Increased dropouts with 23.0b firmware and U2 Mini

Audio Gear Talk Lumin
1

Maybe its coincidental…but maybe it isn’t.
Ever since updating to the 23.0 FW, I am experiencing increased number of dropouts and freezing in both internet radio streams and streaming services such as Tidal.
This sometimes requires rebooting the U2 Mini/modem/router/phone/switches several times before it can play music again.
With the previous FW, this happened once every couple weeks, but now it seems to be several times per day.
I am using the native streaming services for Tidal etc, and not Roon.

Has anybody else experienced this?

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2

Sent a firmware downgrade to you for testing.

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Hi Peter, I had the same on my u1 mini. Roon would just loose sight of it, spotify or qobuz would still work. Aftrr rebooting the streamer all would be fine for a while. I checked and my firmware was 2 versions behind. It hasnt happened since I updated 4 or 5 days ago. Hope this helps pinpointing the issue. I appreciate your dedication!

4

If your “spotify or qobuz would still work”, that would not be the same symptom.

Please power cycle the whole network of devices starting from the router, WiFi mesh, access points, network switches, Roon Server, Lumin, phones and tablets.

Disable the firewall on the computer or NAS that is running Roon Server.

5

The 22.0d firmware downgrade did not work, so I updated to v23 again, as I really like the info scrolling that the newer version allows.
But I have noticed something very unusual.
When I am streaming, if I open another app, or close the lumin app, the music stream stops.
It restarts when I have the lumin app actively open on the phone screen.
When the music is frozen, if I turn the phone off…the stream often restarts again when the phone restarts.

Today I will pull out my old BlueSound Node N130 and try that out…I suspect it will play uninterrupted, but without the immediacy and dynamics that the U2-Mini allows.
In the almost 2-years I have used the U2-Mini, this has not happened before, until very recently.

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After the FW downgrade did not remedy the problem I swapped out the U2-Mini for my old Node 130 shows uninterrupted streams…zero drop outs.
The downside is the sound with the Node streamer through the Gustard U26/R26 ii is much more lumpy and slower than I get through the U2-Mini. BTW, I use the same ethernet cable into the Node that I used in the Mini, and NOT Wifi (which would have circumvented any network problems after the router).

So my problems have nothing to do with my network connections, and everything to do with the U2-Mini/Lumin app.

Could it be a hardware problem (motherboard) that would need a repair, or is it still likely some quirk with the firmware? I really need to have my Mini working again.

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Soooo…it turns out that when the Node N130 was plugged into the same ethernet cables, it too eventually started freezing up and having drop-outs. But when on WiFi the Node was robust and didn’t skip a beat.
The chain I use is Wi-Fi extender->Switch #1->Switch#2->ethernet input of streamer.
Some time ago I inserted an iFi ethernet filter (the LAN iSilencer) ‘dongle’ coming out of the wifi extender.

I decided to unplug and replug all ethernet cables in the chain so see if that would work and I found this…

iFi
iFi810×1080 124 KB

Yeah…the iFi had undergone some torque-related disruption of the LAN plug, which was hanging by dangling wires.

Needless to say, this was removed. I should really have known better, as this is the SECOND time one of these has crumbled on me.

So the U2-Mini is up and running again (and sounding QUITE better than the streamer of the N130) and SO FAR, I am not having any problems.

But it is too early to say for sure, as sometimes it can be hours before the Lumin app freezes or I encounter dropouts.

But I have a good feeling that my problems MAY be solved and the fault in fact had nothing to do with the firmware or the U2-Mini hardware.

I will give follow up in a couple days to confirm one way or the other.

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