WNCE2001 inappropriately providing DHCP connections

OldGeezer -

Based on the other posts on this thread, the problem is not the result of anything you are doing wrong. The device is not supposed to be capable of doing this. You are not the only person having this problem. There is clearly a difference between the manufacturer's intention and what really happens.

Your observations about the lights on the WNCE and your report about the fix are interesting. I've never noticed which lights were on or off when I have had this problem, but your observations seem consistent with the way this problem shows up for me. Does the problem appear only when your television has been off for a while, or does it also appear when your TV is on?

If it is not too late for you to exchange your WNCE, it might be worth your while to see if you can get a different one. This could be an occasional manufacturing defect. If you DO get a different WNCE, please post about whether the change fixes the problem.

I've upgraded the firmware and its not done it again for the last three days!

It may have fixed it.

Yes it was when the TV had been in standby - but now been OK for a a few days - fingers crossed.

Suggest you try the firmware upgrade and see if it does it for you too.

Thanks for the info and recommendation. I will check for firmware update and install this weekend. I'll post my test results (either when the problem reappears, or after about a week if there are no problems).

OldGeezer -

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to post my reply. Your recommendation about updating my firmware was SPOT-ON! :D

I had been relying on the automatic update of the firmware. When queried the WNCE2001 reported that its firmware was up-to-date. Not so. My firmware was at version 1.0.0.21. The current version is 1.0.0.26. It is apparently a known bug that the version check software does not always operate properly, but I only found out about it by looking at the WNCE2001 Firmware Version 1.0.0.25 page (http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/16766/kw/WNCE2001%20Firmware%20Version%201.0.0.25): New Features & Enhancements: 5. Fix “Can’t detect newer firmware version from auto firmware upgrade checking.”
I followed the instructions for manual installation of the the WNCE2001 Firmware Version 1.0.0.26 upgrade from http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/17474/~/wnce2001-firmware-version-1.0.0.26 and they worked.

My NetGear WNCE2001 has now been up continuously for over 2 weeks without ONCE interfering with my network. So....

:DTIP OF THE HAT to OldGeezer:
Thank you for posting your helpful reply to this thread. In spite of your stated lack of tech savvy, you provided the correct solution to my problem.

:mad:WAG OF THE FINGER to jmizoguchi:
For shame! You are a "Senior Member" "NetGear Fanatic" and respond so quickly and consistently to posts that you appear to be the forum moderator. In spite of that, your "advice" consisted of insisting that the problem could not *possibly* be the WNCE2001 but was possibly the result of inadequate network security. Apparently unaware of known auto-update problems you never even inquired about the firmware version on the device (which turned out to be the root problem). Heck, you didn't even have access to an instance of this device, but you still insisted quoting the device specs as support for your "the WNCE2001 can't behave that way" argument. Your advice fell far short of your hype.
Perhaps you should consider adding OldGeezer's sage advice to your arsenal (except when the problem relates to installing a firmware update) - "Check your firmware version. It might require a manual update, but updating might fix your problem".

I am experiencing this problem too, and thanks to this forum have now discovered the conundrum which keeps wireless devices from connecting to the Internet in my Household.

HOWEVER, I checked the firmware revision on the two devices I own, and sad to say they are both already 1.0.0.26 -- I even downloaded and re-applied the firmware to each, just to make sure.

Despite this, if either device is turned on, they are likely to respond to wireless devices requesting DHCP, and though they usually end up with a valid IP address, the gateway is 192.168.1.251 -- which is one or other of the WNCE2001 devices :-(

Turning off both WNCE2001 devices guarantees the wireless devices will get the correct DHCP details from my Netgear WNR1000v3.

Any further advice -- will try to call Netgear as this renders the WNCE2001 devices practically useless :-(

Oooh... just read about the different states of the lights, which could explain the "random" nature I have experienced; I'll check the status of the lights too -- but still, can others confirm they are NOT seeing this behaviour with firmware 1.0.0.26?

I am really interested to see if any solutions appear to this. I have continuously experienced the same problem. I did get hold of Netgear support immediately only to be told:



Clearly, this is untrue and this thread proves that something is definitely going on that Netgear didn't intend. Imagine if there was an engineer in Netgear who decided to get to the bottom of the problem, found the cause and implemented a fix to the cause!! :rolleyes:


After a few exchanges where the support person blamed my router and then claimed that they do not provide support for third party products I was then told:



That was over a month ago. :mad:

I have since upgraded the firmware and haven't experienced too many problems, but I'm not comfortable that this is fixed.

In my case I was also trying to run my satellite receiver (Vu+ Duo) and TV off the same WNCE2001 using a Netgear FS605v3 5 Port Fast Ethernet Switch. Seems such a configuration is not possible and have bought a second WNCE2001. It arrived today so I am about to install. Reason I ended up on the Forum is that I noticed the AP/Client/RT writing on the back and also assumed there was a switch underneath. I wondered if this was the answer to my problems changing the setting.

Anyway, I post any success or words of wisdom I come across.

P.S. I have to agree that jmizoguchi's initial responses were just like what you get from a call centre.

More info:

The default IP address of the device appears to be 192.168.1.251. This address is outside the DHCP range of my router. So how did it get that address when it is set to get the address via DHCP?

I wonder if that is part of the problem. Usually, I would have thought that one would want to stay within the DHCP range even if you are applying static IP addresses on your network. So now I have set the IP address of the unit to a static address within the DHCP range and set this same address on the router.

For whatever it is worth I have purchased two of these devices in 2011 and have had the same issues with DHCP that others have experienced. Both have been upgraded to the latest firmware 1.0.0.26 and both are still acting as DHCP servers on wireless. The specific use is as a wirless bridge for blu-ray players. It is now necessary to turn them off when I am not using them with the blu-ray players.

It would be nice if someone from Netgear could provide more information on a fix for this issue such as potential firmware upgrades to fix the problem, or hardware replacements for customers.

We've got the same problem here. Did anyone found a solution for this behaviour already ?
We have two of this devices (one for our TV and one for our NAS) and we can't use them and paid them for nothing...