# Nomad won't keep IP Address



## JDMAC (Dec 9, 2012)

Hi folks. Appreciate everyone's hard work and help around here. I have used the forum every now and again for help and I greatly appreciate the advice and time spent to help all of us out.

I have 3 HD DVRs (HR20, HR21, HR22) all connected to the internet and used in a whole home setup. 

I foolishly perhaps ordered a Nomad some time back and have had nothing but trouble with it. Even when it worked, it still worked intermittently.

Where I am now is a step short of crazy from trying to beat the Nomad and get it to function again. It is clearly an inferior piece of consumer electronic equipment if I dare even call it that. I have spent more time trying to troubleshoot this thing than I care to admit.

I have an Actiontec router (MI424WR-GEN2) FIOS issue. One of my DVRs is on the other side of a one switch and another is on the other side of another.

My issue is that I cannot get the Nomad to hold onto an IP address. If i pull power and plug it back in it briefly shows up pulling a DHCP address from the router, but when I ping it it receives 4/4, but spits nothing back to me. Shortly thereafter it loses the connection all together.

Anyone have any ideas here. i have reset, rebooted, re-everythinged an bunch of times. I have even tried port fowarding the ports I had read on a directv thread for the nomad. This is driving me nuts - if anyone has any ideas, I would greatly appreciate the help.

Thanks,
JD


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

Everything needs to be on one subnet to work correctly. It is unclear whether you have separate subnets, but just a thought since you appear to have multiple switches and/or routers on your network unless I misread your post.


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## JDMAC (Dec 9, 2012)

Thanks, everything is on the same subnet. I do have a second router that is configured as an access point, but nothing is behind that access point. My issue is that I cannot get the Nomad to pick up and hold onto an IP address for longer than a minute.


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## NR4P (Jan 16, 2007)

By having DVR's on one side of a switch and others on another side, I am reading that you aren't on a WHDVR installed network. It reads like an unsupported self installed network?

If I am wrong, please provide some type of drawing.

What I can attest to is that having a supported WHDVR system over the DECA configuration with my Nomad plugged into the router directly via Cat5 cable, I've never had a problem.

On second thought, even if it is self installed network an is unsupported, a drawing will be helpful.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

JDMAC said:


> Thanks, everything is on the same subnet. I do have a second router that is configured as an access point, but nothing is behind that access point. My issue is that I cannot get the Nomad to pick up and hold onto an IP address for longer than a minute.


Does your router allow you to assign DHCP reservations? Basically, assign a DHCP IP address to a specific MAC address. If you can do that, see what happens.

- Merg


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

The Merg said:


> Does your router allow you to assign DHCP reservations? Basically, assign a DHCP IP address to a specific MAC address. If you can do that, see what happens.
> 
> - Merg


Yeah....that's how I always do it here when adding a networked device...and the nomad IP has "stuck" since day one.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

The Merg said:


> Does your router allow you to assign DHCP reservations? Basically, assign a DHCP IP address to a specific MAC address. If you can do that, see what happens.
> 
> - Merg


I used DHCP Reservations for myWHDVR Service and my problems went away as it is much the same thing as using a Static iP Address in the DHCP keeps on reassigning the same IP Address when it renews its Lease.


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

Be sure you have DHCP turned OFF on the second router. Two DHCP servers can create havoc on the net.

Also, since you can't set a static IP on nomad, I'd try a reservation as the others have suggested.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Most consumer routers maintain relationship between MAC address and IP address as long as you don't do something rash (like frequently changing the firmware).

Other routers give out new leases like they were going out of style. This is undesirable as it messes with name resolution and largely prohibits the use of port forwarding (desirable from the standpoint of an ISP that doesn't allow servers).

My recommendation would be to see about using a router of your choosing rather than what FIOS saddled you with. As a test, you could borrow a conventional router and plug it into a LAN port on the Actiontec.


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## JDMAC (Dec 9, 2012)

Thanks all. The 2nd router is just setup as an access point, it does not assign DHCP, but thanks for that suggestion as I know it would screw things up. 

I am going to call Actiontec and see if they can help me out with this. Trust me that i would love to ditch the Actiontec router for another unit, but I had experienced some ridiculous connectivity issues over the past year with FIOS and it is finally sorted, but they will not help troubleshoot a non-actiontec router and I have everything working super smoothly now. I know as when I started experiencing the issues I had a D-link swapped in for an older Actiontec. I really just don't want to go to the trouble of reconfiguring the entire network and digging myself a hole if there is a way to get the Nomad to work with this router.

Everything else and anything else I introduce to the network works great. My whole home works terrific (it is a supported install swim etc).

I have to look into an easier way to reserve DHCP with the Actiontec... there is a convoluted method I tried that appeared as if it should have worked, but the Nomad still lost the connection after 30s. The IP address became associated with the MAC address of the Nomad and every time I try to get it to connect it does go to that same IP address, but it just won't stay connected.

Is there really no way to create a static IP address for the Nomad?


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

If your nomad is wandering off, DHCP probably isn't the issue. Unless it is showing up at a new IP address, it is likely that it is just sticking its head in the sand and needs to be replaced for bad behavior.

IIRC, you need to do this ASAP as the nomad warranty period is limited (12 months) and it isn't covered by the standard Protection Plan.


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

I assume you've tried a different / known good cable and a different port on your router or switch?

I have my nomad on the DECA cloud (with a DECA adaptor and PI on the coax) and a reserved IP outside of the DHCP address range. Works fine and has survived a recent firmware update.

It's certainly possible it's defective hardware or power supply.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

JDMAC said:


> I am going to call Actiontec and see if they can help me out with this. Trust me that i would love to ditch the Actiontec router for another unit, but I had experienced some ridiculous connectivity issues over the past year with FIOS and it is finally sorted, but they will not help troubleshoot a non-actiontec router and I have everything working super smoothly now. I know as when I started experiencing the issues I had a D-link swapped in for an older Actiontec.


Your problem is likely determined by what your router can/cannot do in terms of setting up an IP reservation for any device, including your nomad.

After logging into your adminstrative screen on your router, most units allow you to go into an "advanced settings" section and then a "network filtering" or similar tab for mapping a mac address with an IP. That is what "assigns" that IP in the router to your device in terms of "reserving" it for just that device.

*Your problem likely has nothing to do with nomad itself.*


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## JDMAC (Dec 9, 2012)

harsh said:


> If your nomad is wandering off, DHCP probably isn't the issue. Unless it is showing up at a new IP address, it is likely that it is just sticking its head in the sand and needs to be replaced for bad behavior.
> 
> IIRC, you need to do this ASAP as the nomad warranty period is limited (12 months) and it isn't covered by the standard Protection Plan.


Thx. Warranty expires on 12/28. On it.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Your problem is likely determined by what your router can/cannot do in terms of setting up an IP reservation for any device, including your nomad.
> 
> *Your problem likely has nothing to do with nomad itself.*


I couldn't have stated it Better!!! 

I would think that Replacing you Nomad will not help you as it is a Router Problem and Not a Nomad Problem as no one else reports this problem but you.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

JDMAC said:


> Thx. Warranty expires on 12/28. On it.


As a point of caution and reference...that dog-icon poster is a Dish customer and has no idea how nomad works in terms of any hands-on experience.

Those of us that do have these units would point you in an entirely different direction - the router setup (and the 99.9% probable source of your obstacle).


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

JDMAC said:


> Is there really no way to create a static IP address for the Nomad?


Yes...there is a way to have a "reserved" IP, based on the setup in your router. The IP is assigned by your router only, not nomad.


hdtvfan0001 said:


> As a point of caution and reference...that dog-icon poster is a Dish customer and has no idea how nomad works in terms of any hands-on experience.
> 
> Those of us that do have these units would point you in an entirely different direction - the router setup (and the 99.9% probable source of your obstacle).


Try logging into your router per its instructions...then search the router help for "mac addreses" and see how it maps those to devices for a reserved IP.


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## JDMAC (Dec 9, 2012)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Your problem is likely determined by what your router can/cannot do in terms of setting up an IP reservation for any device, including your nomad.
> 
> After logging into your adminstrative screen on your router, most units allow you to go into an "advanced settings" section and then a "network filtering" or similar tab for mapping a mac address with an IP. That is what "assigns" that IP in the router to your device in terms of "reserving" it for just that device.
> 
> *Your problem likely has nothing to do with nomad itself.*


I have mapped a mac address w/ an IP although i made it one in the DHCP range... could that have something to do with it? Doesn't seem like that could make a difference in why it can't hold an IP address for more than 10s and every other device I have ever come across can.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

JDMAC said:


> I have mapped a mac address w/ an IP although i made it one in the DHCP range... could that have something to do with it? Doesn't seem like that could make a difference in why it can't hold an IP address for more than 10s and every other device I have ever come across can.


You are right that it should work. It does with my D-Link router.

That said...some routers have their own "unique" ways of handling network controls...so it could be worth trying it outside the range.

One other thing...make sure you "reboot" the router first and then nomad (you can just pull the power out for 5-10 seconds) just to make sure all the settings are in place when those devices "handshake" on the network.


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## JDMAC (Dec 9, 2012)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> You are right that it should work. It does with my D-Link router.
> 
> That said...some routers have their own "unique" ways of handling network controls...so it could be worth trying it outside the range.
> 
> One other thing...make sure you "reboot" the router first and then nomad (you can just pull the power out for 5-10 seconds) just to make sure all the settings are in place when those devices "handshake" on the network.


Will give it a go. Appreciate the efforts.


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## JDMAC (Dec 9, 2012)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Yes...there is a way to have a "reserved" IP, based on the setup in your router. The IP is assigned by your router only, not nomad.
> 
> Try logging into your router per its instructions...then search the router help for "mac addreses" and see how it maps those to devices for a reserved IP.


I changed the address of the Nomad to an address outside the DHCP range, but still on the same subnet. When i test the connectivity (ping it) 4/4 packets sent, 0/4 sent back... 100% loss. At least now with it having a "reserved" IP address I can see it in my connections list as a static connection and the status is "Active"... i just can't connect to it.

Hopefully engineering at DTV will be able to help. Little annoying that you can't speak directly to them, but the case "has been escalated". In instances like this, the added levels of customer service resemble Keynesian make-work programs.

Any chance there is a limit as to how many devices can be hooked up to this Actiontec router? CS rep asked the question.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

JDMAC said:


> I changed the address of the Nomad to an address outside the DHCP range, but still on the same subnet. When i test the connectivity (ping it) 4/4 packets sent, 0/4 sent back... 100% loss. At least now with it having a "reserved" IP address I can see it in my connections list as a static connection and the status is "Active"... i just can't connect to it.
> 
> Hopefully engineering at DTV will be able to help. Little annoying that you can't speak directly to them, but the case "has been escalated". In instances like this, the added levels of customer service resemble Keynesian make-work programs.
> 
> Any chance there is a limit as to how many devices can be hooked up to this Actiontec router? CS rep asked the question.


Well it's good that you at least made some progress.

What I can tell you is that you are not the first FIOS Internet customer that has had an issue with networked devices - not just nomad. Their routers have settings specifically designed to address the needs of that service.

You might want to also speak to the FIOS folks about the router setup - let them know that all you are trying to do is:

1) Assign a reserved IP for a network device
2) Allow that device to have Internet access outside of any firewall

In reality, I know of a number of folks with nomad where the install was as close to plug-and-play as one might imagine. I'd be willing to bet that the FIOS support folks might be able to help you get past this issue with as much likelihood as the nomad support folks.

Let us know how this turns out and what resolved your issue. That kind of information always has the potential to help someone else some day.


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

Yes, keep us Posted as I am curious exactly what is causing your problem.


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## JDMAC (Dec 9, 2012)

Well, I spoke to Verizon technical support and Actiontec technical support and went over the situation. They both seem to think after talking through it that is most likely a hardware issue.

The device has a reserved IP address and should work on the internal network. They also questioned why the Nomad if it was doing what I described it to do... take mp4 from a DVR and transcode it to be then transferred to a PC or an Ipad why opening ports would even come into play. As I understand it and both of them understand it, everything that the Nomad does happens on the internal network.

Am I wrong here, does the Nomad communicate with the DVRs outside of the LAN? Per HDTVfan it would seem that it does need access to the internet (WAN) outside of the firewall? Why would this be? Nomad only works to transfer show to a device when you are on that internal network (LAN) it seems. Please explain if anyone knows the answer.

Also, should have additional detail from DirecTV engineering hopefully tonight and will post when I find out anything more.


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## Beerstalker (Feb 9, 2009)

It needs to be able to call back to DirecTV's servers to make sure you still have active DirecTV service, that the Nomad is on the same account as the receivers it sees, check that your devices are registered, etc.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Beerstalker said:


> It needs to be able to call back to DirecTV's servers to make sure you still have active DirecTV service, that the Nomad is on the same account as the receivers it sees, check that your devices are registered, etc.


Indeed -spot on.

The router needs to allow nomad to "call out" on the Internet for User Account Authentication. That typically means no firewall or setting should block nomad from that communication.

Some folks use a DMZ setup to accomplish this - puts the device outside of your normal firewall, which is OK on known hardware and communications like nomad.

In my case, the router setup allowed for the pass-through of the IP to the Internet.

Hang in there..it sounds like you're really close to getting this done.


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## JDMAC (Dec 9, 2012)

DirecTV is coming out Sunday to check the dish. It does appear that I have lower signals on the 101 than normal. I haven't had any issues with losing the picture or anything, but it does seem like at the very least dialing in the signal can't hurt after Sandy. 

There is an error code corresponding with a weak signal coming up when I run the system check and even though that code in particular has not in the past interfered with Nomad functioning, DirecTV CM still advised that this could be the issue. They also said the tech will look at the nomad and she put in some request ab the tech being familiar with Nomad. I am not hopeful the tech will know anything about this, nor that this will fix it, but there is always a chance... worst case I get my dish dialed back in.

DTV has some terrific offerings, but given the trouble I had getting this to work when I first got it almost a year ago and the recent trouble and seeing countless threads all over the place about how poorly it functions I am about to ask them to take it back. I may stick an old series 2 tivo back in the mix somewhere just so i can use TIVOTOGO.


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

I'm not sure how all this relates to nomad. . .


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## JDMAC (Dec 9, 2012)

dennisj00 said:


> I'm not sure how all this relates to nomad. . .


Well, "all of this" likely does not relate to the nomad, but when you put out a product that has limited and/or intermittent functionality, no documentation and more troubleshooting information about it on a web forum than what you can get from the manufacturer/seller then you get wild suggestions from support as to how to "fix it".

Apparently there are certain error codes that your DTV system can give off that keep the nomad from functioning properly; despite the error code that my system is putting out not being a documented problem for the nomad, it seems we are taking the sawed off approach and hoping this might do it.

I will let you all know if there is a resolution. Thank you again to those who have tried to help.


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

Sometimes the CSRs and installers aren't the best at troubleshooting. . . there are tons of stories - a CSR requiring multiple reboots when the DVR won't power on. . . I had an installer that wanted to start changing splitters on the SWiM side when I had lost sats from one of the 4 coaxes.

Your IP problem is based in the router, your network or the nomad itself. Nomad knows nothing about the Sat delivery and as long as your dvrs are recording, nomad should see them and transcode any program (other than OTA and VOD) on the dvr.

I say 'should' . . . If you can't try a different router, I'd request a replacement before it gets near your warranty date.


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