WRVS4400n v1 doesn't get WAN IP anymore

[olivier.cora]

Hello all,

my router is not getting a WAN IP from my modem although my ISP confirms that everything is OK from a modem perspective.

I tried deactivating IPS, Firewall, DoS, Block Wan Request / rebooting the router each time but without success.

I also changed the Ethernet cable.

"Renew DHCP" seems to have no effect at all.

One strange thing is that the router keeps resetting the date to 1970 every time it's rebooted; I am not sure if this has an influence and I remember having the same issue some months ago; the router was configured to get the date/time from an NNTP server and I had to reconfigure it to manual with the correct date/time in order to get the connection working again.

Could this be the problem?

Firmware is updated to the last one, v1.1.19

As I run out of ideas and I am on this issue for hours since morning, any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance,

Olivier.

[mpyhala]

Hi Olivier,

Connect your PC directly to the modem and see if you get an IP address and internet access. I so, connect the SAME PC to the WRVS4400N and browse to Setup > MAC Address Clone in the web interface. Enable the setting and select "Clone My PCs MAC", then Save. Renew the IP address and the modem should give an IP to the router. If not, reboot the modem and it should work. This method tricks the modem into thinking that the PC is connected, not the router. There are no adverse affects and we do this all the time.

Page 57 of the Admin Guide has more information about this feature:

http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/td/docs/routers/csbr/wrvs4400n/administration/guide/WRVS4400N_AG_OL-20048.pdf

Also, the reason that NTP is not working is that the router cannot reach the NTP server to get the correct time until it has an IP address.

- Marty

[olivier.cora]

Hi Marty,

thanks for replying.

I could connect a PC to my modem, get an IP from my ISP and access the internet.

Connecting the PC to the router (wired) just doesn't work; I tried everything, fixed IP, DHCP, different cables, different ports, rebooting the router systematically after each change; something is definitively not working.

A strange behavior is that I cannot ping my router (192.168.1.1 / destination host unreachable) but I can ping one of my managed switch (192.168.1.3) from the same PC. The managed switch is directly connected to the router.

On the other side, I can still connect wireless devices to the router. 

I am going to test with another PC later today and appreciate some hints here.

Please note that I never experienced such issues since the router is installed (6 or 7 years ago...)

thanks again,

Olivier.

[mpyhala]

Olivier,

You can reach the web interface of the router but cannot ping the LAN IP?

You might want to consider holding the reset button for 30+ seconds to reset the router to factory defaults. It is definitely exhibiting strange behavior.

If you can get to the web interface (wired or wireless), please try the MAC address clone feature. Please keep us updated.

- Marty 

[olivier.cora]

Hi Marty,

I can reach the the web interface but only wireless.

It seems that no wired connection is working anymore.

As connecting wired doesn't work I have input the PC MAC address to clone manually; rebooted modem and router; still no success.

Next I will try a reset to factory defaults but I was wondering if there is no better way to clear/flush ARP tables and other IP values stored in memory....

Finally the date/time out of sync is still a concern; is it normal that the router resets its date 1970 every time it's rebooted? Even with a reboot from the GUI?

thanks and regards,

Olivier.

[mpyhala]

Olivier,

You mentioned that you can ping a managed switch that is directly connected to the router. If you plug your PC into that switch, can you reach the web interface of the router? 

Rebooting should clear/flush ARP tables and other IP values stored in memory. I recommend a factory default simply because your configuration file may be corrupt. Log into the web interface wirelessly, back up the current configuration to your PC, then reset the router from the web interface. Test it at factory default settings. If it works, reconfigure it. If not, you have a hardware failure. Either way, you can always reload the current configuration if you want to.

I don't think that the router has a battery to keep time, so a reboot will reset the clock to factory settings. Normally the router has internet access and obtains the time from an NTP server immediately upon boot. Do not concern yourself with this, it is normal.

- Marty

[julienplee]

I encounter the same situation here. 

Couldn't do anything from wired ports :

• DHCP went down and the routed network could not use dynamic addressing.
• Wireshark on reset reported 192.168.1.1 multicasting messages before disapearing.
• 192.168.1.1 not pingable.
• Wan port doesn't seem to do anything at all (The router doesn't show on the Wan network -a lan network in fact- but I'm not sure I plugged it to Wireshark)
• Unfortunately I deactivated WiFi (allowed to acccess admin interface) before the router went wrong. But after multiple factory resets, I could get an IP address from the router DHCP (alleluya!). But I lost ability to log into the reachable admin interface and there is no acces the the wan network. Also, devices connected to the internal switch can't see wifi devices and vice-et-versa.
• Devices connected to the internal switch can see each other if their IP are manualy addressed.
• Tried to relace Chemical Capacitors but no luck.
• When I have more time, I'll try to bust abnormally hot ceramic capacitors, but I'm not sure how I could be able to replace it since I have no specs...
• It could be also great to get access to a serial console onboard...

From what I understand, either there is a problem with the circuitry of the Lan ports, or the Lan CPU died (but I have no Red diag light. It turns of when the router is initialized)

Any good news about your hardware?

Thanks,

Julien