Deco drops offline randomly but still shows green

Deco drops offline randomly but still shows green

Deco drops offline randomly but still shows green
Deco drops offline randomly but still shows green
2023-08-03 01:06:41 - last edited a week ago
Model: Deco XE75 Pro  
Hardware Version:
Firmware Version: 1.2.2 Build 20230613 53594

No idea how I'm supposed to tell what the hardware version is.  It's not labeled on the device and the app doesn't show it.

 

I've got a mix of XE75 and M5 in my house.   The main XE75 and the other two XE75s are centrally located, the M5s are at the edges (basement, attic etc).

 

Today (again), the Deco app on my phone said that 2 of my Deco's were offline (1 XE75 and 1 M5). 

I went to look at both Deco's and they both showed green - which of course indicates that they are connected.

 

I connected my laptop to the offline XE75 with an Ethernet cable.  

The laptop network settings showed that it detected the cable, but it reported No Internet.

Then I disconnected the Ethernet cable and connected the laptop over WiFi with one of the other Deco's that was online.

I opened a command window and pinged all my Deco's.  They all responded to the pings, except for the two that the app said were offline.

So, the app is correct - the two really were offline.  But meanwhile, both the offline Deco's happily showed green.

 

I can't see how this is anything but a firmware bug - the fact that the Deco is offline but showing green.

This is on top of the underlying questions - Why Do These Things Keep Going Offline ???  And Why Don't They Reliably Recover On Their Own ???

I have to assume that these behaviors are due to firmware bugs as well.

 

Update - after about half an hour, I decided that the offline XE75 wasn't going to come back online on its own (sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't).

So I cycled its power, and pressed "Try Again" in the app repeatedly, until the XE75 came back online after a minute or two.

Then, the app showed that it was connected to the main Deco XE75 with a "Strong" signal.  

Which again, begs the question, Why Don't They Reliably Recover On Their Own ???

 

 

Has anyone else observed these behaviors ?  Have any suggestions ?

Thanks

 

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#1
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1 Accepted Solution
Re:Deco drops offline randomly but still shows green-Solution
a week ago - last edited a week ago

  @RustyK 

Hi, Thank you very much for the feedback.

It is also suggested to install the firmware here to see whether it helped with the current issue:

Satellite Deco Units Work Well but Display Offline on the Deco APP

 

Wait for your reply and best regards.

Recommended Solution
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#13
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13 Reply
Re:Deco drops offline randomly but still shows green
2023-08-03 06:33:57

  @jmporter 

Hi, welcome to the community.

Could you please also help me check the following details:

1. How often would the Deco APP usually report some Deco units offline?

2. Have you checked whether they are always the same Deco XE75 Pro and Deco M5 units?

  • If possible, It is also suggested to switch the location of these two units with the rest of Decos to see whether the disconnection follows the same unit.

3. Can I also have some pictures of your current network topology, such as

006a63fd8d5842859d32923be18a30d5

At the same time, I would like to follow up on your case via email so that I could consult the engineers for further assistance.

Please check whether you could receive an email from us.

Best regards.

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#2
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Re:Deco drops offline randomly but still shows green
2023-08-03 15:01:25

  @David-TP 

Hi David,

1. I have no way of knowing exactly how often this occurs.  The Deco app (at least the iOS version) does not offer a setting to send a notification when a Deco goes offline (I've requested this feature with support).  So the only way I have of knowing that the app is reporting one or more Decos as offline is either

a) I happen to be looking at the app when this occurs, e.g. while setting up an IoT device.  otherwise I have no reason to keep looking at the app constantly.

b) I happen to walk past a Deco and notice that it's gone red, and then check it in the app (although as I said, sometimes a Deco will be offline in the app and still show green on the Deco.  that's what happened this time. so this is hardly a reliable way to check whether any Decos are offline)

c) I notice that one or more of my devices has started acting flaky (e.g. the TV starts pausing to buffer content frequently, or one or more of my smart switches starts flashing which indicates that it's lost contact with the network, or my phone switches from WiFi to 5G randomly.  this is how I usually discover that a Deco is offline)

2. I've observed this with 2 of my 3 XE75s and at least 2 of my M5s.  Although, since the M5 in the case I reported yesterday had been connected through the XE75 that went offline, it wasn't actually a problem with the M5 (at least this time).  As soon as I power cycled the XE75, both the XE75 and the M5 connected through it came back online.  My somewhat educated guess (I'm a software developer but not a network specialist) says it's a problem with the XE75s.

3. Iv'e attached a screenshot of the network topology below.

Thanks

John

fd7bfbecdf044e5d8f4a8f1674f6d035

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#3
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Re:Deco drops offline randomly but still shows green
2023-08-04 03:51:31

  @jmporter 

Thank you very much for the update.

I would like to forward your case to the engineers for further assistance. Please check the email later for more suggestions.

Thank you again.

Best regards.

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#4
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Re:Deco drops offline randomly but still shows green
2023-11-05 13:07:09

  @jmporter 


I have exact same issue. Please post any resolution you come across.

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#5
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Re:Deco drops offline randomly but still shows green
2024-04-04 23:51:56 - last edited 2024-04-05 02:05:36

I've had the same issue at least twice now in the last few months, including at the time I write this.  I have a pair of XE75 nodes and a pair of X55 nodes.  Both X55 nodes and the non-wired XE75 node go offline and stay that way more or less indefinitely unless I power cycle them.  While they're on, they're zombies - clients connect to the "offline" nodes but then of course can't connect to the gateway/router, which means the clients cannot automatically fail over to at least the one "working" node, provided it's in range.  I'm not actually sure the wired XE75 is working correctly either, it's just the only one that shows as "online".

 

I would love to provide logs and any other information to engineers to get this resolved.  I have recommended the Deco to multiple friends and family members, but if this keeps happening I'm going to have to look elsewhere.  And while I'm at it - will there ever be a local DNS server built in to the firmware?  I realized just a few days ago that no such feature is available and now I'm -really- questioning whether this is the right solution, as every other wireless solution I've ever had (LinkSys, ASUS, Plume, etc) has allowed me to manage DNS entries for local network clients.

 

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#6
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Re:Deco drops offline randomly but still shows green
2024-08-15 14:17:04

  @jmporter 

I've had the same issue, it's constant (on, off, on off, etc).  I have a pair of XE75 nodes and a X50 Outdoor node.  All nodes nodes are wired. When I "Check Again" to see if it will go online sometimes it does but most time it doesn't. A power cycle usually fixes the issue but again sometimes it doesn't. I have clients, & IOT devices constantly hopping back and forth to Nodes.  I'm not actually sure the primary XE75 is working correctly either, it's just the only one that shows as "online".

 

I would love to provide logs and any other information to engineers to get this resolved. 

 

Kieth

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#7
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Re:Deco drops offline randomly but still shows green
2 weeks ago - last edited 2 weeks ago

  @jmporter I just experienced the same issue.

 

My network consists of 4 Deco X50-PoE. This morning I noticed the WiFi was not performing properly and upon opening the the Deco app I saw that 3 of the X50s were offline. The status light of the 3 X50s were green indicating the X50-PoE is connected.

 

Repeated attempts to force the app to see these Decos as online failed. The only thing that worked was to reboot the 3 Decos that were offline one at a time.

 

My Decos have hardware version of v1.6 with the latest firmware, 1.2.5 Build 20231122 Rel. 58711.

 

Tp-Link this needs to be addressed.

 

--

Rick

 

 

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#9
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Re:Deco drops offline randomly but still shows green
a week ago

  @jmporter I have the same problem. It just started out of the blue this week. I have 4 BE63 units. Locations haven't changed and they went from working perfectly one day to going offline constantly. They stay offline and a reboot may work but usually doesn't. All keep a green light but are offline in the app. 
 

one common theme amongst everyone here with this issue is more than two or three units. Probably not related but I noticed this. 
 

since it started so quickly, I assumed it was a bad firmware update. But now I doubt that. I have used a deco mesh for years without issue. The Be63's are brand new and worked great two weeks solid before this started happening. It is not signal strength related. I can literally have the unit a foot from the main unit and it will do the same thing. 
 

please post if anyone finds a solution. While they are doing this they are not functional. If this isn't fixed soon I will be forced to buy a different brand. 

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#10
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Re:Deco drops offline randomly but still shows green
a week ago

  @RustyK update: I did a network optimization scan and it detected interference and switched some channels. Immediately after, one of my two disconnected units reconnected to the network on its own. The second has remained offline. The unit remaining disconnected is the unit I bought separately and paired manually, but probably not related. 
 

I doubt this is coincidence that one did reconnect at this time. Perhaps an engineer may have some ideas.

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#11
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Re:Deco drops offline randomly but still shows green
a week ago

  @RustyK Final Update/Partial Solution: wireless interference does seem to be the main issue. I had a secondary wifi router in the same room as the primary deco and with its wireless enabled it was giving many problems to the deco unit. I only had its 2.4Ghz band turned on but when I turned off all wireless it helped the random droppings of my other deco's a lot. I have noticed however, when I have a deco unit not connected it too generates wireless interference with the others.

 

my solution was to disable any other electronics nearby on the same the frequencies, especially other wifi routers. Then use the "optimize network" feature on the main deco unit to select free channels. That got all of my units connected together again. 

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#12
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