Qute2 keeps dropping network connection

You could try configuring your homehub 5 to use a fixed WiFi channel as there could be a problem with channel swapping in the WiFi software on the Qute 2. My NDX had a similar problem where it was dropping the network connection and failing to recover. The symptoms sound the same as those you describe. I've since switched to a wired connection but I should try and get to the bottom of the problem with WiFi.

Have you checked the signal strength reported by the Qute 2? I've had issues with a MacBook Pro where the 5GHz WiFi signal was weak but not weak enough to switch to 2.4GHz and this caused connection problems. If you configure a second SSID for the 5GHz band you can then make sure your Qute is just using 2.4GHz.

Thank you both

I set the HH to Channel 13 fixed a few days ago without much success and I set the Qute with a fixed address following a comment in the Damon thread.  But although they have both made small improvements the damn thing still seems to switch off from time to time (Bit like Arsenal's defence!)

The signal strength shows as "poor" on the Qute page hence the question about the aerial.  I'm not sure I know how to configure a separate SSID.  I do have an old Devolo wifi through mains system somewhere in the loft.  I may be forced to find it, but I heard somewhere that these degrade signal quality and are prone to outs because of other things on the circuit, so I'm reluctant to go down that route

Thanks again

JSH

You really need wired Ethernet to stop this happening. My SuperUniti is about 5m from the router (a very good DrayTek) and wireless was flaky.

I started a thread on this issue in relation to the Superuniti a few weeks ago and found it is quite a common problem. I have a wired connection as do many others who also suffer this. No cure as far as I know apart from Naim getting their act together re software/firmware but I'm not holding my breath. (as well as network dropping there are mulitiple threads on problems with DAB retuning, iPod connecting, Airplay, Android...)

The following may work...

Enter 192.168.1.254 in your browser

Navigate to Advanced Settings > Wireless > change Wireless SSID

If you want a different SSID for the 5GHz band click 5GHz Wireless > No to Sync with 2.4GHz and then enter a new name for the 5GHz band.

Click Apply.

One other thing to try would be temporarily changing the encryption settings on the HH5 to one of the other settings such as WPA2 Only, WPA Only, or None as there could be an issue with encryption. Only do this if you are confident about changing settings and have wired access to your hub so that you can change it back. I'll see if I can have a go with my NDX tonight as I'd like to figure out why WiFi is flaky in my setup.

I'm afraid this might be advice that I'm now finding is worth trying. My UQ is about 12" / 30 cm from my router, and I was having connection difficulties. I did connect the two with ethernet and, once the UQ was turned off and on again, and n-Stream restarted, things connected and see to work. 

JSH; is there any way you could try a wired connection as a temporary test? Could you relocate either the router or UQ and use a long ethernet cable? It would be one way to see if the wireless connection is part of the problem. 

Since HH has a good router, it again suggests the connection issue is part of the Naim streaming/ wireless hardware or software, rather than a function of most 'normal' routers. 

It is also interesting that HH has this issue with his SU, and roo has a similar situation with his NDX. At least you're/ we're not alone in this game. 

Unless you live in isolation with no other wifi networks around you, I advise for the majority of instances not fixing the wifi channel. It is designed to be automatically moveable by your access point to reduce interference/loading from other networks impacting your network. By fixing it you could be forcing your wifi network to work with lots of errors or congestion and therefore reducing effective throughput and reliability. 

One  thing I have noticed with the Naim software, on the NDX/NDS at least, is that the DHCP implementation doesn't seem to be that robust, and so if the query sequence fails for whatever reason there appears to be no effective retry, and so sometimes a power cycle is required to kick off the DHCP sequence again.

Simon

First of all, thanks for all the comments and suggestions.

I seem to have had some success building on the various suggestions

For the benefit of others, this is what I did. I decided to give wireless one last go before moving the Qute to near the router as others suggested (Its a shame to have it in the utility room!). So,

• I had used SSIDer to analyse the channels my HH5 was broadcasting on and had moved from 11 to 13, further away from those being used by my neighbours so I decided to stay with that
• I turned everything on the network off: Qute, iPhone, printer, tablet etc etc and then rebooted the HH5router
• I changed the aerial on the Qute to a "stronger" one (ie higher dB gain) I had bought some months ago
• I turned on the Qute first and set that with a fixed address (thanks to those who suggested it)
• I turned on the Samsung phone I use a controller, then the printer Iphone, wife's computer etc leaving each of them a few minutes to "settle" before moving on to the next one. 

So far, SUCCESS!!  The Samsung finds the Qute and it has stayed firmly connected.  Now this may all just be co-incidence but I've had 24 hours trouble free again. 

So for those with the same symptoms, this may be a way forward

Once again, thanks to everyone for their help

Aaaaaaargh!!!

Bloody down again.  Just when I thought it was solved after 48 hours trouble free.  There's a bug there somewhere I'm sure

The Qute showed no network and when I tried to reset it using Ming's approach all inputs froze on UPnP, so I had to power off and on.  Rest of network perfect

Not good enough, Naim

JSH,

I totally feel your Aaaaaagh!. Last night my UQ gave up again. And that was after a week or so of working, and while being connected from router to UQ with ethernet.

Sooo... Disconnected etherenet. UQ off and on. Unplugged UQ. Off and on. Rest router. 'Auto connection' in N-Stream app set up off and on. Reconnected ethernet. Check to see that little orange light is on at back of UQ. Turn UQ off and on. No luck. Disconnect ethernet. UQ off and on. Repeat for an hour. Spend much time reading 'network initializing' and 'network starting' messages in soothing green, while bent over side of couch. 

Picked a helluva time to stop drinking. 

Finally, it came back to life, and unusually, the UQ actually showed up in the N-Stream app set-up window (usually it does not show up, even when things are working). I will say that this puts a real damper on my mood. It certainly suppresses my appetite for any upgrades (sane or otherwise) that I am contemplating.

I did notice that the IP address on the UQ was different when it finally worked; that may be relevant, but I would think that the UQ could keep up, especially when using a wired connection to the router. 

UQ firmware version is 3.0.0, just for interests sake. 

Damon

I'm running 3.22 so whatever causes this hasn't been solved by the firmware updates for me

Thinking back, the only thing I did differently last night when I switched off was to shut down the radio with the "stop" button rather than switch to UPnP which I usually do.  I just wonder if that switched the net software off somehow. 

I will switch off in my usual way tonight and then using "stop" tomorrow ans see if that has any effect.  But I think I'm clutching at straws

Sorry, but using Wifi AND a crappy router will bring bad results.  Try the ethernet mains thing.

Or drag the Qute to your router and test it wired. 

What server are you using?

Crappy router is an assumption: although you may have some key insight. In which case, I'm still waiting for someone to actually provide a name or technical performance spec that will guide me. Mine is made by  ZyXEL, and is b/n compliant. 

Plus, I've had the UQ connected to the router with ethernet and it still performs erratically. The UQ worked (mostly) for two years with an older router, and when the two items were 20 feet apart. Now they are 12 inches apart, each with its own, factory supplied 'little stiffy' aerials. 

JSH,

I've found that sometimes using the remote to swich inputs, from iRadio to UPnP jogs things back to life; seems you've had the same experience. Interesting to note that the 3.22 firmware update has not addressed this issue. I do intend to do the upgarade, but I need to get thing sorted so that I can do it from my MacBook; I also figure I need a clear span of time and a clear head. 

Finally, it is funny/ odd/ unsettling that the dealer said the firmware update could cost several hundred dollars. It did not seem that they had a very good understanding of it. 

Inevitably some dolt comes along and  squeals "crappy router".  Always the same. Yeah,yeah.  Sheesh

I'm using eLyric on an iMac, 24" running snow leopard; I know your're a windows guy. 

I was previously using Playback. I still have it, and could probably go back to it and see if it makes a difference. The iMac is wireless to the router, again 20' away and in a clear line of sight. 

I listen to iRadio mostly, so that does not need a computer at all. So, if the UQ and router are connected with ethernet, why the grief with lost connections using iRadio, or just getting n-stream to find the streamer? 

Baffles me. Though that is not difficult. 

Minim on a Windows 7 set up

So Damon and I have the same problem with totally different servers and routers

OTU

I'm totally willing to accept the router as the problem, but it can't be a wireless issue, at least for me. Router connected to the phone lines with a wire. UQ connected to the router with ethernet. And as I've mentioned, the router is only about 3 months old, and the telephone company fussed with the overhead wires and replaced some corroded bits. That strongly suggests that the signal coming in to the house is as good as can reasonably be expected.

If the dealer can go on about power cables, speaker cables, ethernet cables, file formats and bit rates, I find it odd that no one at either naim dealer has said that the router has to be a certain type, or of a certain performance spec. 

When things were working, I always found that the wireless signal strength was quite strong, at least as shown on the UQ front panel. 

Ah, the thick plottens.....  But it is actually very useful that you are on windows. pcs is as well, so he may have experience that is more relevant to your hardware and software. 

I think that I will be very deliberate about noting what I do, with each start up, and note display messages and any changes that I make. There are many things that can mess us up. 

I guess that includes my metal state. Yeah, I'm being humorous now, but last night I was in a considerably worse mood. Good opportunity to practice my swearing. 

Lots of frustration, lots of clues, lots of similar but different things working and failing... It's difficult to diagnose erratic behaviour - lets always keep that in mind!

jsh - your plan to see if using "stop" on iRadio, rather than just switching away to a different input, is a good one! I usually switch back to FM and mute...but have seen the "hang on, re-connecting" message a few times when going to / from iRadio, so maybe a new / renewed connection is initiated or negotiated in some situations but not in others. 

Damon - you observed a different IP address after some time on your wired Ethernet connection; did you set a static / reserved address for your qute when wired? Not sure how the reservation works, but if it is MAC address based, the wireless port and wired port will almost certainly appear as different devices. In my experience, when the ISP switches my (external) IP address, things can be unstable (not positive, but it seems so). For all I know, your router re-assigns local IP addresses when a new external address arrives, and this would be problematic if you don't have a static or reserved address. This would be a rare event, several days between changes for example. 

I know now from my first tests that the wireless function on my ISP provided modem / router is way worse than even a relatively inexpensive but well-reviewed router - doubled throughput as one specific measurable improvement.  I hesitate to say I never lost contact, since my first tests were brief (a day or two total)...but signs are there and it is not reasonable to deny them just because "other things" are working okay. (Well, not if we want to fix things ourselves rather than awaiting a Naim firmware change, which may not happen immediately). 

My my flight back home is tomorrow and my game plan is to keep exploring with a second router used as a wireless access point in conjunction with my ISP router (which I need for external broadband access). We have things to try and advice to consider. It is worthwhile to move to 3.22 firmware (Damon, you will need an intermediate upgrade from 3,00 first...can't recall if it is 3.13 or 3.16 you need so read carefully when your mind set is goos!). We don't have a change log for firmware corrections afaik so it is best to be on the official release I think. 

Best wishes and kind regards, alan

Thanks alan,

I'm going to get a knowledgeable friend over to look into the fixed IP address thing. I (kind of) understand that Telus changes these things, so that we don't set up some internet business at home. I'll have your post on hand when I look at these things. 

I guess that I could use a second router, connected to the Telus router, as the wired link to the UQ. I assume that putting an ethernet hub in would make no difference. Interesting that a different router did make a difference in data transmission. Interesting indeed. 

When this issues started for me, Stephen at Naim in England, I think, said go to 3.9 then 3.22. That email is at home, so I'll need to check the numbers. It was only two upgrades that he mentioned. MBX Sales? That part sounds familiar. I do think it would be good to be up to date all around. Just less easy to upgrade from a mac, or so it seems. I'm not even sure if I can do the earlier updates, or just the latest using a mac. 

We get the app on IOS, but they get the firmware updates on windows. Wonder who's winning? 

Guys, your broadband provider using dynamic IP addresses is simply about cost saving measure of your ISP. Most consumers don't need a fixed IP address or more typically a range of addresses (subnet). This has absolutely no bearing on your internal LAN if you are using private addresses.

Fixing a local LAN address for reliability issues is really about dealing with the fact that there is some sort of software bug / interoperability problem between your DHCP server, the broadband router here, and the DHCP client, the Naim UnitiQute. This can be caused by timing issues so may work on wifi and not on wired or vica versa or more often software compatibility issues. therefore it's often a case of a software patch/ update on the DHCP server or client.

Fixing the IP address will reduce the impact of the issue, at the expense of flexibility, but you are papering over the cracks of a problem that could bite you elsewhere.

Simon

Simon - thanks for jumping in. I realized I had confused the issue by mentioning the (external) IP address...certainly the internal addresses are independently managed and that is the router / DHCP server's function. I had noticed previously, however, a correlation with bad ISP routers changing behaviour that seemed to coincide with external facing changes. I should have explained that I was interpreting this as yet another way in which these routers can be deficient. Sorry for confusion!  

The  conceptual link to differences between wired versus wireless connections in the router is valid: if a reserved DHCP address was helpful on a wifi connection, and it is wanted on the wired connection, then a separate reserve may be required since the same naim box can look like two different things via the two different connections...that was what I was trying to say to Damon...late night confused language I'm afraid!

For my part, I am trying to pull a wire up the wall (will play first with a long lead up the stairs and across the floor), and am adding a new router to give better wireless performance (for all devices) since that is a known weakness of the box provided in my particular case. If it goes according to plan, I will wire the new router (possibly set to access point mode) then use its switch to connect both my Mac mini and my unitiqute (wired), and then have improved wifi signal for everything else through the rest of the house. I plan to leave the various NAS devices downstairs on the switch of the broadband router for noise and aesthetics reasons, but it don't think that will be an issue - and hope to have improved connectivity to the Mac due to wired vs wireless even if it is not as maxed out as it would be if done in some other, perhaps more optimal, configuration. 

Thanks again Simon. 

Regards, alan

ps - for those interested, I plan to add an Asus N900 RT-N66U; not the latest but still highly regarded (and I have a desire for something stable more than a desire for future capability if I acquire an ac device...)