Troubleshooting Guide
What is Bridging? Bridging is a mode in which the Broadlink CPE becomes a transparent link. The CPE does not have a public IP address, it does not block any ports, or do any routing. Instead, it acts as a simple radio to network bridge. In this mode the only traffic the CPE cares about is on the 10-dot network, Broadlink's maintenence network. All of our diagnostics are done on the 10-dot network.
If the Broadlink or Sonic Tech says your "10 dot" address is responding, but you cant surf out, then all the hardware on the roof is working properly. The problem is somewhere between the wire going into the house and the computer/router hardware in the house.
The next step is to see if your public 209 address is responding. All Sonic/Broadlink customers are given a 209 address. This is used in the Broadlink CPE, or in the case of a bridged unit, it is used in the customer's router/computer. Unfortunatly, most routers are set to ignore ping requests, so this step almost always returns as a failure.
Your network has a router or a firewall between the CPE on the roof and your computers. The Gateway addresses you get from your computers points to the router or firewall. In some cases, you have a router, then a firewall, then the power inserter, before you get to the CPE.
Before we get too far, lets try the simple fix. Sometimes, routers and firewalls lock up. To unfreeze them, you just have to reboot them. Most of these devices have no on/off switches. To reboot a router or firewall, just unplug the power cord and plug it right back in. Some devices need to be kept unplugged for a few seconds to let all the capacitors drain. Once the Router is done booting, check your computer for a connection.
Try to ping your router. The Basic Troubleshooting Section of this document has details on getting gateway addresses.
If you can ping your router/firewall from your computer, the LAN side of your network is working. If you cannot ping your router from one machine, you need to try from other computers on your network. If none of the computers can ping your router, then you probably have a bad router. If some of the computers can ping your router, then you may have bad ethernet ports on the router.
Most routers have LED's for each of their network ports. If you know your computer is plugged into a particular port on the router, but that port is dark, you have some problem between the Network Interface Card on your computer and the port on the router. This could be the card, loose/faulty wiring, or the router itself. Check that the ethernet cable is in snugly at the computer and the router. If you hear a "click" and the LED starts flashing, you probably had a loose connection.
If everything is firmly connected, you rebooted the router, and you still can't ping the router, It's time to see if you can bypass the router.
To bypass the router, start by opening your TCP/IP control panel and copying down all your computers address info. You'll need this info later when you switch everything back.
Next, you'll need your Bridged IP Address, Gateway Address, and DNS Server address. If you're on the phone with Broadlink or Sonic Tech support, they should be able to get you this info. Set your TCP/IP control panel to use a manually assigned IP address. Enter the Bridged IP address in as your computer's IP address. Use the Gateway address (obviously) as your computer's gateway, and the DNS addresses as the computer's DNS addresses.
Now, you have to connect your computer directly to the Broadlink power inserter. In most cases, you can unplug the cable from the up-link or WAN port on the router and plug it into your computer. There are a couple of cases where this will not work.
You may not have a crossover cable between the power inserter and the router. All routers are smart enough to sense the type of cable and adjust appropriately, but not all computers are that smart. To see if your cable is a crossover, unplug it on both ends, bring the ends together, side by side with the tabs facing away from you. You will see that the wires inside the clear plastic ends are color coded.
If the colors match in order between the two plugs, then you have a patch cable, not a crossover. If, however, two pairs of the wires are reversed, then you have a crossover cable.
A crossover cable will have these pairs on one end (greenwhite & green, orangewhite & blue, bluewhite & orange, brownwhite & brown) and these on the other end (orangewhite & orange, greenwhite & blue, bluewhite & green, brownwhite & brown) .
The other reason you will not be able to make a connection is physical distance to the router, so it's best to make these configuration changes on a laptop or computer that is close to the power inserter, and be sure to have a crossover cable handy.
Once you have set your TCP/IP settings on your computer, and plugged directly into the power inserter with a crossover cable, your computer should be able to browse the web, and you should be able to ping ping.sonic.net.
You now have a single computer with a static IP address attached to a Boadlink Power inserter that connects to a Broadlink CPE that is reachable from Broadlink and Sonic. If you still cannot reach the internet, and your computer is properly configured, we've eliminated the router as the problem. There are a couple of other tests we could run, but the odds are good that you need a Broadlink Technician on site to do more testing and repairs.
If the Tech says they can't reach your 10 dot address, there is a power problem, or the unit on the roof is dead or locked up. Try rebooting the CPE with the directions on the Basic Troubleshooting page.