Laird RG191 Gateway non-responsive/DOA

Support
1

Hi guys,

I have just taken delivery of a Laird RG191 LoRaWAN gateway and suspect that I may have gotten a DOA/faulty unit. I suspect this for a few reasons:

  • Upon start up the only LED that is on is the POWER LED
  • When connecting this to my router via the Ethernet cable there are no link lights on my router suggesting network activity from the Laird. Please note that when connecting other devices to the same interface port on the router, I get a link light
  • Following the wifi quick config and depressing the user button for 7 seconds fails to show an access point rg1xx on my computer on a subsequent scan of the network
  • It is not responding to a factory reset
  • The unit does not appear to do a POST, there is no LED activity and from the computer, the Ethernet adapter does not recognise that it is connected. Naturally, wireshark is seeing nothing on the Ethernet port.

Note that I have attempted to connect the Laird gateway directly to the computer after finding that my router is not displaying link lights on the Ethernet adapter. I have tried this both with my LattePanda Alpha 800 and my Dell XPS 15. Same results.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

Ric

C:\Users\LattePanda>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Lil
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : localdomain

Ethernet adapter Ethernet:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-E0-4C-36-B2-C9
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

1 Like
2

Hi Ricardo,

This sounds like a question for @graham .

Could you please confirm that the power supply is working properly?

3

I don’t believe a direct computer connection would work, as the Laird needs the router’s DHCP to function properly, along with with DNS etc.

While this might not be the case for you, it’s best to connect both the PC and the Laird, using the same physical method (Ethernet cable) to the same router (as opposed to WiFi on the PC and Ethernet on the Laird).

From there, follow this guide to connect to the dashboard.

4

Hi Stephen,

I can confirm that I am getting 12V out of the power supply.

Cheers,

Ricardo

5

Hi Graham,

I have actually tried both ways by connecting it via Ethernet to the router and directly to the PC. At the physical layer, the router shows no link lights when I plug in the Laird (it does so for other devices on the same interface).

I only attempted to use the wifi connect as it is mentioned in the quick start guide and because everything else had failed. However, I can confirm that it is not possible to connect via wifi (the SSID does not even show up when I scan for networks). In fact, I actually ran Kali Linux with a wireless card in monitor mode and cannot see any wireless frames coming from the Laird’s wireless MAC address.

From all of the testing that I have done to date and the responses received, I am fairly certain that this is a faulty unit and will be sending it back for replacement. Can you please advise me of the process for doing this? Unfortunately, I have firm dates on the completion of my research project and cannot be in limbo wasting time while trying to get a faulty unit to work.

My only other thought was whether the power supply that came with the unit had enough ‘juice’ to drive the unit, but if this was the case you would have had the same issue with other customers as well…

Thanks for your assistance.

Cheers,

Ricardo

6

Worth asking, have you tried another Ethernet cable?

7

Hi Graham,

Yes I did (I had some Cat6 and Cat5 cables lying around and tried a few). The only other test that I will do (in case there is an inter-op issue with my Ubiquiti switch/USG ) is to plug it straight into a Layer 3 Cisco switch configured for handing out DHCP and see if that makes a difference. If that doesn’t work, I am not sure that anything else will. I have even tried to do a factory reset (even though I haven’t got any configs into the device) but it does not seem to be responding to it.

My other concern is the LEDs. The only LED that is lit up is the POWER LED and that comes straight on). I have NEVER been able to get any other LEDs to light up during boot up. You should be able to quickly verify with another unit whether this is normal for these devices… (In fact, if you could do that and respond here it would be greatly appreciated).

Cheers,

Ricardo

8

I can confirm the LED behaviour is normal, and this is most likely a DHCP issue from my experience.

As noted in the guide I linked, arp -a would reveal what’s going on with MAC/IP’s.

  • If the device is not listed then DHCP is not working on the network the Laird is connected to.
  • If the MAC/IP is listed, but the dashboard URL doesn’t work, then you could access the dashboard via direct IP (to bypass the DNS issue).
9

Hi Graham,

I watched this video and it showed other LEDs on, hence the reason for my question… It is strange that I am not getting the Ethernet LED to light up or any of the link activity LEDs on the router to show that there is anything happening…

Cheers,

Ricardo

10

The device being shown is both powered, and configured. The LEDs are illuminated for each service that is both setup and functioning.

Ethernet will not illuminate unless it has been assigned an IP address, and, internet is working. It’s a witness that the internet-backhaul is operational.

11

Hi there,
I ended up sending this back as discussed. I sent it last week and followed the instructions on Graham’s email… Do you know roughly how long it will take for you to process this as I urgently need the gateway for my uni research project?

Thanks in advance.

Ricardo

12

Hi Ricardo,

We have responded to your earlier emails. We will continue this conversation there.

13

Hi Stephen,

Sure ok, except that things have gone a bit quiet and I am a little desperate here as the clock is ticking and I need a LoRaWAN gateway in order to complete my uni research which is due at the end
of May. When do you think you will get back to me regarding an outcome to this case?

Cheers,

Ricardo | m: 0438 177 619

14

Hi Ricardo,

You can expect an update today by end of business.

15

Hi Stephen,

Any updates?

Cheers

Ricardo

16

A fresh update - again though: