Network puzzle

[Bob Williams]

This one has me flummoxed. My network consists of:

TP- Link 9980 VDSL (FTTC) router

This desktop: Ethernet.

SWMBO’s laptop: WiFi

2x Wileyfox phones: WiFi

Hudl: WiFi

NAS: Zyxel nsa 310: Ethernet.

Last night we had our gdaughter for a Sleepover, brought her new Wileyfox Swift2+ (granddad jealous) and she could not access my WiFi. Inputted same password in all other WiFi devices above, no joy. This morning her mum came to collect her and tried to connect with some Samsung phone (no idea which one): no access. I loaded the router webpage and checked the Client List. All devices have an IP address and a MAC address. Daughter and gdaughter have since gone home, but their phones must have been recognised by the router, as I have two “UNKNOWN” IP & Mac addresses listed in the Client List.

Obviously I cannot ping these IP’s atm, but I cannot understand why the phones could not access my WiFi. Password is still listed as the same one we used for all other WiFi devices, in the webpage and in Firefox. I ought to add that the Hudl and SWMBO’s phone dropped out briefly yesterday, but my phone and the laptop stayed connected OK. No other prob’s this morning.

Any ideas guys?

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Dave Rice]

Sometimes a router reboot solves the issue.

[PlaneMan]

I’m with Dave on this one, that would be my first port of call. If that doesn’t work, reboot all devices.

[The Duke]

You can tell that dave is a computer and network pro “turn it on and off” ?

Joking aside that usally fixes most router issues. If mine ever slows, i just log in and reboot it.

I recall having a terrible issue where my girls 1+1, would kick my 1+1, off my own network when she came home. To fix this i had to manually assign a fixed ip to both phones. Dave help me solve that. ?

 

[Bob Williams]

Should have said, I rebooted the router, and each phone. Going to wait until the Bandwidth Thieves ??? call here again, then take a look at Network Sharing.

I don’t want to mess with the router if I can help it. Plusnet could not give me Minimum Guaranteed Speed, so reduced my payments. Quoted MGS was 13.1 Mbps: speed has gradually eased up to between 11 and 12 Mbps and is stable, which is most important. DD has reduced to £13/month for Bband, Phone, and Anytime Calls. I paid 12 months Line Rental upfront. Happy with that.

SWMBO says she does not remember if turning me off ever worked, but remembers the alternative, vaguely. ??

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Wheels-Of-Fire]

Shame the off/on trick didn’t work as its usually the best one !

Its just a thought but you haven’t got MAC filtering enabled have you ? I say that because “unknown devices” are listed.

Failing that then a paper clip in the reset hole is my next favorite trick ?

[Bob Williams]

No WoF, thanks but not playing with the network & router again until the Bandwidth Thieves revisit. Maybe if BT’s from a different source visit, I will have comparisons to make. Have also just remembered that network engineer Gson set up the phones mentioned. Must ask him if he has made some esoteric additions to them, as he is wont to do that. Example: as he knows his mum is a complete technophobe, he sets her lappy to be used with only 3 “safe” networks. (Her workplace, Primary school where she teaches, his flat, her house)  That is due to his bitter experience with mum’s use of devices.??

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Richard]

Bob, you might be onto something about the set up of the devices, I have been known to do such things in the past and then not quite remember what it was… when trouble strikes, as it always does a while later. A root and branch examination of the set up is often needed to trace the cause of the snafu. My setup also has some ‘name blank’ or ‘Unknown’ devices about which I do know, but the router refuses to identify reliably. It also has at least one, sometimes two or three devices that it fails to declare knowing about while they have active, (wired) connections. It gets stupid when one switch lists devices that the other treats as some hidden secret while passing traffic to and from them.

I have seen some routers have limitations on the number of WiFi devices they can run at anyone time. I have two different WiFi access points and one or two devices appear not to like one of them for some daft reason, possibly they are a bit liverish? As a result only the hardly ever used Fire Stick is now the one device that uses one of them. This is not an issue as everything else can ‘see’ the main router well enough to work.

Good luck with the sleuthing.

[Bob Williams]

Gson: “Don’t remember. No, not me, I didn’t do that.”  (Sigh!)

Wish I had his bandwidth: 80 Mbps Download, 40 Up. Business account, from his work.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

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