middle, so you go [ONT] --- cable --- [Switch] --- cable --- [Velop]

By only unplugging one cable this lets you see which device dropping the physical link on restores the service.

Participant · 30 Apr 2023 at 11:24

Caged said:
Next step, though slightly tedious, would be to put a small unmanaged switch in the middle, so you go [ONT] --- cable --- [Switch] --- cable --- [Velop]

By only unplugging one cable this lets you see which device dropping the physical link on restores the service.

Good shout, I already have a basic switch next to the Velop so will send the ONT connection through the switch if it happens again and see if that sorts it. Thanks.

Caged · 30 Apr 2023 at 12:18

If resetting the interface on the ONT brings things back up then I'd push for an ONT replacement

Participant · 21 May 2023 at 08:37

Caged said:
If resetting the interface on the ONT brings things back up then I'd push for an ONT replacement

Not a single recurrence so far. It has been rock solid.

It looks like a simple cable swap / reconnect has solved the issue.

It really didn't cross my mind that it could be the cable as they're normally very reliable indeed.

Great that it was (seemingly) a cheap and simple fix though.