I have two Intel i7 NUC based ROCK setups, one at home and one at work. The home one has the music files on a Synology NAS. The work one has the music files on an external USB3 drive.
I mostly control these systems from a 12.9" iPad Pro at home, and a 10.5" iPad Pro at work, using the Roon Labs iOS app.
Both of these iPads will from time to time loose the connection to their Core. If I try to select a new core to try and fool the device into reconnecting, it shows the Core is “Initialising” and the “Connect” button is disabled.
The Windows 10 based devices (either cable or wireless connected) don’t seem to have this problem. They will still work while the iPads are having problems, and if I try to change the Core will report all is okay and let me select the Core.
Rebooting the Core doesn’t change this. The only solution I’ve found is to turn the iPad off and then back on again. Then it will let me connect to the Core.
It seems there may be a bug in the way the iOS app handles connections to a Core.
@David_Tanner@Lloyd_Borrett What iOS versions are you using and are your Roon apps similarly updated to the same versions running on the core? iOS needs at least iOS 11 or later latest versions and likewise the app must be up to date too
iOS 11.4
iPad and Core Roon 1.5 (323)
But I’ve had the problem for months on earlier versions of both iOS and Roon.
All endpoints and the Synology NAS that feed Roon are hardwired. The MacBook never has this error but the iPad and my Android phone do, so I assumed it was a WiFi issue?.
WiFi is provided via Google WiFi mesh system which acts as the router and all devices are on the same IP range.
Thanks
David
Hi @Lloyd_Borrett and @David_Tanner ----- Thank you both for the feedback and sharing these observations you have made with us. The insight is greatly appreciated!
Moving forward, to help aide in our evaluation of this behavior you are reporting with your remote devices. May I very kindly ask you both to provide the following information. See below. Thanks!
Lloyd - Being you have already provided where your Roon core is running, could you please describe your network configuration/topology being sure to provide insight into any networking hardware you are currently implementing. I want to have a clear understanding as to how your devices are communicating and all the tools involved with making those connection possible.
David - Can you please expand on your setup description and provide the exact model/specs of MacBook currently hosting your Roon core. I am assuming the MacBook is communicating with your network via a wireless connection. Is this indeed the case? Have you tried testing with a hardwired connection since noticing this behavior?
David, as I asked Lloyd, please describe your network configuration/topology being sure to provide insight into any networking hardware you are currently implementing.
Lastly, while it may seem a touch elementary, have you both tried reinstalling the application on the affected devices?
At Work: It’s simple! In the front office…
ADSL2+ connection to a Netgear ADSL2+ 11n Wireless Voice Gateway DEVG2020, with 4 x 10/100 Mbps LAN ports.
An Intel i7 NUC running ROCK connects via CAT6 Ethernet cable to one of the Netgear’s 4 LAN ports.
A Western Digital Elements USB3 4TB external drive connects to the ROCK via USB3 cable.
Music files are stored on the ROCK’s USB3 external drive.
Backups nightly to the ROCK’s USB3 external drive.
Two Windows 10 based laptops also connect via Cat6 Ethernet cable to the Netgear’s LAN ports. In the dive shop…
A Raspberry Pi 3B with HiFiBerry DAC+ Pro running RoPieee is connected via Cat6 Ethernet cable back to one of the Netgear’s LAN ports. Anywhere…
An iPad Pro 10.5", plus iPhones and Android phones all connect wirelessly. Speedtest.net typically gives 5 to 10 Mbps download and 1 to 2 Mbps upload.
Plan is to add a Netgear GS105 ProSafe 5-port Gigabit switch in the front office.
Then connect an Audiophonics RaspTouch I-Sabre ES9028Q2M running RoPieee to it.
Plus connect a Raspberry Pi 3B+ with HiFiBerry DAC+ Pro running RoPieee in the back office to it.
At Home: It’s complicated! In the Kitchen…
NBN connection to a Telstra Smart Modem model DJA0230 with 4 x 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN ports.
A NetComm NP507 Powerline adapter (600Mbps Powerline Kit with Gigabit Ethernet) connects from a LAN port on the Telstra Smart Modem to the 240VAC 50Hz power wiring.
Other NetComm NP507 Powerline adapters are in other rooms of the house. In the home office/study…
A NetComm NP507 Powerline adapter connects to a Netgear GS608 switch with 8 x 10/100/1000 Mbps ports.
The Netgear switch has three Synlogogy DS21x NAS units, a Windows 10 based desktop PC, an Intel i7 NUC ruuning ROCK, and an Audiophonics RaspTouch I-Sabre ES9028Q2M running RoPieee connected via CAT6 Ethernet cables.
Intel i7 NUC running ROCK connects via CAT6 Ethernet cable to the Netgear switch.
Music files stored on a Synology DS218+ 2-bay NAS.
Backups nightly to the second SSD drive in the ROCK, and to a directory on the Synology DS218+ NAS. In the main bedroom…
A NetComm NP507 Powerline adapter connects via Cat6 Ethernet cable to an Audiophonics RaspTouch I-Sabre ES9028Q2M running RoPieee. In the spare bedroom…
A NetComm NP507 Powerline adapter connects via Cat6 Ethernet cable to a Raspberry Pi 3B+ with HiFiBerry DAC+ Pro running RoPieee. In the lounge room…
A NetComm NP507 Powerline adapter connects via CAT6 Ethernet cable to a Negear GS605 switch with 5 x 10/100/1000 Mbps ports.
The Netgear switch connects via CAT6 Ethernet cables to a Foxtel iQ2 set-top unit, a Samsung BD-H6500 3D Blu-ray Disc Player, and a Yamaha RX-V733 receiver which can be a Roon endpoint. Anywhere…
An iPad Pro 12.9", Google Nexus 9, Android phone, and Windows 10 based laptop all connect to the Telstra Smart Modem wirelessly. Speedtest.net typically gives 15 to 25 Mbps download and 10 to 20 Mbps upload.
Plan is to move the music files onto a WD Element USB3 external drive connected to the ROCK.
The core is ALWAYS found when using Roon app on the MacBook, the problem only occurs on my iPad and Moto G android phone. I usually have wifi turned off on the macBook unless working away from my desk in another part of the house. Though this causes no problems, Roon app always finds the Core.
what about your subnets…are they on the same ranges? also make sure you are not connected to a GUEST network as these are typically blocked from local addresses.
You can use an app like Net Analyser or Fing to see what devices you can see the network you are connected to. I prefer the Net Analyser App. You can even ping the Roon Core machine address that should prove you can connect to it…at least at a basic comms level.
I don’t know and I’m not sure how to go about checking this.
But keep in mind, when the problem occurs with the IPad Roon control app (which is connecting via the wireless network), other Android and Windows 10 based devices (that are also connecting via the wireless network) don’t have the problem.
I’ve installed Fing on the iPad Pro. I’m not quite fully understanding what it’s showing me. But all of the 13 devices currently active on the home network are being shown and they are all in the same IP address range. I can ping the ROCK.
Next step will be to try it when I’m having the problem, as I did a few hours ago.
Lets hope that reveals something then. So seems then perhaps you have only one SSID that everything connects to thats wifi… no guest network and that its a stable connection for the iPad for everything other than roon remote? iPad not dropping wifi in favour of LTE or GSM?
@Lloyd_Borrett and @David_Tanner ---- Thank you both for touching base with me and providing the requested feedback. The continued insight is greatly appreciated!
Moving forward, my recommendation would be to try and shrink down your network configurations as small as possible (all things considered of course) and see if the issue is reproducible with some of the mentioned device temporarily removed (powerline adaptors, switches, etc). I personally have seen my fair share of issues pop up due to powerline adaptors and managed switches (dropouts, connectivity issues, etc), so I believe this to be a good place to start.
This approach that I am recommending is one that I have used myself numerous times in my OWN use of Roon while at home. If I am noticing a problem that may be related to my network the very first thing I do is remove as much complexity from the chain of communication as possible, confirm if the issue is still occurring, and if it is not in a “bare bones” state I begin to systematically add the links back in one at a time. This way I can be certain of where things are “breaking” and where they “succeeding”. My network test configuration is always the same:
Core
Storage
Affected device (remote, endpoint,etc)
Router (w/the core hardwired directly to it).
As mentioned, if things continue to fail here I know I should be looking elsewhere but if things function as expected then I know there is a variable or possible variables further down stream that I need to investigate.
I’m not sure as to how I could possibly shrink down the work network. It’s about as basic a Roon setup as one could have with a ROCK.
Came in to work this morning and couldn’t connect to the ROCK. Thought I had the problem happening. So I went to install Fing. Couldn’t connect to the app store. Turns out the Internet connection was down. Duh! Got it back up and running and everything was okay.
Installed Fing and it reported all of the devices okay and on the same subnet.
By the way, when the problem is happening, the iPads can still browse the Internet. They just don’t connect to the ROCK. And other devices can still find and use the ROCK.