Internet booster breaks local network

[Lar4ik]

After adding Internet-Booster, several times a day some WIFI devices falling off of the local network, everytime need to restart IB2 to fix this problem.

Connected Swisscom devices:

• Internet-Box 2
• WLAN-Box
• Internet-Booster

[Black Mamba]

@Lar4ik 

For more stability and better reliability

Think to change the Internet Box 2 with Internet-Box 3  - Residential customers or Centro Business 2  - Business customers

And WLAN-Box with WLAN Box 2

Internet-Booster to sue only if strictly necessary

Internet-Box 3

• Superfast WLAN with the latest Wi-Fi 6 standard: 2.4 + 5 GHz
• Ethernet port: 1 x 2.5 Gbit/s and 4 x 1 Gbit/s
• Integrated DECT base station for 5 HD telephones and 2 telephone connections
• Guest WLAN and Parental Control function
• Central storage function and VPN
• Supports all technologies on copper and fibre optics
• Transmission rates up to 10 Gbit/s with the appropriate fibre-optic link
• The best choice of all Swisscom Internet products

 

WLAN-Box 2

• An Internet-Box is required
• Supports the latest Wi-Fi standard (Wi-Fi 6) for fast Wi-Fi speed at home
• 3 functions in one device: connects TV-Box with Internet-Box and WLAN repeater and WLAN Access Point
• Automatically connects devices to the best WLAN network available
• Extensible up to 4 WLAN-Boxes
• 3 x 1 Gbit/s Ethernet connections
• Installation at the press of a button

Meilleures salutations de la Communauté francophone

Customers help customers

[Lar4ik]

New hardware that is not free cannot be a solution and I tried disabling Internet-Booster, it didn't help.

[Lar4ik]

Various connected devices are constantly disappearing from the local network. Will this be fixed with the IB2 firmware update?

[LeylaG]

Hello @Lar4ik

Are you still encountering issues with your installation?

In case of the answer is yes, feel free to contact our technical assistance https://bit.ly/3pFvCMe

[SkyBeam]

---

@Lar4ik wrote:

New hardware that is not free cannot be a solution and I tried disabling Internet-Booster, it didn't help.

---

Your reply is a bit unclear to me.

In the initial post you suspected an issue related to the booster. Now this sounds like you're also facing disconnects and drops even if the booster is not connected or powered off.

First you should check if you really need the booster. I have seen customers which have the booster still connected even after a network upgrade to g.fast where the booster is not needed any more.

If you still face issues without the booster even being connected you might try a couple of things:

• Check your local network for any rogue access points. Sometimes old WLAN devices or even Routers are still used (or re-purposed as switches) and people forget to switch off those devices, causing WLAN clients to randomly connect to those devices getting wrong or duplicate IPs or even IP conflicts etc. Make sure to create an inventory of all your network devices. Use a mobile app like "wifi analyzer" to detect all access points and assure you only run the ones you need (internet box + eventually connected WLAN boxes)
• Reset your internet box to default settings and restore settings or re-build settings
• Disable band steering in your internet box WLAN advanced settings to try if some devices potentially do not like it
• Try selecting another WiFi channel in internet box settings (usually this is not required as the box selects the best channel on restart)

[Lar4ik]

This problem appeared after install Internet-booster. My speed without booster is 30 mbps and with booster 50 mbps, but due to problems in the local network, I will have to abandon the Internet-booster and send it back to Swisscom, very sad...

[SkyBeam]

I wouldn't give up on using the booster. Even though your 30Mbps without booster aren't a totally disastrous value. Actually most users won't notice much difference in day-by-day use (meaning, non-speedtest use-case).

Also still I am confused as you stated that you tried disabling the booster and it DID NOT HELP. So what makes you believe the booster is causing the issue?

How does your topology look like? Is the booster connected to power and connected to the IB2 using a high-quality (shielded) Ethernet cable?

Also you might want to assure your IB2 is running the latest firmware.

On your IB2 in the WiFi settings you might want to try disabling band steering and potentially also configuring another WiFi channel (try channels 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4GHz). Potentially disabling 5GHz WiFi entirely for testing might help identifying some issues with some devices.

Also updating the WiFi drivers (especially if you have a laptop with crappy Intel WiFi drivers) might help increasing stability.

WiFi connection issues can have many reasons including unexpected ones like defective power supplies or microwave ovens. Having a defective device radiating with 1W in 2.4Ghz area easily causes WiFi networks with max 0.1W to pass out. That's why I recommend to change channels first.

You might also try to switch of or unplug devices for a day or two to find if one of them eventually causing radio noise and WiFi problems.

Sometimes even physical distance to other devices will make a big difference.

[Lar4ik]

When a device disappears from the local network, it only has access to the Internet and does not ping on the local network.

For example, I cannot send youtube video to smart TV, because the TV is no longer recognized on the local network.

I think this is the case in the special IB2 firmware for Internet-booster. Thats why disabling the booster does not give anything.

[SkyBeam]

---

@Lar4ik wrote:

When a device disappears from the local network, it only has access to the Internet and does not ping on the local network.

For example, I cannot send youtube video to smart TV, because the TV is no longer recognized on the local network.

I think this is the case in the special IB2 firmware for Internet-booster. Thats why disabling the booster does not give anything.

---

I am sorry but it's getting even more confusing for me.

As of my knowledge there is no special firmware for IB2 when you have a booster. I used to own a booster too and it was never deployed with a special firmware.

And how do you know that the IB2 disappears from the local network but still has internet access if you don't have access to it? By looking at the DSL light on the front as it stays solid white?

You also say "no longer recognized on the local network". But it's not clear what you mean by that. The TV might not be able to connect to internet service or it reports the network link (cable) being unplugged/down?

It is also possible that another device on your network is causing your issues. Do you have any other devices connected like different Routers, WLAN devices/routers, Powerline bridges etc?

Are you sure you plugged everything properly and creating NO LOOP?

I did actually visit a user once who reported that after certain amount of time his network is dead and only rebooting the IB resolves it for a while. It turned out the user plugged his compute into the IB and since he had a leftover cable he plugged port 2 and 3 with a loop cable. This surprisingly worked unless there was a Multicast/Broadcast packet sent in the network (e.g. from TV) which made the switch-loop cause the packet to loop and fully load the IB2 LAN side. As a result the box appeared "dead" and did not even respond to ICMP Ping any more.

Can you draw a network diagram including all your devices you have connected?

e.g.

[IB2]
  |-  Ethernet -> [Ethernet Switch xy] --> [PC2]
  |                        \----- [PC2]
  |- Ethernet -> [TV]
  |- Ethernet -> [Swisscom TV box]
  |- Ethernet -> [Booster]

It might also be handy to upload pictures here showing all cables and devices and where they are connected - e.g. pictures from the back of your IB2 with all cables connected showing where those cables are going to (which devices, Ports, Bridges, Access-Points...)

Make absolutely sure you do not create a loop. Networks are organized in Star-Topology. A switch or Router (4-Port Switch built-in into your IB2) is always connected to an end device like a PC, Laptop, TV-Box or TV.

It might also be connected to another Switch. where more devices are connected.

But NEVER EVER connect port x to port y on the same switch with a cable. Or connect two cables to the same switch like

IB2 port 1 ---> Switch Port 1

IB2 port 2 ---> Switch Port 2

As this creates a loop and the data will flow on in this loop and fully load the network:

IB port 1 --> Switch Port 1 --> Switch port 2 --> IB port 2 --> IB port 1...

And yes, for the professionals here: I know about STP but the average home user doest not.

EDIT: And as I write this I remember the IB2 supports STP.

So what you can try too is to enable STP (Spanning Tree Protocol) on your IB2:

• Log on to your IB2 web interface at http://192.168.1.1/
• Go to Network -> Settings and enable Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) at the bottom of the page

This might help to resolve the problem in case you created a loop. It does not fix the problem but if it helps you will have to find the cabling issue in your network.

[Lar4ik]

This problem did not exist before installing the booster.

My smart TV has internet access but not response in local network, I can easily check this by ping the local IP of the TV.  Only reboot IB2 helps. And this problem is not only with TV, but also with other devices in the house, and it only appeared after installing the booster.

About special firmware I mean IB2 has special firmware or activated booster mode, you can see IB2 displays booster status and also does not have direct public IP, whether the booster is enabled or not.

[Lar4ik]

Everything is connected correctly, as in your diagram, the booster is connected to the last LAN port.

[IB2]

|- Internet [VDSL2]

|- Ethernet -> [TV]

|- Ethernet -> 

|- Ethernet -> 

|- Ethernet -> [Booster]

And I have not switchers and no LAN loop.

There can be no problems with the cable, then there would be a problem with the Internet access.

Here the problem is that the devices disappear from the local network, but they do not lose the Internet access.

[SkyBeam]

---

@Lar4ik wrote:

This problem did not exist before installing the booster.

My smart TV has internet access but not response in local network, I can easily check this by ping the local IP of the TV.  Only reboot IB2 helps. And this problem is not only with TV, but also with other devices in the house, and it only appeared after installing the booster.

About special firmware I mean IB2 has special firmware or activated booster mode, you can see IB2 displays booster status and also does not have direct public IP, whether the booster is enabled or not.

---

As said multiple times already: You have not answered the question if the problem actually disappears if you just disconnect the booster. And no, different network map on the IB2 login network overview screen does not mean different firmware. It just means it's displaying this specific operation mode.

It's also not accourate that you don't have a public IP any more. In fact you have 2 public IP addresses when using the booster. One IP is the bonding IP which is used to access bonding-accelerated services (like HTTP traffic). So you will see this IP when surfing to whatIsMyIP or simply query google.

In addition to this your IB2 still has a public IP address on the DSL backend. You can see this IP in the IB2 diagnostic screen. Also when you register dyndns the dyndns entry will always point to the DSL backend IP address as this is the only one which is publicly available. So if you operate a NAS or any local services and forward ports. You can reach this service from public internet only via the DSL backend IP address, not via the bonding IP. This also means that server-services via port-forwardings are not subject to bonding acceleration. So for example if you have a DSL upstream of 10Mbps and bonding upstream of total 30Mbps you will be able to upload files to OneDrive web services with 30Mbps but accessing your local NAS via port-forwarding is limited to 10Mbps still.

I still believe there is something else wrong in your network setup (like a switching loop) causing your issues.

[SkyBeam]

---

@Lar4ik wrote:

Everything is connected correctly, as in your diagram, the booster is connected to the last LAN port.

[IB2]

|- Internet [VDSL2]

|- Ethernet -> [TV]

|- Ethernet -> 

|- Ethernet -> 

|- Ethernet -> [Booster]

And I have not switchers and no LAN loop.

There can be no problems with the cable, then there would be a problem with the Internet access.

Here the problem is that the devices disappear from the local network, but they do not lose the Internet access.

---

So can you confirm your network runs absolutely normal if you disconnect the booster and restart your IB2?

You can also reset your IB2 so it will for sure not even try to communicate to a booster.

So try this:

• Disconnect your booster
• Reset IB2
• Wait for IB2 to fully be synced again

If the connection is stable then (a couple of days):

• Power on your booster (not connecting it to IB2)
• reset your booster
• Re-connect your booster to the IB2 (direct cable connection, no switches in between)

Then check if the connection remains stable.

[Lar4ik]

I have already packed the booster and will send it to swisscom tomorrow, after they turn off the booster mode in IB2 and I hope the problem goes away. Later I will write the result here, I am 100% sure that it was the Internet-booster.

Thanks for help.

[Lar4ik]

Sorry, but I'm an IT specialist and apps developer, I've done it many times (reset/reboot/ tried beta firmawe etc).

[Black Mamba]

@Lar4ik 

in order to close a topic by the initiator, if the issue is resolved

either requires further development or material changes

please accept a post as an approved solution
to do this use the option Solution? at the bottom left of the post
Is the answer a solution to your contribution? So mark it as a solution
or use the equivalent option with the toothed wheel at the top right of the post

[Lar4ik]

Problem is not gone, but I found out that happens when one device has ben connected to Wlan Box and other directly to IB2 and from time to time they lose access to each other, device on Wlan Box cannot be access from local network but they still have access to Internet.

I think the problem appeared with the October firmware updates, because there was no such problem before.

[Piffagruth31]

Various connected devices are constantly disappearing from the local network. Will this be fixed with the IB2 firmware update?

[Black Mamba]

@Piffagruth31 

thanks for contribution

> ... Various connected devices are constantly disappearing from the local network ...

to ensure that the Customer Community can provide assistance

please specify for what type and model of device this occurs

in addition, indicate the hours at which this phenomenon occurs

as well as the local network speeds: theoretical and practical this app can help 

Swisscom Home App

Home network

Set Wi-Fi operating times and find or change the Wi-Fi password if necessary. In addition, simply activate the guest WLAN for your visit in the Home app.

Internet tests

Check the speed of your Internet connection and your WLAN with the Speed Test. The WLAN test also checks the quality of your WLAN connection at different places in your home so you can optimise performance.