Remote connection - waiting for Roon core - android issue (depending on location)

Thanks Eric,

I will try do this later on today and get back to you.
Ross

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thanks @Eric - the problem reoccured later that evening - so appears to be intermittent, but I didn’t have time to do anything more with it.

I’ve subsequently rebooted the Core/Remote machine today and using Roon with np’s currently - I’m wondering if that fact that this is not a dedicated Roon machine might be an issue - not in terms of performance but possibly in terms of interaction with other s/ware.

Will use the support tag as you suggest if it reoccurs and keep an eye on how @tahsu gets on too.

Ross, if ok - will keep my reports (if any) on here if they continue to look like the same problem as yours.

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Hi @tahsu ---- Confirming that the support package has been downloaded and it looks like we got what we needed. I am going to be attaching the provided support package to my report, so our tech team can review the traces contained in the logs to determine how this behavior should be addressed.

Once my report has been updated and passed back, I will be sure to share the team’s thoughts/findings with you in a timely manor. Your patience is very appreciated!

-Eric

Thanks @Eric.

No problem @r_t, happy to keep in same thread!
Ross

Hi @tahsu ---- Thank you for your patience while our techs have been looking into this behavior you’ve reported to us.

Moving forward, the team has informed me that they’re not seeing anything conclusive in regard to the traces found in your logs, other than that we can see the disconnects and re-connects occurring with the remote device. I took a second look over them as well, just to be certain nothing had potentially been missed, and can verify that I am making the same observation(s) that are techs are.

In light of this, our best assumption is that there is some kind of bottle neck occurring in your network configuration. This would explain why you have no issue connecting to your core in some rooms of your home and issues in others.

When it comes to network troubleshooting we also suggest using the process of elimination to try and determine where things are failing. Making the network configuration as simple as possible, and then adding complexity back into the chain of communication one step at a time. While I am not personally familiar with the mentioned Devolo devices in terms of how they are configured (i.e setting them up), I would start by investigating those devices first.

Let me know what you think and we can go from there.
-Eric

Hi @Eric, thanks for coming back.

I will turn off each wifi plug in turn and record what happens. If I was to guess now, I would say the android devices are connecting to the internet/core via the homeplugs no problem however they are not connecting via the main router, thats just based on the location of the equipment and the experience. I will try and report back.

No problem @tahsu, looking forward to your feedback and observations!

-Eric

Hi @Eric, I tested today. As I have said I have two android devices, a Galaxy S7 (phone) and Hudl 2 (tablet). Using the tablet first, it will connect with the Roon Core using either of the two Devolo 1200 homeplugs to connect to the internet. I tested by taking one plug off line and connecting to the other and then vice versa. However the tablet will not connect to the Roon Core via my router, a BT Homehub 5 (modem/router/wifi access point). The tablet can get online via the router, but just not connect to the Roon Core.

Now the phone, not sure why, this will not connect anywhere today for some reason, this is new. Lets perhaps put this aside for now unless you can think of a reason why I might suddenly be having a problem.

What can I do about the router, any thoughts?

Hi @tahsu ---- Thank you for getting back to me with the results of your testing, having this insight is very appreciated!

Moving forward, just to make sure I am understanding your observations correctly in regard to the “BT Houmehub 5”. With the additional access points disabled (i.e the Devolo 1200 homeplugs), the tablet is unable to connect to Roon correct? Did either of the tests mentioned in my previous post allow the table to connect with the mentioned configuration?

Furthermore, with the above configuration in place (i.e just the router active and the Devolo homeplugs temporarily offline), can you please load the FING app one of the mentioned remote devices. This application will identify any active devices on your network, while presenting itself in the process. I would like you to confirm that the core machine and both remotes show up. A screenshot would be very appreciated!

-Eric

Hi @Eric,

More oddity today, turned off wifi on both plugs and then actually pulled them from the wall to be safe. Anyway, the tablet will log on to the core in all three rooms (presumably via the router) with the Devolo plugs off, something it has not done before (with them in)

I have downloaded fing and I attach a couple of screen shots. You can see the tablet (Tesco hudl 2) and the phone (Samsung Galaxy S7), however the Samsung is greyed out. If I try and use the Samsung it just hangs on the Roon screen saying it is loading but it doesn’t get any further.

To get the tablet to work, all I did was have the Roon Core open and then opened it on the tablet.
Screen shot 1 - without homeplugs on

However, I then plug the home plugs back in, I can connect with my tablet (presumably via the closest home-plug). If I start at the back of the house e.g. closest to the homeplugs, it will connect to the Core. If I then walk to the other end of the house e.g. closest to the router, I loose connection from the core.

Screen shot 2 - with homeplugs on

Conclusion

  1. With homeplugs on, the tablet will connect to them although it won’t connect via the router
  2. With homeplugs off, the tablet will connect directly to the router.

Question - how can I connect to both the homeplugs and the router to ensure I get the full wifi coverage the homeplugs and router provide?

Hi @tahsu ---- Thank you for touching base with me and sharing the observations made during your troubleshooting.

As mentioned, while I am not personally familiar with the how the Devolo homeplugs should be configured, I believe this is the place to start troubleshooting your issue. I did a quick search on the Devolo website to see what I could come up with, but could not find anything in their “FAQ” section related to your issue :head_bandage: Have you tried contacting their support team yet?

Furthermore, as a general rule, we recommend making use of a mesh network setup. Companies like Erro or Orbi, seem to be very reliable. Our CTO Brian, goes into further detail here in regard to the advantages offered by both a good quality AC router or “mesh setup”.

-Eric

Hi @Eric,

No I have not contacted Devolo yet, as I am not really sure how to describe the issue as I can connect to their products. What I can’t do is connect to the Modem with the plugs on, although this seems to only relate to Roon only and I can’t replicate with any other product. The router I have is generally fast, reliable and well rated.

So although I am interested in a mesh solution, my router and homeplugs all work and it seems a bit extreme to consider switching yet.

If, via an android product, I can connect to Roon via a homeplug, why can I then not connect to the router directly with the homeplugs on? I walk into a room connected, it then looses the connection. I am physically in the room with the router, you would have thought it would connect to the strongest source. Even if I switch roon and wifi off completely and then back on, it still will not connect via the router. Frustrating.

Hi @tahsu ---- Thank you for getting back to me and sharing your thoughts.

Moving forward, I just want to verify a bit of information based on what you have provided in your most recent response, and my apologies if I have misinterpreted anything previously posted.

So just to clarify, the only time these affects are being “felt” is when you are using Roon, correct? So if you leave the homeplugs in a connected/active state, when you get into range of the router and out of range of the “1200s” you are still able to access other application utilizing a Wifi connection without issue?

-Eric

Hi @Eric, thanks for coming back.

That is correct. I have only noticed with Roon, everything else appears to work as it should. I just walked from one end of the house to the other (a few times) with the Tidal app on directly. I tried streaming different songs, picking different tracks I have not listened to previously. It appeared to stay connected (moving between access points) with no drop outs noticed. Ditto Netflix

Hi @tahsu —— Thank you for touching base with me and confirming my thought(s) from the previous post.

Moving forward, while we understand that the you are able to connect to other service like TIDAL and Netflix, keep in mind that Roon is going to depend on stable communication between the devices inside your network, as opposed to a single device on your network communicating with a server on the internet. Using Netflix tells us your connection to the internet is working, but it doesn’t tell us very much about communication within your network.

We’re happy to continue working with you to understand why these homeplug devices don’t seem to be working properly, but I want to be clear that our team has a decade of experience troubleshooting networked home audio, and we’ve seen many, many issues with these types of solutions. With some effort, we may be able to identify why the homeplug devices aren’t working, but that doesn’t mean we’ll necessarily be able to move forward, particularly if the issue is related to the specifics of Devolo’s networking. We really do try to resolve issues even when they’re not related to our software, but at that point we’d probably need to ask you to pass on our findings to them and hope for the best.

I mention all of this because again, pinpointing exactly why these devices aren’t working as we expect can be quite time consuming, and based on our past experience the most likely outcome is that the Devolo units have issues with certain kinds of traffic that Roon depends on. As our CTO mentioned in the post I linked previously:

  • Poorly configured additional access points. If you need this kind of stuff to cover your home, you will be much, much happier with a mesh network. Often handoffs between repeaters cause problems. It is also very easy to misconfigure them such that the devices end up re-associating when they hop in a way that disrupts connections, or end up accidentally living on segmented networks. We’ve had several seriously puzzling support cases that ended with the user simply unplugging everything but the main router, and finding that not just Roon, but everything started working better.
  • WiFi “range extenders” or “repeaters”. These have too many tradeoffs to be considered an actual improvement. These never worked well because they were too “dumb”. Mesh technology (where all of the base stations are coordinating with each other out of band of the WiFi signal) work much, much better.

After spending time investigating a number of similar issues, my personal recommendation would be to investigate the various mesh network solutions that are out there, but we’ll do whatever we can to help get this working for you. Just let me know how you’d like to proceed here Ross, and we’ll do everything we can to get this 100% stable for you.

-Eric"

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Hi @Eric, we do need to be a little careful here, as I continue to use Roon in my kitchen (using my Sonos) connected via the Devolo homeplug without issue, on a daily basis. Its just my lounge which appears to be problematic (via main router as previously stated) however I appreciate this issue may lie somewhere in the Network as a whole.

Having said that I am not keen on replacing a network which works with every other app and service apart from Roon, or at least, I am not experiencing issues with other items and so to replace it all feels disproportionate. Finally, unless there is anything else you can suggest I am not sure what else you can do and I do appreciate you have tried to help.

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Hi @Eric - after my last email I tried to think if there was anything else I could try and I think I may have found a work around. I can log onto my home plugs to manage the various settings including setting up their wireless features. Currently both plugs have been repeating my router WiFi settings - accessed via the mains, in effect supposedly producing one blanket wifi network across the whole house. However we know practically not being a true mesh network means you get issues like we have been discussing in this thread.

When I was looking through the settings I decided to set the 2.5GHz network to a separate name (Roon) for the plug that is situated in the middle of the house. I have done some testing and I can access WiFi in my lounge, middle room and kitchen (a bit weak at the far reaches) which means the android device is not trying to switch devices but maintains a link to the same Devolo plug whilst on the ‘Roon’ 2.5GHz network. The upshot of this, I can connect and control Roon in all my rooms. So not perfect, but probably enough to keep me going until I invest in a proper mesh network.

I still intend to play around with the 5GHz channel on the same plug looking for the best optimisation between speed and connectivity knowing that we already have a solution.

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Hi all, for what it is worth, maybe just another data point in this kind of issues…
I also found the Andoid tablet having difficulty finding the Roon core (on Rock).
I found in my case that just re-establishing the wifi link of the tablet (switching off wifi in the tablet and switching it on again) usually solved it. Not sure yet whether that always works…

I have two routers giving two wifi networks and it doesn’t seem to differ which one I use. One of the routers is connected to Roon via a switch.

Rob

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Hi @tahsu ----- Thank you for the follow up and sharing the observations made during your troubleshooting. The insight is very appreciated!

I am pleased to hear that your tests have yielded some positive results and you have configured the Devolo plugs in such a way that you are now able to remain in contact with your core no matter what section of the house you are currently in. Well done!

Please let me know how things work out with the 5GHz channel on the mentioned plug, as I am curious as to what you observe. Has Devolo been able to offer any insight?

-Eric

Hi @Eric. I have basically arrived at a solution that works. I now exclusively use the homeplugs, in fact I have them set-up as one Network (two wireless plugs with 2.5 and 5ghz merged). In this set-up I can access my sonos (connect via a wired homeplug), my Raspberry Pi 3 (with IQAudio DAC HAT) connected to my router and of course the PC the Roon software is installed to (also connected to a wired homeplug). The Router is named differently now, if I try and connect via that, it doesn’t want to play, connect to the homeplugs, its fine.