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Re: Orbi RBR50 - Solid Magenta - Not connecting to Modem

elrao
Aspirant

Orbi RBR50 - Solid Magenta - Not connecting to Modem

Hi All

 

I have a Zyxel modem setup in VDSL bridge mode, with an RBR30 as my router.  I followed the instructions here: https://kitz.co.uk/routers/zyxel_VMG8324-B10A_bridge.htm to set this up and it has been working fine for a year or so.   Per the instructions, I ended up with:

 

Modem IP: 192.168.1.1

Router IP: 192.168.1.254

Router DHCP range: 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.254

 

Modem LAN 1 --> Router WAN (Modem LAN 1 is split from the other LAN ports)

Modem LAN 4 --> Router LAN

 

Today, my broadband connection dropped and the light on my router went solid magenta.  I logged in via the web interfacte (192.168.1.254) and could see the internet connection was down.  I logged into the modem and could see it was UP!  So the router thinks it is "down".   I checked using my vodafone modem/router and the line itself is fine, so the issue is with my hardware.

 

I then lost connection to my router, after a lot of faffing about, it turns out the IP address was changed from 192.168.1.254 to prevent a conflict.  I managed to get it back in, but it has conflicted out a number of times (not sure what it is conflicting with).  Checking the modem, the status light shows the VDSL is up and the UI shows a healthy sync rate.  However the router shows solid magenta, which I have seen people mention (but usually in AP mode).  

 

Have tried different cables to connect the router to the modem, rebooted etc. etc. 

 

For now, am running with the Vodafone router to get back online and have turned all my satellites off as am using the same network ID; but am missing the MESH connectivity I bought the Orbi for!

Model: RBR50|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi Router
Message 1 of 9
FURRYe38
Guru

Re: Orbi RBR50 - Solid Magenta - Not connecting to Modem

Check your ISP modem and ISP services up to the modem. 

Power off both modem and RBR for 1 minute then back ON.

 

Be sure to restart your network in this sequence:
Turn off and unplug modem.
Turn off router and computers.
Plug in and turn on modem. Wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on the router and wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on computers and rest of network.

Message 2 of 9
plemans
Guru

Re: Orbi RBR50 - Solid Magenta - Not connecting to Modem

It wouldn't have been the first time an ISP supplied device got an update or change and caused conflict. 

If the passthrough/modem only mode isn't working properly. Log into the router and change it to AP (access point) mode. 

The ISP router needs to be in router mode so make sure to put it in that mode prior to changing the orbi. 

Message 3 of 9
elrao
Aspirant

Re: Orbi RBR50 - Solid Magenta - Not connecting to Modem

Hi

 

@plemans , @FURRYe38  thanks for your comments.

 

@plemans The ISP supplied device was not connected when the error occured and so can't be the cause of the conflict.  I had only re-connected the ISP supplied device in order to check if the problem was with the ISP or with my hardware.  Not sure if the Zyxel would have done an OTA update.

 

I haven't tried setting up the Zyxel as the router, with the Orbi in AP mode.  I assume that you can have the main ORBI (i.e. the router) in AP mode and have satellites with no issues?  I guess I assumed I needed to use the ORBI as the router to make use of the mesh network.

 

@FURRYe38 I have already done 95% of what you said.  Using the ISP modem/router to validate the line is OK.  I then disconnected it all and started again with my own Modem (the Zyxel) and powered this on (VDSL light goes orange to show connected), then powered on the Orbi (light goes Magenta after a few minutes). 

 

The only thing I didn't do was turn off ALL devices connected to the network (there are about 50 if you include the WiFi ones); however I do have static IPs set for the majority of devices (none that would conflict with either the 192.168.1.1 assigned to the modem and 192.168.1.254 assigned to the ORBI).

Message 4 of 9
plemans
Guru

Re: Orbi RBR50 - Solid Magenta - Not connecting to Modem

If the orbi is in access point mode, the mesh/roaming/satellites will all still function properly. 

Its not typical to have the modem and the router in the same subnet (192.168.1.***) if they're in a proper passthrough/modem only/dmz mode. Thats why you can get conflicts. 

You might have just been lucky or not had enough devices to cause conflicts. 

so I'd try leaving the ISP gateway in router mode (disabe its wifi) and put the orbi in access point mode. 

Message 5 of 9
elrao
Aspirant

Re: Orbi RBR50 - Solid Magenta - Not connecting to Modem

The range on the router is 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.254.  The modem is 192.168.1.1, so should be no IP conflict as the router would never try to assign 192.168.1.1 to any other device.  Worked like this for 2 years!

 

Then the other day, just stopped working.  Nothing was changed by me, the internet just dropped out from the network even though the modem showed as connected.

 

Any conflict would appear to be on the 192.168.1.254 address, as the router (which has this address) is being assigned another address to remove the conflict (but it is not conflicting with the modem, as that is still accessible with 192.168.1.1).

Message 6 of 9
plemans
Guru

Re: Orbi RBR50 - Solid Magenta - Not connecting to Modem

So it worked for 2 years. 

yay for you. but it still wasn't setup properly and is still a double nat. 

And worse, its a double nat with both routers in the same subnet. 

Its lucky it worked at all. 

If you want to leave it as is, go ahead. But it isn't working. 

So maybe a change to set it up properly is needed. 

Message 7 of 9
elrao
Aspirant

Re: Orbi RBR50 - Solid Magenta - Not connecting to Modem

Why is it double NAT when the modem has all that functionality disabled?  It is in bridge mode, which, by definition means that NAT is disabled on it!

 

The Zyxel (modem) is setup so that "LAN1" is connected to the WAN port on the ORBI.  "LAN 4" is then connected to the LAN side of the ORBI.  On the Zyxel,  LAN1 is then segregated from the rest of the ports, so the modem basically has a LAN side (LAN 2 - 4) and a WAN side (LAN 1).

 

zyxelbridgefix.png

 

The reason for having the modem (LAN side) on the same subnet is to allow me to access it via the network to check on line stats etc.  

 

This is a tried and tested setup, used by many others with no issues, not just me. Yay.

Message 8 of 9
elrao
Aspirant

Re: Orbi RBR50 - Solid Magenta - Not connecting to Modem

Or... the Orbi is trying to force itself back to 192.168.1.1 (default I believe) and creating the conflict with the modem which is on that IP - then jumping to some random other value.

 

When I have time, I think I will try a full reset of the ORBI and set it all up again.  If that doesn't work, then I may have to resort to re-configuring the modem (back to being the router) and the ORBI as the AP.   Will need to check the Zyxel supports everything I was using on the Orbi (VPN, dynamic DNS updates etc.)

Message 9 of 9
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