CODA-4582 - Open Issues for Investigation

[RogersDave]

*** This post was last edited May 2, 2017 ***

Good morning Community,

As I mentioned in a post two days ago, we have received the next firmware 2.0.10.20 from Hitron. We are currently running initial testing on this version and will push it out to participants in the firmware trial program as soon as it passes initial testing.

However, while running these tests, we discovered abnormal behavior with ICMP and are awaiting feedback from Hitron today to asses how this will be addressed. As soon as I this is confirmed, I’ll update the change log with the correct version information and start pushing it out.

In parallel, we are still working on the following high priority items. In some cases below, I requested affected customers to reach out to me via private message. If you do so, please include your modem MAC address in the subject line (even if we exchange messages daily) as there are a lot of you reaching out to me daily 🙂

UDP Packet Loss

The investigation for what has been reported as UDP packet loss is still ongoing. We have deployed a probe at one fellow forum member on both a CODA-4582 and a CGNM-3552 to collect additional data. We are actively working with Hitron and Intel on the results observed.

Based on what we know so far, in most instances UDP packet loss is coupled with higher uplink usage in the area. Although the impact is noticeable in specific logs (League of Legends), the root cause for the perceivable impact (while playing) is likely related to bufferbloat (see next issue).

Bufferbloat

When comparing the performance of a CODA-4582 to a CGNM-3552 in the same network conditions, the CODA-4582 consistently reports higher bufferbloat when tested on DSLReports.

Update April 12: The solution for this problem will come in two folds. It will require a change in software which will possibly be included in 2.0.10.27 but more likely in 2.0.10.28 and a change in network configuration.

The network configuration change is not compatible with the current firmware so this change will only come after a vast majority of the modems are running the new code. We are however looking at a way to make the change only for specific modems to support testing in the community.

Update April 22: This problem seems resolved in firmware 2.0.10.27

5 GHz WiFi Low range for channels 36 to 48

Lower WiFi channels on the modem have a much smaller range. This is due in part to the limit imposed by Industry Canada to maximum transmit power.

Furthermore, the current automatic channel selection (auto mode) tends to select the lower channels when in similar load conditions.

Workaround: manually select higher channels (149-153-157-161)

Update April 22: The channel selection algorithm has been improved in firmware 2.0.10.27

Loss of OFDM Channel Lock

Under some RF conditions, the modem fails to lock properly on the OFDM channel. This typically result in variable performance.

Update April 12: This problem is resolved in 2.0.10.26T2

List of connected device does not get fully populated

This is a known issue that has been tracked since firmware 2.0.10.13. We are making improvements at every firmware but it is not a perfect system.

The situation is worst after a reboot or firmware upgrade as the list gets reset and must be repopulated as devices renew their DHCP lease.

NAT Loopback not working for wired clients

When setting up port forwarding to an internal server, it is possible for a client on WiFi to reach the server using the external IP/port. If the client is on a wired interface, it doesn't work.

Update April 12: This problem is resolved in 2.0.10.26T2 (not confirmed)

LAN Counters not working

Some customers reported that LAN counters (especially in bridge mode) are reporting inaccurate values.

This problem has been reported to Hitron for investigation.

Unexpected modem reboot

Some customers reported their modem reboots unexpectedly. We have also seen this behavior in our lab.

Update April 12: This problem is resolved in 2.0.10.26T2

Missing SC-QAM Channels

After a reboot, some modems are missing SC-QAM channels. A fix has been implemented in 2.0.10.26T2 to address this behavior but it has not corrected all scenarios.

Investigation continues with Hitron.

WiFi Survey

The WiFi Survey functionality in firmware 2.0.10.26T2 (and possibly before) reports incorrect SSID names.

Guest Network

When connecting to the Guest Network, an error message is displayed "only allow DHCP client to use this wireless".  This has been reported in firmware 2.0.10.26T2.

Update April 22: This issue has been resolved in firmware 2.0.10.27

Update May 2: It seems this issue is not fully resolved and still experienced by some users

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Future Planned Improvements

The following are items that we are working on in parallel of the above.

• Improvement in WiFi speeds
• Improvement in latency / bufferbloat

Dave

*Edited Labels*

[Telek]

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@igorella1 wrote:
@RogersDave Any plans to increase the MAC reservations limit?

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 @igorella1 you need to understand, in today's devices that only have 1KB of RAM, and about 16 KB of storage space, we have to be very restrictive with the number of entries that are held in various tables. I mean, a MAC address reservation would take what, 6 bytes for the MAC, 4 bytes for the IP, and perhaps a few more bytes for the type and interface indexes. Let's say 16 bytes total. 10 addresses is already 160 bytes, that's a lot when you only have a few KB of storage to play with!

Maybe some day in the future we can have devices with megabytes of RAM and tens of megabytes of storage space, in which case such arbitrary limits to tables such as that won't be needed anymore.  But that's a long way off.

[RogersDave]

Took note and reported the following to Hitron:

• DDNS issue with freedns.afraid.org
• Guest network is still behaving incorrectly in some cases with 2.0.10.27
• Request to increase MAC address reservation limit

Dave

[JohnBeaudin]

Ty for the Update @RogersDave

[Rcam]

I need help with this also.

I contacted Rogers last night and the CSR couldn't help me set up the 5G network connection to this modem.

She asked me to contact Microsoft. Good grief!

I was able to connect to the 2.4G side but my network shows as public and not private.

Any help would be immensely appreciated.

[gp-se]

@Rcam 

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@Rcam wrote:
I need help with this also.

I contacted Rogers last night and the CSR couldn't help me set up the 5G network connection to this modem.

She asked me to contact Microsoft. Good grief!

I was able to connect to the 2.4G side but my network shows as public and not private.

Any help would be immensely appreciated.

---

are you running windows 10? do other devices connect to 5Ghz, or no devices see 5Ghz?

in windows to change from public to private goto network settings -> wifi -> show known wifi networks, then set sharing to on. you can google how to change from private to public, I don't run windows so I'm not sure the exact naming of the setting.

[Rcam]

I am running Windows 10 and my cell phone connects to the 5G.

[Rcam]

After the Rogers csr had me change the password, I can't log into the modem.

Lovely

[Datalink]

@Rcam to solve the modem password issue, you can do one of two things:

1.  Factory reset the modem by depressing the recessed reset button at the back of the modem for 30 seconds and release it.  That will reset everything back to the default parameters; or

2.  Call tech support and ask the CSR to set the modem password for you so that you can log back into the modem.  Once you have logged in you can reset the password to something else of your choice. 

When you have logged back into the modem, navigate to the WIRELESS .... BASIC SETTINGS page, starting with the 2.4 Ghz.  Set the parameters as follows. I'm looking at an older version of the CGN3 user manual, so the security settings might be on a separate WPS & Security tab.  If so, there should be one tab for the 2.4 Ghz wifi and one for the 5 Ghz wifi:

2.4 Ghz Wifi

Wireless Mode: 802.11 n only, unless you know that you have older devices that use b or g
Channel Bandwidth: (?)  not sure this has ever been included on that series of modems.  Set this for 20/40 Mhz if it is available.  
Wireless channel: Auto, although, by looking at your wifi environment you might be able to determine if there are any clear channels, which is very unlikely.  That all depends on your neighborhood.  
WPS Enabled: OFF
Security Mode: WPA-Personal
Auth Mode: WPA2-PSK
Encrypt Mode: AES only

For the 5 Ghz, set as follows:

Wireless Mode: 802.11 a/n/ac mixed
Channel Bandwidth: 80 Mhz, although, for test purposes you could set this to 40 Mhz
Wireless channel: 149 to 165
WPS Enabled: OFF
Security Mode: WPA-Personal
Auth Mode: WPA2-PSK
Encrypt Mode: AES only

Look at your wifi environment using one or more of the following applications that you load on your laptop:

http://www.techspot.com/downloads/5936-inssider.html

https://www.acrylicwifi.com/en/wlan-software/wlan-scanner-acrylic-wifi-free/

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_information_view.html

Thats the last freebie version of inSSIDer and at this point in time is getting a little old. Its fine for 2.4 Ghz application and does work for 802.11n 5 Ghz networks.  It does display 802.11ac networks but not as well as it should. This has become a licenced application now for $20 US and works very well for both frequency bands, 2.4 and 5 Ghz.

The other applications are fine for 802.11ac. Acrylic is graphical, WifiInfoView is text only.

What you want to do is determine what channels in the 2.4 Ghz range, and which of the 5 Ghz channels in the 149 to 165 range are occupied and if so, which offers the least competition in terms of signal level for any given channel. If you can find a channel or channel range in each group that is not occupied or that offers the least amount of interference from other modems/routers, that will be the best choice.

When you are looking at your wifi network with one of the applications, you can confirm that it shows as locked, indicating that the hashing process that uses both the network name and passphrase is being used to generate the encryption for the network.  

[Rcam]

I'm so sorry, this problem persists with the CODA 4582. Slightly embarrassed is an understatement lol

I wrote the initial post while at work

I have an Intel wireless adapter that supports b/g/n

[Datalink]

No problem 🙂  What's your current situation then?  You have a b/g/n adapter, sounds like 2.4 Ghz only.  Do you have the wifi network up and running in an encrypted mode at this time?

[Rcam]

I logged into the modem, changed the 2.4G setting to b/g and the 5G to a/n

I'm still getting a generic "the modem or connecting device has reported an issue"

[Rcam]

I was told by a car rep that I may only be limited to 2.4 on a live chat I just had tonight.

I thought n supports 5G? Or am I wrong?

[Datalink]

If you own a mixture of old and new 2.4 Ghz devices, the 2.4 Ghz wifi should be set for b/g/n.  b/g modes will result in slower data rates for the devices in question.  

N is supported for 5 Ghz operation, but, you pointed out that your adapter runs b/g/n, which sounds very much like a 2.4 Ghz only device.  Have you run the laptop/device on 5 Ghz networks before?  Stupid question at first, but we've had a number of people run into the lack of 5 Ghz capability on new and not so old laptops, which is why I'm looking for confirmation that you have run the device on 5 Ghz networks.  

If you load inSSIDer onto your laptop, you will see that the graphical display at the bottom is split into two areas, 2.4 Ghz on the left, 5 Ghz on the right.  If the 5 Ghz area is empty of any networks, which is really hard to do in a normal neighborhood, then the device doesn't support 5 Ghz wifi or the 5 Ghz wifi is disabled in the adapter settings.  

If you drill down into the device manager, down to the wifi adapter and copy the adapter name in its entirety, post that info into a post so that we can check the adapter specs.  

[Rcam]

No this is virgin territory for me for my laptop.

Guess I'm limited by hardware capabilities.

Thank you so much, you've been a big help

[Datalink]

If it turns out that your laptop is limited to the 2.4 Ghz band only for wifi, you could consider something like a USB wifi adapter such as the following.  The large antenna is removable.

https://www.asus.com/ca-en/Networking/USBAC56/

That adapter will give you access to the faster 5 Ghz 802.11ac network capability of the modem.

Depending on the laptop modem in question, you might be able to replace the wifi adapter.  That requires a little laptop surgery, which isn't as hard as it sounds.  It just depends on the laptop model, as some manufactures have hard coded acceptable adapters into the bios.  Use something not in the list and the laptop won't boot.  

[Rcam]

I like surgery though 🙂

The laptops a Lenovo IdeaPad p500

[Datalink]

Ok, in that case we need the expertise of @VivienM, the local guru in laptops and wifi adapters.  

Assuming that the CNET specs for the laptop are correct, the wifi adapter is an Intel Centrino Wireless-N 2230 - PCI Express Mini Card which is a dual antenna, 300 Mb/s b/g/n wifi card.  That card runs 2.4 Ghz only.

https://www.cnet.com/products/lenovo-ideapad-p500-15-6-core-i5-3230m-6-gb-ram-1-tb-hdd/specs/

https://ark.intel.com/products/66889/Intel-Centrino-Wireless-N-2230-Single-Band

@VivienM will hopefully be able to tell you if the card can be replaced without any issues from bios white listing. 

[VivienM]

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@Rcam wrote:
I like surgery though 🙂

The laptops a Lenovo IdeaPad p500

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Lenovo is known to engage in BIOS whitelisting, so if you wanted to upgrade the wifi card, what you'd have to do is look at the Hardware Maintenance Manual manual for that laptop and see what cards are listed. (Often, they offer multiple versions of a given laptop with the same motherboard but different RAM/HD/screens... and wifi cards. But it'll be a single whitelist).

If a dual band card (e.g. an Intel 6230, which is the dual-band card of the same generation as yours) is listed, then get your hands on the Lenovo version of that card (i.e. one with a Lenovo FRU number that matches the number in the HMM... if FRUs are used for IdeaPads, I'm more familiar with ThinkPads so maybe they have a different name for IdeaPads part numbers), and try swapping it in, and hope for the best. Used cards pulled from Lenovos from eBay are one way to go; now that I think about it, I suppose you could just call up Lenovo's parts department ((866) 779-0021) with the FRU number and see if they'll just sell you one.

One quick way of identifying a dual-band card: 802.11a and 802.11ac are 5GHz-only. If something says 'b/g/n', that's 2.4-only; if it says 'a/b/g/n' it's dual-band.

Or, if you are really courageous, you could look for a modified BIOS that removes the whitelist, and install a 7260AC Intel card. That has a serious risk of bricking your motherboard and is not something I have experience in or would recommend.

[Rcam]

Is that why I just lost my wifi? I can see other networks, not mine though.

A reboot didn't help.

Rogers needs to get on this asap and fix these issues, like yesterday!

[Telek]

@Datalink @Rcam

You don't need to run those apps from the laptop -- if you have an android device, get WiFiAnalyzer, if you're on IOS, get Network Analyzer Lite.

[Telek]

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@Datalink wrote:

@VivienM will hopefully be able to tell you if the card can be replaced without any issues from bios white listing. 

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The bios whitelisting is mainly because not all devices are made equally. The antennas in the laptop might not work with other devices, leading to damaging the device or just poor wifi performance.

Primarily though, you need to stick to what the original card was designed for. If it's a 2.4GHz only card, then you won't be able to use a 5GHz card in there.

Because of that, there's really little point to replacing it. If the card already handles 2.4 b/g/n, then that's about the best that you're going to be able to get internally anyway. You might be able to replace it with a card that gets slightly better performance, but that's probably not worth it.