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Forum Discussion
HomePod Not Showing Up on Orbi RBR20; some other device is
Is it normal for an Apple HomePod not to show up on the list of attached devices? I am in Passthrough mode with an ATT Gateway (but WiFi is still enabled on ATT, since turning those off caused i...
mapalm418 wrote:
Is it normal for an Apple HomePod not to show up on the list of attached devices?
I am in Passthrough mode with an ATT Gateway (but WiFi is still enabled on ATT, since turning those off caused issues). I know the HomePod is attached, but I don't see it on the list.
I even tried resetting the HomePod, but it still doesn't show up.
Also, there is an unknown device attached with a MAC address that is unidentifiable.
Is there any way to figure out what it is?
"Normal", no. Every device should show up in the web page Attached Devices. (There have been reports of the Orbi "app" missing devices, particularly on the Apple version of the app.)
Passthrough mode and WiFi enabled seem mutually exclusive. In Passthrough mode, the public IP address is handed off to a router connected to the ISP device, and that device handles all IP assignments to the local LAN which is attached to the router. Enabled WiFi implies that the AT&T device is holding the public IP address and assigning IP's to devices attached to its WiFi. Or....maybe in AT&T-speak Passthrough is equivalent to what the rest of us call "DMZ". No matter, this is not the subject of the post.
I'm guessing that:
- The HomePod is connected to the Orbi WiFi and not the AT&TWiFi.
- The HomePod information shows that it has a different MAC address than this mystery device
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208347
What this screen calls "WiFi Address" is the MAC address of the device which should show up on the Attached Devices screen.
There are several ways to discover the identity of unknown devices:
- Elimination. Make a list of all attached devices. Cross off all the devices which you know are certain are working.
What's left? Is there any device you think is connected to the network, but has not shown up on the list?
(Maybe the HomePod?) Power that device off, wait for the Attached Devices to have time to refresh (which can be 5-7 minutes). Does the mystery device disappear? - Look at the OUI code. Attached devices shows the MAC address of this device. Open this web page and enter the MAC address:
https://www.wireshark.org/tools/oui-lookup.html - Force the issue. Go into the Advanced Tab, Security, Access Control.
Enable Access Control.
Select the mystery device and click "Block"
Click "Apply"
Pretty soon, somebody should come yelling Daaaaaaaaad (Or Mommmmmmmm), My "(*&%^&" isn't working.
Yeah, I had turned off the ATT WiFi radios, but that caused problems on the ATT end, and I got buffering on my Apple TV. So I had ATT turn the radios back on.
None of my devices are, or have ever been, connected to the ATT WiFi network. Everything is on my Orbi Network.
I have identified the HomePod MAC address. It actually shows in the list of previously attached devices as "wired," which is maybe an Apple/Orbi issue?
The unknown device is definitely not the HomePod. Because the MAC address doesn't match the HomePod MAC address.
I only have 10 devices connected, and I recognize all but the unknown one. And I cannot think of what the unknown one might be.
I guess I could just block it and see what hasppens, as you said.
mapalm418 wrote:
I have identified the HomePod MAC address. It actually shows in the list of previously attached devices as "wired," which is maybe an Apple/Orbi issue?
Orbi keeps a record of every device that has been attached. (I don't know for how long or if the record is erased when the router is reset.) Since this table appears on the Access Control page, my assumption is that it is tied to the concept of "new" devices. If "new" devies are blocked by Access Control, then Orbi has to have a way to know that some device is "not new".
One of the things about modern operating systems (iOS starting inversion 14.x, also Android, and newer Windows) is that the default is to create a fake MAC address when connecting to WiFi systems. Apple and Android call it "randomized MAC address". Internet search turns up tons of articles about how Big Brother could possibly track our behavior and identify us if the same MAC address connects to WiFi access points. "Aha, YOUR iPhone connected to Starbucks WiFi about the time it was robbed!!!" or, "Wonder who this guy is with an iPad who goes to this coffee shop in the morning, to MacDonald's for lunch, and then....."
It annoys the h**l out of me because I assign IP addresses to devices based on IP address and every time there is software update, that setting goes back to the default. My phone is no longer 192.168.1.19. WTF!!!!! Aha, switch the setting again. (I gave up on the Wife's iPhone because it gets updates all the time.)
Sorry for the rant, but...... I have found no evidence that the Apple HomePod does this. But I would power that succer off and see if the mystery device goes away.
What's astrange is when I had the ATT WiFi radios turned off for 2 days, the HomePod did show up in the list of attached devices.
Also, powering it down now did not get rid of the mystery device.