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Deco M5 in AP mode with Smart-DHCP disabled still acts as DHCP server

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Deco M5 in AP mode with Smart-DHCP disabled still acts as DHCP server

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Deco M5 in AP mode with Smart-DHCP disabled still acts as DHCP server
Deco M5 in AP mode with Smart-DHCP disabled still acts as DHCP server
2022-10-20 19:55:46 - last edited 2022-10-26 03:27:19
Tags: #Access Point Mode #Deco Ethernet Backhaul #Highlighted Thread
Model: Deco M5  
Hardware Version: V1
Firmware Version: 1.6.1 Build 20220818 Rel. 36456

Hi all,

 

Setup:

 

Router: Edgerouter X , DHCP server active at 192.168.1.1 

3 x Deco M5 in AP mode, all wired

Main Deco directly connected to router

Two other Deco's connected via switch (Netgear gs105ev2) connected to router

Smart-DHCP switch is disabled (in TP-Link Deco 3.0 app on iPhone iOS 16.0.3)

 

Problem : Random some of the wireless clients get an IP address assigned in the 10.0.x.x range instead of the 192.168.1.x range 

 

I've seen the older forum threads in which this specific problem was discussed and the solution was to upgrade to firmware 1.6 and disable Smart-DHCP switch.

Since I'm on the most recent firmware (1.6.1) and Smart-DHCP switch is disabled, it seems that something is still wrong in either my setup or in the firmware.

 

Does anybody have the same issue and/or solution/suggestions?

Any help is appreciated.

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1 Accepted Solution
Re:Deco M5 in AP mode with Smart-DHCP disabled still acts as DHCP server-Solution
2022-10-23 13:23:20 - last edited 2022-10-26 03:27:19

  @David-TP 

 

Update2

 

In my previous post I jumped to a conclusion too fast........

 

The mac address 80:ea:96:e6:f5:67 belongs to a Time Capsule (Apple router+NAS) which was connected to the network with the purpose to be used as NAS backup.

I thought I disabled the router and that it was connected as NAS only, but it turned out that DHCP+NAT was still running in the 10.0.1.x IP range.....

 

Time Capsule is now disconnected from the network.

 

Let's see if the problem is gone, but this Time Capsule is the most logical root cause, not the Deco's ...... so, sorry David that I initial put the blame on the Deco's

 

Greetings,

      Clemenms

 

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Re:Deco M5 in AP mode with Smart-DHCP disabled still acts as DHCP server
2022-10-21 06:46:06

  @cledeha 

Hi, welcome to the community.

Is Deco M5 the only device handling wireless networks, like the WiFi on Edge router X has been disabled?

And Your case is quite like the post here, Would you please refer to the suggestions here to run ARP checking on the clients that starting to get 10.0.x.x IP address? It will help to locate the MAC address of this invisible DHCP server:

 

Thank you very much.

Best regards.

 

 

Check What's Currently Going on With Deco Deco Early Access Firmware Open for Test! Deco APP 3.8.102/3.8.112-Ready for A New Deco Onboarding Experience! Try to leave a Message if urgent help is required.
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Re:Deco M5 in AP mode with Smart-DHCP disabled still acts as DHCP server
2022-10-21 07:07:36

  @David-TP 

 

Hi David,

 

Thanks for the fast reply.

 

Yes, the three deco M5 are the only devices present doing wireless lan. 

The edgerouter x does not have any WLAN hardware, is a pure router.

 

I already found the post you are referring to, but the problem is that currently the only devices that received a faulty IP in the 10.0.1.x range where a mobile phones (one iPhone and one motorola andriod)  and a wireless brother printer.

 

I already ran "arp -a" command on the edgerouter (I can access the router via a terminal), but if my understanding is correct, the edgerouter can't see IP addresses wich are not in its own range (192.168.1.1x), right?

 

Until now, none of the clients which could run an "arp" commando (windows 10 laptop or the mac mini) has been assigned to the faulty 10.0.1.x IP address, so currently I can't do the ARP trick.

 

Maybe some additional information, I'm not sure, but I think the problem started when a changed from situation 1 to situation 2, described below

 

Situation 1 : Main deco in AP mode connected to router (edgerouter x), 2 other deco's wireless connected

Situation 2 : Main deco in AP mode connected to router (edgerouter x), 2 other deco's wired connected via a netgear switch (gs105ev2) to the edgerouter

 

I loged into the netgear switch ( is a managed switch), but could not find a setting which could cause this problem

 

Please note, i have some basic network knowledge, but I'm far from an expert 

 

Any help is appreciated,

 

Greetings,

     Clemens

 

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Re:Deco M5 in AP mode with Smart-DHCP disabled still acts as DHCP server
2022-10-23 12:55:29

  @David-TP 

 

Update

 

DId an experiment by removing the ethernet connection from the two "slaves" Deco, those are now wireless connected to the main deco

(so the netgear siwtch was not in between the main deco and the two other deco's anymore trying to find out of this switch would be the root cause)

 

My Mac Mini was now assigned a wrong IP address via WLAN from a Deco M5 in AP mode

 

Was able to run the "arp -a" command

 

? (10.0.1.1) at 80:ea:96:e6:f5:67 on en1 ifscope [ethernet]

? (10.0.1.255) at ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff on en1 ifscope [ethernet]

 

Needed to ctrl-c the arp -a commando, because it did not end on its own

 

After disabling the Wifi on the Mac Mini and enabling it again I got a correct IP address assigned from the router instead of from the deco

This is the output of the arp -a command when connected to the correct IP

 

? (192.168.1.1) at 74:83:c2:ff:b1:cc on en1 ifscope [ethernet]

? (192.168.1.107) at 0:17:88:79:25:ea on en1 ifscope [ethernet]

? (192.168.1.255) at ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff on en1 ifscope [ethernet]

? (224.0.0.251) at 1:0:5e:0:0:fb on en1 ifscope permanent [ethernet]

 

My observations are that the Deco's are really acting like a DHCP server with Smart-DHCP disabled.... but the wrong IP address in the 10.0.1.x range are randomly assigned to different devices.

 

My conclusion for now: this is an issue caused by the Deco's in AP mode...... which is a problem, since this makes the whole network setup unreliable.

I'm not happy..... considering to get rid off the Deco's and replace it with another brand....

 

@David : Please advice how to move forward..

 

Greetings, 

     Clemens

 

 

 

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Re:Deco M5 in AP mode with Smart-DHCP disabled still acts as DHCP server-Solution
2022-10-23 13:23:20 - last edited 2022-10-26 03:27:19

  @David-TP 

 

Update2

 

In my previous post I jumped to a conclusion too fast........

 

The mac address 80:ea:96:e6:f5:67 belongs to a Time Capsule (Apple router+NAS) which was connected to the network with the purpose to be used as NAS backup.

I thought I disabled the router and that it was connected as NAS only, but it turned out that DHCP+NAT was still running in the 10.0.1.x IP range.....

 

Time Capsule is now disconnected from the network.

 

Let's see if the problem is gone, but this Time Capsule is the most logical root cause, not the Deco's ...... so, sorry David that I initial put the blame on the Deco's

 

Greetings,

      Clemenms

 

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