Huawei b818-263 bridge mode problem

[Evanz]

I’ve been using my recently acquired Huawei b818-236 in bridge mode, connected to a TP Link Deco M5 mesh setup, and it’s been working perfectly well until today, when I swapped the 1p Mobile SIM card I’d been using, for a Scancom prepaid EE SIM (£230 for 20 months) from Amazon.

Now, when I try to put the Huawei router in bridge mode, everything just freezes up and the internet connection drops, and I have to reset the router.
Why would this happen just by swapping the SIM card for another SIM on the same network?

Any help would be much appreciated..

 

[mikeliuk]

Did the TP-Link obtain a new WAN IP address after the swap?

Does swapping back fix?

 

[Evanz]

I’m a bit green with this technology, dunno about the WAN IP address, but turning off bridge mode does fix it.

 

[Evanz]

Did you

Did the TP-Link obtain a new WAN IP address after the swap?

Does swapping back fix?

Do you mean swapping the old SIM back? You know what? I haven’t tried that, but I will now,

 

[dazmatic]

2 things to try.

1. Make sure the WAN on your TP link is set to DHCP mode.

2. Set bridge mode on the Huawei router, give it a few seconds and then unplug/plug the TP link WAN again. That'll force the the TP link to renew the IP address.

Which port on the Huawei you using? If I remember correctly there's only 1 port that'll allow bridge mode IP passthrough.

 

[Evanz]

I can’t find any settings regarding DHCP in the Deco app, which is the only way to access the Deco settings, so I’m stuck there.
The issue occurs whichever LAN/WAN port I’m plugged into, but I’ll try the other thing later today.

 

[Evanz]

I can’t find any settings regarding DHCP in the Deco app, which is the only way to access the Deco settings, so I’m stuck there.
The issue occurs whichever LAN/WAN port I’m plugged into, but I’ll try the other thing later today.

Well I've completely reset everything, router and Decos, and the router still crashes and has to be reset every time I try and turn on bridge mode.

I don't seem to be having any problems yet, but turning off WiFi on the router will help I think.

Thanks for your suggestions though.

 

[dazmatic]

Well I've completely reset everything, router and Decos, and the router still crashes and has to be reset every time I try and turn on bridge mode.

I don't seem to be having any problems yet, but turning off WiFi on the router will help I think.

Thanks for your suggestions though.

Which port on Huawei?

Only use WAN port on Deco

 

[dazmatic]

Try login in to the deco via web interface. The app will be limited.

How to log into the web-based interface of my Deco | TP-Link

How to log into the web-based interface of my Deco

www.tp-link.com

 

[Evanz]

Try login in to the deco via web interface. The app will be limited.

How to log into the web-based interface of my Deco | TP-Link

How to log into the web-based interface of my Deco

www.tp-link.com

Thanks for that, I didn’t know you could manage the Decos through a browser, they sort of infer that the app is your only option.
Anyway, the web ui seems to be just as limited as the app - I couldn’t find anything pertaining to DHCP there either.
I’ve no idea how to tell which port is lan or wan, there’s nothing to indicate, and from what I’ve read online (if I understand it correctly), there’s some sort of auto detection going on.
The issue occurs on both ports on the 818.

 

[krustylicious]

Evanz the wan port on the m5 are auto sensing so you don't need to worry about which of the two ports you plug the cable from the huawei

 

[mikeliuk]

Evanz the wan port on the m5 are auto sensing so you don't need to worry about which of the two ports you plug the cable from the huawei

How does it determine the WAN link?

I can't immediately think of a good way to determine the WAN side as there might also be a gateway on the LAN side as in my network.

The failure-handling seems really unpleasant: https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/273992

 

[Evanz]

Evanz the wan port on the m5 are auto sensing so you don't need to worry about which of the two ports you plug the cable from the huawei

Thanks, that's what I was beginning to think.

 

[krustylicious]

How does it determine the WAN link?

I can't immediately think of a good way to determine the WAN side as there might also be a gateway on the LAN side as in my network.

The failure-handling seems really unpleasant: https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/273992

probably a ping to google or tplink lol. I don't know if the tp-link wan is a true wan port or not - ie able to send login credentials

 

[mikeliuk]

probably a ping to google or tplink lol. I don't know if the tp-link wan is a true wan port or not - ie able to send login credentials

On failure, it seems both switch-ports attempt to become the WAN so might both act as DHCP client except it's perfectly valid to have a separate DHCP server and gateway in the LAN (as I do with OPNsense downstream of a router).

Ping would require a WAN IP address and default gateway are obtained first.

Auto-sensing seems like a good idea until one thinks about it. After thinking about it, it's better to find a way to disable which presumably is not an implemented function.

 

[Evanz]

This has gone way over my head, but I appreciate your taking the time to chew over my problem. Am I basically buggered?

 

[krustylicious]

On failure, it seems both switch-ports attempt to become the WAN so might both act as DHCP client except it's perfectly valid to have a separate DHCP server and gateway in the LAN (as I do with OPNsense downstream of a router).

Ping would require a WAN IP address and default gateway are obtained first.

Auto-sensing seems like a good idea until one thinks about it. After thinking about it, it's better to find a way to disable which presumably is not an implemented function.

Its better to have switchable wan ports. the m5s could temporary act as a dhcp server and give its own address and then prob the ports.

Anyhow we've digressed - alot. Could Evanz have turned the dhcp server back on (by reseting it) and the deco is also acting as a dhcp server - hence the splat moment with Huawei not working

 

[Evanz]

Which port on Huawei?

Only use WAN port on Deco

I’m plugged into the LAN/WAN port on the 818, rather than just LAN - is that ok?

 

[mikeliuk]

A router's WAN port exists for the router to obtain a connection to the outside world, such as the internet.

The 818 LAN/WAN probably defaults to a LAN port but this should probably be checked. For the purposes of debugging, it makes sense to have as little connected as possible so it's just as easy to use the 818 LAN port so there is no doubt.

 

[Evanz]

A router's WAN port exists for the router to obtain a connection to the outside world, such as the internet.

The 818 LAN/WAN probably defaults to a LAN port but this should probably be checked. For the purposes of debugging, it makes sense to have as little connected as possible so it's just as easy to use the 818 LAN port so there is no doubt.

Duly noted. Thanks