Losing connectivity via TP link ethenet switch

[Daveiw100]

I have the following devices connected from BT Home Hub 6 via 8 port TP Link ethernet switch:

1. Windows Desktop PC
2. Windows Laptop (via docking station)
3. Synology 413J NAS
4. Synology 415 Play NAS
5. XBox One
6. LG Smart TV

I am experiencing a very strange intermittent problem where one or more devices lose connectivity (onnectivity to other devices are still OK), and the only way I can restore connectivity is to re-boot the router

For example, I lose connectivity to the Windows desktop - all other connected devices are OK, but I cannot establish a wired connection to desktop PC.  Wireless connection is OK.   Re-booting the PC or switch  does not resolve the issue. Rebooting the router does resolve the issue, and connectivity is OK to all devices

Other examples are loss of connectivity to one of the Sysnology NAS, or Laptop PC, or Xbox. Again, the only resolution is a reboot of the router

Some devices are configured as Static IP's and some are Dynamic, and this does not appear to be relevant to the issue

Would appreciate any help to resolve this

[Keith_Beddoe]

Try a factory reset of the home hub. That is the only way you will remove any cached connections in the home hub, as they are stored in flash memory.

http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/11386/%7E/how-do-i-reset-my-bt-hub-to-its-factory-set...

Then turn Smart Setup off.

http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/44328/~/switching-smart-setup-on-and-off-on-the-bt-ho...

[Daveiw100]

Hi
Thanks for your help.
Unfortunately this has not fixed the problem.
On one of the Windows PC's, when the issue occurs, "Diagnose" of LAN connection returns message "LAN connection does not have a valid IP address". A reboot of the PC does not fix the issue. !IPconfig /release and /renew does not fix the problem. ipconfig shows ip address 169.254.14.222. Ip address should be 192.168.0.xx range (Network Connection is configured "Obtain IP address automatically")

Any other suggestions?

[Keith_Beddoe]

Its more likely to be an issue with the home hub, I do know there are legacy issues with all the home hubs DHCP server. A long time ago when I used to use a home hub 1, I had to setup a DHCP server on another device.

I gave up on the home hub, and now use a TP Link router, which gives no problems at all.

You could always ask BT for a replacement home hub, but if it works without the TP Link switch, then they may argue that its the switch that is the issue.

[Daveiw100]

Thanks for the reply.

I was actually thinking of replacing the TP Link switch as a next step.

Sometimes, a power off/on of the switch restores the connection (but not always).

I really don't understand why this should be the case.  Unplugging/replugging the cable does not restore the connection, and I do not believe the TP link switch has any intelligence?

Also, some devices (Synology NAS) with Static IP configuration intermittently lose connection - A reboot of the device does not restore the connection. The only way I can restore the connection is either a reboot of the Home Hub, or switch, or both

[Keith_Beddoe]

The TP Link, like all Ethernet switches, stores the MAC addresses of all connected devices, and builds a routing table for each port, so it can look at the Ethernet frame, and route it to the correct port.

Its possible that the switch is losing track of these links, or its internal table is getting corrupted. It could also be faulty memory within the switch itself, or it just does not like working with the home hub.

Replacing the switch would be the first step. I use a managed Netgear switch here, but an unmanaged one should be fine,

[Daveiw100]

Hi.

Thanks for your message.

I have replaced the TP Link switch in the leg of my network and, so far, have not had any issues.

I have another, unrelated, strange issue which I believe may be related to the BT home Hub:

Windows file browser does not show Network devices.  I can still access the devices, but they are not displayed in Windows file browser. 

I contacted microsoft, and they remotely connected, did a few checks, diagnostics, tests etc, and informed me that the issue was a windows corruption and suggested "repairing" or re-installing windows !!!

I do not accept that the issue is a windows corruption as I have the same issue on two different Windows 7 systems.

I have the same issue on both PC's, irrespective of wireless or wired connections.

When I performed the factory reset on the BT Home Hub, I noticed that all the network devices were displayed under Windows file browser.  However these have now dissappeared, and are no longer displayed

Please could you advise how to resolve this, or shed any light on the issue

Thanks

[Keith_Beddoe]

I think you will find that its a "feature" of the BT Home Hubs. They "forget" connections after a while.

[Daveiw100]

So is there no resolution to the problem?

[Keith_Beddoe]

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@Daveiw100 wrote:

So is there no resolution to the problem?

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It was there on the original  home hub 1, which is one of the many reasons I stopped use any BT Home hub.  I think its a legacy issue due to the re-use of the original code. It causes problems with port forwarding as well.

A factory reset clears the ARP and DHCP tables, and allows them to be repopulated.

There are plenty of third party routers costing from £40 upwards, which do not suffer from these issues.