No Broadband, but Wifi Still Works
 

The broadband light on the Arris NVG510 is blinking red on an
Ethernet-connected Win10 desktop computer. Restarting the router
didn't help, and it continues blinking red even when the Ethernet
cable is disconnected. However, all smartphones on the network have
WiFi working and connected to the expected SSID. Why doesn't the
broadband issue affect the wireless connections?

No Broadband, but Wifi Still Works
 

On 12/23/2018 8:05 PM, M.L. wrote:


The broadband light on the Arris NVG510 is blinking red on an
Ethernet-connected Win10 desktop computer. Restarting the router
didn't help, and it continues blinking red even when the Ethernet
cable is disconnected. However, all smartphones on the network have
WiFi working and connected to the expected SSID. Why doesn't the
broadband issue affect the wireless connections?

If you meant the indicator on the nvg510 is blinking red, I found this:

Gateway status lights - NVG510

Broadband light Flashing Red
There is no DSL signal on the line. This is only used when there is no
signal, not during times of temporary no tone during the training sequence.

Ethernet light Off
The gateway power is off, There are no powered devices connected to the
Ethernet ports.

https://www.att.com/esupport/article...M1050512?gsi=c

Can you access the modem logs? (log in and go to the "Diagnostics-Logs"
tab)

How old is the gateway?

No Broadband, but Wifi Still Works
 

The broadband light on the Arris NVG510 is blinking red on an
Ethernet-connected Win10 desktop computer. Restarting the router
didn't help, and it continues blinking red even when the Ethernet
cable is disconnected. However, all smartphones on the network have
WiFi working and connected to the expected SSID. Why doesn't the
broadband issue affect the wireless connections?

If you meant the indicator on the nvg510 is blinking red, I found this:

Gateway status lights - NVG510

Broadband light Flashing Red
There is no DSL signal on the line. This is only used when there is no
signal, not during times of temporary no tone during the training sequence.

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I read that on page 70 of the Arris NVG510
router manual. The fact that there's no DSL signal while the WiFi is
still working has me befuddled.

Ethernet light Off
The gateway power is off, There are no powered devices connected to the
Ethernet ports.

https://www.att.com/esupport/article...M1050512?gsi=c

Can you access the modem logs? (log in and go to the "Diagnostics-Logs"
tab)

I was actually helping a non tech-savvy user over the phone, so I
don't have that info and there's no chance the user can follow
directions to get that info.

How old is the gateway?

They've had their router for about 3 years but they bought it used.

However, AT&T is coming over on Christmas to troubleshoot so I'm not
concerned about fixing anything anymore. Out of curiosity I'm
concerned as to why their WiFi is working while the Broadband light is
flashing red.

No Broadband, but Wifi Still Works
 

M.L. wrote:

The broadband light on the Arris NVG510 is blinking red on an
Ethernet-connected Win10 desktop computer. Restarting the router
didn't help, and it continues blinking red even when the Ethernet
cable is disconnected. However, all smartphones on the network have
WiFi working and connected to the expected SSID. Why doesn't the
broadband issue affect the wireless connections?

If you meant the indicator on the nvg510 is blinking red, I found this:

Gateway status lights - NVG510

Broadband light Flashing Red
There is no DSL signal on the line. This is only used when there is no
signal, not during times of temporary no tone during the training sequence.

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I read that on page 70 of the Arris NVG510
router manual. The fact that there's no DSL signal while the WiFi is
still working has me befuddled.

Ethernet light Off
The gateway power is off, There are no powered devices connected to the
Ethernet ports.

https://www.att.com/esupport/article...M1050512?gsi=c

Can you access the modem logs? (log in and go to the "Diagnostics-Logs"
tab)

I was actually helping a non tech-savvy user over the phone, so I
don't have that info and there's no chance the user can follow
directions to get that info.

How old is the gateway?

They've had their router for about 3 years but they bought it used.

However, AT&T is coming over on Christmas to troubleshoot so I'm not
concerned about fixing anything anymore. Out of curiosity I'm
concerned as to why their WiFi is working while the Broadband light is
flashing red.

Wi-fi "working" could mean lots of different things. For example, maybe
the phones can connect via wi-fi to the modem but the users haven't yet
tested that they can actually get an Internet connection (by using a web
browser). Unless they also disable their cellular data connection, they
won't know if the Internet traffic they generate is over the wi-fi
connection to the modem or through a cellular data connection.

No Broadband, but Wifi Still Works
 

Wi-fi "working" could mean lots of different things. For example, maybe
the phones can connect via wi-fi to the modem but the users haven't yet
tested that they can actually get an Internet connection (by using a web
browser).

One user absent-mindedly logged into her office remotely and was
connected. That's how they found out they had wireless Internet.
That's her work phone and it doesn't have cellular service.

Unless they also disable their cellular data connection, they
won't know if the Internet traffic they generate is over the wi-fi
connection to the modem or through a cellular data connection.

One of my troubleshooting tips was to confirm the expected SSID of the
wireless connection.

No Broadband, but Wifi Still Works
 

M.L. wrote:

Wi-fi "working" could mean lots of different things. For example, maybe
the phones can connect via wi-fi to the modem but the users haven't yet
tested that they can actually get an Internet connection (by using a web
browser).

One user absent-mindedly logged into her office remotely and was
connected. That's how they found out they had wireless Internet.
That's her work phone and it doesn't have cellular service.

VOIP service is separate from Internet service. That's why when you
call to report an outage they ask if the other service still works (to
know the physical connections and cabling are still okay).

Unclear if the work phone is a landline phone or a cell phone but with
no cellular service (no voice or data service plan). If a landline
(using VOIP service), I don't see how this user "logged into" her office
(which presumably means using HTTP[S] to connect to a server at work,
not to a phone number there).

Unless they also disable their cellular data connection, they
won't know if the Internet traffic they generate is over the wi-fi
connection to the modem or through a cellular data connection.

One of my troubleshooting tips was to confirm the expected SSID of the
wireless connection.

While you could dig into the modem's configuration to see, for example,
if the wifi connection was subnetted away from the Internet access (it's
very possible to use subnets within the intranet that grant no WAN-side
access, and the same for the Ethernet wired ports), it would probably be
much easier to reset the modem to its defaults. On my modem, a quick
press does a simple reset but a 15-second continued press resets it back
to factory defaults and that requires me to call in to get the ISP to
reprovision the modem according to my service tiers with them.

I found an online copy of the user manual for the Arris NVG510 at:

https://www.manualslib.com/products/...0-3539646.html

Page 67 mentions the soft resets: those you do using the web server
internal to the modem. You said your customer is incapable of figuring
out how to use the modem's configuration screens. That page mentions
the reset will lose the "programming" (that I call provisioning) for the
modem (as to what the ISP will allow for services on their end with that
modem). It mentions you may have to reprogram the modem, and that will
have you calling the ISP to do that (unless they provide a web page
where the customer can initiate a reprovisioning of that modem listed in
the customer's account).

For the modems that I've had, there's been a pinhole opening on the
backpanel through which you can insert a paper clip to push a physical
reset button (instead of using the modem's web server to reconfig).
That's where I got in trouble with the 15-second push that got the modem
so reset that it had to get reprovisioned by the ISP. Later when I
talked with them, they said for a normal reset to just momentarily push
the physical reset button.

I found page 15 of the online manual shows the backpanel of this modem,
and there is a physical reset button. Page 75 discusses this button.
From its description, a less than 10-second push just reboots the modem.
A longer press resets the modem to factory defaults (and that could mean
not having the same SSIDs as before which means having to reprogram the
wifi connects in the phones or other wifi devices that use the modem).

You mentioned the customer did a restart. The might've been just a
reboot which would not reset the settings in the modem. Make sure the
customer knows what number to call their ISP after doing a longer button
push that resets to factory defaults as they may have to get the modem
provisioned again.

No Broadband, but Wifi Still Works
 

VanguardLH wrote:
M.L. wrote:


VOIP service is separate from Internet service. That's why when you
call to report an outage they ask if the other service still works (to
know the physical connections and cabling are still okay).

This is how an all-in-one box does it.
Wifi
/
ADSL ----- PPPOE decap ----- VOIP extracted ------- rest of routing ---- switch
here due to amt for computer room / | | \
of ports and port
ranges needed
/ \

That's an all-in-one modem/router/voip with two RJ11 on it.

If the ADSL is not running, *everything* dies.

The serially connected bits can knock out things downstream
of them.

For example, my very first router, which cost $300 and
was a piece of crap, it actually died where the
left hand connection on the switch chip comes in. The
box was partitioned internally, by a failure. But that
was a permanent failure, rather than a temporary one.

Paul

No Broadband, but Wifi Still Works
 

Paul wrote:

VanguardLH wrote:
M.L. wrote:


VOIP service is separate from Internet service. That's why when you
call to report an outage they ask if the other service still works (to
know the physical connections and cabling are still okay).

This is how an all-in-one box does it.
Wifi
/
ADSL ----- PPPOE decap ----- VOIP extracted ------- rest of routing ---- switch
here due to amt for computer room / | | \
of ports and port
ranges needed
/ \

That's an all-in-one modem/router/voip with two RJ11 on it.

If the ADSL is not running, *everything* dies.

The serially connected bits can knock out things downstream
of them.

For example, my very first router, which cost $300 and
was a piece of crap, it actually died where the
left hand connection on the switch chip comes in. The
box was partitioned internally, by a failure. But that
was a permanent failure, rather than a temporary one.

Paul

According to your diagram, the wifi comes into the router past the
switch (for the wired Ethernet ports). Maybe the switch went bad.
Maybe the router got misconfigured, so the Ethernet ports got disabled.
Maybe someone setup MAC authentication but what was allowed before are
not the MACs for the current wired hosts. That's why I figured a
factory reset (and re-provision) might be needed, not just the reboot
already tried for the modem.

Looks like the NVG510 was End-Of-Lifed back in mid-2015.. If the OP is
leasing the modem, he should contact his ISP to get it replaced.

https://www.networkworld.com/article...very-good.html

No Broadband, but Wifi Still Works
 

On 12/23/2018 11:05 PM, M.L. wrote:


The broadband light on the Arris NVG510 is blinking red on an
Ethernet-connected Win10 desktop computer. Restarting the router
didn't help, and it continues blinking red even when the Ethernet
cable is disconnected. However, all smartphones on the network have
WiFi working and connected to the expected SSID. Why doesn't the
broadband issue affect the wireless connections?


You seem to be certain that the red light means that communication are
absolutely and totally lost but what happens is it merely means that the
connection is intermittent or sub-optimal? What if the "red light flashy
circuit" is reacting badly?

Manuals don't always say what they mean -- sometimes the manual writer
really has no clue of what is actually going on beyond some vague notions
and notes from the designers (and designers don't always pay much attention
to correcting the drafts of the manuals even if they are actually included
in the loop). If you are sure that you have connection and can perform
tests to prove it then you _have_ connection no matter what the light is
telling you. Think of it as a defective "check engine" light -- put some
black tape over it. When the communications are truly lost then you will
have _no_ question about it and you can gaze at the LED then.

That said, I'd certainly be badgering my ISP for an immediate (free)
replacement of the old one and the flashing LED is as good an excuse as any.

No Broadband, but Wifi Still Works
 

John McGaw wrote:

On 12/23/2018 11:05 PM, M.L. wrote:

The broadband light on the Arris NVG510 is blinking red on an
Ethernet-connected Win10 desktop computer. Restarting the router
didn't help, and it continues blinking red even when the Ethernet
cable is disconnected. However, all smartphones on the network have
WiFi working and connected to the expected SSID. Why doesn't the
broadband issue affect the wireless connections?


You seem to be certain that the red light means that communication are
absolutely and totally lost but what happens is it merely means that the
connection is intermittent or sub-optimal? What if the "red light flashy
circuit" is reacting badly?

Manuals don't always say what they mean -- sometimes the manual writer
really has no clue of what is actually going on beyond some vague notions
and notes from the designers (and designers don't always pay much attention
to correcting the drafts of the manuals even if they are actually included
in the loop). If you are sure that you have connection and can perform
tests to prove it then you _have_ connection no matter what the light is
telling you. Think of it as a defective "check engine" light -- put some
black tape over it. When the communications are truly lost then you will
have _no_ question about it and you can gaze at the LED then.

That said, I'd certainly be badgering my ISP for an immediate (free)
replacement of the old one and the flashing LED is as good an excuse as any.

I had originally understood the OP as saying there was Internet
connectivity via wi-fi to the modem but not when using Ethernet (wired)
to the modem. However, all the OP actually said is there is Internet
connectivity via wi-fi but never mentioned if there is Internet
connectivity via wired.

Regardless of the LEDs on the modem:
- OP said wi-fi gets to Internet okay.
- No mention of whether or not wired Ethernet gets to the Internet.
- Flashing red LED doesn't match wi-fi connectivity to Internet.

From reading articles about that modem, it has a history of poor
reliability. Some users noted the modem would lose the Internet
connection and have to renegotiate several times per day. With DSL, as
I recall, there is a keep-alive ping that can be adjusted. If a reset
(not a reboot) doesn't work and if the modem is leased, exchange it.