Nucleus One appears briefly but disappears when attempting to configure (ref#I5YOGF)

Support
1

Hi! What’s not quite right with Roon?

· Can’t reach my Server, remotes or ARC

Can’t connect to my Server, remotes or ARC

· Other ARC issues

Tell us what's going on

· My Nucleus One doesn't show up to allow me to configure it. If I unplug everything, it will show up briefly but when I click on it to connect, it disappears and only my laptop shows up. I even tried selecting the laptop but I get a spinning progress wheel that never stops.

Tell us about your home network

· Apple AirPort Extreme Tower hard wired by ethernet to Nucleus One

2

Hello @lewiso ,

Thanks for your message. Can you please confirm, are you still able to access the Nucleus Web UI? Is there any change in behavior if you try a different router port / Ethernet cable for the connection? Has this unit worked in the past, or is this a new install? Please also note that we have seen connectivity issues surrounding Airport routers in the past, it is too early to say if this is the cause, but it can be a factor we want to mention.

3

I was able to get it going this morning by using an iPad instead of my MB Pro but it took over an hour and a half of unplugging and powering on and off several times. I just tried to go in through the laptop and it looks bad again. I’ll try the iPad after the soccer game and see where things are at. Not a new install, has worked before but the whole thing is not as stable as I had hoped. Bought a Nucleus One to get rid of an unstable Aurender arrangement. So far, not so much.

4

Hello @lewiso,

Thank you for the update. The fact that it works intermittently after multiple power cycles, works on iPad but not MacBook, had the issue before with Aurender, and disappears when you try to connect all points to a network discovery issue rather than a hardware issue with the Nucleus One itself.

A few things to check:

  1. Apple AirPort router - these are known to have issues with mDNS/Bonjour multicast traffic which is what Roon uses to discover devices on the network. This is our primary suspect.
  2. Try a different Ethernet cable and port - swap the cable between the Nucleus and the AirPort, and try a different port on the router.
  3. Check the Nucleus Web UI - open a browser and go to http://nucleusone.local or find its IP in your AirPort’s device list and enter it directly. If the Web UI loads, the Nucleus is healthy and the problem is purely network discovery.
  4. Basic network connectivity test - open Terminal on your MacBook and run:
ping nucleusone.local

If you get replies, the Nucleus is reachable. If not, try pinging its IP address directly:

ping 192.168.x.x

Also run:

dns-sd -B _roon._tcp local

This will show whether your MacBook can see Roon’s mDNS advertisement at all. Share the output and we can tell you where the discovery is breaking.

  1. MacBook WiFi vs Ethernet - is your MacBook on WiFi or wired? If on WiFi, try connecting via Ethernet to the same AirPort and test again.
  2. Reboot sequence - reboot in this order: AirPort first, wait 60 seconds, then Nucleus One, then your remote devices.
5

Hello @lewiso,

Just checking in on this, have you had a chance to try the network steps we mentioned, especially swapping the Ethernet cable or router port, checking whether the RoonOS WebUI loads at nucleusone.local or by IP, and running the ping and dns-sd tests on your MacBook? We also wanted to know whether the MacBook is on WiFi or Ethernet, and if you were able to try the reboot order with the AirPort first, then the Nucleus One, then your remotes. Let us know what you found, thanks!